Blood Trail: Turn

Chapter 6: Banishment

Derek, Colin and Phil watched from Phil's front porch as the safe haven that was Hinton faced sheer horror. Blood spilled on Main Street. The infected were crashing through the windows of the small shops, in hot pursuit of the screaming townspeople. "Let's move!" Phil ordered as he lead his guests off of his front porch and into the chaos that filled the streets. Phil fired round after round into the horde that plagued the peaceful town. He was followed closely by Derek and Colin, who picked off the roamers that had evaded Phil's shots. Several other people jumped onto the scene to aid the men in combat, including Cliff, Sam, Sean and about a dozen rural townfolk with trucks and rifles. The man who had met with Derek 's group by the train on the previous night mowed down a number of infected with his truck, while his buddies fired shots from the bed.

Cliff, Sam, and Sean fought brutally with their melee weapons. Sam still had his baseball bat, and Cliff still carried his wooden seat and chair leg. Sean had gotten his hands on a sharp machete and was hacking away at the ferocious crowd. At some point, Cliff had let his guard down and an infected woman launched at his should from behind, her hungry eyes on Cliff's shoulder. Derek caught sight of this and immediately put a bullet through the woman's skull. The woman fell lifelessly onto Cliff's back. A startled Cliff turned around to see Derek pointing a pistol in his direction. Cliff realized that Derek had saved his life, and the two men exchanged nods of acknowledgment.

After several minutes of combat, the infected were ultimately defeated in Hinton. All the people that had fought off the infected now stood doubled over in the streets, trying to catch their breath. Dozens of people had been brutally killed, and several others had been bitten by the attackers. Sean, who had participated mercilessly in the fight, noticed that Webb had a large bite wound on his right forearm. He knew what had to be done.

"Wait!" Webb pleaded as he attempted to blot the pouring blood with a rag. Without a second thought, Sean hacked Webb's entire right arm off with his machete, which caused the doctor to let out a loud yell. However, his cries of agony seemed to blend in with the rest of the victims' moans and screams of pain.

Derek and Colin caught up with Cliff and Sam. "You guys alright?" Derek asked, winded.

"Yeah." Cliff wearily responded. "We're good."

"How's that foot feelin'?" Colin questioned.

"A lot better, today." Cliff assured him. "They took good care of me."

"That's good." Derek continued. "Come on. You guys gotta meet this guy, Phil."

Derek and Colin walked Cliff and Sam over to Phil, who was reloading his ammo as the rest of the town made its way to the streets to help the wounded citizens. "Phil." Derek began. "These are our friends Cliff and Sam. They came here with us on the train."

"Well, I'd love to get to you know boys better, but I gotta get back to my granddaughter." Phil answered. "Y'all are welcome to join me."

As Phil began jogging toward his house, Sean went running by toward the pharmacy, where his girlfriend's screams could be heard. "We'll catch up with you in a little bit, Phil." Derek stated.

"That's fine." Phil complied. "You do what you gotta do."

Derek, Colin, Cliff and Sam rushed to the pharmacy. Sean had jumped through the large broken window in the front of the store, and was chopping away at the neck of an infected man, who was taking a bite out of Cynthia's face. The attacker went down, but Cynthia was doomed, and everyone knew it. Sean held his girlfriend close as they both cried, knowing that her fate was sealed. Blood poured out of the side of Cynthia's face, 

"We're gonna...we're gonna get you fixed up." Sean declared, sobbing. "I promise."

Cynthia, understanding that there was no hope, quickly snatched the pistol from Derek's hand and decided on her last words. "I love you." Cynthia put the gun to her head and blew her brains out onto the floor of the pharmacy. It all happened so fast that nobody had time to stop her. Sean shouted in tearful despair as he held Cynthia's lifeless body in his arms. Everyone in the pharmacy expressed sadness at the loss of the innocent teenage girl. Derek reached for his pistol from the girl's hand, but the gun was quickly grabbed by Sean, who aimed it at Derek. Derek put his hands in the air and backed away.