by W. A. R.
He grabbed her just as she began bolting to the right. “This way.” He urged, the four of them jumping over the bodies of littered Biters. It was obvious that someone had gone that way, and when they ran a few yards, they realized that someone had. Rusty rushed out from one of the hallways, knife in hand, breathing heavily. They all came to a stop, unsure of what he was running from, and when he turned, seeing them, he sprinted at them.
“Go!” He shouted as quietly as he could, urging them to go down the opposite hallway from where they had just turned. Buddy and Michael were first to turn, Amber and Miles second, waiting for Rusty to join their ranks. Behind him were Biters rounding the corner, walking hurriedly. There were small children, some that should have barely been able to walk, their skin and flesh missing, blood coating their clothing, and there were what appeared to be nurses once again, and even what could have been parents trying to rescue whatever children were in there. Amber’s eyes widened and she suddenly felt sick again. She felt frozen, and when Miles shoved Rusty forward, he grabbed her by the waist, urging her forward as well. They didn’t waste another moment, running as fast as they could.
“We need a room.” Amber exclaimed as they ran down the opposite hall, seeing Biters edging towards them from the direction they had just come from. They reached out, their fingers gripping at Miles’s shirt. Amber turned, quickly bringing her sword down, slicing through the flesh and bone of the creature’s arm easily before Miles twisted and avoided another reaching for him. Their groans began to drown out every other noise there could have possibly been. Her eyes took in more Biters coming at them from ahead. They were trapped. Miles looked behind them.
“Guys…” he trailed off, preparing himself for a battle, should it happen. Amber didn’t ask what he had seen, and truth be told, was better off not knowing. “We need to duck out. Now!”
Amber scanned ahead, her eyes widening in excitement and relief. “There!” she exclaimed. Buddy seemed to have the same idea, veering quickly to the right, opening the closed door Amber, too, had noticed and jumping in. Michael and Rusty were right behind him, then Amber and finally Miles, who barely made it through the door before it was closed against the onslaught of creatures. The door clicked and Buddy locked it as Michael and Rusty took care of shading the window and Amber took out the one Biter in the room.
Michael turned around, jerking his head to them all as Buddy leaned against the door, the sounds of nails scratching at the door resonating in the room. “What in the hell are we going to do now? We’re trapped.”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen…” Rusty said regretfully, running a hand through his hair.
Amber replaced her swords in their scabbard and began pacing. “It’s alright. It’s alright. We’re alive.” She looked up at Rusty expectantly. “Sara…did you see her?”
Rusty shook his head, his expression saddened. “No…I heard her pass by where I was…but that was ten…fifteen minutes ago.”
Amber nodded before Miles spoke to Michael. “Would these people hurt Riley?” he asked and Miles stepped up beside her, crossing his arms. She placed her hands on her hips, trying to reign in her erratic breathing.
“No…he’s probably hiding to ease suspicion…and even if he isn’t, they know not to touch him. Adrian wouldn’t like that.”
“Why not?” Buddy asked and Amber shot him an incredulous look. Buddy caught this and began stammering. “I mean, how can you know for sure?”
“Because he trusts us more…we are up higher in rank than he is. Besides, he knows that if Riley is out there, that we are somewhere too…and unless he can take all of us out at once, he won’t try it. He values his own life too much. But the same goes for us. Unless we can take out all of his men without risk of one escaping back to Adrian and telling him, everything we’ve worked for is ruined.”
“Then that means you should stay hidden too.” Amber said easily, running a sword-holding fist along the back of her neck. Her breathing had slowed, but she was alright. She was still running on adrenaline.
“How are we going to get out of this mess?” Buddy asked then and Amber turned to him, glancing at the door behind him where the Biters were before glancing over her shoulder at the covered window.
“We are going to have to distract the Biters…”
“How?” he asked and Miles looked around, his eyes landing on the window.
He sighed. “We are going to have to break the window.”
