Chapter 9 – Scar
Half an hour passed.
Neither Ben nor Abby moved an inch. Ben finally stopped crying, he had to wonder if Abby noticed his tears under the gas mask, but somehow he didn't care. There wasn't the slightest amount of self-control left in him, aware that he couldn't stop the tears. Even though he had many close calls in those eighteen years of his life, Ben was sure this was the most traumatic encounter he ever faced. The wounded body and extreme exhaustion only contributed to it.
Water splashed when Abby walked over to him, outstretching her right arm. "Get up. We need to go."
Ben accepted her help and gripped her fist tightly, feeling the pull that brought him back to his feet. His legs felt numb and weak, he was on the verge of collapse. Abby gathered her weapons that were scattered in the dark hallways before going back to the surface. The path to the outside led through another section of the parking lot, the flooded part. A beam of light was visible at the end of the dark tunnel.
Ben removed the mask and took the deepest breath he could take, feeling the fresh air vibrating in his lungs once again. He was thoroughly wet and a light breeze made him shiver. The overcast sky hid the sun but still provided with enough light. He didn't look back at the dark tunnel behind him, wishing to forget the monstrosity as soon as possible. Yet, he felt proud in a way. Others won't believe me when I tell them.
Out of the blue, Ben felt the dull pain in his back when something landed on him, knocking him to the ground. Groaning, he turned around and instinctively punched the assailant in the face with his left, knocking him off of him on the wet grass.
"Lev!" Abby called out, approaching the person that attacked him. He could swear he saw a knife in assailant's hand. "Calm down! He's cool."
Ben sighed and rested his head on the grass when the attacker approached and looked at him from above. It was just a kid, a bald kid. "Sorry."
He waved it off and stood up. "It's fine."
Can this day get any worse?
Ben raised an eyebrow when he noticed the scars on the edges of the kid's mouth. It resembled the glasgow smile he saw when he read one of Ellie's comic books. The kid was Asian, just like Ben's friend, Jesse.
"I told you to stay put!" Abby berated the bald boy.
Lev looked away for a second, his brows furrowing. "I couldn't! Your friends are all over the place. Did you get the stuff?"
She nodded and looked around. "Let's get the hell away from this place."
A noise of a dozen voices surrounded them, but Ben and the company were long gone before Wolves could reach them. Judging by the look of the buildings, they weren't far off the place where Ben left Khan before venturing into hospital. He decided to stick together with the two of them until he reached a safe distance.
"Who's this?" Ben heard Lev whispering to Abby. She simply shook her head instead of giving a verbal answer.
SHE IS ETERNAL
Majority of the flat side of the building was turned into a painting of a black-haired woman, her hair entangled into a crown braid tilted on her head. The words were written beneath the white flowers that rose up to her waist. Her arms were spread. It looks as if she's gonna hug me. And her eyes were closed, which was disturbed him.
That wasn't the first painting of this kind he had seen. There were dozens of them throughout the city.
"Who is she?" he dared ask.
It was Lev who answered. "She is the Prophet."
"The Prophet?"
Lev nodded, noticeably not in the mood to explain, opting to stay close to Abby, looking at Ben only when necessary. Ben kept the distance as well. Abby and him fought together and survived because they fought together, but it didn't mean she was his friend. After all, she was a Wolf. And that bastard Manny's friend. He was still shocked by the revelation that the man bun was one of her buddies. Ben was never the one for violence, but still, the desire to return the favor blazed fiercely in him.
"Okay. This is where I go my own way." he revealed when they reached the building where Khan was waiting for him.
Abby stopped and looked at him over her shoulder. Lev was examining the buildings around them.
"Okay." she said. It was very awkward.
Should I say goodbye or..? "See ya."
Nodding his head awkwardly, he went in his direction, impatient to walk away as fast as possible and get to Khan. It was over. He helped her, and she helped him. They were even. The most important was that he was free to resume his quest, the only reason he came to Seattle.
"Wait."
He stopped, his hand almost immediately reached for the pistol holstered on his side. Then he remembered he had no bullets left. Why is she telling me to wait? Is she going to shoot him? Does she want to look him in the eyes before killing him?
"What's your name?"
He glanced at her, confusion visible on his face.
"You know my name. What's yours?"
"Ben."
She nodded. Why does this feel even more awkward?
Abby took off her backpack and put it on the ground, reaching for the crossbow that rested on its side. Ben instinctively pulled out the baseball bat from his own backpack. Lev raised his bow, pulling the tendon all the way to his ear, aiming at Ben.
