Hatchetfield Stories

The Chosen One (Two, Three)

I started writing this in January 2020, so before Black Friday came out. I finally finished it and the existence of Webby made this so much better. This was originally going to be a multichapter fic but I'm happy with how it is now.

Also this is inspired by a TV show called Manifest (It's really good I recommend it if you like angsty drama (but tbh I assume you do why would you read my stuff if you don't XD)).

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
-Blood
-Broken bones (mentioned)
-Gunshots
-Minor character death (but technically he was infected so he was already dead)

-------

They were running. Running through the streets. Running in an attempt to save their lives. Paul turned around the corner, and Emma followed him closely. It was a dark alleyway. Paul slowed down. "They won't find us here. We can rest for now. We have to keep moving, but it's better if we sit down for a while."

"How are you so sure? This is the goddamn apocalypse! We have to get out of here!"

Paul grabbed Emma's shoulders. "Em... Stop yelling, they'll hear you. And yes, we have to get out of here, but let's rest for a few minutes. We've been running for the past ten minutes."

He was right. Emma hadn't even noticed how tired she was. The adrenalin just kept her going. The sound of an explosion echoed through the streets. The sound startled her, and she lost her balance, stumbling into Paul's arms.

"Woah, Em! Are you okay?" Paul asked, catching her shaking body.

Emma looked at him, confused. "Yeah, I guess? We have to go, they're so close."

"How do you know?"

"Didn't you hear that explosion?"

"What explosion?"

Emma took a deep breath as she stepped away from Paul. "Let's just keep going." Paul nodded and grabbed his bag, which he had dropped on the floor to catch Emma.

They walked calmly this time. Well, as calm as you can be during an apocalypse where singing alien fuckers can show up any moment to rip your fucking guts out or force their blue vomit down your throat while they sing some shitty song about how 'the world is better this way'. Bullshit. This definitely didn't bring world peace, like her professor had said, it only made things worse. Emma rolled her eyes at the thought of this strange phenomenon. If you had told her that the world would be invaded with singing aliens one year ago, she would've laughed and probably asked if you were drunk. But now, things were different.

Paul stopped walking, causing Emma to bump into his back. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Paul carefully looked around the corner, they were at the main square, if they crossed to the other side, they could easily be seen by any aliens nearby. Emma listened for any kind of song, but she couldn't hear anything close to them, only some faint music coming from the other side of the city.

They decided to take the risk and ran to the other side.

Breathing heavily, they crouched behind a few trashcans, waiting to make sure no one had seen them. When they decided it was safe, they continued their journey.

"Where exactly are we going?" Paul asked.

"We just have to stay out of their hands, and maybe find a way to stop this."

"Why? I mean, can't the military do that or something?"

Emma adjusted her grip on her bag. "Dude, we might get killed, which makes it our problem."

"Yeah, but..."

"Shhh..." Emma said, grabbing his arm to stop him.

Suddenly, the world changed. Colors blended together, and they weren't at the park anymore. Emma looked around. "The theater?" The building looked just like she saw it on the news that morning; the roof was collapsed, windows were shattered, and she was pretty sure she smelled something burning.

"What's happening?" Paul asked, terror in his eyes.

"I'm not sure..." She let his arm go, and they were back at the park. The concrete replaced by grass, buildings by trees, and streetlamps lit the world, not those neon signs advertising 'Mamma Mia'.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, Paul... Could be a hallucination, but both of us? At the same time?" She stared into the distance, thinking. "Hold on... You didn't hear that explosion, did you?"

"In the alley? No."

"What if it's connected? What if the universe is trying to tell us something? Something with an explosion and the Starlig-"

"You read too many books," Paul stated. "The universe doesn't work like that."

"I also didn't think I'd be part of an invasion by singing zombies, but here we are!"

"Shh!" Paul snapped. "Don't be so loud." He looked around, his eyes wide.

"You're hearing something."

"Be quiet!"

"What are you hearing?"

"Chanting. Something about a brain..."

Emma nodded, looking around to see if anyone was near. They were pretty hidden, but she still could see most of the park. It was empty.

"An explosion, the theater, and now chanting..." she mumbled. "What does it mean?"

"Boom. Starlight. Theater."

Emma jumped at the sound of a voice. A girl stood behind them. Paul reached for his gun.

"Wait," Emma said, stopping him, before turning back to the girl. "Who are you?"

"My name is Hannah. Webby told me you would help me."

"You're not infected?"

"No. Lexie and Ethan are, but I escaped. Webby told me to find you."

"Okay... Come on, let's go."

Paul grabbed her arm before she could walk away. "You trust her?" he whispered. "This could be a trick."

Emma glanced over her shoulder. "I'm willing to take that chance. If she's not one of them, I don't want to be the reason she dies."

Hannah smiled, taking Emma's hand.

"Did Webby tell you what we do now?"

"Boom. Explosion. Meteor."

"Okay? Did she say anything else?"

"No," Hannah said. "It's a puzzle. Webby likes puzzles."

They walked for a while. Hannah talked about Webby, Lex, and Ethan, while Paul and Emma looked for any danger.

Suddenly, Emma stopped walking.

"Emma?" Paul asked. "What's wrong?"

