Shattered Horizon

09 Bo

"So what's the next plan?" Simon asked. His voice cracked slightly, betraying his nerves.
I looked at Liam, then back around the room. Faces etched with a mix of desperation and fear stared back. "Well, we know there's a rumored transport that can take us to where the military is fighting the Vrys," Liam said, his usual confidence muted.
A ripple of unease spread through the group.
"So we're going to risk everyone's lives to see if the military â€" the ones who may have abandoned us â€" are actually still acting by US laws?" Simon's question hung heavy in the makeshift shelter.
I swallowed. My own doubts echoed his words. "It's the only way to find out," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "If there's a chance they can help, we need to find them."
"And if they're not?"  Iris's eyes met mine. "If they're just as bad as the Raiders?"
The room fell silent. I had no answer for her. The truth was, we were grasping at the thinnest of threads, a gamble born from desperation.
Teddy got up, his boots scuffing against the dusty floorboards as he paced restlessly around the ruined living room. We'd found the empty house for a bit of respite, a chance to regroup and think, but the silence felt thick and oppressive.
Annalina's ragged cough broke the quiet, and Simon moved instinctively to her side.
"I don't know..." Teddy's voice was barely above a whisper, a stark contrast to his usual boisterousness.
Iris tilted her head, her eyes locking with Teddy's. "Go on," she encouraged, a single note of apprehension in her voice.
He kept pacing, his hands clenching and unclenching. "Back at the raider camp, me and ryan got separated, I ducked into this half-destroyed office building... papers everywhere." He paused, "I've found... reports. Confirmed that transport Liam mentioned. Twelve hours away, leaving August 8th." A bitter laugh escaped him.  "Who knew those bastards kept such good records?"
He finally stopped his pacing, turning to face us.  "Thing is..." he coughed, the dust of the shelter thick in his throat, "the last messages from that area... well, things didn't end well. I don't know... I don't know if there's anyone left to help us."
"Well, we have no other option, that giant is coming and we need to get as far as possible before it finds us again." Iris said
"I agree," Teddy said, his words clipped. A shadow flickered across his face, something I couldn't quite decipher.
I nodded, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Relief warred with a lingering unease I couldn't shake. Iris's sharp yell for Simon echoed through the house. He hurried into the room, concern creasing his brow.
Iris outlined the transport plan, her movements clipped and efficient. "I'm in too," Simon declared, relief washing over him. "At least we'll be getting away from that giant thing!"
"Okay," Liam said, his voice flat.  "The plan is set."  He heaved himself up from the tattered couch, his movements heavy. "We leave tomorrow."
He walked out of the room without another word, his footsteps echoing in the sudden silence. We stared at the empty doorway, a sense of finality hanging heavy in the air.
Iris and I exchanged a worried glance. A silent conversation flickered between us, one charged with a mix of doubt and concern.
"I better go and check on him," I said, unable to shake off a growing unease.
Iris nodded, but her eyes were already drawn to Simon and Teddy huddled together in the other room. Their low voices were a background hum, hinting at a separate conversation taking place.
As I climbed the creaking stairs towards Liam's room, each step felt heavier.
Outside his door, I hesitated. "Liam, can I come in?" My own voice seemed like a stranger's, strained and hesitant.
"No, not right now. I just need some time alone... please." His muffled reply carried a resigned finality.
"Okay," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.  Turning away felt like an admission of defeat. But as I descended the stairs, the door creaked open a sliver.
"...wait," Liam's voice had softened,  laced with an uncertainty that hadn't been there before.  "Come in."
I turned back towards his room, the weight of concern pressing down on me. I entered softly, the door creaking in the heavy silence. Liam sat on the edge of the bed, his shoulders hunched, a quiet tremor wracking his frame. He turned away sharply, as if caught in a private moment he desperately wanted to hide.
"It's okay, Liam." My voice was a gentle murmur, but I could hear the strain of my own worry in it. I stepped towards him, wanting to offer comfort.
"Don't come any closer, please." He choked out the words, a single sob escaping him.
My heart ached. Yet, instinct propelled me forward. I moved slowly, a silent promise of support. Reaching him, I gently turned him around. His face was streaked with tears, eyes filled with a mix of vulnerability and defiance.
Without hesitation, I pulled him into a hug. His body stiffened at first, a silent battle between his need for comfort and his instinct to protect himself. But slowly, his resistance melted away, and he leaned into my embrace.
At first, I said nothing. Words felt hollow, unnecessary. Instead, I focused on the warmth of his body against mine, the slow rise and fall of his breath, the occasional squeeze of his hand in return. In those simple acts, an unspoken promise passed between us.
