Song for this chapter: “Demons” by Imagine Dragons
HARRY
Time went on pretty fast. The early morning sun hailed onto us, casting its beautiful glow among the open fields. We survived another day. It was just yesterday that my life had been on the brink of death, only to be interceded a few times by someone who was once with us. Now, with only the four of us remaining, we had no choice but to move on. The thought of being this close to my home encouraged me to carry on, as well as having three special people in my lives whom I trust the most.
“Ready to go home, Harry?” Louis asked, flashing a comforting smile to me that made me instantly at ease. His question made my heart race, each pulsating beat representing each second of being alive and a chance to make my wish come true.
Letting out a long sigh of reprieve, I gently pat his shoulder in return.
“More than ever Lou.”
Everything was set. We survived a night of solitude out in the open, and with that fact that we uphold, there was this anticipation in our minds that we could do this. We had our guns, our weapons, our faith, and each other. There was nothing else that would stop us, except for the Creatures that never failed to imperil our lives. But given the things that Mike had told me before his demise regarding the answers, my mind had these reservations for Them, especially the mysteries concealed behind their existence.
Louis was in charge to drive as I was the one responsible for directions. The roads leading to Cheshire still seemed to be familiar in my mind so I volunteered to sit in front. Niall and Hannah took their seats at the back, both of them occupied in reloading our guns.
“Let’s get this Cheshire boy home!” Louis shouted, more than enough for the three of us to hear that made us all in high spirits.
The cruise was quiet most of the time. We all had our eyes peeled, vigilant to any walking Creatures that threatened to make their contact with our car. I could feel everyone’s anxiety, but mine would probably be the strongest. As we drove along the lifeless streets, there were a couple of Them shambling their way to the unknown, causing us to hold firmly to our guns for any attack. My eyes kept their gaze on the map that Niall had obtained, making sure that we were on the right track.
“Make a left turn right here,” I told Louis.
With every turn, I couldn’t help but feel afraid. It just seemed pretty strange not to see a herd of them for a while, which could be a good or a bad thing to think about. Back at Tesco, I could still recall the intuition I had that something was wrong, and I was right. Their schemes of planning their attacks worked out well to Niall and I during that time, and given the fact that I had read some of the reasons for their behavior on the papers I had retrieved from the lab, there was no denial that there was a hint of life living among those Creatures. One way or another, the answer would be known, and everything would be okay.
“Um, boo, which way do I go now?”
Louis decelerated his drive as I studied the road up ahead. With confusion taking control, I tried looking at the map once more, but I started to panic to see that there were no exact pointers regarding the street that we were about to drive to.
“I don’t know Lou. I can’t find it in here.”
“Let me see,” Niall interfered and I gave him the map. “Wow, this is complicated.”
“Okay, just turn left,” I proposed, trying to remember the thoroughfares and paths that interconnected towards the upcoming street.
“If you say so.”
Louis followed my direction and made a quick left, making all of us cheer for joy upon seeing the sign coming closer to us.
Welcome to Holmes Chapel, Cheshire.
I closed my eyes in glee for it had been a long time since I saw that sign.
This is it. I’m finally home.
I couldn’t believe it myself. Still my head up in the clouds, I felt Louis’ soft hand touch mine, his fingers rubbing against it. A hand patted my shoulder, and I turned to look back to see Hannah, smiling like the morning sunshine. I smiled in return, suddenly recalling our warm embrace last night. It was so special and it was so right, and if I were given the chance to relive that moment, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so. All these days, my feelings for her were kept deep down, but God finally gave me the chance and audacity to tell her, and I couldn’t be any happier to know that she had the same feelings for me. With our eyes keeping their gaze, we were having a sort of connection, a link of understanding, until Niall took it all away by giving me a sudden kiss on the cheek.
“Welcome home Harry! Let’s find your house now.”
