Chapter 115

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height


BREN


Everything had turned to shit.

I asked the universe for this one thing to go right, and it descended into chaos the first chance it got. Now, I am scrambling to keep everyone alive. Please, let everyone be alive. I already lost one person, and I was scared of how many we were going to lose.

We turned a corner, and we lost sight of the honcho. We drove for five, maybe ten minutes until we reached the Honda Civic where Russell had used to escape, but it had crashed in front of a large sign in front of a building called Pennsylvania Game Commission Headquarters.

"Hey, Pete! I see their car!" Haskell hollered down. "It doesn't look like anyone's inside."

"We're not stopping," Peter said.

"But, Pete. They could still be alive."

"We're not stopping," he said. "We have no room."

We drove on. Just like Haskell said, the Honda Civic was empty. No doubt Russell and the others had fled south, hopefully moving toward the first meeting point. We couldn't stop looking for them, not when Time wasn't on our side.

Aria tapped me on the shoulder. "What now?"

"Cemetery. First meeting point."

Aria nodded. "About Sarah..."

"I'm sorry. It had to be done."

"I know. It's just that..." She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Never mind."

I left her alone to her grief. I had no inkling of how close she was with Sarah, so I'm just going to let her be. The other women were already wary of me after I killed her in front of them. I could see it in their eyes, but at least Aria seemed to understand. She was already dead once that vector bit her. Maybe the women did know that fact, only they needed time to process that.

"Can you grab the map?" Peter asked me. I did what he said. "What's the next intersection?"

I looked at the city map and followed where we were, finding Elmerton Avenue. "Take a left into State Farm Road. It leads into Edgemont Road, then we head south. The cemetery is just off the road."

"Yeah, yeah, I see the sign." And Peter turned left into the street, as mentioned earlier.

We were surrounded by trees again, but I reminded myself that it's just an illusion. We were still smacked dab in the middle of the city, surrounded by dozens of suburbs, factories, commercial districts, and parks just beyond those trees. We passed a broken down car at the side of the road, and two women tried to hail us to stop. We kept driving.

I placed Sarah's necklace around my neck.

Logan. You better fucking make it.

My heart was still hammering against my ribcage; my adrenaline never wavering.

If you don't, I'm going to lose myself.

I better see you again.

For my sake.


——


LOGAN


"I can't get out!" Monica tugged on the seatbelt. "I'm stuck!"

"I'm getting to it! I'm getting to it!" Paloma reached in, trying to pry the button loose, but the thing wouldn't budge. She tried shaking it, but that didn't work either. "I need help here!"

Logan looked around the growing crowd around them. One man already smashed the window at the back of the Volkswagen before Deon came running and hit him on the head, pushing him back to the sidewalk. They were surrounded.

Suddenly, the cry of a honcho pulled Logan into overdrive, and all hell broke loose.

"Fuck! It's here!" Logan exclaimed.

"What the hell is that?" Paloma asked.

"You don't want to fucking know. We have to move fast!"

The vectors turned their attacks into a frenzy. There was a different gait into their posture: it had more purpose, more malice, and definitely with extreme prejudice against their prey. It was only a matter of time before they reached the van.

Logan took out his knife and ran to the van's front, gently pulling Paloma out of the way. He cut the seatbelt loose and pulled Monica out of the seat.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet! We have to run!"

"I-I don't think I can!"

Logan looked down, but Monica was moving her ankle around properly when he dragged her to the sidewalk, and it looked fine to him. "You're fine. You can run."

"Didn't you hear me? I can't!"

"Yes, you can. Pretend like your life depends on it." Logan spat. He didn't like losing his temper like this, but it convinced Monica enough to compose herself.

Paloma sidled to her side. "Come on now, Monica. We have to get out of here."

Edgar, Marie, and Nico finished grabbing their backpacks and running up to them. "Where did Bren and the others go?" Marie asked.

"I don't know, but we need to get away before this crowd starts tearing us apart!" Logan said.

They ran a block away from the van, ignoring the pain radiating through his body after that awful crash. At some point, Deon, Noodle, Magnus, and Darren joined them, leaving their truck at the mercy of the crowd. Like piranhas, they took apart anything that they left behind.

