Delusional

Number 25

The only sound was that of the beasts banging their bodies against the door. I was kneeling next to Tony, I couldn't imagine leaving him here or moving him either. Number 1 came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. Standing up I turned around and hugged her. Dani had stood up and was attempting to open the small translucent window above the bath. He had to break it open. His arm was cut and bleeding, but he didn't hesitate to pick off the broken glass surrounding the edges.

"We have to go." He whispered. He picked up Eve. Number 1 was looking down and then turned around to climb out the small window. The door was cracking, it was down to the four of us. Dani helped Eve out and Number 1 caught her. He followed, I stayed behind. Taking one last glance back at my new friend. I haven't known him for long, but I feel like we've been friends for years, when it's only been a month. Stepping up I reached out of the window, the door was nearly broken down. I jumped back out and over to Tony.

"Protect us one last time bud." I whispered into his ear, for a moment I thought I heard him whisper, but knew it was impossible. They would be distracted by him and not notice the window. I dragged him over to the side of the tub and propped him up facing the door, "Goodbye, Tony."

Climbing through the window I jumped onto the soft grass. We listened as the door broke down, we could hear their barks and growls louder than before. Then the sound of squishy skin and rough bones burst through the air, and Eve threw up, we ran, they were tearing him apart. There was nowhere to go, we didn't know if we were running to the front or the back. It was the back. The back was fenced in by a ugly broken down wire fence, that looked like barbed wire. We crawled through a large hole in the bottom and went into the back yard. It was big, full of trash, bones from the dogs dead victims, and mud.

I lead them to the big tree in the back, it was large enough for all of us to sit in. I went up first with Eve on my back, I took her to the biggest branch so she could lay on it, Dani got the one next to her. Number 1 climbed the tree with ease and took the branch next to me, we were the highest up. You could see she had been crying because the dirt on her face had lines of clean cheek showing. It was the same for all of us. Dani and Eve were talking, loud enough for all of us to hear.

"Stop talking like that." Dani commanded.

"But it's true." Her voice was soft and delicate.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"She wants us to leave her here. She says she's slowing us down." Dani complained.

"Come on Eve that's so cliché, even for you"

"But I am. I can't walk, obviously, and I can't fight back anymore. You may as well leave me here, this way I might not get hurt anymore."

"We're so close though, if you just last a little longer, this may be the last one we have to deal with before this ends and we can all go home together." I say.

"But I'm slowing you down, and maybe if Dani hadn't been holding me, Anthony wouldn't have...."

"You don't know that." Dani told her,

"But I do! This whole thing sucks, I feel like I'm dying slowly and the more I die the more I bring you guys down. And even if we survive this I don't want to live like this useless piece of shit for the rest of my life!"

"Evelyn! Stop right now. You're over exaggerating and being dramatic." Dani yelled at her.

A few solid seconds passed before Eve pushed herself out of the tree. Dani was unable to grab her. We were high enough to cause some real damage, and she had purposefully fell face first. We could only watch as she hit the ground. A loud crunch echoing in the air. She lay motionless at the bottom of the tall tree. We immediately began climbing down, Dani reached her first, and began screaming her name. She had committed suicide. We almost had a safe space. Dani was holding Eve's corpse and bawling. Number 1 was crying with her hands to her face, I was in shock. Eve hadn't been talking much and was apparently depressed. We had been friends for a while and I couldn't tell, no one could.