Thanks for the support!
EmeraldQueen88: Thanks! I wanted to write a THG fanfic but I also wanted something different.
Desirae POV
We waste three seconds.
We turn to Ryan to guidance, and he turns to Diane. Then realisation washed over him and he starts to sprint along the perimeter of the fence, screaming, "Follow me, you fools! Run, run, run!"
I dash after him, scanning the fence for holes that might appear. I point out a few sections where Bugs were crowding at, but Cat shakes her head. "No. Bottleneck."
I understand. It would take too long to get through because of the crowd.
There are screams and I hear Bugs getting electrocuted by the fence. The Centipedes point out various Bugs who caught their eyes. The sight of them makes me want to throw up.
Theo is lagging behind. I scream at him to hurry up. It suddenly occurs to me that for the Countdown, all that matters is being fast, athletic and strong. It doesn't matter how smart or intelligent we are, we simply need to be quick. And lucky, I guess. That isn't fair.
"There!" Diane shrieks pointing at a small hole in the electric fence that no one has spotted.
We dash towards to hurriedly. "We can make it!" Myrtle cries.
" … nineteen, eighteen, seventeen … " Magnus Sonor sounds breathless with excitement.
"Ah!" A large, fat Bug stumbled into Cat and her small frame was crushed beneath the boy.
"Cat!" I scream, and pull her up. But I pull her up too sharply and fall over.
Sharp needles seem to spike through my foot and I let out a sharp cry of pain. I sprained my foot! How could I, at a time like this?
I start to tear up in despair, but Cat hauls me to my feet. I attempt to run with her, taking smaller steps with my injured foot.
Ryan, Jon and Diane duck under the fence with little difficulty. Myrtle wriggles under on her belly. We're heading towards the cherry grove.
"Wait, guys! Wait!" Cat cries.
The others don't spare us a second glance. Myrtle steps towards us, but backpedals quickly. She won't risk her life to help us. I suppose I wouldn't either.
Magnus Sonor continues to count down. Ten, nine, eight … Cat runs ahead; I suppose she won't risk her life to help me any longer.
I look back at the Centipedes. The are bringing out various weapons and pointing at the various Bugs they are going after first.
There's one boy maybe my age close to me. He drags himself across the ground with gritted teeth. His legs aren't moving. Is he paralysed?
I'm almost there!
Then I notice Claude staring at me. He presses himself up against the glass and smirks. He dips a finger into his wound and brings out the bloody appendage. "Do you like red, little girl?" he asks, shouting at me.
I whimper and push forward.
Magnus Sonor kept counting down. "Two …"
"One … Zero."
The boy and I let out screams. My head swims and I fall to the ground. My head hurts.
The glass sinks into the ground and the Centipedes pour out.
I'm dead. I'm dead, dead.
Claude heads towards the boy and me. Without warning, he screeched to a halt. He took out a gun and took aim.
The boy and I scream again.
I'm not thinking properly.
I grab the boy by the back of his shirt and cower behind him.
There's a gunshot ringing and the boy coughs blood. Claude looks slightly impressed.
I stumble to my feet, hunched over and panting, and make the mistake of looking down. My stomach churns and my vision swims. I crumple to my knees.
The boy's hand is over his stomach and he coughs blood. He whimpers silently.
I used him as a meat shield. I'm a monster.
No, no, I tell myself, it isn't my fault. It was a survival instinct, a natural reflex. I did what I had to do. I wasn't thinking, and I did it. It saved my life.
I want to throw up.
Claude takes out another gun. I scream and slide backward, but I won't be quick enough. In a literal flash, the boy's pinky has been taken out. The stump has been cauterised.
It's a laser, I realise.
The boy screams again. Claude is torturing him. He doesn't want to make his death instant. I want to scream to kill us quickly, but I can't speak.
The madman runs towards us. I start screaming without knowing it, screaming till my throat is raw. My legs are shaking so much that I can't stand.
I pull my knife from my boot. I can kill myself. A quick stab, and I'd been dead. Even if I screw it up and die slowly and painfully, it's still better than being tortured.
My palms are clammy and my grip on the knife slips. It's not all that sharp. I will not die quickly.
I press it against my throat. How should I do this? Slit my own throat?
I start to cry and hyperventilate. I can't do this!
Claude reaches us. I try to scream, but I choke. "You look yummy!" Claude croons. Does he mean this in the literal sense?
"Are … are you gonna … eat us?" the boy whispers in a hoarse voice. I can barely hear him.
Claude laughs. "Of course!"
"No!" I shriek. "Don't! Please just kill us quickly!"
He doesn't seem to hear me. "Yay! Claude the cannibal's cuisine!"
And instead of killing the boy, he leans forward and sinks his sharpened teeth into the boy's arm, ripping off a piece of flesh.
The boy screams in pure horror and pain. I lean over and empty my guts on the ground. I want to grab my knife and stab Claude in the chest. I want to grab the boy's arm and run out of here. But mostly I just want to get away and live.