She stared into the distance. "I know what we have to do!"

"Okay? Let's find somewhere to hide where you can explain."

Emma nodded, guiding them to a nearby alley, but before they could sit down, a man jumped out of a trash can. The three survivors screamed.

"What do you want, Paul?"

"Mister Davidson?!" Paul reached for his gun.

"Tell me what you desire to-"

BANG!

The man fell backwards, knocking over a few trashcans as bright blue blood seeped from his forehead. Emma shielded Hannah's eyes.

"Okay..." Paul mumbled, eyes wide as he stared at the smoking gun in his hands. "Okay... Okay..."

Emma put her hand over the gun, taking it from him as he snapped out of it, looking at her. "I just killed someone..."

"Because otherwise, he would've killed us," Emma reasoned, giving him a reassuring smile as she put the gun in the holster they found earlier. "You did the right thing, Paul."

Paul nodded. "What now?"

Emma grinned, reaching into her bag. "We blow up the theater." She pulled out a grenade she found when they left the professor's house.

"Why? I thought I was the one who hates musicals."

"Meteor," Hannah spoke. "Hivemind."

"Yes! You heard something about a brain, and Hannah was talking about the meteor. The explosion I heard, and the 'boom' Hannah talked about, it's about the Starlight! This is how we stop it!"

"Okay," Paul said, taking the grenade with shaking hands. "Let's go, then. Let's destroy that hellhole."

*** *** ***

Emma looked up at the massive theater. Most of the lightbulbs surrounding the advertisements for 'Mamma Mia' were broken, glass shards surrounded the entrance, and when she looked inside, she could still see the stars through the hole in the roof.

Emma stepped inside first, gun ready in case anyone came sneaking towards them. The room was lit by the moonlight and the blue glow surrounding the meteor. Blue slime leaked from holes in the wooden stage, and the curtains were covered in both blue and red stains.

"Let's do this." Paul stepped foreward, the grenade in his hand. "Ready?"

She nodded, grabbing Hannah's hand as he walked towards the stage.

He looked at them, giving a small smile, before closing his eyes.

He pulled the pin.

Emma pulled Hannah close at the blast, shielding her from the debris that came flying towards them. "PAUL!"

The theater rumbled, and Hannah grabbed Emma's arm. "Gotta go!" She pulled the woman outside as the building collapsed behind them.

The blast threw them onto the ground, and Emma screamed. "NO!" She turned around, scrambling to her feet, and ran into the fog of dust, Hannah closely behind her. She coughed, waving the dust away with her hand, when she noticed the thread attached to her index finger. She stopped running, staring at the blue wire. "Paul... PAUL!" She followed the line, tripping over the ruins in her hurry, but never stopping.

"Paul!?" The line disappeared into the debris, and Emma immediately started digging. "Hannah! Help me!"

Together they lifted the pieces of broken walls and roof, and Emma screamed when she saw a bloody hand reaching through the mess. "Paul, we're here! We're here..."

A bit more digging, and Paul's upper body was freed. "Paul!" Emma embraced him, sobbing into his neck.

"Emma..." Paul hugged her back, smearing a lot of blood on Emma's clothes.

"Let's get you out of here." Together they managed to free his legs. Paul tried to help, but his arm was most likely broken, so he stopped when Emma snapped at him.

With Hannah's help, Emma managed to get Paul out of the hole. She threw herself into his arms, not even hiding the tears streaming down her face. "We made it!" She looked at the line wrapped around her finger, and at Paul's hand, which had the other end tied around it. She placed her hand on his, and the wire turned to a glowing dust, that fell onto the ground, and slightly shone through the darkness of the night. That was when Emma saw what state Paul was in. His arm was definitely broken, and most of his body was covered in blood. Cuts decorated his arms and face, and probably more skin that was covered by his ripped clothing.

"Let's get you out of here," she said, supporting him as he limped over the debris.

Suddenly, a bright light shone in front of them. A breeze hit their faces, and the light disappeared as soon as it came, leaving a woman, who still gave off a white glow.

"Webby..." Hannah gasped.

The woman smiled, her white hair waving in the evening breeze. "Yes, Hannah. I have been guiding you through this almost impossible mission, with the help of my friend."

A man appeared at the snap of her fingers.

"General McNamara?" Paul asked, still leaning most of his weight on Emma.

"That's right, son. It's my job to help this nation. However, Webby here did most of the work. Come on, Paul. Let's get you patched up." A first aid kit appeared in his hand, and he gestured for Paul to sit down.

While the general tended to Paul's injuries, Emma turned back to Webby.

"You saved us. Thank you."

The woman chuckled. "I didn't save you. You did all the work. I helped."

With that, she turned to the same glowing dust as the wire, disappearing into the night.

Emma sat down next to Paul, resting her head on his shoulder as he let out a whimper when general McNamara bandaged his leg. She grabbed his hand and squeezed softly.

With her other hand, she gestured for Hannah to sit down next to her, and she did.

"The infected are gone. But that means... Lex and Ethan are also gone."

Hannah nodded, fidgeting with her hair tie.

"Do you want to stay with me? Or..." She looked at Paul, and smiled. "Stay with us?"