Reckoning {A Survival Series Short | #CommunitiesAtWar Contest Entry}

Reckoning

Clouds. Buildings. Wall. Biters.

My eyes scanned the bleak horizon through the old binoculars, passing over the numerous tents huddled in front of the giant wall like a flimsy barricade. I watched the guards and doctors of the New World scatter back and forth between the tents and guard posts, oblivious to the hell that would soon be knocking on their front door. A sickening smile spread onto my face at the thought of how panicked and terrified they'd be.

The sky swirled with dark clouds above me and thunder rumbled off in the distance. A cry to whoever was listening; a warning meant for the sheltered city.

The muffled sounds of chatter and movement wafted up from below me, a dull murmur in my ear as my thoughts roared in my head. The bubbling anger I had felt only once before in my life, now resurfaced, boiling and spilling over the edge. My fingers gripped the sides of the binoculars and my muscles flexed beneath my dirty jacket, itching to cause some mayhem.

A gentle hand laying on my shoulder grabbed my attention and I lowered the binoculars, looking over at it's owner.

"What do you want, Frankie?" I growled lowly, allowing my annoyance to be clearly evident in my gruff voice. She stood with her arms crossed, resting casually against her abdomen though her rigid posture gave away the tension in her body. Her hair was in loose waves around her shoulders, looking pale in the gloomy light of the darkening sky, and her icy blue eyes betrayed the worry she tried so hard to keep hidden from the relaxed expression on her aging face.

I knew exactly what she was going to say before the cautious words even left her dry lips.

"I think we should reconsider the attack," she spoke calmly and carefully, her eyes looking over me. A strong gust of wind blew into the exposed room, shuffling around the soot and debris that littered the floor and pushing aside the faded blue tarp that covered half of the broken exterior wall. She reached a hand up to tame a piece of her swirling hair, trapping it behind the curve of her ear as she continued, raising her voice above the howl of the wind, "you know how risky this is. A lot of people are going to get hurt, a lot of innocent people."

"You've seen what they've done," I answered as I turned away from her and motioned towards the brightly lit city in the distance, "what they continue to do. I'm not just going to sit here anymore. This needs to happen, they need to see the world as it truly is."

"The only thing you're doing is proving them right," she said angrily. My body twisted towards her and before I was even aware of what I was doing, my hand was wrapped around her throat and shoving her against a nearby wall. I glared into her frightened eyes, surprising myself by how satisfied I was to see her fear. My grip tightened around her thin neck as I leaned my face closer to hers.

I growled my words at her, low and threatening, "Do you really think they deserve to live? After all of the people they've killed, the families they've torn apart? What about Rookie, huh? What about Newt?"

The fear in her wide eyes shifted as a flash of anger crossed them at the mention of her daughter. I knew that would get to her; it boiled my own blood knowing Newt was trapped behind that wall with those scientists poking and prodding her, dying to know what was so special about her. I wasn't going to leave her there.

"Uh, Zander?"

My head snapped in the direction of the hesitant voice to see a young boy standing in the opened doorway, his fingers nervously moving against one another. I released my hold on Frankie's neck and she immediately took in a big breath of air, her own hand reaching up to rub at the red skin. I took a step away from her, feeling a tinge of guilt move about my body as I turned to face the boy.

"What is it, Fidget?" I asked, clearing my throat and moving my hands to rest behind my back. He reached a hand up to grab a piece of his dark brown hair, twisting the curl around his finger idly as his wide eyes flicked between Frankie and I.

"O-Owen told me to let you know t-that the charges are set and the t-teams are in place," his words stumbled out as his eyes focused on me, as if suddenly remembering why he came upstairs.

"What about Rookie?" I asked as I moved back over to the window and raised the binoculars once more, scanning the top of the highest buildings for any signs of light. 

"N-nothing from him so far," the boy replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

"Rookie agrees with me, you know," Frankie quickly injected though she remained in her spot against the wall. I let out an angry snort, 

"I know he does. Difference is, he still does his damn job," I snapped back and lowered the binoculars to look back at Fidget, "the biters ready?"

He nodded quickly, "t-they're getting anxious."

I turned back towards the window, resuming my scan of the buildings. I had just passed one of the smaller buildings when a bright light flashed, grabbing my attention. I stood still, holding my breath as I waited for the second flash. When it finally came, a small smile slipped onto my face as the bright light started flashing repeatedly in quick, short intervals.

"Perfect timing," I grinned as I straightened up, lowering my binoculars. I grabbed the bag I left laying slumped on the floor and turned towards the boy, "round 'em up, it's time to go."

The boy nodded and quickly disappeared back downstairs without another word. I shoved the binoculars into my bag and slung it over my shoulder, pausing to give Frankie a hard stare. She's been on the fence about this for months now and I didn't want her pulling anything to try and stop the plan when we were already so close.

"You're either with us, or you're with them," I spoke, keeping her eyes leveled with mine, making sure she understood the threat I was ensuing, "choose wisely."

I left before she could answer, making my way down the crooked staircase. I was halfway to the bottom when a loud explosion sounded in the distance and the house shook with a loud groan, pieces of burnt wood falling from the ceiling. I held onto the wobbly railing as the house settled before continuing down the stairs, skipping the last two and landing flat on my feet.

A large group of men and women were gathered in the bottom floor of the desolate house, cheering loudly at the sound of the explosion. My grin widened as I let out a loud cheer along with them and I patted the back of a nearby man as he looked up, a grin of his own stretching across his face.

Screams started up in the distance, followed by the sporadic sound of gunfire. It was a beautiful melody to my ears as I pushed open the half charred door and stepped out into the now pouring rain, jumping into the nearest truck.

"Let's go, boys!" I shouted as I pounded on the top of the truck loudly. The truck roared to life below me, speeding off down the twisting path through the remains of the burned down neighborhood and towards the large hole in the crumbling wall.

This is where we win.