Nocturne ➸ Ben Parish

11

     GRACE'S HOUSE SMELLED LIKE shit. You would think someone looking like her would have a just as pretty house. Well, I was wrong. Mold grew on top of mold in the kitchen and cobwebs dominated the living room. In some aspects, it was worse than the rat-filled hotel.
     I sat, trying to solve a butterfly puzzle with Megan and Dumbo in the living room. I had managed to survive the first few waves of the alien apocalypse, but I couldn't figure out which puzzle piece I was missing.
     "I could've sworn we had every piece!" Dumbo searched the floor.
     For a second I forgot about the others and how close the human race was to extinction. I was brought back to reality by Cassie screaming at Evan. I didn't know nor did I care what she was yelling about. The two went out onto the patio.
     "Found it!" Dumbo exclaimed, jumping up with the missing puzzle piece in his hand. He finished the puzzle.
     Megan got bored and dragged Dumbo along with her to play with Nugget.
     Cassie came back inside wearing what looked like Evan's jacket. She was sobbing. For a moment I felt bad for her.
     Ben entered the room. The look on his face gave away what he was going to say before he actually said it. I shook my head.
     "I'm leaving." he told me.
     I kept shaking my head.
     "I need to make sure." he slung his rifle over his shoulder.
     "I told you. They didn't make it." I responded.
     "You ran. You don't actually know that." he raised an eyebrow.
     I clenched my fists, "You can't go."
     Cassie looked up with tears still staining her face, "Go where?"
     "The caverns." Ben answered, "I'm going to see whether Cup and Ringer made it or not."
     "Ben." I trailed.
     "Don't worry, I'll take Dumbo with me." he flashed that annoyingly charming smile.
     "And me." I sighed, "She's my sister. I'm going with you."
     He didn't try to argue. He knew how much this meant to me as well as how much he needed me to go with him.
     "Let's go." he held out his hand for me to take.
     I did, "Let's go."
    Dumbo trailed behind us. My knuckles turned pale as I gripped the gun in my pocket. I squeezed Ben's hand.
     The plan was to go through Urbana to avoid the woods filled with silencers. We'd be crossing through the territory of one, but one was better than dozens, right? Not at all.
     Ben suddenly pulled us aside before we could actually cross into the city.
     "You know what Evan is?" he questioned.
     I nodded, "A silencer."
     He looked at Dumbo, "We're about to cross through the territory of another, but this one isn't like Walker. This one wants us dead."
     The newly thirteen year old nodded.
     The streets of Urbana were anything but empty. Trash, toys, old TVs, and even bodies covered in tattered sheets littered the ground. I could still recognize most of the buildings from when my family and I passed through. When Vosch killed your parents.
     We stopped for a break in a coffee shop. I looked around, realizing where I was. Oh my God Lynn. I glanced at the floor. There was still dried blood. This is where it happened. This is where you lost them. This is where you ran like the coward you've always been.
     It got quiet. The birds stopped flapping their wings and the wind stopped blowing papers around. It was quiet enough for me to hear the gun loading. Dumbo must've heard it too because he shot up, but to my surprise he lunged at Ben. That's when I heard the shot. Dumbo slumped over.
     I dove behind the counter for cover. We were hidden, but trapped. Ben dragged Dumbo along. He tore a first aid kit out of his uniform and started stuffing the wound with gauze.
     I watched in horror as Ben finished with bandaging it. Dumbo was screaming at the top of his lungs.
    Ben leaned down into Dumbo's line of vision, "I'm going to find that son of a bitch and when I do, I'll show him who he messed with. I'll be back. Don't move."
Where the hell would he go? I followed Ben as he stormed outside. I looked up at the buildings.
     "The silencer is up there." I pointed to the building across the street, "That's the only place they'd have a clear shot from."
     Ben didn't hesitate. He kicked down every door in his way.
     Finally we reached a hallway filled with cats on the third story. The smell of something cooking filled my nose. Then the sound of a woman singing came. My attention was drawn to an open door at the end of the hallway.
     Ben seemed to be hypnotized by the song, but I took a smoke bomb from my uniform, pulled the pin, and tossed it into the room. There was a bang followed by hissing and screaming.
     "Don't hurt me!" the woman yelled.
     I stormed into the room with my gun aimed at her. A woman around the age of seventy cowered in the corner of the room.
     "Don't hurt us!" she repeated, "It's just me here! Me and my babies! Oh please don't hurt my babies!"
     I glanced at an orange cat.
     "Where are they?" Ben spoke up.
     "What?" the woman got up.
     "Where's the sniper." he glared, "Either you or someone you know shot a friend of mine."
     "I don't know what you're talking about. It's just my babies and I." she repeated.
     I couldn't stop myself from looking at a large pot of soup sitting on a fire. I searched for cans, but couldn't find any. The woman noticed my interest.
     "Would you like some?" she asked.
     I shook my head.
     "Oh please." she begged, "It's been so lonely here and I ran out of cans months ago."
     I shot a glare at her. Ran out of cans?
I tried to pull Ben away, but he wouldn't follow me. We need to get out of here.
     "Then what's in it." Ben made the mistake of questioning.
     A little grey cat looked up at me.
Oh hell no.
     "Cat." she was suddenly serious.

EDITED

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