A/N: Trigger warning - This chapter has content involving child abuse and implied sexual assault.
If you are easily triggered by this kind of content, either turn away or proceed with cautioun.
It typically isn't rare for kids her age but it was for Erlina, and was beginning to get impatient with Josh's mindless dilly-dallying. The child stood up and paced around for a moment or two, meanwhile, her aunt, Pam, looked around for interesting things to read. It was hard to believe that people ever would need bibles and biblical tracks during the time of the outbreak, but maybe it was just the thing people needed during these times once she thought it over.
Before the both of them could get carried away, Erlina was the one to ask the important questions,
"What's taking him so long?" she crossed her arms.
"I don't know," Pam stood up. She squeezed out from behind one of the pews, "Maybe we should go check on h—"
Erlina had flipped the survivor switch just in time. She immediately pulled out her bow and yanked an arrow from her quiver. Backing away until she was close enough to her aunt, she tirelessly switched her aim back and forth at two figures, nervously shuffling around her footing. Before Pam could finish her sentence, she turned over to see two built men entering the church and looking right at her, both appearing to be just as astonished to see their awkward faces. Frightened, she stood firmly in place and decided to not make any sudden movements thinking that Erlina's irrationality already might've put them in hot water,
"Erlina," Pam's voice lighty trembled.
"Put that way, niña," one of the men spoke with a strong Spaniard dialect.
He was fairly good-looking in terms of coming across like any average man, but any person knew that you couldn't judge people merely by looks anymore. The popular saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" came into full effect during these times. He was a built man with a scruff that covered his entire jawline. He wore black pants and a brown leather jacket.
The second man was quite bigger and stood out because of his flannel top. In addition to his casual wear, was an axe strapped around his thigh. Something that obviously could be used for more than just hacking wood.
Pam, being her only guardian in the situation, was the first to speak and hoped to be the mediator of things,
"Settle down," Pam initiated. She carefully rested her hand on Erlina's shoulder and stepped in front of her while simultaneously motioning her to lower the weapon. Erlina did what was requested of her but wasn't silly enough to lay her entire guard down. Pam looked back at both men with pleading eyes, mainly because she assumed she and an eleven-year-old would be no match for the both of them, "We don't want any trouble..."
"Doesn't really look that way when you break into someone's home."
"We didn't break in. I promise. The front door was left open," Pam elaborated putting her hands up in defense.
"Liars," He replied.
"No!" Pam was quick to defend.
"We aren't lying," Erlina said, aiming with her bow and arrow once again as if she could shoot down the false accusation.
"Erlina!" Pam spat sharply once again, signaling for her to lower her weapon, "Please," Pam said practically beginning to beg, "Just let me call for my son and then we can leave...we were just traveling and making stops. We aren't even from around here."
While Pam waited for a response, all she could make out was a look of sudden shock that appeared on both of the strangers' faces. Out of the blue, a man lurking in the shadows grabbed Erlina from behind and placed his dry hands over her mouth, which was the biggest mistake he could've made. Getting a good clench with her teeth, Erlina chomped his palm. As she hoped, the pain was just enough that it prompted him to release her. Using both hands to grab hold of a limb of her bow, she built herself up for a powerful swing.
"ERLINA!" Pam shouted. Falling back on her own words, she quickly armed herself with her Beretta and aimed at the very same man as well. However, the two other men were swift on their feet and immediately charged at her from the side. Had she turned to look at them any sooner, she probably would've gotten one of them before they reached her, but she pulled her trigger at the last minute and the man in the leather coat was the first to smack her hand out of the way and direct the bullet astray. Aggressively held by the wrist, both men used an unnecessary amount of strength to pin her to the ground.
Erlina, on the other hand, used all of her god-given strength for someone her size and swung the lower limb of her bow at the stranger's face and fibula. She had gotten enough hits in but, truthfully, her hits weren't causing much damage. As she went in for another swing, the man quickly regained his composure and threw Erlina off balance by blocking off a final swing and knocking off her sway. Using his other arm, he smacked Erlina with an almighty blow and sent her spinning into dizziness. Grunting as she hit the floor, her arrows and bow scattered and slid away from her due to the trajectory and impact.
"No!" Pam roared through tears, "Let gooo!" she sobbed, fighting and jumping to get the two men off of her.
Seeing that she wouldn't let up, one of them got hold of her beretta and easily pistol-whipped her, greeting her with a vision of darkness.
Despite Josh's eagerness to get to his family, it was never smart to run headfirst into a shoot out. So, he managed to sneak around and make his way halfway up another stairway than the set of stairs he initially walked down. Silently climbing it, it led right to the entrance of the church. Strangely, one of the entrance doors was left wide open, allowing cool dry drafts to sneak in crinkled dead leaves from the outside.
Remaining crouched against the very wall of the lobby, Josh crept to the corner that cut off just before leading to the chapel. Peeking out in the area, Josh was stunned to see his mother laid out on the floor like some useless corpse. Thankfully, no one had noticed him but he was about to put all of that at risk just to make sure that his mother was alive and well. Josh cursed to himself, thinking long and hard about how he was going to get themselves out of this. Another red flag was that Erlina was nowhere in sight and his eyes searched endlessly, even exposing himself slightly to get more of a view past the pews that were parallel to his eye level. All it took was some bass-filled voices to make Josh cower back into the walls like a frightened animal.
