Worse Than Prison

Chapter Fifteen (Part Two)

Marsh Madness

Blood. The word hung in the air as both sight, taste, smell, and feel. The metallic bright red liquid was in spatters across the wooden boardwalks that led away from the prison and toward the boating docks. He moved ahead of the group, keeping cautious and ready in case they were attacked by any more of the creatures like him-- like him, only with no sanity left to keep them human.

I'm lucky. Silence thought in awe as he moved carefully down a flight of stairs to the marshy ground below, his bare feet stuck in the goopy mud that gurgled every so often with a faint sign of life, before going still and silent as death.

He considered himself lucky, very lucky. He retained some of his humanity. He didn't end up like the monster that stopped them on the stairwells just as they ran for escape. He didn't end up like Frost who was shot in the head.

Looking around, he was surprised the group he traveled with had any sanity left. They were strong for being normal, uninfected humans.

Jared was their unofficial leader. His strong personality and muscular body was fitting for that of a leader, his hair dark brown and his eyes just slightly darker. He looked threatening in his dark gray prison uniform, but underneath the harsh layer of ice the man had, he was actually a rather kind man. He cared what happened to himself and the rest of the group, particularly Silence.

Megik was also a good leader. Not quite as fitting for the position as Jared, and the inmate knew that, which is what made him such a good beta of the group. He was taller and more muscular than Jared, built like a wrestler rather than that of a swimmer. A deep scar was embedded into his muscular torso. His hair was almost black and greasy from lack of showering and mostly sweaty with a pair of curious, mismatched eye. The left brown and the right green. His prison uniform hugged him as if there was no size large enough to accomedate his frame.

Next came Tyler. Tyler was obviously more of an omega than anything. He was skittish and talkative, easily scared and pretty spazzy. He was a rather thin man with muscles that were hidden by his oversized prison uniform. His hair was a mob of straight corn blonde hair that flew loose and sometimes ended up sticking up in strange ways, also taking to hanging over his pine green eyes.

Then there was Jericho. Jericho wasn't much of a leader, but he was a good doer. He was also muscular from lifting weights and exercising in his cell. He wasn't the nicest man in the world, but he was nice for a criminal. His dimpled smile made the other inmates wonder how he even managed to get into prison. He had a boyish face with a mop of brown hair to match bright green eyes. He, like Jared, cared for the group. He just didn't show it as strongly as Jared.

Finally there was Z. He was a buff man, built like Megik, only slightly shorter with hair as black as night and eyes as piercing as ice. He, unlike the other members, was completely negative and his thoughts seemed to always straight to something sexual. His attitude was gross, his language profane. However, his ability to rush in head first was being used as the battering ram in the group.

Each of them contributed something, and even though Silence wasn't fond of Z, he wouldn't let the man die anymore than he would the others.

"It's getting cold," Tyler murmured, hugging himself tightly and shivering, "Maybe we should find somewhere to hang out until tomorrow." Z snorted, waving his gun around as he scanned the mopy trees that covered the marsh.

"Stopping will only get us killed. Besides, it's not that fucking cold." He snapped, but even as he said it, his teeth clicked a couple times, making Tyler glare at him. Z glared back and Tyler gave up, looking at the ground as he followed behind Megik, who rolled his eyes before looking at Jared.