ALIVE: The Aftermath Chronicles (Book 1)

Chapter 13 - ABEL

Emma clutches onto her chest, her racing heart a pounding hammer against shredding cloth as she finds refuge behind a tent. Hiding, ignoring that voice that sent her blood to flow faster through her veins as more of his men make their way closer.

Abel continues, "I'm in search of Holy Ground. Join us. Fight and..." With the clenching of his hand, Abel breaks the neck of the zombie. It chomps on as Abel drops it to the floor, then with one step of his boot over its temple, he crushes the elder's skull on the bloodied soil.

"Come out! Come out those who hide from us. Come one, come all. Your new path awaits!" Abel taunts on as his men gather all of Emma's people into the center circle of all the facing tents, pulling those yet to be discovered from the tents they hide in. Children and the elderly are pulled, then tossed into the ring of survivors that are counted for and herded together like livestock.

When Emma is grabbed by the arm and dragged, as well, she tries to fight against it as her stress levels rise. In seeing her, Paige gathers the courage required to protect the ailing pregnant girl in distress. To Isaac, Paige sends a desperate look, but his eyes do not sway from Abel's.

Ready to shoot the ring-leader in his broad back as he approaches Emma, she aims, then finds a reluctance to pull the trigger. To kill someone, who wasn't infected, brought her hand to shake in the tight grip of the gun as she aims it up at the back of Abel's ahead.

Abruptly, the religious invader turns. Gripping Paige's arm, he twists it till it snaps out of the sockets at her elbow and her shoulder as if she's nothing more than a limp twig.

Paige screams, falling to her knees in agony as another female voice comes to her defense.

"Stop, please!" CiCi breaks into the circle, a bow clutched between paled knuckles and an arrow ready to let fly finds ease on the recurve bow. "She's a nurse, she can help in Eden! She's a good person, she helps people! If you come in the name of God you'll have mercy on her, please!"

Abel releases Paige, leaving her to crumble to the dirt and to the help of her own revered people. The delusional male moves like a curious predator to foreign prey, making his slow approach to the darker-skinned girl. Her hair is long, natural, and pulled back. Nothing, like his chosen Eve's. There is an innocent look to this girl that reminds him so much of his soon-to-be-wife in protection, a plea in her eyes that goes beyond her request to save his offender.

"You," his chin raises faintly CiCi's way, calling her forth with the beckoning of his outstretched hand, "Come to me."

Cici walks, her bow heavier with every step that calls for her to let arrows fly into this man with dangerous eyes and frightful words. How he looked at her gave her chills and made her instantly sick. To Isaac, CiCi warily looks to when she passes him, but the former dominant male of their group seemingly has taken his step down with the terrifying new survivor.

Nick and Dalton gone, CiCi felt mighty big shoes to fill in their absence as all eyes of the camp from both ally and enemy lines focus intently her way. Having seen Emma hiding, then dragged out, CiCi wonders if she should have stayed unseen. To grab Emma when she had the chance, and try to make a run for it, against the obvious advisory for Emma's worrisome condition.
It's what Nick would've done, she's sure of it. Now, she was entering negotiations and a battle of wits and words, which had always been Dalton's natural arena.

CiCi lifts her eyes in difficulty up to the man built like a bull as she finds her way before her. All the searching as stopped from his men, with ever eye now turned their way.

He's studying her, reading a book of his own writing in her stare. Bravely, she holds his gaze and then takes his outstretched hand, holding any fears back and a strong resolve atop shaky knees.