The Decay

Chapter Three

    Tanner's breath is heavy as he walks through the woods. It's the end of winter and they're getting a last kick snowstorm. He can see his breath in front of him and shivers against the cold. He's nervous but he won't turn back and the determination smothers anything else he might think of or feel to talk him out of it. There's no changing his mind.

    The gun feels heavy in his stiff hands. He keeps moving, searching for one of them. The snow falls heavily around him and his feet are freezing from trudging through the snow in tennis shoes. He still won't turn back and now he's found tracks. They're long like someone dragging their feet and he moves faster, adrenaline kicking in.

    He thinks of that first night when everything went down. When he was on the phone with his dad that lived a few cities over and he heard his mother start screaming in the background. When his father cursed and he heard the phone hit the floor. The sound of horror and rage coming through the speaker. He couldn't save them.

The tracks grow fresher. Deeper than the ones before.

    He thought of him and his sister rushing over there through all the chaos on the streets and Sarah running in first only to rush back out and drag Tanner away. He thought of how Sarah pushed him in the car and sped away crying as bloody hands banged on their windows. He couldn't protect her.

He sees a blurry silhouette through the snow and runs towards it.

    He thought of how Miyonah ran out of her house bloody and crying as they arrived at her street. The knife in her hand dripping red as she got in the car. How they asked her where her parents were and she looked at them with nothing in her eyes. How, with horror, they understood and drove off as Miyonah started to hum something out of the window. He couldn't fix her.

    He was standing only a few feet away from it now. It moaned in hunger as it sensed him and turned to face him. Jaw working, eyes clouded over white, fingers twitching.

    He thought of the men finding them stranded on the side of the road. Their words so kind and reassuring as they beckoned them into their truck. The untrusting feeling in his gut but the helplessness surrounding them. The months that they were held there. What they did to Sarah. The constant fear and tears from Miyonah. He didn't get them out.

    He raised the gun as it stumbled towards him. The desperate groaning filling his ears. Only a few feet away.

"I will keep them alive."

    The shot went off, knocking him back a step. The sound echoing off the trees. It's body hit the ground with a soft thud and the rusty red tainted the pure white snow.

. . . .

Noah jumps up, waking Sarah up beside him. She startles and blinks rapidly.

"What happened?" She asks alarmed.

"Stay here."

"What is it, Noah?"

"Just stay here!"

    He bolts down the hall into Miyonah's room and sees she's sitting up facing the window. She turns when she senses him.

"What was that?" She yells.

    He goes into the next room and opens the door. When he sees that Tanner isn't there, he curses. He runs down the stairs and checks the house. No Tanner. Going back up, he takes the steps two at a time and goes in his drawer to grab his gun, nothing. That's when he realizes it isn't the men that've come and found them.

"Damn kid."

    He bounds out of the house in time to see Tanner walking out of the woods with the gun in his hand. He has a haunted but determined look in his eyes that Noah doesn't like the look of.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He asks him angrily.

    Tanner keeps walking until he's right in front of Noah. He squares his shoulders and tries to stand taller.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" He says back, just as angry.

    Noah raises his eyebrows as Miyonah steps outside, Sarah right behind her holding on to the door frame.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, who the hell are you talking to?"

"Tanner?" asks Sarah, "What's going on?"

Noah looks at Tanner a second longer before turning to face Sarah.

"It's alright, go back inside. It's too cold out here. You two need to rest."

    She sees the gun and gives Noah a look of surprise and worry. He nods at her and she hesitantly steps back inside, bringing Miyonah with her.

    "It's time to grow up, kid." He says facing Tanner again. "What do you think you were doing out there firing a gun? Are you trying to get all of us found? Trying to call every bider in the area right to our doorstep? Honestly, kid, if it's a death wish you have you shouldn't take everyone else down with you."

    Noah watches Tanner's shoulder's fall slightly and some of the anger wash away from his eyes. He hadn't thought about that. He hadn't really thought about anything at all. Nothing but his anger.

"I killed one." Tanner says. "I killed one because I hadn't before and needed to know I could do it. For them."

"It was a stupid move, kid. Really stupid. Like I said, it's time to grow up and start thinking. Give me my gun back."

    Tanner steps closer to Noah, narrowing his eyes and drops the gun in the snow at his feet before moving around him and going in the house. Noah sighs and picks up the gun to go inside too.

    Miyonah holds the door open for Noah and then stands there as everyone else makes their way upstairs. Tanner goes to the room he's staying in and slams the door. Sarah yells at him to open it while Noah tries to calm her down. Miyonah had heard Noah and Tanner's whole conversation.

She walks out to the imprint of the gun in the snow and just looks at it.

It's funny how something so small can do so much damage.

****Third Chapter Complete! Thank you to those reading! I hope you're enjoying it. Tell me what you think so far.****