by Lowry, C. L.
Destiny turned around in her seat. “What do you mean you were living with those things?”
“Exactly what I said. We lived there with them.”
“Please tell me those aren’t your friends out here on the ground too,” Neil said.
“I hope not.” Sade’s mind was racing. She did the best she could to eye up the human bodies that were scattered around the church and in the street. She could tell by the statures of the bodies that most of them were adult males. The Underlings, she thought. She continued scanning the scene.
Levi was particularly quiet. The day of the attack on the church was playing back in his head. He could hear the doors slamming, gunshots, and screams. He could actually hear it all like it was happening right now. He was not sure what would be left of the church after The Underlings got to it. He still could not wrap his head around the disappearance of his friends. He knew Sade wasn’t satisfied with his version of the events that took place that day, but he certainly remembered checking as many rooms as he could and his friends not being in any of those rooms.
The side door slid open. The teens exited the minivan and headed straight to the church. Destiny stayed put, and Neil left Terrence with her. Terrence was squirming in the backseat. His sweaty hands shook as he did his best to grip the small pistol. The Ruger .380 almost slipped out of the hands of the nervous teen several times. His head was on a swivel, but it was more so out of fear than anything else.
Terrence couldn’t sit still. He hopped out of the minivan and posted outside of the vehicle with his gun up.
“What’s wrong with you?” Destiny asked, opening the door.
“Get back inside the van. It’s not safe out here,” Terrence said. His voice cracked as he spoke.
“T, get back in here. You don’t have to be out there.”
“No. I’m not going to be a sitting duck for these demons. I heard Mr. Dalton talking about them one time. He said they can crush a car just by jumping on top of it. I’m not going to be sitting in there so one of those things can crush me like a bug.”
“So, why are you leaving me in here to be crushed?”
“Because I’m going to protect you. This jawn right here may be small, but it packs a punch when I shoot it. If one of those things comes near me, I’ll empty the clip on it. It won’t even get close to the van.”
The words sounded brave, but Terrence’s body language told another tale. He also had a bit of a history when it came to having courage. Destiny remembered an incident in which a squirrel got into the inventory room, and Terrence fired five shots at it, missing all five shots. The leadership of the group were ready to strip Terrence of his weapon and security detail, but Destiny took the blame for the incident. She knew her father would pull strings with Maverick, and that was exactly what had happened. Terrence was able to keep his duties, and Destiny got a stern warning, but no other punishment was issued.
“Terrence, get back inside here right now! You aren’t going to do anything with that little gun. Look how big those things are.”
“Yes, I am. I’m going to kill one of those things.”
“Thou shall not kill, Terrence. You know that’s what the Bible says.”
“I think the Bible was referring to humans, not these monsters.”
“They are humans. Well, they were humans at one point.”
“Shut up, Destiny. Do you want to live, or do you want to die?”
“I want to live, but I also want to go to heaven. Think about what you’re saying and what you’re planning to do. There’s no coming back from that. You’ll have to live with that forever, and at some point, you’ll have to answer for those sins.”
“I’ll gladly answer for my sins. But I’ll do it when I grow to be an old man. I’m not going to sit here and listen to you preach peace at a time when people are struggling to survive. And since you want to talk about your Bible so much, ask God to protect you because I’m going inside with the rest of them.”
“Wait, don’t leave me out here by myself,” Destiny pleaded, watching Terrence run over to the church.
CHAPTER 37
“This is sick,” Neil said as the group stepped into the church. He was so distracted by the pungent odor in the air and the gruesome scene that he did not have his weapon raised. Usually, the young man was on point, but this was the first time he had seen anything this horrendous. The main level of the church was filled with the corpses of the mutated creatures. The teens were literally walking on blood and spent shell casings. It was a warzone. Human body parts were also scattered around the floor. The scene was the result of heinous attacks by the creatures.
“How do we know these things are dead?” Jameel asked.
“We know, because if they weren’t, we’d be dead right now,” Levi replied.
Levi poked the corpses as he passed to confirm what he had just told Jameel. This was the first time he had been in this portion of the church since the night everyone mutated. So many memories came back to him just standing in the aisle. He missed his parents and his old life more than ever. Seeing the church in this condition was a disgrace to him. He was ashamed.
“Check this out,” Sade announced. She was standing next to one of the spray-painted ambulances that The Underlings arrived in. There was heavy damage to the front of the ambulance. It was used to drive through the front doors of the church during the raid. The scratches all over the vehicle showed that the creatures attempted to claw their way inside of the vehicle.
Levi ran over to the ambulance. “This is one of the vehicles that those men came in.”
“Let’s clear it,” Neil said.
“We only have two guns. How are we going to cover it?” Jameel asked.
“You have three guns,” Terrence added, stepping into the church.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” Neil shouted. “You’re supposed to be protecting my cousin. Where is she?”
“I’m right here,” Destiny said, walking into the church. The smell of rotting corpses immediately turned her stomach, causing her to vomit.
“This is why I told you to stay in the car. We don’t have time for this. Come on, let’s clear this vehicle.”
