People push past me as they run along the path, the screeches of the monsters only feet away. The only thing separating them from me right now are the hedges that runs between the path and the houses. There are too many of the creatures, making their way through the town and attacking as many people as possible.

The main fence is where most of the guards will be, trying to hold back the bulk of the creatures and the people attacking. Alena's words come rushing back to me. The scientists from the hospital, the one that was destroyed and that we thought we had escaped, are now here, taking anyone they can.

And if they already took Mary, there is a good chance they know we are here as well. Something about this situation is too circumstantial. How in the hell had they found us? We are hundreds of miles away, a whole state between us, yet they still managed to find a tiny, secluded beach town that most people have never even heard of. Hell, there is only one road that leads to this town, and unless you know exactly which turns to take, you get completely lost. There is no way they just stumbled across this town, where they knew some of their 'breeders' were located.

The trail I am running on levels off, the dirt morphing into gravel. This will bring me directly into town, right to the heart of the beast. Too many creatures and too many threats sit there, though. A familiar path, one that is mostly obscured by trees and underbrush, sits to my left. I haven't been along that path since before I went through puberty and developed my fear of heights.

Because this path? It runs only a few feet away from the cliffs that the town borders. This town is made completely of hills, with one side being the cliffs that are usually deemed too dangerous to face. Anna and I had made our own paths, though, not listening to our parents' multiple warnings.

Swallowing back my fear, I step away from the dirt path and into the forest. The only way that I can tell where I am going is the notches in the trees Anna had carved out. This will bring me all the way to the road that leads into town.

The waves crashing below make my breath catch in my throat. I can see the drop off the cliff in my peripheral vision, but I don't dare to turn and look directly. My heart is pounding hard enough as it is, I don't need to risk fainting.

The bat snags on a few shrubs, causing me to jerk back in surprise when it doesn't swing forwards with the rest of my arm. With an aggravated breath, I pull the weapon closer to me, not wanting to get caught in here.

Gunshots come from the town below, the screams of people intermixed with the screeches of the creatures. God, Finn has to be okay. Every shot I hear makes pictures of Finn lying dead on the ground flash in my mind. The thoughts push me forward, going faster than I would usually dare on this slippery path.

The tire wall is just coming into view when a familiar clicking sounds too close to comfort. My head whips around, eyes searching through the forest to try and find the source of the sound. One of the creatures is close, too close for comfort.

Turning to look back towards the tire wall, a yelp slips from my lips when the creature is less than a meter away from me. I have never been this close to one of them, and I had wished I would never have to experience it.

It seems that my hope was dashed.

They creature tilts its head at me, seeming to look me over with its bright yellow eyes. How this creature could have once been human is beyond me. Sure, it has somewhat of a human figure, but everything else screams monster from under my bed. Its skin is a sickly green, almost translucent, and the veins under its skin stand dark against its pallor. No hair is on the beast either, completely bare, and when my eyes look down its body, I realize that it doesn't even have genitals, skin smooth over the area.

"What the hell are you?" I murmur, eyes snapping back up to the creature's face. It only smiles at me, teeth jagged, before drawing back and pouncing at me.

I don't even have time to raise my bat in defense, instead sidestepping the creature. But that seems to have been enough. The beast didn't anticipate the hundred meter drop down to the sea below, and lets out a final screech as it tumbles over the edge of the cliff.

Well then. Not as intelligent as the others initially thought.

Not sparing any more time to watch the beast fall down into the waters below, I make my way over to where the tire wall meets the cliff. It is a good six-foot drop down to the wall, and this time, Finn won't be there to catch me.

Smoke is coming from the center of the wall, where the front gates lie. The attackers must have tried to come in, and when our guards tried to push them back, they just decided to take the wall down.

People are fighting on either sides of the fence, our guards and even some of the townspeople doing their best to take down the creatures. Erika and an older man who I've never met before are standing near the fire hydrant, where a hose is connected, and spraying any creature they can reach.

The beasts screech in rage when the water comes in contact with them, their skin bubbling. It allows for enough distraction for someone to come along and take them out. They must be leeching some type of chemical from their skin that turns to acid when it comes into contact with water. It looks like the universe is on our side this time, by giving them that disadvantage.

On the other side of the fence, our guards are fighting with the guards from the hospital. We seem to be coming out on top, but it is slow going. The other guards seem more ferocious, more desperate with their attacks. This makes for more mistakes, making it easier for our guards to take them out.

