Angel Girl 〰➰〰 [TWD] [On Hold]

Angel Girl

Screaming wasn't a new sound for me, not anymore. At the beginning of the end all I heard screaming. The screaming from the televisions, laptops, and radios as news reporters told of the cannibalizing and the murders and the raids. The screaming of mothers as their children died when the fifth night of plague hit our town, the saddest omen, and somehow by the grace of God Kibō survived. The screaming of humanity as monsters ripped their flesh from their bones. And lastly, the screams of my own family as my parents died. Screaming was just part of the world now.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest as my mind drifted through the different scenarios of what was going on, every single one bad. Then the crippling thought of, 'what if that was my family?' knocked me off balance. What if those screams were Tori as she watched Toby be killed, what if I could hear the cries of Kibō instead of some stranger? The thought alone had me running towards the screaming.

The forest was dark, but I could see due to the moon. Every moment lasted forever as my feet pounded against the ground. The loud crunching of the leaves drowned out by the distant screams. My eyes watered as the cold air stung them, but closing my eyes meant tripping. My bow was extended instantly and in mid run I began to load an arrow. Be prepared for anything and everything, even if it's impossible. Truer words have never been spoken.

I reached the origin of the stomach turning screams, a clearing. For once since hell became one with earth I wished for complete darkness. I wished the moon wasn't so bright. I wished I wasn't watching a seventeen year old boy being eaten alive. His mother screaming as she tugged on the shoulders of the monster, trying to free her son. With a quick second of thought I ran to the other side so I wouldn't hear the mother screaming when she got eaten. I would have saved her, but that meant sending an arrow through her sons head and that would kill her in a worse way. Call me a monster, but I could only hope someone else would save her.

In that moment I knew I had to do something or I would die of guilt.

"HEY, COME AND GET ME YOU DEAD FREAKS!" And come they did. As the hoarse yell rose above the screams and groans many dead freaks turned towards me. They stumbled like drunks, their cold bloodshot eyes unseeing and their hands reaching towards me as their mouths hung open. Skin hung off of them and black blood oozed, monstrosity personified.

As they approached the familiar feeling of dread I had become accustomed to filled me. With the snap of my drawstring and click of my joints arrow after arrow became buried in the monsters heads and they dropped, finally dead. I felt fear stir in my chest as I felt for an arrow in my quiver and realized it was my last, as the rest remained scattered on the battlefield.

My family had always said I was very focused in battle, war, and stressful situations, they are not wrong. As a second sense my body moved mechanically, retrieving and firing with rapid precision like clockwork. It was going smoothly as I stooped to pull another arrow from where it was lodged in one of the undead.

Then she screamed.

The world around me ceased to move and the screams seemed to stop for a precious second as two wide brown eyes met mine. There in the middle the pandemonium was a girl who, even surrounded by the dead looked angelic in the moonlight. Her eyes locked on mine as she stumbled back from the monster that was steadily inching closer.

'Move!', 'Run!' I wanted to scream, but she simply backed up,, her eyes wide and pleading. I realized with a jolt that she was just a kid, she probably hadn't killed a monster before. With a squeak she fell down, tears starting to make their way down her face as she now stared up at the thing towering over her.

With not another moment of hesitation I jumped up and ran towards her. Sliding along the dewey grass till I was behind the thing and stabbed it with the arrow in my hand. Hell hath no fury like a pissed off and protective Edana. I took a protective stance in front of the girl and put my arm back so she could pull herself upright. There we stood in the chaos. Me in front of her, my eyes murderous and daring as I stared into the emotionless eyes of the dead. I killed everything that got too close for comfort and made sure that my body covered hers as I did so. When one was close from behind she would sharply tug my arm, warning me, and I would kill it. We were a team in that moment, strangers that found a rhythm.