Kelly

I peeked around the corner and scanned the area "This way." I said, fanning the other two over.

At this point we were sneaking through a maze of rooftops, using the densely packed buildings as cover.

While it kept us from being plainly seen on the street it also tasked us with the difficulty of ducking past windows and under balconies.

It'd been almost an hour since we'd left and even though we hadn't run into anything dangerous every sound I heard shot chills up my spine.

Still, no matter what happens I'll never forget the last time me and Liza talked to each other. I knew she was scared for me, but I didn't want her to be. I just wanted her to feel safe and secure. With the way things have been I know that sometimes just having a sense of peace and security can be more than what you need.

Peace and security...

*ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK-ACK!*

"What the-?!"

I was snatched back into reality as shower of bullets erupted inches away from my face.

The misfired bullets burst on the ground and I stumbled back.

That's when Travis snatched my hand and we cut through the rooftops, tumbling down the back alley stairs and  onto the cobblestone road below.

I ducked behind a car while the others fell into hiding elsewhere.

"Dammit!" I muttered to myself.

As I turned around to peek out people began appearing out of seemingly nowhere, much to my displeasure of course.

"Come on out!" A man barked reloading his gun, "If these outcasts don't kill you then you can be sure as hell we will."

The sight of him made my stomach drop.

Oh shit.

He had to be at seven feet tall. He was muscular, hairy, and his hands were probably larger than my face.

For a minute I was thinking the lynch mob came early, then I realized something was off.

The man who stood wore a futuristic uniform of almost regal quality. A slim fitting black leather jacket with the edges lined in white and black pants with heavy boots to match.

The rest were dressed in all black, heavily armed, and ready for battle. Most quipped with handguns while others had their own weapons of an inexplicably surreal quality.

I squinted harder and noticed a symbol of some sort, an eye.

Divine Society, of course.

There was a dead silence. I took a quick look around to determine my situation.

Travis was crouching behind a building on my right, while Thomas was balled up into the fetal position behind a newsstand on my left, and there was a heavily armed Neanderthal with a hoard of troops at his disposal like twenty feet away from the car that was shielding me.

Amazing.

"Let's just get this over with. Ain't no goddamn brats gonna stop me from getting to heaven..." He grumbled, adjusting his shades.

"FIRE!"

The ear shattering sound of bullets firing exploded, filling the air with it's torturous noise and causing me to duck lower as horrifying shadows made visible by the flashing fire arms grew larger.

"TRAVIS!"

His head turned. He was clenching his weapon in his arms, his hands trembling as he groped for the trigger.

"Travis! I know you're scared but you have to do this!" He looked at me, anxiety and horror in his eyes. "You can't sit back! We need you to DO SOMETHING!"

Travis

I shut my eyes grasping my pistol tightly in hand, doubting myself.

It's a gun! A friggin' GUN! I can't handle this!

As my mind nearly shattered with crippling doubt, memories of my past began to flow.

~~~

"Ha! I won! How's it feel?!"

Thomas shrugged "I don't play games like this often, don't get a big head..."

I scoffed, "You know you felt that salt."

"Salt my ass... I can still whoop you in any other game..." he grumbled.

"Yeah, THOSE games, but now you're gonna get whooped," I mashed the X button on my controller, sending a flurry of bullets tearing into a wrecked building. "In THIS game!"

~~~

A shooting game. That's the only game I've ever been able to win.

I reached around the corner and called back my memories, channeling every ounce of practical knowledge I had. I had no idea whether my aim sucked in real life or not, but I pulled hard on the trigger.

*BANG!*

Once.

*BANG!*

Twice.

*BANG!*

A third time.

I lowered my weapon. Three men laid flat on the ground in separate dark puddles that kept spreading larger and larger until they converged into a single path flowing through cracks on the ground and into the gutter.

A shorter man scurried towards him. "S-sir, I th-think they're dead!"

"How the hell is that POSSIBLE?!"

He blew up a holographic screen of some sort.

Woah...

His freckled face was shaking. "Those children are armed, sir!"

"WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME?! RUN OVER THERE AND-!"

"W-wait!" A woman interrupted while scrolling through a holographic screen of her own. "T-the third one isn't just a normal kid!"

Her gaze shot towards Thomas' hiding spot. "That boy has-."

