Chapter 7

A Chapter by Amy Skye

Cress finds a safe spot to wait for Tim and Anna to return. Quickly realizing she isn't as safe as she thought.

Cress

By the time I finally made it to the town the sun was rising on the horizon and I was able to see the world around me for the first time in over a hundred and fifty years. To my surprise, the world was flourishing. Trees and greenery were reclaiming the infrastructure of the once vibrant town. Homes were crumpling and disintegrating, allowing nature to recover in its wake. The air was fresh and clean, as though the pollution from years passed had finally dissipated. The further I walked into the city the more I realized that this abandoned place had not seen human contact in many, many years. My heart sank at the thought that Anifa had taking so much away from the world that was built.

I advanced deeper into the town, finally reaching a portion of erect buildings and businesses. I recognized one as being an old bar and eatery, the door still intact and the foundation still holding. I jiggled the knob, but the door did not budge. I could still make out faint writing that read Red’s Bar and Grill. I touched the emblem, vaguely thinking of what this place looked like in its prime. Anger welt up in my chest at the thought of this once lively site. I shoved the door hard, and it flew open, exposing a slightly preserved, dust covered bar and dinning area. I closed the door behind me as I entered, leaving the place dark. I walked over to one of the boarded up windows and pulled down the plywood slightly to allow some light to pour inside. Making my way around the bar and dinning area, I found another door, slightly agar, just beyond was a set of stairs that lead to the second floor. The stairs creaked as I made my way up, emerging into what looked like an old living room. A dirt and dust covered couch lay in the center of the room in front of a small fireplace. Another room just off to the left, housed a bed and small dresser.

This looks like a good place to hold up until Tim and Anna get back. I took off my pack and set it down on the floor in front of the fireplace, taking out a small protein ration. I walked over to the window that lay on the wall to the left of the fireplace and peered down onto the street. Good vantage point. I thought, though I had no experience in reconnaissance, or survival, or anything except wires and codes for that matter. I took a bite of my ration and sat on the couch. I could hear the wind blowing through the cracks in the walls, I shivered off the cold. I knew I would need to start a fire before night fall or I would freeze. I walked down to the first floor and ripped apart a couple of the dinning chairs, taking the remnants back up next to the mantel for later. I continued to search the building for other useful things. My eyes scanned the room to see a small dagger and sheath on display above the bar. I reached up and yanked it off the wall. The handle was a beautiful hue of purple and teal gemstone with a reflective gold lining accompanied by a shining steel double edged blade, still in very good condition. I slipped it back in the sheath and continued my search throughout the bar, finding nothing other than a few dust covered blankets and broken liquor bottles.

I walked out the front door and began looking into several old businesses. All of which gave nothing but dust and ghosts of the passed. For a moment I thought I heard a slight humming in the distance. The noise started to grow, I turned quickly, thinking that it would be to soon for Anna and Tim, and I quickly realized it definitely wasn’t them. Instead a massive aircraft was headed straight for the town. I turned and ran as quickly as possible into one of the nearby buildings just as the aircraft zoomed on-word overhead. Once it was out of site, I ran from the building, back toward Red’s. Dust clouds in the distance started to bloom, my heart began to race, as I ran as fast as I could back into the bar. I pulled up the plywood to cover the windows, and shifted what was left of the tables and chairs in front of the door. Heart pounding, I ran up the stairs shutting the door behind me. Reluctantly I peered out the window to see a line of armored vehicles making its way down the street. I quickly ducked down, shoving my head into my knees. Waiting for it all to be over.

. . .

For the next 5 days, like clockwork, the town was invaded by armored trucks and soaring aircrafts. I was able to stay safe in my hide away inside Red’s, but never able to rest out of fear of being caught. Finally when the trucks slowly stopped showing up, I was able to go outside. Until one day, when I came face to face with something out of nightmares. Before we were forced into the rehab center, there were stories of a mad scientist who tested his sustainably theories on animals. At the time, we didn’t really know what that meant. However after being subjected to the hell inside Anifa, I finally understand. When they finally made the switch to human trials, they let the experimented on animals go. Enraged with anger and newly equipped potential, they began to change and transform into what we would call Seathers. Angry at the world and humans for making them that way, they feed on humans and are nearly impossible to kill. After undergoing years of extreme torment in the name of science, I don’t blame them for adhering to their primal instinct and fabricated resentment. Being a test subject in the endless search for immortality is debilitating to say the least, I mean, I would know.

After a day or two of quiet streets, I was walking about a block away from Red’s when I came face to face with a Seather. His body, partially bear of hair, stood massive on all fours. Bloodshot eyes, and clipped ears, he resembled something of a cross between a black bear and a pit bull. His snarl and utter disgust still echo in my ears. He lunged for me, his speed and quickness was unparalleled. Before I knew it he was on top of me, razor sharp teeth digging into my shoulder. I screamed in pain, as I tried desperately to shove him off. Stabbing my dagger into his side over and over until he finally let go of my ripped up shoulder. I had to be quick, swiftly I dodged his next advance and jumped onto his back, digging my small dagger into the side of his neck. He let out a roar and wince but still bucked, throwing me into the side of a building. He was standing over me, blood from his wounds dripping onto my face and chest. As he opened his jaws and I was staring down the throat of this massive beast, I took my dagger, still covered in blood, and shoved my fist into his muzzle, my dagger plunged into the top of his mouth and out of his head. His eyes met mine, and I could see the torment and anguish in them, he never wanted to be this way. His eyes faded and his body collapsed on mine.

There was a small lake near Red’s were I was able to wash off all of the blood and distress. The thought of how this poor animal was subject to so much pain at the hands of Anfia and so uniquely similar to my own torture, had me in a psychologically miserable state for days. When I finally checked back into reality, nearly two weeks had passed since I had been sent to this desolate town. With no sign of Anna or Tim anywhere, I finally acknowledged that I was in this alone. I only had a day or two of rations left when I decided it was time to leave this place.

I sat in front of the fireplace, looking into the flames, eating a small portion of my remaining ration when I hear the distant chatter of people talking just outside the bar. I ran to the window to see a group of armed individuals about to break the door down and come inside.

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© 2020 Amy Skye

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Ballpark Frank

A few notes. In the first paragraph "walking" should be walked. In paragraph two, weld should be welt I think. In para two, delete " I thought to myself.". Also I'm para two, you took 'a' bite. You left that out.
Later on, the aircraft flew onward, not on-ward.