"Easy! Easy!" Abby commanded them both. "I don't want to shoot you."
Ben's heartbeats slowed down only after Lev lowered his bow. Attack me once again, and you won't just get away with a punch in the face.
"Here." Muscular woman mumbled, holding the crossbow in her hand. "I couldn't have done it without you. And your weapons are shit."
A crossbow and four bolts. Ben eyed her suspiciously before accepting her gift. "Thanks."
"What are you going to do?"
Should I answer this question? "I need.. to find someone." He answered, hesitating with each next word.
"Good luck. And try to avoid the WLF and the Scars." Abby said, one corner of her mouth lifting upwards.
"Seraphites." Lev mumbled. Abby rolled her eyes.
"WLF, Scars.. got it." He replied and waved his hand, watching their backs as they disappeared into the depths of the fallen city. Ben stood there for a while, thinking about the woman he just fought with side by side. She was a Wolf, just like Nora. Wolves kill everyone on sight, he kept reminding himself refusing to feel sympathy for them, but Abby and Nora didn't try to kill me. It was messed up. Wolves were ordinary people that have lived through a lot just like him. They were all human, there was no difference. He was deeply conflicted by it. If only we didn't fight. The infected are the enemy.
Khan was lying at the place where he left him. The wolf was sleeping until Ben's footsteps woke him up. Piercing, blue eyes opened. Khan watched him, ears up, his head slightly cocked.
"Come here." only then did the wolf move, obeying his master's command, lunging forward at him. He was heavy and big, almost knocking Ben to the ground. That would be twice in an hour. "You missed me?" Wolf happily stuck out his tongue, inhaling quick breaths. "Missed you too, bud. What do you say about my new weapon, huh?"
Wolf examined the crossbow in Ben's hands, sniffing the wooden construction, then moved his head away, not showing any further interest in the weapon. Ben walked up to the wide window that allowed him to take a good look and scope the area. "Let's cut through that park below, whaddaya say?"
White wolf tilted his snout in the usual manner. They only reason Ben was aware of his presence was because he got used to him. The wolf was as silent as night, like a ghost. Ben couldn't hear his footsteps. He rarely barked, growled. Hell, he almost never even howled.
Two best friends were back on the street. The idea was to go through the park to get away from the hospital. Especially with Wolves on the prowl. They're probably going after Abby, which doesn't mean they'll hesitate to shoot me. He still didn't have any leads on Ellie's whereabouts, which concerned him deeply. How do I find her?
The Pilgrim park looked like a perfect place for hiding. It was a fenced, green area that was overgrown with tall grass and unevenly spread trees. The park seemed quite peaceful, yet for some reason, Khan was restless.
"What is it?"
The wolf sniffed the ground, moving fast enough to force Ben to speed up his pace. Then he ran out of Ben's sight, disappearing around the bush. Damn it, he thought and ran after the wolf, crossbow jiggling on the side of his backpack.
"What are you doing, Khan?" he asked his companion in an annoyed tone, then noticed a corpse below him. "Damn."
Carefully approaching the corpse, as if it was going to stand up, Ben's eyebrows pulled down and nose wrinkled from disgust when he caught the stench of rotting meat. Khan wasn't feasting on the flesh of the deceased, instead, he was only sniffing it. Ben first noticed that the dead man was bald and had scars on his face similar to those Lev had on his face. Scars, that name suddenly made sense. What did Lev call them? He couldn't remember. Sera.. Serafiles? He was pretty sure they weren't called Serafiles. The man beneath wasn't dressed like the Wolves who had their distinct WLF patch on their sleeves, caps or other pieces of clothing. Instead, the dead Scar wore a dark coat with the hood, patches that held the piece of clothing together were very noticeable.
This wasn't only corpse Ben found. Several others lied around. Nearly all of them suffered brutal deaths. "Whoever killed these men was one hell of a shot." Ben concluded, noticing that most of them died quick, yet brutal deaths, shot in the head with either an arrow or a bullet. In both cases, faces were mangled and deformed from the hit.
Ben felt the urge to puke when he approached a hanged corpse. The unlucky man was a member of WLF before he was hung and disemboweled. Who the hell could do something like this? Dead Scars around the park. Was it the part of Wolves' retribution? His ears picked up a distant whistle, alerting him. The crossbow was already in his hand when he heard another whistle, this time from a different direction.
An ambush?
