Fatal Reaction, Battle of the Hunted

by M A Hollstein

  Amanda scurried to her feet, ignoring the pain in her knees and the stiffness in her back and neck. The crawlspace had led her to someone’s living room. She hadn’t a clue which apartment she was in. Running to the front door, Amanda peeked through the peephole before opening it. She locked the door handle from the inside, hoping the Scourge didn’t know anything about locks and closed the door behind her. She could hear a loud crash from inside, and the cupboard door over the crawlspace slam shut. The Scourge was in the living room.

  Gripping the railing to keep from falling, Amanda practically tumbled down the stairs. She wasn’t sure where to go from there. She needed to find another place to hide. Soon the Scourge would be chasing her.

  Again, she thought of Bill. An image of him wounded, needing her help, flashed before her eyes. Amanda didn’t know where to go or where to begin looking for Bill. She ran around the building and ended up in the parking lot on the other side of the G building she’d resided in. Amanda decided to leave the apartments and head for the shopping center across the street, diagonal from where she lived.

  The apartments weren’t safe. It was dark and foggy out, but the sun would be rising in a few hours. Once the sun was out, she’d search for Bill. She reminded herself that he was a strong, intelligent man, and was probably waiting until sunrise before coming back to retrieve her from the crawlspace. She bet he was trying to lead the Scourge away from the building.

  Even though she didn’t quite believe the story she was telling herself, she ran in the direction of the shopping center. When she reached the sidewalk at the crosswalk, she could barely make out the red traffic light through the fog. Seeing the traffic light change to green, although it was no longer being used since most of the population was gone, was eerie as hell.

  Out of habit, Amanda looked both ways before scurrying across the intersection. She stepped up onto the curb and followed the sidewalk hoping that she wasn’t being surrounded by Scourge hunting her in the dense fog. Everything was quiet.

  Amanda stepped off the sidewalk and cut through the grass. She headed for the grocery store she’d gotten water at earlier in the day. At the time, she’d been frightened to see aliens of The Order in the shopping center. There’d been a strange man in the store observing her, but he did nothing to harm her. She now hoped to seek refuge in the grocery store until morning. Maybe, if she were lucky, she could convince the aliens of The Order to help her.

  ***

  A loud thumping sound awoke Ellie. It’d only felt like a few minutes had gone by since she’d nodded off again. She felt around for Mike, but he wasn’t there. He must’ve been on watch duty.

  Ellie crawled over to the door of the pantry and quietly opened it a crack. Getting to her feet, she stood in the doorway, listening, while trying to get her bearings. Balling up her fists, she rubbed her tired eyes and blinked hard. She entered the kitchen area where Hiro and his granddaughter, Yuka, were sleeping, Jorge and his little sister, Bella, and Aaron. They’d all chosen different corners of the kitchen. Ellie’s dog Max had chosen to take turns sleeping with Bella and Yuka. He loved the attention the kids had been giving him. Bella was nine, and Yuka was ten.

  Ellie had been so happy that she and Mike had been finding survivors, now she was worried about how they’d protect them, especially the children. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what it’d be like to be a child in this new strange world. She was having a hard enough time coping as an adult.

  Leaning against the steel countertop, Ellie heard a bunch of clicking sounds; click, click, click…click, click, click. Then was greeted by Max jumping around at her feet. Ellie let out her breath she didn’t even realize she’d been holding. The clicking sounds were Max’s claws on the tile floor.

  Trying to be quiet, not wanting to wake anyone up, she reached down and scooped Max up into her arms, and he licked her face.

  “Silly, pup,” she whispered. “Let’s go back to sleep.”

  Walking back to the pantry, Ellie froze when she heard another thump accompanied by a scraping sound. She stood still in the dark and listened. Anxious, Max squirmed in her arms.

  “Hey,” she heard someone whisper. “You hear that?” She turned towards the voice. A flashlight went on, pointed down at the ground. It was Aaron, a redhead in his late teens, who had just begun his freshman year at San Diego State when the virus hit. He was propped up near the sink.

  Ellie walked over to him, still holding onto Max. “Yeah,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Thought it was Max.” There were more scraping sounds, and then it stopped.

