The Collapse

Chapter 5: Confirmed Kill

Alder's heart threatened to beat out of his chest as he loped onto the roof of a car with three long strides, cracking the filthy windshield. Ember was on his tail, scanning the aged buildings on either side of the street for any sign of an ambush.

"This is absurd!" She hollered at Alder's back as they reached the spot where the mutant had gone down. The man, either not hearing her or ignoring the warning, slung his rifle over his shoulder and drew his revolver.

Ember finally caught up to Alder as he knelt to examine the ground. "Hey! Hey!" She bellowed at Alder when she reached him, grabbing his shoulder and turning him to face her. "Did you not hear me?!"

Ember had more to say, but Alder silenced her by clamping his large hand over her mouth and holding a finger over his lips. The girl curled her own hands over her forced muzzle and attempted to wretch it off, but Alder reaffirmed his grip and made a slashing motion over his neck with his hand, breathing a simple sentence that made her blood run cold.

"It's gone."

Ember's eyes grew in terror as the words sunk in like a knife. Unconsciously, both glanced around, watching for the missing thing. Finally, Alder pointed. "There."

Ember followed his finger to a bloody mark on the cracked pavement, next to the wrecked pickup. The duo locked eyes for a moment before inching forward, hugging the sides of the vehicle. At the front wheel, Alder paused, causing Ember to smack into his side. "Hey!" She hissed. "What's the holdup?"

Alder held up a finger, then scanned the ground for a moment. In a snap, his arm whipped out and snatched something off the pavement. Alder cupped his hand around his newfound tool, which was a broken piece of glass, and edged his hand out past the front end of the truck. A heap of pale flesh stared back at him, helmed by a pair of sightless, white eyes and a cave of teeth, leaking blood into a pool under its head.

 After studying the reflection for a nerve-racking moment, he chucked the shard to the side and turned back to Ember. "It's dead," he rumbled out shortly. The young woman released a sigh of relief and pushed herself up.

Instantly, she was tackled by a screeching monstrosity, knocking her gun away. Ember barely had time to cross her arms in an X shape before the mutant plastered itself to her, snapping its jaws wildly. Saliva dripped into her eyes, blurring her vision. Already, her arms were burning with the effort to hold this thing back. Ember knew it wouldn't be long before she gave out and the mutant ripped her face off.

Suddenly, the beast was thrown off of her, rolling several feet to the side before regaining its balance and rearing for another assault. However, it had hardly taken a step before Alder swung a metal bar into the side of the hideous face, staggering the mutant long enough for him to crush its head on the asphalt with three quick blows. Stepping back, he hefted the bar and buried it vertically in the mutie's head, before turning back to Ember. He kneeled and lifted her into a sitting position, wiping the spit from her eyes after she was up. "You okay?" He asked with genuine concern in his eyes.

Ember's breath hitched in her throat at her sudden reprieve from certain death. Before she realized what she was doing, Ember had already wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug, burying her face in his shoulder. Stunned, Alder sat with his arms splayed out to his sides for a moment, before returning the embrace. Ember mumbled something into Alder's shoulder. He cocked his head for a better angle as she repeated herself. 

What she said made his cheeks burn.

"Please stay with me."