by Tahnee Fritz
This gets him to make a move and he lowers the gun. He slides out of the way and pulls a key from a pocket on his jacket. It goes to the giant padlock hanging from the gate and he takes his time to unlock it. The metal lock gives and the gate is free. The big guy rushes past me and quickly shoves the gate open.
“Thank you.” I say, trying not to be as sarcastic as I want to.
I take that first, nervous step to the other side with my group and the few guards who chose to join us, right by my side. The second all of us are outside the city, we hear the gate being closed and locked behind us. A few turn their heads in a panic thinking we’re all going to die out here. There is a good chance of that happening, but I’m not going to be the one who ruins our evening by bringing it up. I keep my head up high, looking out at the street ahead of us.
“Where do we go now?” I hear one of the women ask.
“There’s a trail up ahead, leading into the woods.” One of the guards, a younger man, maybe a year or two older than me, speaks up.
“How do you know?” I ask.
He looks down at his feet, “I’ve gone with them once before. It killed me to watch them feed the vamps like that, but there was nothing I could do to stop them. In order to save my life, I kept my mouth shut and stayed as a night guard at the gate.”
“It’s okay. You’re helping us now and that’s all that matters.” I say as the group starts walking along the highway. “What’s your name?”
“Seth.” He replies.
“I’m Bridget.”
“I take it you know someone who was taken tonight?” he asks.
I nod, “A couple of people actually.”
“I hope we find them in time.” He says.
“We will.” I say, not only to reassure him, but to reassure myself as well.
There’s no such thing as too much reassurance in a world that’s slowly crumbling at your feet.
The trail isn’t too far from the gate. Our new friend, Seth, lead us to a small, gravel path right off the highway. It will take us straight into the pitch blackness that makes up the woods and to, what I can only assume, our inevitable death.
A few of us hesitate. I’m right there with them. We all know what’s waiting for us once we step foot on that trail and disappear amongst trees. It feels like suicide walking into a place we know is haunted by monsters that want our flesh and blood. Other’s ignore their gut, pull out a flashlight and get right on the beaten path. After seeing the first person head down the path, I can’t hesitate any longer. I clench a fist, feeling my finger nails poking into the palm of my hand, hold onto my gun and follow them.
The woods really aren’t so bad. Despite the eerie sounds of the tree branches creaking every time the wind blows and the many dark shadows providing the ultimate hiding places for vampires. There’s nothing to keep my mind from drifting to the thought of one of those creatures bursting out from behind a tree, sinking it’s dull teeth into the skin of any one of us. We’ll never even see them coming. We’d hear the zombies moaning before they could get too close, but the vamps will never make a sound to let us know they’re nearby.
My heart races as I attempt to lead this group down the path. Dwayne and Jim are right beside me and Seth is close behind with the others. I can hear the hushed whispers coming from the few who want to turn back. The ones who are be too afraid to go any further, but even more frightened of going back to the city alone. I’m scared as well, but I’ve been through worse things without the aid of others. I’ve fought off nine zombies all on my own, I’ve come face to face with death by vampire more times than I can count. I’m not going to let a little thing like walking through the woods in the middle of the night psyche me out so much that I’m just going to give up on this mission. That’s the last thing any of us could do.
Jim shines a flashlight on the trail at our feet and says, “Do you know what the plan is if we find them out here? I don’t think they’ll be as easy to persuade as those guards back at the gate.”
I shake my head, “Not gonna lie, I don’t really have a plan right now. I’m just going with it for now.”
“We can’t just go with it, Bridget,” Jim argues, “we need a plan.”
“Sorry, but going with the flow of things is how this world works. When there are demons out there chasing us, we don’t have time to stop to come up with a plan. We make snappy decisions when death is right on our tail and, most of the time, they seem to work.” I retort.
“And what if we fail? I can’t lose my daughter like this.” Jim says loud enough to catch the attention of the others.
I stop walking and stare at him for a second. The group stops moving as well, waiting for me to say something. Waiting for me to make a great speech like I did back at the basement they called a home. I never thought I was any good at coming up with spirit lifting speeches that will get the heart pumping and make people want to do things. I have to say something. Their gloomy faces are starting to get to me.
“We’re not going to fail.” I say, making things up as I go along seems to do the trick sometimes. “We’re going to find them. We are going to set things right, for us and any other traveler who chooses to spend a few nights in Hatfeld. I’ve learned something over the last few days and I’m coming to realize it’s true. No matter what lies ahead of us, whether we win this thing or not, things can always get worse. Take it however you want, but take it nonetheless.”
A little advice I chose to borrow from Ryder. No idea if it’s comforting or not, but it makes me feel a little better knowing I didn’t choke on the little speech the people were waiting for. It makes me feel even more grateful when no one starts heading back for the city. They just nod their heads in agreement and wait for me to start leading the way again.
I turn on my heels and head through the woods. I let out a sigh and look up to the trees above my head. The branches are thick and covered with leaves, I can’t even see the stars in the sky. The moon is shining, just not out here where we need it. I glance over my shoulder and peer at the faces of my group one more time.
