Chapter 9

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Chapter 9

Casper tightens his grip on me, his breathing ceases.

My eyes stare down at the feet that stand outside the tree. A gloved hand slips inside the slit in our hollowed tree, fingers closing around it to get a solid grip on it. Then comes a deep voice from somewhere nearby, saving us from the fate that almost was.

"Damien, what are you doing?" The voice booms.

The hand that holds onto the slit loosens its grip. "Nothing, just thought I heard something." The responding voice is also deep. Their voices don't sound human. What are these creatures?

Fifty-nine, one thousand. Sixty, one thousand. Sixty-one, one thousand. Sixty-two, one thousand.

The hand disappears and the footsteps vanish. We stay put, not daring to move until we can no longer hear anything outside of the tree. We stay put until I count to one hundred seventy-seven seconds. Casper moves first, poking his head out. He looks around for a good ten seconds before fully emerging. I follow behind, then the others join us.

"Willow, how did you know about this tree?" Casper asks without looking at her.

"Stories. My mother tells me stories about my ancestors. One of the stories mentions a wooded area somewhere just barely past New York. There were coordinates that lead to a hollowed out tree. I guess... I must've memorized them."

"That isn't a real tree." I say, looking at her with brows raised.

"I noticed." She sighs.

"You didn't know that it was run by the Warriors, did you?" Demetria asks.

"Supposedly run by them. We don't know who the mastermind of those sick things are. But no. I was not aware of the state of the tree."

Casper chews his bottom lip but nods. "We need to move. Willow, lead the way to town."

+++

Our group of seven walks for another three hours before calling it a night. We find an area hidden away by overgrown shrubbery to hide out in and hopefully get some sleep. By the time everyone gets situated to sleep it's two o'clock in the morning. Willow sets an alarm on her holographic watch for six o'clock.

I wake the next morning to the high pitch beeping coming from Willow's right wrist. I sit up and grimace as immense pain radiates from my shoulder. I look down and see my white shirt is filthy, caked with dirt and dried blood. My hair is a matted mess, leaves stuck in the tangles of my black curls. I don't even bother to smell my breath because I know it's horrid.

Casper sits up beside me, looking as rough as I feel. He scratches his chin and locks eyes with me. Maybe I am imagining it, but it looks like a tiny smile rests on his lips as we look at one another.

I finally look away as Willow gets off the ground. She pops her back and groans. She gets up and walks around as she jostles the others awake, stretching once more. We get five more minutes to wake up before hitting the road once again.

+++

Another six hours later and we reach West Virginia. It takes a while to find our way out of the woods, but when we do, a ghastly sight greets us. The smell of death fills our noses, along with the stench of corpses, of fire, of smoke. Dying embers rest around a grief-stricken scene. Some buildings still have the orange glow of dying fire to them. This horrific scene happened recently.

My heart drops to my stomach as I recall that West Virginia was one of the states that had been partially destroyed. Nearly all of its cities are gone except for three, those of which I cannot recall. Unlike many of the other states that had been destroyed, West Virginia was one of the few that was destroyed city by city rather than all at once. I'm not sure if I'd call them lucky or unfortunate.

Ash covers as far as the eye could see. Mounds of bodies law everywhere I look. Beside where our group stands is a soot covered sign that is hardly legible. Demetria walks silently over to it, using the hem of her shirt to clean off the grime in order to reveal the town's name. I read the sign and hold back tears. This used to be Monongalia, West Virginia. The destruction of this town is recent. My mother warned me that I would see things such as this.

From behind me I hear sniffs, the smallest, quivering voice following. "The Jotunn did this?"

I look over my shoulder to see Ariel, the young, sweet, innocent redhead who often reminds me of my own little sister, Ema. Casper turns around and sighs under his breath. He kneels his six-foot-four body down so that he and Ariel are face to face.

"Ariel, you need to understand... you have to understand that the Jotunn Warriors are very evil beings. Their goal is to destroy all we know and love. No one knows the reason they do this, the reason they're like this. Not even our ancestors have the complete story on how the Jotunn came to be." He takes his callused thumb and wipes away a tear from her rosy cheek.

"One hundred years ago, Ariel, World War III occurred. The Chinese invaded our country and took away our freedom. This entire War has grown worse and worse, to the point that the Chinese disappeared and the Jotunn appeared, terrorizing the place we call home.

"I know this isn't easy to hear, yet alone what you want to hear, but hardly any of our home remains. They've nearly succeeded on wiping the United States out completely. That is why we are taking it upon ourselves to try and stop them. Whatever the Jotunn are."

Ariel sobs as she turns to Diego. In return, he holds the little girl close.

Casper sighs. "This is the result. The result of the chaos, the horror, the destruction... the loss that the Jotunn bring with them. This is home now."

Ariel gasps through a sob. "That's not fair."

"Yeah? Well life ain't fair kid." Avery says from out of nowhere.

I snap my head towards her, teeth clenched. "Avery. That's enough."

