Chapter Seven
Blake stood in line with the rest of the trainees. General Kip stood before them, shouting about something. Blake wished that she cared. But ever since Amy had gone missing last night, Blake felt like a storm was gathering. Narisa nudged her and she turned to see that they were moving. "What's going on?" She whispered as the group jogged towards the east gate. "Last training mission. We're going to the outskirts to do some routine checks." Narisa told her. For once the dog had been left behind. Good, that meant there would be nothing to trip them up. Blake fell into step behind Isaac and Jackton. She couldn't believe that they had to go back. Blake held her breath as they passed through the marble arch. A feeling of dred settled over her as they stopped in a dark alley. Something was about to happen. She could feel it.
Blake walked next to Isaac, Narisa and Jackton. They had been separated into lots of smaller groups and given jobs. Blake had felt her heart stop when they had been told to go and sweep to alleys for dead bodies. It wasn't touching corpses that freaked her out, it was the thought of going back into the dark cold streets that scared her. "So... what exactly are we doing?" Jackton asked. Everyone turned and stared at him. Isaac sighed and rolled his eyes. "We're going to count the slits and other dead bodies in the street. God, were you even listening?" He grumbled. Jackton looked hurt, but he didn't say anything. You could tell by the way Isaac walked that he was uncomfortable, so Jackton had obviously decided to drop the subject. Blake could relate. She didn't think she'd ever have to come back here. "There's one." Narisa said, pointing to what looked like a pile of rags. But as they got closer it became clear that something wasn't right. "Sweet mother Mary...." Jackton whispered. It was Amy.
Narisa knelt next to the dead body, a look of dismay on her face. "She's been dead for at least a couple of hours. Maybe more." She told them. Narisa rolled up her sleeves and ripped open Amy's shirt without a second thought. Instinctively Jackton turned away, while Isaac and Blake stood there transfixed. Suddenly Narisa lurched backwards, scrambling on her hands and knees back towards the safety of the group. "What's wrong?" Blake asked, helping Narisa up. "Ugh.... She's.... She's..." Narisa stammered. As the last word left her mouth the corpse lurched forward, it's eyes slowly opening to reveal nothing but blackness. It stood, using the wall for support, then began to tear the skin away from it's head. Blake felt like she was going to puke. Now it turned to face them, the skin on it's face parting in several places, blood dripping to the ground. Three more pairs of eyes appeared in the newly created slits. Eight eyes. "Run!" Blake screamed, pushing the stunned group into action. Behind her Blake could hear the sound of something scrambling after them. She didn't dare look back. She knew what she would find. "Split up!" Blake yelled as they came to a fork in the street. She and Isaac took the left and Jackton and Narisa took the right. Together they ran, left then right for what seemed like an eternity. She suddenly realized that she wasn't looking where she was going. Blake slammed into a wall and landed flat on her back. 'Great,' she though. 'Well I'm dead meat.' Through blurred eyes Blake watched the corrupted approach, it's unusual glistening white flesh an obvious splash of colour against the grey walls of the alley. She could hear Isaac somewhere to here right, telling her to get up, but Blake couldn't move. The corrupted snarled and sprang forward. Blake's mind sparked back to life. She curled into a ball and rolled forward. The corrupted slammed into the wall as Blake sidestepped past it and sprinted after Isaac.
"We can't outrun it forever" Isaac shouted over the sound of their footsteps. Blake agreed but knew that fighting wasn't an option. "Just keep moving." She yelled at him. In front of her Isaac suddenly stopped, causing Blake to slam into his back. "What are you doing?" Blake screamed, she could feel the tears streaming down her face. Blake pushed past him, not caring if he was left behind. "Blake..." he murmured "don't. Move." She looked back at him like he was insane. He just stared back at her with wide eyes. Blake turned to follow his gaze. "Jesus Christ" she whispered. Before her stood six corrupted, all facing in the other direction. Slowly, Blake and Isaac backed away, only to realize that they were cornered by the albino corrupted. "We are so dead." Isaac cried. Like Blake tears ran down his face. "I never thought I'd see you cry." Isaac joked, his voice cracking halfway through the sentence. "How could you make a joke at a time like this?" Blake cried. The corrupted had noticed them now and were advancing, hissing and spitting. "Laughing in the face of certain death is one of my best qualities!" He laughed, although Blake could hear the fear in his voice. Blake closed her eyes and took his hand. She squeezed it and he squeezed back. At least she wouldn't die alone. They would die together.
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