"Goddammit, Hugo. Why'd you have to go ahead and do something stupid like that?" a male wearing a plaid shirt expressed openly.
"Now what the hell did I do?" Hugo responded in offense.
"We could've let them go before you went ahead and ruined everything!"
The one named "Hugo" paused and rubbed his temples.
"Man, what the hell did you expect me to do? They were both armed."
"You knocked out a kid, dammit!"
"And that kid was about to put an arrow between both of your eyes!"
"Alright, alright," the third man, who had his back turned, tried to conciliate, "Enough. We're already too deep into this shit. She mentioned a son, so I suggest we go and find him because there's no way we can talk our way out of this one," he scowled at Hugo, "Now can we?"
"Look, man, give me a break. The brat wanted to kill you!"
Immediately, Josh lost concentration in the midst of their conversation and soon realized the reason why he couldn't see Erlina was simply because her body was out of his cone of vision. Slightly distracted by trying to get a sight of his younger cousin, Josh fell further back into hiding when the group commenced a search party to pursue him.
Breaking apart, one of them decided to come his way. Quickly and carefully, Josh made his way to the opened exit and hid outside just behind the second, unopened door. Periodically checking to see if the coast was clear, Josh re-entered the lobby and made sure that all three men were presumably scattered throughout the church. He eventually made it to both feet and ran into the chapel, instantly dropping to his mother's body.
"Mom!" he whispered, shaking her in hopes of waking her up, "Mom, get up!"he slightly elevated his voice. Glancing up, he finally took notice of Erlina's body as well, "Oh, god!"
Immediately, he ran over to her next and tried to do the same, getting the same emotionless response. He tightened his eyes shut for a brief moment, refusing to show a sign of emotion. For being in a place so holy and sacred, Josh had never felt more alone and endangered. Josh had no idea what to do next to guarantee his family's safety out of this place. Carrying both his mother and cousin didn't seem much like a viable option, seeing that he was a scrawny teen that lacked a lot in the strength department. Seeing that his mother was just a few pounds heavier than he was, it was something he never tried or even considered before. Besides the fact that there was essentially no other option, it was the only thing that could be done and it had to be done pronto.
After confirming that they were both alive, he shuffled through his mother's pockets, remembering she had placed the car keys in her pockets. Quickly enough, he located them, seeing that it made a lot of noise due to the countless keys his mother had a hard time letting go of for whatever reason. Place them into his own pocket, Josh heard a man slowly making their way up the staircase by the entrance and calling out his comrade's names,
"I didn't see anyone down there," he heard one of them shout.
Instantly Josh moved to the side and remained hidden, hoping to not be seen from any angle and to not be surprised by his pursuer. Before the man got a move on, he announced that he would be going upstairs to accompany his accomplices.
This was Josh's chance. As soon as the stranger was out of sight, Josh would take this opportunity to get things prepared, but...he had to be quick. He was sure not to give himself too much credit but speed and stealth were somewhat of a specialty of his, and outwitting his enemies always came as a surprise to him.
Quickly, Josh made his way back to the exit. Briefly peering out from inside of the church, he beamed through to the outside after confirming that it was safe enough. Prioritizing his desire to rescue his family above all else, he didn't really think to be too careful. Of course, he was cautious to a point that he looked over his shoulder every few seconds but he was in a hurry, and as long as bullets weren't being fired at him, he could care less if someone was spying on him in the distance. Things felt safe...for now at least. All the overheard chatter about wanting to let his mother and cousin walk free was something Josh would've never brought after that sight in the basement. The thought of it made him sick to his stomach and he just knew that there was going to be no way out of this until he safely saved everyone. The mere thought of him, his mother, and cousin ending up like corpses he saw was his prime motivator and it was like the furnace in the room lit a fire under his ass since then.
The car was parked a good distance from the church, hence why no one thought to loot it. Already holding the keys in hand, he slid to a stop once he reached the vehicle and hastily made his way into the driver's seat. The anxiety infused adrenaline caused his hands to shake uncontrollably and gave him slight difficulty to complete a task as simple as opening a car door. Once he unlocked it, the first thing he did was sit inside and start up the engine.
Softly, he closed the door and drove off towards the church. To avoid possibly being seen by any of the enemies upstairs, he pulled up closer to the sidewalk but realistically, he was still in the open and the only thing he could rely on was himself and his limited endurance. All he wanted to do was get the hell in and get the hell out. So, without even thinking, Josh quickly leapt out of the car and opened both back doors in hopes of just stuffing his relatives inside.
There wasn't much time to calculate before their attackers returned to the ground floor, so Josh had to think while moving. His best bet was starting with Erlina because she was the lightest one. Picking up the pace, he carefully trod back into the lobby and listened to the voices that were still coming from upstairs. He was careful to not run in a manner that would alert the party upstairs.
He entered the chapel, feeling so close to escaping that he could taste it. His tall, thin figure loomed over Erlina, and before lifting her, he picked up her bow and hung it on his shoulder. Basically cradling her, he gave her a peck on the forehead, silently making the promise that he was going to get both her and his mother out of here.
