Hannibal chased after the mace wielding boy. Spear in one hand and a knife in the other, he charged toward the cafe. He was filled with anger and frustration. The freaks had managed to cut them off from the others and now they were all in danger of dying. The cafe had already a couple of freaks inside with a few outside between the remaining kids and the front door. How could it be that simple? Sweat was dripping down Hannibal's forehead. The mace boy charged into the first freak he came to. With a back swing across his body, he nailed the first freak before pouncing on the next.
Hannibal was impressed. The mace wielding boy smashed the second freak's face in and then went for the next one. Hannibal moved faster to keep with the fight. The mace boy was so ruthless in the fight but Hannibal noticed something odd. He was smiling. Like he was enjoying to bash apart freaks. Nothing was wrong with that. Hannibal knew that this world needed kids that craved the sight of blood on the battlefield. Those types of kids would help the children of the world survive.
Hannibal then hauled his spear above his shoulder and threw it into a freak like a javelin. His spear hit a freak right in the dead center of the chest. Hannibal moved so fast to the freak and freed the spear from it's chest before it fell to the ground. Hannibal then turned to see Jeff was now into the fight and destroying the skulls of other freaks. The Asian boy was with the leader of the ambulance group charging into a trio of freaks. The Asian boy reached the first one and swung his samurai sword to slice a freak's arm clean off. Without barely any moment to spare he then thrust his samurai blade into the face of the armless freak. The leader broke apart another freak's limbs before finishing it. The two then easily downed the last one with barely any effort.
Hannibal then realized that the skirmish outside had only lasted a few seconds.
Good.
Jeff then moved through the door with Mace Boy and Samurai Kid at his heels. Hannibal followed behind through the doorway. He hated to think what would behind the door. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he couldn't believe his eyes.
There was around a dozen freaks on the first floor, eating three kids. Hannibal didn't try to look and know who they were until the room was safe. Wouldn't matter much since Hannibal barely knew any of them. Jeff leaped into the fight with Samurai Kid and Mace Boy beside him. The three boys were making quick work. Hannibal figured to focus on a few other freaks. The masked skirmisher and their leader stood beside Hannibal with weapons drawn. The skirmisher had a crossbow aimed and panning between the freaks, keeping them back. The leader twirled his club between his fingers.
"Let's rock." He said with a slight smile. One freak tried to move in to attack, Hannibal instinctively brought the end of his spear right into the it's chest. The freak was stopped in his tracks as a bolt flew right into his eye. Hannibal looked to the skirmisher who now dropped the crossbow and revealed an African machete like blade. The three of them then attacked the remaining others. With their skills and experience, the freaks were all left bleeding to death or dead on the floor. Hannibal looked to the three kid corpses on the floor.
The first was Makayla. The new girl. Her right arm was torn off her body. The severed arm was a few feet away with chucks missing from the hungry freak's mouths. Makayla's mouth was hung wide open and her eyes were looking at the ceiling. There was no life in them. They were gray and seemed old. Like the soul that once used them was gone. Makayla's chestnut hair was a rugged mess. Her maroon hoodie was soaked with blood.
The second was Peyton. The quiet boy. His chest was torn open, ribs broken away. Probably by the freaks tearing apart the bones to get to the soft organs. Luckily he was slouched over on his side and face down on the floor. It was good. Hannibal couldn't help to see his face. There was nothing left but strips of his green t-shirt.
Lastly was Nancy. Her head was missing. Her black and pink tank top was the only way he could tell it was her. There was a huge puddle of blood on the floor around her open neck. Hannibal looked around the room to see in the corner was a pale ball with long midnight black hair dangled from it. It was the head of Nancy with bite marks across her face. Skin peeled away by teeth. Hannibal tried his best not to vomit. Nausea was filling his stomach. Hannibal noticed Jeff, standing over the corpse of Makayla. He leaned down and closed her eyes with his two fingers. Blood was now on the tips of his fingers. A loud scream came from upstairs, as well as the sounds of a scuffle.
"Upstairs!" Kylee yelled still standing in the doorway with the boy with a Riot Gun. Hannibal didn't wait. He leapt over the counter only to land on another kid. Felicity. She was dead. He could tell by how much blood was pooled around her. Hannibal wanted to take a moment to mourn, but if he waited any longer, he might have to mourn even more kids. Hannibal moved around behind the counter to the old wooden staircase. Hannibal looked up the stairs to see three freaks tearing apart the limbs from another teen. Hannibal charged up the stairs and thrust his spear into the lower back of the first freak. He left the spear in and used his knife to bring it in the skull of the second freak. The last freak, a skinny mother with a mouthful of flesh, snarled at Hannibal. He swiftly brought his knife into her neck, leaving it to bleed to death. Hannibal yanked out his spear from the first freak to get a clear look at the next dead kid. From how mangled her corpse was, he couldn't tell who it was. The only things he could tell was that she had blonde hair with pink tips.