Something cold and metal presses again the back of my head, causing my entire body to freeze.

"Good boy, Alden," a familiar voice says. It is one that I haven't heard in months, and it sends anger flooding through my veins.

"Jacob." My words come out close to a growl, making known my anger. This just seems to delight him though, a twisted laugh coming from between his lips.

"Miss me, sweetheart?"

"Jacob, stop this. You promised you wouldn't hurt them." This voice is just as familiar but much more desperate.

"Danny, for once, just let me handle this," Jacob says, voice harsh. The barrel of the gun presses harsher against my head before drawing away marginally. "Get up."

Trembling arms make it hard for me to push myself up from the ground. I had been seconds away from sliding off the edge of the cliff and onto the tire wall. Only seconds away from the monster Jacob has become. Or maybe he has always been this way, and I was wrong about him the entire time.

Finn was right all along. Not everyone needs to be saved. My greatest weakness has now come around to bite me in the ass.

Once I am standing, I turn around, wanting to face the man who is attempting to kill me. It is hard not to recoil from his appearance, sickness threatening to come up from my stomach. He looks terrible, a skeleton with skin stretched over his bones. Bite marks mar his skin even further, at least four of them visible.

He looks like he has been mauled. Probably was if he was out in the world for longer than a day. Seeing as he is completely immune from the disease, it doesn't matter if he is bitten. He will still survive. It seems that his mind has not, though.

He pulls out a radio from his pocket, speaking into it with a manic edge to his voice. "I have the fag. Coming down now."

His words cause a bitter laugh out of me, making the barely alive man look over at me in rage. "Pretty sure I'm not the only 'fag' here."

A growl slips from between his thin lips, his dark eyes glinting. "They cured me of that. No longer like taking it up the ass, like some sort of slut."

I've dealt with homophobes all my life but never from someone who was so open about his sexuality only months ago. Clearly, he has gone insane.

Biting my tongue, I allow him to push me back down the trail and into the forest. Instead of going all the way back around though, he just pushes us down the steep terrain that leads to the town below. I barely keep from slipping, having to cling onto trees the entire way down.

It is complete madness once we reach the street and I desperately wish I had my bat with me. I had set it down when I was attempting to slide down to the tire wall. I should have tried to do it while holding the weapon in my hand. Maybe I could have even gotten a solid whack into Jacob's decrepit body before he could fire the gun.

The townspeople are holding their own. With the creatures being weakened by the water, it was easy to bring them down. And the scientists and hospital guards look as if they are retreating.

My eyes catch on familiar auburn hair, and I see that Finn is being held down on the ground, struggling as he tries to break free of the three guards who are holding him down. When he continues to struggle, one of the guards raises the butt of his gun, bringing it down on the back of Finn's head and knocking him completely unconscious.

"Finn!" I cry, attempting to run over to his side.

"Don't even think about it," Jacob says, his voice full of sick satisfaction.

The three guards pick my boyfriend up, their frail forms barely able to hold his bulk as they carry him back to the van that is idling in the hole blown in the fence.

"What are you doing?" I say, whirling back around to face Jacob. "Leave him alone."

"Can't do that, sweetheart," he says, his thin lips turning up into a smirk. "You see, we were close to developing a cure. But that reject Delaney had to screw everything up. But now that we have two breeders, one who is even close to giving birth, we can finish what we started."

"What you're doing is wrong," I say through gritted teeth. My eyes flick over to Danny where he is fidgeting behind his brother. Tears are streaming down his cheeks, and it is easy to see the anguish on his face. "Why did you do this, Danny?"

Because the answers to my previous questions become crystal clear. They had found us because of him. He probably sent out a radio broadcast, giving them our location. There is no other explanation.

"He's my brother," he says, voice cracking at the end. "Was my brother."

"And we will never have to be apart again," Jacob says. Someone calls out his name, making Jacob look past my shoulder. "Ah, looks like it is time for us to go, Danny."

Before I can make a move, Jacob is raising the gun, the butt of the weapon coming down hard on the side of my head. Only a few seconds of consciousness allow me to watch as Jacob drags his brother away, the van speeding off once everyone is inside. The townspeople are delighted, with the monsters being completely taken out and the intruders retreating. But I can't share in their happiness. Half my heart is in that van, being taken away by madmen.