APOCALYPSE

Chapter Thirteen

The trees blurred as I ran fast throughout the forest, my breathing rapid and my feet snapping the leaves and twigs that lay on the ground. I needed to find Leo before it was too late- before he got lost or worse, killed by the aliens that lurked in the woods, patiently waiting for their next victim. My running came to a stop once I saw a familiar boy with messy black hair and a grey jacket down to his hips. 

"Leo?" The sudden sound of my voice startled the boy as he spun around, his eyes scanning me.  "What do you want?" His tone was a mixture of anger and sadness, it only added to my confusion. I took a step closer, to get a closer look of his facial expression, whether he was glad to see me or not. "To see if you're okay." I responded with a quiet tone but still audible. 

Leo's eyes flashed with irritation with his feet tapping in rhythm on the leaves "Well, I'm fine," He muttered, not wanting anything to do with me. I couldn't leave him alone in the forest full of aliens "I just killed an alien. They're all around here." I lifted my hand to touch the deep wound on my arm, soon the blood going on my palm.

Leo's eyes narrowed, his arms uncrossing as he took a step closer to me. "Are you hurt?" He asked, his voice being low and a hint of worry "Just a scratch" I tried to brush it off as not a big deal, but Leo could tell I was lying. He reached out a gently pulled my black sleeve upwards, revealing the large gash on my arm. He eyes widened in horror as he took in the sight of my bloody arm, not expecting it to be so deep.

"Shawn needs to know about this!" Leo said in an urgent tone. "I won't" I said firmly before pulling my sleeve back down to my wrist, covering my bloody cut. "You need to come back to us, the forest is not safe." I warned he, but instead he took a step back, not caring.

"Are you still mad about the whole file thing?" I asked him with curiosity. Leo nodded slowly, his expression being serious.   "You need to move on." I snapped, fed up with his childish behavior. There was no time to be mad about a file, we had more important things to do; like fighting off the aliens. 

From where I stood, I could see Leo's jaw clenched from annoyance or anger. My gaze was fixed on him, he tried to ignore my gaze but eventually looked at me. Unclenching his jaw, he spoke to me with harsh words "Why don't you tell me about your backstory?" His words were low with seriousness. I swallowed my saliva shortly before I nodded my head.

"I was thirteen and at a party" I begun to speak

 I walked into the kitchen, holding my red cup in my right hand, heading to the kitchen for a refill of the red fruit punch that Carly made for her birthday party. As I did so, I couldn't help but glance out of the window in front of me, noticing something unfamiliar. The trees swayed in an unusual way, as if someone was behind them.  A large, dark, figure moved through the branches, catching my attention. "What?" I mumbled to myself, not knowing what was lurking in the forest. The red liquid pored down to my skin, telling me that the cup is full. I let go of the jug of the juice and quickly cleaned my hand with water and soap, leaving my hand a pinkish shade.

"Are you okay?" Carly asked, placing her hand onto my shoulder and looking at me with concern. "I think I saw something," I informed her, my eyes still glued on the clear window. Carly followed my eyes on the window, her face puzzled and confused. "I don't see anything but trees and grass."  She told me, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. My hands made its way to the back of my neck, slightly scratching it "Sorry, Lucia wants me to play some game with her, see you soon." With that, Carly left me, all alone with my thoughts racing through my head.

A few moments later, Sasha burst into the house, her pink and white stripe bathing suit dripping water after swimming in the large pool that was in the backyard. "Guys, I saw some weird shit out there!" She exclaimed, her tan hand stroking her black braid that fell down to her back. Carly turned down the music that was playing throughout the house and asked "What do you mean?"

"When I got out of the pool, I slipped on this... this green goo. It was slimy and really sticky" Sasha explained what happened to her, her green eyes wide in shock. "Someone probably brought slime" Carly suggested, not thinking it was a big deal. But I knew something was off, the thing moving in the bushes and now sticky goo? I don't think people would bring a teenage girl slime, stereotypically boys are into that stuff. 

