The flare hissed in my hand, red painting across my face. The smoke bloomed upward, thick and metallic, and in that dim red glow I could see my own terrified expression reflected in the shattered car window beside me.
Behind me, the others shifted— those who weren't injured, at least. Their breaths fogged in the cold air. No one spoke. They were probably too scared to even think.
I don't know if this plan is gonna work… but it has to.
"Now…" I whispered under my breath.
I stepped out from behind the burned-out truck, flung my arm into the open lot.
"HEYYYYYYY!!! WE'RE OVER HERE!!! COME KILL US!!!"
I waved the flare like a maniac, red smoke pouring off me like blood-colored fog.
Behind me, the others mirrored, flares igniting.
Screaming, banging metal against metal, clapping, hollering, anything to make noise.
With that, the horde shifted.
The entire mass of them— bodies twitching—turned like we had just insulted them.
