by D, Hannah
“There are still people in there and skin eaters are gathering around the place. We have to go if we want a chance at making it out of this place alive” Jeff told Mike soothingly.
“I won’t let her live as one of those things!” Mike cried.
“She won’t Mike. I.. put her out of her misery. She’s at peace now” Zoe told him as she felt another tear slide down her face.
“She’s gone?” Mike asked tearfully.
Zoe couldn’t trust herself to speak anymore so she just nodded her head at him as she gave him a hug. Zoe felt Mike shaking as she hugged him and had to bite back more tears as they made their way back to her eyes.
“Come on everyone. Lets get the hell out of this shithole” Michael spat.
Chapter 28
Their climb back over the Pentland Hills seemed to take much longer than all the climbs they had done before. Mike and Arthur were now the ones walking at the back instead of being the ones powering off in front. Sue not being with them anymore probably made them lost their love for hiking. Zoe couldn’t feel more worse at that moment.
There was more skin eaters floating around at the bottom of the hills. Zoe didn’t even feel rage inside of her to go and take care of them. She left that up to Michael, Mandy and Sarah to handle. They seemed to manage fine on their own.
As they approached the top of the highest hill they’d climbed so far Zoe heard noises coming from behind her. Zoe looked back and saw flashlights moving towards them.
“We have to get a move on” Michael told them.
“Run!” Mark said urgently.
Zoe didn’t need to be told twice but she didn’t start moving until Mike and Arthur were past her. Zoe would again take up the rear of the group to make sure that everyone else was safe. The voices were beginning to get louder. Zoe had no idea if it was the people in Rachaels group who were coming after them since Rachael was now dead or if it was Brian and his group. Zoe guessed it was more Rachaels people. Brian didn’t care about anyone that much, apart from himself.
“They’re getting closer!” Zoe yelled.
“Come on people, lets go!” Michael yelled.
They ran down one of the steep hills and Zoe felt that she couldn’t make herself stop. She could make out objects in the dark below her but she didn’t have a clue what it was. Zoe heard grunts and thuds and she realised that it was skin eaters.
When Zoe got to the bottom of the hill she noticed the lump of body parts and bones and realised that they were at the bottom of the hill where their watchers had fallen to their deaths. There didn’t look like there was much left of them, at least not enough left for them to have come back as skin eaters. Zoe also spotted the skin eaters lying around them that had been killed and spotted one of the skin eaters holding a foot in it’s hand. They had clearly still been enjoying their feast from earlier.
“Down there! Let’s get them!” Zoe heard someone shout.
Zoe looked up to the top of the hill and saw flashlights bearing down her. From what she could see she counted six flashlights.
“Come on Zoe, we have to go!” Jeff urged her as he grabbed her arm.
Zoe looked away from the flashlights and let Jef drag her over to the next hill for them to climb. Zoe could barely make out anyone in her group who were climbing in front of her. They had never climbed these hills in the dark before, it was always too risky.
Zoe kept on pushing herself to climb this hill even though her legs were on fire and she felt exhausted. Zoe just wanted to sit down and let her grief pour out from losing Sue. Zoe could still hear Mike crying as he climbed the hill. Zoe didn’t hear any crying coming from Arthur, Zoe supposed that Arthur was too full of rage to feel grief.
When they reached the top of the hill Zoe could see her group standing over the edge of the hill that would take them to the bottom to climb the hill opposite where Alice, John and Alex were.
“What’s going on?” Zoe asked as she approached her group.
“We have a problem” Mark grunted.
Zoe went and looked over the edge of the hill to see what the problem was.
“Shit” Zoe said under her breath.
There, shuffling in the gap on the ground between the hill they were on and the hill the needed to get to, was a herd of skin eaters. Zoe had completely forgotten about the skin eaters she had seen gathering at the hill before they left. She could’ve sworn there wasn’t this many that she’d seen before they left.
“Where did they all come from?” Zoe asked, shocked.
“Fuck knows, but now they block our path to get over there and the hell away from here” Mark said angrily.