Hannibal then got roughly shoved by Jeff who ran up the stairs behind Hannibal. The masked skirmisher also ran past that brought Hannibal back to reality. It was as though he was lost in a daze. He raced up the staircase to get to the next floor. It was a odd sight. There was six remaining freaks between Hannibal beside the fighters and the last remaining kids in the café. Hannibal could see the freaks with their attention on the crippled defenders. Hannibal then noticed that one of the men freaks had a girl by the hair. Her neck was out of line, clear that she had a broken neck. They wasted no time and jumped into the fight. In a matter of seconds all the freaks were dead.
The room was quiet except for breaths and silent sobbing. The last girl was the one called Celena. Her neck was so twisted that her vertebras weren't even close to being in line. Otto was seen standing beside Quincy and Annabel who still had their weapons in hands ready to of defended their last remaining friends. Paige was seen in the corner holding Eddie who was covered in blood. His arm was drenched with blood down to his fingertips. He was pale and looked barely awake. Katherine sat on the bed with her face in her hands, crying horribly. The leader of the other group arrived up the stairs.
"Everyone okay in here?" He asked calmly as he strolled over the corpses. Annabel stepped forward.
"I think we're okay, Eddie needs help and Lance locked himself in the bathroom."
The leader with Mace Boy and the Skirmisher strolled over to the door and tried pulled the knob, but no budge.
"Hey bud, you're all safe now. Step away from the door, we're coming in." The leader stepped back and let Mace Boy step up. The massively big boy swung his mace to the knob and then charged into the door, driving the door off it's hinges. Hannibal looked over their shoulder to see Lance's feet on the floor. The leader and the Mace Boy stepped out of the room.
"You're friend didn't stay with us." The two then stepped aside. Hannibal moved into the doorway with Annabel and Jeff to see Lance lying on the floor dead. His wrists with self inflicted cuts from a black sharpie colored razor. The leader looked around the room.
"You're buddy in the corner okay?" The leader asked to Paige who still had Eddie in her hands. She shook her head.
"He's dead. He fought till his last breath for us." Paige said sobbing, playing with Eddie's hair. It was like she was adding life to the dead body. The leader moved with his crew toward the staircase.
"We'll let you guys mourn your fallen, me and my guys'll stay down stairs when you folks will be ready to talk." The leader walked down the stairs with Mace Boy and Skirmisher behind him. There was just a dead silent in the room. Looking at the dead bodies on the floor. Freaks and friends. Bloody and dead. Quincy stared at Eddie's dead body. He turned to Jeff.
"He fought like no other. They bite apart his arm and shoulder but he kept fighting." Quincy then moved to the corner of the room and vomited. Otto remained completely still, paralyzed by the shock. Paige embarrassed Kylee as soon as they both connected eyes. Tears fell from their cheeks. Hannibal felt so hollow. Like he should have saved them all. This was half his plan as much as Kylee. He wasn't sure why she looked to him for advice. Her boyfriend was the leader of her group. Hannibal started walking down the stairs and reached into his pocket. He then revealed a prescription container and took a pill out. Hannibal swallowed it down and was sure no one was looking. He wanted to be sure that no one knew what was medically wrong with him.
Hannibal went to the bottom of the staircase and rounded the corner to see the leader with his group.
"Niall, head back to the ambulance and drive it front of this cafe. Talk to the children too, they might be a little scared." He ordered to the boy, Niall, with the Riot Gun. Niall nodded and strolled out the door. The leader turned toward Mace Boy and Skirmisher and shrugged toward the street. Samurai Kid stayed near the leader with a solid face.
"You two watch the streets, I trust that you two would be able to handle anything."
"Of course, who'd you think you were talking to." Mace Boy said walking outside with Skirmisher behind him. The leader turned to Hannibal now.
"You guys look like you needed some help."
"Yeah, appreciated the whole 'saving our asses' part." Hannibal said. The leader smirked.
"Not a problem. Name's Alex."
The two shook hands when Jeff, Paige, and Kylee came downstairs. Paige didn't seem very stable. Luckily Kylee was there for her. From what Hannibal knew, they were best friends before the freaks rose. Jeff was a cold stone but it was obvious that he was hit hard by the death of these kids that we were in charge of protecting. That's how he was. Jeff was tough. Made him a good leader. Now he was too devastated by the lost of our group. Vicker, Sal, Garner, Ramero, Sandy, and the rest of them. Dead. People dying was a common thing.
Hannibal wished he could go back to newspaper club. Just him and his camera, roaming the halls between periods. Taking pictures. Capturing moments of life in a paused image window.
"Where did you guys come from?" Jeff asked with his sledgehammer over his shoulder. The one named Alex smiled.
"Never stayed in a place long enough to say we've been at. We're like... what are those kind of people who travel and never stop? Nimids? Norans?"
"Nomads?"
"Yeah that! That's what I'd say we are. We really have been just roaming the streets never really having a destination. Until recently that is."
"How has that changed?" Kylee asked.
