With Stars In Their Eyes

Chapter 15: Approaching the Gates of Hell

Maggie left the two of them, presumably returning to the gym. Luna sat there with Adam for what felt like an eternity. Seconds turned into minutes; minutes turned into hours. All they could do was stare at the creature. It seemed to be breathing, but how? She slashed it's wrist and Joe shot it twice.

Luna stopped trying to find reason in it. She just wanted to know why. Why did it kidnap her and attack her? Why didn't it just kill her in the gym? Nothing made sense, but that seemed to be the case for everything recently.

Eventually, Maggie returned with some food and water. They had been watching the creature with such intensity that Luna had forgotten to eat anything. She handed her a can of warm soup without saying a word.

Maggie didn't talk much, Gary usually did most of the talking. But Maggie was always there when they needed her. Like how Luna wished her mother was. Something about her made Luna feel safe and cared for.

Once she gave them both of their meals, she came and sat next to Luna. Looking into her eyes, she smiled. It was such a kind smile that she couldn't help but smile back.

"I had a daughter like you." Her words caught Luna off guard. What did she mean, had? "She was such a strong girl. I used to tell her how important it was to take care of yourself before you take care of others. Because if you use all your energy on them, what do you have for yourself?"

"You're right," Luna whispered, looking down at her soup. "I just need answers, ya know?"

"I understand that. And you will." She took Luna's hand in hers and patted the top with the other. Then she slowly got up, and walked back out the door.

The sun was starting to go down, letting beautiful purple light flood the room. Luna looked over at Adam, who looked like he was starting to doze off. Gun still pointed at the creature, trying his best to stay awake.

"You can take a nap if you want." Luna said as he bobbed his head for the 5th time. "I can watch him."

"No, it's ok. I don't want to leave you." He reached over to take Luna's hand and gave it a squeeze. He wasn't going anywhere. She felt bad for not speaking to him all day, but her mind had been occupied.

He placed his gun on the floor next to him and pulled Luna to her feet and onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She wanted to cry, but she had cried so much in the past couple of days that her eyes just felt dry and sticky. She closed your eyes and buried herself in his arms. Maybe they could just take a short nap. What's the worst that could happen?

"Wake up," Luna heard Adam, whisper. She must have fallen asleep. The room was now dark with rays of moonlight streaking in through the high windows, "I think I heard something."

Looking around, Luna couldn't see that anything was moving. She could hear the dripping that woke her the night prior, when she had to fight for her life. She scanned the room, trying to find the source of any sort of noise.

Just when Luna thought Adam must have been hallucinating, she heard it. A shuffling sound that sounded eerily familiar. She couldn't place it until it came into view completely. It was the one thing she feared most.

Looking back at her from the other side of the cage, the glowing, ice blue eyes hovered, seemingly in mid air. The creature was awake, and sizing Luna up. Her eyes focused and she jumped up out of Adam's lap and plastered herself against the wall behind her.

Adam stood in front of Luna, between her and the creature. He pointed the gun and waited for it to make a move. But it just stood there. Hunched over and breathing rapidly, arms stretched out between the bars, reaching for them.

Past the eyes, they could see through his translucent skin to his skull. There were channels of black and green weaving through his jelly-like skin. Its appearance was shocking, like some kind of science experiment.

They were in a standoff, no one moved. Frozen in fear, they didn't know what to do. If Luna moved, would it try to attack? Are they prey? Or does he look at them as a threat? Once again, no answers.

Without warning, the creature threw its head back and let out an ear piercing scream. Adam and Luna jumped back, startled, covering their ears. The sound echoed through the room and into the hallway. Joe came running accompanied by Freddie.

Joe said something, but Luna couldn't hear over the sound erupting from the monster's throat. It began to make Luna dizzy. The room was slightly spinning and she had to grab Adam's arm to keep from falling down. 

As abruptly as it started, it stopped. Head still facing the ceiling, it seemed to be waiting for something. They all stood still, staring at it with wide eyes. The scream had to have a purpose and they didn't know if they wanted to stick around to find out what it was. As Luna took a step backwards, she felt a hand on her back. Adam was holding her back. Not knowing why, she looked up at him, puzzled.

"Listen," he whispered. Luna's ears were ringing, but she tried her best to listen past it. Someone was coming down the hallway. Knocking things over their path.

"Hello? Who's there?" Joe said. There was no reply. It was at this moment that they realized that you had forgotten about the hill. If this had happened to Tyler, could it have happened to them? Looking around the room, Luna could tell that everyone else had just made the same realization.

The figure came into focus at the end of the hall. It was a woman, or was a woman. Her clothes hung off her like rags and her hair had mostly fallen out.  Her skin was like jelly and they could see the bones in her stretched out hand.

Adam jumped in front of Luna and aimed the gun in her direction. She was about 20 feet away from them when he shot her. The sound was deafening, and the bullet had no effect. He shot her in the chest; a place that would have killed her if she was a normal person.

Joe ran at her and pinned her against the wall. They were face to face with her hands pinned up above her head. She was snapping her teeth at his face and coming concerningly close. Luna and Adam ran behind him towards the lobby. If there were more coming, the last place they wanted to be was trapped in the cell.

Joe waited for them to get past before turning her towards the door and shoving her in, slamming the door behind her. She was screaming and clawing at the door, trying to get back to Joe.

"Lock the doors!" He yelled. Luna and Adam took off, looking for each door to lock. Hopefully none of them had got in with the woman.

The only door they really had to worry were the front doors. They were big and consisted of shattered glass and metal. The only way they found to seal them off was to turn the desk on its side and push it up against them. Even then, there were large gaps around the sides.

They could hear the shuffling of feet and low grunts not too far away. They had no idea how many of them there were, but they were about to find out. It was going to be a very long night.