He held his breath, as everyone on top of that stricken mountain did, looking down from above.
They witnessed what had become the fear of the new generation—humans infected with a cannibalistic plague. It didn't affect decaying corpses, but living beings, their flesh intact, their souls devoured.
They were in the thousands, if not tens of thousands, marching mindlessly. All had different—yet horrifying—shapes and appearances.
Some were flying, and others were on foot. Though they were far away, they could still see their smirks and bloody smiles. That sent terror through the helpless villagers.
Cut away from the fear to a place filled with furious shouts and punches being thrown.
The one-armed Brigadier General Lloyd Smith had the neck of the Major who guards part of the human borders under his foot.
Lloyd Smith's perspective:
I heard the sound of ribs cracking when I threw this young and stupid Major, who dared refuse my command. The captains around us heard him screaming under the weight of my foot on his neck. I raised a gaze toward them and shouted, "I believe you have a job to do instead of staring like curious pigs!"
Many soldiers and guards ran as soon as they heard my order. Some were left behind, and as I lifted my foot off him, they came and dragged that bastard away. He wouldn't send his choppers and vehicles to retrieve those at the borders. To a point, he was right; we didn't have the time or the resources to bring them all back.
I frowned in anger and forced myself to hope for the best. I just hope you two are fine. Blackow, And Kerielle.
Murmuring to myself between every beat of my heart, my friend's family were there.
But I couldn't stay there calming myself down as if there weren't mindless blood- lusted monsters who looked like us marching forward with nothing to stop them. I needed to be there for them.
I shouted for the guards to ready a chopper for me.
Blackow Īrokk's perspective:
There was no time to think, no place for any thoughts other than the urge to flee and run away from the danger. The instinct took over us, and we started running towards our houses to take whatever we could. Our cars rushed out of the village, pack after pack.
But my mom and I were a bit late behind them. As if my driving skills were a pathetic way to end us, I thought to myself, but I quickly dragged this idea out of my mind. If we needed to survive, I had to stay focused.
I lifted my gaze off the far cars in front of me and looked at my mom in the front mirror. In the back of the car she was, and as soon as my eyes met hers, I saw how they were filled with tears.
I tried to comfort her while I was struggling with the road, but she looked at me with a look I saw for the first time since my father's death: regret.
I couldn't grasp what that was all about, but either way I couldn't say anything but: "We will get out of this, Mom! I promise!" The words came out cracked, and that wasn't helping at all.
She looked away from me, as if she couldn't meet my eyes anymore.
"You don't understand, sweetheart."
And she bit her lip like she was silencing herself.
I left my gaze off the road and turned to get a good look at her. As I was about to part my lips to speak, I bit hard on my tongue, and my head slammed into the steering wheel while my mom lunged forward into the front seats. We crashed. I crashed into a pit.
As this shivering fact settled deep in my mind, I started cursing heavily.
With my mother beside me, I checked if she was injured, but she assured me she was okay.
A hint of relief I received for a moment. But I had to act.
I opened the door, climbed up the rocks, and started running and screaming for help, waving my arms and shouting at the cars of my people as they were becoming specks on the horizon.
I felt my legs trembling when nobody noticed. I ran back to the car. As I saw how stuck it was, I knew it was impossible to free it, but instinct and hope had taken over me. I knew I was helpless, but I started shifting the gears more than once, trying to free it.
Nothing worked.
I peered down at my mother, who had the same shocked look on her face.
I tried to ease the situation a little. I smiled, thinking that would let my mom's facial features relax, but I failed.
"Come on, Mom. We have to hide."
I ran toward the truck's bed first and took a hammer with me. Then I opened the door for my mom, who shook her head, telling me nothing was going to work.
I clenched my teeth at her sight. I'm the man of the house after my father, and I will protect my mom at any cost.
I took her by the hand and climbed up first. I peered behind us, and this time I began to see the smoke coming from the monsters. A shiver ran down my spine. Then I pulled Mom quickly, and we started running, looking for a crevice, a cave opening, any pit to hide in.
After a while of running, my phone rang. I raised my hand to my ear, answering the call.
