by J Deleon
The firing stopped. Scott looked around, all was at peace. Emry was mourning over Danielle, Ian was in tremendous pain, and Kevin tried to help him. Scott looked at his injury. It was worse than he thought. It wasn’t fatal, but it needed to be wrapped. He ripped off a piece of his shirt and wrapped his torso with it. Stopping the bleeding.
Kevin did the same to Ian, more cautiously, however.
Scott walked over to the monster and the aliens they had killed. He stood right above the alien he had injured in the shoulder. The skin looked a bit rougher than human’s, but with blue skin. It grew hair like humans and even wore clothing, but it was not one of them.
Emry was near the monster, examining it.
“What did you shoot at it?” Scott asked her.
Emry jolted up and stared at Scott, scared. “I found it.”
“Where?” Scott asked.
“One of them dropped it a few trips back. It’s what they use to keep them at bay.” Emry answered nervously.
“How do you know so much about them?”
“I—I…” Emry was afraid to answer. “I watch them sometimes.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain. I’m sorry.” She confessed.
Scott was about to ask her again, but stopped once the ground started to quake.
“Earthquake!” Kevin shouted, holding Ian up.
“No.” Scott turned around. A screech was heard not too far away. “There’s more coming.”
“Come on. We have to go.” Kevin told them.
“What about Danielle?” Emry asked.
“We don’t have time!” Kevin answered.
“Kevin!” Scott shouted.
“We can’t leave her.” Emry cried.
“There’s too much of them. We can’t fight them all.” Ian struggled.
“Dammit!” Scott started to run once he heard the sound of monsters.
“Wait!” Emry shouted at them.
Kevin carried Ian as fast as he could away from the area. Scott followed, making sure Ian was safe. He turned back around to see Emry running towards Danielle.
“Emry!” Scott called, but she didn’t listen.
They were there. The monsters tumbled over small buildings and bushes. They towered over the streets and stood next to their comrade.
“EMRY!” Scott called for a final time before turning the corner. It was too late to go back for her. The monsters had made their way into the block. The only thing left was to protect Ian.
Cecily
“What if things never go back to the way they were?” Samantha asked Cecily as she walked beside her.
“To be honest, I don’t think it will.” Cecily adjusted her headband. Samantha remained silent. The group had been going from place to place as they travelled throughout the city. They tried to stay on foot in order to keep away from the monsters. Through this task, they also used the travelling to search for food supplies and things they needed. Going through the large city, they managed to find a hint of understanding of their situation. Members like Cecily had come to accept the fact that life would never return too normal. Cecily would still dwell on the thought, but most nights, she let them go. “That’s just me, though.”
“So, you don’t dream about having a normal life anymore? Hoping that one day things could go back to the way they were?” Samantha finally asked.
“I do. It’s what Sam would have done, but I don’t like too. The Dean side of me reminds me that that is just a dream.” She clenched her fist. “This is life now.”
“Who’s Sam and Dean?” Samantha asked.
“The Winchester brothers.” Cecily exclaimed. “Do you know them?”
“I don’t think so.” Samantha thought.
Cecily fell silent. “What a shame.” She sped up to walk with Jennifer who was only a few feet ahead of her.
“You know Sam and Dean Winchester, don’t you?” Cecily asked her.
“Only because you mention them every single day.” Jennifer turned to her. “Every. Single. Day.”
Cecily looked down ashamed. “They just mean so much to me.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry.” Jennifer felt responsible for her sadness. “I don’t mind it all that much. They seem really interesting.”
“You should have watched the show!” Cecily became excited again. “Supernatural is, like, the best show ever!”
“I believe you.” Jennifer smiled.
“Hey, try not to apologize so much. You don’t need to, you know. I understand you mean no harm.” Cecily tried to comfort the obviously uncomfortable Jennifer. She had noticed over the past week or so the kind of person Jennifer was. She was always quick to apologize, always felt like everything was her fault, always was bad at talking or socializing, and just plain awkward. Cecily didn’t mind it, however. In fact, she was actually able to relate to her in some aspects. Cecily knew she wasn’t the quietest person, but she did have trouble socializing as well. However, when it came to Jennifer, it was as if she were talking to herself.
“I’m sorry.” Jennifer apologized for apologizing.
“No, like, you see? You’re not doing anything wrong. It’s okay.” Cecily told her.
“Sorry, I’ll try to stop.” Jennifer replied.
Gwen
It had been a few days since Gwen had settle into the town of Winberly. Spending her time reading through old books and comics, exploring the destroyed and deserted town, and practicing with her archery, relaxed her; despite everything that had been going on. Her search for the Red Orb had paused as she figured out why she was drawn to the town. The idea boggled her almost every second she was there.
Gwen shot an arrow down the road, nailing the small tree she was practicing with.
“Yes!” Gwen ran towards the tree to retrieve her arrow. She placed the arrow back into her quiver with the others and ran back to where she was. She grabbed the rock she used as a marker and moved it a few feet back. “I got this.” She told herself.