The three, armed young men took up a tactical position and approached the ambulance. Sade moved out of their way, and Levi trailed them with his Louisville Slugger®. The ambulance had been driven directly down the main aisle of the church, which left them in an area of approach from their current position. With their guns pointed at the rear of the vehicle, they made their way up to the rear doors.
Jameel grabbed one of the door handles and flung the door open. The back of the ambulance appeared trashed. Neil climbed inside the back to double-check the vehicle. He discovered a few weapons and restraints that were left behind. “Yo, fellas. We are taking these with us,” Neil said, throwing the found items out of the vehicle.
After clearing the ambulance, the teens continued through the church. Sade noticed all the damage throughout the church. The church had been riddled with bullets. The window to the production room was filled with holes. Initially, she was mad at Levi for what had happened, but walking through the church made her realize what he was truly up against during the raid. It was a miracle that he made it out of that place alive. Realizing this also made her worry more about Jayven and Cameron.
The blocked access to the rear of the church had been opened up too. Levi’s anxiety was going haywire while he searched the back rooms. He did them in the same order as the day of the raid. Each room had been ransacked. There was no sign of his friends.
“Levi!” Sade yelled out from the basement. Levi sprinted to see what Sade wanted. Once he reached the basement, he saw her kneeling down over some boxes. “You believe they didn’t even take my jerky?” Sade said to him, laughing.
Levi laughed too. “I guess those dudes would rather starve than be vegans.”
The other teens laughed at the comment. “Can we please take this stuff back with us?” Sade asked Nei
l.
“Yeah, we can do that.” Neil, Terrence, and Jameel began picking up the boxes of spilled goods and taking them out to the minivan.
“There’s no sign of either of them,” Levi told Sade.
“What does this mean? Did they get out like us, or were they taken? For all we know, they could have even been eaten by the beasts.”
“Don’t say stuff like that.”
“Why not? It’s the truth. Jay and Cam have nowhere to go, and they can’t survive out here on their own. It’s been more than a week since all of this happened. You know damned well that they couldn’t survive out here for a day, let alone a week.”
“Stop swearing in the Lord’s house, Sade. You know I hate when you do that.”
“The Lord’s house? It looks more like the devil’s playground to me. Take a look around, Levi. This place is a mess.”
“Don’t you think I know that? It’s okay, though, because once things go back to normal, we are going to fix this place up and get it back to a place of worship.”
Sade patted Levi on the shoulder and nodded before hitting the stairs. She appreciated his optimism, but she didn’t have the energy to entertain it at the moment. She knew that she would never live a normal life ever again. The closest thing to it was The Saviors camp, and who knew how long that would last?
Sade struggled to climb up to her favorite place in the whole building. Getting up there with one arm was not easy, but she was able to do it. She was back on top of the world. She watched as the other teens carried her boxes out to the car. She ripped open a package of jerky and bit into the tough snack. Sade longed to taste the snack once more, and she got that wish granted. She lay down on the beam and looked up into the sky. Everything was changing so fast.
Below her used to be a pit of monsters, and now it was just a burial site. Jay and Cam, I won’t stop until I find you. She took another bite. Levi looked and saw her good arm dangling from the post. He knew she would not be leaving without visiting her favorite spot. He, on the other hand, wanted to get out of the church sooner than later. Looking around at all the corpses, he couldn’t even tell which ones belonged to his parents. The number of corpses he was looking at was significantly lower than the number of beasts that was originally packed in the building. Levi was not sure what happened to the rest of the beasts, but he had an inkling that there was a possibility of them returning. If that was the case, it was time to head back to The Saviors.
CHAPTER 38
“You are crazy, you know that?”
“Yeah, I know. I can’t help it sometimes,” Bogdan replied.
“You didn’t have to kill that chick. You could have let her, and her pathetic man just leave.”
“Me? You are the one that knocked out the big black dude. It didn’t look like he was breathing. So, don’t sit here and try to lecture me.”
Wolff laughed. “If I didn’t knock him out, he would have knocked you upside your head.”
Bogdan held a cloth up to his bloody nose. Wolff placed his hand over Bogdan’s nose and quickly snapped it back in place. Bogdan grimaced.
“Keep that rag on that crooked snout. I popped it back in place, but it’s still going to leak for a while.”
Wolff dropped a box of bullets on Bogdan’s lap. Bogdan opened the cylinder on the revolver and dropped out all the empty casings. He placed the gun between his legs while he reloaded with his free hand.
“Hurry up so we can go get that pansy next.”
“How the hell are we going to get him? He’s in Adina’s room.”
“We’ll just find a way to get his ass out of the room. When we do, we are going to put him down.”
“And how exactly are you going to explain that to her?”
“I don’t think it will be much to explain. Adina has a choice. The Association or the fucking pansy. If she chooses him over us, then she’ll have a big problem on her hands.”
Dannie watched as Star trotted around the room. Adina was still recovering, and as Dannie promised, he wasn’t going to leave her side. The only time he stepped out the room was if he could not find someone to take Star outside for a walk, which was not really an issue. The anxious dog barked and clawed at the door.
