Song - O Children (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
I slowly turned to face the creatures creeping out of the maze, too terrified to run.
The creatures that appeared were like something out of children's nightmares.
Something in between a machine and an animal. The screeches from the creature a mix of metal whirring and animal screeching.
A spider.
A spider two meters tall, three meters wide, with thousands of rows of razor-sharp teeth, and some sort of goo dripping from its flesh.
"All right, everybody hide! Go, go! Run!" Thomas screamed, immediately all the boys scattered.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the creatures. Fear freezing me in my place. They were moving closer, climbing up the walls, their metal claws leaving scratches in the cement.
Gally grabbed my wrist,
"Ellie, come on!" He yelled while pulling me along, breaking my trance.
I broke into a sprint between Tom and Gally, heading for the corn fields. I turned back, scanning the grass for any signs of Newt, Minho, or Frypan. I couldn't see any of my friends. That may be a good thing.
We reached the tall grass, and I scurried in after Thomas, Gally stepping in behind me. Zart and a few others already cowering in the grass. Screams of terror coming from nearby boys were drowned out by the sounds of crashing buildings and Griever's screeches.
We knelt. Gally basically on top of me. His eyes scanned the sky, and the nearby grass. The growling went deathly quiet. For comfort, I gently touched the outside of my pocket and could feel the knife still safely tucked inside. Probably wouldn't do too much damage to one of the grievers but it still made me feel slightly better. Maybe it was the fact that Gally had given it too me.
And then I saw it. A metal whirring tentacle towering over the corn. Gally's grasp around me now becoming bone-crushing tight. Its claws stretched out, calculating its next hit. That being right onto Zart.
"Zart!" I screeched before Gally put his hand over my mouth. I watched the blonde boy scream in terror as he was dragged away from the group.
Thomas and the others scurried to their feet. Gally heaved me up and we were off again.
"Go, go! Get to the village!" Thomas yelled frantically as we left the field and ran onto the grass.
I was following after Thomas for the council hall when Gally dragged me back behind a hut.
"What are you doing?" I yelled frantically,
"I know where we can hide, just follow me!" He pleaded starting to pull me with him. I snatched my wrist out of his grasp.
"What? No, I'm not leaving the others!" I screamed in his face.
"Eleanor! What good will it do if you are dead too?" He hissed putting his hand on my shoulders.
"I don't care! I am not leaving the boys!" I insisted.
"I am not losing you too!" He yelled, face scrunching in terror and tears filling his eyes.
"Gal, you're not going to lose me! Okay? Let's go!" I roared while grabbing his hand and pulling him back into the chaos.
We sprinted, Gally's hand on my back, for the council hall. I saw Thomas waiting at the entrance,
"Ella, Gally come on!" I saw how his eyes widened in terror as he looked behind us. I risked a peak and what I saw almost sent me to my knees in fear. A griever barely ten meters behind us. Galloping.
"Don't look back!" Gally barked while pushing me further, faster towards the others. I felt his presence beside me disappear and I stopped and turned to see him on the ground. He must have fallen.
"Gally!" I screeched, stopping to come by his side, gripping him by the shoulders. I looked at him in the eyes. I wasn't going to leave him. His eyes were... terrified. I smiled weakly, preparing myself for what would come next,
"El, no!" I heard a familiar voice yell behind me, I whipped around and saw Newt, Minho, and Frypan ditching a spear into the Griever's face. A direct hit. It faltered and tripped over its own legs.
"Come on!" Newt screamed again and Gally and I turned and sprinted with the others into the council hall.
I collapsed onto the ground, on my hands and knees, Newt knelt beside me,
"El?" I looked up at him and shook my head before I found my feet. Gally was beside me and he quickly wrapped me in his arms. I stood frozen, trying to comprehend what just happened.
The boys barricaded the door with wooden planks, just before a steady thumping rattled the door. I heard the growls and clicks of the grievers. Gally held me tighter. In the gaps of the roof, I could see their claws. Their mouths. I gently unraveled myself from Gally. To stand beside the others.
A crash and screech coming from the walls made us all scream and bob down.
"Stay back guys," Newt instructed to us all, placing a steady hand in front of my body, as if that hand would protect me in some way.
The silence from the group was deafening. All we could hear was the light groans from the roof creaking and soft clicks coming from the Griever's pincers. As the Griever crept to the other side of the roof, the rest of us shuffled to the opposite end, watching the clouds of dust and dirt blowing after the footsteps of the creature.
I inhaled a short breath-
And the claw speared right through the roof I watched Gally fix 100 times. Splinters flew everywhere and a bone-chilling scream erupted from the boys and in one swift pull of the foundations... the entire roof rained down on us. Gally had me in his arms in an instant and sheltered me with his body as the wood fell onto top of us.