A bullet ripped through her neck in split seconds. Another one blasted the man's feet, causing him to topple over like a gigantic domino and crash face first into the ground with a resounding thud.

I shot both of them.

He lay there cursing and beating the ground in frustration, "I said do it NOW!" he demanded.

Rapid fire pistols...

I quickly grabbed my second pistol and swiftly reloaded it as I aimed at the ground to test it. As I pulled and held the trigger my entire arm began to rapidly jolt as bullets sprayed the ground.

"TRAVIS!" Kelly shouted, "THE GROUND IS NOT TRYING TO KILL US!"

I lurched from my hiding spot and fell behind the car as Kelly crouched next to me, both pistols pointed at the group as bullets began exploding from the weapons in my hands.

Kelly

"GET ALL THE GUYS HOLDING GUNS FIRST!" I yelled.

As the firing squad's numbers dropped into single digits, I sprang out of my hiding place and clenched my fists, with roughly over two dozen members left, this fight was far from over.

Travis' storm of bullets came to a halt and I turned back in worry as he desperately scanned the area. His eyes landed on what I could tell was an AK-37 on the ground inches away from the hand of a fallen gunman.

I began backing away as the crowd drew near, placing their hands on weapons I couldn't even recognize. That's when I realized that I didn't have the slightest idea of what these guys were capable of.

Hell, they've got holograms. God knows what they can use to fight against us...

Meanwhile they were only closing in faster than I could realize. As the pumping adrenaline numbed my senses I began to feel my body for anything to use against these guys.

As I continued to grope I wound up snatching a grenade of some sort off of my belt. With no time to think I grabbed the safety pin with my finger, ripped it off, and flung it towards the pack in front of me as hard as I could.

It made a loud pop and burst into a large cloud of fumes, sending the group into a panic. My breath came back and hope began to flow with the adrenaline, building with each and every second of the moment. My eyes darted over to Travis as I leapt back from the fumes, nodding at his pondering expression.

As Travis darted for the weapon a hand grabbed his foot and he took a nasty face plant on the rough pavement.

The big guy took a knee, "You little bastard."

He stood up, looming over Travis as he looked on in terror. I darted towards them and shot a powerful right hook, slicing his temple and shredding at his jaw with another.

He immediately backhanded me across the face, which snapped my head to the right and sent me stumbling back onto the hood of a car.

As he approached me the loud sound of a gunshot reverberated through the air.

Blood pulsed through a dark hole in his throat and ran down his neck, the man fell face first into the ground and I watched an AK-37 smoke in Travis' hands as he kept staring at the man's body.

"TRAVIS! TURN AROUND!" I shouted, ducking behind the same car.

He turned in a full circle and stumbled back onto the ground as a few gunmen sprayed a wave of bullets over his head.

Seriously?!

He scrambled across the concrete as shells burst around him and I flung a flash grenade into the fray.

"TRAVIS! THIS WAY!"

As he gawked at me a blinding flash of white filled the entire street. I covered my eyes just enough to see the last few gunmen stumble around.

I pointed at the dazed few, "LIGHT 'EM UP!"

Travis snatched a handgun lying next to him and blasted the remaining four off their feet with a turn.

Our eyes met and we looked forward in horror as the rest of the members stampeded towards us. I was still shocked by how they had only just now come to, that gas must've been something else...

I could feel them rapidly approaching, yet the racing adrenaline made their hysterical, erratic movements appear slow and almost graceful.

As the roars of hatred grew louder I clenched my fists. I thought about Liza and the guys, remembering what was on the line and using my determination as a source of motivation. Soon the hoard was only paces away.

Here we go.

Travis

Kelly launched her sharp knuckles into a woman's throat and she immediately dropped to the ground, bleeding profusely. Instantly others swarmed her, wrestling her onto the ground and tumbling as she pulled them down with her. I picked up one of the guns I had found — a magnum revolver of some sort — and aimed at a target rushing towards her.

I pulled a trigger and the cylinders rapidly switched around, a red beam shot from the gun and locked onto his chest. He shot me a horrified look and I began to smile at the realization that something had gone horribly right the moment I got my hands on that thing.

I looked it over and realized the trigger I pulled had held itself down. I moved my finger to the trigger that had popped out next to the other and pulled hard.