Stepping foot outside for about the third time, he briskly carried her to the opposite side of the car, leaving the easiest and most accessible side open for when he reached his mother. Frankly, it had been a while since he last lifted Erlina, and that's when it dawned on him how much he wanted to see her grow. Carefully placing her into the car, he sat her upright and buckled her in. Removing her bow from his shoulder, he tossed it to the front seat and closed the door.
Next was his mother. Ignoring all of the unwanted pessimism on whether or not this would go as planned, he went back to where she laid. There was no possibility that he could cradle his mother in the same manner he did with Erlina. But without much thought, he began to gradually lift her torso. Starting from the head, it felt like unsticking something from a frying pan. Once she was completely sat up, he wrapped his arms from underneath her underarms and placed his forearms around her bosom. Despite the sounds of his heavy breathing and the ruffling of their clothing, you could hear a pin drop. And as if things couldn't get any worse, Josh heard voices from the upstairs becoming clearer. Attempting to remain calm, Josh tried getting a good hold on his mother. Meanwhile, her feet were still touching the floor, he dragged his mother's body from the chapel and tirelessly moved her until they were both outside with no intention to stop no matter what went wrong.
His eyes even began tearing as he neared the car—finally. They could escape and leave this damned place. Carefully, he placed her down by the back tire, circled her, and lifted her from the front this time and accomplished his second move placing her into the backseat. Quickly, maneuvering her, he positioned and adjusted her legs until they looked good enough for him. Disregarding the seat belt, he backed out of the backseat and prepared to close the door. However, he paused. Strangely, he couldn't help but sense a presence behind him. He held his breath momentarily and looked at the distorted reflection given off by the car door window. Attempting to surprise the stranger with a quick shove as he turned around, the figure shoved themselves into him and put Josh in a headlock followed up by the brute force of having his face hammered by the slamming of the car door.
Groaning in pain, Josh had finally awoken, finding himself sitting in a metal folding chair and facing a wall. Upon the opening of his eyes, he immediately lowered his head, feeling an immense and painful ring he had ever felt. It wasn't until he regained all senses that he realized there was a thick, winding cloth wrapped around his head to gag him. Aside from that, he could feel a thin coat of blood collect on his upper-lip. Simply trying to move, he wasn't surprised to see that he was impeccably restrained. With each foot tied to a leg of the chair and his arms tied behind his back, he was so well secured that he couldn't move a muscle even if he tried. He panicked, perspired profusely, and his heart began to pound and felt like a motor about to give out. Giving a momentary breath of exhaustion, followed by a light whimper, he truly believed that he would end up being added to the gruesome collection that dwelled in the basement of this so-called holy house. Just then, jumping in fright, Josh saw a random man he never laid eyes on before, appear to his right and casually make his way in front of him.
"Rise and shine," he eerily greeted, having a noticeable Spaniard accent like one of his comrades. Josh could only respond with heavy breaths and trembles. Upon a closer look, he was a man of average height and build. He was much older, most likely in his early 60s, had remains of hair on both sides of his head, and he had what some would call a pornstache. Almost as if he was prospering from his captive's apparent terror, he waited a moment before speaking. But Josh could make out a familiar sound that sounded like it was in the same room with him. His eyes focused elsewhere for a minute, but he could tell his interrogator didn't like that. Lifting his hand, the stranger guided Josh's face to look at him, now possessing a look of obvious disapproval, "Look at me," he demanded like some sort of authority figure, "I'm going to ask you a simple question and you're going to give me a simple, truthful answer," he paused/and went out of sight. Circling himself around Josh's seat, It made Josh uneasy, being unable to see what was going to happen from behind if it ever did. However, before he knew it, the fabric around his face was untied. When the man returned, into Josh's line of sight, the rag was in a balled-up fist, "Now," the stranger resumed, "Did you take anything else from me?" he spoke calmly, apparently giving Josh a chance to explain himself.
But it was a chance that Josh least cared for. Instead, he recognized what the faint sound from a moment ago was,
"ERLINA?!" he yelled out.
Sooner than he could shut his mouth, the same fist that held the rag struck Josh clean across the face. The blow was so hard that it titled his seat on one pair of legs, eventually causing it to lean off-balance and fall to the ground. Josh groaned in pain as his head continued to ring. But once he hit the floor, he fell in a position that gave him a better view of the room he was in. Craning his head upward, he could make out what appeared to be a small, indoor basketball court. Although that's what it appeared to look like, it certainly functioned as something else. There were stacks of folded tables and chairs along the slightly elevated margins of the room. There was an old podium at the opposite end and two sealed-off rooms.
Most importantly, what Josh was glad to finally confirm was that Erlina was in the same room with him. Sitting closest to the podium, apparently facing a wall too. Seeing a piece of fabric knotted at the back of her head, it was clear that she also wasn't allowed to speak. Just by the obvious jitters and convulses of her shoulders, it was obvious that she had been weeping, and the fact that she could barely make a sound showed that they gagged her pretty well.
Accompanying the both of them were other people Josh hadn't laid eyes on before—both armed men and women were dispersed around the room. Soon, two men came over and helped the perpetrator sit Josh upright.
Now, they were just staring at each other. Receiving glares that Josh could only decipher as sick and twisted, there was a good moment of silence between them. But the teenager just wanted to know one thing and he was willing to risk another slap to the face if it meant also getting an answer,
"Wh...wh," he started, shivering. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for another hit, "Where's my mom…?"
