Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️SIXTY-EIGHT: PESTILENCE AND JUDGEMENT⚠️

Hailey slammed her palms over her ears, screaming as Zion kicked open the door, pointing his pistol at the man and woman.

"Get out of here or get your brains blown out, psychos!" he demanded, firing a warning shot that made them go quiet. Their faces went serious and they both looked at Zion with a blank stare.

"W-we can't kill them," Hailey whimpered. "What are we going to do?"

"Who says we can't?" Zion retorted, closing one eye to get precise aim.

To your surprise, Ethan put his hand on top of Zion's, lowering him aim to the pavement.

"We can't get fixated on a tussle right now," Lawrence said. "We need to work out an emergency plan."

"Zombies are surging in," Eugene added, rocking on his feet anxiously. "Should we just get in the bus and get out of here?"

The sounds of zombies were growing louder, and the two crazies remained still as statues.

"We can't leave," Lawrence insisted, and you thought you heard a hint of urgency in his voice.

"There are supplies. Here. We need them," Ethan agreed.

"Then what can we do?" Harry asked nervously. "We can't fend off a hoard of zombies, even with some shiny pistols."

You were deep in thought. What could you do?

"Take the attention away from this place," you realized, pointing over at the bus. It was the cause of the sound, and the zombies were fixated on that.

"You're crazy," Zion said, and the look on his face told you he was realizing what you were thinking of.

Across from the front yard, the driveway, and the house, there wasn't another house like in smaller neighborhoods. Since Zion's neighborhood was in the mountains, across from his place wasn't another house.

It was a sheer cliff.

"We have to get the bus away from us," you said, and didn't wait for anyone else to catch on. You ran towards the bus, towards the troubled intruders, pulling your gun from pocket. Your palms were sweaty.

"Get the hell away!" Zion shouted, pointing his own pistol at the two strangers. Their eyes cleared up, looking as though they snapped out of their trance.

"Fight your urges of violence, chil-" the man began, but a bang cut him off, as well as the sound of a bullet nestling into wet flesh. You turned to see Lawrence, arm outstretched, smoke rising from the tip of his gun. He'd shot the man in the leg.

The woman screamed. But not in fear. It was anger and rage, and a chill ran across your bones.

The man just stood there, like the shot had frozen him in place. His mouth still hung open from his unfinished sentence.

"I see the Devil in you children. The Devil!" the woman screeched, charging forward.

"Yeah yeah, get out of here lady," Zion huffed, pulling back his arm and hitting her with the butt of his pistol with a clear crack that made you cringe.

"So what should we do?" a voice behind you asked. You turned around to see everyone had followed and was ready for action.

"The only thing we can do," Lawrence replied, "Push."

The woman was screaming in agony and fury, rolling on the ground, and a sickening ooze was bubbling up under her skin and beginning to fill her face in cyst-like bubbles. You fought the urge to be sick.

Lawrence stepped forward toward the bus, but the man moved in front of his path, faster than should be possible with his leg wound.

"You cannot avoid Judgement," the man said in a shaky voice.

"Enough with the Holy speak," Lawrence said in exasperation. "If you value your life, get out of the way."

"If you know what role Pestilence plays in the Bible," the man said lowly, "you know what man is facing. Judgement."

Lawrence didn't say anything.

"There's nothing man can do against an angry God. Try to survive. Claw out of the gaping maw of Death again and again. In the end we will all be in the same place."

"You're speaking nonsense," Zion spat.

"Don't be afraid of your Creator," the man went on. "Evil is the byproduct of free will. Evil is the byproduct of the living."

"What you're saying means nothing to me," Lawrence said, and his voice sounded strange, almost similar to how the man sounded. "A god that would let his world fall to shambles is one I don't want any part with."

The man smiled, revealing his grimy, uneven teeth.

"Who said you had a choice?"

You heard a yelp from your left and you spun around to see the woman throw herself against Zion with all of her strength. They both toppled over, landing hard into the concrete, and the skittering sound of a gun sliding across the ground made your heart skip.

"Hailey! The gun!" You screamed. Someone pushed past you, the man, and you stumbled over, falling on your butt before you could try and grab it. He lurched towards Hailey.

"Don't let him-" someone cried out, and just as fast as it had started, it was over. A bang sounded, loud and echoing, and after it subsided there was nothing but silence. Once again Lawrence had taken the shot, this time for the kill.

It was too quiet. There was no squeal of horror, no shriek of terror. The man tumbled over, lifeless, a clean shot through his stomach, and Hailey stood there in shock, trembling hands over her abdomen.

The bullet had gone right through the man and into Hailey.