The Bryne Runaways (Updated)

Chapter 62

Various more explosions is heard and the continuous gunshots outside from far distance. They wouldn't stop but keep on going. There's pure chaos going on outside. The ground rumbles every time an explosion goes off. I'm truly terrified during this happening. This will become another nightmare that will haunt for the rest of my life. I shut my eyes tightly and throw my hands over my ears who've had enough already. Cruz is the only one with me in this underground prison shelter. He tries calming me down but being in this state is quite uncontrollable.

How can you be calm when there's bombs detonating outside? How am I supposed to be calm when my uncle is outside going through it all? Finally when the pain numbed, I drifted into a non nightmare sleep. I think going through what occurred during that night was my nightmare.

I wake to luckily no rumbles nor explosions but to absolute silence in here. I am not used to being down here so I didn't go back to sleep but kept myself wide awake. I look around to see Cruz asleep clutching his pistol right to him. I guess he's paranoid that he needs to sleep with a gun in his hands. I am laid on top of a old bed that smells like a meat store but not so much because someone's clothing are sprawled around so I get a different type of smell. I don't remember climbing onto this bed, I just recall myself in a ball staring at the wall then here I am.

I get up from the bed walking towards Cruz. I don't mean to wake him up but I need to see my uncle. I also want to see what happened last. I want to see the remains. I shake him and he quickly wakes from my touch.

"What happened? Are you alright?" I hear his raspy voice say as he puts his gun down from where he had it aimed.

"I gotta leave. I need to see my uncle"

"I can't let you leave it's not safe yet" He claims.

"I can't stay in here"

"I still can't let you leave, and if I ever wanted to, I can't the door is sealed" He tells me. I didn't know they locked the door. But still I don't want to stay in here. I have my worries and he's outside.

"When can I leave?"

"When it's safe to go outside" I huff and make my way back to the mixed smells of this bed. I sit there laying on my back on the wall and thinking the entire time, 'is Uncle Ben okay?' I hope he's safe. I can't even imagine the tragic torturous things he'll see. The bed springs on the bed begin to hurt my bottom so I need to move once in awhile. This place down here is quite comfortable.

"I don't remember myself climbing onto this bed last night" I say to Cruz.

"Henry checked up on you last night and put you up there" He says and I would normally think it was Uncle Ben but this time it's the leader of the group. I don't believe he did though. He seems so hard and not caring for him to do something like this. I don't get him.

"And these clothes?"

"Henry also" He tells me. This guy is confusing. He'll be nice to me secretly but be an asshole when I am around. Make up your mind.

"Oh here, this fell off you last night when they picked you up from the ground" He takes out my medallion necklace from his front pocket of his sweater. He tosses them over to me and I put them back on me where it shall be hidden behind my clothing so no one can look at them.

"What's happening up there? It's awfully quiet" I ask Cruz who is ready for anything to enter.

"I have no clue. I was just told to bring you down here"

"Do you know what happened?"

"There's been an attack around the city"

"Like what type of attack?"

"Scavengers, survivors and the creatures" Wait he said scavengers. What in the world are scavengers.

"What are scavengers?"

"They are the people who praise the master of the others. The crazy brutal people out there who will kill survivors or do something much worse to get in someone's head" I then think to the people in the restaurant. The crazy men who I saw in my nightmare and in real life. They praise their master but who's their master?

"They surround the city along with the creatures, they are most as crazy as them"

"Why do they praise their master?"

"They just do. They all were civilians once but then they caused these riots because military weren't doing enough for them. So some turned their backs on humanity and followed the wrong path"

"Have you seen them before?" I question.

"I've killed some of them so yeah, I have seen them" He answers me with a cocky smirk on his face remembering his time.

"What about you?" He turns to me but I didn't answer because I begin to hear footsteps coming. I react quickly becoming much more anxious and afraid for what's up there. Cruz hears it too and it makes him get up quickly holding his gun and putting me behind him for any counterattack. The door opens and footsteps come downstairs letting some light enter. I grip onto the sweater of his which he doesn't notice. My anxiousness vanishes when I see Harry's familiar face but something about him doesn't feel right.

Is it safe? Is it clear out? Harry gives us the signal that it's alright to leave and I brush past Cruz quickly. As I'm hurrying up the stairs a hand pulls on arm back. It's Henry. Of course it would be him.

"Take it easy with him, he didn't take it so well" He refers to Uncle Ben and I begin to worry. What did he do to him? What kind of wickedness did Henry expose to him? I get my arm back in a semi rude way and I begin walking to our bedroom where they said he is. I look around our territory where ash is surrounded everywhere from the damage of what happened in the city and the smell of the air is toxic with the smell of burning flesh. The smell is worthy enough to choke someone and maybe to the death.

Once I make it to the door I stop not yet reaching the door knob. I am too afraid to see what has happened to him but I need to. He needs me because he's hurt. I turn the door knob and push the door in revealing him on the edge of the bed only in his black pants and boots with his hair ruffled down to his forehead. His hands are covering his entire face. What did Henry do to you? What happened to you? All these questions roam inside making me wanna break down because I've never seen Uncle Ben in this state but as my charming, understanding and fun person. As I begin walking I accidentally knock down his axe covered in molded blood. I look up to Uncle Ben who's staring at me.

When I look at his face I see that he is hurt not physically but mentally and emotionally. His pursed lips and the way his brows lower says it all especially his eyes. I shake my head at this, "what did they do to you?" I tell him in the urge of tearing up. I walk closer to him and take a seat beside him.

"What did you see?" I ask him and he sighs. He's gonna tell me.

"They all were burning........ Survivors, mothers, and innocent children. All hungry" I hear him say and shut my eyes not wanting to picture any of this. I can hear the pain in his words and I truly feel terrible. What such cruel person does this?

"When we arrived there was a truck picking up the survivors. The creatures as well as the scavengers heard them and were after the truck. It is until they ran when airstrike came and took out the truck then went away. We tried helping them but they all were burning. It was too late. So many hungry lives taken away"

"Why is your axe bleeding?"

"We had them on us" He says and probably got physical with the creatures or the scavengers.

"Are you hurt?" He shakes his head. He lied. He is hurt, to me. I can feel it. I get closer to him putting my arm around his shoulders with my head on him. He just stares at the drawers looking awful about all this. I don't have any words to say to him but feel sorry for him so I hug him harder until he pulls me to him.

I'm sorry. I really am.

Another brief message was sent out to the world that same day to give notice to what occurred last night to remaining survivors.

May Their Souls Be Liberated.