All I knew was that we were somewhere in California, and would be traveling north to Montana. Our goal was the safe zone situated at the Gates of the Mountains in Helena, the capital. There, a government bunker was set up to aid all survivors with shelter, food, and enough weapons to fight the Arvies. Montana was a long, long way away. Roughly 1200 miles.
My personal goal was to find a car that could run and fit all of us inside.
Suddenly the silence around us was filled with Lily’s screams. She turned and hugged her mother. Uncle Frank held his hand up, stopping us all. Lying on the ground was a skeleton. A human skeleton.
The skull was staring straight up. It had a huge hole in it, like someone had bashed it in. It must have been a murder, and from the looks of it, it was done a long time ago. I wonder what happened? I guess we’d never know.
“This is something we need to get used to seeing. It’s the first, but I’m sure it won’t be the last. Let it be a reminder we need to stay alert,” my father said.
We moved on, allowing these bones to forever keep its secrets. We all followed and even picked up the pace. We had a while to go. My grandparents stayed in the middle of the company so we all could make sure they were safe.
I hated being out in the wide open. It didn’t feel safe. I guess it was because I was used to being enclosed. It felt like there could be eyes watching us. We knew there were other survivors coming out from underground, and I hoped that if we encountered them they would be friendly. Just in case, I laid my hand on Hellfire. Having her close made me feel a bit better.
“Are you okay?” my mother whispered.
“Yes, just feeling…exposed.”
“I know what you mean. I’m feeling the same way,” she answered.
My mother knew me best. She could tell, just by body language, that something was wrong. That’s how close we were. Being in the hive had made all of us very close; each of the adults had a hand in raising us.
As the sun slowly made its descent, the stars began to sparkle across the sky. It was as if God had thrown a handful of sparkling diamonds across it. I’d forgotten how beautiful and vast the sky was.
The moon was the most perfect crescent shape. When I was younger and drew pictures of the moon, it looked just like this. It was beautiful, glowing perfectly in the heavens.
“Hold on,” my father said, with his hand in the air.
In the distance on the horizon were structures jetting out toward the sky. They were buildings. Lots and lots of buildings. We were near the city, and the sight of it made me nervous.
“This city stretches as far as the eye can see. We have the option of either going through it, or travel around it. If we travel around it, it might take weeks longer to reach our final destination. I’m going to leave this up to the majority. We will need to vote.”
“Son, do you think it’s safe for us to go through the city?” My grandmother asked. We all knew she didn’t want to travel any further than she needed to.
“I don’t know, mom. Your guess is as good as mine. I would think the Arvies would reside in the city, but I could be wrong. From the looks of the one that attacked us, they are pretty strong. It took four shots to the chest before it finally went down. We could try and head northeast, to reach the mountains, but if we enter the city we might be able to find a running vehicle. It would also save our rations, and be much easier to walk.”
My grandmother looked perplexed, and my grandfather wrapped his arm around her.
“It’s up to all of you. There could be trouble either way, and there are no guarantees. I know I said that we’d stay out of the city, but I didn’t realize how far it would be to go around. Go around, or go through? All those in favor of going around, raise your hand.”
My grandmother raised her hand, and then Anya, Aunt Sandy, Lily, and even my mom followed. I didn’t blame them. The city was a scary place to be, but the sooner we made it to the safe zone, the better.
“That’s five. Anyone else?” my father asked. No one else raised their hand. “Now, who votes to go through the city?”
The rest of the ten hands went up.
“So it’s decided. We go through,” he said.
It was a decision no one was really happy with. We knew that coming back to the topside would be a challenge, but never like this.
“I suggest you keep your weapons close. Make sure they are locked and loaded. We’ll need to keep our eyes peeled and our ears open, and head through as quickly as we can. Don’t do anything that could draw attention, like making loud noises,” Uncle Frank said. “Keep your safety’s on until I say.”
We all started toward the city, and soon the small buildings became large and towering. A sense of eeriness shadowed over us. The city was dead, and it felt as if the ghosts of the past were all around us, watching.
The buildings were totally dilapidated and the streets were trashed. Shards of broken glass littered the dusty, contaminated ground. It was mind blowing what thirteen years could do to a place if it was left to itself.
We made our way through the streets, with our weapons drawn and ready. Uncle Frank took the lead and we followed as quickly and quietly as possible. Part of our training in the hive was reading hand motions, in case of situations like this.
A few miles in and there were still no signs of the Arvies. Maybe going through the city was the right decision. It would take miles off of our journey, but we still had miles and miles to go. As soon as that thought left my mind, a blood curdling scream filled the air.
My pulse began to race, and everyone became restless. The tortured screams continued.
Uncle Frank immediately held up his hand in an attempt to settle us and get our attention. There was nothing ahead or behind us, and we couldn’t tell the true direction of the scream because it echoed off the concrete buildings surrounding us.
Another horrifying scream sent a shiver up my spine. Whoever it was needed help. I wondered if it was another survivor.
Uncle Frank motioned that we would be entering a small building right ahead of us. He went in first to make sure it was all clear, and then waved the rest of us in.