  Aaron got to his feet when Jorge awoke. He and Bella were sleeping across from him. “What is that?” he asked.

  Aaron shrugged. “Not sure.”

  Hiro, a light sleeper, overheard them whispering. He checked his watch. He’d been asleep for just over an hour. His eyes were scratchy, but his migraine was gone. He looked at his granddaughter who was curled up in a ball, still sleeping soundly on the floor. He picked up his machine gun and joined them.

  There was another sound, louder this time. Hiro pressed his finger to his lips to silence the others. He pointed towards the back door at the far corner of the kitchen that led to the alley behind the restaurant.

  Quietly, he walked over to the door. He placed his hand on the doorknob and carefully tried to turn it. Locked. There was also a deadbolt above the knob that he hoped was also locked. The thumb turn was turned all the way to the right. Not willing to take a chance, he left it alone. Then Hiro pressed the palm of his hand flat against the door. It vibrated and shook. He took a couple of steps back and stood there, waiting.

  Mike entered the kitchen and walked up to where Ellie, Jorge, and Aaron were standing, with their eyes glued to the door. He nudged Ellie to get her attention.

  “Wake the girls in case we need to leave in a hurry,” he whispered. “Keep them quiet.”

  Ellie nodded her understanding. Mike turned and left the kitchen to return to his watch at the front of the restaurant. He didn’t want to take a chance on aliens coming in through the front door while they were preoccupied with the racket at the back door. They had no clue what they were dealing with or how intelligent.

  Ellie set Max down on the floor and prayed that he wouldn’t start barking. Instead, he pranced around her feet and then ran over to Yuka. Wagging his tail, he leaned in and licked the little girl’s face. Yuka began to stir and pushed him away. Ellie kneeled down and gently shook the little girl’s shoulder.

  “Yuka,” she whispered.

  The little girl blinked hard and then stared up at Ellie. Ellie pressed her finger to her lips. There was more scraping at the back door. Yuka sat straight up and gasped.

  Ellie, still kneeling next to her, gently patted her back. The little girl brushed her long black hair away from her face and stared in the direction of the door. Aaron still had the flashlight on, resting on the steel countertop to give them just enough light to see. There were no windows in the kitchen, so no reason to worry about the aliens seeing them. However, it appeared the aliens knew of their presence regardless.

  Max scurried across the kitchen over to where Bella was sleeping. Ellie again pressed her finger to her lips as a warning for Yuka to stay quiet. She then walked over to Bella and knelt beside her. She gently patted the little girl’s back. Bella was in a deep sleep, her Barbie doll clasped in her hand.

  “Bella,” Ellie whispered while shaking the girl’s shoulder. “Bella…”

  There was a sudden loud bang against the back door. Ellie’s heart leaped in her chest. Bella woke up screaming, and Max ran to the back door growling and barking.

  Hiro kicked at Max to try to get the dog to stop barking. Jorge ran over and tried to grab the little dog. Max bit at him and returned to growling at the door.

  “Shhhh…” Ellie hushed Bella. She pressed her finger to her lips. Bella’s brown eyes were wide open with fright. Ellie could feel the little girl trembling as she patted her back. Yuka ran over to Bella,
and the two girls huddled in the corner.

  Ellie ran over to the door. “Max,” she whispered, harshly. The dog ignored her and continued to growl at the door. Hiro kicked at him again to move him out of the way.

  “Get them out of here,” Hiro said. “I’ll watch the door until you’re out of the kitchen.”

  Ellie nodded. She ran over to the girls. Mike peeked his head in the kitchen and with his hand, motioned for them to follow him. Jorge and Aaron followed the girls into the restaurant.

  “Max,” Ellie whispered, smacking her hand on her thigh to get his attention. “Come!”

  Max barked at the door, and Hiro shoved the dog again with his foot. Max, tired of being hushed, turned and ran to Ellie. Ellie snatched up the little dog in her arms. Hiro nodded towards the door leading to the dining room. Ellie understood what he meant and left the kitchen. When she entered the restaurant, she saw Mike outside, putting the girls in the backseat of the SUV parked right outside the front door where they’d left it. Jorge and Aaron were with him. He said something to them, and they scrambled to the pickup truck that was parked next to the SUV.