I flinched as a steady stream of bullets flew from the gun and burst on impact with his chest. He flew back and there was a huge open wound where I'd shot him.

I stared in awe at the weapon in my hands.

"These bullets explode..."

I turned as Kelly ripped fist fulls of long bloody hair from their heads and wrapped it around their necks as I reloaded my guns and aimed single shots at people who struggled to restrain her arms, freeing Kelly as they writhed in pain and flopped to the ground nearby.

With all her strength Kelly smashed the blades of her gloves into their faces, vigorously slamming their skulls into the pavement and strangling her attackers with a fiery passion. As she struggled to get up more and more people surrounded her. Their faces beading with sweat and sounding shrieks of rage as they ripped her hair and pounded her skull.

I pointed my guns at them but couldn't find it in me to fire. There were so many people, I couldn't even see her.

The sound of pounding footsteps sent chills up my spine and I looked around to find a few men salvaging weapons as I had. I aimed my new weapon and sent them tumbling before they could reload and turned back to Kelly, remembering to keep my distance.

There was no way I could pull the trigger, not with the fear of shooting her. As I began to panic I heard a sickening crack that echoed above the struggle.

A man's body rolled from the fray, every bone in his face jutted and shattered within his bruised and bleeding flesh. I stood there, a stupid gawk on my face as Thomas whacked another fully grown man across the back of his head with an aluminum bat.

He charged into the fray and swung wildly, smashing through the thick wall of bodies that separated the two while bodies dropped and allowed Kelly to escape.

As I regained my vision I aimed more shots at their struggling attackers while Kelly picked up a stray firearm, quickly firing at the handful of members until a small bunch swarmed Thomas.

Two large female members struggled to just barely restrain Thomas' arms while a man attempted to rip the bat from his hands as another beat him across the face. They stood all around him once they noticed me and Kelly with our guns drawn.

"Try it."

I flinched as the burly women taunted me.

"I DARE you."

My mind zoomed in on the two and for the first time I felt a sense of duty pulse through my hands. I pulled the trigger and fired a torrent of bullets that barreled through one of their chests and into the side of another one standing behind her.

As the two slid onto the ground Thomas quickly snatched his weapon from a member's grasp and swung his bat, crushing one and both throats, then smashing it into their skulls with a resounding crack if that wasn't enough.

We all looked around.

Thirty-seven bodies.

Thomas and I looked at each other and ran over to Kelly. She reached in her bag and pulled out a bottle of water, washing the blood off of her face and downing the rest.

"Why are you guys looking at me?! Let's go!"

"Y-You WILL atone for this!" A voice from above echoed.

We looked up to see the same freckled guy from earlier standing side by side with Joan.

I winced at the sight of her.

Kelly cocked her arm back and flung a flash grenade towards them. It burst before I could see them respond, and yet they had disappeared with the flash.

Kelly tilted her head, "...The hell?"

Later...

"You got all that weird crap figured out?" Kelly nagged.

I had collected a few weapons from our latest altercation. Fausto gave us a good start, but I'd be an idiot to pass up spoils like these.

"It'd be great if we could put this high tech equipment to use." She said, "There's no telling how many of these creeps are out here..."

It was midnight right then, about three hours after the first attack.

I still couldn't believe I actually shot guns and killed people. It felt so... Powerful, so much authority and control. I wouldn't ever want just kill somebody for the hell of it, but throughout my entire life I'd never won a fight. Ever.

Now I could protect myself.

I'll never forget that feeling. The numbness in my fingers, the tenseness I felt in my muscles, the way my mind honed in on those targets...

We hid in an underground wine cellar, taking advantage of the secluded location to eat and rest ourselves. My blood pressure was still through the roof and Thomas still hadn't said a word all night. He just sat there, laying up against some barrels of whiskey and eating a Turkey sandwich.

I sighed.

Geez, just say something...

"I still can't believe this is happening." Kelly said, icing down a wound.

She looked over her gauze wrapped arms and let out a chuckle, "The fighting, the weapons... I know I'm late as hell saying this but, almost nothing seems real."

Her words clearly weren't directed at Thomas. "I know, I've been thinking that way for a while now."

There was a moment of silence.

"Kelly, what do you think everything's coming to?" I said. "How do we carry on? I mean, what should we even do now?"

She let out a sigh "Just work with what we've got," she said. "That's what we've been doing until now, there's no way in hell giving up is gonna solve anything."