"Well, there are other kids out there. We stumbled on a group that were going to spread out and travel for safe havens. One was apparently a school ironically. Ha, could you believe that? Wanting to go to a school?" Alex said with a smile.
"Yeah, real funny." Jeff said coldly. The emotionless tone made it clear to Alex to not joke around. But he still kept this bright look on his face.
"Right, so anyways. We heard about a few places all over the city. So we collected up our stuff and took to the streets again. Searching. 'Nomad-ing' around you know?"
"How many are of you?" Paige asked. Alex smiled and looked over Paige.
"Well, there's Keiji, Mason, Niall, Gus, and uhm... Ten. Wait nine. No ten. Maybe er no. Ten."
"That's it?" Kylee asked.
"Well yeah we've got like five children in the ambulance. Six if I ever drive."
"Why'd you stop for us?"
Alex stopped with his humor and smile. He looked into each of their eyes.
"I'm a hopeful guy. Optimistic I think it's called. I have seen people betray others, leaving some of their once friends to die and what not. I stopped and saved you folks because I would like to hope that you guys and girls would do the same if it were the other way around."
Hannibal really appreciated what kind of character Alex was. Nice and caring. His group could have went on with their day and let them die. But he had them go in , risk their lives, and save everyone. The Samurai Kid put his hand on Alex's shoulder and nodded.
"Do not be upset Alex. We did what we could." The Samurai Kid said. He sounded like a typical Hollywood Japanese actor. Talking in a strong voice with sentences that ended hardly. His eyes were solid and would seem to lock onto whomever they were upon. His skin was a tan and eyes barely being seen through his eyelids.
"Thanks Keiji." Alex said with a smile to his friend. They seemed to be a nice crowd. Suddenly the Mace Boy emerged through the door, breathing hard and looking urgent.
"What is it Mason?" Alex asked picking up his club from the counter.
"Five kids are coming down the street, they're armed and look pretty dangerous." Mason said. Alex rushed outside the door with Jeff and Kylee at their heels with Hannibal following a bit behind. The masked Skirmisher held the crossbow with a scope up and looked down the street.
"Wait for my signal to attack Lizz. Let's see if they're hostile." Alex said lifting up his club over his shoulder. Hannibal looked down the street. In the distance he could see five figures walking down the street. They were all athletic size so they were clearly not girls. The boy, Mason, readied his mace in one hand and a bowie knife in the other. Hannibal squinted his eyes to focus his eyes on them. They looked familiar. They were familiar. They were the Scouts.
"Hold your fire! They're with us!" Kylee screamed with glee. The kids waited patiently as the five boys approached. Backpacks were full, looked dirty, and exhausted. The worst part, Troy's neck was covered with blood. When the Scouts got close and noticed the new kids, they got suspicious. Dante, Simon, and Zane drew their weapons while Jonas kept holding Troy up from the opposite side of his wound. Kylee ran past all the kids and hugged Troy gently not to hurt his wound. Zane approached up closer with his fire axe in one hand and a clenched fist in the other. The Skirmisher, called Lizz, still however had the crossbow in hand, directed at the Scouts.
"The fuck are you guys?" Zane said looking at Alex, Keiji, Mason, and Lizz. Mason dangled his mace and looked at Zane.
"The guys who just saved your friend's lives. How's about some respect?" Mason said threateningly.
"Don't care if you saved my mother. Who the hell are you guys and what you doing here."
"The guys who saved your friend's lives."
"Don't test me buddy."
Luckily, Mason was pulled back by Alex who took charge of the conversation.
"Name's Alex. Leader of my group. You with these guys from the café?"
"J'yeah. So?"
"Well we came just in time before the rest of your group were overrun."
Troy then looked up and seemed struck down with sadness.
"What are you talking about?" Troy then looked to Kylee. She began to become teary eyed and sob.
"We were attacked. We lost some of ours. I tried to protect them Troy. But I couldn't do it! If only you were here. You'd of known what to do." Kylee said ducking her face to cry into his shoulder. Troy put his good hand and patted her back. They could all tell that Troy was in bad shape. By now all the remaining kids were standing in front of the café watching the dilemma undergoing. It was like a Recess fight with the other kids watching from a distance. Whispering to one another. But just standing there and watching.
"How many we lose?" Troy asked Jeff over Kylee's shoulder.
"Twelve." Jeff said blankly. Troy sighed sadly and put his hand over his face. He could be heard saying no repeatedly to himself. Dante then emerged and looked at the boy Alex.
"Make no mistake. We appreciate what you and your friends did for us. You have our thanks."
"Not all of us." Zane said crossing his arms with his axe leaning against his leg. Alex didn't seem to mind and shook Dante's hand.
"Just trying to show there's still some humanity in this cruel world. We'll gladly help you guys clean up the place before we head out. Maybe even have one of our kids take a look at your buddy's wound." Alex said before waving his group aside. Leaving the Scouts and the remaining kids to themselves.