The Ruins Of Tomorrow

08. The Cell

A bullet went straight to the head of the biter. It collapsed next to Thomas as he quickly got up when Gerald and Lia's hands dragged him inside, as more of the dead limped down the long road. I felt someone snatch the back of my hoodie as I fetched my fallen gun at the last second before we ran through the gates.

"Close the damn doors!" A guard hollered.

The high-pitched screech alerted everyone inside the community. A group of guards climbed up the ladder to reach the top of the walls and lowered their guns to shoot at the horde, while others tried to pull the gates to shut. Dead bodies thudded in the middle as it blocked the entrance, and there was no way to close it without removing the bodies out of the way first.

My hands were still shaking as an aching pain was present on my chest, making it hard to breathe and to acknowledge my surroundings. People dashed through to assist and help, and even little kids were encouraging their parents to do something, then just watch. Thomas appeared in front of me as he tried to shake me awake when screams made me push him behind me in an instant.

There was a pile of dead bodies as the gates stopped closing. I heard guns being reloaded when the crawler screeched louder, slowly making its way to the top until it stood there, staring. We heard its neck pop, and every bit of their joints moved back in position as it contorted its tarnished body. It walked down the pile of bodies and everyone stared backing away.

Barrels of guns were being aimed at it, as the thing screeched again. I was standing in the open and felt Thomas's small hands grip the back of my shirt. I licked my dry lips, simply staring at it while it snapped its head and growled at us. It sneered its teeth, scanning every person within these walls until it found me standing still and the only person who hadn't backed away.

I watched its steps until it stopped in the middle of the crowd. The safety of a gun clicked and a rough hand pulled me behind a tall figure. The worn out man with dark eyes aimed at the creature, as their jaw tightened at the sight of it.

"Wait—!" I heard Lia shout. "If you shoot that thing, you know what is going to happen."

The man peered over his shoulder to find Lia standing in the open as she had her hands out. "I don't think you understand the situation we are in now, Lia," he said in a deep voice.

Her face dropped, and she looked at me and Thomas, and at everyone else who were trembling in fear. "These Screakers are not like the uncommon infected. Their kind are much smarter and the instant you kill one, more of them are going to try to find it because it went missing."

The man gripped the gun tighter. "So what the hell do you want me to do? Take it in my truck and drop it off at its home?" he said.

Lia's lips curved, and it looked like she wanted to laugh. "That thing will rip your head off before you manage that."

"Then it's settled," he said. "I won't risk this community."

The Screaker let out one last piercing cry as the noise traveled throughout Terrenceville and a bullet met its head, and then its heart. Everyone in the crowd let out a breath of relief when they saw the body thud down the pile as its head splattered against the hard surface of the ground.

The man pulled back his gun and slipped it back behind his shirt. He nodded at the guards as they climbed down the ladder and aided the civilians to check for bites. "And make sure to throw out the bodies and close the gates."

I saw Lia lower her head as she exchanged a quick gaze at me before vanishing through the people as I saw her leave. Gerald came to my side and took off his baseball cap to inspect the injury on my arm. "Are you alright?" he asked kindly and then looked at Thomas.