Alone

by Prunty, Mercedes

  “Don’t do it biggest sis”, Ollie’s small but powerful voice spoke only to me.

  Turning I spotted him by the open door we had come through.

  “You’re not a monster, don’t do it!”

  Freezing on the spot I looked down at my hands that had become the weapons of a monster, four large claws on each hand had started to protrude from my flesh, tearing away at the muscle that held them in. Blood dripped to the floor in puddles below me, then as quickly as they came they slid back in.

  “What the fuck is that?” Gavin’s fear filled voice spoke from behind the others.

  “Stacie, how long has this been happening? The fits and the claws?” Doctor Toni asked me.

  I shook my head, “Since I woke up after the pain”.

  “Shit, I hoped this wouldn’t happen. I thought the cure would work, it worked for Callum”, she mumbled, “But maybe it didn’t because yours is a different strain of the virus”.

  “What do we do now?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure”, she replied, “But I think I have seen something similar before, not quite like this but similar”.

  “What was it?” Callum said holding on tight to his sister keeping her away from me.

  “What made you go for Amanda?” Toni asked.

  “She is the reason this happened to me, she didn’t like me for whatever reason and left me for dead with those things and now I’m a monster. I felt so angry at her and she was laughing at me behind her eyes, I could see it”, I said not wanting to completely freak them out with the fact that I could smell and taste how people felt about me.

  “So the anger took you over and you what? Lost control with the rage to hurt her”, she asked.

  I nodded, “Yes”.

  “The one you killed, the Crusher, did it seem like an important part of their group?” she asked.

  “I dunno maybe why?”

  “What happened to you at the hospital?”

  “I killed the one who infected me and after I went a little crazy and shouted at them all, I was covered in the things blood but they didn’t come for me, they backed off and hid in darkened corners or some holes they had made in walls and ceilings. They all watched me but didn’t come out to fight me”, I replied.

  Her face paled and she took a deep breath, turning to Callum she calmly said, “Arm all your people and prepare for an attack, they could be here at any minute. I think Stacie has been seeing them telepathically”.

  “Wait what? What’s going on?” I said feeling scared, “So am I right, are they coming for me?”

  “Stacie I have seen this before not quite in your situation but yeah they are coming for you, someone gets infected by the Alpha, the leader of the pack and they kill it, the person who was infected turns and become the Alpha, then they come for them, they can sense or track the new Alpha from miles away”, she said.

  “How on earth could I be their Alpha?” I said feeling sick to my stomach.

  “Because when you killed the original Alpha you showed no fear and you showed your anger which was probably fiercer than the Omega Crusher, the one who would have been second in command, they might have been seen as weaker than you, so you became the one they want in charge”, she paused before saying, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before when we found you, you were covered in blood, that creatures blood, yes I knew what it was but an Alpha I really didn’t think it would have been that. And when Monique said what creature attacked you I thought it’s not always an Alpha that can attack a human any of them can but I really think you killed the Alpha for them to all back off and leave you alone and to now be on their way here. So this was why you asked me earlier what happened if the Alpha died, you knew didn’t you deep down that something wasn’t right”.

  “So they can track her, their Alpha?” Callum asked snapping the doctor out of her thoughts.

  She nodded, “I don’t know how but like I said maybe through telepathic tendencies from the mutation or maybe the scent is just extra strong but since she can see them coming I think the telepathic thoughts is a plausible explanation”.

  I just sat there and thought back to the strange nightmares from when I had been in the room in pain, the clicking of their feet coming for me, the eyes watching me from the room but they were not mine. This whole time they knew where I was but how would they react when they saw I wasn’t fully turned?

  “Hey Doc do you think it matters that I haven’t fully turned, you know, my head hasn’t crushed in”, I said.

  “No I think they still think that you are one of them, your scent might be of theirs to them. They probably wouldn’t notice”, she said.

  “Why didn’t she turn fully? Why only half cut?” Amanda asked from her human brother of a shield.

  “The cure it must have changed the DNA settings of the infection, it must have changed with her cells creating a mixed breed”, Toni replied.

  “Mixed breed, so I’m just a different breed of them now like some dog!” I snapped.

  “No Stacie, your human we can see that”, Callum said.

  I shook my head, “I’m a monster!” My legs gave way beneath me.

  “No you’re not”, Callum stated.

  “Yes I am, I can smell you like I have never smelt another human being before, I can smell her amusement at me being like this like it’s on the tip of my tongue. I heard you coming to the door to see me even before you opened it when I awoke from the pain. I can hear and smell things that I would never have smelt or heard before, I’m one of them”.

  “Stacie is this true?” the doctor asked me.

  I nodded, “You smell like Cinnamon and medical equipment and I can taste your fear”.

  She gasped, “Cinnamon”.

  We both looked at her, “Do you smell of Cinnamon?” Callum asked.

  She nodded, “I could do I always thought my boyfriend smelt of it, he wore a spiced aftershave and still does but I haven’t seen him for nearly a week and surely the smell should have worn off by now as I don’t wear it”.

  “Right so say your both right and they are coming, how do we fight them? And how many are we talking about?” He asked us.

