HeartBeat

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ava

I pant out a struggled breath, the blow I took to my chest, making my lungs stutter.

I look around the forest. Wet from the stormy clouds overhead. A gunshot sounds to my left, and I frown, hearing another thump to the ground.

I sniff and wipe the blood from my nose. I look around, searching for the familiar faces, I have faced these challenges with.

I had learned, like everyone else did, that although we may befriend each other, and go through the hardships we face every day with each other, its smarter to care for those close to you, than all of them.

Slacked faces had become familiar to all of us. And those faces were of those we had seen for months, some of us starved with them for months. But the outcome proved that they were the weak ones.

And there was no more time to mourn the weak anymore.

A gun shot sounds again, this time in rapid fire. I hiss as one grazes my already bruised legs

I dash away, running to the safe zone. The pain in my leg slows me down, but I'm growing more used to pain every day. Everything always hurts here. This was nothing.

I pick up my speed. Seeing bullets hit the trees around me. With calculative estimations, I veer right and then more so, before making a hard left.

The burst of rapid-fire stops. With the trees, doing well in covering me, I was out of the shooter's sights. I run on, sweat, beginning to fall from my body in waves. I had been running for hours, fighting for hours. Escaping for hours. I had also been searching for those of my family for hours.

Despite the nerves jittering inside me, from worry I had learned to smother, I still tensed at the sounds of thuds on the forest floor. Fear boiled in my stomach, before I shove it away. Only the weak feared. Only the strong were able to make it to the safe zone. I was not weak. My sister isn't weak. Our family, we've made here, aren't weak. They'll be at the safe zone, if not before me, then after.

They'll be there, waiting for me, if I don't find them first. We had all come in different trucks, as always, and dropped off in different zones. This time, I had found myself separated from the others. That had been a few hours ago, and yet I still saw not one of my family. I wonder, if that was something done on purpose. Knowing Father, it was very likely.

I push on, feeling my heart sing to me inside my chest. It was weird hearing the sound so loudly, and still we were changing more and more each day.

The coats were turning us into superior being, according to Father. Beings, that will become untouchable. I think we're becoming monsters. Still, somehow, I had found pride growing at his expectations. I was becoming more and more different. I thought and spoke differently. I ran faster, fought harder, and I killed better.

A target with knives clutched in both hands, make himself known. He's large, and stands watching me, with a tough muscled body. Even in the dark, I can see him almost clearly.

I pick up speed, thankful, that the bullets stopped. At least in my area. It meant, that I wasn't near a guard post, which was probably why this one stood in front of me. I charge, slamming into his body, that didn't seem all that tough, as it slammed against my own.

A knife, swipes at me, but my knees were already on his wrists. I buzz with excitement, as I look down at the male, who attempted to throw my much smaller body off of himself. It was too late. My thumbs were already deep in his eyeballs. He screeches, as it squelches beneath my fingers. I feel my lips curl up.