"What do we do?" Coby whispered lightly beside me
"Stay still, and whatever you do, don't run" I told him as discreetly as I slowly cautiously began to move my arm backwards, my fingers in search of my bow and an arrow.
"He's moving closer" Coby fret
"Sh kid" I hushed him as I noticed the creature's large feet steadily approaching as its firm white eyes lay on us intently
"Oh my god" Coby mumbled again as his head slightly angled to the creatures left, yet another creature becoming visible in the darkness.
Their eyes were hungry, pure white inside like an egg white in a deep dark dish of an evil abyss. The bulky creature, male, an easy six foot hunched toward us, his long sharp teeth crunching and snapping like a temperamental pit-bull. The new creature, a woman now stood beside him, a slow team forming as she stared straight at me despite her lack of pupils, she too grew closer with a raging appetite, her teeth also foaming at the cracked white lips of her face.
"Take it easy" I told Coby as my fingers found my bow, the realization that the moment I pulled it back, the other would attack. Twilight was gone, and the only light that now gave us sight was that of the moon slowly creeping out from the clouds above in the opposite direction the sun had disappeared.
"They're coming, we can't take them" Coby's voice rose a little higher, tickling the noses of the creatures as they sniffled and croaked identical to a toad in warning
Suddenly, my brain registered just how in trouble we were. There was no chance of fleeing from these animals, no chance of taking off running because of two reason, one being that of the trip wire behind us, it's intentions and dangerous linger unknown, and two, it was nightfall, creatures were stronger and faster once darkness took over, there was no single hint of denial that if we ran, they would catch us. Without the idea of flight humanly possible, there was only one other option remaining, if anything, just as risky – fight.
"We have to fight them off, I can't use my bow, it's too slow for the both of them" I told Coby as I began to move my hand back down to my waist, my 14 inch hunting knife in place on my right hipbone.
"I can't" Coby shook his head frantically looking for an exit
"You have too" I urged him with a nod of my head, my eyes firmly held on the two pairs of eyes now a small five meters from us
Coby slowly began to whimper, somewhat like a small dog beside me, it was sad, yet frustrating; I was going to have to do this alone.
Gradually, my fingers pulled my knife from its safe tight place in my belt. I edged closer and closer until its full size was released and its silver strong blade reflected in the dimmest of places. I gripped my weapon as Coby shakily pulled his pocket knife from place, his fingers wobbly and weak while the creatures watched our movements.
My heartbeat raged inside my chest beating on the outside of my skin dramatically, my palms were sweaty and I was reminded once again as to why I hated having baggage in the human form of a kid. I was worried that he would get hurt, I was worried he would die, a handful of worries I didn't have time for.
"Ready?" I whispered towards the boy beside me, his stance telling me he was yet he was most definitely not. He quickly nodded and that was all the assurance I needed to start and hopefully finish the situation. I began to edge to the left, my feet slow and steady as Coby began to edge to his right. We hadn't discussed how we were going to attack, but thankfully, Coby knew that if we took one on each, it would be easier to handle.
Quiet filled the air as the creatures watched us both with fast and frightening eyes frantic on our next moves. I narrowed my gaze on my target, my hand tightly gripping the knife in my right hand as I held it out in front of my body in case one of them decided to jump first. I attempted to keep my eyes away from the sight of Coby mimicking my moves, there was no room for error here and my sight needed to stay alert and clear ahead.
I verged closer until I could feel the cold radiating off of their bodies; that was when the bulky man turned his attention on me entirely, the woman turning her attention on Coby entirely. We had them exactly where we needed them and now I was simply praying it would be over as quickly as it had begun.
