After...?
Two
I.
This is the time, I watch the news carefully for any signs that the situation is getting worse out there. We've all been put under house arrest for days now, everyone in the city. Every so often a runner comes by with packs of food to help keep us going but I believe we're all beginning to get a little restless, considering that it all started with a large explosion. Not all of us heard it, we weren't close enough but it was shown on the news, the news crews ended up having to run for their lives as entities escaped the building in their masses and proceeded to attack anything and everything in their path.
We're all afraid now, Tuesday and Stan haven't been talking to me properly since I made Zoey cry but even in their silence I know they are fearful of what is going to happen.
II.
They can't be stopped now, it's all happening at once and the world feels wrong, as though it no longer belongs to us any more. We were sitting down, all of us, watching the television for any news. The runner had told us to keep an eye on the box because something was finally going to be done, I had greeted him this time and realised he was wearing a portable generator, "That won't help you for long." I told him.
He looked at me, a brief glimpse of recognition on his face, "It's the only thing we've got."
The news flickered onto the screen, on time as usual only this time something was different, something was off about the people on the screen. There was a man and a woman, at first they were talking in hushed whispers before they realised they were on air; they whipped round to face the cameras looking pale and scared.
"Today, it was the last attempt to stop the random and brutal attacks that have been going on throughout the country since the explosion a week and a half ago. All of you will be wondering what has gone on but even now I'm not permitted any access to that information, all I can tell you is the ones doing the attacking are not people. In fact they are a completely unknown entity that we have never faced before, they are fast, can go through walls and they will kill everyone they see.
"You'll be waiting to know if this last attempt to get rid of these things has worked." The presenter paused, staring down at the sheet of paper in his hands in a defeatist manner.
The woman interrupted, "It hasn't worked. The president has declared that the house arrest is no longer in effect from now and that, if you can, get yourselves out of the immediate vicinity as quickly as possible."
Stan was staring at the screen, "What's going on?" He didn't believe it.
I looked at them, all of them, "We need to get out of here now, believe me when I tell you that these things, you can't mess with them. They don't care about normal weapons and they certainly don't care about life. They will drag you Beyond, where they and all the other souls of the dead belong."
Before I knew it, we were running, packing things in rucksacks and dressing in thick, warm clothes. It was then that it happened, the explosion came from the side of us, the apartment that had been next to this one. What had they done? I didn't waste any time, I grabbed the bag, dashed around the house to find the others and we all stole away into the street, away from the fire. Stan looked at me, "Deja vu?"
"Yeah."
Then we ran.
