The Last Colony

Part 18

Mark tried to keep his breathing calm as he watched the mass of crows swarm over the campground. Next to him, Sean shakily whispered out. "Mark... What do we do?" Thinking quickly, he reached for the CB receiver and pressed the button to ask for himself. "Zero? What are these things? What do we do?" Mark removed his thumb from the button to listen as Zero answered nervously. "Don't panic. As long as we stay in the trucks, we'll be fine. Pull out nice and slow, they'll attack the trucks... but they can take it. When they can't get in, they'll give up." Mark pressed the button, anxiously retorting. "You don't sound too confident in that, Zero." Mark removed his thumb from the button and flinched as a crow landed on the hood to look directly at him. The crow had faded white eyes with a slight shade of grey for a pupil. Bits of its feathers were missing, and its black claws were coated in blood and flesh. On the CB, Zero told him honestly. "Look these crows don't go too far from their nest. If we can get out of here, they won't follow. So, let's get moving before they learn to attack the glass." Sean twisted in his seat, yelping out. "What?!"

Mark dropped the CB receiver and shifted the stick into drive. Pulling out slowly, the crow on the hood began to peck the metal with an aggression that would have seriously injured any normal bird. Sean gathered up the CB receiver by its spiraled cord, his voice creaking from the stress when he questioned him. "Zero?! What do you mean by them learning to attack the glass?!" In response, Mari answered for Zero in a cautious voice. "You ever seen a Windex ad? Well, picture that on a much greater scale. They'll ram themselves into the glass to shatter it to get to you. The faster we move the better. Crows are very smart, guys. I've seen them fly into jet engines to bring down planes. We need to get going before they pop the tires, or they wedge themselves into the grills to get to the engine." Sean locked the doors, causing Mark to chuckle as he pulled out onto the road and stepped on the gas pedal. Zero was right behind him, but the swarm was descending on them both. They slashed their talons across the trucks like it was an animal that they were trying to bring down.

A few slammed into the windshield but they weren't going fast enough to crack the glass... yet. Mark glanced into the rearview mirror to see a cluster of crows attacking the trailer with the horses. He was sure that Sean was thankful for the trailer not having windows now. Although, it did bring into question if Zero had known about these birds before this. Mark did his best to see the road as the birds attacked the hood and grill of the truck. Sean wedged himself into the backseat to comfort a whining Chica. Holding her close in the center of the backseat, he keep her away from the windows. Frustrated, Mark honked his horn, causing the crows on the hood to fly off. Flooring the pedal, Mark used the clearing to race down the dirt road. He hated this forest road. He couldn't see anything that might be lurking just off the road. Over the CB, Zero and Mari's voice became a swirl of frightened ramblings. Sean leaned between the seats, anxiously listening to the CB as he said. "What are they saying?" Mark checked the mirrors to see if they were still following behind them. They were... but the crows were rising into the air away from them.

Sean couldn't contact them because their finger was still on the button. Mark swallowed feeling antsy but focused entirely on the road. He hoped that they just cleared the crows nest area and that was why the birds left... but the panicked voices over the line had him thinking otherwise. Mark kept rapidly checking his mirrors for signs of something, while Sean peeked out the windows in the back. As Mari's panicked voice faded from the CB, they heard Zero clearly yell into it loudly. "Mark! FLOOR IT!" Mark checked the mirrors again confused, when Sean suddenly stated out in horror. "Oh, sweet Jesus! What the FUCK?!" Mark rolled his eyes, yelling out in frustration. "WHAT?!" Sean grabbed Chica, rushing to the other side of the truck as he screamed out. "MARK! ON YOUR LEFT!" Mark glanced out the window, his eyes going wide in just as much horror. There was a VERY large set of bones wading through the trees in hot pursuit of them. What made them frightening was that he was looking at the skeletal remains of a T-rex!