I glanced rapidly towards Coby before nodding; his eyes were terrified but followed shortly with a nod in agreement and within seconds, I pounced towards the creature in front of me, my footing daring and on point as my knife lunged at his neck. The air around me began to blow forcefully and it proved to be unpredictably off-putting as the creature reached its neck sideways with a forceful crack to avoid my attack which had sliced open his right cheek instead. It didn't take me long to recuperate and I took another lunge back again towards his main artery's, this time, I placed pressure on my feet, jumping as high as I could to extend the full force of my body into the precise thrust of my fist. I felt the knife penetrate his skin, his mouth roaring open in the air to let out an excruciating croak of pain. As speedily as I had plunged the knife through his chest, I attempted to yank it back out for another blow, but my spring had angled the knife into his shoulder, his broad thick shoulder which now refused to release my weapon. My body was quick to fall back to the ground from my leap of faith, but my brain allowed me to land on my feet rather than on my head or my back. I crouched down as the creature swung his long arm towards me aimlessly in pain as its other hand gripped the knife still sticking out of his flesh. Its body flailed as I caught immediate sight of Coby now wrestling with the small five foot creature on the ground below him, his knife dripping with wet sticky blood.
I tore my eyes away from Coby in time to miss another blow from the creatures swinging arms towards me with furious eyes. I focused on the undead man in front of me, my body jumping back up in an attempt to swing my fist towards its face. I needed to distract him, hurt him before I took the chance to swoop the knife back out from the creatures chest. My power and my determination flew my closed tight fist towards the side of his flailing face and caught the bottom of his jaw sending a crunch of teeth scattering down on the road beneath us with a spray of blood. Again, the creature screeched like a large toad at the pain when its hand finally pulled the knife from its own chest sending another spray of blood in my direction hitting me against the face with its warmth. I cringed internally but continued my attack as I fell back down to the ground, only this time as I landed on my feet a long arm flicked towards me effortlessly and fell hard against my chest sending me backwards into the tar where my back landed and crunched in pain. My eyes blurred slightly, but I could catch sight of the glimmering knife I had once wielded lying on the ground a few feet away from the large legs of the undead creature now enraged as it moved towards me.
I was aware my backpack had at some point managed to wriggle off my back and fall to the ground scattering its contents around the area. I was weapon-less, I was in trouble. The creature grew closer and closer with its remaining teeth snapping towards me, I eyed in between the jaws of the hungry mouth and the knife a few feet away behind him. I needed to reach my weapon, I needed to scurry out from the vulnerable position I lay in on my back on my elbows, with that in thought, I pushed my body up and attempted to crawl between his wide legs, but I was too slow. Before I could reach remotely close to any weapon, the creature leaned down and flipped me back onto my back with a single kick against my side followed by a forceful open claw swipe towards my face, its sharp fingernails scraping into my skin as I instinctively shot my arm out to cover my head.
I backed up on my elbows, sliding against the ground to get away from the prowling creature that leaned down taking a rough grip of my leather jacket front in a fistful.
I shuddered and attempted to punch and kick my way out of the furthering attack, but it was futile and I felt my body being lifted into the air by my jacket which tightened and cut my air supply off.
I suddenly hoped Coby was winning, I hoped he had killed the other creature and taken off in safety, I didn't want him to save me, I wanted him to get away with his life.
I lunged both my closed fists towards the face of the creature that breathed its cold breath against my face giving my nose a frozen grip of numbness, but it was useless, my lack of oxygen made it hard to enforce a blow to its opening mouth full of sharp teeth.
I watched in horror, panicking for the first time in two years as threatening sloppy wet venom seethed in my direction. I was awaiting the moment the poisonous teeth dug into my neck, my neck dangling in an attempt to keep upright during my lack of fresh air. My eyes remained hard against my attackers eyes, waiting, watching as I took in the last of his features. Wrinkles lined his every inch as though he had been in his late fifties, his eyebrows were out of control and his ears stuck out a little more than normal.
Seconds later as I ceased hope, a defined scream erupted from inside the mouth of my captor, his eyes widening, his head lunging backwards.
I hung confused as it continued to hold grip on my jacket; my breathing constricted as its eyes slowly began to overflow with colour, a deep dark black of realization.
Blood began to seep from inside the creature's mouth, dribbling down its tongue and out of its mouth at a growing rate. I could feel its grip on me lessening, growing weak, its eyes rolling back in its head, a deathly black spreading through its gaze like spilt ink. When the tight grip on me released, I fell down on my back with a rough thud.
