The Last Seventeen: (Book 1) An Apocalypse Story

Chapter 5: Day two

Chapter 5: Day two


I was engulfed into my dreams of horror and pain again, but it was different this time. It was no longer just Shelby with her gorged out eye and flamed over body but the lunatic from last night stood next to her laughing his cringing laugh.
"I told you we were all dying but I didn't know we were killing now!" The lunatic put his hands of her shoulders, completely impervious of the flames on her body. "People like you deserve to die. That's what we'll do to you child. We'll staple your body to a tree and watch your blood pour."
As if his words were filled with magic, I was on the tree, held against my will by the psycho. He had a shining sliver staple gun in one hand while his other hand was fully around my chest. My limbs were forced into place by an unknown force and I felt the gun placed on my hand. An evil smile was permanently stuck to his face as he pulled the trigger.
Bam bam bam bam.
I yelled in agony and saw as the blood rushed from my hands and onto the adult's face. He didn't try to wipe it away but instead welcomed it. He wiped the blood on his face and soon caked himself in it. He laughed the whole time.
He fired the gun again in the air then put his nose on mine.
"Be ready. More is coming. Good luck child."
He put the gun to my head and pressed hard. He pulled the trigger and I felt it penetrate my skull.
I screamed in pain. I thrashed like a trapped animal and could feel my warm blood drip in my eyes. I begged for all of it to be over. For all the pain and the lunatic and Shelby would just disappear.
It lasted for a few more seconds then I was in nothingness. The blackness felt like a veil to me. I was wrapped in it then shot back to the world where I belonged. I blinked my eyes and saw I was awoken from my nightmare by Cassidy herself. She had her hands gripped on my shoulders and was shaking me like a madman. When she saw my eyes flutter open, she hugged me tight and rocked me back and forth like a mother would do to her child.
"I'm so sorry. I thought you were dead. I didn't mean to punch you yesterday. Don't ever scare me again."
I was completely lost on why she was so scared and upset. I was asleep like everyone else. Wasn't I? All I remembered was talking to that man in the woods then everything going black. Did I lose some of my memory or something?
Cassidy wouldn't stop holding onto me. I was her precious child, like everyone else. It actually felt kind of nice. Knowing that someone cares about you makes you feel important, like you're worth more than just the notebook you carry in your back pocket.
"When that man hit you, I thought he killed you. I seriously thought you died."
When did that man hit me? Did that really happen or was she being way more dramatic about it?
I put my hand to my head and felt the dried blood on my hair. It crunched when I tried to separate it and it stained my hand. I wiped it on my pants. They were already dirty, why not add more blood.
I had to push Cassidy off of me and I stood up. That was when the pain hit me. My head felt like it had a knife going into it separating my skull in half. I grip the sides of my head and fell to my knees. Cassidy held onto me again and lowered me back onto the pavement. It was a lot better on the ground. The throbbing and pain lowered a little bit when my head rested against the ground.
"Who was that man?" Andy asked me. I didn't even notice him until now. He had been silent, watching me as if I was the enemy.
"Who?" I asked dumbly. I wasn't thinking straight.
"Who do you think? The guy that attacked you last night. Who is he?"
I took a couple seconds to think about it. Do I say he was an adult or some loon? He was definitely one of those, but the way he spoke and moved didn't make me think he was an adult, more like a wild animal.
I told them both the story. I told them how I went out into the woods to do my business then bumped into him on my way back. I spoke of how he told me we were slowly dying and someone was killing us and how something was released into the air. Andy was very responsive to that part and immediately looked into the air expecting to find what that something was. I told him how I ran back to where I was sleeping and everything went black for me.
Cassidy and Andy both knelt beside me with a dumbfounded look on their faces. They looked as if they had heard the stupidest story of their lives. It took them a couple of seconds to put it all together then finally Cassidy spoke.
"What else?" She sat up straighter waiting for my response.
"What do you mean? That's all that happened."
"No," Andy piped, "he whispered something else into your ear. Don't you remember?"
I just shook my head. I couldn't answer it in any other way. My thoughts were spinning on the fact that I didn't remember what he said. Now that I put my thought into it, I remembered it was something important. It was on the tip of my tongue, like I just heard it somewhere. My dream. Of course, my dream. It had the answer.
"Wait, I think I remember, it was something like "good luck child." That's all I can remember."