  “A hundred maybe more?” I said.

  “A hundred?” he exclaimed, “There’s only fifty or so of us and a lot of us are children who cannot fight the monsters”.

  “I could leave and lead them somewhere else?” I suggested.

  The doctor shook her head, “Your scent is here they will come here first”.

  “Evacuation?” I then said.

  “Might be our only choice”, she replied.

  “But where would we all go?” he asked putting his head in his hands.

  “We could all go to London, my hospital is large enough to accommodate everyone and we have food, clothes and supplies. We need more people like you guys”, the doctor said.

  “Well we can’t leave Stacie here on her own”, he said.

  “She might be the only one who can fight them”, she replied.

  “Fine but if she stays I stay”, Monique said.

  “I’m staying too”, Ollie stated.

  “No Ollie you must go it’s not safe for you here”, I said rushing to him.

  “You keep going and leaving me all I want is for us to stay together like the brother and sister we’re meant to be”, Ollie told me.

  “And we will but first I need to make sure that these things don’t get to you or anyone else”, I replied.

  “What happens when they get here? Will these creatures just bow at your feet and let you destroy them? Will they fight you, kill you and take you away from me forever? I can help I’m a good shot with my gun”, he pleaded with me to stay but I couldn’t take the risk.

  “No Ollie, I need you to go to London, I need you to keep Cain and Chantelle safe for me until I catch up ok. I know I can trust you to keep them safe for me”, I tried hard to almost bribe him and I hated myself for doing it but I needed to know him and Cain were safe. Monique was a big gir
l she could take care of herself and I knew there was no way I was changing her mind.

  “Fine I’ll look after them but next time you cannot leave me out of this, I’m part of your family now right? So next time I get to be included”, he said.

  I nodded hoping it wouldn’t have to come to that. Hoping that there would never be another time of fighting and fear but it was our world now and no matter how much I wanted to protect him sometimes people just needed to fight with me, no matter their age, “Next time Ollie ok”.

  He hugged me briefly, “I’ll see you soon in London then”.

  It didn’t take long to get everyone into all the vehicles we had stored in the garage, Doctor Toni who had protested to stay with her friend Damien was now seated in her car along with Ollie, Chantelle and baby Cain. Damien had told me it was of the upmost importance to keep the doctor alive and that he would with his life make sure she got back to London unscathed so I knew the others would be safe with him.

  I leant in wishing them a safe journey, I even gave Ollie and Cain a cuddle, just in case I never saw them again.

  Looking at Chantelle I opened my bag and handed something to her, “If I don’t survive or come back, make sure you give this to him”.

  She took hold of the photograph of Tanya and my family before passing it back, “No need, you will come to London and you will be the one to show him and tell him about Tanya. I know you will make it”.

  “Please”, I begged.

  But she stood her ground, “No you can give it to him when he sees you next”.

  Callum shut the door on them, “Go we don’t have much time”.

  “Aren’t you and Amanda going?” I asked him.

  “I can’t leave you behind, especially if it was Amanda’s fault this happened to you”, he said grabbing his gun and banging the car’s roof to indicate to leave.

  Most of the others had crammed between them into two large vans, people were pretty much sitting on top of one another but they knew they were going somewhere better, safer than here. There were also a few cars which we had packed all the supplies we could get our hands on into with the remaining people. One car remained which was for us if we survived, with only me, Monique, Callum and Amanda left to fight our hopes of really and truly following them to London were slim but where there’s a will there’s a way right?

  Just as we opened the gates and watched the convoy leave their home I could feel them, the Crushers were coming, rushing through the woods, their claws ticking on the bark and tearing up the soil. It was a strange sensation like knowing a twin of you was out there watching you but you could feel their every move, you knew their very heartbeat but they weren’t the good twin they were the evil one coming to rip you apart.

  “They’re here”, I said to the others.

  Callum locked the gate hoping it might give us a few minutes head start on shooting down some of the Crushers but he hadn’t seen them, they could climb in a fluid motion the gate was going to be no big obstacle.

  Taking aim with the rifle I looked through the scope and searched the tree lines, I kept catching glimpses of the woods in visions but it wasn’t my eyes seeing it, I tried to figure which part of the woods it might be I knew it was near but trying to see which direction they would spring from first was the hardest part.

  Crack! The snap of a twig caught my attention as I spun the gun round to see the first Crusher coming out, its long skeletal body twisted gruesomely as it manoeuvred over a fallen trunk, its claws dug into the ground making the soil spray up like rain as it pulled them back out the ground.

  BANG! I shot it down without hesitating.

  The screams that echoed behind it caused me to bring my hands up to my ears, they were screaming at me at the loss of their friend. Trying to make me stop, trying to make me turn so I could lead them.

  Shaking myself mentally I took aim again at the next one and noticed that the other two had been shooting the whole time taking down a few of them. As I took aim I saw the nearest Crusher looking at me in a way which was horrifying and heart wrenching, it knew it was me letting this happen, it knew that its new chosen Alpha was killing its friends and there was nothing it could do to stop me. Deep down it still saw me as the Alpha and it would not go down without a fight to get me, even if it meant me killing it. BANG! I shot it down before it could fill my head with anymore stupid emotions for a creature that should not have existed anyway.