The man paused yet again, waiting for Josh's undivided attention. When the teenager opened his eyes, Josh was getting another one of those unsettling smirks from him,
"She's on death row right now..." he confessed ambiguously. Josh gulped and nearly lost his grips with reality. He looked down at the floor, feeling almost useless, entirely unsure of how to react to such a statement. Those words alone almost did the job of killing him and tears immediately lined themselves on his lower lashes. The man continued to speak, "She actually put up a really good fight. Caught us by surprise and killed one of my damn men. She's tough."
Josh looked up at him, taking him in almost as if he was some sort of boogeyman,
"He deserved it," Josh remarked, becoming nearly possessed.
The older man began to frown. He bent himself down to put himself on the same eye-level as his captive,
"And so will your bitch of a mother," he calmly said.
Josh felt like there was nothing else to lose and if there was anything he wanted more—it was to kill this man. Sitting in silence, he stunned the devil by spitting in his face once he briefly looked away at his comrades for some sort of praise, jumping back from the surprise of getting it in his eyes.
He held his minions off while he cleaned his face. Momentarily wiping his cheek with his sleeve, he responded with a light chuckle. However, within seconds, the older man retaliated with a kick to Josh's chest, throwing him back to the floor. He walked to Josh's side and delivered repeated punches to his face, this time, having him spit out blood.
From where she was, Erlina could hear the scuffle and knew that her cousin was being humiliated due to his gut-wrenching yells. Similarly to him, she sat in her seat sobbing, feeling defenseless as could be.
Once the abuse was seemingly over, Josh was sat up yet again. The only thing different this time was his placement—finally, he was facing Erlina's back. Beside her was the man in the leather coat, standing triumphantly beside her with her bow and arrows claimed as his own. The older man's arm suddenly appeared like a surprise attack from a snake and violently held on to Josh's jaw, squeezing it roughly.
"You see her?" he announced, pointing at Erlina with his opposite arm, "I'm saving her for last," he enlightened. He sneered, "But first, she's going to give me, and all of us…" he paused for a second sticking his palm out to his men like it was some sort of offering, "...something we haven't gotten in a long, long time."
For a moment or so, Josh tried to register what he was saying and there was no way he wanted to believe it translated to such a violation. Still having his face held, he was only allowed to move his wide eyes, looking back and forth at the faces of the shameless and corrupted kidnappers in the room. His painful breaths became volatile as his eyes panned back to the man who was obviously the leader of the pack. Josh's eyes were filled with nothing but peril at this point,
"Please..." he begged with a cracked voice, "Please...no, I'll do anything."
"Oh..." he chortled maliciously, "A little too late to start being cooperative now," he purposely teased. He looked over at one of his accomplices who stood closest to Erlina and said the last words Josh wanted to hear, "Bring her to the basement."
"Please! PLEASE! PLEASE! NO! NOO!" He shouted furiously, causing his screams to echo throughout the entire floor.
At this point, words didn't even matter. Instead, he just screamed and shouted as he saw Erlina's kicking body get tossed over a man's shoulder and get taken downstairs as if she was a piglet for slaughter.
Erlina's body convulsed as she silently sobbed, being the only source of sound in her silent surroundings. The enigmatic and putrid scent, however, was the loudest thing in the room in a sense. Besides the fact that she couldn't move, she was too concerned with her own livelihood to easily overlook the haunting stench that filled the room. As far as she could tell, she was in a new seat—one that elevated her from the ground and allowed her stiff legs to dangle inches above the ground. Suddenly, from behind, Erlina could feel the recently applied blindfold be delicately pulled free from around her head. Ultimately, the present setting didn't seem too far off from when her vision was obscured. There were about three candles lighting up the room she had yet to identify. The black walls perfectly camouflaged themselves with the darkness, giving off a sense of everlastingness, a feeling that oddly didn't comfort her.
With orbs and a face still wet from tears, she looked down only to realize she was no longer sitting on a chair. It was a bizarre, dark-colored table with a slight curvature leading to the center from all corners. With her hands still tied behind her back, she was able to get some sense of feeling with the table. It was sticky in some places and had scattered indentations that felt like a disorganized bunch of cuts—some deeper than others.
The older man, who already made it pretty clear to be the head of this so-called group, paced around the table and stopped in front of her. He noticed her discomfort, somewhat rubbing it in her face by giving a relaxed posture and easy breath,
"Do you know why you're down here?" he asked, leaning on a small counter behind him. To Erlina, it was a bizarre question to ask, without any context, who would know why they were in such a place. Judging by his looks he could tell that she was afraid, and he clearly expressed that. However, he told her that she didn't need to be. Almost as if he had made an entire transformation, he was no longer the boogeyman that he was when he was interacting with her cousin. And just as he had hoped, having their backs turned to one another was going to play a huge part in how this exchange between them would play out. He smiled softly at her, "I know it's scary down here, but I don't want to hurt you. I know it didn't sound like it, but your cousin and I were just having a bit of a disagreement," he claimed. After a moment or so, he looked at Erlina, whose teeth were still chattering, "Would you like me to untie you?" he politely questioned. Justifiably so, Erlina was afraid to do as much as blink, but after repeatedly giving her the sense that she was safe, she nodded. He circled the butcher table and got behind her, "Before I do this, I just want you to understand that I'm trying to be nice to you, so don't try anything that will make me regret this. Okay?"
