Chapter 4

fourth chapter of Red Dawn - Oh gawd... How did i even finish this chapter ':) um... TRIGGERWARNING# Blood, just lots of blood

Chapter 4

Rocks fell as the three climbed over them. They had gone so far that it was like a rocky mountain - there was nothing but rocks and grass, no trees. The sky was void of any clouds and the sun was beating down on the dry grass and gravel rocks. They were well up in the hills and there was nothing to cover them from the hot sun’s rays of heat.

Tripping slightly on the loose ground Tommy caught his footing and stopped to catch his breathe. He looked up and noticed Felix and Milly a little bit in front of him - both of them had stopped as well. Using his shirt he wiped the sweat from his forehead, collecting bits of wet blood as well. Stepping up two rocks, Tommy joined the other two as they all caught their breath before continuing on.

Getting over the rock hill, they come to an in-closed area that was surrounded by the rocks with no way out without climbing the rocks. Dropping to the ground they all let out large and harsh breaths - trying to circulate the air into their lungs. Catching their breath they all had a turn at the canteen before sitting down properly and 

looking at each other.

“We need to find some water.” Milly spoke. She was holding her throbbing arm and was breathing hard. Her skin had nearly all turned red from the smeared blood.

“…. We can’t sleep until the blood’s gone. They’ll find us otherwise.” Felix said as he lend back on his hand, while his blood covered hand shook slightly in his lap.

“Let’s just give it another minute, can we?” Tommy questioned as he leaned back and took a large breathe to fill his lungs.

They waited the minute - probably more than a minute - as Tommy had asked and truthfully it was probably the most blessed minute. They were able to regain their breath and some of their strength within that minute. Felix breathed out “Good call Tommy.”

Felix, Milly and Tommy stripped off their jackets and jumpers until they were in just singlets and their pants - shoes too of course. Leaving the bag near the rocks, Felix kept a tight grip on his handgun and Milly kept her rifle trigger ready. Tommy hanged to the back with the canteens hanging over his shoulder, cause of the fact that they only had two guns.

They went through the over growth of the dry forest land, until they heard what sounded like water rushing down a stream. Pushing past the overgrown plants, they came to the bank of a small water stream. It was banked with rocks and pebbles and the water was crystal clear.

Sitting down on the ground near the water, Felix, Tommy and Milly dipped their hands into the ice cold water and slowly rubbed them together. The clear water ran red, as it washed from their hands and down the stream. Splashing their arms and face, they felt the watery blood drop from their hair and skin.

Felix using only one hand, ran his fingers through his hair - as the blood had soaked one side red - until he felt most of the blood drip out. He winced as he touched the wound, it wasn’t deep and only started to bleed after about 10mins after the crash. His other hand however shook and was turning blue at the tips of his fingers. When the blood was washed away from it, it revealed that he had a large cut of a wound over the palm of his hand that went down into his wrist - he would be lucky if it didn’t damage any veins.

Milly cupped water in her hands and splashed it over her face, rubbing her eyes and forehead of any blood that may have dripped down over her face. She used her right hand to collect some water - even though it dripped out of her hand - and held it to her bicep and watched as watery drops rolled down her arm and dripped onto the ground next to her. She rubbed it slightly before letting go and pulling her boots off. She slowly let her feet into the water, the cold feeling was splendid to her hot and tired skin.

Tommy rubbed up his arms and over his face with his hands, before dripping them back into the water and through his hair. He let go a large shaky breath and pulled up the leg of his pants. His cupped water into his water and dropped it down over his leg and watched as it washed away most of the blood. He wet his hand and runs it down his leg, collecting any dripping blood. Tommy reached over - after washing his hands - and grabbed the straps of the canteens and dragged them over to him.

He moved closer to the water and rested his feet into it, then dipped the first canteen into the stream, holding it under until full. He clipped the lid back on when it was full and grabbed the next one.

Milly crossed her legs and held her jacket as she reluctantly dunked it under the waters level. Using her hand she rubbed against it, trying to get the blood. Bits of blood leaked out and ran down with the waters stream.

Scrubbing her jacket against one of the submerged rocks, Milly wiped her forehead of sweat and blood. Pulling it out of the water, she watched the water drip clear off her jackets end. Standing up, she walks around Felix - who was scrubbing his jumper - and throws it onto a stone rock that rested in the sun and grabbed Tommy’s jacket.

Tommy dropped the last canteen with the other two canteens and grabbed the back of his shirt and pulling it off. He held it under the water and rubbed the few drops of blood off from it. He pulled it up and threw it over in the general direction of Milly jacket and walked into the water’s stream and sat down on a rock and dunked his pant leg under the water.

