Sanctum (The After Light Saga)

by Cameo Renae

  Agonizing screams from the captured soldier echoed through the street. I glanced down at the dry earth and saw a thin trail of blood. If the soldier had been bitten, there was no way we could save him.

  “Finn,” I screamed.

  There was a gunshot. My breath and heart seized.

  “Finn!” I yelled again. We quickly rounded the building. About thirty yards ahead, Finn was standing over the soldier’s limp body. His right ear was gone, bitten off. Blood poured from the wound.

  About ten yards ahead, a lifeless Arvie lay between two buildings, face down, with a gaping hole in its back.

  Screams and growls echoed all around us. From the sounds, I knew we were outnumbered, and the sun was quickly setting.

  Finn knelt and felt the soldier’s neck. When I reached them, I saw the soldier had been bitten twice. His ear, and there was a large chunk of his neck missing. Blood poured from his wounds. I wanted to throw up.

  “Finn?”

  He looked up at me and shook his head. The soldier was dead. This was the first time I’d actually witnessed a dead body. A few minutes ago, this soldier was full of life, talking, laughing, and filled with hope, as his fingers brushed the soft, new grass.

  “He’s dead?” his fellow soldier’s voice shook.

  “Yes, and we will be too if we don’t get back to the others,” Finn urged.

  “We can’t leave him here,” the soldier said.

  “We have to,” Finn said. “There is nothing we can do for him. He’s gone.” Finn reached down and pulled the soldier’s tag from his neck and handed it to his friend.

  The soldier took the bloodied dog tag and placed it in his pocket.

  Finn took the dead soldiers weapon and extra ammo. “Let’s get back. The others will need our help.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me with him.

  When we made it back to the group, they all looked completely terrified. The Arvies had awakened, and sounded like they were ready for war. We were in their territory. I just hoped we could find shelter in time.

  “What happened to the soldier?” Tina asked.

  I shook my head. “He didn’t make it,” I whispered.

  “He’s dead?” Her eyes were wide with horror.

  I nodded. She lost her last thread of composure and fell into Pike’s arms.

  “We need to get out of here,” the pilot yelled.

  “We need to stick together,” Finn said. “They’ll easily pick off any stragglers. Didn’t you see what happened to the other soldier?”

  “He’s right,” Dr. Banks said, coming to his aid. “We need to stay together.”

  Finn stood next to me, his arm brushing up against mine. He bent down and whispered in my ear, “I’ve got your back…and your front,” he winked.

  “And, I’ve got yours—both,” I winked back.

  “You better,” he grinned. “Stay alive, alright?” His lips brushed my cheek, and despite the horror around us, my heart skipped a beat.

  “Alright,” I agreed.

  “How’s your leg?”

  “Fine. How’s your head?”

  “Fine,” I lied. It was still throbbing.

  “We need to move faster,” the pilot screamed. I could tell the horrifying growls of the Arvies were getting to him. He was losing it.

  A cloud covered the sun, and suddenly milky eyes appeared, glowing within the pitch-black darkness of the buildings.

  The pilot’s eyes became wide with horror, his breath was rapid. It was obvious he’d never come into contact with Arvies before. It was breaking everyone who hadn’t previously experienced them firsthand. Even those of us who had, were still completely terrified. For we knew what we were up against, and what was behind the hair-raising screams.

  We moved at a quickened pace.

  I held Hellfire up, ready to shoot at anything that came at us.

  “Finn,” I called, drawing his attention to an abandoned building ahead of us, where dozens of illuminated eyes, glared at us.

  “I see them,” he said. “Just stay right next to me.”

  Tina held on to Pike’s left arm with a death grip. In his right was his weapon, drawn and ready to fire.

  I didn’t know how many there were, but there were dozens of pairs of eyes watching our every move. I tried to steady my breathing, wondering why they hadn’t attacked yet.

  Dr. Banks and Dr. Fox had taken over responsibility of carrying one of the injured. We needed all the soldiers and guns as we could get.

  Dr. Lee was in no shape to carry anyone, or shoot a gun. He looked very frail, and I was surprised he had made it this far. I guess I totally underestimated him. He had some kind of super inner strength.