"I know, but what are we working towards?" I took a gulp of water "We have to have something to look forward to, better circumstances, building our lives-"

She chuckled "You're still holding on to that?" Kelly interrupted, leaning back as she crossed her legs. "We stopped being normal people the second we got on that train."

Frustration. Not knowing what to do, having no purpose. How the hell do you live like that?!

"So we just do nothing?" I began to raise my voice "Drift around for no reason while attracting problems everywhere we go?!"

Kelly shot me a critical glare, but I could tell she was too tired to really be angry. My anger subsided and I walked over to sit down beside her, heaving a sigh.

I lowered my voice. "I'm worried about Thomas."

The two us of us looked towards him as he sat there, calm and oblivious to our conversation.

"I am too." Kelly muttered. "Just can't figure out what to do with him..."

I felt pity and anger began to fill my mood "Who the hell leaves notes like that in the first place..."

"I don't know, but my gut is telling me that there's more to this."

She clenched her fist.

"There's gotta be..."

The moments after that were filled with a slow pondering of what lay ahead, along with the soft chirp of crickets and the whizzing breeze.

"Let's hurry up and get going."

Without question we gathered our things and prepared to head out, rushed by urgency and fear for our lives.

"Where are we going again?" I asked.

"Aqueducts," Kelly responded. "It's better and faster than going through that damn maze of a town..."

Unnamed Civilian

I had just shut my car door after a long day at work when something caught my eye, three kids leaving a wine cellar at midnight. Being the responsible man that I am, I called the police to report the incident.

Kids these days... When the hell's this filthy generation gonna wake up?!

The police showed up on the dime. Now that I think about it they've been rocketing around this place like hell lately...

"Well that was fast." I said to the officer. "How'd you get here so quickly?"

The first officer adjusted his holster, "We've been investigating an incident that just recently occurred." he said.

I frowned "What incident?"

"Oh, it was a bloodbath." The shorter, more amateurish officer chuckled, "Some kids and a group of weirdos that have been raising hell around here fought and left a bloody mess behind.

Thing that shocks me is that there were no children's bodies found."

... The hell type of kids were those?!

The first one flipped out some notes, "Sir, would you care to offer a physical description?"

"Okay, there were three... And one of them was really pale, he had black hair and I think he's gotta be... I dunno about..." I held my hand out about five feet high.

"Okay..." He scribbled down some notes "And the other two?"

"One of them looked kind of buff and stocky. He had caramel skin and I think he was a little taller than the pale kid. Then the other one was a girl." I continued "She had skin that was kinda like the second guy's, but just a little bit lighter...And she had this really long hair."

One officer's head shot up. He stepped away as his partner continued to write notes and started punching something into his phone.

"That's strange... Your description matches the eye witness reports of the children who appeared at our previous incident." The first officer shot his gaze at the other officer, "You getting this?" he said sternly.

The other officer nodded and slowly slipped his phone into his pocket.

"We'll definitely keep an eye out." The first officer said. "C'mon! Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?"

The second officer hesitated and then cracked a sly grin, then the first officer's jaw dropped and he smiled in response.

"Is something going on?" I said.

The officer's smile slowly spread into a sinister grin, "...Nobody told you yet?"

Travis

I watched my step as we walked along the thin sidewalk by the rushing water. It was 4:00am and we are trekking high above the ground. With Kelly's instruction we'd been able to navigate through this town's water system all the way up here on the aqueducts. Hopefully, we'd be out of here if we just kept going.

I took a look at the town below. Everything was so... big. The huge mountains made Silona look like a patch of orange grass, and the roofs really are a maze. From churches to banks and houses, the moonlight glowed off of them all.

"How far are we from the exit?" I said.

Kelly folded her arms, "If we go through this waterway we should eventually hit a tunnel system and resurface in a reservoir just beyond the walls." She said, pausing "That is, if it isn't sealed off."

Apparently that's the only way out of the city besides using the gates or climbing like the Divine Society did. I can't imagine anybody would use it, or even knows about it, for that matter besides the people who work there.

As we continued to walk our path slowly diverged from its original course and ran adjacent to a steady flow of water that red deep into a rock mass. Soon we found ourselves in a huge tunnel system Kelly told us about. Water came pouring from pipes in the walls, spilling from gutters and flowing right into the age old filtration system.