Quickly controlling my breathing, rapid and rigid, I sat up on my elbows to survey what was going on.
The creature stood high above me, its head craning backwards before it fell limp, collapsing down beside me, a long deep hole in the back of its skull gushing with escaping blood.
My eyes were wide as I stared at the dead creature, then moving up to the culprit that had killed it.
I worried a deeper more powerful force stood behind it, but to my surprise, stood a man, a human man wiping his long sword blade soaked in blood with a dark cloth in front of me.
"That was close" He spoke unfazed as he raked his long tan fingers through his messy dark brown hair
I scrambled to my feet, spinning to search for Coby. I had expected to see him dead, crumpled on the ground with gaping holes in every direction of his body, but instead he stood tall, hanging over the body of the female creature beneath him.
"You're pretty good" Another unknown make spoke from beside Coby, his stance tall and proud as the pair looked down at the twitching body with wide stab wounds to the face and head.
"Thanks" Coby smiled towards the man who wielded a shotgun in both hands
Coby turned his attention to me as I stood, shocked, my eyes on his unharmed small body. How had he managed to shake free of the creature and yet someone with my knowledge and strength nearly die from one? My eyebrows creased as Coby began to walk towards me with a worried gaze
"Are you okay?" He asked, noticing the blood dripping from my forearm where the demon had created three defined gashes
"I'm fine" I told him, forcing my breathing back to normal "How did you..." I trailed off pointing to the body of the female creature
He shrugged "Adrenaline?"
"Jesus" I mumbled through my teeth as I felt the sudden pain shoot through my arm in reminder. I lifted my limb and examined the damage. The deep wound leaked through my jacket, blood seeping through at a warm pace
Coby noticed as I dropped my arm back down
"It's fine" I assured him as my eyes turned back to the two men that had intervened
"You two are game being out here at a time like this" The man with the shotgun spoke towards us, his eyes a bright emerald green, his hair shortly trimmed at the sides, longer on the top
"We were looking for shelter" I told him roughly
"Didn't think to do it before the sunset?" The other man now spoke, his accent slightly English, his body standing beside his friend, eyes a light sea blue
"We should go" I sighed as I eyed Coby beside me
"Well you are very welcome" The Englishman spoke with heavy sarcasm and a scoff
Yes, he had saved me, but that didn't mean anything, he couldn't be trusted, no one could. I hurriedly retrieved my scattered objects on the ground along with my backpack before slinging it over my back again.
"Let's go kid" I told Coby with a nod of my head.
At this point, I didn't care what house we took surrender in, as long as we were out of sight, out of reach from creatures and this pair of ex-footballers turned rebel
"Hey, bow and arrow, relax" Coby spoke humorously towards me, giving me a less than original nickname with a smile "What's your names?" Coby then turned his attention towards the two boys, their similarities striking, leading me to believe they were somehow related
"Jaxon and this is my cousin, Jesse" The shotgun boy spoke, introducing himself and his now confirmed relative
"I'm Coby and this..." He trailed off, looking towards me "This is bow n' arrow"
The cousins both turned their eyes towards me with cocked eyebrows
"Bow n' arrow?" Jaxon repeated, missing the punch line
"She won't give me her real name" Coby shrugged with a sigh
"Coby" I began, turning towards him with stern eyes "Are you coming or are you staying?"
Coby hesitated, his eyes soft and unbothered as he stood firmly in place
"Fine" I shrugged, just as unbothered "This is a good thing, stay with them" I told him before turning to strut off towards where the wire still hung tightly in place. I was suddenly glad Coby had chosen the two boys to stay with, it meant I could finally continue without the baggage hanging slowly behind me complaining and getting in the way
"Whoa now" Jesse quickly cut in, his body shooting in front of me before I could reach the wired street
"Move" I rolled my eyes, growing frustrated as he blocked my exit
"You don't want to go this way" He smiled crooked towards me, his teeth pearly white and straight despite the lack of routine dentistry visits available
"No? And why not?" I shot, crossing my arms over my chest, the movement paining my left arm injury
The man I'd come to know as Jesse smiled down at me, his eyes smouldering over mine as though he thought he held some kind of control over me. I stared flatly back at him, my face slightly contorting into a disgusted glare before yet another voice caught grip of our uncomfortable situation.