  Mike looked around and motioned for Ellie to get in the SUV. Heart pounding, she joined him outside.

  Keys in hand, Mike handed her the car keys. “Go to the pier,” he said, shoving the keys into her hand. The Oceanside pier was the first thing that popped into his head. He wasn’t sure if the pier would be a good idea or a bad one. Either way, it was the only landmark close by that he could think of at the moment. The historical Oceanside pier, 1,942 feet long, was one of the longest wooden piers on the West Coast. When he was stationed at Camp Pendleton, he and some of his buddies would fish off the pier during their downtime.

  “What about you? Hiro?”

  “We’ll meet you there.”

  “Mike… but…”

  A tall, dark figure rounded the building. Another dark figure was in the parking lot watching them. “Shit!” Mike swore.

  “Go!” he yelled, drawing his gun.

  “Mike!”

  “Now Ellie!”

  Ellie looked at the figures. The girls began to scream in the SUV, panicked. Max tried to wiggle out of her arms. Mike opened the driver’s side door.

  “Get in!” he bellowed.

  Ellie tossed Max into the SUV and scooted into the driver’s seat. The dark figure in the parking lot began to advance, practically gliding in their direction. Ellie started up the vehicle. The engine of Aaron’s truck roared to life. His tires screeched as he floored the gas pedal.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Mike shouted. Shots rang out as he fired at the alien rounding the corner of the building.

  With shaking fingers, Ellie started up the vehicle and followed the pickup truck. She could see the taillights as they peeled out of the parking lot. The alien they’d charged at had jumped out of the way, and was crouching in front of Ellie. She tried to race around the alien, afraid of what would happen if she hit him. The girls were in the backseat still screaming. Ellie glanced in her review mirror and could no longer see Mike. She hoped he was okay.

  Bam! “Shit!” Ellie screamed. The alien pounced onto the hood of the SUV.

  Scared out of her mind, Ellie slammed on the brakes. The alien tumbled off the front of the vehicle and stealthily landed on its feet.

  “Oh my God!” she panicked. The alien didn’t seem phased in the least by the incident.

  Yuka screamed, and Bella was sitting on the floor of the SUV and began to cry. “I’m scared!”

  “Put your seatbelts on,” Ellie said, pushing down on the gas pedal.

  Bella scrambled onto the seat next to Yuka and clasped her seatbelt. Both girls were crying hysterically as Ellie raced past the alien, heading towards the parking lot exit. She could no longer see the taillights of Aaron’s pickup truck. She figured they were off the base by now. The Oceanside pier was only a few miles from the base entrance.

  Ellie glanced again in her rearview mirror. There was no sign of Mike or the aliens. Feeling sick to her stomach, not wanting to leave Mike and Hiro behind, she returned her attention to the road as she made a right turn onto the main road. The girls were still sobbing in the backseat but no longer screaming. Max was lying on the floor panting.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Ellie said to the girls, not believing her own words while glancing at them in her rearview mirror. “You hear me?” Bella was nodding while wiping tears from her eyes.

  Chapter 5

  Running down the canyon, Bill moved in the direction of the coyotes yipping. A couple of times he stumbled down the steep terrain in the dark, but fortunately caught his balance. Grabbing hold of a tree, Bill stopped to gain his bearings. Now that he was far enough away from the apartment complex, he couldn’t see crap. He cursed at himself for going outside to get the ray gun without being prepared.

  How the hell was he going to navigate the canyon in the dark? He had a stupid gun that he had no clue how to work and no flashlight, no water, and no usable weapon.

  Bill looked back in the direction of the apartments. Not only was it dark, but it was also fucking foggy. He could see a little here and there where the moonlight worked its way through the haze.

  Standing still, Bill listened for sounds of twigs snapping or leaves rustling. At the moment, he heard nothing. He wondered if the alien followed him into the canyon. He planned to draw it away from the apartments, away from Amanda. Yet at the same time, he didn’t want to confront it in the dark with a weapon he couldn’t figure out. If he was lucky, the alien wandered off in another direction, far away from him and Amanda. Bill frowned. He was never lucky.

