To the Edge and Back

To the Edge and Back: Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Hunt them down! Kill all of them! Don't stop until they're all dead!" This is what I hear as we run through the woods and away from the desolated farm. Taylor is in front of me. Zach has taken point and is leading our little group. Haven is watching the rear. We stop at a creek about a mile away from the farm. I hear voices coming up behind us.

"Get down!" I whisper. We all rush to lie down in some bushes. Several men walk toward where we're lying. They stop right front us. A man's leg is right in front of my face. I take my opportunity. I dig one of my gauntlets into his calf muscle. He goes down onto his knees and I bring my claws to his throat.

The others follow my lead. Zach buries his hatchet into one of their skulls. Taylor brings his scimitar to another man's spine. Haven takes her two swords and decapitates the remaining men in one swift motion. The kills are quick and silent.

We run farther into the forest. None of us look back. We run until we fall from exhaustion. I lie down on the ground to try and catch my breath.

"Biters!" Zach exclaims. "This day just keeps getting better and better," Haven says sarcastically. Too tired to deal with them, we slowly inch our way around them. We continue walking until we reach the highway. We then start to follow the road for a few miles.

"Look! A gas station up ahead," Taylor says. Even though we we're all tired from walking we run for the lone building. I take the lead and go into the station first. I notice that the store is abandoned as I walk in. The other three follow me inside. We search around for food before setting up a place to sleep. Not much is found.

Zach goes outside to find some kindling to make a fire. He comes back with an armful of wood. He throws them down and begins working on a making a fire. I bring out a sleeping bag from my backpack and lay it down near the fire. I lie on it and soon drift off to sleep. I see that everyone else falls into slumber as well.

I awaken with a sharp pain pulsating through my head. Everyone else is asleep around me. I silently rush out the front door and into the parking lot. The night is cold and white fluffy snow is falling all around me. "I told you that you wouldn't win the fight," the voice inside me says. "Who are you?" I ask out loud. "I'm your guide to this world," my mouth moves and words escape my lips but they're not my own. "Am I going insane?" I ask the voice. "To everyone else, yes. To me, you're completely sane. But I'm just you, or another version of you. Think of it however you like," it says.

"Go back to sleep," I command myself with words not of my own making. I turn back around and go back into the store. The sun begins to rise and Haven starts to stir. "What were you doing outside?" She asks. "Couldn't sleep," I lie to her.