The Dead and the Restless (Completed with undergoing editing)

Chapter Fourteen (Edited.)

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I'm in the park; a thick fog is surrounding me. My feet are moving forward, and a voice exists in the back of my head like faint warning to be afraid, but it goes ignored. The ground feels soft and water droplets sprinkle my ankles as I travel through the grass. As I inhale, a strong stench of summer rain refreshes my senses. It almost feels like a normal summer day.

Until I hear the scream.

"Lucas?" I yell, my head turning back and forth, trying to pinpoint the direction it was coming from. I'm running at this point, the distress crippling me. The screams were coming in from every direction, making it even harder to figure out where he was. God, I have to help him. I need to help him. "I can't find you!"

Then it stops.

"Lucas?"

Then I heard another scream.

"Jackal?" I called out, swinging my head around to locate the source. "Jackal!"

My pulse quickened as I ran around, trying to find him. With every step I the urgency to do something grew, but it was becoming more and more helpless. Jackal stopped screaming, but then more screams came. Some I recognized, others I couldn't. But all I knew was that I needed to get to them, to help them. To do something.

Suddenly the grass grew dry, the fog starting to clear ever so lightly. My heart was beating out of my chest. Something was coming, I could feel it- No. I shook my head, backing up. No. No.

The scent of rotting flesh burned my nostrils, causing me to nearly double over. Silence encompassed the air, sending chills up my spine. The stench was growing, getting worse. I wanted to run, to escape, but I didn't know how. Pure fear tore me apart at the seams, tears staining my face in my panic.

And then I heard her scream.

"Lucy!" I yelled even louder, my body filling with adrenaline. Not her. Not the baby. "Please, Lucy, answer me! Where are you?"

Her scream was cut off and I felt something inside me snap. I ran as fast as my feet could carry me, searching frantically for someone-anyone. I needed to help. I couldn't be so helpless. I wouldn't.

The scent of rotting flesh was pungent, almost unbearable. A strong wave of nausea struck me at my core, making me really double over now. My eyes caught a liquid on the ground as I regained my composer. It was thick. Too thick. Blood.

I followed the trail slowly, only to come across a pair of lifeless blue eyes. No.

I stopped dead in my tracks, taking in the scene before me. Hungry fingers dug into Liam's torn open torso, ripping out bits and pieces of red. Blood drenched the area, a gross sound erupting every time the hands reached for more. They tore his organs apart, stuffing them into battered lips.

My breath caught. Not just any lips. Craig's lips.

Craig stood up, an intestine splattering to the ground as he staggered toward me. Just then, the fog cleared completely. Bodies lay scattered around me, torn at different places. Darlene's arms were shredded to the bone, her mouth hanging open in a silent scream. Lily's eyes were torn out completely, leaving blood stains trailing down her face to mingle with Liam's blood. And then I saw Lucy, whose body winded me. Her throat was ripped out, the remnants of it lying beside her. It was her stomach that made me lose it. The skin was completely torn off, blood coating the rest of her body. All I could make out of the bloodied mass was a tiny arm.

My eyes met Craig, who was only moments away from tearing me apart. Our eyes met as the shadow of his touch lingered on my skin. It was over. It was finally over. My eyes searched his for a moment, searching for something.