We quickly made our way to the back of the shop and huddled behind the counter. From the looks of it, this used to be a coffee shop.
Uncle Frank pointed and then motioned for my father, Mr. Hatch, and Finn to follow him. My stomach churned as I watched them get up and leave.
Why didn’t he choose me? I was the best shot of this whole group. I wondered if it was because I was a girl. I started to get up, but a firm grip pulled me back down. My mother had a look of fear and desperation in her eyes, and was shaking her head.
“I promise I’ll stay safe. They need my help. You know they won’t let anything happen to me. I need to be there in case they need me,” I said quietly. Her fingers slowly loosened from my arm, and I could see tears well in her eyes, behind her mask. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded, so I stood and headed out.
I gripped my trusted Glock in my hand. This small piece of metal was now my best friend and the only thing that could keep me from being bitten or eaten. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to use it, but I was totally hyping myself up in case I did.
I quietly caught up to the men and tapped Finn on the shoulder. He gasped and swung back. I nearly caught a fist in the face.
“Whoa!” I breathed.
“Abi. What the hell are you doing here?” he scolded, quietly.
“Helping.”
“I almost knocked you out. Sorry, by the way,” he said.
“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have snuck up behind you, knowing you like to clobber things.”
“Abigail Park,” my dad chided. “You go back to the others. We don’t need your help right now.”
“You might. I’m the best shot here, and you know it.”
He paused and shook his head.
“She’ll be fine, Stephen. Eventually we will all have to fight. If we come up against anyt
hing she can get her first-time shooting jitters out.”
“I promise to hang back, but if you guys get into any trouble, I’m coming in,” I said.
“Fine,” my father said. “You watch the back. We obviously need the extra set of eyes,” he said rolling his eyes at Finn.
“My bad,” Finn huffed. “I didn’t even hear her coming.”
“Obviously,” Uncle Frank said. “You guys need to stay alert.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got your back,” I said.
“Thanks,” Finn said.
The screams filled the air again. Screams that made my skin crawl. And then they stopped.
“Don’t worry, Abi. If anything comes from the front, I’ll protect you,” he said.
Those words meant a lot to me. They connected an invisible thread, from his heart to mine. Heart strings. I heard the adults speak that word, but right now…I just discovered its meaning, and I could feel the tug.
“Thanks,” I returned. “You can be sure Hellfire and I will protect you too...that’s if you ever need protecting.”
“That’s cool,” he winked and headed quickly back toward my dad and Uncle Frank.
Another blood curdling scream reverberated against the walls all around us, putting us on edge. We all had our weapons ready.
Uncle Frank motioned for us to enter another building. This one was the tallest I’d seen so far, but the inside was pitch black. When we got inside he pulled us together. “We need to get to the top so we can see what’s around us. We’re helpless without eyes.”
“I’ll go,” I blurted without thinking.
“No, you won’t,” my father said.
“I can run up to the top faster than any of you.”
“I’ll accompany her, sir,” Finn said, stepping forward. “We ran stairs together all the time in the hive. This will be a piece of cake, and I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
My father looked at Uncle Frank, and he nodded once.
“We’ll stay down here to make sure nothing enters from the bottom. Be careful. We don’t know if there is anything in the stairwells. Safety’s off. Oh, and here. Take this.” My uncle handed me a flashlight, and a walkie-talkie. He continued as we made sure our safety’s were off, “This walkie is good within a five mile radius. Just twist the nob on the side really fast if you need to charge it. It should be ready to go. Press that button to talk,” he instructed.
Finn moved the flashlight back and forth until he found the stairs at the back left corner of the room. The place was completely trashed. The carpets were covered with dirt and trash, and the paint was peeling off the walls in chunks.
“Stay behind me,” he whispered. The flashlight was in one hand, and his shotgun in the other.
“Okay.” I had no problem with that. His shotgun could do more damage than my Glock in this enclosed area.
We slowly made our way up three flights of stairs, when suddenly, we heard a noise. Finn paused and we froze, listening. There was movement above us. Who or what, we couldn’t tell.
I grabbed hold of Finn’s arm, and he clicked off the flashlight. My exaggerated heartbeat was thrumming though my ears. My hands were instantly damp with sweat. I wanted to rip the stupid mask off of my face because it made me feel like I was suffocating, but the risk of contamination scared me just as much.
We waited for a moment more when a deep guttural growl reverberated down the stairwell. Then more growls answered.
Holy crap! There was a lot more than one thing up there.
“Do you think they’re Arvies or survivors?” I whispered close to his ear.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think survivors would growl like that.”
He was right. I tried to steady my nerves and took a deep breath. I double checked the safety was off on Hellfire and held her tight.
“Just in case, we don’t fire until we know for sure,” he said.
“Okay,” I said, my voice shaking.
Damn it! I’d fired this weapon thousands of times, and hit my mark every single time. But, this was different. This wasn’t target practice. I was thrown into a real life situation, and would be shooting a living, breathing being. A life. A human life…once upon a time.