"Good luck child?" Cassidy and Andy questioned in their own words.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Cassidy asked me and Andy hoping that we would have the answer.
I just shrugged my shoulders but Andy looked like he was onto to something. He was always a man of thought and also a man of survival. A great combo to have.
"Cassidy, stay here. Make sure everyone is okay. Ryan," he pointed his finger and waved it towards him, "show me where you were in the woods. I have to see something."
I followed him like a well-trained dog to the woods and showed him where I went to go pee. I walked past the first few rows of trees and showed him the tree that I was leaning against.
"You sure?"
"Positive. I remembered where I took my piss." I tried to humor him but he just rolled his eyes and searched the ground.
I tried to follow him but he told me to stay put on the tree and wait for him to tell me what to do. I did what I was told and watched him scramble past trees, looking from behind them, as if trying to recreate the adult's trail.
He squatted low to the ground and peered closely over the land. He spotted something and called me over to him. I squatted like him and looked to where his finger was pointing.
"What does that look like to you?" He asked me without ever moving eyes from the path.
"Um, broken branches, crushed leaves and lots of trees?" I know I sounded dumb but it was the best thing I could come up with. I couldn't see what Andy had discovered.
"Yes, it's like a little beaten down trail, isn't it?" He didn't ask that question for me to answer it, but to ask himself if he was right. "Let's see how long this guy has been spying on us. Maybe it'll lead us right to him." Andy went down the beaten trail without my opinion.
I considered if I should follow him or go back with Cassidy. I really wanted to go back to Cassidy. It would be safer than following the trail of a madman who could kill me if he wanted too. All the pros went to Cassidy's favor but I realized something. I couldn't write about what I didn't experience. I groaned to myself and followed Andy's lead. He walked crouched down and slowly so I did the same.
We followed the path every inch of the way. We would stop from time to time when we heard something that didn't sound right and, after a few minutes, we would continue on. We seemed to be walking for a while. Crouched like this made my legs sore. I hoped we would turn back soon.
"Andy, we've been at this for a while, maybe we should turn back."
Andy thought over my words for a second then nodded his head.
"Just a couple more yards. I've got a feeling about something."
I didn't want to tell him that I had one too. A bad feeling none the less, but he was determined to find the guy. He wouldn't listen to me and I didn't want to miss out on any part of action that could happen.
We kept walking and stumbled upon an old campfire. It was burned out and had bags around it. Now I really had a bad feeling. In some part of my mind, I kind of wanted to see the guy so I could get a more accurate picture of him, but now I was afraid. I didn't want to see him again. The guy was crazy. He would kill anyone without a hesitation if he wanted to.
Andy took a couple steps forward behind a tree to get a better look. "I think I might see one of them." He took another step forward and something snapped at his feet. He looked down quickly at what had snapped then was instantly hoisted into the air above him. I stared up in panic as he rose above me by his ankle and how he was suspended in the air.
What surprised me more than the snare trap was how he took it. Andy didn't scream or panic, he just kept his calm cool. I was utterly amazed by him. Once again, he showed bravery in a fearful situation. I, on the other hand, was scared. How would I get him down? That was all that went through my head. How?
It was like the question was spelled across my head. He knew what I was thinking. "Cut me down, you idiot."
I just nodded my head and tried to look around the area for something that could cut the rope that connected with the tree but I heard footsteps around me. They crunched over the dead leaves and snapped the branches. I wanted to fight. I wanted to save Andy but I couldn't. I was frozen with fear. I couldn't move my legs. They were paralyzed.
The lunatic came into my view and finally I decided to act. I slid behind a thick tree and stood straight against it. I controlled my breaths and listened to what was happening.
"What has my trap caught today?" I scooted across the tree to avoid the person's line of sight. "A kid? That's surprising. Maybe I should let you down? Let you run free? You'd like that, wouldn't you?" It wasn't the same adult from last night, it was someone different. It was a woman's voice. It was high pitched, like a witch, and drawn out when she spoke.
Andy let out a sigh of annoyance then talked back to her with anger born in his words. "Screw you."
"Where are your parents? They would smack you for that. You know, I'll just do it myself." The adult's hit broke the sound of silence the woods had created. Andy moaned and the adult laughed.
"You bitch." He sounded in pain. What had the adult done to him?
I peeked around the tree and saw her waving a knife at Andy's face. She dragged the blade down his face. A small line of blood was created and she licked his face with her long red tongue. I cringed at the sight and hid behind the tree again.