I hobble away quickly as the boy screams in agony. Claude is going to shoot me. I know it. He will. The moment he sees me escaping, he will whip out that horrid laser gun of his and shoot me.
But he doesn't. I just hear a cheerful, "Bye! See you!"
I turn around, wincing as I apply pressure on my foot. I remember how he called Ivana rude. "B-Bye?" He's mad. He's insane.
The boy tries to push Claude off and fails.
This is messed up.
I turn and try to duck under the electric fence. Schlock! No, that is not Claude hacking bits of flesh off for later meals. It is … someone cutting meat.
A metallic smell fills the air. No, that is not the smell of blood. It is the smell of coins, metal coins …
A horrible taste fills my mouth. No, that is not the taste of bile. It is the aftertaste of a badly-cooked meal.
A drop of something warm and wet hits my neck. I let out a strangled cry. No, it is not of drop of blood. It was a raindrop announcing the start of a thunderstorm.
I look back and red flashes before my eyes. No, that is not blood. That is … that is …
I stumble a little further and fall to the ground. I can't go on. I feel as if lead has filled my limbs and my legs shake so much that it makes me want to collapse to the ground.
Why am I so weak? I haven't exhausted myself. My only injury is a sprained foot — it's nothing.
It must be because I am weak.
I struggle to my feet. The others must be long gone. It is a good thing that Claude wasn't accompanied by any other Centipedes — they would have caught me.
Claude. The mere thought of him makes me want to fall down and cry again. I have to get away from him.
That boy. He will die, and it's because of me. I used him as a meat shield. I left him to Claude. But, I try to tell myself, he would have died anyway. Claude would have gotten him anyway.
Not necessarily true, I find myself thinking. He could have gotten away like you; you could have fought Claude with him and escaped together.
But then I would probably have died. I wonder, is it better to live as a murderer or die a good person.
I don't know anymore. Before this, I was sure that survival was the most important. But now … I'm not even sure if I regret my decision or not.
Best to stop thinking about this. Get away from them and forget it all.
I am soon surrounded by the cherry trees and I can no longer hear the boy's screams. I don't know how much further I have to walk to get out of here. In fact, it might not be a good idea to leave this place at all. What if this place is safer than the rest of the Grounds?
I try to weigh my options, but I can't think.
The best thing to do would be to look for the others, but I have no idea where they are.
It is then I notice one cherry tree that is oddly bare. The other cherry trees have twice as many cherries as this one.
Human activity. Someone picked those cherries. Even in my emotional state, I can tell.
I look down. The ground is soft. Could there be footprints? So far, I have scuffed out most of the footprints I made, but those Bugs — probably my team — who passed by this area may not have.
I don't see any footprints. They must have scuffed them out.
There's no way of knowing where they went. I look back in the direction I came from. If I assume they went in a straight line from the hole I went through, then I should just keep heading in the same direction.
I walk in that direction as quickly as I can with my injured foot. I hope this isn't a trap set up by an intelligent Centipede.
Soon, I hear voices.
My heart leaps.
I think I hear Cat, shouting angrily.
I head in that direction. I want to call out, but I don't dare draw myself any attention. Soon I see my team. Cat is there, shouting at Ryan, who deals a nasty blow to the side of her head. Diane whispers in Ryan's ear as he glares down at her.
Right now, I don't care what problems they have. I run towards them, shouting.
My team turns to look at me, stunned. Cat exclaims, "I knew you weren't dead!" Myrtle and Theo cheer. Diane gives me a pleasant smile, which could be fake for all I know.
"Are you alright? Were you attacked?" Cat demands to know.
"No. I mean, yeah, I'm … fine. I was attacked by the Centipede with ginger hair — the crazy one," I reply.
"I knew you'd be useless," Ryan growls. "You slowed us down. We could have been caught by a Centipede!"
I stare at him. Is that what you say to a Bug who was just attacked by a mad Centipede?
"Desirae, it's okay," Myrtle says gently. I give a grateful look. "Tell us what happened."
So I tell them everything that transpired, leaving out the part where I hid behind the boy, using him as a meat shield. I don't want them to think I am a cowardly monster.
" … so I went under the electric fence to look for —"
"Yes yes," Ryan interrupts. "But you killed that Centipede, didn't you? That's why he isn't after you, am I right?"
"No. I … I didn't kill him. I just left."
"What!" Ryan leaps up and pushes me to the ground. I squeak in fear. "Don't you get it?" he bellows. "We have to kill them! Not run away!"
"B-but … I couldn't have! He's a freaking Centipede! I can't just up and kill a Centipede! They're too strong! He'd have killed me!"
Ryan glares at me. "You have reached a new level of low. So you're saying you didn't even try to fight him?"
I glower at him. "You … you … try being scared for once! I-it —"
"You were scared, Rae?" He scoffs.