Things can always get worse, right? There’s always something far scarier out there in the world, isn’t there? I can’t really think of what could be scarier than a vampire waiting to suck us dry or a pack of zombies devouring our twitching bodies.
So, my answer to those two questions would have to be a no.
At least I have an answer this time.
There isn’t much worse than running into those monsters and that’s exactly what we’re headed into. I can’t let the group behind me know I’m secretly hating the words that just came out of my mouth. I’m sure some of them know things can’t get much worse than our current situation. Even death isn’t so bad compared to this. But, we have to hold our heads high and think of the one thing all of us need to do right now. That is surviving. It’s the only thing my family wants me to do and I’ve got to live up to that, while helping as many people do the same as I can. So, I keep going, trying not to think how easy this all seems to be so far. Trying not to wonder why there aren’t any vampires or even some zombies wanting to attack us right now. It just seems too quiet and it makes me wonder if what we’re walking into, we’ll be able to walk back out of.
I have got to quit thinking like this. It could really harsh the buzz of the already nervous group on my heels and no one needs that at all. We just need to ignore our gut feelings about wanting to run away and hide in a safe place and go for the gold and save the people we care about. That’s all this mission is about and that’s all I plan on doing.
I take a few more steps, trying not to break too many twigs or make too much noise. The element of surprise is all we have going for us and we can’t do anything to screw that up. There’s no saying what Nick and his goons will do to our friends if they see us coming before we want them to.
There’s a faint glow coming into view not far ahead. It’s coming from a couple flashlights and even a fire lit torch, I can see the flames flicker i
n the darkness. We must be getting close. I can see the shadows of the men floating on the trees as they walk by them. We’re still too far off in order to see how many soldiers there are or how many prisoners they have with them. There still isn’t a doubt in my mind Ryder is amongst that group.
“Is that them up ahead?” Dwayne asks, a nervous hitch to his whispering voice.
I nod, “I think so. I don’t know who else would be out here in the middle of the forest when vamps roam this part of the world more than any other.”
“Okay,” he says, “so what’s your plan now?”
My feet keep going, shoving his question off my shoulder, and my eyes stay glued to the glow coming from our enemy’s flashlights. They aren’t moving as fast as I expected them to. We are actually catching up to them and we aren’t moving so fast ourselves. The shadows coming from them are starting to take shape, forming into the outlines of six very large men. There are four others walking amongst them, each with a black bag over their head and their hands are somehow bound in front of them.
“Bridget?” Dwayne hurries to my side, “Do you even have a plan?”
“Not really.” I say, still keeping my eyes focused in front of me.
There isn’t a whole lot of planning that needs to go into something like this. At least I don’t think there should be anyway. All we really need to do is go up to Nick and his group of very large men and force them to let a few innocent people go while the ever-looming threat of vampires hangs over our shoulders.
Easy as pie, right?
“I really think we should pause for a moment and come up with a good idea for taking them down. I don’t think just rushing in there will do anything in our favor.” Dwayne retorts. “If anything, that could worsen the situation.”
“Yeah, those guys could end up killing the people they took from us before they give them to the vamps.” I hear a concerned voice coming from behind me.
“Maybe we should have thought of something before coming out here to the middle of a vamp infested forest and risk getting ourselves killed.” Another worried voice coming from an older woman.
The concerns coming from the group should be enough to stop my feet from moving. I should turn around and help them come up with the perfect way to make this night go smoothly and in our favor as Dwayne likes to put. I should do those things.
Something stronger is driving me onward.
Call it love. Call it the need to save the only person on this planet who I truly feel like I cannot live without. It might be weird to think that, after only a few days, I have found someone who can take the pain of everything that’s happened in my life away in a matter of a few seconds. With just one look of his face and bad things go away. Ryder is the only person who seems to make things better, he can make me shove aside what happened to my family and focus only on the good things I have left to find in this life. I can’t waste my time trying to come up with the perfect solution on how to get him and the others back. The longer we wait, the less time they have at a chance of surviving.
“Bridget, we really need to stop and think things through before we go on with this.” Jim rushes to my side. “I can’t go with the flow of things and risk my daughter’s life any more than it already is.”
There’s just no getting through to these people. Zombies don’t have a plan before they attack. Vampires might, but I highly doubt it. Why should humans be any different?
I stop walking and run my fingers through my hair. Leaving it down all day has led to a slight mess of tangles catching my fingers. I stare Jim in the eyes and see the look of concern written in the brown shade of them. I glance back to the others, all of them are waiting for my next words of brave wisdom.
I just don’t have any this time.
“Bridget?” Jim asks.
I look back to him, then glance to the small group ahead. I can see them more clearly now and can see the shirtless prisoner that is Ryder. The lump in my throat is the drive telling me to do the one thing I know I must to do to get him back. It might be a little selfish, maybe a little crazy even. This is something I have to do. I wasn’t given the chance to save the last few people I cared about. I still have the chance right now and I’m going to take it.
