After…?
Ten
The door creaks open in front of me, it's so dark inside I can barely see a meter in front of my face but the crying has suddenly stopped. Whoever it is, they know that I'm here now, I can still hear them breathing, it's loud and raspy which means that I can gain at least some idea as to where they are in the dark room.
I walk into the room, my eyes adjusting to the darkness nicely, I can see the outline of a window somewhere to the side of me, the moonlight forcing it's way in, helping me to see. The snuffly breathing is coming somewhere to the other side of me and I am just starting to see their outline now, "Are you okay? Are you a survivor?"
Silence. I step a little closer, my vision getting better and better, "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you, I want to help. We can help you."
The figure moves, they're standing a little straighter now but I can still tell that they're hunched, "Come closer, into the light so I can see you. Do you have a name?"
It was almost instantaneous, the change in movement, the figure ran up to me suddenly and violently. I dodged to the side and got a quick glance at the person running towards me, his eyes were pitch black but I couldn't tell if that was because of the lighting in the room. His face was contorted in anger and fear, blood streamed from his mouth and nose and he looked too pale. I twisted round to face him as he rushed past, narrowly missing my shoulder as he went. When he realised that he had missed he lumbered round to look at me and this time I got a better look at him, he would have been handsome if it wasn't for the dried blood all over his face, around his eyes there were black veins which spread across his pale skin. It took me only a few seconds to guess that this guy was dead and that he was possessed by something not human.
He rushes at me again but this time I'm ready for him, stepping in to meet the attack head on. As he reaches me his arms move upwards to grab me but instead I grab him and drag him forward, at the same time I raise my knee to reach his face and the crack as I get in the hit reverberates through the room. It pushes him back but, being dead, the fact that his skull has now caved in doesn't bother him in the slightest and he moves in to try and grab me again. This time I sidestep out of the way, his slow, sluggish movement aiding my dodge away from him, as he passes he tries to turn but I jab an elbow his way, catching his throat before swinging my leg up and kicking him in the chest.
If he were alive, that would have cracked his ribs and he'd be choking on the floor right now but he just stands there, a little stunned for a few moments before swinging his fist my way, it's almost too easy the way I put one arm up to divert his attack before snapping my own fist into his face. More blood sprays everywhere as he collapses in a heap on the floor in front of me, immobilized if not dead for good this time. I step away from him, catching my breath and calming the adrenaline that runs through me like a train on fire, it's been so long since I've had a fight, so long since I've been anywhere near a possessed.