Time seemed to blur. We sat unmoving, intertwined on the edge of the bed. It wasn't about fixing the world or solving our impossible problems. In that quiet embrace, stripped of bravado and plans, we found a different kind of strength. It was a lifeline of sorts, a reminder that we weren't alone in this bleakness.
The silence held a strange comfort. It was a shared space where sorrow and exhaustion could exist without the need for explanations.  It was a testament to our desperate need for connection, perhaps even more vital than food or shelter.
His eyes met mine. A flicker of something vulnerable crossed his face, a word hanging on the precipice of being spoken. But then, like a curtain falling, the moment was shattered.
"Bo, Liam," Iris's voice echoed from the hallway. "Time for something to eat."
Liam jolted upright, startled. My hand instinctively reached for his, a touch he quickly retreated from. Was I imagining a fleeting look of guilt across his features?
"You okay?" I questioned, an underlying worry tightening my voice.
He nodded sharply. But as he stood, his hand clutched at his side, and a suppressed wince twisted his lips.
"Let me get Simon. Are you sure you're physically alright?"  A flicker of concern must have shown in my eyes.
A forced smile. "I'm fine," he insisted, the words clipped. "Let's go."
We descended the stairs to the living room, the tantalizing aroma of beans mingling with the hum of conversation. Even Annalina looked stronger, a faint smile gracing her face. Iris handed Liam a steaming bowl.
"Beans again," he groaned playfully, mock disgust twisting his features.
"Sit down and eat," Iris retorted, but her tone held a warmth that had been absent before.
We settled in, the chatter rising around me. Simon's jokes, Annalina's soft laughter â€" sounds so precious they ached. For a fleeting moment, it almost felt normal.
"What's one thing you wish you could do one more time?" Simon's question hung in the air.
"Dance," Iris said wistfully. "I used to love to dance." She turned to Teddy, "How about you?"
"Ride my motorbike," he grinned, eyes gleaming with a bittersweet longing.
"Pizza for me," Simon chimed in.
Then it came â€" a low, rhythmic sound that cut through the laughter like a knife.
Thudd... thudd... thudd...
The room fell silent. Color drained from faces. It wasn't the Vrys â€" this was different. Heavier. Closer.
Thudddd
Teddy was on his feet in an instant, gun raised and his usual easy grin replaced by a grim line. He crept towards the window, each movement tense and measured.
"What the hell is that?" His voice was a low growl.
Iris and I scrambled to join him, hearts pounding in unison. Peering outside, whatever sliver of normalcy we'd just experienced shattered like the dusty windowpane.
Thudddd.  The sound echoed monstrously close now. Then, a shape emerged from the shadows â€" grotesque, hulking, its gait an uneven lope that sent shivers down my spine.
Waaaagggghhhh!  A guttural snarl ripped through the night, followed by a stench so foul it made my eyes water. A sickly, yellow mist seemed to seep from the creature's pores like a toxic sweat.
"Did that thing... did it just fart?" Iris whispered, her voice a mix of disgust and disbelief.
The sickly yellow mist continued to billow from the monstrous creature, a tide of obscuring fog that crept closer to the house with each agonizing thud of its approach.
"Must be some type of invisible gas..." Teddy muttered, his voice strained.
But before he could finish his thought, Liam's panicked cry pierced the air. "It's coming under the door!"
We all scrambled back, a desperate dance of avoiding the tendrils of yellow mist that wormed their way through the cracked doorway. Panic surged through me, hot and suffocating.
Teddy, ever the pragmatist, bolted for the kitchen. He returned a heartbeat later, arms overflowing with damp towels. With a desperate snarl, he shoved them against the gap under the door, a makeshift barrier against the unknown horror.
A moment of agonizing silence. Then, a sizzling sound â€" like bacon frying on a high heat â€" filled the room. Teddy yelped, a strangled cry escaping his lips. We watched in horror as he snatched his hand back, revealing a red, angry welt blooming across his skin.
...Must be some kind of defense mechanism," Teddy sputtered, eyes locked on the swelling, red mark on his hand.  "The thing's covering itself so we can't strike until it's too close…"  His words trailed off, replaced by a grim realization.
It clicked for me too.  Not just a smokescreen, but a weapon.  Each waft of the mist was an attack in itself, turning our refuge into a gas chamber.  The creature wasn't just hiding; it was herding us.
Iris's eyes widened in alarm.  "So the closer that mist gets, the weaker we become…it's forcing us into an open fight it knows we can't win."  Her voice was a strangled whisper. Simon got up and grabbed his medical bag from the back and started to work on teddy hand.