  “Hey,” I said to one of the soldiers. I noticed he had two weapons. “Could she use one of your guns?” I pointed to Tina who was ahead of me.

  “Yeah. She should be able to handle this one,” he said. While we were still moving, he unholstered his Glock 26, and gave it to Tina.

  “I can’t,” she said, pushing it away.

  I ran up and took the gun from his hand and held it out to her.

  “Tina, if one of those Arvies comes at you, I want you to aim this at its head or in the middle of its chest, and pull the trigger. Remember, if one of them sinks its teeth into you, it will not only hurt like hell, but you will slowly change into one of them. If you change, I’ll have to shoot you, and I seriously don’t want to do that. So, please. Take the damn weapon, and use it.”

  I stared intently at her. This wasn’t a game. We were in the middle of a life or death situation. I needed her to be strong, and be with me. I needed to keep her alive.

  Tina sucked in a deep breath, swallowed hard, and took the gun into her hands.

  “You can do it, Tina,” Pike assured. “I’ll cover you, but if I need to reload, I’ll need you to step in.”

  Tina nodded, exhaling loudly.

  “Hey, remember how you said you’ve always wanted to shoot a gun? Well you’re in a real battle now. Show them you’re not just a damn cook,” I said.

  “Yeah. But cook sounds so much better right now.” I saw the tiniest grin on her lips.

  Pike quickly showed her how to use her weapon, and made sure she knew exactly what to do before he handed it to her. “Like I said, just stay behind me. If anything gets past me, use it,” Pike reassured her, and she nodded. He gave her a side hug and kissed her forehead.

  Their affection made me smile. The monsters lurking in the darkness couldn’t kill our desire to live, to love. This was our planet. It wasn’t our fault it was dead. We were survivors, and ready to do whatever it took to save her. The small patch of grass was proof she was giving us signs. Mother earth was ready.

  The sun had appeared again from behind the cloud, but in about ten minutes, it would take its brilliance and leave us in the darkness.

  I was surprised the Arvies hadn’t attacked yet. They didn’t seem as aggressive as the Arvies in the bigger city. The ones we’d previously encountered attacked us in broad daylight. Maybe these were just waiting, knowing they could attack us soon.

  We quickly made our way toward the center of town. Most of the buildings were not suitable for shelter. All of the windows were broken, doors were ripped off their hinges, and the structures didn’t look sound.

  “Look,” Dr. Lee announced, pointing ahead. “Sanctuary.”

  That was the first time I’d heard him speak this whole trip. We all followed his finger, and saw a large round dome, with a long silver cross, attached to its roof. It looked like it was a few blocks away, dead center of the town. It was odd, like the structure was out of place. It was almost too exquisite to be out here in a desolate town. Resembling a mini cathedral, it also had a very dark and eerie presence.

  “We need to hurry. We need to get there,” the pilot urged. “The sun is almost gone.” He started to take off, running at a fast pace toward the sanctuary, pulling away from the rest of us.

  “Wait,” I yelled. “You need to get back with the
rest of the group.” But he didn’t stop. He ran faster, getting further and further away from us.

  I had a feeling, deep in the pit of my gut; something bad was about to happen. I could almost see it happening in my mind’s eye. Complete horror.

  “Sir, stop! Please. Come back! We have to stay together,” I pleaded again. My words were useless.

  A crippling pain shot through my brain. The pressure was extreme, like a vice grip tightening around my skull, almost to the point of exploding. I nearly stumbled, but took a deep breath and focused ahead. The last rays of the sun were just beginning to disappear, as we rushed toward the sanctuary.

  Out of the darkness, an Arvy revealed itself. Its hideous form, pale and hunched, slowly stalked toward the pilot.

  The pilot was running so fast, he tripped and stumbled to the ground. Frozen with fear, he just laid there, as dozens of glowing eyes surrounded him. Finally, he scrambled to his feet and reached for his gun. His hands were trembling so horribly, he missed every shot. Then, an Arvy jumped at his arm, sending his gun flying to the ground.