"Boys, time to go! A hoard is heading in this direction!" The strong voice of another man shouted from the right street towards inner town
"Jesse, if she wants to stay here and become one of them, let her, let's go" His cousin demanded, his words callous and urging as Jesse continued to stare directly down at me, the closeness of our bodies fully coming to focus
I didn't budge an inch, I wasn't afraid of him and he wasn't going to believe he held power over me in any way shape or form.
I could hear Jaxon and Coby beginning to move towards the other voice urging Jesse to move, and after another few seconds staring, Jesse finally shifted, his lips curving upwards into a smirk before he slithered from eyesight, his boots stomping against the road to return to his group behind me.
"Are you seriously going to stay out here?" I heard Coby call out towards me, his tone turning me in his direction
His face was soft, worried as he looked towards me
"You don't know who those people are" I called back
"I didn't know who you were" He retorted quickly "You turned out alright"
I shook my head, suddenly unsure of what I was going to do. I wanted to be alone, I wanted to continue forward without another single soul to stop me, but the look on Coby's face, the tone in his voice kind of took a hold on me
"Safety in numbers remember?" He continued to persuade me "We could barely deal with two of them let alone a hoard"
I ran his words over in my head, he was speaking words of wisdom, despite his age.
Deja vu became a quick visual inside of my head of when my father was alive. He was a brave, strong-willed man with broad shoulders and a rough velvet voice as he repeated the words Coby had spoken to me over and over again within the first year of the outbreak.
An internal war began inside of my head, but it was quick to be decided when a distant croak sounded from the highway we'd come from. Creatures were close.
I sighed heavily and quickly began storming towards Coby who smiled proudly at my decision.
"This isn't going to end well" I mumbled as Coby and I began to catch up to the retreating bodies of Jaxon and Jesse.
I followed hurriedly down the roads the cousins walked along with the other broad tall man beside them. The trio spoke quietly towards each other, their faces serious and concerned as Coby and I walked silently side-by-side. I watched their movements, alert and waiting for an attack with my hand resting against my hip where my hunting blade had returned.
Within five minutes, the three boys reached a fork in the road and I watched as they turned to a tall building to the right of the street.
Hanging streetlights swayed in a new gush of wind, the air was brisk and cold and it told me more creatures were closing in. I looked forward and could see the boys standing in front of two large doors of a three story building still heavily in-tact, and for good reason. The building hinted slight wear and tear of yellow and black paint on its outside, the second floor could be identified through its yellow brick like letters barely hanging on with their rusted nails and glue of the Luisvill town bank.
"Luisvill bank?" Coby questioned as we stood behind the boys, the unknown man knocking heavily on the wood
"Most of its rooms are built to keep people out" Jaxon informed him as he turned his head slightly towards us
"If creatures want to get in, I don't doubt they would be able too" I scoffed as Jaxon's lips slightly lifted in response
Before I could fling anymore negative comments towards the boys, the door could be heard fumbling on the inside, its heavy locks sounding before the thick wood creaked open and allowed us entry with yet another man behind the door
"Hurry" He spoke as we entered the darkened room.
Coby and I continued to follow the boys inside the large wide room of the main banking office. Teller windows lined the entire left side of the room, their surfaces filled with unfiled papers and layers of dust.
The beautifully tiled floor gave me the impression it was just about the only modern building in the historic area. Everything about the wide open area made me unnerved, if creatures were to enter, there would be no place to hide. I half expected to see money scattered throughout the building, but there was not, instead there were papers lining most of the ground, ripped and torn, coated in dust dirt and blood.
