Deadly Wings [IN EDITING]

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I dared to peek at the gang of Anaters gathered in the street. When one of them flinched slightly, moving their gaze towards my direction, I pulled back violently. Pressed against the wall, I looked sideways towards Kaila, who was crouching, gun in hand. I could tell she was afraid, her hands slightly trembling.

Although this wasn't our first encounter with Anaters, when we did come across them, we were usually in a larger group and we had more weapons. Today, what was supposed to be a quiet errand into the far end of town turned ugly real fast.

Considering their rather large group, by quick calculation, our only chance at survival was sneaking past unnoticed.

Anaters are fast, on land and in air. When they desire to fly, immense black wings unfold from their backs. A human's fighting chance against an Anater is slim. The demons simply play with their victim, finishing with the soul sucking until it is but a limp, pale, and unmoving corpse.

There are few survivors. In our camp, many are escapees from the city. After the world reeked of death, people began to gather right outside the city. Manhattan is considered forbidden for those who seek to survive, a place now far more dangerous. It is said to be overrun by Anaters, where they stay grouped among themselves. 

We send people into the city a couple of years back. They never came back.

Fortunately, our camp is set up far from the city, hidden beneath the trees, just far enough to be able to see the skyscrapers and tall buildings in the distance. I still remember Manhattan, my old home, but as a vague, fading memory.

During our escape out of the panicking city, my mother had been caught. I remember the tightness in my chest as my father pulled me away with the crowd, screaming and kicking. For her, it was far too late.

"Tori?" Kaila whispered down at me from her now standing position across the small kitchen. I shook my head, an attempt to focus on the situation at hand.

Peering one last time at the Anaters through the small window, I motioned Kaila over to move into the hallway with a quick hand gesture.

As she did, I bit my lip, my heart pounding against my chest. One sound and they could hear us. One sound and it would be the last we would ever hear.

When Kaila made it to the backdoor successfully, I turned away from the kitchen window and leaned further against the wall. Quietly, I tiptoed through the narrow hallway, past the wide open french doors of the dining room. I was just about  to near my escape route when-

Crunch.

I stopped dead in my tracks, the blood in my veins seeming to stop its circulation. Kaila held a terrified expression and I knew we had to make a run for it. I looked down to my boots and the floorboards underneath them.

I had just stepped on broken glass.

"Tori..." Kaila warned nervously, as she looked through the open front door, over my shoulder. I turned, as well, to find the monsters all staring in our direction.

"Kaila! Run!" I shouted over my shoulder as I raised my gun in my hands and ran to the backdoor, following her out. The Anaters were running toward us, a girl with a dark ponytail, in the lead.

Emerging into the yard, I sprinted through the tall unmowed grass, Kaila not too far from view. I could see the paleness in her face as she looked over her shoulder, checking on my pace and the Anaters running after us, her arms swinging back and forth violently.

Peering behind me, I could see about three running after us, the rest haven stayed in the yard, smiling over at their comrades. The girl, wore a long grin over her pale lips, her dark hair now free from her loose ponytail. The two other men behind her, on the other hand, looked serious and cold, their eyes kept on me like wild bait at all times. They were determined to get their prey, and I was determined not to be their lunch.