The Last Colony

Part 25

Sean had been watching Mark, unable to breathe from all the tension felt. The Death Stalker held his wrists in a firm grip that was cutting off his circulation, but he didn't care. His only concern was for Mark. Tugging and straining against the Death Stalker, he tried his best to squirm free. Just when Mark needed him most, the barn doors had burst open. Sean went temporarily blind from the blazing sunlight, just as something exploded. People all around him started to rush around. The Death Stalker tried to drag Sean away, causing Sean to stumble and fall to his knees. The Death Stalker struck him across the face in his frustration with him. Sean opened his eyes, trying to focus them as his cheek flared up with pain. He saw a blur jump toward the Death Stalker and with a quick 'SNAP' someone hit the ground. Mari scurried up to him with her turtleneck pulled up over her nose. Grabbing his arm, she told him in a muffled rush. "Come on! We've got to go!" Sean shook head, starting to cough when he said. "Mark...?" Mari tugged him to his feet, shouting at him. "You can't help him if you can't defend yourself or even see! Come on!"

Mari guided him through the thick cloud as they fled from the barn. The cloud was spilling out of the open barn doors, causing Mari to skid to a halt as she almost collided with a horse. Mari froze in place like she had seen a ghost, watching the horse rear and neigh aggressively. Sean couldn't believe what he was looking at. It was a horse that was covered from head to hoof in a red hazmat suit with a black gas mask over its long face. Mari shook her head backing up into Sean as she uttered out in fear. "War..." Sean's eyes were starting to water from the cloud, but in turning to the sound of an unfamiliar voice, his heart skipped. A man in bloodred armor and a helmet with long black horns, stepped out of the barn with Mark over his shoulder. His helmet didn't protect him from the cloud... but he looked fine. Was he immune to it? The man moved toward him, shoving Sean to the ground as he chuckled out to the flee people all around him. "Relax, you babies. It's only tear gas. Must have startled the little bastard!"

Sean fell on his ass with a wince, feeling Mari drop quickly behind him like she was trying to hide herself from him. The man vanished within the cloud as more voices began to talk over each from all over. He didn't have time to listen to them though. Rolling to his knees, he grabbed Mari's arm and started racing back to their hut. Mari was right. They needed their weapons. The closer they got to their hut, the more the tear gas cloud thinned out. It was only when they got to the door, that Sean couldn't stay standing. Dropping to all fours, he coughed and spit. His face felt like it was melting. Everything was leaking. His eyes burned, his nose was running, he couldn't swallow... so he drooled and spit. He could taste the chemical on his tongue, and it was fowl. His skin felt dry and itchy. He lifted a hand to rub his face, but Mari stopped him. Putting his hand to the ground, she rubbed his back and warned him seriously. "Don't rub your eyes! Wait here!" He felt her move away. Then heard her stumble and fall into the hut. Within the hut, Mari coughed and stated aloud. "Chica! Don't lay there! I nearly broke my neck!"

After a few seconds, her voice turned cutesy as she purred out. "I'm sorry, Chica... I can barely see..." Mari stumbled to the ground beside him, lifting his head up and pouring water over his eyes and face. It helped with the burning, but he still couldn't see anything. His vision was getting worse. Mari tugged on his arm, guiding him to the hut on all fours. Crawling his way inside, he was bombarded by Chica. Her nails tapped the wooden floor in her excitement to see him, licking his face with little whimpers. He tried to stop her from doing it, but he was powerless without his eyes to see her assault. Beside him, Mari coughed, informing him shakily. "We should be ok. Our vision should come back in about an hour..." Sean coughed, pushing Chica back from his face, upon asking her in a scratchy voice. "Who the hell was that guy?" Mari's voice trembled when she answered. "His name is War... He killed my Grandfather... I thought I lost him in Oregon... He's a monster. Why is he here?"