Our exodus was into the worst environment imaginable. How did we end up here, stuck in a dark stairwell, in a contaminated city, a few yards away from creatures that could infect us with a single bite?
I took in a few deep breaths. I had to remind myself they were no longer human. They were monsters. Very evil, deadly, and infectious monsters.
Finn surprised me by pulling me close and pressing his mask to my ear. “I need you to take the flashlight. Whatever comes down, keep it pointed directly at it. I need to see what I’m shooting at.”
“Okay,” I breathed, grasping the flashlight. My hand noticeably trembling.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” I said, still pressed up against him.
“Abi, if anything goes wrong… I want you to know… that I –”
“Finn!” I interrupted. He stopped and heard the noise.
Loud growling echoed above us, and there was a lot of movement. Whatever it was, was coming down toward us, and fast. Finn carefully pushed me back behind him, and raised his weapon. I was shaking, but focused on his loud steady breath.
I wondered if those things could see in the dark. The thought sent an unnerving shiver through me, so I steadied the flashlight and shined it upward.
The light landed on a pair of milky white eyes, and as soon as it touched them, it let out a blood curdling scream that pierced our ears.
I almost fell backwards, but Finn caught my arm and steadied me.
I was frozen, keeping the light on the white corpse-like creature. It bared corroded teeth and growled like no other creature I’d heard before.
“You with me, Abi?” Finn asked firmly.
“Yes,” I answered
“Okay then. Let’s do this.” He quickly turned and pointed his gun. The creature launched at us.
Bam!
The recoil of Finn’s shot pushed me backwards, but I was ready for it and compensated my weight to stay on my feet. The shot blew off half of the creature’s face, and I heard it splat; the wall was now covered with blood and matter.
What was left of the Arvy dropped, and rolled down the stairs a few feet in front of us, lifeless. This was the first time I’d witnessed anything die.
We were no longer aiming at paper targets, but flesh and blood.
Within a few seconds, my emotions went haywire. On one hand, my heart ached over killing a creature that was just trying to survive on this godforsaken earth. On the other hand, I was glad it was dead, instead of us.
“Shit!” Finn swore.
“Ditto,” I breathed. “That was freaking creepy.”
More screams and growls echoed from up the stairwell.
“Finn, I think we should go back.”
“Come on, Abi. We can do this.”
“Are you kidding me right now? We don’t know how many things are up there. There could be a lot more than we can handle.” I was still shaking like crazy, but Finn seemed composed. He was apparently just fine shooting the heads off of horrifying creatures. Go figure.
The radio went on. “We heard shots. Are you guys okay?”
It was Uncle Frank.
“Yes. We ran into an Arvy. Finn shot it in the head, but there are more above us. What should we do?” My voice was erratic.
“Stay put. I’m coming.”
More growls echoed down the dark stairwell. They were coming.
I had to focus. These things were out to kill us. In order to survive… we needed to fight. All our years of training came down to this. Fight or die. Us or them.
I chose us.
I switched off my normal mentality, and allowed my fears to strengthen me. The Arvies had already killed many survivors. If we were going to endure this place, we’d need to do whatever it took to make it happen.
I lifted the flashlight higher, and screams from at least a dozen milky eyes pierced our ears.
“Abi!” Finn yelled, “Give ‘em Hellfire!”
Without thinking I stepped to the side of Finn. I steadied Hellfire on top of my left hand, which was holding the flashlight.
This was it. Do or die.
“Let’s bring ‘em hell,” I whispered to myself. This was the very first time I’d been in a real battle. I just hoped Hellfire would bring me as much luck shooting as she had in the hive.
“They’re coming,” Finn said loudly.
Before I could take another breath, two Arvies leapt in front of us. The sight of their mangled bodies made my breath seize, but only for a moment.
Finn fired the first shot, and it was a direct hit to the middle of one’s chest. His shot sent adrenaline rushing through my veins. I aimed Hellfire and…bam!
My shot hit its mark directly between the eyes. The Arvy dropped quickly and didn’t move. Before we could take another breath, three more jumped at us.
Finn chambered another round and then fired again. The whole left arm of the Arvy went flying off, but it wasn’t a kill shot. The creature screamed and dropped to its knees.
I fired off five rounds, taking out the other two. I was beginning to work through my jitters and find my groove.
Another rushed down the stairs. Its putrefied mouth snapped at us, but I turned toward the injured one first. I aimed and placed my shot right between its eyes, immediately silencing it.
Then…Bam! Finn shot the other one. It dropped, rolling down the stairs. For a brief moment, it was quiet. I released the empty clip and was just about to reload when something shoved me. An Arvy jumped from above, and sent me flying backwards down the stairs. The flashlight, tumbling down with me, sent pulses of light around us.
“Abi!” Finn screamed, but there was nothing he could do. There were more coming and now he would be shooting in the blind.
I felt pain shoot through my back and ribs as we tumbled down the concrete stairs. Suddenly we stopped, hitting the bottom wall with such force it knocked the air from my lungs. I was dizzy, trying to pull myself together, when I felt a sharp pain on my leg.