Money was useless now, it didn't matter how much of it you had, it was as inexpensive as last season's clothing, not that that existed now either. It amazed me that for every single person in the world, money was what mattered, without money you had nothing, it was the most important centre of the world, and now, it meant nothing, as insignificant as a fly on a window. Money no longer made the world go around and after being taught for years and years on end that to live a good life meant to get a good job and earn good money, it seemed just as hard to grasp that times had changed.
As the front door to the bank was heard slamming shut again, we continued to follow the three men up a set of wooden stairs that creaked beneath our footing. We were heading up the second story of the bank, something that I had usually set well against. Buildings with stories were like a bug zapping light to a bug, or in this case a creature's feast to a creature.
I continued to regret my decision as we stepped up into the second story where various faces now came into view. There were at least a dozen more people staring towards us, their eyes curious and wandering followed by whispers. Every window in the room was hammered shut with wooden planks, not a single shred of light visible from outside. Candles scattered throughout the room to allow light, flickering and dancing shadows over the various faces within the room.
It was like being in the middle of a rebel gang, their outfits dark and menacing, their faces concentrated on mine and Coby's entrance.
"Great" I mumbled under my breath as we walked into the groups of people talking amongst themselves before the three men stopped in the middle of the room
"My name is Arden" The unknown man turned towards us and spoke "Feel free to help yourself to some food, water, sleep, anything you need for the night"
His body was brawn, full of muscle and strength as he looked towards Coby and I with deep brown eyes similar to my own, instantly, I knew he was what I called the pack leader, the mastermind behind the groups every move.
Arden had tattoo's lining his neck, thin intricate lines tracing up his skin as they met a point just under his chin on either side. I wondered if this was some kind of gang emblem, some kind of hint of the power he held. Suddenly I wondered if Arden, Jesse and Jaxon were related in some way.
"Thanks" Coby smiled excitedly as he immediately began moving towards a visible table full of canned food and steaming already made bowls of soup where another three people stood eagerly eyeing each meal.
"For the night?" I repeated Arden's words, my feet remaining in place
"We move on every night, we never stay in one place longer than one night" He informed me willingly with his arms folded over his tight black tee
"Why not?" I interrogated
"We are heading towards the survivor camp in Carronwood"
I quickly raised my eyebrows "The camp that isn't even proven to exist you mean?"
Arden was patient; I could see it in his eyes unlike the cousins on either side of him. Jaxon rolled his eyes before moving away with his shotgun on his shoulder, Jesse on the other hand stayed beside him, a slight smirk in place as he also placed his arms over his chest covered by a leather jacket, the hoodie underneath draped over his head, short pieces of his hair hanging above his forehead
"We have hope" Arden spoke
I couldn't help but smile smugly "Hope?"
"You do not believe in hope?" He questioned curiously as he raised an eyebrow
"I believe in what I can see, I cannot see hope"
"If you do not have hope, what do you have?"
I answered back easily with a shrug "Truth, reality"
Arden seemed to think heavily for a moment with narrow eyes
It was then Jesse who spoke up beside him "Clearly she's been alone for a while"
I shifted uncomfortably "It's better that way"
"That's why she has no hope, she's lost touch with her humanity" He spoke towards Arden who sighed
"A human without hope is as unpredictable as a creature" Arden created with narrow eyes, he seemed to stare at me for a moment, assessing what I was thinking, what I was about. "Stay, eat, if you wish to leave in the morning, so be it" He spoke before he turned to dawdle off with his hands clasped behind his back.
Arden seemed thick-skinned, mid-thirties in age with crew cut blond hair and dark eyes. There was something behind Arden that I couldn't quite place, he was modest, thoughtfully wise, but I couldn't believe in hope, in that, he was most certainly wrong.
I slightly snarled at his retreated back as Jesse continued to stand in front of me with a small unreadable expression upon his face.
Jesse on the other hand, was smug and arrogant.
My face changed from a snarl to my familiar contortion of disgust in his attempt to understand me
"Stay away from me, okay?" I snapped towards him with narrow eyes before turning to follow off where Coby had been standing at the food table.