The World We Live In | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙾 ♤

Chapter 11

It was the sound that first prickles sharply in the ears, and Aaron sprinted in the direction, jerking his boy to a halt when he reached the staircase and looked down. Then, the smell was the second thing that hit him in the face. Aaron blanched - a pack of wasted had managed to get in and were roaming on the floor below. Aaron quickly crouched to his knees, heart thundering and eyes watering from the stench. He quickly heads back to the office where Andrew and Hailey were and burst inside. Andrew was already halfway up. Gun cocked in his hand and expression severe. He'd heard the sound too. "The Biters broke through. We need to move. I'll get the other one. Call in Vince and tell him to get his ass up here."

"What about the explosives?"

"Leave it! If they do miraculously find their way here, they'll be in for one hell of a surprise." Aaron glared at Hailey, who was visibly taken aback and almost looked like she wanted to cry. "If the girl tries anything funny or you're in a pinch, leave her for the dead."

Andrew gulped and hesitated before giving his answer, but it wasn't convincing. "...Right."

"You can't hesitate, or it's your ass the dead will have. It's them or us, alright?" Aaron emphasized. He knew Andrew was lucky not to have killed a single soul since this started, but one day that luck would run out. It was why he was perfect for sneaking in Broke Jaw Ranch, but in their current predicament, that could get his friend killed. "Andrew!" Aaron's bark started the younger man, who quickly nodded his head. Only when he repeated his answer with more conviction did Aaron leave for the room.

Within roughly a minute, Aaron quickly unlocked the room and stepped inside. As he entered, door ajar, a wooden object, a chair, crashed down on his upper body. It stunned him for a few seconds, and Aaron heard shuffling footsteps closing in on him. His hand didn't hesitate when he swept it sideward, and he heard a grunt, and Cristine's body hit the side of the wall. Baring his teeth, Aaron whipped his head in her direction and, like a cobra, jabbed his hand out and took in a fist of her hair and pulled her hard towards herself.

Cristine's first reaction was to put her palm on top of Aaron's, gripping her hair, so he could not rip them out of her follicles. He was only able to move her head. "You thought you did something bitch!?" His hot breath sweltered in her face, extracting some spit. Cristine slammed her free fist into the weak spot where his elbow flexed and brought her knee towards his groin. Aaron's grip faltered, momentarily losing his strength and rigidity, and that was enough for Cristine to break free, and her body jumped in action. She shot her ten fingers forward and gripped Aaron's head like one did their favorite ball. Aaron was shocked by the unexpected moves and growled when he felt an unnatural tension push deeper and deeper in his sockets. Cristine pressed the tip of both thumbs to stab Aaron into his eyes. Her nails hooked into the white of his eyes as deep as she could, like a bird clawing its way into its next prey.

"GRAAAGHHH!!" Aaron's howl resembled a pig's cry. Cristine wasn't sure if she could keep it up and rammed her knee into his groin for a second time. The man doubled over, his vision red from her nails scratching into his eyeballs. "I'm gonna fucking kill you!" Cristine ignored the cursing wails. Frazzled, gasping for air, she brandished her skinner knife from her sleeve and clamped the small blade in her hand. Aaron was still sprawled on the carpet, covering his bleeding eyes. The damage wasn't permanent. He saw red, in a literal and figurative sense. Breathing hard, Cristine gambled and charged in Aaron's direction again and threw her weight into the lower part of his body. Aaron was heavier and dug the back of his boots into the surface. He halted their fall into the ground. Cristine summoned her strength in her thrust, stabbed Aaron just above the clavicle, and tore through blood vessels, veins, and nerves in a quick flurry. She pressured through when she heard the bone crack. Still, it was little her against a bulky man now high on adrenaline and numb on pain. A pain he pushed through when he remembered that this worthless bitch had killed his little brother. All at once, through the burning pain in his eyeballs and the blood spurting from his neck. Aaron's gnarled hand wrenched at the front of Cristine's jacket, and he flung her in the direction of the wall again. Cristine's body thundered with pain, the shock paralyzing her for seconds. It knocked the air from her lungs, and Cristine gasped to catch her breath. Her world spun, her attacker's body doubled, and she felt something warm trickle from the side of her head. She searched for her knife somewhere on the floor that got knocked from her hand, but couldn't find it. "FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!" It was the second time Aaron spewed such raw and hateful emotions her way. S back from the aweless and charismatic leader. Aaron got up to his feet. The blood that seeped from his neck was heavy. It drenched the upper left part of his shirt, but the man struggled onward like a behemoth. Cristine clambered over the floor, her body protesting, thick with pain, and hear the sounds coming from her mouth emphasized that. Her legs wobbled, but the wall served as enough support to get on her feet, and Cristine used that as momentum, narrowly avoiding Aaron's severe punch. She heard glass shatter. Aaron threw more profanities and insults.