Chapter 69
The moment my hope is at its lowest, my prayers are answered.
Out of the blue, the sound of gunshots rings through the air. I fall to the ground, shielding my head with my arms.
The mutants scream out as bullets collide with their skin. Their black blood splatters all over the dirt. Luckily, the shooting makes the mutant that was carrying Brianna drop her. She doesn't let her fall ruin her chance to get away. The second her butt hits the ground, she crawls through the black blood-soaked dirt, towards me and out of direct gunfire.
The cornstalks start to tussle and in the next moment, Layke and Scooter step out of their hiding place and into the open. They both are carrying military grade machine guns that vibrate their whole bodies when they press the triggers. I don't know how they got their hands on something like that, but boy am I thankful.
Layke and Scooter continue to shower the mutants with gunfire. One of the mutants drops to the ground in a heap of seizure-like movements. The other three mutants are keeping up the fight, clawing at Layke and Scooter. Their claws come inches away from them, but they're able to use their gunfire to push them back. Layke roars as he holds down the trigger of his gun, sending a couple of rounds into the face of the closest mutant. It drops to the ground.
With two mutants still standing, it seems like there's hope for us to get out alive. In the midst of the gunfire, Brianna makes it over to me. Her elbows are covered in black gook and her face looks like she just walked out of a coal mine.
"Are you hurt?" I ask, trying to raise my voice high enough to be heard over the gunfire. Brianna shakes her head no.
"Fuck yeah!" Scooter screams. I watch one of the mutants drop to the ground. Its face is deformed from the bullet wounds. The wings that cover its face are full of holes, and one of them looks broken. Black blood pours down its bark-like skin and into the sticky dirt below. The last mutant lets out a sheik as Layke shoots it in its chest. It starts to thrash around, and it finally hits the ground with the same jerky movements as the other.
Quickly, Layke takes out the machete that was attached to his jean's belt loop and runs over to one of the mutants. With all his force, he sends the blade through its neck, decapitating the head. Finally, the mutant's body is motionless. He does the same to the other three mutants, killing them.
The silence is like music to my ears. I stand up and hold Layke in an embrace. "You came at the right time." Layke squeezes me back with the arm that's not carrying the gun. "It seems that way." He says. We both let go and I give him a smile.
Scooter throws his gun over his shoulder and helps Naomi up off the ground. "Everyone okay?" He asks.
"I think so, thanks to you," Cameron answers as he holds out his hand to shake his.
"How did you know how to kill them?" I ask.
"You don't want to know," Layke says with a wink.
Even though I'm tremendously glad that Layke and Scooter were here to save our asses, I can't think of anything else but Robbie. If he's not here with them, does that mean he's dead?
"Where's Robbie?" I ask.
I hear movement in the corn where Layke and Scooter emerged from. "Right here." I hear before Robbie hobbles through the stalks. He limps over to us, holding his chest. "I'm not dying yet." He smiles.
With panic in his voice Scooter says, "We've got to leave now. The military will be looking for us and the gunfire doesn't help. We're sitting ducks."
Naomi explains to Layke and Scooter what our plans are. I don't listen to them too closely. For some reason, I have a strange feeling in my gut.
How many of those mutants are there? Since they're made from young girls, are they going to keep sending them to where ever we are until they get Brianna? We can't run forever, and I don't want to live my life constantly on the move. But, if that's what needs to happen, I guess that's the plan. I have no idea how they found us. Maybe, if we can find out how to break that connect, we can finally get rid of them.
Crinkle.
My eyes grow wide. I know exactly what that sound is. I turn around to look at the infirmary tent, and sure enough, the blind mutant is crawling out from under the tarp.
"Watch out!" I yell to alert the others.
Simultaneously, Layke, Scooter, and Naomi take out their guns and shoot at the mutant. Bullets hit its chest and send it stumbling backward. Cameron and Naomi caused some major damage to it before, but it's still got enough juice in it to fight back.
Click. Click. Click.
"Damn it!" Naomi yells, "I'm out."
Scooter is able to send one more round into the mutant before he runs out of bullets as well. Frustrated, he throws his gun at the mutant. It lands in the dirt in front of it. "Me too."
Seeing that he's the only one left with a working weapon, Layke inches his way up to the mutant. He has an advantage since it can't see. He pops off some bullets into the mutant's face. It retaliates by sending a claw through the air. Layke dives out of its way and lands in the dirt feet from it. The mutant's head cocks to the side as if he heard Layke's fall. It takes its arm and pins Layke down to the ground. Layke lets out a scream as the mutant's claws dig deeper into his back. He twists his body enough to aim his gun at it.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Click. Click. Click.
"Fuck!" Layke screams.
He's out of ammunition.
The mutant puts all its weight onto Layke's back. Layke's cry makes my eyes tear up. It was out of pure agony.
