Chapter Thirteen – In ruins
I awake by the sounds of a crazy M16 going off. I also hear the crazed voice of one of our partners. "Die bitches!" It's Milla. I can hear Edward's crazed voice screeching loudly and the static of a bass going through speakers.
When I look up, I see Yin's head barking out the window, Zoey is sitting next to Yin. Thank god Yin is sitting between us. Zoey has a pistol in her hand as she is shooting out the window, knocking infected back. Francis has a shotgun aimed out of the driver seat window singing along to some hard metal song he managed to scrabble out of a mix tap.
I look out the back window and realize that Milla has turned it into a fucking fortress. I quickly open the window; my hands have regain sensation as I climb through careful. I lean on my knee and zoom in on my scope. I think I startle Milla when I pull back the trigger and knock down one of the climbing beasts.
"Hey kiddo! Good to see you joined the party." She calls over the loud explosion of gun fire. "Wouldn't miss it for the world," I reply. My finger holds onto the trigger and I keep reloading. Milla is doing the same, Francis and Zoey follow. Louis continues to drive, occasionally opening the driver side door to smash them.
I make sure I get one more kill before I sit down in the flatbed of the truck, tired. Yin barks and tries to squeeze through the window but she isn't able too. Milla reloads her gun, guarding the ammo pile like a hawk. Edward is gone, scared off by the fight. Francis has the static blasting now and he is booming louder, Zoey is reloading her pistol and being "kind" to Yin (she's actually petting her).
"Not a bad fight," I say as I reload my scope too lazy to reach the ammo pile. "I've had better." Milla is literally insane. She looks like a businesswoman, but has the mind of a….a…mad woman!
"Ashton, your dog is freaking out. You might want to come back into the car." Zoey adds as she tries to hold Yin down. I get a funny feeling, don't know what it is, but I climb in the backseat anyway. I slide through the window with a little bit of difficulty. Milla joins us by the back window.
"Not bad, kid. Thanks for your help." She sits down, stretching her legs in her short skirt. Zoey loads her pistol and puts it in her lap. "Thanks. You're awfully skillful for a businesswoman. You aren't so bad Zoey, Francis, you can't shoot for shit."
"I had some…deals. With the gangs at sometime, you know dirty, dirty money." She winks at Francis who groans. "Francis would know. I've seen him around the gangs before." Come to think of it, Francis does gawk at Milla A LOT. "So what is your secret?" Uhm what? Oh, I got one…
"I'm adopted." I admit, and it looks like Zoey is going to laugh almost. But she surprises me. "I used to like to garden." She admits and Louis continues it, "I'm a good artist." He has a firm grip on the steering wheel and seems oddly calm, occasionally checking the gas meter. "I used to date Milla." Francis laughs and looks at Milla. She frowns flirty; I can tell they are obviously flirting.
Most of the ride is quiet from there, until night rolls around. I hear that song in my head again, I'm thinking of my sisters again. I can't help but let the memories go. It's just my personality. That's when I hear howling, and it's not coming from Yin.
The moon is a waning gibbous and Milla is leaning against the back window dozing when I hear distance howling. Zoey is asleep, it's only me and Louis and Yin, who is occasionally nudging her head. There it is again, howling. Did my favorite animal survive? It could be Hell Hounds. Milla hears it too because she lifts her head.
"Huh…wha…?" She sounds tired and disoriented, I'm not sure if she realizes I'm awake. "Milla, wolves. Or Hell Hounds. I hear howling." I whisper, and Louis mumbles something from the static radio. He is singing along briefly. That's when I see them.
Two large dog – like creatures leap onto the flatbed. They have red eyes and ragged fur and sharp teeth. They don't waste a minute scramble forward at Milla who has just a second to roll back as one chase her. One jumps at the window, trying to get as Zoey. I reach for my rifle…but I don't have enough time…
"What the hell?" I let out a loud shriek of pain as fangs dig into my shoulder. I can feel the blood running my shoulder and seeping in my hunting vest. "Hell…" I wheeze out, my head is light headed, the fangs are still in my shoulder and I think I hear crunching. I feel the fangs release and I hear the snapping of Yin's teeth.
Zoey kicks the dog off and into the back when I hear a crackling of a gun and I press my hand to my shoulder. My breathing is shallow and I feel a hand on my shoulder besides mine. "Dammit…why did you guys tell me there was Hell Hounds?" Zoey mentions, without calmness at all. Paranoia is more accurate.
"Dead." Milla replies as she slides over to where we are. "Damn kid, that's a huge bite. You best be applying pressure to that immediately."
"Guys, bad timing…but we are here."
New Orleans is a mess; it's hard to see accurately in the dark though. I'm holding onto my bloody shoulder my breathing is shallow, and I'm trying to stay focused.
A massive bridge is collapsed, and the waterfront holds the debris of buildings that once stood. Bodies are in piles and there are empty bullet and bomb shells. Old shattered Molotovs and abandoned guns with no bullets. Nothing is here. Nothing.
"We are screwed, the kid is beaten. What now?" Louis sighs, as I lean up against the pickup truck pacing my breathing. Yin licks my hand, but I ignore her gesture. I'm still holding my shoulder; I know I'm going to die. It's strange too.
They come out of nowhere. CEDA, they do. They arrive after we appear in a truck. I collapse before anything else happens.
CEDA insisted on checking their wounds, all of them. They also insisted for checking for Infected. Ashton got positive; Milla did too, though hers was faint. Louis did as well, but like Milla's; his was faint. They let it slide. They threatened to kill Ashton. That's when Zoey stood up with her pistol.
"No, let me take it from here."
Author's Note – Only two more chapters, even the last one I plan to be really short, so yeah. This chapter sucks, I know. I had to write it in a hurry. So if there's any errors let me know.
I bet no one saw this coming!