Erlina nodded. She may have been young but she wasn't an idiot. There was no way she was bound to take on a fully grown man. Her last encounter taught her that she was no match for people when they had bruteness and size to their advantage. Once she felt the gag and bindings on her hands become free, she brought her hands forward and rubbed her thin wrists. Had they been left on any longer, they probably would've created sores considering that they still managed to cause her wrists to feel somewhat tender.
"Sometimes, people say 'thank you' when people do nice things for them…" the older man nudged, practically coaxing her to show gratitude.
"Thank you…" she mumbled quite disingenuously.
She found it difficult to lift her eyes at him as he circled back in front of her. So instead, she pretended to keep her focus on her wrists longer than need be.
"It's Erlina, right?" he began making conversation. Soon after he received a tense nod from her, he introduced himself as "Juan".
Erlina gulped, realizing that she was given the chance to go next in terms of dialogue. She really dug deep in the trenches for her courage because she was terrified of what would happen if she said something remotely wrong,
"Where's my cousin and aunt?" she asked, sounding no louder than a whisper.
"Oh?" he exclaimed, "Don't worry about them. My friends are looking after them," he claimed, momentarily reaching out and touching her affectionately,
Extending out a hand to prevent her from tending to her wrists any longer, she could feel every hair on her neck stand. Something just wasn't right about it and she felt an incoming urge to naturally jerk away from him. But she suppressed herself, basically feeling dead inside.
"Can I see th—"
"No!" he suddenly elevated his voice while pounding on the counter. Finally, he got a reaction out of her, but it ws the last kind he wanted to see. He swallowed and firmly readjusted his stance,"Don't worry about them," he recomposed. He balled up a fist and lightly pounded the counter he stood near, "We're getting to know each other first," he made sure to establish. Erlina briefly watched him with unease as he grew a little too comfortable with his eyes, attempting to make some sort of eye contact, "Do you want to take off your jacket?" his voice heightened like he was speaking to a baby.
Erlina's bottom lip quivered and figured it was easier to shake her head no before bursting into tears.
"Are you sure? It's pretty hot down here," he arguably asserted.
"N-no thank you," she refused. Her breaths were picking up but she still managed to remain polite.
Juan paused and his nostrils began to flare. She wasn't sure what to make of it but he looked as if he was becoming impatient—of what? She didn't want to know but she had her suspicions. As far as Erlina knew, whatever business a stranger had to do with taking off a layering of someone's clothing—it usually wasn't something good,
"Do as I say...or you'll never see your family again," he threatened almost as if it were something casual to say. Erlina momentarily let down her guard and began to become emotional. Juan, on the other hand, took it as a sign of surrender and willingness. Before she knew it, he was taking some diligent steps toward her, "Here. Let's take it off."
Erlina recoiled and brought up both arms across her chest. Apparently, the last thing she wanted was to be touched by a complete creep who obviously mistreated her family. This time, his face was tensing up and he was beginning to show teeth like an aggravated housepet,
"That's not very nice, now is it?" he retorted, shaking his leg about, "Remember what I said about making me regret this?"
Trying once again, he assertively reached out to her this time. She allowed him to touch her once before and it felt like trying to combine water and oil. She knew what he was plotting and once he managed to lay a finger on her zipper, she aggressively grabbed his hand and tried to fend him off, bending back two of his fingers in the process,
"AGH!" he somewhat faltered. Erlina was smart enough to anticipate what was to come. Juan was initially putting on a facade and took pride in being the wolf in sheep's clothing for the time being. The pure bloodlust in his eyes was beginning to resurface and the only difference was that this was Erlina's first time seeing it, "YOU BITCH!" he slandered.
Juan brought his arm across and powerfully swung upward, striking her across the face with the back of his hand. As much as she braced herself for some sort of attack, Erlina had never been hit so hard in her life. And if she didn't know any better, he was aiming to kill her with just one hit. Letting out a high pitched yelp, the powerful smack knocked her off balance, forcing her to virtually somersault backwards and roll off the table.
"Now, your family's going to die and it will be all your fault!" Juan growled, his voice evolving into something monstrous.
Literally knocked senselessly, it took some time for Erlina to recover. That's when Juan snuck up behind her and threw her against a wall. Before he could claw at her throat, she shut her eyes and let out a loud squeal,
"OKAY!" she screamed, "I'll do it!" she tearfully bellowed, "Okay, I'll do it..."
Juan froze. He examined her closely and watched her vigilantly as she began to unzip her coat without any further prompt. She was hunched over from obvious uncomfortableness and she tossed her coat on the nearby table as if it were a coat rack. She could see that Juan clearly liked how things were unraveling before his eyes and the look that occupied them was detemented. It sickened her to her stomach to see how weak and appreciative he became. Next, she bent down and untied one of her shoes, sniffling. She peered up at him as his vaguely illuminated figure took a couple of steps closer.
Moving onto the next shoe, she performed the same action. This time, Juan was excitedly standing over her,
"Stand up..." he pressured.
To his dismay, Erlina unearthed a pocket knife from within the walls of her sock and drove the rusted blade into the old man's leg, successfully piercing through the side of their knee. It was rewarding to hear him give out a yelp of pain. Lifting the hem of his jacket, Juan reached for a handgun she was completely unaware of.