She shot the arrow, narrowly missing her target.
“Shoot.” She ran back to retrieve it once more.
It started to rain on her way to her arrow. Gwen placed the arrow into her quiver again and looked up. The rain started to pick up, stopping her practice for the day. She sighed, disappointed. The wind started to pick up as she stood there staring at the sky. Gwen knew what was happening—she had learned over the past month what to do.
Gwen hurried to the nearest house to take cover. She went into the door that she had marked ‘Basement’ and hid there until the weather cleared up. She had stored planks in every basement she could find near her in case she needed to take cover. She sat, leaning against the wall, as she continued to practice her archery skills.
Her last arrow had successfully hit the black dot on the plank to her far right. Gwen sighed once again, too comfortable to get up to gather her arrows again.
As she sat, staring at her arrows, the ground started to shake. She prepared herself for an earthquake, but she soon noticed that this wasn’t one. The shaking was different this time. The ground shook at a much calmer and continuous level. The sound of a small hum accompanied the soft shaking. She looked out of the ground window and saw the sky change colors from a dark gray to a bright white. This was something different—she knew that for sure.
The rain continued to pour down, but the sky was pitch white, and down across the city, a beam of black light shot down, striking the earth. The dark light created a vortex around the area it was in. It swirled like a tornado, but stayed in its exact place.
Gwen ran up the stairs and out the front door. She stopped on the porch as she thought about what she was doing. She was about to run out into the harsh conditions to follow a mysterious beam of light coming from the sky. Everything in her knew this was a bad idea, but something inside kept telling her that she needed to go to it.
It was hailing now, striking her as she ran down the road. The hail hurt her skin, but she ran anyway. Her injured k
nee still wasn’t fully healed, but that didn’t stop her either. No tornado, earthquake, or thunderstorm was going to stop her from reaching that light.
Cutting through fields, yards, and everything in between, she made it to the field where the beam was coming from. She stared at it, admiring its beauty. It was like an unnatural occurrence that she was only able to see. To call it beautiful was an understatement.
Gwen ran, as fast as her injured knee would allow her to, near the beam. She didn’t know what to expect once she went inside, but she knew it was important. She reached out her hand, touching the cold, wet vortex that scurried her up into the sky. Her body was in a trance as she flew uncontrollably through the dark cloud. The winds inside through her around like a feather, soaring her higher and higher into a bright light. Gwen screamed as the bright vortex came closer to her. Soon, she was faced with the swirling bright light. She entered it unwillingly, not knowing what was waiting for her on the other side.
Adam
“Please.” Adam cried.
The monsters had carried him away from his old home and deep into the city. The alien’s road the monsters like horses, watching Adam at all times. They had Adam tied down, with strange ropes, onto the scales of the monster. The roughness of the monsters terrified Adam beyond words. He cried the whole way to their destination. He wanted nothing more than to get the image of the monsters out of his mind, and now he was tied to one of them.
“This is fine.” The alien riding on the same monster as Adam announced.
The monsters stopped, allowing the aliens to step down.
“Please.” Adam repeated, sulking.
“Stop saying that.” The alien grabbed his face.
The alien’s hand felt rougher than a normal human’s hand, but still resembled one.
“What do you want from me?” Adam kept his eyes closed. Being there was his worst fear come true. Aliens scared him more than anything. Looking one in the eyes was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.
“I want answers.” It replied.
“I don’t know anything.”
“You lie. You speak Telemy.”
“What the hell is Telemy?”
“Tell me what you know.”
“I don’t know anything!”
The alien shouted angrily at Adam.
“Please, don’t hurt me!” Adam cried.
“How do you know our language?”
“What do you mean? I’m speaking English.”
“You’re speaking Telemy.”
“I don’t think he knows that he’s speaking it.” The second alien stated.
The first alien stopped speaking. Adam continued to keep his eyes closed.
“Maybe you’re right.” The first one replied.
“He sounds like he’s telling the truth.” The second mentioned.
“Then that just makes things worse. He learned it somehow.”
“I don’t know what’s going on. One moment I couldn’t understand you, then the next, I could. I don’t know what else to say.” Adam confessed.
There was silence for a while, which only made Adam more uncomfortable.
“What are you doing?” The second alien asked.
Adam opened his eyes. The first alien was unsheathing a sword-like object from his waist.
“No, please!” Adam cried.
“He’s dangerous.” The alien extended it in the air.
Adam shut his eyes just before hearing the sound of flesh being cut.
Not feeling any pain, Adam opened his eyes. The second alien had his own weapon unsheathed and covered in blood. He had struck down the first alien and was now rushing to the monster.
“What are you doing?” Adam asked hysterically.
“No time. You need to come with me.” The alien climbed on top of the monster,
“No. No, I don’t want to go anywhere with you. Please!” Adam tried to untie himself, but it was no use.
“It’s okay. I’m here to help.” The alien placed its hand on the monster’s scales and slowly pressed down.
“NO!” Adam shouted as the world around him dematerialized and became nothing. In a blink of an eye, he was no longer on earth.