Kelly spoke. "Okay guys, look for any signs that point to a reservoir. I know there's a walkway for maintenance and such."

"How?" I retorted, "Everything's in Silonan."

She froze "... Can't Thomas read Silonan?"

Kelly turned back towards him as he shook his head in response.

I sighed, "Thomas knows Japanese, not Silonan, remember?"

"Oh," She furrowed her brows as she scanned the area "Well I don't know, just keep heading in this direction and we'll hit the walls eventually."

"Guys," Thomas spoke after such a prolonged silence. "The path we just walked on was slanted downwards, right?"

I responded "Yeah."

"Wouldn't that mean the reservoir would be on the higher end, so that water can naturally flow down towards the Filtration system?"

We stopped.

I facepalmed. "Oh my god..."

"Seriously?" Kelly shouted. "What the hell?!"

She heaved a sigh, "C'mon guys, turn around..."

That's when noise shot through the tunnels. No... Noises.

We actually heard people talking.

Kelly stopped, then Thomas and I instinctively came to a halt.

"What's that?" I whispered.

Kelly ignored the question and tip toed after the noise, fanning us over.

We followed the noise to a barred water outlet and held our heads low. I peeked out and looked towards the city to see a large group of people below us.

"Oh god..." Kelly whispered.

We struggled to find the balance between leaning out as far as possible and not being noticed.

Although the more I think about it, being close to the bars felt disturbingly prison-like...

Nobody stays up this late normally, and these people sound pretty pissed...

"Do you think it could be the divine society again?" I whispered.

Kelly rolled her eyes. "I swear to god these creeps have no life whatsoever..." She took a quick glimpse at the crowd and ducked behind the corner again, "Wait, these guys don't have uniforms on."

Thomas leaned forward, accidentally pushing Kelly to the side "Hey, careful! Get a grip!"

Thomas took a few steps back "Wait I..." he paused.

"Sorry..."

Kelly's expression started to soften and she turned around, stepping towards the opening...

... And crashing into me.

When we collided a smoke bomb fell from her weapon belt, rolling through the barred pipe and exploding dead in the middle of the crowd.

Kelly struggled to refasten her belt, and dropped more in the process as a small moment of panic ensued.

"Kelly! Get those things under control!" I shouted.

"Shush! They wouldn't be all over if you weren't hogging the whole friggin' space!" she retorted.

In her struggle Kelly stepped on a stun grenade which erupted and engulfed the area in a blinding flash of white light, leaving me dizzy and disoriented.

After moments of pure confusion, I blinked my eyes profusely and peered out of the opening. The crowd was gone.

We looked at each other in a moment of dreadful silence.

"... Goddammit..." Thomas croaked.

Kelly "Okay, screw the stealth. We're leaving noticed or not, and we need to go now."

We rushed through the dark muggy tunnels until we caught sight of an exit.

"The exit's sealed!" I yelled.

Suddenly, loud murmurs from outside bellowed through the waterway.

"We won't make it!"

"Yes we will! This way!" Kelly ordered.

We took a small detour and came across a "Staff Only" door. We barged through the rusty exit, which lead us out into the interior yard of the Silonan Water Tower.

"Finally, we're outside, I can breathe again." Kelly said, forcing a giggle.

Thomas and I just looked at her.

"...Let's get out of here," she commanded, her voice suddenly stern as if to draw the attention away from her ineffective humor.

We ran through the large gates and immediately cringed at the mob standing at the end of the very block, staring us down.

The mob wasn't as large as before, and it seemed that they had split up, but it didn't change a thing.

We know exactly what they want to do, they know exactly what we're doing. And we both know that.

They came rushing towards us, tripping over each other as if fighting over who got to spill our blood first. Petrified with fear, I couldn't help but count the bodies.

Sixteen, twenty, thirty-four, forty, fifty-seven.

Hell, I couldn't even keep up!

Instantly a blinding flash erupted from the crowd and people scattered, then fell to the ground crying profusely and gasping for air as their surroundings are blasted with acrid fumes. I turned my head and see Kelly flinging explosives into the mass like a machine.

I put my hand on my holster but freeze.

They just want peace...

My stomach turned into a knot and I could feel myself wanting to run away.

"TRAVIS!"