Erlina seamlessly removed the blade from his leg and jumped straight to his gut next. Letting out a ferocious battle cry, she used both hands and twisted it. Juan whined in pain and placed both of his rattling hands above the inflicted area. He winced and squirmed, feeling a sharp and burning pain within the pit of his lower abdomen. Erlina pressed and pressed until all of the blade was no longer visible. At this point, all she wanted was to exit through the other side of him.
He stumbled backward until he was painfully slammed into a wall. Now that the window of opportunity had been opened, Erlina used one of her free hands and successfully snatched the gun free from his holster. Without a second to waste, she left the blade in his stomach and jerked away with the gun pointed. Initially in too much pain to notice at first, it hurt twice as much to realize that this could've been the end of his life. He lurched after her but she took a giant leap back after he crashed to the floor due to a ruined leg. She ran across the room as he fought to stand erect. Using the wall as support, Erlina watched him wail as he tried to pull the rusted fragment out of his body to no avail. Both were breathless as if they had run marathons,
"I'm...I'm gonna kill you," he promised her, "I'm gonna KILL YOU!"
Giving one final attempt, Juan roared while successfully pulling out the knife and hurled it at her. Darkness was her enemy and if it weren't for her moving out of the way in time, it probably would've struck her. Taking his devised distraction as a chance to attack, Juan charged at her by hurdling over the butcher table.
Falling to the ground out of pure fear, Erlina hollered as she pulled the trigger and fired three times. Juan crashed only a few inches away from her. From where she was cornered, she could tell that the old thug was fighting for his life. Keeping her back pressed against the wall, she stood up and stepped over his outstretched arm. In case it was a trick similar to her very own, she distanced herself yet again and could see him hyperventilating with blood seeping through his jacket from the inside. Even though she probably produced a lifetime supply of hate for this man, she couldn't bring herself to accept his loss of vitality. So, she just stood there and watched him in disbelief, nearly petrified by her own actions. That's when she heard a voice in the distance calling out for Juan. Instantly, Erlina sought a place to hide and noticed that she could delve deeper into the depths of the boiler room.
From the outside, Jaun's henchman was armed—not only with a firearm of his own but also claimed Erlina's bow and arrows. The man opened the entrance into the foul-smelling boiler room lit by so few candles. Freezing by the doorway in pure shock, he armed himself before disappearing into the room.
For him, it was silence.
More silence.
And then the sudden surprise of more gunfire.
Closely after each shot, bright lights flashed once after the other, illuminating the corridors from the inside.
Silence.
More silence.
And more silence.
Footsteps neared themselves at the doorway and Erlina emerged from the room safe and sound, having regained ownership of her rightful weapons.
Momentarily stopping while she walked, she stared at her very own hands that were currently marked with warm dry blood.
Briefly scrubbing her hands on her thighs, Erlina exited the room like a hunter on the prowl.
She made her way from the basement to the ground level through the back staircases. Making her way past the second set of stairs she wandered to the corridor that Josh had the chance of exploring earlier that day. At the end of the hallways was another stairway that led to the first and final level—the floor where Josh was left. She knew they weren't the only ones left in the area, so she had to be extremely careful or else it could mean her and her cousin's life. These stairs, in particular, had multiple steps, and there was a high chance that she could be seen if someone happened to make their way down. From where she stood, she could hear inquisitive clamours and knew that people would be making their way down soon. Erlina just hoped it didn't ever have to come to this.
As survivors, Erlina and her family were in no position to compare themselves to anyone. Mainly because everyone in the world did some pretty terrible things to survive. But Erlina knew her family didn't deserve the ordeal they experienced today and that some people were just downright evil. She thought back to her time at school and recalled Nate's last warning: To never stop fighting for her family, and if it was a fight that these people wanted, it was a fight they were all going to get.
The young girl left the sides of the staircase and ran through the corridor and back into the main chapel. There were two paths to the chapel that led through the back and front, and to avoid being seen by anyone coming in, she ran to the furthest corner that gave her the widest range of vision. Immediately crouching between two pews, she listened closely for any incoming enemies.
"Juan?!"Erlina heard a feminine voice call out from above the back staircases that led into the basement.
It didn't take any kind of scientist to determine that things meant dire news after not receiving any response only a few minutes after a gunshot. Soon after, Erlina heard a second voice.
"I'll check downstairs. You search this place," Erlina heard, this time from a masculine voice.
After they unanimously agreed, Erlina patiently waited. Placing her head near the floor, she could make out a pair of thin legs carefully making their way down the center of the aisle. Judging her body movements and shadow, Erlina could tell she was looking down at each pew.
"Lana!" her companion's voice startled her as he ran into the chapel with panic, "The kid's gone, Oliver's dead, Juan's shot!"
"Shot?!" she repeated in surprise, "I-Is he alive?"
"He's breathing...but I don't know if he'll make it."
"Hurry! Go grab the others and then do a search downstairs," she advised, "I'll look around for the kid up here."
Without any further exchanges, the man did what he was told and ran to inform his party of the predicament at hand.
Now, this was Erlina's chance. Readjusting her position, Erlina made it back to her feet while still remaining crouched and decided to wander on the margins in order to avoid being discovered. Her plan was to make her way opposite the female captor and, when she least expected it, to shoot her down from behind. Therefore, she hid behind the sides of the pews and was careful to not be spotted. Carefully moving whenever her pursuer looked elsewhere, Erlina managed to set herself a good distance apart from her enemy.
