Success of the Broken Banner

Chapter 2: Doomed Fate

  Days have passed since the night Frankie left. I found refuge in an old gas station that looked as if it was abandoned long before the new world that stood before me came to be. The earth had overgrown around the exterior of the building, the now dying grass stood waist high and vines scattered across the building like a cocoon. I made my way inside by cutting the strong ivy from the door and opened the entrance with a crowbar I found while scavenging.

Once inside, I was greeted with the smell of stale gasoline, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the empty space. The shelves were mostly empty, nothing but dust collecting. I made myself a makeshift bed by laying behind the checkout counter for coverage and my backpack as a pillow. The days were long and lonely, but I felt safer here than I did out there in the open. I spent most of my time reading old magazines and listening to music quietly on my dying phone. I knew I couldn't stay here forever, I had to get to Frankie; but for now, this was home.

The sunlight that seeped in through the cracks in the windows started to fade as night settled in. My flashlight was the only source of light as I scanned the same magazine I've read three times now. I closed the magazine and let it fall to the floor, the sound of the air rushed through the pages as it hit the concrete below me.

I sighed and leaned back against the wall, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. It was then that I heard a noise coming from the back room, a muffled voice drowned out by the walls that contained it. My heart began to race as I reached for the crowbar, ready to defend myself. As I got closer, I realized that the sound was not a direct threat, but coming from a small cb radio sitting on a shelf. I picked it up and turned the volume up, hoping to hear something from the outside world. I pressed the button on the microphone and hesitantly spoke into the device, hoping for someone to return my greeting. I waited a few moments for some sort of response, but all I recieved in return was static. Disappointed, I turned off the radio and set it back on the shelf.

I took a look around the room, it looked to be a small office for management when this building was still operating. I put the crowbar down against the wall and began to inspect the room. Papers scattered a small wooden desk in the left corner of the room beside a locked filing cabinet. Pens and highlighters crowded together in a coffee cup beside a lamp that no longer worked. Motivational posters like "You can do it!" and "There's no I in Team!" lined the walls.

As I turned the handle of the door to exit the room, the frame squeaked and the door swung back open with a creak as I stepped out of the room and down the small hallway that separates the office from the rest of the building. In total horror, I froze in my tracks as the terrifying sounds of growling grew louder and glass shattered from the main area of the gas station.

"Hello?" A voice I didn't recognize echoed through the empty building, causing me to stifle a gasp for air as my heart began to race. Gurgling sounds filled the atmosphere, drowning out my every move, as I leaned against the wall and tried to shift closer to the edge of the wall. Peeking around the corner, I tried to catch a glimpse of the intruder.

"I know you're here..." The man declared as he wandered to the far corner of the room, examining my belongings. His gaze was turned away from me, and the moonlight shone on the broad shoulders of his bloodstained shirt, which was full of rips and tears. His muscular chest moved up and down with his breathing at a quick, regular pace.

The man shifted slightly, revealing his face, which was ravaged by scars around his mouth and under his eyes, pouring a white, frothy substance from his mouth like he had been poisoned. However, what piqued my curiosity the most was the man's unusual eyes.

With veins that appeared to crawl out from the sclera and spread across the entirety of his eyes, the man's strikingly white irises lacked any color or pigment. Instead of pupils, his eyes were white spheres staring straight ahead, looking almost otherworldly in their appearance. The mystery and intrigue in the guy's eyes were captivating as well as unsettling, making it impossible to look away.

As the man stumbled towards me, completely unaware of my presence, I took a few steps back towards the door of the office, my heart pounding in my chest. I quickly grasped the handle of the door and swung it back into line with the frame, staring out the window in the middle of the door as I waited for him to pass. My mind raced as I slowly realized the knife I had packed was in my bag in the main area, leaving me defenseless in this terrifying situation.

The man appeared like a shadow in the middle of the hallway, his heavy footsteps growing closer with each passing second. In a split second decision, I quickly retreated to the safety of the room, the door shutting with a loud click as I released the handle. But the tense silence was soon broken as the man lunged towards the door, pounding his body against the barrier that separated us. My fear only grew as I watched him try desperately to break down the door.

I scrambled to find something to protect myself with and my hand eventually grasped the crowbar I placed against the wall. The door creaked and groaned under the man's relentless blows until finally, it splintered and flew off its hinges with a loud crash. All while my heart raced with fear and adrenaline.

He lunged at me, slamming me into the wall and trapping me with his muscular arms as he tried to sink his teeth into my skin. Desperate, I angled the sharp end of the crowbar and drove it into his ribs, making him recoil in surprise and giving me a chance to escape the room. I dashed into the gas station's main area, snatched my bag off the floor and frantically searched for the knife.

As I finally seized the weapon, a sudden strike on my back knocked me to the ground, leaving me gasping for breath and loosening the grasp of the knife. The menacing man loomed above me while I tried to squirm free from his shadow and search for the knife that clattered into the darkness. He seized my ankles, yanking me towards him. Flashbacks of the man assaulting the woman on that fateful night Frankie disappeared rushed through my mind. I struggled to break free from his grasp, his razor-like nails digging into my flesh, dragging me away from anything I could use against him.

He yanked me towards the entrance he created from the large glass window, my desperate screams echoing in the air, hoping that someone, anyone, would hear my pleas. His chilling laughter filled the room as he tossed me onto the cold, hard tile floor and knelt over me. His face came inches from mine, his intense gaze locking onto my eyes.

"Do you really think anyone's coming to rescue you?" He snarled. "You're all alone, and soon you'll vanish from this world without a trace."

His hands clasped around my neck, constricting my breath with a brutal force. I stared into his emotionless eyes while struggling to loosen his iron grip. My hands clawed at his arms, tearing through skin and drawing blood before moving to assault his face when his hold didn't relent. My surroundings dimmed as he tightened the chokehold, and despair washed over me as I started to accept my doomed fate.

A faded, high pitched ring filled the room, the man's grasp loosened as he sat up straight and stared at the pooling blood drenching the collar of his shirt. Another shot rang out, this time hitting him between the eyes as his body flew to the ground beside me.

As the footsteps approached, my heart raced in anticipation. Two shadowy figures emerged, and I struggled to catch my breath. I could feel myself slipping away as the adrenaline subsided. One of the figures knelt down beside me. "She's alive," a man's voice announced, checking my pulse. "Barely hanging on, but alive."

The second figure spoke up, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "What do you want to do, Echo? Take her to a hospital? There's nothing we can do."

The man scoffed and leaned towards me, taking my hand. "Can you hear me?" he asked urgently. "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me." I summoned all my strength and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, my vision fading rapidly.

"Don't worry, we're going to help you," He promised, determination ringing in his voice. "We're not leaving you here."

The last thing I remember was being scooped up from the floor by the man, who requested that his companion gather my belongings as he carried me out of the gas station and into the unknown danger that awaited.