The Survivors

Chapter 37-Ayden's Encounter

Sometimes life sucks. Other times it sucks a lot. Right now is one of those times where sucks isn't even a category. It's more like... well I'll let you decide that for yourself. But it was more than sucks.

The most creepy woman hangs from the branch, slick vines choking around her body and holding her upside down. She chucks knives made of mirror pieces and sharpened stones that are thrown with enough force to take someone's head off. Her sick laugh gives me chills and her ink blotted eyes bore into my soul. It's unsettling. It's probably more than that actually.

Her brown hair is tangled into sharp knots and wound in thick strands, almost like dreads. It's disgusting to see her greasy hair, but her veins are even more revolting. They seem to be filled with black blood, snaking all around her body like worms. Everything about her is unsettling and creepy, I have a feeling she'll be haunting my nightmares for the next couple of years.

I grip my gun tightly, my hands trembling while fighting the urge to run. My ears are ringing from the gunshots coming from Sammy, his eyes narrowed as he fires off bullets as fast as his gun will allow. But the bullets seem to have no effect on the creepy lady, seeming to bounce off her skin and creating red welts that bleed from the impact. But the skin isn't completely penetrated.

My mind speeds up the processing, throwing me into the heat of the action once again. Levi's still on the floor, completely immobilized. He tried to shove Jenny out of the way, but the already strained muscle in his shoulder must have ripped more. He's in an excruciating amount of pain right now and won't move on his own. Then Jenny.

She's starting to tick me off now. I swear if this is some kind of stupid feminist stunt, I'm going to kill her. No, it's not because you're a girl, it's because you can't shoot a gun or fight like Sammy or me. Having you would only slow us down, and look where it got us! And Elliot... did she let him come with? Where the heck did he come from?! Shouldn't Shane and everyone else be watching him?

Jenny stands in a bush, her hazel eyes bulging with horror and turned to stone. Her hands clenched into fists as she stares up at the freaky woman in the tree. Elliot stands a few feet behind her, crying as he kneels on the ground. His arm is still bleeding from the knife the creepy lady threw. When the lady laughed again, I realized it was time to get out of here and forget our mission.

I wasn't even sure why we wanted to catch Seth anyways. We can't do anything with him unless we want to resort to torture. Maybe it was something for us to do, to have the illusion of victory. But I know even I wouldn't be okay with sitting around and waiting for a rescue plane. I turn around quickly and aim my gun up at the lady, aiming for the head.

My gut twists when I squeeze the trigger. Knock-back is powerful on this gun, vibrating through my body as the bullet explodes from the barrel. But I had grounded my feet and kept my arms tense, making sure the gun itself won't go flying. The bullet grazes the side of her head, but she still doesn't react. I spin around quickly, "GO!" I scream at Jenny again, my last hope of her snapping out of it dying fast.

I scramble over to Levi, ducking my head as I run giving off some measure of security. Sweat explodes from my hands as my heart skips beats just as a knife sails past my head. I manage to keep going without screaming out of terror and finally reach Levi. I drop down to him with wild eyes, "Come on Levi, we gotta go! You have to get up!"

He moans loudly in pain, gripping his metal arm causing his fingers to turn white. His face is an ashen grey with dull eyes, filled with glassy tears from the pain. He grimaces again and lets out a sharp cry out pain, curling further into a ball. "Leave," he chokes out, quiet as a whisper, "leave me behind."

"No! You idiot! Get up!" I urge him quickly, glancing up at the freaky mutant lady in fear. "We can't stay here and I'm not leaving you!"

"Get Elliot," he cries out again, dropping his head further, "get him out of here..."