"We need to get out of here â€" now! This thing's beyond us. That mist... one breath and we're dead." Teddy's voice cracked.
"The back door â€" we can make a break for it!" Simon gasped.
Iris paled. "The woods! They're crawling with Vrys!"
Annalina's cries turned to whimpers. I knelt beside her.
"Can she run?" I pressed Simon, my eyes fixed on Annalina's trembling form.
His head shake was grim. "She's still too weak."
"I'll carry her." Teddy's words were a vow. "We have to go."
"When this door opens, we run like hell itself is on our heels. No stopping, no looking back. Hear a Vry, use those knives â€" protect Teddy and Annalina, whatever the cost. Got it?" Liam's voice was a ragged hiss, barely audible over the pounding of our hearts.
The mist hadn't fully reached the back door, a twisted mercy in this nightmare. The door creaked open, and we exploded into the night, abandoning everything in that cursed place.
Tall grass whipped our legs as we ran, the world reduced to pounding blood in our ears and the rasp of our panicked breaths. The Vry screeches rose around us, a chorus of hungry death. Then a sharp, agonized yelp â€" my leg, wrenched sideways, the burning pain of claws sinking into flesh.
"Liam!" My scream tore from my throat as I tumbled, the Vry a shadow atop me, its stench hot and rotting. Snarls, those wicked teeth flashing for the kill...
"Liam!" The desperation in my voice echoed again. A sickening thud as he kicked the Vry off me, and then the blade finding its mark. Black blood splattered, reeking and thick, as the beast collapsed.
He hauls me to my feet, and I search frantically for my knife. "I'm sorry. It fell when that Vry grabbed me."
"It's okay," Liam pants, "but we need to move!"
His hand clamps around mine, we stumble forward, leaping the fence in blind desperation. Behind us, the panting of the horde of Vry's echoes like hungry animals. 
The fog suffocates, the damp earth sucks at our feet. We dare to slow, hope coiling tight in our chests, only for it to shatter as a Vry smashes into Liam. He screams as they hit the ground in a tangle of limbs.
I don't run. I lunge, a wordless snarl tearing from my throat. The creature's claws rake my arm, but I ignore the burning pain. My fingers find the decaying clothing of the Vry,  I pry it loose.  Liam, face white and spattered with crimson, scrambles up. His knife flashes, sinking deep into the Vry's twitching form. It thrashes, then lies still.
We  stumble on gasping for air that crackles with tension. Each ragged breath feels stolen.
"You okay?" Liam rasps, his eyes scanning the oppressive gloom. "That cut needs Simon."
His voice is barely a whisper, but it's loud enough in this unnatural silence. We know that you can't catch the virus from a scratch. Only if you're bitten will you turn into a Vry.
I nod, the movement stiff. We press on, every rustle and shadow a potential threat.
Then it comes â€" the chilling, guttural howl of the Vry's, a twisted celebration of their kill. We freeze, the sound of a death sentence echoing through the trees.
Liam's gaze snaps to mine, the unspoken command heavy in the air. "Keep moving."
We stumble forward, the desperate rhythm of our footsteps a counterpoint to the pounding of our hearts. Then a figure bursts from the undergrowth â€" "Iris!" both our voices crack in unison.
"Annalina? Simon?" I choke out the names. "Where are they?"
"Teddy...they attacked." Iris collapses into sobs. "Simon took Annalina. I tried... but they came, so many..." Her voice trails off. "They tore into him, Bo... they..."
I pull her close, my own body trembling. The urge to collapse is a crushing weight. We've lost too much in a mere two days. But a fierce determination surges alongside the grief. We have to find them, reach that transport. If anyone else gets hurt...
Liam's a statue, his eyes blazing at the tree line.
There a shack up there a little, maybe annalina and si…" he was interrupted by a gunshot shattering the air. Another follows, ragged and desperate.
Liam spins, his gaze hard. "Get to the shack. I'll be back."
I want to argue, but I don't, he was right. I was injured and Iris was in no emotion right now.
"Be careful, bring Annalina back," I rasp.
His form dissolves into the shadows, leaving me crushed under the weight of helplessness. The silence roars, filled with the agonizing clash of hope and dread.
"Let's go." I force the words past a tight throat, pulling Iris towards the shack.
"Liam... will he be okay?" Her voice is small, echoing my own desperate fear.
"He has to be." My answer lacks conviction, but I grip her hand tighter. "We'll see them soon. All of them." It's less a promise, more a prayer.