Shooting up into a fully erect stance, Erlina dropped back to the floor due to the sounds of footsteps running down from upstairs. This time, they were coming in from the set of stairs by the front. Looking underneath the pews again, Erlina saw two pairs of feet accompany Lana's.
"Are you sure you got this?" One of the men questioned.
"Yeah, don't worry about me," Lana confidently replied, "Both of you should just go on and check downstairs because she could be in any one of those rooms. One through the back and one through the front so she can't escape if you happen to run into her."
Both men complied and split apart. Now being closest to the back of the chapel, Erlina hid back the edge of a pew as one of the men passed through the corridor to get down to the basement.
Realizing that this was her chance to make her hit before the supporting men returned, the young archer quickly withdrew an arrow from her quiver and linked it with her bow. Standing, she carefully drew the string of her bow and aimed it, slightly pointing it above Lana's head to give the drop a chance to give a lethal headshot. Unfortunately, Erlina might've lingered a little longer than she planned and that's when she began to notice Lana turn to face her direction. Within a split second of noticing the child, Erlina instinctively released the string as a jumpy reaction. The woman's frightened movement, instead, changed the intended target, and before she knew it, she was shot in the throat. Erlina shared an expression of horror as the woman started choking on her own blood. As much as she tried to fight off the pain, she dropped to the ground, unable to get as much as a cough out. Erlina firmly remained in place, not sure if she was ready to witness such a graphic scene up close and personal. Once Lana's suffering died out, Erlina carefully scooted through the pews, made her way down the center of the aisle, and approached the body. Lana was now in a position with a hand permanently cupped around her throat and her eyes were wide and lifeless.
The arrow was fixated pretty staunchly considering that it nearly protruded through the other side. Grabbing hold of the arrow's shaft with both hands, Erlina plucked it out of the corpse like it was ordinary roadkill.
"Gosh…" Erlina mumbled to herself, turning away from the morbid sight.
If Erlina had done the math right, there were about three enemies left and two of them were downstairs. Going near the path closest to the front of the chapel she was given two options: The exit straight ahead or the stairs to her left. Without question, she made her way up. Once she successfully made her way up, she peeked around the corner of the opened door before carelessly wandering out into the open. Instantly, she noticed the exposed backs of two individuals—one being a long-haired male who was, without a doubt, a part of the opposing group—and the second being her cousin, who was still strapped to a chair like a prisoner and facing the wall again. However, from where she stood, he didn't seem too conscious.
This enemy would easily be her biggest obstacle yet. He appeared to be weaponless and Erlina assumed that she could take him on solely for that reason, but it was never smart to just presume someone was unarmed. For all she knew, it could also be a testament to unmatched physical strength. She examined their surroundings: Folding chairs & tables, a useless fire extinguisher, a lopsided basketball hoop, and random strips of wood that rotted themselves out from the gym floor and looked like two by fours.
Closest to her left, she spotted a wide white wooden partition with dingy periwinkle edges and wheels. There were two others, but they were scattered to the far right. Thinking she could use it for cover, she crept over and immediately kneeled behind it to get her bow and arrow prepared. Her four arrows put her below the naivete mark, so she had to be extremely careful with how she went about this. Josh and his overseer were about ten yards away from where she was and if there was anything Erlina needed to do, it was to get Josh free before she had to face three adult men by herself.
On the opposite end of the room was a passage that led back to the main level. Frankly, Erlina didn't want to face the man head on. Therefore, her plan was to simply distract him while she ran in and rescued Josh behind his back,
"Alright…" she silently motivated herself.
Waiting for the appropriate moment for the captor to glance away, Erlina shot her arrow directly at the passage and watched her arrow break with a loud snap upon impact as it hit the wall. A chary look appeared on her little face as her eyes glanced over to Josh's captor. And once he gave a slight reaction to the sound, Erlina retreated into cover. She could hear his footsteps traveling into the distance, and once she decided to take another peek, she realized that her plan worked out just as she had planned. Getting a move on, she closed in on Josh's position, still making stops to conceal herself behind random obstacles every now and then. Once she realized that the man was a good enough distance, she lightly ran towards her older cousin's position and went straight for his hands.
"Joshua!" she whispered, sounding almost cheerful.
"Erlina…?" he sounded croaky from the runny blood caught in his throat. Tightening his eyes shut, tears rolled themselves down his cheeks. He turned his head to the side, "Hurry before he comes back," he murmured.
Seeing that it was one singular zip tie, the only option was to use yet another arrow. Pulling it out from her quiver, she used the arrowhead to cut through it, apologizing as she scraped and nicked Josh's palms and fingers from the erratic movements she was giving. But as far as she could tell, it was too minor compared to the ones he had now. Once his hands were cut free, he let out a breath of satisfaction and sat forward to instantly bring his hands together.
"Here," Erlina approached his side and pulled out a heavy handgun from the back of her pocket. Softly she rested it in Josh's lap, "I took it from one of the men."
Before Erlina could pull her hand away, Josh grabbed it and closely examined it with a bewildered glance, seeing marks of dried blood throughout the lines of her palms and underneath her nails.
"Who's blood is that?" he looked up at her, "What happened?"