Heart threatened to burst out of his chest when the arrow swished through the air, no more than five inches away from his head, stabbing into the wood behind him. He ran to the nearest cover he could find, a ruined structure with half of its walls collapsed. Khan followed him. The wolf had a good sense of what to do in critical situations.
"Cant this day get any worse? You had to ask, you moron." he complained, readying the crossbow. Anger prevailed over fear. He was going to fight. Wolves, Scars.. doesn't matter who. Just try to kill me. Peeking above the ruined wall he used as a cover, another arrow swished, too close to his head, forcing him to back down. Damn. He tried again twice, but the result was the same, except the unknown enemy opened gunfire on him. They had him pinned down in one place, he even caught a glance of several shapes that have surrounded the ruined structure and were closing in on him. All he could hear was the sound of wind whistling between the trees. Cold sweat aroused his forehead, he was clutching the crossbow in his hands tightly. Four bolts. How many enemies?
Gunshots boomed and exploded in the area, a fire fight erupting from the silence. He curled up in his place, Khan as well. Something was weird.
The bullets weren't fired at him.
His head raised over the edge of the partially destroyed wall, he witnessed a clash in the forest. Wolves on the one side and Scars – what he presumed – on the other side fought viciously. The first obviously took the latter by surprise, attacking them from behind. Scars suffered more casualties, quickly falling to the pack of Wolves, their bows no match for guns.
Just in time, he thought, intending to use this diversion to escape the park. There was a crack behind Ben, and he spun around, noticing a figure with an outstretched pistol, firing it once. The WLF soldier missed him by a wide margin, but he didn't fire at Ben. Soldier didn't have a second to react, getting jumped by Khan that knocked him on the ground. Terrifying sound of tearing meat made Ben shiver, but Khan finished the job, saving their lives. Another figure peeked around the corner of the wall to Ben's left. Dumbfounded by a white wolf, soldier didn't realize the crossbow that was aimed at him. He was dead one second later, crossbow bolt was sticking out of his forehead.
"Let's go." whispered Ben, removing himself from the cover, followed by his loyal companion. He moved between the walls in a crouched position, avoiding the eyes of the combatants in the park. Wolves came in from all sides. It was a planned attack. Another soldier surprised them by jumping above the cover, holding the rifle high in his hands. The bullet brushed Ben's left shoulder, causing the sharp pain in that area. Furious, Ben lunged at him before he could repeat his weapon and struck him in the head with the crossbow, knocking him out cold. Soldier's rifle found itself in Ben's hands, it was a weapon with a better fire rate than the crossbow, thus more useful in the battle.
Screams and shouts were merged with the sound of gunfire. When combatants ran out of bullets, they engaged each other in close combat, fighting with anything that could hurt their enemies. Knives, staves, machetes, baseball bats and even bricks and broken bottles. It was carnage, and Wolves were winning. Dead people lied all around.
Ben noticed Manny leading a group of Wolves, face sweaty and bloody as he cuts down Scars with his machete, bathed in their blood. A single glance at the man made his heart skip a beat.
Two men interrupted his escape. Wolf and Scar fought tooth and nail against each other. Bald Scar headbutted the Wolf down to the ground, then picked him up as if he weighed nothing. He was one of the tallest men Ben saw in his life. Wolf resisted, tried punching and scratching with his nails but to no avail. Scar held him up with one hand while unsheathing the long hunting knife with the other hand.
Ben let out a small yelp when Scar disemboweled the smaller Wolf with one clean slice, then turned his head noticing Ben who stood dumbfounded by what he just saw. He grinned, revealing his bloody teeth and charged. It all happened so fast, his head was turned in jelly when another Wolf fired a shotgun to the side of his face.
Shit, shit, shit.
The Wolf screamed when she noticed him. Or rather, when she noticed Khan that growled at her, his ears stretched to the back of his head, revealing a pair of red fangs. She was young, not older than himself. And afraid. She was trembling. Her blonde short hair was painted red and she was crying.
Ben had the rifle aimed at her, but he didn't want to shoot. "I don't want to shoot you."
She will shoot. I can't risk it.
"Just go and I won't shoot, I promise!"
Bang!
Limp corpse collapsed to the ground behind Wolf. Smoke was rising from the barrel of Ben's rifle after he shot the Scar that attempted to attack her from behind. Girl turned around and saw the corpse behind then looked back at Ben. She twitched. And then she puked.
Wolves were winning, but the fight was still far from over. More Scars emerged from behind the trees. Reinforcements have arrived. As much as he wanted to help the girl, he simply couldn't risk it. He ran. Yet, he couldn't escape without the fight. Wolves and Scars alike attacked him on multiple occasions. The rifle he picked up proved useful, he shot one Wolf in the belly, repeated it, then shot Scar in the shoulder. It was hard to aim while running, but he had to manage.