  “Help! Help me!” he screamed. “Help me!”

  “We’re coming!” I yelled back. We were trying to reach him as quickly as we could, but as we came closer, more Arvies started to crawl from the darkness. A white flash grabbed the pilot and threw him to the ground. It happened so fast, I couldn’t get a shot off. I aimed, but it was too risky. The pilot and the Arvy were wrestling on the ground. I wasn’t about to risk the chance of possibly injuring or killing the pilot.

  “Help! Get him off me,” the pilot screamed.

  His horrifying cries made my insides turn. I had to help. I ran forward, ahead of the group.

  “Abi, no.” Finn grabbed my arm.

  “I have to.” I shook his grip away, and headed toward them. But Finn was right at my side. I knew he wouldn’t let me go alone.

  “Don’t go too far. We still need to protect the group,” he said.

  I nodded. He was right. Sometimes I just did things without thinking, but he was always there to keep me in check. My verbal conscience.

  A few more Arvies appeared, but they lingered back. The sun was starting to set, and they were coming alive. They ruled the darkness, and we were trespassing. With too many bodies surrounding the pilot, my stomach turned, knowing what the outcome would be. He had pulled too far away from us.

  I kept Hellfire up and ready.

  One of the other Arvies screamed and tried to jump toward the pilot, who was still wrestling with the first Arvy. I quickly aimed and shot it in the side of the head. It dropped, but then dozens of vicious, milky eyes snapped toward me.

  My head instantly felt like it was going to explode. My vision was becoming blurred, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

  “Finn, something’s happening to me,” I said, frantic.

  “Abi, what’s wrong?” He was next to me, but didn’t drop his guard.

  “My head. I can’t focus. It hurts,” I couldn’t take the pain anymore. God help me. Stop! I screamed in my mind.

  After that, the Arvy on the pilot stopped, and everything went dead silent. The pain in my head subsided.

  The Arvy’s fingers were still gripped tightly around the pilot’s neck. Its head slowly turned to face me, and then…it grinned. Every single hair on my body stood upright.

  “Finn?” My voice shook. I was completely terror stricken. Could the Arvies have heard me?

  “I can’t get clear a shot,” he answered. “Why did they stop?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered.

  The Arvy chose that moment to move, jumping up, and bringing the pilot with him as a shield.

  The pilot’s eyes were wide with horror, he was hyperventilating, and the color of his face had washed out.

  “Help me,” he cried. I helplessly watched a tear escape his eye and drip from his chin, but I couldn’t get a shot. The Arvy had hidden itself behind him.

  When I decided to charge forward, the Arvy pushed the pilot to his knees and sunk its teeth into his neck. The nauseating sound of skin tearing stopped me dead in my tracks.

  The sight made me want to vomit. The pilot had a gaping hole in his neck, exposing muscle and tissue. Blood poured from the wound. The Arvy chewed and swallowed his flesh.

  The cries from the pilot made my eyes water. As soon as he dropped to the ground, I fired, but the Arvy dove out of the way. Finn took the next shot and from the corner of my eye, I saw a body drop off to our right.

  Something inside of me snapped. I ran forward and began shooting, aiming directly in the center of the white eyes. One by one, they dropped. Blood and brain matter showered the ground. At this moment, I didn’t care about anything else, but killing the mutant bastards. I quickly emptied a thirteen round clip in a few seconds, dropping twelve Arvies, then dropped the magazine and reloaded. I could hear Finn’s shotgun right behind me.

  A short distance behind was more gunfire, so I knew the others weren’t too far. I trusted the soldiers were protecting the rest of the group. After another ten shots, everything went eerily silent again. Pale bodies littered the ground. I could hear my pulse pounding like a drum in my ears. My breath was quick, and my hands were trembling. I stayed still, alert, but didn’t see or hear any movement.

  I ran to the pilot. He was pale, and his eyes were glossed over. His body was twitching, and he held tight to his neck. It wasn’t doing much. The ground around him was saturated with blood.

  “I—I’m sorry,” he pushed words out, blood gurgling.

  “Shhhh. You don’t need to be sorry. It’s alright.” I tried to comfort him. I tried to be strong, but death was waiting.