We were finally in Holmes Chapel, a small town that used to be my home. I couldn’t deny that I had a lot of expectations – that it was turned into some sort of camp that Mike used to say, all of my family, friends and neighbors walking around, somehow managing to avoid all of the cruelty that this world had imparted. I was expecting that mum was out here, all safe and sound with Gemma and Robin, or probably even with dad, walking around to help the people in town to start a new life amidst the apocalypse. But of course, all of that didn’t come true. Just like any other place we had been through, it was also a lifeless town, filled with nothing but the feeling of despair, with its insipid homes and blood trails covering the roads.
“Haz, another turn. Left or right?”
“Make a left Lou, to the intersection of A50 and Macclesfield.”
With Louis’ amazing driving skills, he prepared to swerve to the left, making a sudden acceleration towards the next turn. I was just excited, with all the adrenaline coursing through my body. Finally reaching the exact point, he hastily turned, until all of us panicked by the sight that was coming closer towards us.
“Lou, stop the car!” Hannah screamed from behind.
“Hang on!”
The car skidded to a halt, sending out strident blares of the screeching tires against the pavement.
“Everybody okay?” Louis asked out, breathing heavily to what he just did. I saw him turn his gaze in front, and all I saw was nothing but fear in his bright blue eyes.
I followed his gape and the sight made my heart pound with horror. There they were, dozens, or hundreds of them, all convened together right in front of us. A sudden sense of fear ran through my nerves, like the chill of an icy wind. With the noise that we just created, several of them stopped their movements; their bloodshot eyes were now looking back at us.
“Lou, drive back,” I instructed. Before he could answer, a droning sound suddenly hovered above us, making all of us to be both enthused and worried upon hearing it.
“It’s them. My daddy’s right!” Hannah extolled and Mike was right. We were so close. They were the British Forces, carried into their helicopter that just went by above us. “Lou we have to hurry!”
Louis shifted gears and the car began to move back. The feelings of both fear and excitement coursed through my soul. The Creatures still did not move from their positions, as the others continued to eat the piles of dead bodies splattered on the ground. Slowly, we were moving backward, until I heard Niall’s constant cussing from behind.
“Shit, shit, shit!”
“Niall, what’s wrong?”
“We’re trapped! There’s another herd coming this way!”
All of us seemed too stunned, too dazed to move from our seats. Right in front of us, they began to move and slowly closed the gap between us. I looked at the back and Niall was right. The road that we used to drive through was no longer clear. We were not alone anymore. They had all of us surrounded, confining us in a trap of deception and misery. They were countless of them, slowly coming from all directions like demons released from hell. Given their numbers, our chance of survival was almost impossible. They were too many, and there were only the four of us, hopelessly waiting for our lives to be taken.
“We have no choice but to fight,” Louis affirmed, and all of us nodded in agreement. Grabbing the guns that Mike had given us, I held them firmly in my hands and closed my eyes.
If ever anything happens, I’m ready.
I opened them to look at Hannah, her expression somber of the things she was witnessing. She had a gun in her hands, her knuckles turning white with her tight grip. I have to protect her. It’s my promise to Mike.
Their horrifying cries besieged up my home town, filling in the silence that once existed. Gaining all the courage I had, I took in deep breaths, before finally holding on to the door.
“Kill as much as you can, and if anything happens, don’t come back for me,” I told them, convincing myself to be firm with my decision.
“What are you talking about? We have to stick together Haz,” Niall cut in, his face read nothing but pure worry and trepidation.
“No one has to die, especially you,” Louis contended, looking at me intently in the eyes. “They would have to kill me before that happens.” Loud clicks of guns filled the car, the four of us waiting for the right time to make our run.
“On my mark, we run, okay?”
I kept my gaze on them. They were getting close. So close. The cries from behind were also getting closer, and like I always do, my hands found home on my scapular, holding it firmly as I asked for His aid.
“One…two…”
I then heard the back door open; my eyes wide with fear as I saw her ran out of the car on her own, making her way towards the herd right in front of us.
“Hannah!”