“What do we do?” Simone asked.
“Someone distracts them so everyone else can get across” Mike said.
“That’s crazy, we’re not going to let anyone sacrifice themselves!” Sarah yelled.
“It’s the only way and I’m going to be the one to do it” Mike said.
“Don’t be stupid dad! I’m not losing you too!” Arthur yelled angrily.
“I can’t live without your mum, I have to do this. You have to keep on living for both me and your mum. Promise me you will?” Mike said to his son.
“No! I’m not going to lose you! I need you!” Arthur cried.
“You don’t need me anymore. You’re a strong man and you will continue to keep on living with me and your mum gone. We’ll both still be with you. Believe in that” Mike said as he pulled Arthur in for a hug.
Zoe watched as Arthur tried to struggle free from his dads hug, try to argue that what his dad was about to do was just an unnecessary suicide and that he couldn’t abandon him. Zoe heard and saw other people from her group try to talk Mike out of it and say that there was another way they could get across. Zoe could also hear the yells coming from the group that was chasing them and how much closer they were getting. Zoe had heard them shout out in anger which meant that they’d found what was left of their fallen comrades at the bottom of the hill.
“Zoe?” Mike said from beside her.
“Mike.. I..” Zoe started but stopped. She didn’t know what to say to him.
“I have to be with Sue. Promise me you’ll look out for my son?” Mike asked her.
“Of course I will. Mike.. Thank you, for everything” Zoe said to him, tears in her eyes.
“No, thank you. You have saved us and this group countless times before and I’m so glad we invited you into our home the first day this all started” Mike said to her.
“If it weren’t for you I’d be dead. I’ll miss you Mike but I know that you need to do this” Zoe said to him, a tear rolling down her cheek.
“Thank you Zoe” Mike said, tears in his own eyes.
Mike pulled Zoe in for a hug and they stood hugging for a few seconds before Mike stopped, held Zoe at arms length, gave her a small smile and walked away from her.
It all happened in slow motion as Zoe watched Mike disappear out of view, down the side of the hill and Arthur being held back by Jeff and Michael. Arthur couldn’t save his dad now and Jeff and Michael wanted to stop him from dying too. They had all already lost too many people today.
Zoe heard Mike shout from below at the skin eaters, encouraging them all to follow them. Zoe couldn’t bear to look over the edge and witness Mike being chased by the skin eaters. She definitely didn’t want to witness Mike dying.
“They’re gone. We have to move” Lewis said sadly.
“Come on Arthur. Lets go” Jeff said gently to him.
Zoe watched as Arthur stood up slowly from the ground where Jeff and Michael had wore him down to and turned to face where Zoe was standing.
Zoe watched as Arthurs lip turned into a snarl and rage filled his eyes. He started coming toward Zoe with his baseball bat risen high over his head. For a second Zoe thought that Arthur was coming for her, to kill her, somehow blaming Zoe for the death of his two parents.
Zoe bent down to the ground, covering her head, not even preparing to try and fight Arthur off
when she felt a whoosh of air from beside her.
Zoe lifted her head and turned her body around to see Arthur attacking the group that had been following them. The group had caught up with them on the top of this hill as they had been busy saying their goodbyes to Mike.
Every time a head appeared over the top of the hill, Arthur was there with his bat, thumping them so hard on the head or smacked across the face that Zoe swore she could hear bones crack from where she stood. Every person Arthur hit went rolling back down the hill unconscious.
“That’s for my parents you bastards” Arthur yelled as he attacked them.
Zoe felt herself stand back up and walk over to stand near Arthur and started to help him take out the group of people. Zoe couldn’t remember her brain telling her to get up and move and do this but her body definitely knew what to do.
Zoe didn’t feel any remorse or guilt for harming any of the group that was coming after them. They had all played a part in the deaths of both Sue and Mike. If Sue hadn’t been killed and turn into a skin eater then Mike wouldn’t have sacrificed himself for them. Zoe knew that they would’ve found another way around the skin eaters to get back over to the opposite hill but Mike saw his taking a sacrifice for them as a way to be back together with his wife. Zoe just hoped that Mike wouldn’t end up being turned into a skin eater himself.
