Life Goes On

Ch. 4 The Sweepers

Ch. 4

The Sweepers

 Jack was enraged. His fists were clenched and he looked like he was about to kill Ty. I stood there in panic, as Jack was screaming at Ty; yelling at him for seducing me. It wasn’t long before Jack threw a punch and hit Ty right in the face. His nose was bleeding and he had a busted lip. He refused to fight Jack. This coming from Ty meant something. Ty was always in fights. There were very few guys Ty was friendly with.

 “STOP!” I yelled at Jack, who had punched Ty for a second time. Jack turned to me now. His anger was clear and his fists were clenched and bloody. I became scared, but tried to mask it as best I could. Ty was ready to intervene, but I shook my head. Instead, I looked into Jack’s hazel eyes.

 I saw his face soften, and I gave him a friendly hug. “I’m sorry,” I said, avoiding TY’s gaze. “I love you.” He pulled me into an amorous hug, and I felt Ty’s eyes watching me, although I refused to connect with them.

 We all settled back down, and it was my turn to stand guard. Nothing happened for a while, but then a huge gush of wind circled around us like a tornado.

 “Ty? Jack? I think you need to get up now.” Ty was already awake and packing our few things quickly.

 “What’s going on?” Jack asked as he woke up.

 “The Sweepers.” Ty said and pulled me forward. We were running full speed ahead trying to get away from them. “Don’t look behind you,” Ty warned me, but I couldn’t fight my temptation.

 When I turned around, I saw the Sweepers. They had muzzles like those of a wolf, their teeth shown coming out of their mouth and drool slobbered everywhere. They ran on all fours but they ran like an ape. Their arms were extremely hairy and they had claws instead of hands. They looked like a wolf and ran and sounded like an ape.

 This was nothing I had ever seen before. I ran as hard as I could, going slightly ahead of Ty and Jack. The Sweepers were gaining on us, and I panicked mentally even more. I wasn’t processing anything other than that I had to get the hell away from the Sweepers.

 And just like that, the Sweepers were at our tail. They launched out and attacked Ty. A Sweeper put his paws on Ty’s shoulders and pushed him to the ground. Jack was in the same situation.

 I was cornered. The Sweepers were circling around me. I knew they weren’t going to kill me now, but it was going to be in the near future.

 I looked over by Ty who was being attacked by two Sweepers and managing himself pretty well. I saw that behind him, he had the bag we had grabbed from my house. At this point, I was so desperate that I lunged myself towards the bag, grabbing it safely in my arms.

 As I pondered through the contents of the bag, Jack had found a sharp stick and was defending him and me. He was buying me time, so I hurried. There wasn’t anything special in the bag, but when I got to the bottom, it was like I found the golden ticket. Staring up at me was my father’s butchering knife. A smile beamed across me face as I grabbed the handle.

 At first, my hand was shaky, but I stood up, and ran towards the two Sweepers who were starting to hurt Ty. I stabbed each of them, neither knowing that it was coming for them. Ty stood up and too the knife from me. He whispered in my ear “run,” so I discretely took off in the opposite direction.

 I thought no one followed me, and I felt stupid fleeing from a battle. I was never one to listen to orders, so why did I start today?

 I sat down on the edge of the riverbank, dipping my feet in. I was finally beginning to relax when I heard something walking around. Twigs were crunching and I heard something breathing abnormally loud. I became stiff because I knew who was walking out there. It was a Sweeper.

 I held my breath and moved away from the river as quietly as possible. Going unnoticed was what I needed. I knew it was impossible, though, because my scent was what the Sweeper tracked. I couldn’t flee quietly because my scent was what the Sweeper tracked. I couldn’t flee quietly, so I stayed there, unable to move.

 Stupid right? Of course my body would shut down when I needed it most. I held my breath as the Sweeper came closer to me, following the exact path that I had walked not too long ago.

 Finally, the Sweepers beady black eyes locked on mine. The world seemed frozen. Nothing happened. The Sweeper just stared at me.

 I slowly exhaled, and the Sweeper came charging at me; catching me completely off guard. There wasn’t a huge distance between us, so I had no time to think before the Sweeper had reached me, putting its paws on my shoulders, knocking me to the ground.

 I swatted at it, trying to get it off me. My hand made connection with its paw, and I instantly had images flash through my head. My head began to throb. Those images weren’t memories that I was acquiring, but something else. It looked as though it was a plan, one that revolved around me.

 The images raced through my head too fast for me to comprehend, and my body ached from the pain these images were causing me.

 I was weak and defenseless against the Sweeper who had already clawed open my side. Its paw struck my cheek, and I felt my blood trickle into my mouth from where its claws cut me.

 I tried to manage a scream, but the Sweeper was easily hurting me, trying to knock me unconscious. I knew that there was no chance that anyone could possibly hear me, so I was ready to admit defeat. My limbs hurt too much from struggling and I had nothing left in me. I felt alone, fearing that my chances of being saved were very minimal.

 I saw a figure walk quietly and swiftly behind the Sweeper. I couldn’t make out who the figure was, because just as it was approaching, the Sweeper kicked me in the head with its rear legs as it turned around, sensing that someone was there.

*****

 I awoke, finding my head rested on Ty’s lap. I moved, startled, but regretted it instantly as my head began to throb. I looked up at Ty, and saw how stiff he was.

 “Don’t move,” he warned.

 “I know,” I moaned, feeling a constant pain.

 “Jack was still fighting Sweepers. He told me to come look for you.

 “So if he hadn’t told you, you wouldn’t have come?”

 “I didn’t say that.”

 “Then what did you say?” I asked, aggravated.

 “I wanted to make sure Jack was okay.”

 “Since when do you care?” I snapped.

 “Funny how I was going to ask you the same question.” Ty said snidely.

 “This is about last night, isn’t it?” Ty looked away from me, looking at the setting sun. He could fool a lot of people, but he couldn’t fool me. “I know that’s bothering you.”

 Ty still looked up at the sky, looking anywhere but in my eyes. “I’m only doing what you suggested I do!” I said angrily, my head beginning to pound harder.

 “I know,” Ty said, his voice sounding painful. “That’s what I wanted you to do. Not that I thought you were going to do it. It’s in your best interest.” He said, and moved my head so he could stand up.

 Ty walked away, but I knew he wouldn’t go far. It didn’t really matter anyways. I had one thing that no one else had: The information in my head.