More banging on the door, more scratching. Amber looked at Miles with uncertainty. “We can’t without them possibly hearing us.”
Four gunshots ripped through the air and then a whoop of excitement. Amber was startled and jumped a little, not having anticipated the gunshots. And then a sharp, high-pitched scream rent the air. Amber tensed as did Miles as Michael and Rusty rushed to the window, peeking out. Another scream pierced the tense silence and the banging and scratching at the door seemed to die down.
“That works.” Buddy said easily, though not without remorse. Amber turned to him and tightened her grip on her swords.
“Shh.” She pressed upon him before turning back to Rusty and Michael who were still peering out of the window, unseen, and yet trying to determine where the scream came from. She already knew the answer, however, and that was what concerned her. Whether it was Biters or whether it was these invaders that had her, she knew that Lacy was in trouble. “It’s Sara…”
“Yeah…” Rusty trailed off as if he knew the answer as well without having seen it for himself, twisting his head at an odd angle in order to see more. His eyes bulged in concern and excitement then. “Yeah! I see her.” He told them all in an excited whisper. His face fell. “Kenneth has her, dragging her out of the building by her hair. Biters are coming out behind them but there are four others taking them out. Oh no…”
“Look at what we have here…” one man spoke as others joined in with taunts and disrespectful gestures and words. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what these men would do with her if someone didn’t intervene.
“Which means they unlocked the doors somehow…” Buddy stated the obvious.
“Try breaking the glass on the doors…” Michael then shared.
“Shooting and then kicking…” Rusty picked up, resolving the issue.
Amber felt her shoulders tense. “Guys focus! What will they do with her?”
Michael gulped and Amber knew she already didn’t like the answer. “Men, they usually just maim and kill…women they usually…well…” She lifted a hand to stop him. She needn’t hear anymore to get the picture.
“Alright. We need to think quick. How many men does he have in his group?”
“Elevenish…give or take a few…” Michael shared with her before straightening and turning to her. “Why? Surely you aren’t thinking of taking them out on your own?”
Amber could feel all eyes on her. The banging and the scratching at the door was completely gone by then and she could feel the wheels in her head turning to formulate a plan, an answer, and the only one she could come up with was “Not technically…At least at first.” She turned in a circle, her gaze meeting theirs. “Just hear me out, okay?”
Miles crossed his arms, his eyes intent on hers, never leaving, but he wasn’t doubting her and he was listening with apt attention. “They like to have fun with women, right? Michael, Rusty…you guys need to stay hidden…so, this will be completely on us.” She said looking between Buddy and Miles. “This is how it’s gonna go…”
Two minutes later, Amber’s swords were on her back in their scabbard and her heart was beating wildly against her ribcage. She hoped their plan worked; otherwise it would lead to the tortures and deaths of their people. Dammit, she hated being outnumbered. She recalled how they were outnumbered back at the house, the defining moment when all of this happened, where it began and when it all changed. Why did things have to be this way? Still, in that moment she couldn’t question it and she wasn’t going to. There were other things
on her mind that required her focus and attention, such as Lacy’s screams from outside as the men threw her around and felt of her. It made Amber sick.
As she moved towards the door, she glanced over her shoulder at Buddy and Miles. Miles nodded at her, his stare telling her, assuring her that they were going to have her back and that he wouldn’t let anything harm her. She gulped, not doubting them, but she had to admit she was a little frightened. She remembered how Kyle had been conceived…the invasive feel, the pulling, and the tearing of nonconsensual sex. It hit her like a hammer in her heart over and over again. Lacy needed her more then, however, and that was enough to spur her on to open the door. Slowly, the door creaked open and while she anticipated Biters, as she looked out into the now silent hallway, she was relieved that there weren’t any. They must have all ventured away to the sound of gunshots and screams. Miles’s hand on her back urged her forward and she tamped down any fear she had and she sprinted. She ran as fast as she could down the hallways, Miles and Buddy at her heels, pausing at every corner and searching for any signs of imposters. They ran, turn after turn, the sounds of voices resonating against the walls in the distance. Finally, though, they had made it to where Amber and Lacy had begun: the room with the cushioned chairs. Buddy ducked down behind the desk and Miles stood back, pressing himself to the outer wall. Amber swallowed thickly. This was it. Taking a deep breath, she rushed outside, stepping through the broken doors, her boots crunching the broken glass.
