Lights

1. Quinn

Quinn stared up at the lights. Searingly bright yellow lights hurtled through the jet black sky. It had begun. The end of the world.

He swung a leg over the Harley next to him, revving the engine and speeding down the dirt track, screeching round a corner and sending up a spurt of gravelly dirt. He sped round another curve in the track, and found himself on the deserted highway. Gripping the rubber handles tightly, he surveyed the deserted road ahead of him. He kept his speed steady, occasionally having to swerve around wreckages and shrapnel. Coming to a halt outside a gas station, he hooked up a large jerrycan to the pump, which had been strapped to the back of his bike. He stood alert as the flammable liquid filled the container and his hand hovered over the Smith & Wesson in his belt.

In the end, no one interrupted his syphoning of gasoline from the pump. When the jerrycans were full, he strapped them back onto his bike. He walked into the shop, and began stuffing essentials into his pack. Meat, bread, cans, anything that would last. And fruit pastilles. Those were Quinn's only vice. He rammed a couple of packets in, emptied the register and removed the shotgun and three cartridges from beneath the counter for later use. Then he returned to his bike, climbing on and once again resuming his journey.

After a while, Quinn reached the main city. And what a sight it was. Columns of smoke sliced through the horizon in multiple places and the lights continued to rain down, creating an almost grid-like skyline. One skyscraper, Quinn could see, had a gaping hole torn out the side. It was lit by an unidentifiable source the centre, and those.... things... those horrible, horrible things swarmed from there. He had to hurry. He didn't want to meet them. He screeched to a halt outside a four storey apartment block, chaining up his bike and rushing inside, pushing past a Caucasian couple rushing from the building with their kids. This was the last complete family Quinn saw for a while after. He reached the first floor and walked inside the first room he saw and began scanning for supplies. He emptied the first room of anything of substantial use then quickly snatched necessities from the other rooms, slowly filling his pack. He returned to the lobby and glanced over at the only room left to check. The pale green door gave him bad vibes, It was that feeling you get in your gut when you hear a bad idea. Something was wrong in that room. Something was very, very wrong. But he had to know. Quinn removed his gun from his belt, holding it ready as he slowly edged over to the door, holding his hand out and pushing it open.

The first thing that hit him was the stench. Oh god the stench. It filled his nostrils and he could already feel the bile rising in his throat, burning the walls of his neck. He swallowed it down as he began gagging at the scene before him. Hung up by her ankles was a small girl, aged about three or four. He neck was slit open and blood pooled below her and covered her face, the floor, the walls and her straggled blonde hair. Her stomach was completely cut open, and removed of all flesh, muscle and organs, leaving only the husk of her abdomen remaining.

Quinn took a step forward, hearing a small squelch. He looked down, something had been squished under his foot. It looked like... oh god... it couldn't be... It was. Her kidney. That was it. He lost it. Quinn threw up, then wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his beige jacket. His face was an ashen grey. Hearing a noise, He looked sharply over at the area in shadow on the left side of the room. There sat a small, grey, hunched over figure. The craggily skin of its back was dotted with thick purple spines that jutted out shockingly far. The creature cradled in its hands a heart. Presumably that of the small girl. The figure's small, wide head leant down and proceeded to tear away at the ventricle and muscle. Quinn shakily raised his gun, pointing it at the creature and cocking it. That was a mistake. The figure spun round, flinging away the heart. Its eyes bore into Quinn, with the coldest stare he had ever had the misfortune to receive. These creatures... They had no remorse... No mercy, no conscious and no moral obligations. They needed food. And they needed it now. The creature flung itself at him, knocking him back and baring down upon him. Quinn struggled, barely holding back the terrifying mass of flailing limbs, gnashing teeth and purple spines. He managed to lever his foot up and thrust it forward, sending the creature flying across the room. It hit the suspended corpse, causing it to collapse and trap the creature. Quinn kept a steady aim on the flailing creature and fired a single shot. The bullet pierced the creatures skull and ended its life almost instantly.

Quinn slammed his back against the wall and sunk to his knees, feeling something brush against his calf. He placed his gun on the floor and reached round, pulling the object into view. His heart lurched. It was a little, pale brown teddy bear, most likely owned by the girl. One ear was missing, and there was a small rose heart embroidered on the bears chest. Dried blood had soaked into its small paws and face. Quinn used his sleeve to try and wipe the blood from the toys face, then placed it carefully into his pack. He stood up, feeling slightly nauseous, then, shaking his head, he exited the room of horrors he has just witnessed. He closed and locked the door, scratching into the wood "R.I.P". He then heard a footstep by the door.

He quickly raised his gun, aiming it at the silhouette in the doorframe.

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