RU in? - 1st novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 2 .

Lily

About a fourth of the parents and children around us had collapsed completely to the ground. Mr. Morgan picked up his five year old daughter and cradled her to him.

"What's wrong with her?" Mrs. Morgan asked as she placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"I don't know. She just . . ." Whatever he was about to say was stopped as their little daughter turned her head into the crook of Mr. Morgan's neck. I thought it was just a hug and that everything was fine until I saw the blood trip down from his neck. Mr. Morgan grimaced in pain and pulled his daughter off him. The little girl's mouth and teeth were covered in blood. She snapped at him again, but he kept her at a distance with his long arms. The veins in the white of her eyes popped out red. She looked more like a monster than a child.

"Mrs. Harris?" Mackenzie said again, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the little girl who bit into her father's hand.

Mrs. Morgan screamed, but she was spurred into action. She grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and pulled her off Mr. Morgan. Mr. Morgan brought his bit hand up to the bite on his neck and held it there to stem the bleeding. The little girl fell to the ground with the force which Mrs. Morgan pulled her off of Mr. Morgan. The little girl quickly jumped to her feet and ran at Mrs. Morgan with her red mouth and eyes, fingers extended clawlike towards her mother. Mrs. Morgan screamed again and ran away as her daughter used her little legs to chase after her.

Mr. Morgan collapsed to the ground and began to spasm.

"Victory!" Hunter shouted. "Get her out of there now."

"I'm trying!" Victory shouted back. "Come on, Kenzie. We've got to go."

"But Mrs. Harris," Mackenzie said.

I turned back towards my sister as my heart raced against my chest and my arms and legs tingled with a sense of dread. Mackenzie was bent over Mrs. Harris gently shaking her shoulders. Victory pulled on Mackenzie's arm, but Mackenzie wasn't leaving Mrs. Harris. After just witnessing the Morgan's daughter attack them, I didn't want Mackenzie anywhere near Mrs. Harris. Especially when Mrs. Harris's fingers started twitching.

"Mackenzie," I started to call. A strong arm wrapped around me from behind me. It lifted me off the ground and spun me. I was set down, but the momentum had me taking a few steps away until I could steady my feet.

Hunter had one hand wrapped around Mr. Morgan's throat. He brought up his other hand that had just let me go to keep Mr. Morgan's claw-like fingers away from his face. Mr. Morgan snapped his teeth as he tried to bite Hunter's arm, but couldn't quite reach him with the way Hunter held him. The white of his eyes had gone red just as his daughter's had, only this close I could see that his pupils were no longer black. Not exactly. There was a rim of green around his pupils. The exact color that had lit up the night sky earlier.

Mackenzie screamed. The sound of it cut through my core. I looked back at Mrs. Harris's door. Old Mrs. Harris had Mackenzie pinned against the door. Her yellow teeth chomped towards my little sister, but stopped inches from her cheek as Mackenzie had her arm against Mrs. Harris's neck to hold her at bay. Mackenzie screamed again.

She was not the only one screaming. Screams filled the cold air. Her screams drew the attention of a nearby monster that had moments before been human. The human-like woman rushed across the grass towards my sister and Victory.

I took a step towards them, but before I could turn it into a run Victory grabbed Mrs. Harris's white hair and pulled her roughly off Mackenzie. Mrs. Harris skidded across her wood floor back further into her house. Victory grabbed Mackenzie's hand and pulled her from the house just as the other woman reached out to them with her extended fingers.