“Fall back!” Zoe heard someone yell.
Zoe watched as she saw the dark figures that were coming up the hill start to go back down the hill. They had obviously seen and realised that they weren’t going to make it to the top of the hill.
Zoe saw Arthur take a step forward as he was going to follow them all down the hill. His anger taking over any reasonable thoughts.
“Don’t. It’s best we just go now” Zoe said to Arthur as she put her arm out in front of them.
“They all have to pay fo this” Arthur said angrily.
“I know and they’ll get their comeuppance for this. But we have to go” Zoe told him.
“Fine” Arthur said as he turned back around.
Zoe could feel that hatred and anguish roll off of Arthur as he let his feet reluctantly take him back to the opposite side of the hill, the need for revenge still sitting heavily on his shoulders.
Zoe turned around and walked back to join her group. Zoe saw Arthur shrug off Sophia’s hand that she had placed on his shoulder. Zoe hoped that Sophia wouldn’t take that to heart, Arthur had too many emotions running around in his head that he couldn’t handle well.
“Lets go” Jeff said.
Zoe looked over the edge of the hill and saw that all the skin eaters had left and she couldn’t see a sign of not even one skin eater hovering below. Mike had managed his sacrifice fine by managing to get all the skin eaters away from them for them all to get to safety.
Zoe made her way down the hill and let the tears she had been holding back flow freely down her face. It was dark and she was at the back of the group so she knew it was safe for her to cry. The last thing Zoe wanted was for anyone to see her pain at that moment, especially not Arthur. She had only known Mike and Sue for such a short time but in that time it felt like a lifetime.
They all took their time climbing up the last hill. Zoe looked behind her, expecting to see people still chasing them but saw nothing but darkness. The air was quiet and still and there was no noise from the skin eaters.
Zoe reached the top of the hill and wiped her eyes clear from the tears before she stood up and faced everyone.
“But why are they gone?” Alex cried.
“Because bad people took them away from us bud. They’re in a better place now, watching down on us all” Jeff said to Alex.
“But it’s not fair!” Alex cried.
“I know bud. I know” Jeff said as he hugged his little brother.
Zoe saw Arthur storm off saying he needed a minute alone. Seeing Alex getting so upset must’ve set Arthur off. Sophia didn’t try and follow him, knowing he needed this time alone.
Alice and John were both sat on the ground, none of them knowing what to say, knowing they had just lost two of their friends in such cruel circumstances.
“What do we do now?” Michael came to ask Zoe.
“I know that we need to get going, get out of here before anyone catches up to us but I think that we should all just take a minute to gather our heads” Zoe said to him.
Michael nodded his head that he understood and went to busy himself by grabbing the bags that they had packed and setting them out on the ground. One bag each they had agreed to carry. A bag sounded like it would be able to carry a lot but these bags proved that they really didn’t.
Zoe felt the slight chill of the wind hit her skin and Zoe relished in it. She felt her heated skin cool down and the chill made her head start to clear a little.
Zoe didn’t want to think back on what had just happened with both Mike and Sue. All Zoe was happy for was that at least Rachael was now dead and wouldn’t be continuing to pursue them in the days to come. Her group would eventually give up coming after them and Brian wouldn’t even attempt it. Zoe hoped that Brian would just go and crawl back into a hole or something.
“We tied up the two that were left to watch us. Not sure what to do with them now” Zoe heard Alice telling Michael.
“We kill them. Easy as that” Michael said as he took out his knife.
“No. We leave them” Zoe said as she stood up and walked over to them.
“Leave them? They’ll come after us!” John said surprised.
“I didn’t say anything about setting them free. We just leave them as they are” Zoe told them.
“Leave them tied up?” Alice asked.
“Yes. We don’t owe them anything. They treated us like shit so now we treat them like shit” Zoe said.
