Beyond The Barrier [COMPLETED]

Chapter 14 - "You told me you were fine."

Peyton didn't hesitate, he grabbed another knife and sprinted out the open doors into the night. Louie blinked, tucked two knives into her holster and took off after him. Her boots thundered on the pavement, her heart beat racing to meet the sound as it echoed through the air. Another scream pierced the night followed by inhuman guttural sounds that grated against Louie's ears and made her skin curl. Peyton was moving to the gates, waving his arms and yelling.

"Open them! Now! Open them!"

The two Security men barely had enough time to pull the metal gate open before Peyton was barreling through it. His pace quickened as he broke free from the barrier, heading in the direction of the ear piercing screams.

"Get Marc, now!" Louie said, pausing  briefly to give the order.

The two member looked at each other, their minds frozen by the sudden attack.

"Now!" Louie shouted behind her.

One man jumped into action and took off running to the Compound. The other stayed posted by the gate, ready to open it for survivors or slam it shut to keep the Crawlers away.

The darkness absorbed Louie as she pushed forward, following the sprinting figure of Peyton. Louie forced her eyes to adjust to the blackness, straining to see the rough terrain before her. The howls and guttural sounds seemed to jump out at her from the darkness. Louie tried to calm her rapid heart beat, but every nerve was electrified with adrenaline and every sense heighten.

Out of the night two beams of light shot through. In them Louie could see the mutilated and disfigured forms of Crawlers as they lunged forward, limbs flailing as they attacked the two Searchers. Peyton's knife whistled through the air and lodged itself in the head of one of the Crawlers that had leapt on the fallen Searcher. The Crawler tumbled to the ground with one last petering sound, that was lost in the cries of its companions.

Peyton's pace didn't falter as he ran headfirst into the fray, knife drawn, fire blazing in his eyes. Louie was a few feet away when the flashlight beam landed on a Crawler's tortured face. The sight stole her breath and froze her limbs. All she could do was stare at the decayed features. The yellow stained skin that was splattered with blood. Eyes that were completely soulless. Another scream punctured the air, startling Louie and bringing her mind back to her.

Peyton's arms were a blur as he stabbed and lunged. His body moving fluidly as he ducked, rolled and spun away from talon like fingers and razor sharp teeth. Before Louie could register her own movements, she had sent a knife sailing through the air.

It lodged into the throat of a Crawler, whose fangs were inches away from Peyton's neck. The Crawler stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the ground, where it was soon joined by another. By the time Louie was able to raise her other knife, Peyton's knife was buried deep in the spinal column of the last Crawler.

The battle was over.

Footsteps thundered from behind. Marc rushed forward, followed by a team of eight men. They all halted in their tracks as their flashlight beams landed on the seven disfigured bodies, then shifted to where Peyton stood in the center of the mass. He pointed, with the bloody knife, to the two unconscious Searchers.

"I think they're okay, but we need to get them inside and to the Med Wing. I don't know if they were bit," Peyton said, his voice in control.

With a gesture from Marc, four men rushed forward. They grabbed the two men and hurried them back into the safety of the barrier, closely followed by Marc and the rest of the group. Louie started to turn towards the Compound but paused.

"Peyton, are you-"

He cut her off.

"I'm fine. Take care of the men first. They're the priority."