by Lowry, C. L.
As Wolff approached the Saturn Vue, a large shadowy figure emerged from the smoke. He stopped in his tracks and eyed up a mutated beast that was inching toward him. The beast was still actively mutating, as its teeth formed into fangs, and the hair thickened into fur. Once a member of The Association was now a blood thirsty mutation that had its red eyes on Wolff. The beast sized him up and continued inching.
Wolff held on tight to Adina. His hand grazed the top of his tucked gun. He almost forgot the gun was empty and considered pulling it out to defend himself. Instead, he reached over and pulled out a large hunting knife from a leg holster. With no ammo left in his firearm, Wolff had no other option but to take on the beast with another weapon. As fearless as Wolff was, it did not stop his heart from beating out of his chest. He was panting heavily as he watched the beast’s claws dig into the ground. He clenched the knife as the beast inched closer and closer toward him. This was literally going to be the fight of his life.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Shots rang out, striking the side of the beast, and a few went into the side of the Saturn. Two members of The Association continued firing at the beast. The beast turned its attention to the gunmen. The shots pierced through the beast, and it let out a loud roar. Another roar was let out, but it was not from the injured creature. A large figure lunged through the smoke and mauled one of the gunmen. The other gunman sprinted toward the vehicles, and the injured beast followed. With the beasts focused on the gunman, Wolff used this opportunity to get Adina to the Saturn.
“Help me,” the gunman yelled out to Wolff as he continued sprinting to the vehicles. Wolff was able to go unnoticed as he opened the backdoor and plopped Adina down on the backseat. He climbed over her and slid into the driver’s seat. More gunshots rang off.
“Stay with me, boss. I’m going to get you home.”
Wolff started the vehicle, when the front passenger door opened, and the gunman hopped in.
“Go, go, go!” he yelled.
The shots he let off finished the injured beast, but the second one was on the trail. The tires screeched as Wolff slammed his foot down on the accelerator. More shots rang off as the gunman leaned out the window and did his best to put the beast down. The beast continued its stride, hopping over parked cars and making itself a difficult target.
Wolff hit several turns but noticed that the beast was still in pursuit.
“Why is that thing still alive?” he asked the gunman.
“I can’t hit the damn thing,” he replied as he left off another shot that struck the side of a home. “Fuck, I’m out of ammo.”
Wolff hit another turn and checked his rear-view mirror again. The beast was gaining on their vehicle. We aren’t going to outrun that thing, he thought as he continued mashing on the gas pedal. The Saturn was already at its max speed. The steering wheel began shaking. The gunman climbed back into the vehicle. He opened the glove compartment, looking for ammo. He also checked under the seat.
The rear windshield of the Saturn shattered after the beast took a swipe at the back of the vehicle. Its claws ripped through the rear bumper on a second swipe. Wolff took a sharp left turn, hoping to shake the beast, to no avail.
“Here, take my gun. It’s loaded!” Wolf shouted, handing his gun over.
The gun man hung out of the window once more and pointed the weapon at the beast. CLICK! “What the fuck. This shit ain’t loaded.”
Wolff slammed on the brakes and pushed the gunman, causing him to fall out of the window. The beast immediately pounced on the man and sunk its teeth into his shoulder. The man screamed as the beast continued feasting on his flesh. He desperately swung the gun, striking the beast. With one bite, the beast ripped off the man’s arm. He let out another scream. Wolff checked the rearview mirror again, seeing the distance he was putting between himself and the beast. It was time to head back to The Association.
CHAPTER 2
Kyle did not want to admit it, but he needed help. Two of the bullets that Wolff fired at him had pierced the Chevy and tore through Kyle’s right arm. His teeth clenched down on the nylon strap, and he turned his face away from his arm, tightening the makeshift tourniquet that he applied to his arm. Kyle almost lost control of the Chevy, as he focused on his injured arm. The flow of the warm fluid that dripped down his arm began to slow down. Blood covered the interior of the truck.
I don’t have much time before nightfall. I have to find shelter.
The sun began to set, and Kyle slowly drifted down the street. He checked the rearview mirror, ensuring he was not being followed. He did his best to dust off the orange smoke particles that covered his clothing, but with only one good arm, there was only so much he could do. He checked the tightness of the torniquet once more.
“I think you need to get that looked at.” Kyle heard Jacqui’s voice and smiled.
Hearing her voice made his heart melt. His tough, masculine exterior was temporarily shut down after her words were spoken. Kyle missed his deceased wife so much that he never questioned why he was hearing her voice.
The Chevy sideswiped a few parked cars before Kyle straightened up the damaged vehicle on the narrow street.
“Honey, I think you should pull over.”
There was a bright glow coming from the front passenger seat in the truck. Kyle looked over and saw Jacqui’s stunning face.
“What are you doing here? This isn’t real.”
“Are you not happy to see me?”
“Of course, I am. The only problem is that if I’m seeing you, that must mean—”
“Don’t say it. It doesn’t mean anything. I’m just here to visit you.”
“Why? Why are you here?”