"There goes our stuff!" Nico exclaimed, leaning against the stoplight pole. Nico had a five-inch survival knife in his hand. Looking around, Logan also noticed that Edgar had a fireman's axe as a weapon, Marie had another survival knife that was an inch shorter than Nico's. Paloma had a baseball bat with the color of black cherry.

One man tried to approach them, looking greedily at Deon's backpack, but Deon merely glared at him and showed him his pistol. "Don't you fucking think about it, man." The guy fled back into the crowd, hoping to score a pack in the van.

Then, the CB radio crackled to life. "Logan, if you hear this, get to the first meeting point," Bren said.

Bren! Logan took out the radio from his belt and held tight on it.

"We don't have room in the Humvee! Wherever you are, keep moving, you understand? If you're not in the cemetery, I swear I'm gonna hunt you down so that I can punch you myself." A pause, but it felt like forever. "Head south, okay? And good luck."

Shit.

Logan looked around above the crowd, and it took him a few to spot the Humvee a block away. They were too far, and they wouldn't make it before they start to leave.

Shit!

"They're leaving us!" Marie cried out in horror.

"The meeting point isn't far ahead from here." Logan pointed at the CRA checkpoint gate that Cora rammed wide open. "All we had to do is move south for at least twelve more blocks, and then we'll reach it."

"Twelve blocks is going to feel like a thousand miles away!" Edgar said.

"Do we have a choice?" Deon chimed in, annoyed. A vector darted between two vehicles and started running toward him, but Deon quickly raised his pistol shot him five times on the chest, taking him down. Logan could see his hands shaking before he turned around and said, "Uh, maybe we should start running?"

Logan nodded. Christ! This is turning into a blood bath! "Alright, let's go!"

I should lead, Logan thought, and so he moved at the front of the pack, heading for the gates. This is what Bren would do. I insisted on protecting these people, so I should eat what I started. He now realized he was the only one in his group, and he would do anything to either have Bren, Miguel, or even Peter on his side to assist him. Logan didn't think he could do this alone. Now, he's responsible for the lives of nine other people. The daunting thought only made him want to run from the responsibility. Or puke, whichever came first.

Too late, and I'm here. Logan shook his thoughts away and pressed forward.

He was surprised to find more bodies behind the gates. Most of them were soldiers, but it looked like they were shot to death rather than being swarmed and torn to pieces by vectors. He shuddered when he thought the Alphas could have done this since they had been attacking CRA and military outposts across the city. It only made him more paranoid, checking their corners and upon the second-floor windows for ambushes. Logan didn't want to be caught by surprise again.

"Hurry, guys!" Logan urged on, putting more strength to his legs as he picked up speed; the others following close behind, leaving the checkpoint and the other survivors fighting the freshly-turned vectors. Logan couldn't comprehend how lucky they were that none of those things got to them before they escaped that mosh pit of bodies, tearing, biting, and killing each other.

Logan looked ahead. Logan knew it was a terrible plan to go through with it on foot, but they lost their vehicles, and they had no choice but to walk.

But twelve blocks, he thought. That's like nothing, right?

Then again, he should really stop giving assurances. If there's one thing he knew from this world was that anything could go wrong.


——


RANDY


Well, that was easy, he thought with amusement.

They were finally in the RV, and he didn't even have to recruit Colin or those stupid frat boys into his plans. At least Audrey and the kids were here, but if he had a choice, he would have thrown Charlene out of the RV. It was a missed opportunity to push her out of the door, and for a split second there, he almost did, except Audrey and Bernadette would give him hell.

The thought almost soured his mood.

Almost.

But we are now inside the RV, Bren's little castle on wheels. All it took was a riot and greed to do it. Bren didn't want to part with all the supplies he stashed in the RV—Randy would probably do the same thing—but he left it open to him.

Ain't life a basket of coincidences.

The lemon literally dropped on his lap, and now it was up to him to make it into some tasty pitcher of lemonade. Now, where did they hide the guns...?