"Is everyone alright?" Newt coughed between the dust clouds. Gally pushed a piece of the roof off us.
"Help!" A boy screeched, half his body invisible behind the wall. The Griever must have had him from the leg.
I lunged for his hand, but it slipped from my grasp as he was dragged under the wall and away from sight. The last I heard from him was his blood-curdling screams. Gally pulled me back as we held together in a tight circle.
"Get back from the wall!" Tom screamed and as he said that another tentacle pierced through the wall, knocking three boys to the ground... Before grabbing Chuck.
"Chuck!"
"Grab him!"
"No!" I screeched while leaping to him and grabbing his hand. Gally, Thomas, and Newt were all behind me grabbing Chuck's arm, trying to fight the force of the griever.
We all screamed in exhaustion, putting in all our last little bits of strength.
"Chuck don't let go," Tom gasped.
"No shit!" Chuck yelled in his face.
"Pull guys!" I yelled trying to put in any last bit of energy, but I was running thin.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" A voice behind me yelled as a figure leaped and smashed a wooden club into the tentacle, breaking the venom needle straight off. Alby. He hit it over and over and over again, screaming with exertion. Until the metal arm snapped in half, Chuck falling into my arms.
"Chuck, you okay?" Tom asked, as I held him tight in my arms.
"Yeah... I'm fine," he breathed. "Thanks Alby," he said looking up at Alby, still gasping for air, holding his club tight in his hands.
The chittering of a griever made me screech,
"Alby watch out!"
He turned a second too late and a claw wrapped around his middle, pulling him out of the hole in the roof. He grabbed a wooden plank still just attached to the roof, trying to hang on.
"Grab him!" Newt yelled as Tom jumped and grasped Alby's hand. The boy struggled to hang onto our leader.
"Thomas... get them out," Alby ordered hoarsely, struggling to hang on any longer, before his grasp slipped and he disappeared away from the roof. Thomas screamed in agony.
"Alby!" I screeched, too overwhelmed with emotions for tears.
Thomas stumbled back and scrambled towards the door.
"Tommy no!" Newt screeched.
"Thomas!" I pleaded while going after him.
The rest of us followed him out the door and the sight I was greeted with made my knees buckle.
Fire. Destruction. And no one else. Everyone was gone. Everything. The only home I could remember... gone. I reached for Gally for comfort beside me. He wasn't there. I spun and saw him stalking for Thomas, and then proceeded to punch the boy square in the face.
"Gally!" I screamed, Minho ripped him away from Thomas.
'Woah, woah, come on!" Frypan yelled between the shouts from the others.
"This is all you, Thomas! Huh? Look around!" Gally spat as the boys and I tried to hold him back from Thomas who was holding his nose.
"Back off Gally, it's not Thomas's fault!" Minho hissed, shoving him back.
"You heard what Alby said. He's one of them," he snarled.
"One of who?" yelled Winston.
"He's one of them, and they sent him here to destroy everything, and now he has!" Gally raged.
I had never seen Gally like this before. His face contorted in rage, eyes ablaze in fury.
"Gally, calm down! This isn't helping anything!" I growled in his face, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling his face close to mine. Gally still squirmed, he wasn't even looking at me.
"Fucking look at me Gally!" I hissed.
"Look around Thomas! Look around!" Gally yelled while shoving me to the side, almost making it to Thomas before Frypan blocked his path. The continuing shouts of the boys were drowned out as I sat on the ground. Gally had pushed me. Pushed me onto the ground. He was so angry he disregarded everything I had said. Newt put his hand on my shoulder,
"El?" he murmured, I looked up not bothering to hide the tears shining in my eyes. He shook his head in response. I knew what he wanted to say.
"Ahh!"
I looked up to see Thomas falling to the ground. Gally? No... he stabbed himself with the venom. Me and Newt rushed to his side.
"Tommy?" Newt yelled,
"Shit Thomas," I muttered while rubbing my face. I knew why he did this. He needs to remember.
"That little bitch can't have one moment where the attention isn't on him can he? Well fuck him!" Gally screamed. "Come on Ellie," he muttered starting to walk away. I didn't follow him. He spun and looked at me with a glare.
"Come on Ellie!" he ordered again.
"Fuck off Gally!" I screamed standing up. He took a step back, eyes wide in shock for a moment before narrowing again.
"Fine then... I knew you would pick them before me," he spat before turning on his heel and storming away. I felt Minho's hand on my shoulder, and I quickly wiped away the tears streaming down my face. I cleared my throat,
"Come on, help me take Tom to whatever is left of the med hut," I instructed, pushing down any other feelings that might bubble over.