  Crouching down next to the tree trunk, Bill decided to give the ray gun another once over while he caught his breath. He ran his fingers over the smooth exterior of the gun wishing he could see it. There was still no indication of how to shoot the damn thing. No visible trigger by touch. How the thing went off earlier was a mystery.

  The little hairs on Bill’s neck stood on end and his shoulder’s stiffened. There was a small snapping sound and some crunching unlike leaves underfoot. Bill wished his senses were more attuned. He couldn’t quite gauge which direction the sounds were coming from. The dense fog was throwing him off. At first, he thought he’d heard the sounds in front of him. Then he heard it to his right.

  No, he told himself, in front of me. He stared into the darkness that led further down into the canyon. Again, he wished he could see. He had no clue just how steep the canyon was. He’d been so busy removing bodies from the apartment complex and searching for food and supplies that he hadn’t gotten around to exploring the canyon behind the apartments.

  Snap!

  Bill turned his head towards the sound. It was close and in front of him. He was still in a crouching position, holding the gun.

  Grrrrr!

  A low growl came from his right. He wasn’t losing his mind. Someone or something was in front of him and another one to his right. There was more crunching of leaves and rustling in the brush. He was surrounded.

  Bill patted the gun, still searching for a trigger. Nothing. Fucking nothing.

  Quickly, Bill hopped to his feet, holding the gun threateningly in front of him. “Stay back!” he yelled, swinging the gun around. “I’ll shoot!”

  Grrrr! A guttural growl came from behind him. Followed by an array of strange clicking sounds. Immediately, he wanted to throw up. His stomach clenched and bile rose in his throat.

  “Shit!” Bill cursed as he turned to face what was behind him. Two glowing yellow eyes, reptilian in appearance, were staring at him through the fog. The dark figure was effortlessly creeping towards him, down the side of the canyon. More growling and rustling broke out around him. Something furry brushed his leg. Bill’s heart jumped as he looked down at a coyote that was standing next to him, growling, fur on end. To his relief, the animal wasn’t growling at him. It was growling at the alien.

  Bill looked around and realized he was in the center of a pack of coyotes. There
were at least five, possibly more in the fog. It was as if they were protecting him from the alien threat or wanting to work with him against a new imminent danger.

  Running his finger’s over the gun while leaning into the tree trunk for support, Bill hoped again to find the invisible trigger. Somehow he’d managed to make the gun go off once before. There had to be a way to do it again.

  The Scourge let out more strange clicks and sounds, this time louder. To Bill, it almost sounded as if the alien were communicating with other Scourge. Possibly drawing them to its location.

  The coyote near Bill’s left leg took a couple of slow steps forward. The Scourge stopped advancing in their direction. It was now only a few yards from them. The clicking sounds were replaced again with low guttural growling as the creature crouched, threateningly.

  Within seconds, the coyotes and the Scourge leaped into the air. The coyote that’d been on Bill’s left side collided with the alien. It yelped and shrieked as the alien shredded its side with razor-sharp claws. The other coyotes attacked the alien, biting, and snarling.

  Bill couldn’t see much in the dark, but flashes of the alien’s eyes, and patches of grey and brown fur. The night was filled with growls and yips of pain. Bill was unsure if he should take this moment to run away from the Scourge and head back to Amanda, but he didn’t feel right leaving the coyotes to their doom. Things were different now. All of Earth’s creatures were on the same page now. They needed to fight for their survival against the alien threat. From what he learned about the Scourge from Susan and Liam, they were there to devour all of the living, beginning with humans.

  With the palm of his right hand, frustrated, Bill smacked the back end of the ray gun. A bright blue bolt of what appeared to be electricity shot out and hit the hillside in a blaze. The coyotes yelped and scattered as the dry grass of the hillside caught fire. The force of the shot had been so strong that Bill flew backward and rolled further down into the canyon. He toppled head-over-heels until his back hit a tree trunk preventing him from rolling further.