Audrey and Colin were busy fussing over their children, and Wanda, for a two-year-old, had some pipes on her. She screamed and cried, and Randy all but wanted to scream back at her to shut up. If those two knew how to discipline their children, they should behave more than what he was seeing. It didn't help that Holly, a fucking grown-ass adult, was crying profusely, thinking her friends were dead.

And they probably are, sweetie, so might as well suck it up and shut up. Randy desperately wanted to tell her that. If she couldn't take that advice, she was free to leave. Good luck surviving on your own. I doubt you'll last an hour outside.

Charlene and Bernadette tried to reassure Holly, for what good that might do her. She still continued to cry and pout.

"Here, Holly. How about we let Indy sit next to you?" Charlene said, patting the empty seat next to the girl, and Indy hopped on the seat and started licking Holly's hand. It lit a smile on the girl.

Randy scoffed at the pathetic display of everyone. He couldn't believe he's surrounded by a bunch of snowflakes and gutless cowards. Even Colin, his own blood, was losing his backbone lately ever since Audrey wrapped him around her finger.

Women, Randy seethed. They should know their place better.

He sat on the sofa, watching Miguel drive behind the wheel. He would often check with Bren on the CB radio, but as they got farther from the CRA checkpoint, the line would go silent for minutes longer. He had a gun on the dashboard, easy to reach if Randy planned a move, and unlike Bren, he had no idea how skilled Miguel was with a pistol.

Then again, he could just shoot him with his rifle. Besides, it was already on his lap, and if he just moved the barrel a couple of inches to the left, he would hit the guy square on the back. A couple of shots would do it, and he would have control of the vehicle. After all, there was only one guy here from Bren's group. That was fucking stupid of him to leave his house to strangers.

His loss, my gain.

But Miguel was driving, and Randy didn't want the RV to accidentally crash because he got a happy trigger. He deserved a long life than anyone else in the RV.

His mind was running so fast, he barely noticed that Charlene was looking at him curiously from the dinette table. Let the bitch look, he thought. That's all she can do now anyway, besides being dead weight.

Randy sat back. He was itching for more action, but he forced himself to sit still. Perhaps the universe favors me today, he thought. And who knows what else it might offer.

Randy would take whatever he could get, anything to keep him alive and bring him one step closer to that damn bridge, and if he had to kill this Mexican behind the wheel, then so be it.

"I see the sign," Miguel said. "We're almost near the cemetery!"

"Oh, thank God." Bernadette heaved a sigh and then made the sign of the cross.

Miguel added, "Once we find a safe spot, I'm gonna need a few volunteers to do a perimeter check with me. We're gonna have to secure the area before the others come, you know?"

Charlene nodded. "I'm game."

Randy shook his head. "We should move to the second marker instead. We're too close to that CRA checkpoint and everyone else there. They could follow us to the cemetery!"

Miguel didn't even look over his shoulder. "We do what Bren says, and we stick to the plan. We wait one hour for the others to arrive—"

"We don't even know if they're alive!" Randy spat.

"And you don't either, so we'll wait. That is how we make sure. If they don't show up in an hour, then we move to the museum."

"You're gonna get us killed," Randy said. He really wanted to pull the trigger on his rifle if it wasn't for Colin dragging him back.

"Come on, Randy, let's stick to the plan. What harm will that do?" Colin said, moving him away from the front, away from Miguel.

He shook off Colin's hand on his shoulder. "But it's not safe."

Colin sighed. "Look around, brother. We're already in the thick of it."

"When have you gone soft, man?"

"Where the hell is this coming from?"

"You know, every time I tried to help out, you always shut me down. Every time."

"Not everything is about you, Randy."

"You calling me selfish? I care about my nieces."

"Then, why don't you sit tight."

"I'm doing this for us!"

"And it's not helping our situation by a mile. I'm handling this, so let. Me. Handle. It."

Colin gave him one brief challenging look before he stormed off toward the room and sat next to Audrey and the kids. Audrey was already helping herself to Bren's pantry, giving chocolate-covered biscuits to Wanda and Diana.

"This isn't ours, babe," Colin said.