I looked over at Kelly.

"IT'S US OR THEM!" She shouted over the ear ringing cries.

...Can she read minds or something?

I took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in my throat.

It's us or them.

I repeated that in my head and looked at the crowd. I quickly loaded my newly acquired weapons; guns salvaged from our last confrontation, and unleashed a stream of bullets until deadly projectiles filled the space between us and the air stank of gunpowder and burning lead.

While others turned and ran away, people determined to fight continued to drag their injured bodies across the ground as others began to pour out of the wood works.

I ripped two of those strange guns I found from my bag and watched as the townsfolk wince at the red lights that had locked onto their bodies. As I pulled the trigger bullets spewed from my weapons, soaring over the streets and blasting people across the ground as others rapidly switched direction and tore through the crowd standing by.

Heat seeking?! This technology is ridiculous!

 That's when I felt multiple stings of agonizing pressure blast my thigh.

"OUCH!"

I flew back, tumbling over a mailbox as my thigh began to burn like smoldering hell.

"OOOOW!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs as tears began to overflow in my eyes. I looked down to see several bullet holes in my leg.

But guns are illegal here. How did...?!  

I trembled at my pain and switched to the Machine gun they'd left. I sent a rush of bullets ripping into the crowd, switching from gun to gun as I ran out while gritting my teeth at the fiery rage burning from within.

Words spilled from my mouth as I noticed more danger. "THOMAS! BEHIND YOU!"

Thomas turned around at the sound of my voice just in time to see a group rapidly charging his way. Before he could react I opened fire, the impact of my bullets spinning their bodies in full circles before they dropped to the ground.  

A man shot from behind them and lunged for Thomas, but Thomas swung his bat and struck him across the jaw with a force strong enough to send his head turning sickeningly far to the right. That's when a boy pounced on his back, he was the spitting image of the man who had just died and bellowed a tearful cry of determination. Thomas tossed him from his back like raging bull as a piercing glare lit up his eyes.

He whipped his weapon through the air and delivered a crushing blow to the still airborne boy's ribcage. Sending his shattered body rolling limply across the ground.

Suddenly a large body grabbed me by my waist, hoisting me high into the air and pinning my arms to my sides with a crushing hold as another man rushed to my bag and pulled a gun.

"NO!"

Kelly's hand flew through the air and slashed his throat, unleashing spurts of blood just before she regathered my guns and turned to jab sharp knuckles into a woman's eye.

Kelly swiftly downed a 5-Hour Energy drink and wiped the sweat from her brow before flinging a bomb towards the nearing group and blasting them with a mace filled explosion. Kelly quickly reached into my shoulder bag and stood tall with an Arsenal Shipka in each hand, firing off at the citizens who forced their way near us.

"COME GET IT IF YOU WANT, I'LL BLOW YOUR GODDAMN BRAINS OUT!"

I squirmed and kicked within the man's grasp as the citizens scrambled and ran in fear of Kelly's murderous rage, but he tightened his hold and kept squeezing until I could literally feel his arms forcing my organs out of position and the bones of his chest digging into my spine.

I hissed under my breath, my voice shaking. "L-Let go!"

He squeezed harder. "FUCK YOU!"

I swung my legs backward to no avail, with no other options I gritted my teeth and swung my head back into his face as hard as I could. I could feel him grunt as my now throbbing skull made impact. That's when Kelly's fist shot above my head and tore through the man's nose as he let out a guttural scream.

Using this as a diversion, I wriggled an arm free and smashed my gun into his face over and over again until he released his hold.

As I dropped to the ground I rolled over and supported myself on a knee, unloading my bullets into the pit of his stomach before I sprayed the few that had nearly closed in.

I gasped for air, rubbing my stomach to make the pain of that hold go away. I could hardly believe this was happening. Even with the aches and throbbing pain I still blinked profusely as if this were some action-packed nightmare, yet it wasn't.

The rest of the mob was in close pursuit. Another pack pursued Kelly on foot as soon as she threw down her empty firearms. Still, she tore through the citizens who dared stand in her way, finding a way out with nothing but her bladed gloves as lethal weapons.

As I warded off the invading swarm, she flapped her arms, wildly signalling us over to a possible escape route when yet another horde of people filled holes in the net closing in on her.

C'mon!