"No! It isn't enough. Life can't be all rainbows, puppies, flowers and unicorns, kid! It's time you grow up and face the music, Ariel! This hell is our life now!"

My temper rises and my cheek turns a deep shade of red. The motherly side of me escapes from my mouth. "Avery stop it!"

It's then that I realize I view Ariel as if she were Ema or Evan. I want to resolve the problem, to stop the arguing. I want to fix what cannot be fixed, to save that which is too far gone. I want to save Ariel's heart from seeing the world as it truly is. To save her fragile self from experiencing the horror outside of home. To keep her innocent, sheltered and secure. Just like I have tried and failed to do with my younger siblings. But that can't happen. It simply cannot be. I can't hide from the truth for forever. Avery's right. This hell is our life. This hell is our home. We have to live with that, knowing there is nothing we can do to stop it. Knowing that the least we can do is try. We try to save what cannot be saved, to stop the unstoppable. All in an effort to save those who have life left to live and life left to give.

Avery glares at me, jaw clenched and hands curled into fists. "Have you forgotten, Bay Zachary, that I have lived through this? That I have suffered from this? That I watched as my home was torn to shreds? That I watched as family betrayed family?" She seethes, looking at Casper at the mention of family. "All I'm trying to do is save Ariel the trouble of figuring all this crap out for herself!"

"Oh, but how you've forgotten also? She is just a little girl! Let her live. Let her make her own mistakes. Let her figure her own life out, Redgrove!" I bite back, taking a defensive step in front of Ariel.

Willow steps in between us, hands outstretched. "Girls, that is quite enough!"

From behind me, Ariel shakes her head. "You all talk as if I am not here." She says with a quivering voice, almost too soft to hear. "All I have to say, for myself, is that I knew the world was bad, but I did not know to what extent. It breaks my heart. That is why I'm sad."

Demetria clears her throat. "Monongalia has us all shaken, Ariel. It just has different effects on different people, that's all." She places a hand on both Ariel and Diego's shoulder. "We've all heard about the chaos but majority of us have yet to experience it for ourselves. We all react differently to grief."

Diego runs his fingers through Ariel's bright red hair with a sigh. "I know we all agree on that, at least."

We all give a silent nod as our eyes look back at the wasteland before us. Silence steals over the group. Thoughts run wildly through my busy, cluttered mind. I simply want to know what's beneath those Jotunn masks. No one knows and I damn sure want to find out.

After a good two minutes of silence, Casper speaks. "Willow, lead the way to town. Or, I guess, to whichever town still partially remains intact. When we're there we will stock up on food, find new clothes, possibly some weapons, and for the grand finale—I'll find us a car to steal."

+++

We walk for a good three hours through the wreckage. A good distance remains between each member of the group as we try to stay in a vertical line as we walk. This all being a precaution in case there were any pressure plates of any kind. Willow takes up the front and I stay in the back. I watch my feet as I walk, careful to avoid stepping in holes or worse, stepping on a body. I come to a sudden stop, however, as I notice something resting in the damage right in front of my feet. Squatting, I run my fingers along the arm of a tattered teddy bear. A smile creeps along my lips. A memory of my little brother comes to mind.

I think of his teddy bear Dad got him when he was one. Ema had a matching one, but she wasn't as crazy about it as Evan was. To this day, Evan wouldn't let go of Bear. The teddy was tattered, loved to pieces. Bear had practically lost all of his stuffing, yet to Evan, Bear was in perfect condition.

I wrap my nimble fingers along the teddy bear and pull up, only to find a hand attached. I stomach a scream. Truthfully, I expect the attached limb to be severed. As I keep pulling, I find that the arm is still attached to a body. The fingers around the teddy's arm twitch. Whoever holds the bear is still alive.

"Casper!" I scream, quickly dropping the bear and digging through the rubble. There I unsheathe a little boy with blonde hair. For a brief second, my heart finds its way to my stomach. The boy looks so much like my brother that it knocks the breath right out of me. Tears run down my cheeks. Ever so gently, I prop the little boy's head on my lap as I await Casper's arrival. His eyes flutter softly but do not open. Somehow he finds strength to form words. The words he utters next send shivers down my spine. He whispers a warning to me. I didn't this it possible for my heart to drop any lower than it already had.

"Save your breath, sweet boy." I whisper as my lip quivers. I watch his chest rise and fall once more. His hand slowly releases the teddy bear. His chest no longer moves.

I don't hear the sound of feet coming up behind me. A hand falls on my shoulder and I jump, ready to attack. I come face to face with Casper Bunk.

"Bay, it's okay." He coos, "It's just me."

I nod and wipe tears from my cheeks with the heel of my hand.

"What happened?" Bunk squats down so he is on my level. His green eyes look at the lifeless boy who lays in my lap.

"He said something to me." My cracking voice comes out in a strained whisper.

"What did he say, Zachary?"

I don't answer, trying to make sense of it all.

"Bay, what did the boy say?" Casper repeats.

I look up to him and bite my lower lip as I quote the boy's last words. "They're coming."

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