"Bee! Where are you two?! Are you and your mom okay??"
Lloyd's worried voice tore through my eardrum, making me smirk in pain.
I answered, screaming at him, "We are okay, but not for too long! They are reaching us!"
"Not good," he said, stopping as if he was about to say more, but I cut him off with sheer anger and frustration.
"Oh, thank you, Uncle Lloyd. I didn't know we were going to die until you assured me. Now I can rest."
"You little bastard, give me your location. We are coming for you."
"Ugh… we are close to the gas station. Come pick us up, or else I will not marry your daughter."
I said it while trying to breathe as we were getting exhausted.
"You maniac. You can't say that to me—you won't refuse."
He restored his sarcastic tone, which made me even angrier.
"Because I'm going to die, you idiot drunk!"
"Alright, alright. Just reach the gas station so I won't come to pick your corpse instead of your annoying self."
And he hung up.
One minute later, Mom and I were inside that gas station. We collapsed near the doors, breathing our souls back into our bodies. We were dying from fatigue, not from those monsters. What an embarrassing situation that would have been.
I closed the doors. There was nobody inside. Everyone had fled. The news must have reached them after what happened to our village, because the smell of burnt tires filled the atmosphere.
I cursed heavily. They must not have left long ago. If we had arrived earlier, we would have been rescued.
Mom and I started drinking anything inside the fridges. We had no moisture left in our muscles after our long run.
My mom suddenly pulled me into a hug—a very tight hug—after she threw away the last can she had drunk.
"Sweetie, don't be afraid. You will be okay, baby boy."
I wrapped my arms around her.
"Your tone is what I don't like. It sounds like a farewell," I said sarcastically.
She chuckled.
I went to close the windows, and we waited for the rescue team.
Five minutes had already passed. I tried to call Lloyd again, but there was no signal on my phone. I cursed again. How could a gas station in the middle of the desert have no internet?
I heard the sound of glass cups vibrating.
My eyes widened.
That was the vibration of a helicopter approaching.
I told myself that, but then the whole place started shaking lightly. Mom and I exchanged looks, unsure about this.
Then—
Heavy and grotesque screams echoed through the air from a far.
I quickly hid my mom underneath a table, stacking chairs and a bunch of stuff around it so she wouldn't be exposed. Then I joined her.
I left a small gap between the things—about the size of a coin—so I could see what was happening.
Mom curled up beside me and hugged me again. Too tightly this time.
"What's all that about, Mom?" I said, trying hard to keep my voice from cracking. I didn't like how this felt. A bad feeling sat in my stomach.
Her choked voice came out as she pressed her face against my chest.
"Baby boy… you did good. You became the man of the house. Your father would have been proud of you. Don't blame yourself for what happened. I—"
"Don't say that, Mom! You and I will get out of this alive! Lloyd is coming to save us! I promised you we will get out of this in one piece, didn't I?!"
I shut my mouth when I heard sounds of footsteps getting closer.
These were not normal footsteps; someone—or something—was running.
I tightened my grip around the hammer's handle.
Whatever was going to come, I was going to defend Mom—even if I died. I would buy her time to be saved. I was here for her after all.
The footsteps reached the door and stopped for a second. The door was being knocked on with such force that I thought the screaming man behind it would break through. He shouted, "Hey! Open the door! Open the door!! I saw you two enter!"
I couldn't let him in. I gave my mom an assuring nod. I'm not letting that man in—there is no space for three bodies, and this spot isn't the end of the world. This gas station is vast.
I crawled over to stop him. If he stayed at the door, he would get the three of us killed.
I saw his grin, which made me more uncomfortable.
"Yes, yes! Come on, child—open that shitty door for your uncle! Save me!"
"Go find yourself another place to hide. We can't let you in."
His smile fell apart, and his cheerful voice shifted and turned into a pain in the ass.
"You little shit! I'm going to die! What part don't you understand?!"
He held his hand out and reached for the door handle from the inside. I instantly lifted my hammer and struck his bare fingers with all my force.
"Gaaaghhh!" His screams became unbearable.