“Sara!” she exclaimed as she ran out, hoping to get their attention. She then paused and turned back to the doors. “Stacey! Kennedy! Stay there!” she all but shouted into the building before turning and running to where she knew Lacy was. What she saw when she rounded the corner made her stomach turn and she stopped right in her tracks. Lacy was on her knees, her hair in disarray, her shirt and pants torn and blood dribbling from her lip, tears flowing from her eyes. There were five guys around her, ones that had been jeering at her, and yet they all stopped whenever she rounded the corner.
“Well, well…you have a friend…who has more friends in the building I heard…” the man Amber assumed was Kenneth leered at Lacy. She shivered slightly. He swung back his arm, hand balled into a tight fist, and he swung. Lacy’s head snapped hard to the right.
“No!” Amber exclaimed rushing forward but to no avail.
“Who is in the building?” he asked Lacy loudly with a twisted smile and suddenly two men grabbed her arms from behind and something hard hit the back of her legs. She cried out before caving, her knees meeting the pavement harshly. They shoved her down to the ground, pinning her arms behind her back. One man removed both of her swords, the metal clanging against one another.
“No one…” Lacy coughed out. She was hurting badly, Amber knew it, and she could see it. Amber was impressed, regardless of the situation. Lacy wasn’t going to give up anyone that was in the building. She would endure whatever torture she had to; possibly die, before she did so. She really hoped that it worked, that their plan followed through. The men behind her scoffed and she could hear the swish of her swords slicing through air as a man slung them around.
“Maybe your friend will know.” Kenneth sneered before releasing Lacy’s hair so that she crumpled into a heap on the ground. His boots were loud and determined as they marched near her. She couldn’t see him, could barely breathe with the force that was put on her back. All she could taste was dirt and asphalt. She could hear him as he knelt down. His fingers twisted into her hair quickly and she winced immediately in response to the pull of it. He jerked her head back at a painful angle. “Who’s in the building?”
She coughed. “Please…my sisters…” she began but the sudden release of her hair was enough to make her stop. She cried out as the man pressed against her arms a little harder. Please work…please work…
“Sisters?” the man behind her said. His voice made her physically ill. She twisted her chin enough to see Lacy look at her oddly, though she didn’t correct her or protest against it. “Oh man, today is our lucky day.” She cried out again as his knee pressed into her back. A few things happened at once at that moment. Kenneth stood and ordered three men to go into the building where she had just come, which meant that there were four men left out there, and with four in the building already, that left three more going in to where Buddy and Miles lay in wait. While they did this, one of the four men knelt down to Lacy, beginning to pull at her clothes. She tried to fight, but it was to no avail. The more she fought, the more pressure he put on her, the more he choked her, pulled at her hair, even hit her. This made it easier for Amber not to react when the man holding her down released her a little as he began fumbling with her clothes as well. The sounds of Biters echoed from the building directly in front of her and she felt trapped.