The ground began to shake, like an earthquake was hitting the house. "What is that?!" Carly screamed in horror. The whole house screamed and broke out in sobs, not knowing what was happening. The forecast didn't say anything about an earthquake, Carly made sure of that. So what was really going on?

A loud bang came from the front doors, everyone's eyes landing on the door. The black sharp claw slowly slashed the wood open, revealing some sort of green monster. The claw punched the door, bursting it opened. A strange creature emerged, its features resembling an alien that you would see on those History channels. But, Aliens aren't real, right?

My instincts kicked in, my brain telling me that I needed to hide to keep myself safe. I sprinted upstairs, flung open a bedroom door and darting into the closet, hoping the alien wouldn't look for me. While I hid in the dark closet, screams and banging echoed from downstairs. I shut my eyes tightly, my first balled up, this isn't real. This can't be real, I thought. The news did mention something about a UFO four months ago, but I never believed it. I guess I was mistaken. 

In the closet, I clutched a pair of scarlet red high heels that likely belonged to Carly's mom, who is a busy businesswoman. I gripped the shoe tightly in my hand, the pointing tip digging into my palm. The shoes were rather sharp, thinking that if the alien were to find me, making the shoes were sharp enough to stab the flesh.

The floor vibrated beneath my feet, warning me that the creature was approaching, causing my breathing to quicken. I remain silent, my heart beating rapidly each moment I hear a footstep. I felt my heart stop when the alien pushed open the white closet door; it found me.

The alien let out a blood-curdling screech as it opened its jaw, revealing rows of sharp teeth and black gums. I screamed as I plunged the heel into its torso, the heel slicing through the aliens green skin. The creature stumbled backwards, its slim but massive hand  clamping down on the wound I created.

On the nearby desk, a pair of scissors lay on the brown wood, like it was waiting for me. I darted to the desk and quickly grabbed the silver scissors, holding them up in front of me in a threatening way, if the alien got any close I could stab it again... hopefully. 

The alien charged towards me, but the scissors in front of me stopped it. The silver weapon dug through the alien's flesh, and the yellow blood dripped onto the expensive carpet. "Shit!" I cursed out loudly as I yanked out the scissors out. I started to worry about the thought of Carly getting mad at me for the mess I created on her mothers carpet. 

I let out a sigh of relief as my eyes narrowed down to the lifeless alien; I killed it. I couldn't believe I just did that. I smirked a little until I remembered about my friends that were downstairs. They had to be alright and safe, I hoped.

I sprinted downstairs, almost tripping on my sneakers from the untie shoelaces. I entered the living room, I was met with a horrid sight; clear green goo oozing down the walls, leaving a trail reaching down to the ground. My eyes scanned the ground, seeing spots of red liquid, most likely blood. My heart fell to my stomach when I realized- My friends were gone, and I was the only one who survived. 

I was all alone. Alone in a house with a dead alien upstairs. 

"It's my fault they died," I finished explaining what had happened before the official outbreak. Leo's gaze met mine, his expression being surprised. Surprised that I witness such a horrible event. He took a step closer, his eyes full of pity.  "No, it's the aliens fault." His voice laced with venom, having a clear hatred of the creatures.  "God, I can't wait to kill them." He let out a heavy sigh, wanting the apocalypse to end, even though it might never. 

"No, its your turn to tell me your story," I said as we both locked eyes. I could feel his heartbeat beating fast underneath his chest. Leo's Adam apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, struggling to find the courage to speak. "I-" He hesitated, his emotion getting the best of him. "Leo." I softly said in a calming way. He licked his lips with his tongue before speaking up "okay.." 

Just as Leo was about to speak, Shawn and Santiago appeared in view, with Zach following closely behind. "we found where the building is," Shawn said with excitement "A science lab." He added on "We need to go, now."