“Get back over here. There ain’t nothin’ out there for you, girl,” Dannie said.
Star continued to claw at the door. Suddenly, the door slowly crept open. Star took off out the door. “Hey, get back here,” Dannie yelled, as he hopped up and began chasing after her. The last thing he wanted was Star getting out of the building. Dannie jetted down the hallway and made a sharp left turn around the corner. Just as Dannie hit the corner, he spotted Star. She was wrapped in Bogdon’s arms. “I apologize for my dog. She got out as soon as I turned my head.”
“Oh, no worries,” Bogdon muttered as he rubbed his hand across the top of the dog’s head.
A knot formed in Dannie’s stomach. He noticed that Bogdon still had not released Star. He just continued rubbing her head. He slowly inched forward, hoping that the man would get the hint and release his dog. However, Bogdon stood his ground and continued giving Dannie a sinister look. Dannie continued toward Bogdon when suddenly a sharp pain shot through the left side of his face. He stumbled onto the ground. Wolff emerged from an open door, delivering another punch to the side of Dannie’s face.
“Where is he?” Wolff asked.
“Where is who?” Dannie asked after spitting out a glob of blood.
“Your friend. The one that shot Adina. I want to know where he is.”
“He’s not my friend.”
Wolff delivered a swift kick to Dannie’s midsection. “Where is he? Wolff yelled.
“I don’t know.”
The pain Dannie felt was excruciating, especially after Wolff kicked him again. “I’ll give one more opportunity to tell me the truth,” Wolff declared, as he slowly pulled out his blade. Dannie knew no matter what he said, this would be the end. He pushed himself with his left hand and then rolled over.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The shots from the .380 pistol were aimed at Wolff. After the first kick, Dannie had pulled the small pistol out of his pocket. The second kick almost caused him to drop it, but he held on tight; knowing it was his form of defense against Wolff. Star barked and came running down the hallway. Both Wolff and Bogdon took cover after the shots when off. Bogdon dropped Star and ducked behind a pillar. He pulled a gun from his waistband and gripped it tight. He took a deep breath and popped out from behind the pillar. With his finger slapping on the trigger, Bogdon sent several rounds down the hallway.
Wolff popped out from the room with a rifle in hand. He was ready to put holes through Dannie like a slice of Swiss cheese. When entered the hallway, he noticed it was empty. “Where is he?” Wolff barked.
“I didn’t see where went. I tried to light his ass up.”
“Go find him. I’ll check these rooms.”
Bogdon sprinted down the hallway and took off around the corner. Wolff eyed up another open door that led to a room right across from the one he took cover in. He held his rifle up, ready to attack as he stepped in the room. “Come one out, if you’re in here. The more I gotta keep hunting you down, the worst it’s gon’ be for you.”
Wolff kicked over a desk that was pushed against the wall, but there was no sign of Dannie. The old classroom was still filled with the small student desks and a bookshelf that sat in the back corner of the room. Everything was clear except the bookshelf. Wolff crept up to the shelf, as he listened intently. He waited for the sound of the slightest movement, ready to strike. There rustling coming from behind the shelf. He walked lightly, trying his best not to give away his location.
Once Wolff got up to the bookshelf, he carefully placed his left hand against it. His right hand continued to tightly grip the rifle. He was licking his chops, ready to slice Dannie up. The rustling continued. Wolff pushed the bookcase over, hoping to trap his prey. Instead, a stray cat ran from behind the crashing bookshelf. Wolff checke
d under the shelf and there was no sign of Dannie.
A large explosion from outside rocked the building, shattering the windows in the room. Wolff dropped to the ground as the glass spread across the floor and onto his back. His ears were ringing. He popped up and looked outside, only to see members of The Association scrambling around outside. Wolff quickly exited the room and ran out of the building to find the source of the explosion. Smoke and flames surfaced from the front gate. Other members of The Association ran toward the front gate.
“What the fuck going on?” Wolff yelled, running toward the gate.
“Someone drove a car into the front border, and it blew up,” one of the men replied.
The car was an older model Ford Crown Victoria that had be driven directly at the entrance to The Association. Wolff immediately thought it was Dannie trying to make an escape. The vehicle was still on fire and smoking, as he reached the front gate. He noticed the vehicle was on the outside of the gate trying to get inside the camp. “Find me the person who did this.”
Wolff had his suspicions on who would perform such an act. His first thought was Dannie, but his next was Micah. They left their leader in the streets, and this could be his way of sending a message to those who chose to return home. Wolff wasted no time investigating the damaged Ford. There would surely be some type of evidence inside that could help him figure out who drove it into the gate. The flames were still shooting out, making it difficult for him to approach the vehicle but he circled it from a distance. There was no sign of a body inside the vehicle.
“Wolff, over here!” someone shouted. Wolff looked down the street and saw a man approaching with his hands up. Dressed in all black, the man kept his hands raised in the air as he approached. Wolff’s rifle was pointed directly at the male, but he didn’t pull the trigger.
“Stop right there,” Wolff ordered. He looked over and flagged a team with him.
