Godead

XIV (Act Two)

                                                Act II : The Lost Children

As the rain let up outside, the four returned to the parking lot, Abby walking ahead as Blair approached Claude.

"...Are you serious?" she whispered.

"...What?" Claude asked.

"Are we really going along with this lunatic...?"

"Blair... I know how you feel. Trust me. I haven't forgotten what she did to Lucy. But Abby promised she'd fight the urge to kill. And besides... I don't think we have much choice at this point. I'm not that comfortable around her either, but she did help with those zombies we fought with earlier. Who knows? Maybe she'll turn out to be an asset to us," Claude replied. As Misty huddled close, Abby stopped, soon turning back with a smile.

"What are you guys whispering about over there?" she asked wryly.

"...Nothing, Abby. We're actually just wondering where we're going," Claude replied. Abby smiled.

"Follow me. I saw some kids not far from here. I wandered past them on my way here, but the helicopters were far more fun to tail," she said, turning around before escorting the group down an alleyway.

Moments later, the four returned to the streets, crossing the road before entering a local park. As they neared some trees, they spotted a group of children sitting at a picnic table, all turning their attention to them as they approached.

"...Yo! What's up?" Abby asked with a smile. The children quietly looked them over.

"...Who're you guys?" a boy in a T-shirt asked.

"I'm Abby, and this is Blair, Misty, and my new boyfriend, Claude!" Abby said, giving Claude a wink.

"Where'd you all come from?" a girl in a bloody dress asked, tilting her head at them.

"...The hospital. Just down the road," Blair replied.

"...That what all that racket was just now?" a boy in coveralls asked, chewing a weed as he lazily stared on at them.

"Sure was. You should'a seen it... I mowed down a whole bunch of army men! It was so much fun!" Abby explained chipperly.

"Abby...," Claude said. Abby frowned.

"I know, I know... I promise not to do it anymore. I'll be a good girl. Anything for you, Claude!" Abby said mischievously, grinning as she latched onto his arm. She then turned to the kids. "Where's the rest of you, anyway? There were more of you around earlier, wasn't there?"

"Dunno," the coveralls boys replied. "They said they were bored and just wandered off somewhere," he explained.

"I see. What're your names, anyway?" Abby asked.

"I'm Travis," the coveralls boy said.

"I'm Sara," the bloody dress girl said.

"I'm Jon," the T-shirt boy said.

As they each introduced themselves, Claude and the others looked them over. They weren't the same children they'd seen earlier, though they were all similarly pale in complexion, appearing to be around ages nine to twelve, each with dark circles around their eyes similar to Abby's.

As the group stood around the picnic table, a shot suddenly rang out from a distance, striking Jon in the temple as he fell to the ground. The others all tensed up, looking back as they spotted armed men near the park entrance. As a second shot rang out, the group quickly scattered, taking cover behind trees and bushes.

"...Who are those weirdos?" Sara asked.

"I don't know, but they seem dangerous," Claude replied.

"They're certainly not cops," Blair said, eyeing their ragged attire. "...Hey! Don't shoot! Police!"

"Quit lyin'! You ain't no police!" a man in a baseball cap replied.

"That's right! We seen you minglin' with them there devil children! You's already contaminated, just like they is!" a man in a plaid shirt said.

He held out a hunting rifle, firing a third round as it grazed Travis' shoulder. Travis shook his head, spitting out his weed as he glared over at them.

"...Dang it. Them fools is pissin' me off. Ya'll wait here. I'll deal with 'em," he said, suddenly rushing off.

As the boy ran from the trees, the militia opened fire as Abby looked on.

"...Hey! What do you think you're doing? Hogging all the fun!?" she exclaimed, soon rushing out in the opposite direction.

The two swiftly closed in on the armed men, the militia frantically missing one shot after another.

As Abby and Travis reached their attackers, they smirked, the others watching from the park as the duo tore through the militia, killing them in a haze of blood and screams.

As the park fell eerily quiet, Abby and Travis soon reappeared, Abby smiling as the two returned to the others.

"Woo! What a rush!" Abby said with glee. As Claude raised an eyebrow, Abby blinked. "I mean, uh... what an awful waste of human life? Eh, heh heh...!"

"...Serves them buggers right. Killin' poor Jonny like that...," Travis said, the group somberly looking to the lifeless boy.

Claude then paused, warily eyeing the blood oozing from his skull.

"...His blood... it's pitch black," he said in surprise.

"...Strange," Blair replied. "We should gather the weapons those survivalists were using, though. They may come in handy, and this M16's ammo won't last forever," she said.

The group headed over to the dead militiamen, Blair taken aback by the dismembered state of their bodies. As Claude shielded Misty's eyes from the gore, Blair bent down, picking up an old hunting rifle.

"...You know how to use that, too?" Claude asked.

"...Kind of. This is an old model, though. I'm actually more comfortable with this," Blair replied, holding up her assault rifle.

"Give it here. I can use it," Travis said, slowly stepping forward. "Pops and I used to go huntin' all the time, and he had one of them there rifles," he said. Blair hesitated, looking to the boy before turning to Claude. He shrugged.

"...Well, he helped save us from those survivalists just now. I guess we can trust him, but it's your call, Blair," he said. Blair paused, hesitating before handing the rifle to Travis.

"You better not try anything funny with that, hillbilly. Especially around Claude! I've got my eye on you...," Abby warned.

"Yeah, yeah...," Travis replied calmly, looking the rifle over as he handled it with ease.