Hundreds of toned screeches echo from the sandstone walls, playing tiggy with the innocent. The light is corrupted with angry shadows of those, things, prancing along the streets as they move from house to house.
"Kit," I whisper, my throat hoarse from my dry breathing. The pigs squeal excitedly as their minds conclude that I'm here to feed them, but I shush them. A groan files out from the small stables and my breathing hitches. Kit lays in the midst of the swines, his face barely visible but beaten and bloody.
"Kit?" I call out quietly again, flinching as desperate cries of fellow prisoners reach out from the infected village. He sits up almost instantly, squinting his eyes at me for what I'm guessing bruises or any sign of harm. The huts and tents that have caught on fire illuminate light towards us and towards the trees on which the town backs onto.
"We have to go, they're all infected," I recite quickly, stepping over the mossy cobblestone wall to help him stand, the pink bodies squealing as they push against my legs. I stumble but hold myself as I pull Kit up, freezing up when he hugs me tightly. After a few seconds, he lets go and grabs my hand swiftly, dragging me towards the woods.
"Hey!" A familiar voice shouts from behind our retreating figures, causing us to cast a quick glance over our shoulders worriedly. Would any uninfected Landmen let us go if they saw us trying to escape?
William's dirty hair falls into his eyes as he lugs his sister towards us, her limp body looking like a large handbag with her arm draped over his shoulders. Beads of sweat trickle down his bloody head while his boots kick up chunks of soil and grass from the struggle.
"William! Sarah!" I quickly turn and run towards them, the burn in my muscles appearing from the long search for Kit a few minutes prior. He drops to his knees and lowers her to the ground gently.
"What happened?" Kit asks with concern, appearing beside me to tend for the two. William coughs and splutters, smearing ash along his forehead with his arm.
"I found her barely conscious in a tent with a guy asleep nearby. He had a nose bleed and looked like shit," he began, snorting and spitting onto the black grass. He wiped his mouth before continuing.
"Her fucking pants were off," he growled, throwing a finger towards her pants that were undone. "I kicked him three or so times in the face, but then he opened his eyes. They were white. I grabbed Sarah and pulled her pants back on before leaving the tent, pushing the lamp over towards the fabric of the tent."
The fire had grown throughout the city at the base of the hill, thick smoke trailing up towards the black sky. A slumped figure making its way up the grassy hill catches my eye and I stand up.
"Come any closer and I will kill you," I announce, stopping the intruder in its tracks. The person looks up, the moon showering his face in a soft glow, enough to allow me to recognise him from the cells.
"Now how would you kill me with no weapon, gorgeous" the man bites back, his face contorting into one of pain. Messy black hair sits on top of his head while piercing, cat like yellow eyes bore into mine, his muscles protruding from his skin tight shirt. He's wearing combat boots with long camo pants, a black watch clinging to his wrist.
"I'm her weapon," Kit stands, helping William up to his feet. The man laughs mockingly but continues to approach us, stopping momentarily when Kit snatches a shovel from the ground that he was left with when shovelling pig shit.
"Who are you?" William pipes in, grunting as he goes back to carrying Sarah who has grown more aware of her surroundings. My heart breaks as I see the cogs in her brain churn, tears welling in her eyes before she breaks down. I tear my eyes away from her and back to the man.
"Look, my name is Cameron, I was training to be in the military before the world fell to shit." He owned up, throwing his hands up defensively as soon as Kit picked up the shovel.
"How do we know we can trust you?" I quiz, raising an eyebrow as his gaze flickers to my face after eyeing me up and down. He sighs after a second before we are all interrupted by a loud screech. An infected Landman stands in the space of the gap in the wall, his arms and entire body tense as it stares up at us like we are its meal. Something in its head breaks and it begins bolting towards us.
"Run!" Kit yells with wide eyes, rushing towards me to help me up the hill. Cameron turns around and kicks the Landman back down towards the village, watching as its head smashes along the cobblestone wall. I gasp as it stays down, dead.
"Cameron, come on," Kit concludes, continuing to help me towards the fringe of the forest. He follows suit, offering to help William in carrying Sarah, only to be glared at.
"Geesh," he whistles, checking our trail before ascending into the forest with the rest of the group.
YOU ARE READING
Anubis
Short StoryA couple of teens manage to survive the Anubis outbreak, a human killing disease that was released after an icecap broke off in Antarctica. Their only hope is to make it to New York for their second dose of the vaccine, without it, they're as good a...
