The Land After Tomorrow (Completed)

Chapter 4: Human Nature Awakens

The others waited tied up for a hope of a release. Drew had drifted off to sleep but twitching from haunting dreams. It was quiet as it could be, and the fire stayed lit as two savages stood around it. The camp seemed to have been asleep except for those few that stood guard over them. Ian looked up into the night sky staring at the clouds of toxins passing by before hearing a rustling sound on the other side of camp. The guards seemed to notice too as they got up to check it out disappearing with the two savages from the fire into the woods. Rustling came from behind them. A group of men surrounded them and untied them. Their wrists were red from the burns of the rope. Someone whispered into Caleb's ear, "Stay quiet and go find something to fight with." Drew rushed to his father hugging him with tears as Ryder and Caleb went to the "gun store" or a little tent filled with all the ammunition and guns the savages had raided.

An older gentleman walked up to Ian, "Grab some weapons. You will need it." Ryder came out of the "gun store" with rifles and shotguns. He passed one onto Ian and gave Drew a shotgun.

"Drew, go into the woods and go high up into a tree and shoot from there," his father said.

"But dad, I want to go with you," he said pleading desperately into his father's eyes.

"Go now, don't argue with me," as he turned to Caleb. "You go with him."

Caleb looked at him in shock and befuddlement, "But sir, my sister."

"Yes, I know, the best thing for me is to know both of you are safe. I will get the girls. Now go!" he screamed and waved them off as they started running into the woods. The men had already begun shooting and raiding the camps along with Ryder. Gun shots and screams ringed throughout the camp as he rushed into the battlefield.

Caleb and Drew rushed to the woods trying to find a spot to shoot from. Caleb was ahead as Drew straggled along with his ankle and his pains. They could hear the shoots ringing from a distance and the screams echoing through the trees.

"Here!" Caleb screamed behind him to Drew as he jumped up for a branch to pull himself up swinging his right left over the branch. Drew looked up at Caleb jumping from tree branch to tree branch getting closer to the top. Drew looked down at his ankle and his arm and embraced himself for the pain. He pushed off with his left ankle grabbing onto the branch with both hands and felt the bark dig into his skin as he tried to pull up. His arm screamed in pain and he clenched his eyes shut and grunted with pain. He gutted through the pain to pull himself up by swinging his right leg over the branch. He looked up and saw Caleb had already set his rifle and began shooting as the shots rang out and echoed. Drew waited for a moment catching his breath as another shot rang out.

Caleb looked down at Drew who looked up at him helplessly and in pain. Caleb looked back onto the purging village and watched as savages bashed the men and men shot the savages. In the olden days they used to call Indians savages but truly, they were like the settlers and like us. These people were savages, monsters as they ate human kind and used butcher knives and clubs as weapons instead of guns because in short it was more "fun". Caleb watched as a savage ate the flesh of that of a dead human as he raised his barrel and aimed. He felt the trigger squeeze as the sound ringed throughout his ears and saw the savage drop as his heart. Drew had finally made it up the tree breathing with exhaustion as he set his aim to the mass bloodshed. Drew searched the area as he saw his father running along with the mass of men shooting savages as savages hurled weapons onto them. Drew watched as his father stopped and knelt next to a body. Behind him, a savage approached and Drew raised his gun to aim. It inched closer as Drew caught sight of the burning fire below and flashed back into a memory of the man's screaming echoing into his ears and his flesh burning before his eyes. He watched the savage fling a weapon over his shoulders about to hack his dad. A shot rang out but not from his. Drew watched as the savage fell on top of his father and his father pushed it aside heading back into the mass of shots and screams.