She pulled away from him and immediately got to the zip ties around his ankles,
"I'll tell you later," she excused.
Josh kept his eyes on her, extremely eager to be set free. However, just when one leg was cut free, the man that was initially keeping watch over Josh, waltzed back into the room and became alarmed at the sight of the cooperative relatives,
"HEY!" He shouted, immediately bursting into a full out sprint.
Erlina stood up but was taken aback by how quick he sprang into action. Before she could even set her aim, three loud gunshots went off and hit their enemy twice in the chest and once in the shoulder. His body tensed and he flopped to the ground like a trout landing out of water. Keeping his arm extended for quite some time until he was positive his target was neutralized, Josh's shaky arm gave way and flopped to his side,
"Agh!" he winced, feeling an unbearable amount of pain underneath his right pectoral. Relieved, Erlina looked over at him, still frightened by the rage that was on her enemy's face. Josh understood it but now wasn't the time to dwell on it, "C'mon! Quick!" he rushed with his free hand, "Get the other leg!" he directed. Doing as she was told, she circled him and cut him free in no time. He made it to both feet, instantly getting a dizzy sensation and falling back into his chair.
"What's wrong?" Erlina failed to catch him in time.
"...nothing, nothing, I'm fine," he shook his head. Shrugging it off and looking up at her, close-up he revealed a black eye and bruised nose, "Have you seen my mom?"
Erlina shook her head, as he attempted to stand again,
"I don't think she's here…"
He was more than glad that Erlina was alive but he wanted his entire family together, and those were the last words he wanted to hear,
"Did that man hurt you?"
Erlina shook her head and as much as Josh knew that these kinds of topics were sensitive, it seemed like a genuine denial.
"I wouldn't let him touch me but...he gave me this," she pointed out a bloody lip, "I used an old knife I found in the store across the street. I didn't tell Aunt Pam about it."
"Okay…" Josh nodded nervously, "Okay, good," he let out a breath. For a moment or so, Josh had a hard time coming to terms that Erlina had to go to such lengths. He wasn't entirely sure what made people different from Infected but there was a clear line that he and his mother tried to make Erlina not cross, and rarely for them as well. But what more could anyone say? Juan didn't give Erlina a choice—it was either him or her and there wasn't a person alive who wouldn't choose themselves. He looked away briefly, "Is he dead?" Josh inquired, and to his dismay, Erlina gave an unsatisfied shrug. He could tell she wasn't so fond of not knowing the answer either and there was apparent desire in her eye to want to be sure. Right now, the best option for them was to find their belongings and get out, "I overheard one of them mentioning something about a storage room so we should probably check if our things are there. Then we can look for my mom."
Before Erlina could agree, she had to inform him about the two remaining enemies that were left wandering the place. He acknowledged the threat but felt more than confident that he and his cousin would be able to face them head on. So what did Josh and Erlina do next? They camped. They remained upstairs and each of them occupied a staircase. When Josh heard them coming up through the back, he ran and notified Erlina so they could go through with their ambush.
When both men arrived, they were stunned to see another one of their comrades dead. Remaining close to one another was smart, but not entirely. Josh jumped out from behind a tall stack of folded tables and fired a bullet at the first individual. Although he aimed for the head, his painful side caused his arm to waver and aimed for the chest instead. However, it was still a deadly shot and the man repelled back into his companion. Allowing his friend to fumble to the ground, the second individual pulled out his firearm and began frantically firing in Josh's direction without holding up. Josh basically cramped himself into the corner and covered his face from the incoming rubble and dust that broke off the surfaces around him.. With their attention too focused on killing Josh, an arrow suddenly surprised itself through his shoulder. He screamed and quickly turned around to fire at Erlina next. She slid to the floors behind the wheeled partition and covered her head as well. Suddenly, a sharp pain was put into the assaulter's back and before he could fully face the opposite direction yet again, he was shot through the side of head, having blood splatter everywhere.
Having used his left arm this time, Josh sighed in relief, apparently not having much faith in his ambidexterity,
"I think I got him," he declared aloud. Seeing his cousin crawl out from behind the partian, he hopped down from the elevated margin and walked out into the open to meet up with her, "Having a swollen eye really does help your aim…" he remarked humorously. He backed up, "Alright now let's get out our things."
Josh thought long and hard about the things he was questioned over while up here: The food. Since it was the only thing that made sense, they both rushed the basement and returned to the room he initially found the food in. Opening up a pantry was like seeing a miracle. Both of their bags with their personal belongings were still present. Once they collected their items, Josh took some more food as a personal reward for their achievements and because they personally deserved it. Just as he was getting ready to leave, something in the corner of the cabinet caught his attention. Fetching it, he started at it in amazement, having the faintest smile that only Erlina could catch due to standing so close,
"What's that?" Erlina curiously inquired.
"It's flour...'
"What are we gonna do with that?"
Almost like a bulb went off, Josh shoved the flour in Erlina's hands and quickly opened his backpack, having his entire arm nearly vanish inside of it like a magician with a top hat. Pulling his arm back out, in-hand was a summoned box of matches. His eyes momentarily looked at the box, almost blissful that two ordinary items would be their saving grace for the day. With a flicker of victory in his eyes, he held a match to his face and rotated it between his fingers,
"We're gonna burn this place down..." he revealed.