"That is not my name —"
"Whatever." He flicks his hand in my direction. "You had better prove to us that you are some use soon, Rae. Or else you're outta here."
I want to scream. Why doesn't he understand that I was scared and panicking? Why can't he get that I'm incapable of even standing up to a Centipede?
"Ryan! You are not kicking Desirae out of our team if she doesn't prove herself!" Cat yells, pulling me to my feet.
"R-Ryan … maybe it's 'cos not everyone is as brave as you and we're all cowardly and stuff," Theo stutters. He trembles so much that Ryan does not pick up his sarcasm.
Diane smiles at all of us charmingly and rubs Ryan's shoulder. "Theo's right. You're brave, Ryan. You're a leader. You can't expect everyone to be like you."
Ryan sighs. "I s'pose you're right."
I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank god for Diane.
Soon we are on moving once again. Ryan doesn't want to stay in the same place, which, I suppose is a good idea. Cat points out that would mean we'd have a higher chance of running into a Centipede, but Ryan glares at her and she shuts up.
I thought about the poor boy. But no, I can't. It's a terrible thing that happened. In fact, I should try to forget it.
So I try to hide my mind and its thoughts. Everything is repetitive now. Walk. Blink. Breathe.
I am so happy to be able to breathe.
My mind is blank now and I feel nothing save a dull ache in my chest and a pressure on the sides of my head, as if I am wearing a tight, uncomfortable plastic headband. It must be a tension headache.
I see Jon head towards me. "So … you say Claude ate the boy."
I shift uncomfortably. "Yeah. And I … I don't want to talk about it."
"It is very important, Desirae. We need to know more about the Centipedes so we can battle them. Please. You're the only one who has faced a Centipede. You would know them best."
"Claude is not your average Centipede," I warn, trying to end the conversation. "And I don't know anything."
"Yes. I know this. But tell me everything you know."
"He doesn't react to pain, I'm sure you've noticed. I don't know if he's constantly on painkillers or something. Maybe he was just born like that."
"I doubt it," Myrtle interjects, coming to walk next to me. "He can't be born like that. It's called congenital insensitivity to pain. They have a treatment for that now. It's a dangerous sort of thing — they could get injured and not even know it. He wouldn't have let it go untreated. He might just be on drugs."
Jon's eyes light up. "Did you just say it's a dangerous thing? Painkillers or not, we can use this to our advantage."
"The other Centipedes would notice if he were injured and tell him," I argue.
"No. He chased you alone. That means he probably travels alone too." Jon grins. "This is great! What else?"
"Um. He eats people," I say, even though I know this. "Wait a minute! We could —"
"Poison him. We could poison him," Cat murmurs in wonder as she joins our conversation. "Desirae! One of your goodies is a poison!"
I get a tingly little feeling in my stomach. We're smart. We can do this.
"Is it lethal?" Jon asks.
"In very large doses, yes," I tell him, remembering what Cat told me.
"It's brilliant," Cat exclaims, clapping like an excitable child. "We could coat a corpse's skin with the poison and lure him —"
"Wait," Myrtle interjects. "Where would we get a corpse?"
Jona and I shrug. I think of corpses and my mood dampens immediately.
"We … could find one, I guess," Cat says. "Or wait for one of us to … you know. Kick the bucket."
"Oh."
We shut up then and keep walking.
Later one I tell Cat how I realised they were here — I had noticed the cherry tree with no cherries. Cat brings it up and Diane tells us not to pick a whole cherry tree bare the next time.
Theo starts worrying. "Uh oh. Uh oh. That means the Centipedes will know where we are! What will we do?"
"The Centipedes will know where you are if you keep yelling loudly like that," Ryan snaps. "Now shut up. You're on my list of people to kick out when the time is right."
During mid-afternoon Ryan tells us to sit and rest. "I don't know why we haven't gotten out of here yet — this place isn't that big, but no matter. Let's eat."
I'm not feeling particularly hungry, so I decide to eat a few cherries. "Guys, these cherries are safe to eat, right?"
Myrtle inspects one of them. She tastes one, then nods. "They're safe. I'd bet my life on it."
I smile and put a cherry in my mouth. After polishing off the pit, I stretch my tired legs and put the pit in my pocket. I don't want to leave it on the ground and let anyone know there are Bugs here.
I am about to grab another cherry when I see the dark red stains on my fingertips. For a brief moment, I think it is blood, but I steel myself. It's the stains from the cherry, I tell myself.
The colour looks awfully like blood. I inspect it.
Darken the colour, make it thicker, and it could pass for blood.
In my mind I see the corpse of the boy, blood trickling from his stomach and the flesh on his arm gnawed to the bone. Maggots and flies surround him.
Don't think, don't think of …
Cherry blood.
The Bug who had been killed to save my life; his blood is on my hands.
I clench my fists.
Blood, blood, cherry blood.
Cherry blood.