Pilgrim Park, exploding with the gunfire and dozens of voices, was painted red.
The bullet flashed into the grass before him, forcing Ben to stop in his tracks. Behind the tree, Wolf revealed himself, holding Ben at gunpoint. "Look who it is."
Ben's eyebrows narrowed when he recognized Marco, who chuckled evilly. "We've been looking for you." People were still killing each other in the park, but Marco didn't seem bothered by it. He held the pistol in one, and bloody knife in the other hand. Ben occupied his full attention. Facial expression changed when he noticed Khan growling in the tall grass, his head the being the only part of his body that was visible.
"Easy, Khan. Easy." Ben ordered.
"So that's the dog everyone was talking about." he said and smiled. "Might make a coat out of it."
That short lack of attention gave Ben enough time to pull up the rifle and shoot. He missed, but got Marco out of the way. Wolf threw himself on the ground to dodge the bullet.
"Come, Khan!"
There was no time to finish the job. Wolves were still all around them, he couldn't allow his own personal feelings to get in the way of survival. Bullets and arrows whistled around them, they were caught in crossfire several times. Moving around was hard, going from cover to cover. Ben was certain he's was circling around the park, the layout was confusing. Everything was overgrown with vegetation.
The battle was nearing its end. Wolves definitely gained an upper hand by the end and were executing their enemies. Two Scars got their brains blown out one by one right in front of Ben. They lips didn't move, but their eyes begged for mercy. The man who killed them took his stand beside the thick tree. He cocked his pistol and glanced upon Ben who witnessed the execution.
Look in Manny's eyes was triumphant as he outstretched his rifle, aiming lower, at Ben's legs. Ben managed to hurl to the side in time, but not before the bullet scratched his leg. The cut wasn't deep, but was indeed painful. With great effort, he pushed himself to continue, to escape the man who was set on capturing him.
Just then he realized, Khan was nowhere to be seen.
"You can't hide from me!" Manny taunted, his voice echoing between the woods as the gunfire slowly turned into the silence. "Find him!"
Ben staggered through the park, tripping several times on the roots that were sticking out of the ground. He was tired, his muscles were on the verge of falling apart. He twitched when a scream of agony ended the silence.
"Kill it! Shoot it! Ki-" a voice cried, suddenly interrupted.
"Where is it?"
"It ran into the bushes!"
Khan, Ben realized. I can't leave him behind.
The rifle in his hands had one bullet left. Three crossbow bolts rested in his backpack. Pistol was empty, though. At least ten Wolves, he came to a conclusion, hiding in the bushes. He remembered the Wolf girl he saved, wondering if she's still alive. If she is, does that mean I'll have to kill her? He dreaded the idea.
The grass and bushes were tall enough to hide him from the Wolves that searched for him and the white wolf. Manny was shouting orders to his subordinates, his Hispanic accent separating him from the others (along with the black man bun). The bolt was loaded in the crossbow, ready to sink into the meat of its first target. Moving through the bushes without making a sound was hard enough, considering the fact that the Wolves checked every bush and every place he could use to hide from them. They were scattered around the park, which gave him hope.
"You don't have to make this any harder than it already is!" Manny shouted, his voice distant.
The soldiers were careful, approaching the bushes with caution, leaving Ben with no openings to shoot freely. Squatted in the bush, he was waiting for the right moment. It was terrifying to be compressed in the dark and the thorns. The daylight was fading away, conquered by the coming darkness.
"Let's find that son of a bitch." a voice declared, Ben saw a pair of feet just three paces ahead of him. WLF soldier didn't notice him in the bush. His heart was beating faster and faster.
"Sooner we do, sooner we'll go home." Another soldier joined in.
"Yep."
"Who's this guy, anyway?"
"I don't know. A trespasser or whatever."
Staying in the crouched position without moving a muscle or a sound was a commendable feat. Ben just hoped his legs wouldn't betray him and give his position away. Two soldiers walked away.
Where is Khan? He was concerned about the wolf. Soldiers didn't mention him anymore, which instilled hope that he was still alive. Hold on, buddy. I'll find you.
His first target revealed itself, stalking the bushes away from the eyes of other soldiers. Lone target and small distance. Chance was perfect. The bush didn't provide much vision from within, he had to get up. It took no more than three seconds. One second to get up, one to shoot and one to get down. Soldier died immediately. Others didn't notice.
