Survival

Protections

Everyone woke up early the next morning, the light just barely peeking over the buildings. They finished off the last of the cookable food, made sure everything was packed, stalled for about 20 minutes, then finally left.

They went through a back exit, walking quickly and quietly through back streets. Tyler and them had marked it so they could try and travel two to three miles every day, which wasn't very far but considering Soup was still struggling to walk even with the brace and they had to be as quiet as possible, they knew it could take hours to walk just two or three miles.

The first couple days went smoothly, the group managing to make it nearly 5 miles away from the hotel by the second night. They'd passed the convention center, Pezzy's eyes lingering on it as they hurried past.

They were currently hidden in some back offices of a small clinic, everyone huddled together for warmth. It was the end of September, and the power had been cut from this building.

While they were here, they'd managed to find an actual proper boot for Soup. He walked around the back of the office for a little while, getting the hang of it.

Pezzy stabbed a plastic fork into the can of ravioli, sitting quietly as everyone around him talked. He'd already sent out his nightly tweet, making sure his fanbase knew they were still alive, but he still felt so disconnected.

Droid had his ankle hooked with his, focusing on his own food. A roar sounded somewhat close by, but besides Tyler quietly closing the door, no one reacted.

Pezzy was starting to hate how acclimated they all were becoming to the horrors outside. He couldn't even muster up the energy to feel that fear in his stomach anymore, just resignation.

The roar sounded again, this time closer. Everyone looked up, quietly packing their food away and moving to sit behind the desks against the far wall.

Scratching was heard by the door, Pezzy blinking and ducking down a bit extra. The door shook a bit, Grizzy's and Smii7y's eyes widening.

Droid took Pezzy's hand, something the latter was growing used to. It was grounding and comforting, a sense of normality in this insane world.

The door shook violently, everyone ducking down further behind the decks. Pezzy looked around frantically, noticing a somewhat mid sized closet a distance away.

He kicked Tyler's foot gently, gesturing with his head. The taller nodded and helped catch everyone's attention, the door starting to crack.

Everyone hurried over as fast as possible, having to stand so they all could fit. Pezzy, Puffer and Matt were the closest to the door, Pezzy painstakingly closing it behind them.

And not a second too soon, because as soon as Pezzy took his hand off the doorhandle, they all heard the screech of metal bending and the other door broke open.

The roar that came vibrated through everyone's bones, Pezzy flinching back since he was closest to the door. Puffer and Matt grabbed his arms, Pezzy freezing as the scratching sounds grew closer.

The door suddenly rattled, everyone pressing back as far as they could. Puffer's and Matt's grips on Pezzy's arms grew almost painfully tight, Pezzy not breathing as he stared at the thin sliver of light that was getting blackened out.

The door rattled again, this time more violently and Pezzy shook almost as bad. A crack appeared in the door, a talon appearing through the wood. It curved centimeters away from Pezzy's shirt, the cold coming off the creature turning Pezzy's blood to ice.

Puffer was holding Pezzy so tight, his fingers were growing numb. He couldn't hear a single person breathing, but that was probably because he couldn't hear anything over the pounding in his ears.