“Okay. We leave them” Michael agreed, a small smile playing at the side of his lips.
“Good. Lets go get ready to leave here” Zoe said.
Zoe walked off and went to pick up one of the bags, placing it over her shoulders. She glanced over to the bushes and saw the two men that Alice and John had tied up. They were both looking at her, murmuring something that Zoe couldn’t make out due to the rope that was in their mouths. They had a look of pleading in their eyes.
Zoe walked over and knelt down beside them, looking at them both in the eyes as she felt the anger build up inside her.
“You both will now get what you deserve” Zoe told them angrily.
Zoe stood up and turned her back on the mean as she saw her group grabbing their bags and walking towards her to start walking over the next hills. Zoe saw Sophia picking up another bag that was meant for Arthur. Zoe would let Sophia take it over to him feeling that her face was the best for him to see in that moment. The two bags that had been meant for Mike and Sue had been emptied of it’s contents and divided between other bags. They both now sat empty on top of the hill.
Zoe heard the two mean protesting at everyone as they walked past them and not one person even offered them a glance. If they were thought of as being cold and heartless, they didn’t care in that moment.
“You doing okay?” Jeff asked as he stopped beside Zoe.
“I’m fine, promise” Zoe said, giving Jeff a small smile.
Zoe saw Alex clutching Jeff’s other hand. If it were daylight and Zoe could see Alex’s face clearly she would see that it would’ve been red and stricken with tears. Zoe was glad that she couldn’t see it.
“Lets get out of here” Jeff said to both Zoe and Alex.
Zoe let Jeff lead her away and she saw that Sophia had Arthur in a hug. Zoe could hear Arthur wailing, letting his grief start to pour out of him. Zoe turned her head away from the sight and followed her group away.
Zoe had no idea where it was that they were going. The Pentland Hills seemed to span out in every direction and it wasn’t as straightforward as Zoe had originally thought. Michael and Mandy were taking the lead and seemed to know exactly where they were going.
Zoe knew that they would have to stop eventually to try and get some rest. She didn’t want to have everyone travelling completely exhausted. That was a disaster waiting to happen.
“We should really think about stopping somewhere soon” Zoe said to Jeff.
“Michael knows a spot. He told us before we left. It’s a small wooded area on top of one of the hills so it should keep us safe for a few hours” Jeff told her.
“Okay. Good” Zoe said.
Zoe heard Arthur and Sophia catch up with them and started to walk behind them. Zoe heard Arthurs soft snuffling and sniffing from the crying he had just done.
Alex let go of Jeff’s hand and walked behind to Join Arthur. Zoe watched as Alex held Arthurs hand and Arthur accepting it. The both of them sharing their grief.
Alex had spent a lot of time with Mike and Sue as they had watched over him nearly every time Jeff and Sophia had to leave. Alex probably looked at Mike and Sue as his step in mum and dad for a while so losing them both must’ve felt like losing his parents all over again.
“He’s a good kid” Jeff said fondly.
“He is indeed” Zoe agreed.
They didn’t really have much hill climbs to do this time around. There were a few dips here and there but nothing that would make their legs burn from the climbing. Zoe started to see the sky lighten a bit as a new day was about to begin. Zoe could begin to make out the people in her group more clearly now.
Zoe could see how much the night had had an affect on everyone as their bodies were all hunched over and their heads hanging down. If Zoe didn’t know them all any better and a stranger were to see them they would think they were skin eaters and try to kill them all.
Zoe watched as Michael slowed to a stop beside the small wooded area that Jeff had been speaking about. It looked like it would offer enough cover for them for a few hours whilst they rested.
“We’ll stop here for a bit” Michael told them all.
“Who’ll take first watch?” Jeff asked.
“I’ll do it. I won’t be sleeping much anyway” Arthur said.
“I’ll take the first watch with him” Sophia said.
“Cool. Everyone else, get some rest. We have a bit of a trek in front of us”Michael said to everyone.