"They won't mind," Audrey waved her hand off.

"Are you sure?"

"They can feed themselves for forty days more without rationing. I doubt they'd miss a few cans and sweets missing. Besides, the girls need a lot of food. Malnutrition is bad for growth development, you know."

"We can tell Bren later and apologize."

"We don't have to apologize. Call this emotional support after what he did to those soldiers. It gave the girls nightmares, my poor babies."

Colin frowned. "I guess."

"Can we really eat this, mama? It's food for the Red Wolf," Diana said. "Will he come for us because we did something bad?"

Audrey gasped. "Where did you hear that?"

"I heard Auntie Charlene and Lola talking last night."

"Well, forget you heard it. He's just a boy and nothing more."

"But—!"

Audrey raised her palm, shouting Diana up. "Nothing more. Now, eat."

Randy scoffed. Maybe his backbone went to his wife instead.

At least Holly stopped crying now and listened to one of Bernadette's stories about what she did in the middle of the jungle or whatever, making it out like she was Tarzan, and Randy tuned her out. He had heard those stories over countless family dinners. Though everyone seemed to be delighted by Bernadette's escapades in the Philippines before she swam across the ocean to America or something, Randy was not impressed.

He walked back to the sofa, stopping by the dinette to pet Indy by the head, but the mutt growled at him. He continued to extend his hand, ignoring the dog's glare and touched his flappy ears, but Indy suddenly lunged forward, nipping his finger.

Randy scowled and raised his palm.

"You're not gonna hit a dog, are you?" Holly asked, eyebrows raised. She tugged Indy's collar and brought the dog closer to her.

"Those boys need to discipline their pet, or else it'll end up getting shot." Randy stormed off and went back to the sofa.


——


GUS


August "Gus" Sewell ran like hell.

He knew he had added a few pounds since last semester, and he was now regretting procrastinating going to the gym for all those weeks, paying for all of it today. He wanted to scream at Russell, maybe throw in a couple of jabs, and wiped that smug look he blasted onto his face all the time for getting him into this mess.

They had left the wrecked Honda Civic behind after Russell struck someone in the middle of the road because the fucking idiot wasn't looking; Barry and Nash decided it was appropriate to pick a fight, throwing punches at Russell for running over those people.

It turned out it was one of those monsters, and it didn't cross the road alone.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any weapons nor a gun to kill them. Neither of them knew how to use a firearm, but all they had were knives and other stuff you'd find in a garden shed. Swinging a club wasn't rocket science.

Gus tightened his grip around his crowbar as they ran the entire length of the open field behind the Game Commission building, chased by four monsters—vectors as Bren explained to them—getting close to their heels. Long grass smacked against Gus's lower legs and knees, drawing a little blood. Sometimes he would lose his footing when he stepped on soft, uneven soil, but he corrected himself and kept moving. As long as he's quick, those monsters wouldn't get to him.

I am not dying today! Gus told himself.

"They're gaining on us!" Mavi yelled.

Gus made the mistake of looking back. Barry, red-faced and sweating, was lagging way behind, his fat belly bouncing against every step he took. The vectors were mere ten feet behind him and gaining ground fast. Mavi was ahead of Barry by only a couple of feet.

"You can do this!" Gus shouted over his shoulder, hoping a little encouragement would save his friends. "Come on!"

Riki wiggled and chirped inside his pocket, no doubt anxious and frightened by his sudden movements. Gus didn't want to let him out, or else he'd lose him. Just hold on tight, little buddy. We're almost there! He placed his hand over the pocket to let Riki know he was still here protecting him.

"Head for the woods!" Russell screamed at the top of his lungs. "We're almost there!"

A hundred feet ahead, a ditched break at the end of the field where the forest crept in, a safe refuge against the pursuers. Hopefully, they would be able to lose them there.

Suddenly, Mavi stepped on the wrong spot, his ankle twisted into the soft, uneven soil, and he stumbled forward, rolling over the grass. He cried out, clutching his broken ankle as Barry ran past him.

"Wait! Barry! Help! Help me, man!" Mavi

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net