Clay felt they’d been caught off guard, lost and frightened, even before they’d had the time to get their bearings. As he lifted his gun, rushing past Alayna, one of the crazed latched himself onto Norah. Her eyes went wide and she screamed out, “JESUS. NO. PLEASE!”
But the mutant ripped his teeth into Norah’s throat, squirting blood all over Brandon’s shirt. Norah’s face went lax instantly. She folded to the ground, her long, flowered dress growing dirty on the pavement. Her eyelids flickered as the crazed monster began to gnaw at her skin, licking at her ear. And then, he took another massive bite at her cheek, her wrinkled skin clinging to his teeth.
“FUCK YOU!” Brandon cried, lifting a shocked and shaking hand to shoot a bullet through the crazed monster’s head. The mutant fell back instantly, like a toy, leaving just one more coming toward them.
Clay felt crazed himself, almost mad. He shot the last one, once a woman, who flung back, blood dripping from her ears. But Clay wasn’t finished. He leaped forward, wrapping his hands around the monster’s face and pummeled it into the pavement. Bits of bone spattered across Clay’s chest and face, but he couldn’t be finished—he couldn’t be done that easy, not with all the destruction around. He was coated in blood up to his elbows, his eyes wide and panicked. He didn’t realize where he was or what he was doing for several minutes more. And when he looked up, he was coated in grime. The crazed monster no longer had any semblance of being a person. Only bits of her clothing remained.
The troop stood in shocked silence, Norah splayed out before them, her neck and cheek bleeding ruby red onto the pavement. Her flowered dress was blotched and stained. Brandon knelt beside her, brushing his fingers through her silver hair. But Alayna continued to stare at Clay, at the animalistic way he hovered over that which he’d destroyed only moments before. She covered her mouth with her hand, shocked.
But Clay didn’t have words for her. He didn’t have words for any of them. His breath came jaggedly, in spurts. He leaned upon his knees, shuddering, and then rushed to the entrance of the candy store, where he began to vomit uncontrollably. He no longer had any feeling for his body’s needs or wants.
Soon he was empty. He wiped himself clean and then turned toward the others, who were crying wordlessly over Norah’s dead body. Brandon reached up and closed her eyelids. “She looks oddly peaceful. Like she didn’t really want to go all the way, anyway. She was so tired,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “She was so much more tired than she ever let on.”
“And now she can rest,” Alayna whispered. “But the rest of us. We should go.” Her eyes snapped to Clay, as if to tell him to regain his composure. He was their leader. He needed to act like it.
Daniels and Brandon carried Norah to the side of the road, where they reasoned she’d lost too much blood to become a crazed monster. They covered her with a sheet, wishing they had time for a more fitting burial. And then they turned toward the waiting Humvee, its windshield reflecting the midmorning sunlight. Time was ticking, even when time didn’t matter. They had to get moving.
Daniels slid into the driver’s seat, indicating he thought Clay wasn’t mentally strong enough to drive. Clay sat up front, the other four survivors behind them, their eyes lost and staring into the distance. Daniels revved the motor, and they began their necessary trek toward the outskirts of town. As they drove, nobody said a single word.
The energy field was flickering when they reached it, showing the suddenly bright blue sky on the outside. Daniels parked and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. This was the only sound humming through their ears as they sat in sad contemplation.
“I pray to God we’re doing the right thing,” Jacobs said from the back seat, then. He gave voice to what everyone else was thinking. “I pray that we’re not giving ourselves a death sentence by leaving the safety of the lab. We could have many more years there.”
Clay shifted in his seat, clenching his fists. He felt enraged. “That would be no kind of life, Leland. No kind of life at all. We wouldn’t have the love of our family members. I don’t know your situation. But you must have had love once. You must know what it feels like, that richness of life. Without it, everything else feel empty. And we have to move forward. Together.”
After Clay spoke, the team of six survivors sat in silence a moment longer, resolute in their decision to leave. On the other side of the flickering energy field, reality awaited them. Fear of the unknown clutched at their hearts. But with Clay as their leader, they had no choice but to proceed. He was right, after all. Remaining would mean no life at all.
Dear Reader
Thank you so much for reading Turn: Book One of the Humanity’s Edge Trilogy. The exciting follow-up, titled, Detour: Book Two of the Humanity’s Edge Trilogy is now available for preorder at the great price of just .99 cents! Be sure to check it out!
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Paul
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Humanity's Edge Trilogy (Book 1): Turn Page 21