"Tell it to get off of him!" Naomi yells at Brianna.
Brianna shouts at it to get off, but it doesn't work. The mutant brings its head down towards Layke's throat. It opens its jaws wide, showing off the knives crowding its mouth. Just before it slices through Layke's jugular, I see a figure flash beside me. Before anyone can do anything, Robbie hurls himself into the mutant. He crashes into it hard enough to throw it off balance and release its claws from Layke's back.
"No!" Scooter screams.
The mutant grabs a hold of Robbie. "Run!" He screams. The mutant sinks its teeth into Robbie's torso, in the same spot his wounds were. Robbie grunts, holding back a scream by grinding his teeth together. "Get out of here!" He yells.
Cameron rushes forward and helps Layke get off the ground. Scooter grabs my hand and tries to pull me back. I watch as the mutant rips one of Robbie's pectoral muscles from his body. A waterfall of blood runs down his clothes and makes a puddle in the dirt. Robbie's mouth opens to scream, but the only sound that comes out is the gurgling of the blood rising in his throat.
"Let's go!" Scooter pulls on my arm again. I look at him. Tears are rolling down his face. His lip quivers as he looks past me and to the mutant's chewing mouth. His face contorts, and he starts to let sobs escape his mouth. "We have to go." He says, finally looking back at me.
I let my feet move and next thing I know, I'm running. I see Cameron holding Layke up as he runs. Layke's shirt is covered in blood. He's slumped over Cameron's arm, but his feet are still moving. Naomi and Brianna are ahead of everyone. They both are carrying all our bags. I see them bouncing as they run. Brianna looks like she's having a hard time carrying the ones she has, but she's not letting go of them.
Scooter is still gripping my hand tightly. I have a feeling that he's not holding onto me to make sure I keep running. He wants to be comforted. I hold onto his hand tightly and try to carry myself through the bloodbath that used to be Moen.
...
Robbie's death was not a suicide, but a sacrifice. Since Z-Day, he said that his only goal was to care for his family and keep them safe. This was no exception. He gave himself up to let Layke live. It was his own way to show his love for his younger brother. Robbie's wounds were already passed healing. He probably knew in the back of his mind that he was going to die anyway. Instead of dying on the road, he chose to die saving his brother. He had already lost his wife and younger sister, and saving Layke was not a choice, but it was his duty. It looked like he didn't think twice before making the decision. He used every inch of strength to free Layke. And it worked. But sadly, it cost him his life. And now he won't be able to see if his family will make it out of his hellhole alive or not.
We made it all the way back to the café pavilion before we saw the military. They have people captured. There's a line of about two dozen people kneeling with their hands on their heads. We stand and watch from behind the railing of the pavilion. Layke's back is against it and Cameron is using some medical supplies to patch up his wounds. Scooter looks distraught. He's staring out into space, blinking the tears out of his eyes. I mean, after what happened I don't blame him for reacting like that. I myself feel like I'm in shock.
I take my attention away from the rest of the group and join Naomi who's watching the military with a close eye. I look at the line of people by the main fire. Military soldiers are walking around them in a circle, with their guns ready to shoot. The villagers are dead quiet and not moving a muscle.
A figure walks out from the distance. He has on a different uniform than the other soldiers. His hat has many medals pinned to it and his tie is tucked into his uniform jacket. The baldness under his hat looks familiar. I think it's the sergeant we met while in the compound. He walks over to the group of people. He stops in front of the first one in the line. I hear him say something, but he's just far enough for me to not be able to hear. The person looks stressed. He shakes his head no. With a flick of his hand, the sergeant's pistol is out and fired into the man's head. His body flops over, resting in the dirt.
The group cries out in fear. They flinch at the gun going off. Some even put their heads to their knees in terror.
"Why are they killing them? Why can't they just let them live?" Naomi whispers.
"Who knows. They probably have some twisted reason for it." I say while continuing to watch.
"What are we going to do? They're in the way of us getting to the car."
I sigh. All these setbacks are making my head hurt. "I don't know. We're probably going to have to improvise as we go, just like what we've been doing."
"What we're doing has gotten people hurt and killed." Naomi mocks.
I rub my forehead with my fingers. "I'm just thinking out loud here."
"Sorry," Naomi looks down and away. "I'm just frustrated."
"I am too. But, we have to keep a clear mind if we want to get out of here in one piece."
"Yeah," She pauses. "You're right."
"Hey," Brianna interrupts. I didn't notice that her attention was pointed at the military and group of people. "Isn't that Darren?" She points to the second to last person in the lineup.
I squint my eyes and try to see who the person is.
"Shit," Naomi says with a fixed gaze. "It is him."
I raise my eyebrow at her. "What do you want to do?"
She looks at me and sighs. "You're not going to let me leave him here, aren't you?"
I shake my head. "No, I'm not."