Escape The Night

Chapter 8 : Evolution

Escape the Night - Chapter 8

Carmin felt someone poking her arm and murmuring her name, but she didn’t feel like opening her eyes. She slapped the hand away and turned onto her side, trying to make whoever was bugging her go away. But they didn’t. The person jabbed a finger into her right shoulder blade, earning an irritated grunt from Carmin. She sighed and sat up, turning to face the person that was so intent disturbing her slumber. It was Blake.

He crouched down in front of her and folded his arms, waiting for her response. Carmin glared at him and stood up, glancing to the small window that was on the far wall. There were about 4 other people in the room, all of them sound asleep. Carmin carefully placed her feet around their sleeping bodies, not wanting to disturb them. She stood a few feet away from the window, anger making her vision splotchy. It looked to be the middle of the night. Midnight. The time when all monsters of the night came out.

Carmin whipped her head around to give another fierce glare at Blake, but he only shrugge in response. He quickly crossed the room toward her, stopping only a few feet away. “I really needed to talk to you,” Blake whispered, his voice shaking slightly.

Carmin shrugged and walked over to the far corner of the room, where nobody ever slept, and where no one would hear them talking. Blake followed her and sat down, his hands fidgeting with his pajama shirt. He looked around the room at the sleeping bodies, before finally looking back at Carmin, who was sitting across from him. Carmin pointed at him and tilted her head, trying to tell him to spit out what he was going to say.

Blake nodded his head, and with one final look at the sleeping people, he began to talk. “Me and one of my friends were talking about why the creatures attacked INSIDE the bus, not outside of it. He said that they might be evolving, you know, like growing new limbs or whatever. " Blake stopped and took a deep breath, his eyes worried. Carmin rolled what he had just said over in her head, thinking about what it could mean. If they were starting to evolve, no one would be safe, no matter how portected they were. But what ways were they evolving? Were they growing wings and flying around to pick people up off the ground, or were they gaining the ability to climb. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Blake watched her for a second, but didn't say anything. Carmin stared back at him, but her expression was questioning. Bake thought for a moment before whispering,  "I'm not sure how they're evolving but they are. Like... have you ever seen them attack on the bus before? I haven't . They always have attacked outside of it. I 'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to fight them off." His face was grim, depressed. Hopeless. Carmin winced as she looked around at the sleeping bodies, and how they might soon be gone. They all might soon be gone. 

Blake sighed and ran his hand through his hear, agitated. they hadn't been talking for long, but Carmin felt like they had been sitting here and discussing matters for hours. Well, Blake had been speaking the whole time, but it had felt like an actual conversation. Blake shook his head and murmured a quick good bye before swiftly getting up and walking for the door. He paused as he opened the door and looked back at Carmin, his mouth slightly open, but then he closed it and left. 

Carmin got up and went back to her cot, exhausted from the short conversation. She tossed and turned for the rest of the night, sleep impossible. All she could think of was the creatures evolving, and how they would all surely die, if they didn't find a safe place. Carmin fell asleep with these thoughts in her head, her sleep troubled.

*****

The sky was cloudy and there was the smell of rain in the air the next morning. Carmin and the rest of the people that were sleeping in her room gathered up the bedding and prepared to leave the abandoned building they had been sleeping in. Before they left, a group of gunmen went out to scan the perimeter, looking for any beasts that might happen to be waiting for them. Carmin waited impatiently inside the building, her hands clasped in her lap. She was nervous. The last time the beasts had attacked, which was the day before, they had lost one of the few adults that were with them. Her mind wandered back to the idea of what might have happened to the search party that had gone out to look for survivors. They had been gone for about a week, and nobody had heard anything from them. They were probably dead and gone, their corpses never to be found. 

Carmin tilted her head, her mind racing. They never really did find the bodies of the deceased, except for maybe a few finger and ribs bones scattered around here and there. It was like they never existed. 

Carmin shuddered and looked outside the tiny, dirt smothered window, hoping to find the gunmen coming back, but there was still no sign of them. She let her head drop and her eyes close as she continued to think. Where did the creatures take the dead bodies? The corpses couldn't just disappear, could they? What if they ate the bones, too? Carmin shuddered as she imagined the monsters snapping the bones between their teeth like they were twigs. Their teeth were as sharp as hunting knives, their claws like rusty hooks, they could cut you so furiously. 

Carmin shook her head and thought again about her lost family and friends. And how they had all died at the hands of the monsters. 

*******

Carmin hit the ground hard, her ankle twisting beneath her. She let out a strangled yelp and tried to stand, but her ankle couldn't hold her wait. It wasn't sprained or broken, but it just could not hold her up. She half crawled, half dragged herself way from the school building. She kept close to the walls, in the shadows, hoping no one would see her. She new that at least some of the other kids had gotten out of the building, thanks to loud thumps that sounded behind her. She didn't look back, just kept crawling away from the massacre that was happening inside the building.

Carmin was about 12 yards from the school when someone grabbed her shoulder. She grimaced as they pulled her to her feet,. which immediately crumpled beneath her. She couldn't stand, just hang there as the person held her up. Carmin stared at the person who had pulled her to her feet. It was the vice principal, Mr. Dewy. His clothes were blood splattered and torn and their was a wild, insane look in his blood shot eyes. 

"Th-ther-there here! The-y fou-found us t-o so-o-on!" Mr. Dewy screeched into her face, spit flying everywhere. 

"Yo-you ha-ave to get out of here," he yelled again, his whole body shaking. There was a loud crash from the school, and Mr. Dewy snapped his head around instantly. The creatures were pouring out of the building. 

Mr. Dewy shoved Carmin ahead of him, his eyes glued to the approaching monsters. Carmin stumbled but kept her balance, her ankle deciding it was finally time to hold her up. She ran away from the building, Mr. Dewy hot on her heels. 

****

Carmin glanced back out the window and bolted up right. Outside, the gunmen were rushing back to the building, their faces twisted in horror. Behind them, there were at least 5-10 monsters, and they were surprisingly big. They looked hungry. 

Blake rushed to the front of the room and threw the door open, his shotgun in hand. Carmin raced to her bag and pulled out a small pocket pistol. She checked the clip to see how many bullets, then sprinted to front door. She rushed outside and took aim at the nearest monster, which was about 5 feet away. They were surprisingly fast. They were quickly overpowering the human, who were still just trying to get away with their lives. 

Blake courageously rushed forward, before being trampled by at least 3 monsters. The few gunmen that were still standing raced to get to the building, but the monsters grabbed at them and pulled them down. Carmin fought against a particularly vicious creature, but Blake shot it in the neck before it could do  much damage. It slumped to the ground, the life draining from its blood shot eyes. 

Blake grabbed Carmin's arm with his free hand and hoisted her to her shaky feet. Carmin checked her gun, looking for any damage that might have been inflicted, but there wasn't anything to severe. Some of the monsters turned and ran for safety. The few remaining creatures snapped and snarled savagely at the humans, but they showed no sign that they were going to continue attacking. One of them made a small, feeble attempt to bite at Blake's unprotected leg, but Carmin slammed the butt of her pistol into the creatures head before it could even pierce his skin. 

Blake nodded in thanks and trained his gun on one of the smaller monsters, but didn't shoot. Carmin copied his actions and aimed at another. The creatures shuffled uncertainly before turning and running for the hills. Carmin smiled in victory before heading back to the building to grab her things.