I had to sift through for a gun I could actually use and kept the sound of gunshots and dropping corpses echoing. If anything, I was hoping some people would come back to their senses and flee.

Then again, the fact that so many people had gotten this charged up to begin with was a bit shocking. So many friends, so many familiar faces. Dead. And for something none of us could control.

I wondered if they knew we didn't mean to cause trouble, but I doubted that Gina would give them a fair story. That woman was out for bloody revenge, there was no room for fairness or perspective.

I was tackled and quickly slammed face first into the ground. Tears were rolling off of my face and I tried to focus on everything but the sharp pain in my forehead, nose, and busted lips as I turned to see Gina on top of me raising a box cutter into the air, her teeth gritted in fury.

Before I could respond Thomas swung a large stop sign, swatting her thin body to the side as he roared, "THAT BITCH IS DONE!"

He lunged forward and slammed his foot into her gut. As she doubled over he clenched both fists together and swung his arms down, smashing the back of her skull with all his might and sending her tumbling back into the crowd with a heavy uppercut.

I was getting dizzy, and tried to stand again, but I couldn't. My body was lifted and I panicked until I realized Thomas was carrying me under his armpit. He carried me towards a car that had been damaged in the confusion, unlocked the doors through a busted window, and shoved me inside.

"... Let... Me Fight!"

"You gotta rest!" Thomas looked back over his shoulder but I continued to protest.

"I-I..."

Thomas sighed heavily and disappeared for a moment while I let my head fall to the cushioned seat. He came back with my bag and tossed it in.

"I'll guard the car, you shoot when you get ready!"

I let my body go limp and tried to breathe the dirty air, desperate for fresh oxygen. I was bleeding from almost everywhere and it felt like my head was exploding over and over again.

I could feel myself giving out, I wouldn't be conscious for much longer. The stress was about to give me a heart attack and I couldn't even see well enough to aim or defend myself.

*THUD!*

I was startled by a loud noise and for a moment my vision cleared to see a few people trying to get the best of Thomas. His bat flew from every angle perceivable, mortally wounding those it hit and scaring other's off with the sheer speed and power he was swinging it with.

Thomas swung again and I lurched up just soon enough to see his target duck. He missed and struck a light pole instead, that's when I noticed half of his bat flying in a different direction.

The man went for Thomas' legs and I gasped.

"Aldéric?!"

Thomas' grabbed for him, and in that half second I felt ill at the realization that arms were covered in cuts and his body soaked with sweat and blood.

I was so frozen and scared I didn't know what to do. Everyone was trying so hard to survive...

My friends... The people I care about are trying to kill each other!

I wanted to cry more, but I had already been sweating the would-be tears and sobbing would only bring more pain to my aching torso.

Thomas wrapped his arms around Aldéric and lifted him as he hung upside down, then he threw him to the earth head first to produce the sound of a lethal snap.

Another charged towards Thomas, but he slugged him hard and flung open the car door as I screamed in response. Thomas grabbed the guy by his hair and forced his face into the doorway before slamming it on his skull.

I scooted back to the other side of the car as blood poured from his wounds and stained the seats, and I flinched again when Thomas slammed his foot into the door and pressed harder.  

I couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes. It was even more terrifying than when I first saw it back when he snapped on Joshua.

Kelly's legs flew through the open window faster than I could realize and she quickly went to work on the ignition.

"Thomas get in!"

Thomas flung his last victim out of the way and hopped inside.

"What're you doing?!"

"I'm gonna hotwire this shit!"

I could see more people trying to close in on the car as she struggled to get it started.

Thomas gripped what was left of his bat and looked out of the window. "Kelly this ain't good they're comin'!"

"I FUCKING KNOW!"

A hand burst through the window near me and several more grabbed my hair and clothes.

"OHMYGOD, HELP!"

Thomas took a gun and fired through the back window, shattering glass and then slamming it against whatever limbs dared to be close enough.

The car engine roared and we spead off in an instant.

"Where are we going?!"

Kelly didn't respond, which only made me panic more.

"KELLY WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

She continued to tune me out as we flew down the road like a rouge missile and blasted through a sea murderous citizens like bowling pins.

The sight of blood on our windshield and bodies rolling off the back of our car pushed me over the edge and I burst into tears again, sobbing harder as the aches intensified with each one.