He collapsed on the ground while I yelled, "I don't give a shit! If I open that door, I will give you an end you'll wish the corrupted had finished you before you met me. Now get away from here before my patience runs out!"
He cursed and ran away.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Save yourself!"
I turned to meet my mom's eyes, gave her a slight smile, then quickly joined her under the table.
A couple of minutes passed. Each second was more nerve-racking than the last. The sounds of those infected humans grew louder and louder as they approached, and with no sign of a helicopter—or even a vehicle—the fear started to penetrate my bones.
But I couldn't let that thought sink in—not yet. I had a job here. I didn't care about my life now. My mom was my priority.
A grotesque, monstrous scream shook the air around us sending a shudder through both of us. Shit—they're here!
I clenched my hammer tightly. Mom buried her face in my chest, and footsteps reached the door.
Suddenly, everything grew silent.
For a moment, I thought this was it. They had left.
Yeah, I was hopeful—only to be met with the metallic sound of the door slamming against the wall with a force that could tear a human apart.
Mom pressed her head harder against me.
In the blink of an eye, the corrupted rushed in. I saw them closing in like a tornado.
They were terrifying. Absolutely horrifying.
Grotesque beings unfolded before my eyes. There were eight of them, and I didn't know how many were outside.
They looked like creatures straight out of a nightmare or a mythical horror tale. Some had reptilian scales. Others had burnt skin on their smirking faces—faces that revealed fangs no saber-tooth could match.
The last ones had claws capable of filleting my stomach open as easily as peeling a banana.
A formation of demons stood a few feet away from me.
They started sniffing around the place.
I held my breath, kept my eyes open, and gripped my hammer.
Moments passed until one of them stopped and closed its eyes. It was the closest one to us.
I felt the pressure in the air changing. My muscles ached.
But at that moment, my luck couldn't get any better.
It turned its back to us and walked away, as the rest of them did the same.
I closed my eyes gratefully and waited a few moments for them to get farther away.
Mom and I sighed carefully when they left our spot.
But we couldn't enjoy those moments. A scream shattered my brief peace again. It was him—he had been caught.
And this time, my luck couldn't get any worse.
His screams grew louder as he got closer. The corrupted were running after him, and that idiot had brought every infected in sight. He collapsed at our door as a claw dug deep into his back. He was dragged away while being eaten, but somehow, he made things even worse.
He pointed his broken hand in our direction, yelling, "They're under the table!" as if he desperately thought the monsters would understand his language—which, for my not so amazing luck, they apparently did.
One of them lifted its head, gazing in our direction—looking directly into my eyes.
Soulless.
It felt like it was digging through my soul, as if it wanted to replace its long-gone one with mine.
My blood froze in my veins. My heart pounded desperately, trying to warm my body.
Then it lunged forward.
As that asshole smiled victoriously, I let out a loud "Oh shit!" and jumped out of my hiding spot, hearing my mom shout behind me:
"No!"
But the only objective in my mind was to survive.
I swung my hammer straight into the side of its head, sending its lifeless body crashing onto the floor.
I didn't have time to react.
The other leaped forward and slammed into me.
I had no time to react.
I tried to defend myself, screaming loudly—then my scream was cut off as a burning sensation spread from my neck down my body.
I thought that was it.
I was gone.
But suddenly everything went still.
So suddenly that I opened my eyes, trying to check if I was alive—or if I had already died.
The monsters were motionless, as if someone had pressed a button to stop them.
I gasped for air.
Shock had taken over me.
I looked at my mom's wide eyes.
I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't hear my own voice.
Even my thoughts were blocked.
Only a beeping sound grew louder and louder inside my ears.
My vision blurred.
The world became foggy, but I could still see my mom's gaze shifting toward the door. There were two figures standing on the doorstep.
Are those… Uncle Lloyd and his companion, Melvern?
I think I shouted—but there was no voice I could hear.
How exactly were they able to pass without being harmed? I was too weak to even think properly.
I couldn't tell. The scorching sunlight pouring through the doorway made everything worse.
But yeah. The only thing I was sure about was this—
I was bitten.
Then… everything went black.