“I’m here because you need me to be. I know what you just did. I just want to know why you did it.”
“I had to do it. That woman was the reason why you and Chloe aren’t with me. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be in this mess. She had to die.”
“Honey, she didn’t have to die. You wanted her to die. You can’t keep going like this. Look at you. You’re a bloody mess.”
Kyle began breathing heavily. “I just . . .” He had trouble catching his breath. “I just have to get inside somewhere, and I’ll be alright. I can patch myself up.”
“You have to stop this, Kyle. You can’t do everything on your own. You need help.”
“I don’t need help. I need you.”
“You have me. I’m not going anywhere. I will always be with you.”
“How is it?”
“How is what?”
“Heaven. How is it there?”
Jacqui laughed. “What type of question is that?”
“I think I’m ready to go. I need to be with you,” he added, reaching his hand out toward her.
“I can’t let you do that.”
“You can’t let me do what?”
“I can’t let you come with me. You have to wake up.”
“What?”
“Wake up, Kyle. Wake up.”
The blaring horn grabbed Kyle’s attention. He regained consciousness and grimaced in pain as he felt the discomfort travel through his body. He was pinned down inside the vehicle. Flipped over on its side, the truck was wrecked. Kyle did not even know he crashed and flipped the pickup truck. The last thing he remembered was seeing Jacqui’s face.
Kyle did his best to gather himself. He was covered in blood and shattered glass. He sat up, looking at the damaged interior and brushing the glass off his clothing. Everything in the truck was crushed and thrown around. The engine had been pushed through the dashboard and was pressed up against the driver’s seat. How the fuck am I going to get out of here? He looked up at the driver’s door, which he was not sure how he would get open. He would have to somehow get around the engine that was now in the way. Kyle slowly looked around. He needed to find a way out of the truck.
Kyle mustered up the energy to crawl in the back seat of the truck. With the torniquet wrapped around one of his arms, he only h
ad one good arm to work with. He grabbed the headrest of the backseat and pulled himself up with one arm. He was now standing up and attempting to get the back door open. With the vehicle on its side, gravity was naturally working against him. Kyle could not get the door to budge.
Kyle let out a loud scream and slammed his hand against the headrest. He needed a way out. The pain shooting through his body began worsening. It would not be long before Wolff and the other members of The Association pulled up. “Jacqui, I need a sign,” Kyle muttered as he did his best to fight off the feeling of defeat.
Kyle hung his head as he tried to plan his next move. Sun rays shined into the vehicle and were caught in the peripheral of Kyle’s eye. He looked over and noticed the rays were shining through the truck’s sunroof. Just outside was a church that sat on the northwest corner of the intersection. “Thanks, Jacqui.”
Kyle struggled to crawl back into the front seat area of the truck. His battered body was giving up on him. With the little bit of energy he had, he delivered a front kick to the sunroof. It did not budge. He tried again with the same result. Kyle stopped and stared at the church on the corner. Something about the building was grabbing his attention. The sunrays suddenly stopped shining into the vehicle. Thick clouds began covering the sky. Kyle’s eyes scanned the interior of the Chevy, looking for something that would help him break the window. With the engine pushing in the dashboard, he could not spot anything useful in the vehicle.
Kyle sat back up and looked at the church again. It seemed as if the dark clouds were moving in around the church but not directly over it. The little bit of sunrays that peeked through the clouds were shining down over the sanctuary.
Suddenly, a figure appeared from the dark alley way that separated the buildings. The thin, wiry figure headed directly toward the Chevy. Kyle tried to crawl into the back seating area as the figure was getting closer. He was able to make it into the back of the truck, however, before the glass on the sunroof shattered, and he felt someone grab him by the ankle.
CHAPTER 3
For Levi, the end of the world started in the church. His parents ran the church and did a lot of beneficial work in the community. His father is Pastor Lewis, a beloved figure in Philadelphia. Paster Lewis was one of the few pastors in the city who put themselves on the frontline when it came to protesting social injustice and police brutality. Although many praised the pastor for his work, others despised him for being on the frontline. They felt that the pastor’s new views and actions conflicted with that of the church. Members of his congregation were not happy that the pastor was spending more time in the community than in the sanctuary.
When many of the protests turned into riots, anarchists took that opportunity to launch attacks on the church. They shattered windows, spray painted the building, attacked members, and threatened to kill Pastor Lewis and his family. Ironically, when Pastor Lewis tried to report these incidents to the police department, he was often left with inadequate service because they also did not approve of his role in the protests.
Pastor Lewis was left to protect his family and church on his own. Not even the members of the church knew what he was going through. Unfortunately, Levi witnessed it all. He often faced backlash in school from other students who took opportunities to terrorize him because of the media attention his father was getting. There was nothing worse than showing up at a private school that was majority white when you were the son of a man who was shouting “Black Lives Matter” every day on the news. Levi felt lost in the world for quite some time. Luckily for him, his father enrolled him in boxing classes at an early age. This led to Levi being able to not only defend himself against bullies at school and in the neighborhood but to also become more confident and willing to defend his family.