She ignored the feeling of the man groping beneath her, searching for a way to free her of her confines, and she ignored how he told the others that he was going to be going first, whatever that meant. All she could see were the Biters, Biters that were once children, being taken down by these men, kicked once they were down; all she could see was Lacy being taken advantage of. What they didn’t seem to realize, however, were how many Biters there really were, and they didn’t know how very quick they were. She waited…waited for the man she knew would come to her before it was too late. He always had. She closed her eyes tightly against the feeling of rough, probing hands on her body, images flashing behind her eyes. Watching as his animal crackers were knocked from his hands and knowing without a doubt, even at that young of an age, she was meant to be there for him. The breathless feeling of this same boy now a young man, defending her honor and ruining his school life in doing so… The man kept feeling, and Lacy’s clothes were almost completely off, torn to shreds, when there was a shout from the building behind them. The man on Amber’s back stopped for a brief moment before muttering something about Biters. This didn’t stop his advances completely, any of their advances. They didn’t care, they continued their assault, his hands groping and grabbing at her backside, at her breasts. She fought back the anger and the urge to struggle against it as Kenneth neared the building searching for the cause of the cry of pain. Watching young Michael grow after he had given her the flowers and note, words she so desperately needed to regain her emotional strength. Seeing Miles at the party when she was feeling so very alone and confused, unsure…. dancing with him as he made the night from one she wanted to forget to one she would always remember. Without another thought the man turned back on Amber. How he had sent her so many things, how he had stuck by her side silently, almost as if he were never there… Amber heard a cough and a gurgle before something hard hit the ground and the pounding noise of footsteps reached her ears. Lacy tried to cover her head from the blows that were being given to her as she struggled and Amber continued to take it without a fight. Her clothes were being torn as well, her arms twisted and her hair pulled. How he had saved her in Jenson’s, easily putting a bullet in the man’s head for her, saving her at the house with the horde of Biters, saving her from herself…
As the footsteps neared her, she felt the man stop, and the other man on Lacy stopped as well, his eyes widened in surprise as he took in something past Amber. A loud gunshot sounded, making her ears ring. She flinched against the sound, watching as the man guarding the door went down. There was the sound of metal ringing out as it met concrete, then a loud thud of flesh hitting flesh above her before the man could react, and the weight was suddenly off of her and she was free. Buddy surged forward toward Lacy and her captor, bringing his arm up, driving his knife into the man’s chin. The man fell back off Lacy and Buddy immediately began helping Lacy up. Amber rose to her feet feeling dizzy and looking for her rescuer. She heard the thudding of knuckles on flesh before she saw it. When the sight hit her, however, she saw Miles straddling the man who was on his stomach, one hand on his chin, and the other on the side of his head. The look in Miles’s eyes was pure hatred, primal anger, and Amber h
ad to admit that in that moment he was quite possibly the most frightening thing she had ever seen. With a quick jerk, a loud crack resonated around them. Amber didn’t even flinch; all she could see in that moment was the extraordinary power that Miles had. The man fell dead from Miles’s grip, his neck broken. Within a split second, he was back on his feet, going towards her. She felt her breathing return, her head not swimming as much and she heard Buddy and Lacy near them. She looked up then, seeing Miles staring down at her in concern. He took her in, all of her.
“Are you alright?” he asked her quickly, breathlessly, his eyes tender and concerned. How he had traded that murderous and frightening anger to such a calm and concerned gentleness astonished her. Still, she nodded and he released a heavy sigh before moving to retrieve her swords from the ground.
“I think these belong to you.” He told her, his eyes returning to that dangerous fire that was in there just a second before. It lured her in, his burning gaze searing her and causing her own blood to boil.
Amber looked up at him in breathless wonder. “Thank you.” She told him before placing them in their scabbard and turning to remove the straps from her shoulders. Miles moved to assist her without question. He held her swords as she then removed her still mostly intact over shirt. She turned to Buddy and Lacy. “We still have four more in the building at least. Take this.” She pressed the shirt on Lacy who took it, sniffling and trying to gain control of her emotions. Lacy’s shirt was in tattered pieces, her weapons gone who knows where, and her body bruised and beaten.
Miles moved quickly, helping her replace her scabbard. He darted his eyes over her head at Buddy. “Get Sara and everyone else to the trucks. We will take care of everyone else here.” He said and Buddy acted as if he wanted to protest. “Go!” he exclaimed then and Buddy wrapped an arm around Lacy, helping her walk as she limped as quickly as she could.