He let out a sigh as he felt the cool water hit against his leg, washing away any of the left blood or new blood that spilled out of the wound. Milly had finished with removing the blood from Tommy’s Jacket and was now soaking her feet just a bit away from Tommy. Moving her hands through the water surface she felt the bites of cold on her finger tips and then splashed water over her face and chest.

Felix leaned his back against the rock that held the wet clothes and held his hand close to his stomach - the bleeding hadn’t stopped. Tommy stood up and slowly pushed through the water and stepped onto the bank with water dripping from his skin and clothes. He went over to Felix and sat down next to him - bank side - and placed his leg back into the water as best he could. Milly turned to face them both - er feet still resting in the water.

“Where’re we going next?” Milly asked, slowly moving her foot in the water.

“Didn’t you ask that just a few hours ago?” Tommy quested her back.

“Before we crashed, you mean?” Milly added with a sarcastic tone, looking over her feet as she spoke.

“That’s enough. Milly. can you please go back to the bag and see if there’s any sort of rag or cloth - I need to wrap my arm.” Felix order.

Milly let out a tick of the tongue, but didn’t complain any further and stood up, walking off back to the area where the bag was located. She pushed away the plants and stepped over logs and roots - that had shot through the ground. Pushing another leaf branch out of the way, Milly came back to the rock formation that hide their bag. 

Stepping over some of the rocks, she went over and leaned down to the bag.

She lifted the lid of it and started shuffling through it trying to find anything that would be useful. A knife, oranges, rope, flares, herbs and a small dirtied towel. 

Grabbing the towel and knife she dropped the lid back over the bag and opened the front pocket and grabs what’s left of the bandages. They were only for emergencies but, Milly felt like even if there was an emergency there wouldn’t be enough of it to be useful, so now was a better time then any.

She stood and headed back towards the stream bank that she had left the boys at.

When she had made it back, she unsuspectedly let out a breath of relief seeing them alright. She always got the worst feeling when she left them alone, as if they would be attack and killed. Felix and Tommy notice Milly when they heard the sound of pebbles getting kicked along the rock surface. Noticing the bandages Tommy put on a strained face.

“Why’d you bring the bandages? There for an emergency only, not some small wound!” Tommy stated with bite behind his words

Giving Tommy a soft punch as she sat down Milly spoke:

“If we ever had a severe injury that required an ‘emergency’ this little roll wouldn’t be enough.” Milly stated as she took hold her Felix’s shaking hand and slowly started to wipe away the blood drops with the towel.

Slowly she wrapped his hand with the bandages before using the knife to cut the end and dropping it to the ground. She tied a knock in the bandage and checked his hand over for any blood patches. Satisfied she let go of Felix’s hand and stood up - picking up the knife and what was left of the bandages. She sat down across from Tommy and commanded him to lift his leg out of the water.

He did and pulled up the leg of his pants again and allowed Milly access to his wound. 

Using the bleached red towel again, she wiped down Tommy’s leg of the water and blood - just like she had done with Felix. Dropping the towel, she wrapped the bandage around Tommy’s leg, pulling tightly as she went.

Milly let out a breath when she finished with Tommy’s leg and leaned back, there was barely any of the bandage left. Tommy grabbed the bandage from her hand and moved closer to her and grabbed her left arm. He grabbed the towel and carefully wiped Milly’s arm down with it before wrapping it with the last of the bandages.

Tommy tied the knot as Felix stood and went over to grab the canteens with his hand. He looked over at the other two and the soaked clothes, to him it seemed smartest to leave them there but he could feel winter coming closer and without the proper clothing they would die.

“You guys take the clothes, I’ll take the canteens.” Felix stated as he headed back in the general direction that they had appeared from.

Tommy and Milly stood and grabbed the jackets and jumpers and followed after Felix - ho had already gone into the forest. They pushed the leaves out of the way as they made their way back to the rock formation.

Stepping over the few fallen rocks, the three had returned to their box in the rocks. 

They say down again and laid there for a few minutes before starting up conversation again. The grass blew softly against their boots and clothes and the wind hit softly against their faces. The breeze turned cool as the sun started to set behind the hills of rocks and trees. Noticing the change in temperature Milly turned to the boys and commented:

“The sun’s setting, shouldn’t we get wood or something to burn?”

Felix and Tommy looked over at the setting sun and both decided that it wasn’t a bad idea. The night would be cold and heartless. Standing up Milly told Tommy to stay where he was - his leg wouldn’t really allow him to move very well " and followed Felix out pasted the rock formation’s only entrance.

Walking around in the last lights of the day, probably wasn’t the best idea, Milly thinks as she trips on an uprooted root. She gained her balance and glared back at the root before grabbing some more sticks by the trunk of the tree.

Grabbing the trunk of the tree, Milly pushed off and stuck her hand out trying to find her way before she crashed into something else. Moving her hand around, she feels her fingers come across skin and clothes. She freezes up, unsure whether it was Felix or someone else.