Once the riots became violent, several of the church members wanted to escape the chaos, so Pastor Lewis opened the doors of the church to anyone needing a safe space during those times. He even stayed behind when the evacuations took place so that he could keep the church doors open for those in need. The pastor held services twice a day, and the church was stocked with food. Some members served as security guards to protect the church and the members due to the recent threats and attacks. Many believed it would be the end of the world, but Pastor Lewis ensured them that the chaos would pass, and brighter days were ahead of them. The pastor never lost his faith.
Unbeknownst to Pastor Lewis, the chemical gas was released, and the mutations began happening all across the city. Levi still remembered the day the gas was released. He had gone to the hardware store to pick up a few items needed to board up the church. Pastor Lewis was caring, but he was not naïve. He knew there was evil outside that would eventually work its way inside the church. As Levi made his way back to the church from the hardware store, he noticed that the sky appeared to be turning orange, and people began dropping like flies in the streets. The warnings about mutations had already been put out, but it seemed like something out of a horror story. In a full sprint, he made his way back to the church in minutes. Once he warned his father about his observations, they hastily began boarding up the church. All the members of the church were called inside, and wooden planks were nailed across the front, rear, and side doors.
Once the church was secured, Levi worked his way up to his favorite place, which was one of the production rooms that overlooked the main level of the church. This was the room that controlled the audio and visual aspects of the church services. There were three rooms on the upper level, but the middle room was significantly larger than the other two. Levi and a few other teenagers often hung out in this room. Levi’s best friend, Noah, had left the city with his parents during the evacuation. The rest of his crew was right by his side, however, in the production room. Two brothers, Cameron and Jayven, were a couple years younger than Levi, and Sade was a year older than him.
The group of four teenagers were kidding around with the equipment when they heard screams coming from the main level of the church. They looked and saw the church members scrambling to cover the doors and broken windows. The orange chemical gas began seeping into the church. The teens began panicking and attempted to help get people into the upstairs rooms, but Pastor Lewis ordered them to get back into the room. The last thing the children remembered was watching the mutations. They remembered seeing human fingernails grow into claws and body parts expanding and growing larger. The children also saw facial structures transform from human and turning into a beast. It was horrifying.
That night changed Levi’s life. He no longer had his parents by his side. After the release of the gas, he was just left with his friends. They were just four teenagers trying to navigate in a new world. They went through several ups and downs that forced Levi to take on more of a father-figure role, despite Sade being the oldest out of the group.
The crash got all the teens’ attention. Levi climbed through one of the church’s side windows and crept through the alley. With all the doors still secure, Levi and his friends entered and exited the church through certain windows. This allowed them to keep people and beasts from easily wandering into the church. It was almost dark out, and Levi hated being out at night. That noise came from this way, he thought to himself as he tiptoed through the alley, wielding a baseball bat.
It did not take long before he spotted the blood trail in the alley. He followed it to the street, where he noticed the damaged Chevy Silverado flipped over on its side. Levi quickly peeked into the truck. Blood covered the driver’s seat and the sunroof. Levi scanned both directions of the street. There was no one in sight, only blood, broken glass, and bullet holes.
Levi tracked the blood trail back into the alley. A smell was in the air. The smell of dampness. Rain was sure to come soon. The wind began picking up, filling the air with the stench of trash and decayed bodies. This was the new norm. Once in a while, a new body would appear, either mauled by one of the creatures or murdered at the hands of another human being. Either way, it did not bother Levi too
much.
The young teen’s average-sized stature appeared much larger in his shadow that extended down the alley. His boxing training kept him in good shape. Sade had recently braided his sandy brown hair, which was draping down past his shoulders. Levi barely had a mustache, but puberty caused his voice to begin cracking.
Rustling sounds came from the rear of one of the stores. The blood trail continued in the direction of the store, so he followed it. Although curiosity killed the cat, it fueled Levi. He never backed down from a mystery, even if it meant walking through an alley to approach possible danger.
The blood trail began thinning out. Levi turned the corner in the alley and saw a dark figure hovering over a body. The dark figure was thin and hunched over, not much of an opposition for the skilled teen. “Hey, get off of him!” Levi yelled. The dark figure ignored the command. “I said, get off of him!” Levi shouted, running up to the figure and swinging the bat at him. The bat connected on the side of the figure’s face, knocking him to the ground. The nails on the bat had ripped through the man’s face when the bat struck him. He fell to the ground but quickly popped back up and ran off into the shadows.
Levi turned to the man on the ground, who was a bloody mess. “Are you okay, sir?” Levi asked.
Kyle mustarded up all the energy he had left to sit up straight. “I’m fine,” the stubborn man replied.
“You’re far from fine. Come on, let me get you inside because that guy might come back.”
Levi helped Kyle to his feet and assisted him back to the church. The young teen was so focused on helping Kyle that he never noticed the man watching him from the shadows. Blood trickled down the man’s face, and he wanted revenge. Levi thought he left, but he was right behind him, and he had company with him.
