Chronicles of the Fall- #1- Empty Night

Chapter 14: God Complex

"I didn't catch that grocery store on the way in," DJ says to Tripp in the front seat. There are more cans of food stacked between them, and there's even more riding in the bed of the truck with the rest of the supply run group.

"Yeah, we're lucky Hampton pointed it out," Tripp agrees. "We would have been gone a lot longer otherwise."

DJ nods, adjusting her left hand on the steering wheel. Her right hand absentmindedly wipes the blood on her brass knuckles on the leg of her pants. She could care less if she stains her clothes at this point.

"Yeah, and we can definitely go back; we barely made a dent in the stock..." DJ trails off as her eyes turn upward. In the distance, rising above the rise of a foothill, she sees a plume of black smoke.

"That's the direction of the zoo!" snaps Tripp, noticing the smoke as well. "Go! We need to know what happened!"

DJ floors the truck, whipping around corners and skidding slightly over the dirt roads that lead back to their base. It takes them no time at all, and soon the gates of the zoo are visible. DJ slows the truck down as they near the gates; Tripp jumps out of the car, which is still moving, in order to help Jackson open the gates.

"Jackson! What the hell is going on?!" Tripp yells, pulling his gun when he sees Jackson covered in blood.

"What's that smoke! What happened?!" Hampton barks, jumping out the back of the truck. He is clutching his bat in his right hand, while the other is reaching behind him to pull his gun out as well.

"Get inside first! We'll tell you!" Laken orders, jogging up to stand beside Jackson. DJ sees her friend, bloodied and disheveled, and beeps the horn.

"Come on!" she snaps. "Outta the way!"

Laken, Tripp, and Jackson scurry out of the truck's path. Hampton runs behind the truck to enter the gates, and everybody else in the back of the truck is leaping out, armed and ready.

"Guys, guys! Calm down! Everything's fine! There was a breach in the wall, a dozen or so lurkers got in. We killed them all, we burned the bodies, and Todd, William, and Lucas are repairing the hole as we speak," Laken explains hurriedly, seeing how agitated everybody is getting.

"We need to check the rest of the walls now! Now there's no telling what other flaws in its design we've missed!" Talon exclaims.

"Yeah! We need teams checking each wall! Fortifications need to be underway immediately!" snaps Hampton, stowing his gun once he realises that there is no immediate danger.

"No! What we need is gun training for these cowards," Lucas spits, stomping up to the rest of the group; he is gesturing to Faith and William, who trail behind him, their heads hung with shame. The attention of the teenagers is turned to Lucas.

"Faith didn't even help at all. The bitch ran away and hid in a damned tree. And William, the bastard, couldn't even kill one lurker; had 'em by the leg of his pants, on the ground, about to bite and infect his sorry ass," Lucas continues, his eyes burning.

"William? Of all things, you're not smart enough to know that you have to kill the lurkers?" Cora asks, taken aback. She has known William as a bit of a scaredy cat, but never thought that he'd be that downright cowardly.

"I know we have to kill them. It doesn't mean that I will," Willaim replies softly, without looking up.

"You said 'will'! It's choice now, huh?!" Lucas snaps, his voice rising. "You think that you can pick and choose what's necessary and what's not! Well you can't! You may have lived your life with everything handed to you because you're smart, but it ain't like that anymore! You gotta kill to survive, just like everybody else! You're not special anymore!"