  Bullets and screams lit up the air around us as the fight reached the next level, the creatures had reached the gate and were now climbing up it, their claws slicing the metal lining away making holes for the ones still on the ground to just walk through.

  A large Crusher who looked as though it should have been the next Alpha jumped down from the fence right in front of me, it’s sunken in eyes glared at me from under the fused tissue and slime which had decorated its face since becoming angry with me when it watched me kill its friend. He had seen me aim my rifle and shoot the creatures that stared so lovingly and horrifyingly at me.

  I went to take aim at this oversized one but he was faster and stronger than me, he struck me down in one swift movement sending me sprawling to the ground. He stood over me like a looming, stinking death but it didn’t kill me, it moved its mouth and made croaking noises as if trying to talk to me. I shook my head at it, “I don’t understand you, I’ve not turned”.

  It looked at me confused or as confused as a crushed headed creature could look, in its mind I should have turned days ago but I hadn’t.

  BANG! A bullet flew in our direction striking the creature in the chest, it howled in pain from Callum’s well trained bullet. Flying over to him in a rage I had to turn and spin quickly taking aim with my rifle and shoot the thing in the head. The large bulking creature fell to the floor in a pool of dark blood, it shone in the moon light that was taking over from the sun and it gave it a mirror like effect reflecting the next Crusher I had to take down.

  “You ok?” Callum called.

  “Yeah”, but that was all I had time to say as more flooded in trying to take us down.

  The ones closest that had seen me shoot their friend lunged for me trying to stop me and take me, some of the others turned running in trying to grab the others and tear them to pieces. I shot down a few before running to reload my weapon, Monique came out of nowhere as I bent to reload the ammunition slicing and dicing the nearest ones. Then as she ran out of steam tripping over one of the fallen ones I jumped up to smash them with the rifle, as she stood we turned back to back and started to circle the ones that were nearest us.

  “Argh!” I heard Callum’s strangled cry from behind the horde of monsters.

  “Callum!” I cried out.

  Taking down the few nearest to us me and Monique charged through them to try and get to him but there were so many we couldn’t clear enough to make it.

  BOOM!

  An explosion rocketed around us sending most of the monsters flying, it sent me to my knees and Monique went to hers with her hands over her ears. As I managed to sit back up I saw her, Amanda she had thrown a grenade at them all, destroying many of them all in one hit but she wasn’t doing it to help or save me, she had hoped I had been too close to the grenade and been killed by it. She wanted me gone and she wasn’t going to stop until I was.

  “Well if it isn’t the incredible Stacie!” Amanda’s voice rang out like a sing song, “You won’t be so incredible once I’m finished with you”.

  “Amanda we need to fight the creatures not each other, we can do this another day”, Monique snapped.

  “No this ends today, this ends now”, she smiled lifting her hand showing another grenade.

  “Don’t do this Amanda, we can work through this”, I said.

  She just laughed.

  “Amanda what are you doing?” Callum asked as he limped over after being flung in the air by the grenade.

  “I need to stop her Callum, she won’t stop until I’m dead and she has you all to herself. She t
ried to kill me at the hospital but look how it back fired”, her laugh sounded off, almost mentally crazy.

  “What are you going on about, you nearly had me killed. I got infected because of you, because you left us for dead in that hospital”, I spat at her.

  “Liar, you left me for dead”, she lied.

  “Really and how did we do that?” I asked her, “When it was you who took off in the truck, it was you who let all the creatures out from the bloody field to try and stop us getting back, it was you who pushed me so I hit my head and it was you who left me and Monique in that hospital with all these creatures”.

  “Yes funny that how they followed you home isn’t it Stacie?” she snarled.

  “I wouldn’t call it funny Amanda being infected with their virus and nearly becoming one of them. What is funny though is how you can’t stand me because I like your brother and he likes me. Your jealous that he might have found someone even though the world has ended but you, your still alone”, I snarled back but my voice sounded more hoarse and fierce.

  “Amanda is it true?” Callum asked her, “Is it true you only don’t like Stacie because I like her? Because you are jealous? Did you really leave them for dead? Did you get her infected?”

  “NO”

  “Yes”, Monique said with her, “That twisted cow left us to these creatures and now she’s gonna make sure she’s finishes the job but she won’t, we won’t let her”.

  Amanda smirked, “You silly little girls, I always finish what I start”.

  “So it was you, you done this?” Callum stated as she slipped up.

  “Oh don’t be so melodramatic bro, she deserved it”.

  “Stacie didn’t do anything wrong, why are you doing these things to hurt people Amanda? We made a promise to each other that we would only help people now”, he said.

  “I guess in her eyes and yours she hasn’t done anything wrong but I know she has. She has stolen you from me and I cannot forgive her for that”, she snarled venom at her own brother.

  “What’s wrong with you? She hasn’t stolen me I’m still here with you”, he said.

  “No but you won’t stay with me forever, you will want to settle down in a camp and have children and then there will be no room left for me. I need you, you are my only family all that I have left and I cannot lose you to someone like her”.