"W-Why... Why did this h-happen to us?!"

Kelly slung the vehicle around the corner as enraged citizens poured from alley ways, climbed out of windows and swarmed like a horrible infestation of roaches.

Kelly pressed on the gas even harder and our bodies flew back into the seats. My stomach had totally knotted itself and I could barely breathe, the pure shock was enough to make me fade in and out of consciousness. Kelly leveled anybody who posed a threat, swerving back and forth across the street with our two ton hunk of metal as we barreled towards wherever we could make our escape.

"We're gonna make it out! All I have to do is keep going-!"

I looked to the window. "KELLY WATCH OUT!"

I jumped from the passengers side to the same side as Thomas and Kelly as a large van smashed into the side of the car and launched us to the side. Sparks flew and the stench of fumes and burning rubber overwhelmed my senses.

Our car tipped over and was grinding against the earth as whoever the other driver was kept speeding forward.

Kelly screamed. "HE'S TRYNA CRUSH US!"

I looked and saw that we were heading straight towards a huge stone building. I snatched the gun from Thomas and climbed partially out of the shattered window. I saw the person's face, he hadn't even noticed me looking, but with the way he was breaking the speed limit there was no way he didn't know he was going to die too.

I pulled down hard on the trigger and shot what felt like hundreds of bullets a second at the driver's seat. When I stopped I could see nothing but blood on the dashboard.

I got back down. "WE HAVE TO JUMP!"

They reacted immediately and Kelly was the first to climb to the other side and jump, I grabbed my bag and threw myself after her, and I saw Thomas roll to safety just before the vehicles violently collided against the brick wall.

We fixed ourselves the best we could, fastening our bags to our bodies and trying our best to breathe and stay aware of our surroundings.

Kelly fanned us over. "Let's move!" she said, dashing away from the area as Thomas threw me over his shoulder.

We rushed through the twisting streets, hoping desperately not to be noticed as the crowd caught up to us. Thomas let me down as they tried to surround us, and clinging to what felt like ounces of strength, I reloaded my last machine gun and blasted them down, but they kept coming. It just never seemed to end.I fired waves of bullets to fend the Silonans off, Kelly scrambled for whatever explosives could possibly be left in her bag, and Thomas promptly ended anybody that got too close. All while looking for a way out.  

Soon Thomas, Kelly, and I were standing back to back, surrounded by countless defeated bodies. Roughly half were still fighting, roaring the nastiest words they could think of, longing for our death.

Then out of the crowd's midst came a familiar face.

She stood at the front of the crowd. I won't ever forget her face that day. Aside from the cringeworthy bruising, her face emanated a look of pure disgust, a loathing for our existence and a longing for our death. She didn't have an ounce of humanity left inside of her entire body.

With that same cold expression she spoke.

"THEY KILLED CAROL, THEY INVADED OUR CITY, AND NOW THEY'RE GOING TO KILL US!"

My muscles tensed.

"EXTERMINATE THE HELL OUT OF THEM!"

The raging horde barreled towards us.

I went through my things frantically, cursing.

There aren't enough bullets!

Thomas and Kelly were dead without my guns. I knew I had to find something, but nothing I could use was there.

In my panic I suddenly saw something soar from behind me. Kelly's explosive belt. As it landed the crowd stirred in chaos as a near deadly combination of blinding light, unbearable fumes, burning gas, and shrapnel erupted in a violent explosion.

As the crowd toppled over each other and people scattered, Kelly snatched us and we sprung at the opportunity, using the confusion and darkness to our advantage.

 We raced into the darkness of the back streets and climbed fire escapes, scaled the balconies of apartments, and through the rooftops. climbing higher and higher until we reached the top of the highest building in close proximity to the walls.

With a grunt we hauled ourselves up over the huge stone wall, linking our arms together like a chain and grasping the rigid surface as we slowly descended on the outside.

We reached the base of the walls and stood on pitted rocks as twilight slowly spread across the horizon. We watched our steps, scampering down a small, rugged mountain until we reached level ground outside of the city.

I collapsed on my knees as we came to a slow halt on some grass.

"W-We made it!" I declared, "Thomas, Kelly we actually-"

Suddenly I feel something sharp stab me in the shoulder.

It looks like a dart but it's all... Fuzzy...

I would pull it out but...

It's so pink and fuzzy...