  “I should…have stayed…with you,” he coughed, spewing blood all over my chest. Finn stood watch behind us.

  “It’s alright. You were afraid. We all were,” Finn said, gently pushing me back.

  “I…I’m…going to…die?” he asked.

  “Don’t talk. You’ll be just fine.”

  I didn’t know how to answer. There was blood pouring from his wound, and I knew even Dr. Banks couldn’t fix it. Not here in the middle of nowhere, with no medical tools.

  “You will soon be in a much better place than we are,” Finn nodded.

  “I…don’t want…to die,” he breathed. Tears rolled down his face. “My wife, my daughter. Please…tell them I love them.”

  My heart instantly crushed. He had a family. He had a wife and daughter who would be waiting for him.

  I fought to keep the tears that stung my eyes away, but it was too much to bear. My heart was breaking.

  “What’s your name?” I asked, taking hold of his hand.

  “Steven,” he breathed, “with a V.” My heart shattered, and my thoughts went directly to my father, who shared his name.

  “My dad’s name is Stephen, with a P H,” I forced a smile. “Steven, I promise to tell your family. I’ll tell them how brave you were, and how you saved us all from crashing. They will be so proud of you.”

  He nodded and a weak grin formed on his lips. His breath became quick, and I watched his eyes slowly start to change to a milky white.

  “Help me.” He gritted his teeth, moaning in pain. “I don’t…want…to change. Kill…me.”

  “Abi,” Finn said, taking hold of my arm.

  “Finn, what do we do?” I cried. Tears rushed down my face. This was the most difficult decision I’d ever faced. This man was dying, but he was also changing. Did I grant his dying wish?

  Steven suddenly grabbed my arm, and placed Hellfire to his forehead. “Please,” he begged.

  Finn glanced at me. He had a pained look, but gave a single nod.

  Why God? Why me? I don’t know if I can do this. Hot tears soaked my face.

  “Please,” the pilot begged again, his teeth gritting. He moaned in agonizing pain as he started to change.

  I stood to my feet and wiped my face. Suddenly, I started to feel dizzy, my fingers felt tingly, and my breath became too fast. I couldn’t
get enough air in. Not now! What the hell is wrong with me? My legs started trembling, and became weak. I buckled, dropping to my knees.

  “Abi!” I heard Finn scream.

  “I’m sorry,” I cried. Hellfire slipped from my grasp.

  Steven closed his eyes.

  Bam!

  I was jolted from my inner torment, and turned to see Finn holding Hellfire. He did what I couldn’t do. He granted Steven’s last wish.

  Screams and growls began to echo around us again.

  I looked to Finn for support. So many emotions ran through me at that very instant. Finn had saved me. There was no handbook on how to deal with the kind of emotion of killing another human being. It was something that would have shattered my soul, and haunted me for the rest of my life. But Finn spared me. He took the shot. He was my hero.

  “Abi, are you alright?” Finn said, carefully lifting me to my feet.

  “I’m sorry, Finn. I couldn’t,” I sobbed.

  “I know. It’s alright. You don’t always have to be strong.”

  “You did the right thing, Finn,” Dr. Banks said, placing his hand on his shoulder. I turned around and looked at everyone else in the group. Their eyes were filled with fear and horror.

  Finn wrapped his arms around me. “Let’s go. Sounds like there’s many more out there. We have to get everyone to safety.”

  He was right. We weren’t out of danger. I had to keep myself focused. I had to pull myself together and turn off my emotions. If I didn’t do it, I’d be worthless, and put others in danger.

  Before we left, Finn bent down and pulled Steven’s tag from his neck and wiped it off. I could feel my world slowly spiraling out of control. He handed me Hellfire, and I checked her ammo. She had two rounds left, so I readied the next magazine.

  “Abi,” Finn said softly, holding my arm so I couldn’t move.

  Then, Tina screamed in a super high pitch.

  We were surrounded by Arvies. Much more than we could handle. There were at least fifty, and it seemed like every time I blinked, there were more.

  “We’re gonna die,” Tina cried.