The Rain (Book 3 - The Evolving)

Chapter 8 - Avoir de l'espoir

Jeanette's head snapped towards the door. The barks and growls pulled her back into reality. She reached for her machete and her gun, tugging them both out their holsters. She looked back to the window to see the bird was gone.

Ross yanked the door open and tumbled into the hall, seeing the door beside him open up too, allowing Jeanette to emerge. They stared at each other, listening to the sound of paws smacking off the floor. A scream shoved them forward and they sprinted down the hall together.

They spun around the wall to see Jane bringing her knife down, plunging it into the skulls of every dog that approach. She was back to back with Alex, who was doing much the same.

"Help Kev!" Jane screamed, kicking a dog back so she could slice its face with her blade. Jeanette sprung into action, charging forward.

Ross caught sight of a white mutt darting past Alex and Jane. He pulled his gun and knife out and followed it, taking down a growling mutt that was seconds from pouncing on Alex. He ripped his blade out its skull and continued walking, letting the machete hang loosely in his grip. He turned the corner to see Kev wrestling with a large, blood-coated dogs. Its hind legs scrambled against the ground, trying to push itself harder against Kev's arms.

Ross raised his gun, lining up the shot. Just as his finger ran over the trigger, claws dug into the skin of his back and he went crashing to the hard ground. The gun flew from his grip and he heard it scrape across the floor. His hands went out and he managed to stop his body from completely hitting the ground. The dog landed on the ground beside him, sliding on the floor before coming to a stop by his feet.

Ross flipped himself over and pulled the sharp blade from his belt. His eyes caught sight of the glinting machete by his feet. He heard Kev yell out in anger as the dog neared his face. Ross shot up, holding the knife in his hand. He was facing the dog now. If he could even call it that.

Its fur was singed off, its skin black due to the burns. It was missing an eye and the lower half of its mouth was gone, exposing its rows of sharp teeth. It growled and Ross snapped himself back to reality, lowering himself and raising the knife. He was distracted by a loud rumble behind him, he looked over his shoulder to see a smaller, angrier dog behind him.

Ross lifted his leg and kicked the smaller one across the face, turning his attention back to the burned one in front of him. It charged, digging each paw into the ground in an attempt to move faster. Due to how close Ross was with the dog, it didn't reach a very fast pace. Ross stepped to the side and grabbed its ashy fur in one hand. The mutt let out a pain-filled howl and turned its head to snap at him. Ross didn't hesitate. He brought his blade down through the top of its head, feeling its body become limp in his hand.

He pulled his hand from its fur, seeing black hairs between his fingers and all over his palm. Kev screamed out in pain as the dog's claws ripped through his shirt and cutting his skin.

Kev's yell caused more dogs to come running. Ross watched as more moved away from Jeanette, Jane and Alex, seeing an easy fight just a few metres away. Ross ran around for the gun, going to pick it up when he was met with the face of yet another canine. He swallowed and looked at the dog, that's face was getting closer and closer with Kev who lay below him.

"Kev!" Ross yelled, kicking the gun across the ground to where Kev was. The man sighed in relief and, like lightning, moved his hand away from the dog's chest and picked up the heavy gun. He felt the dogs breath on his neck, its teeth just scraping his thin skin. He brought the gun to the dog's temple and pulled the trigger. The loud bang deafened him for a second, the ringing in his ears was horrifying. He staggered to his feet, feeling a burst of energy surge through him.