“You guys stay and come up with a plan. I got one of my own.” I say, then quickly turn away from my group.
I can hear them quietly calling my name, begging me to stop and come back. There’s nothing to keep me from going through with the craziness my mind thinks is the right thing to do. Besides, things can always get worse.
Those words are just as crazy as what I’m doing.
I can hear their footsteps as I duck behind the trees, closing in on Nick’s group. I can hear every twig snapping under their heavy boots and every piece of metal on their clothes clanking as they walk. Those are the only sounds breaking the eerie silence clouding the air around me. No one from my own group chose to follow me and I refuse to turn back no matter how many of their voices I could hear calling for me to stop. I don’t feel bad about leaving them, I know I should, but it’s my own life I’m risking right now and they’re better off staying back in the group. They’ll come up with a plan of their own and I can only hope it will be a great one. Although, I can’t say I’d blame them at all for turning around and heading back for safety.
Let’s just hope that’s not the case.
Nick’s group stops moving and a few begin shining their flashlights through the trees in front of them. I stay off the trail, ducking between a few trees and bushes in order to get closer to them. I make sure to stay hidden in case they get the urge to shine their lights my way.
I can see them all more clearly now. Nick standing at the front of his group, staring into the dark woods, looking proud of himself for doing something wrong and condemning himself to whatever hell exists. There are seven of his army men with him, three surrounding the prisoners and the others are scanning the trees with their lights. Each one has a pretty big gun aimed out in front of them making mine look like a pea shooter.
Of the four prisoners tied up with bags over their heads, two are women and two are men. I can hear the quiet whimpers coming from the girls, one clearly belongs to Sherry. I could pick out her high pitched whine anywhere. The men are relatively quiet. The one wearing a black shirt keeps fighting with the ropes on his hands, trying not to be noticed by the guards. Ryder is standing at the end of the line with a gun pointed right at his back in case he or one of the others try to do something risky. I can see his body shaking in fear of what is awaiting him.
“Ryder.” I whisper as I stare at him.
If only there was a way for me to send him comforting thoughts. To somehow let him know I’m close by and there’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m going to try my damndest to get him and the other three out of this mess no matter what the consequences are and we all know what one of those consequences is.
“Nick.” I hear one of their deep voices and it causes me to jump. “Shouldn’t they be here by now? They aren’t normally late.”
“They’ll be here. Just give them a little more time.” Nick replies. “We aren’t leaving until we make the trade. That’s the only thing to guarantee the safety of our city.”
I keep watching and listening to their conversation. They’re expecting to meet up with the vamps out here in the middle of nowhere to make a trade for safety. I can only hope they don’t show up before I have the chance to give them what they are least expecting. A young girl trying to save the life of the man she has fallen in love with. That just about puts every love story I’ve ever been told to shame. Shakespeare can’t measure up to a girl saving a boy from being eaten by vampires or zombies.
They keep shining their lights through the trees. I keep expecting a swarm of vamps to come out of nowhere to claim their prize. All of them have their backs to me, watching the trees in front of them. I shift my eyes back to Ryder, the gun still aimed at his back. My heart pounds as I watch him shiver in the cool night air.
Why am I doing something so risky for a guy I just met a few days ago? Would he do the same for me if the roles were reversed? I think he might. I think he wouldn’t still be hiding in a bush waiting for the perfect moment to come out gun raised and ready to fight.
“Nick,” another guard breaks my thoughts, “I don’t think those vamps are coming tonight.”
Nick snaps his head around and passes his friend an angry look, “They’ll be here, dammit. Just give it a few more minutes.”
“Well, what if they don’t show up this time? What do we do with them?” the same guards asks.
Nick shakes his head, I can tell he’s getting frustrated, “Then I guess we’ll just have to blow the heads off these four bastards and let the wolves have them.”
“Maybe we should do that now.” The guard pulls a small gun from a holster on his belt and points it at one of the female’s heads.
I hear her whimper and recognize Sherry’s high pitched squeal. There’s no better time than right now to do something I’ll probably regret by the end of the night, but I’m going to do it anyway.
With the gun tight in my fist, I step back from the bush and take a few short steps so I’m behind Nick’s little army. They won’t see me coming this way and I kind of enjoy surprising people. I quietly make my way through the trees and walk between two oaks so I’m back on the trail once again. I’m a few feet away from those guys and not a single one of them notices. That is until my foot meets a stick lying on the trail and the sound it makes is like a bomb going off in the woods. I grit my teeth and instantly hate myself.
Nick slowly turns his gaze my way while a few others shine their flashlights at my face. The second they see that I’m not a vampire, their guns are raised and pointed right at me. It seems utterly pointless, but I raise mine as well.
“What’s this?” Nick asks with a smirk on his face.
I can feel the metal shaking in my hand as I stare at his face, but I keep my grip and aim strong.