Ian
“Run! Now!” Scott held on to his side as he ran behind.
Ian was supported by Kevin who had rapped his arm around his shoulder. Kevin made sure not to lose Ian, which he was grateful for. The three of them ran down the sidewalks and through whatever parts of the streets that were safe to go through.
“Where’s Emry?” Ian asked Scott.
“Just keep running!” Scott pressured.
Ian heard the sounds of the monsters gaining on them. They had fought hard against the five that were there, but this was too much. They had no other option then to flee.
“Wait, my head.” Ian’s forehead started to burn once more.
“What’s the matter?” Kevin shouted.
“Scott!” Ian’s legs gave out.
“Get up!” Kevin told him.
“Step aside!” Scott ran to aid Ian. He dragged him away from the road and into a building.
“We don’t have time for this!” Kevin pointed out.
“Just shut up!” Scott replied. “Are you okay? What’s happening?”
Ian screamed as the pain covered his body. His vision went black just before a picture of a dark street appeared. There were people now, all standing with each other. There was a lady leading the group opposite of him. Scott was there, bloodied and wounded, right next to him along with Kevin and his group.
The image blurred, forcing flashes of images to appear before stopping again. He now saw Scott, standing over a man on the ground, begging for mercy. Ian didn’t fight to stop Scott. He watched as Scott ended the man’s life. The leader of the group was crying and screaming, but Scott didn’t pay her attention.
The image blurred once more, showing another variety of images before finally stopping on the glowing Red Orb.
Ian awoke, screaming. Scott was next to him, trying to calm him down.
“Ian. It’s okay.”
“What the hell just happened?” Kevin asked.
Ian fell silent.
“Was it another one?” Scott asked.
“I—I saw you.” Ian started.
“You saw me?” Scott asked.
“Yes. You—you…I don’t remember.” Ian didn’t feel comfortable speaking of his vision with Kevin around. He only wanted to speak with Scott.
“We can talk about it later.” Scott understood his hesitance. “We need to go now.”
Jennifer
The group took shelter in a convenient store that still somehow had electricity. The place seemed to be in better shape than its neighboring buildings, which gave them a bit of comfort. They ate there and waited out the storm.
Jennifer walked around the back of the store where the bathrooms were located. There was a long hallway just outside of the main area that led to the bathrooms and back office. Jennifer paced up and down the hallway, nervous.
Cecily approached her a few minutes into her thinking. Jennifer stopped and noted her presence.
“You should eat.” Cecily held out a refrigerated sandwich.
“Thank you.” Jennifer took the sandwich gratefully.
“They’re pretty good. I had one just now.” Cecily told her.
Jennifer took a bite and chewed. “It’s good.” She admitted.
“I know.” Cecily leaned against the wall. “So, what’s going on?”
Jennifer was too shy to talk about it. She had never been one to talk about her problems to anybody, but she knew she would have to get over that sooner or later. She tried to force the words out of her mouth. “The day we fled Sean’s shelter,” Jennifer’s words shook, “they took one of us. A man.”
“One of the monsters got him?” Cecily grew uncomfortable with the subject.
“Not just got him; it ate him.” Jennifer put down the sandwich.
Cecily’s eyes widene
d. She looked as if she was about to throw up.
“I watched it. He—he pushed that boy, Alex, out of his hands so that he wouldn’t get eaten as well.”
“He saved Alex?” Cecily asked.
Jennifer nodded, pushing back her hair behind her ear. “Those things are evil. We can’t stay here. They’ll find us and eat us.”
“Well, where are we supposed to go?” Cecily asked.
Jennifer shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe we should just keep moving. It’ll be harder for them to find us if we keep moving.” Cecily suggested.
“Maybe.” Jennifer thought about it. “But what about them?” Jennifer motioned towards their new group.
“Maybe we can ask them. They seem to trust us. Hell, they hadn’t even been outside before we came. Maybe they need us.”
“That’s what I don’t like. I mean, it’s great that we have more people, but that’s more people, you know?” Jennifer pointed out.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Cecily agreed.
“You’ll go with me, won’t you?” Jennifer asked.
Cecily turned to her. “I guess so.” She smiled. “I mean; we’ve practically experienced this all together since the start. There’s no separating us now.”
Jennifer smiled. “I’m stuck with you.” She joked.
“There’s worse people to be stuck with.” Cecily’s smile widened. “Even if it’s just us two heading out there, it still beats being alone.”
“Yeah.” Jennifer’s smile faded. Cecily was now her oldest friend who was still alive, to her knowledge. She hoped that there would be more people out there alive, but she didn’t know what to believe after seeing what she had seen. “Can you help me look for my family?”
“Of course. Then we’ll look for mine.” Cecily stated.
“Deal.” Jennifer nodded. “You can tell me all about them on our journey.”
“And you can tell me all about yours.”
Jennifer put her hair back behind her ear again, irritated. “Hey, are there any knives or scissors here?”
“That’s right. We might need some sort of weapon.” Cecily thought.