“F-Felix?” Milly asked the black void

“Milly?” Felix’s voice came from the void and Milly let out a breath in relief and un-tensed her body. Grabbing Felix wrist with a shaky hand, Milly feel’s him tense up for a second before calming down again.

“Let’s go back. It’s too dark” Milly comments as she looks around for anything remotely Felix like.

“Okay.” They head back towards the general spot that they believed was where 

Tommy was " Milly holding Felix’s wrist the whole way. When they arrive back at the box of rocks they find Tommy half asleep laying against the rock wall. He awakens with a start when he hears the sound of falling sticks hitting the ground - Milly had laid down dry leaves before they had dropped the sticks.

Felix and Milly sit down again and Felix drags the bag over to his side and opens the front pocket and pulls out a small box of matches. Scraping it against the box its tip bursts into flames before calming and flouting over the match. Holding the match near the dry leaves and slowly the flames caught onto the leaves and burned them down.

Catching the sticks and leaves, it quickly turned into a burning bonfire. Felix, Tommy and Milly laid back against the rocks near each other. They watched as the ashes burned up into the air, escaping into the wind as the wood screamed and crack as the flames ate its fill.

“I’ll take first watch.” Milly states as she feels Felix and Tommy yawn after each other.

“You sure?” Felix asks in a drowsy voice

“Yea…”

After a two hours, Milly still held her gun in her lap overlooking the flames and entrance. Felix had his face cuddled into the side of her neck and was holding his arm, while Tommy’s head leaned away from her but his shoulder touched softly against her each time he shifted - Felix was the cuddlier of the group, cause he loved the feel of knowing that they were there. Milly didn’t mind the contact of the two boys, she was used to it by now and didn’t really find it awkward whenever Felix would cuddle up to her like a child. She felt as if it helped him in a way: with his depression.

Milly’s eyes glance towards the entrance as she hears the sudden sound of braking sticks. She doesn’t relax, when the thought of it just being the fire crosses her mind - he doesn’t want to take any chances. Roughly she nudges Tommy in the rib and held her gun tightly as he slowly woke up.

Felix shifted as Milly started to stand and gave his leg a tap with her boot. She stepped forward and away from the two and slowly walked around the fire as it ate the woods. Tommy slapped Felix’s knee as he groaned from the loss of Milly, but then slowly start to wake up from the brutal treatment that was Tommy.

They both stood and Felix grabbed the handgun that laid only centimetres from where he had been laying. Tommy keep to the wall and grabbed the bag, along with his jacket " Felix and Milly had put theirs back on before they had gone to sleep. Stepping up onto one of the larger rock Tommy got prepared to run up them.

They didn’t hear anything for a second, but then a groan silently cut through the crackling of the flames and the soft breeze. They held their ground; their eyes searching furiously through the black abyss. Felix shallowed down a lump in his throat and keep a steady hand on his gun " as steady as he could -, Milly held her rifle at the ready, her finger sitting on the trigger, awaiting the moment she could release a bullet.

Tommy put one foot up onto a higher rock, and slowly put his arm through his jacket.

Something yelped in the distance and they all jumped at the sudden sound, but then one came into the light of the flames. It limped on one leg that was missing several toes and lumped its shoulder down, its hand dripping with blood and missing fingers. Its eyes were white voids of nothing and it held its mouth open with a broken jaw. 

Suddenly there several glowing white lights behind it, all in sets of two - except some.

It lift’s its head slightly and it just falls to the other shoulder, but looks directly at them with an odd sense of no emotions. It groans and slowly more appear behind it, groaning along with it. They slowly take steps forward to the three with their sickly looks and wide blown eyes.

Felix and Milly take a step back towards the rocks, feeling the overwhelming sense of death and the smell of decay. One of the zombie beings moves faster and knocks many of the other ones of its kind; its tongue hanging out and its arms hanging loosely at its side. It comes straight at them, its teeth bared and making sounds like that of a wild animal, then:

BANG!!

It falls to the ground in a hep, a bullet hole clearly seen shot through its head and 

Milly’s rifle smoking with the release of the bullet. Her face is strained but emotionless as she overlooks the corpse for a second before turning back to the other zombie beings. They look dumbfounded before they look up at her and groan again, changing their direction to her alone.

Milly gets up on the closet rock and Felix follows suit, watching as they all aim for Milly; their arms outstretched - those that could outstretch their arms. Releasing another bullet, Milly takes another step back up the rocks. As she gets higher up, they reach the first rock and start figuring out how to climb.

Another falls, but by Felix’s hand this time, as Milly was trying to get to even higher ground. Tommy in between them both but higher up, reaches the top and shouts out to them both.

“Hurry up, will you!”

“I’d like to see you do this then, Tommy!!” Milly screams at him in pure rage and exhaustion, She lets out a huff of air as she gets to the next rock, just as one of them was about to grab her ankle.

