Project Abbey (Chapter 2)

2029, the world has fallen to pieces, and over two thirds of the population have been wiped out. A group of young survivors find something that could save humanity from Insanity and her hounds.

Havi and I exchanged looks, my eyes meeting his dark ones. I knew what I had to do, and so did he.

"Go," He spoke softly, hoping not to attract more attention than necessary. "Alice and I will make sure nothing happens until you get back."

I nodded, "Be careful."

"Always."

I swiped my weapon, a recently sharpened machete, off the deck and headed for the river where I was hoping to find JJ and Maya since they were incapable of knowing what was happening back at camp. Sean was no where to be found and because he had most likely left before the morning sun, the boy could have been anywhere. I wasn't too worried about him though, I knew he could take care of himself.

Before I could begin down the road towards the Hudson, I heard the yelp of an unsuspecting victim. I shivered at the sight when I turned to see what it was. A Hound had collapsed on the ground, its white coat stained scarlet with blood. Seeing the creatures was terrifying enough, but the liquid seeping from its wounds made it even more disturbing.

The Hounds were usually white, their tan skin peaking out underneath patches of missing fur. Their eyes were black as a midnight, and their paws much too big for their skin and bone frames. Other than their sharpened claws, and jagged teeth which formed in rows like sharks, the most peculiar attributes of these monsters were the sharp bones that stuck out of their shoulders and followed the curvature of their backs until they reached the tails.

We began seeing them a few days after the first attacks. There weren't many to begin with, but they began to grow in number until it felt as if they were tracking us wherever we went.

If there was one hound, there had to be at least five more roaming around close by. We found that the creatures tended to move in packs, using the others to help them find pray. Usually humans were first on the menu.

Before the animal could see me, I took off.

The river was only about a half a mile from our camp and it took me about five minutes to get there. JJ was sitting on the edge of a dock, his small legs dangling just above the water. The dirty old clothes that he was wearing were way too large for his small body, his pants held up by a belt Havi had given him. His sister was older, but about the same weight. She was working on washing some of the clothes we had accumulated over the past few days, her curly, strawberry blond hair pulled up in a thick ponytail, all except for one strand that fell in front of her sunken cheeks.

We had found the two in a subway station on 73rd street in West Manhattan. They were curled up, starving almost to death. It had taken almost two months to get them back to the weight they were then, and still, they weren't strong. Of course, they were my first priority most of the time.

Little JJ's head popped up when he heard someone approach, grinning widely. "Sabrina!" He called, bounding over to see me. "Are you here to play? Maya's so boring when she's doing work!"

I smiled, ruffling his already messy blonde hair hair. "No, sorry bud. I, uh, came to get you guys."

Maya looked up at me, frowning a bit. "What's going on?"

"Hounds."

JJ peered up at me sadly with huge, sad, blue. "I thought you said that we would be safe this time."

"I was wrong." I whispered, squatting down so he could see me better. "But don't you worry, we'll find somewhere. Don't worry."

"You said that last time." He muttered.

Maya rung out her last piece of clothing, and then stuffed it in her shoulder bag. "Jack John, grab your things." She ordered. "Come on, let's go."

"Okay." He moved back towards the water's edge to grab his slingshot and bag of stones. Upon trying to find a weapon suited for a eight-year-old, we decided that a slingshot would provide him with protection, but not cause any fatal accidents. JJ took the weapon happily.

The three of us traveled cautiously up the street without speaking, using our senses to scan for any sort of danger. We knew the hounds weren't the only problem we could have if we hung out on the streets for too long.

Instead of entering back into the camp the same way in which I had come, I thought it might be safer to go through the woods to conceal our movements. With my hand it JJ's, and his hand in his sister's, we weaved through the dense patch of trees being as quiet as possible.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly,

until I felt hot breath brush the back of my neck.

I knew what it was before I turned to look, realizing I was face to face with more than 100 sharp teeth. Before the hound got a chance to gnaw on my face, a voice echoed from the shadows.

"Everyone, duck!"

 

 

Author's Note

Please Review!

Reviews

[Ashley]

Again, your attention to detail is great! I don't even have to try to visualize what you're writing about. The same thing as before with the telling vs. showing, but your plot flow is good. I look forward to seeing what happens.