Chapter 12

The perpetual Darkness

"GO GO GO!!"

Sully pushed himself of the ground just as the body of a flailing creature landed just where he had been.

He glanced around wildly, his hands in front of him in a defensive pose as he whirled around in a circle, gauging his surroundings.

They were everywhere.

At least 10 had Elena, Nate and Sully confined in a tight circle, snarling, their moves jagged and erratic. They hissed and screamed at him, their hands raking out in front of them, tensed.

It took Sully a moment to realize what exactly he was looking at.

They were all in army fatigues.

They were all the soldiers from Hawkins' base. Marines, dressed head to toe in uniform, a gun lazily holstered by their side, a last name printed above a small pocket on the breast.

All of them had been taken over by the creatures.

"Nate.. There all possessed" Elena whimpered in a small voice.

More men appeared from the trees, tightening the circle around the trio. Pale and slick with sweat, they swayed on the spot, maintaining their circle.. waiting.

Waiting for what?

A second later, Sully's question was answered. A lone marine appeared out of the darkness and an eerie tense atmosphere filled the air. The creatures bowed their heads slightly at the sight of this creature/man, quieting down, restricting their movements.

The lone marine's fatigues read the name of the poor soul who once inhabited them, Frost. He was different than the rest; he carried an air of authority around him. Sully figured this was their leader.

Frost barked an indistinguishable group of syllables and sounds at the rest of the men who cowered their heads. He continued to presumably shout orders at them and then gestured at the fire.

All the men's eyes suddenly turned to the camp fire. They were watching it intently, their eyes wide and unblinking.

"The fire?" murmured Sully. What was it about the fire?

A glint of silver caught Sullivan's eye and his eyes automatically raked to the source. The gun. Elena's pistol sitting innocently on the ground.....

I have to get that gun

The campfire was beginning to die out, a few small flames clutching to existence before flickering carelessly in the breeze. The men still seemed memorised by the flames, watching them, sucking in their breath as it would appear to die out, only to emerge a split second later.

"Why aren't they attacking us?" whispered Nate under his breath to Elena. He held his arms outstretched over her, protecting her.

"They're waiting for the fire to go out" Elena said horrified.

Sully surveyed the rest of the circle surrounding them. It was true. Every single pair of the marine's eyes were staring hypnotised at the flame. Sully figured that was the order Frost had given. Wait for the signal... To attack in the dark.

"Nate... can you get to that gun?" whispered Sully elbowing Nate's side, never taking his eyes off the pistol.

No reply.

"Nate, I think you're closer" he tried again. He elbowed him harder.

But Nate was silent. Sully turned to look at him. At the same time, Sully saw Frost's head slowly and look at Nate curiously.

Nate's eyes were closed and his lips were parted slightly. He was completely still and silent, Sully wondered if he was even breathing. He prodded him again with his elbow.
The fire crackled loudly, startling a few of the creatures who watched in glee as another section succumbed to the moist jungle air. The flames flickered, getting smaller and smaller with each second.

"Nate?" Elena was now touching his face, slapping him lightly.

Suddenly his eyes sprang open causing Elena to jump and cry out. His eyes were completely white for a good few seconds before his iris came down slowly and painfully from the lid of his eyes. He blinked a few times.

Sully took a tentative step back.

"You're not Nate..." he started as Nate's eyes locked with Sully's.

"Sully! The fire!" Elena cried.

Sully watched in horror as it died out, leaving them in perpetual blackness.

That was all Sully needed. Dimly, he could still make out the faint outline of Elena's pistol, resting against a rock. The men around them roared and prepared to attack, but Sully had already anticipated this and threw himself on the ground. His hand reached out above him, frantically feeling for the cold heavy metal of the weapon before he felt the tips of his fingers graze the barrel. In one swift movement, he swung it into the air and pulled the trigger.

BAANGG

The sound echoed through the trees slicing through the inhumane sounds of the men. Dazed for a moment, Sully lay on the ground, his arm still pointed skyward, when it was suddenly seized by a petite woman's hand and he was roughly pulled to his feet into the direction of the trees.

Then they were running. They were running hard into absolute blackness. Sully watched Elena's white shirt moving in front of him, and Nate, or whoever he, pulling her along.

Sully did not take a second to look behind him, for he could hear the creatures clipping at his heels, twigs snapping under heavy marine boots, wails and cries of the confusion he had caused by shooting the gun. It had given them a good head start. But now where?

Sully tripped suddenly on a tree branch, but fixed the landing on the soft soil in a forward combat roll. As soon as he regained his feet, he began to sprint like he had never done so before. His legs felt like they were running on air, and he wasn't even aware of a particular direction he was headed in only that....

He was alone..

Where are Elena and Nate?

He had lost them.

Panic rose into his throat as he slowed down to a jogging pace and turned in circles, squinting into the darkness hoping to catch a glimpse of Elena's shirt or Nate's bobbing head.

But nothing.

Weren't they just in front of me? He wondered incredulously.

He stopped altogether and was still. He couldn't hear the creatures anymore. He couldn't hear anything but his own raspy breath and his hammering heart.

Should I turn around? He stepped hesitantly in one direction, changed his mind. Took another tentative step in another direction. Changed his mind.

A million thoughts clogged into his brain and he couldn't separate one from the other. He could feel the blood rushing through his veins, the adrenaline pumping his heart into overdrive. He clutched at his shirt and winced slightly as pain radiated from his chest.

I'm all alone he realized.

Another burst of pain erupted from his chest. He suddenly felt feverish, hot and sticky. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he raised his hands in front of his face to see that they were shaking.

And with a small strangled cry, Victor Sullivan fell to his knees.. and was no more.