The hoard of dead beings had split into two; half climbing after Milly and the other half after Felix. Felix and Milly released another set of bullets into the heads of the closet zombies, While Tommy looked around his surrounds from the top of the hill, hoping to see something useful.

Milly and Felix both reach the top of the hill, panting for breathe from exhaustion, but don’t let up as they quickly reload their guns with new bullets and shot the closet zombies. Black blood like tare splatters over the rocks as Milly shots one through the eye, it falls to the bottom of the hill and stays laying on the ground.

As Tommy continued to look over the surrounding area the zombies started to quickly shorten in distance between them. Giving up Tommy grabs a large rock about the size of a head and pelts it down the hill and managers to hit one in the face and make it fall back with its head being crushed by the rock. Tommy let’s out a silent bravo, but realises quickly that it may not have been a good idea.

“We need to go.” Felix states as he takes in the look of the zombies and their blood thirsty void eyes.

Turning around they look down the hill, taking in the massive jump and the amount of rocks that laid throughout the fall. A zombie reaches the top, but then is quickly shut down as Milly shots it in the face, just as it goes to grab her ankle: she glares down at it. Reluctant as they were, they didn’t see any other chooses.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Tommy asks as he leans back to look at the Zombies.

“We could die.” Milly states blankly.

“I think I’d rather the cliff then slowly being torn apart.” Felix mutters.

“Well whatever we’re doing, best do it now!” Tommy says as another zombie is just about to reach the top.

“Then we jump!” Milly states just as she leaps into the air and over the edge.

“She’s nuts, I tell ya.” Tommy says as he looks over the side, looking for anything that looks like a disembodied person.

“Then so are we!” Felix says as he grabs Tommy arm and pulls him over the side of the cliff, just as the zombies reach the top. They fall to the bottom, hitting their backs against the ground as they roll to the valley floor. They groan at the pain of the fall and slowly open their eyes as they look up at the sky and take in the sight of the zombie’s not knowing what to do.

Slowly the boy’s sit up and look around at the area. It was dry and desert like, had some trees but lots of dry dirt and rocks. Milly as a little way off stretching her back and body after the fall. Milly looks over at the boys and stops her stretching, her ice eyes still holding the hatred she feels towards the zombies.

“Where to now?” She asks again

Felix looks up the hill, at the still confused zombies that are slowly figuring out how to get down and then states just as the sky begins to become a brighter and lighter shade of blue and yellow.

“Guess we go towards the sun.” Felix answers as he stands up.

“Sound’s reasonable.” Milly say’s as she overlooks the sunrise.

Tommy just groans and falls onto his back with his eyes closed and arms outstretched.

“Not more walking!!”

Author's Note

Finally edited, Tell me if there is still any mistakes, cause i may have missed some at the end there.

Reviews

[MightyMouse]

I'll read the rest of the chapters at a later time. Aside from a few editing errors, this sounds pretty good. I would like to point out that I have started fires out in the woods everyday almost for the last five years. In reality, it takes more than one match, and I'd have them use pine needles because stereotypically leaves burn well, but they actually don't. They do sort of burn, but not with flames. And if you want them to have a good fire then they need to have a huge mountain of pine needles because wood doesn't stay on fire unless it's really dry or it's been caught on fire long enough to dry it out. Sticks will burn down in a matter of minutes if the fire is hot enough and logs don't usually catch unless they've been on fire for hours. You have to have something in the middle. Fires are very complicating. Sorry about the long explanation, I just thought that if you wanted this as precise as possible, then you should understand the struggle behind fires.

[PenguinEmpiress]

No no that's fine! I've been camping quite a umber of times when i was younger. but, anyway, when I wrote this I had invised more of an Australian theme landscape, which is a bit unfair I must admit since not everyone leaves here, but yea, i didn't use pine needles or even things about them, ecause Australia doesn't really have pine trees in the bush, it's mostly gum trees. But yea, the fire isn't very realistic, because its too basic and easy to start. I'll have to fix that all up, Thank you for tell me! I really appreciate it!

[MightyMouse]

Of course, I guess different landscapes would be different. :-)

[PenguinEmpiress]

Yea, I'm going to have to describe it better, so what i envision gets across better.

[KittyKatgirl]

Took me forever but I finally finished reading the chapter. It is really good but there is some errors especially with "there." In the second paragraph you have "they're" where it should be spelt "their." There is another mistake with the same problem but too slack to try and find it again along with a couple of other errors but it is still really good and now to chapter 5 and it better not be as long at this one.

[PenguinEmpiress]

yea, i expected there to be some mistakes cause i was too lazy to go back and fix it up ,:)

[KittyKatgirl]

Lol ain't we all. XD

[PenguinEmpiress]

So true XD