"You need to learn some manners, boy." She walked away from him and rummaged through one of the bags vigorously. She came back and clanked something metal on her leg at a steady rhythm. "Or we can just silence that smart mouth of yours for a while."
I heard a cocking noise from her and I peeked around the tree again. She held a revolver to Andy's head and stared at him with her eyes nudging at the thought of death. She held it at his temple and rasped it furiously.
"You don't think I'll do it, do you?" The woman squatted lower to the ground. She looked up at him with a sideways look and her maddened smile came streaking across her face. "Because I will. I would do it in a heartbeat." She laughed in his face. "I wonder how a teenaged boy would taste with a shell in his head.
I had to do something. I couldn't sit by while someone else died. Too many people have died already. I acted on instincts and ran from behind the tree. I ran straight for her. I squeezed my eyes shut and made an animalistic screech. I expected to hear the sound of a gun go off but it never came. I connected with her body and sent both of us tumbling to the ground. I was dazed for a second, trying to get my bearings, while she was sprawling for the gun.
It had landed right next to me. It was in arms reach but she came to fast. She tackled me again and we rolled. She was on top of me and used her long disgusting fingernails to claw at my skin. I blocked her attacks and took them to the arm then kicked her from my body. She stumbled a couple feet then attacked again. I got to my feet and took a fighting stance. She ran towards me and I dodged under her arm but felt the nasty back hand hit my face. I held onto my face and looked at her. She had crazy spelled in her eyes. She was going to kill me. Somewhere in my mind I knew that.
As if to prove my point further, she pulled the knife she used on Andy out of her pocket. She held it by its handle and rushed me again. I focused on the knife the whole time, it never left my sight. I saw it rise up into the air and come down with surprising speed. I tilted my body to the left and watched as the blade skimmed my shirt. It only cut the shirt though, my blood didn't pour. She came back up with it and I ducked under it. It went right over my head and saw my opportunity. I raised my fist and connected it with her jaw. She wasn't expecting it and fell to the ground. I jumped on top of her and pinned her knife hand to the ground. I slammed her hand on a rock laying to the side of her. She screamed in pain and let go of the knife. It landed by me and I picked it up without hesitation.
I ran over to the rope and slashed through it. The rope went into the air as Andy landed on the ground. He groaned a little bit but got to his feet quickly. We stood together, side by side, as equals. Right now, there wasn't he was better than me, it was live or die. We ran at the woman who was still on the ground. I pinned her with my body and held the knife high above my head. My heart was beating fast and the blood pounded in my head. I could do it. I could change. I could change for her. She would want me and not Chris. All I had to do was kill this woman. Stab the knife into her beating heart and end her pathetic life. Feel her body thrash then stop as I twist it.
"Ryan." Andy said. It felt like he was miles away. "Stop. She's done."
I looked down at her body and saw that she was laughing out of pain, trying to diminish what she actually felt. My thoughts were cleared. My vision turned from red to back to normal. I lowered the knife and put it in my own pocket.
"No, no. Kill me please. I don't want to go back to him. Please kill me!" She screamed in disappointment.
"I can't do it."
The thing was, I could've. I felt the urge go into my throat and into my heart. I could've easily done it.
"You need to please. If you don't, he will torture me! Please!"
I couldn't look at her face. It was so sad and depressed. And to think I was going to kill her.
In a swift motion, she knocked me off of her and scrambled for her gun. I got to my feet and saw the barrel of gun positioned between my eyes.
"I won't fail him. I won't be tortured!" She put the gun to her own head and pulled the trigger.
Her own blood sprayed the ground and she collapsed. Her body fell limp on ground as the gun stayed in her hand.
My eyes grew with horror. My knees started to shake and I could have sworn my heart stopped. She was dead. She killed herself. She was so afraid of torture that she took her own life.
But my thoughts weren't all on that. I thought she killed me. In my own mind, I never saw her take the gun away from my face. My body thought I was dead. My mind tried to convince me that but my heart was beating. I was alive.
"We should head back to the others." Andy finally spoke after a few minutes.
I nodded my head and followed him back on the trail. I didn't mean to do it but my body disagreed with my mind. I smiled. I wasn't dead. My name didn't need to be crossed off that list. I was alive. I was alive. My heart was still beating. My brain was still functioning. I was still alive.