The next target was a female soldier who was careless enough to walk past the bush he was hiding in. Ben sneaked up on her from behind and strangled her. It wasn't the deed he enjoyed, but rather the one he was forced to do.
Gunshots that deafened his ears exploded on the other side of the park, merging with the screams and angry cries. Khan!
Ben zig-zagged from tree to tree, not careful enough when one of the soldiers spotted him running above the bushes.
"Here!" he shouted and ran at Ben, holding the baseball bat high. Mine is better, Ben thought and switched his weapon, pulling the improved bat from his backpack. Wolf swung his weapon. Ben leaned backwards just enough to dodge the swing and countered before the soldier could recover. Knives attached to the bat tore off the flesh from the soldier's face. Ben felt every cut and every tear. The soldier was dead before his companions could arrive. They found his dead body and no signs of Ben.
"Damn it! He got Kyle.."
"I'll fucking kill you, you fucking hear me?"
Those soldiers searched the area for him, but he was long gone, moving towards the place where he heard gunshots in pursuit of Khan.
"Fucking wolf."
"I'll skin you alive if you don't show yourself!"
"Come out, come out, wherever you are."
"When I give you to Annabel, you'll beg for a quick death!"
Threats didn't bother him. His mind was set on his companion, and his sole goal was to find him. Ben observes Manny checking out the bushes in his vicinity and hides behind the leaves. Two soldiers follow him closely behind. Marco was one of the two.
Manny looks grimly at the situation he was in. He knows he can simply turn around and leave without risking the lives of his people, but that was no longer an option. He would not allow himself that shame, the shame that an ordinary kid would outwit him and run away from him.
Manny clenched his fist and then briskly straightened three fingers. The soldiers nod their heads, showing him that they understand the strategy. They raise their weapons and wait for his signal. Manny feels strong with the two soldiers behind him, aware that Ben cannot attack him directly.
Man bun gasps as he runs, watching every move. He catches a jerk on one side and throws himself into the wrestling reel. He gets up quickly, hearing something buzz above his head. The other two jumped into the nearest ditch, but Manny was aware that it takes at least 5 seconds for the crossbow to prepare to fire again.
Ben curses to himself, furious that he missed. He moves quietly through the bushes, still out of sight of his enemies. The leader of the Wolves approached the place where Ben was just hiding and watches. He hesitated for a moment while his heart beats fast because he was standing in the open, completely unprotected. Before he makes a decision, a crossbow bolt sinks into his chest, throwing him backwards. The pain is terrible, but he ignores it and pulls the arrow out of his body armor so that it doesn't sink too deep.
He takes two steps to the right, crossing his left leg over his right leg in perfect balance, while the two soldiers move to the left. All their senses are sharpened as they wait anxiously, ready to kill or to be killed.
"We can't stay here all day." Marco muttered.
His gaze becomes restless as Manny hisses. "You'd let him escape, huh?"
Marco's lips barely move as he answers. "We know he's in here somewhere, we can form the perimeter around the area and.."
"We search until we find the pendejo." Manny concluded angrily. Marco didn't complain again. Manny turns his head slightly, but the movement puts him at risk of death. Through the bushes he sees Ben straightening up and firing a bolt. The soldier fires his rifle at the same time as the arrow flashes near his ears. For a moment, Manny and Marco shoot blindly until they hear a painful scream behind them. The third Wolf lied dead on the ground with a bolt sticking out of his throat. The whites of his eyes glowed, and his tongue stuck out of his mouth. Manny swears in Spanish, angrily waving his rifle.
Ben has fought this way all his life. However, the number of Wolves startled him although he was pretty sure that he could kill them all if he moved carefully through the forest and shot accurately. The terrain was adapted for ambushing, but the lack of ammunition and time was a big problem. On top of all that, these were trained soldiers, skilled and fast.
He squinted through a tiny slit of thorns and watched the two soldiers walk away, going in the wrong direction. Squatting in his shelter, he thought about what to do next. He was left with another arrow, which he managed to retrieve from a corpse and one bullet in his rifle. Every brisk movement could attract their eyes, and soon after that, bullets through thick thorns. Sweat flooded his forehead. He remained in the position for good two minutes, until Manny created some distance between them.
Another barrage of gunshots suddenly exploded, this time much closer than before. He jumped from the cover of bushes and ran. His leg was bleeding, and he staggered. A noise of wolfish whimpering filled his ears and caused him to scream furiously. The Wolf that shot Khan didn't notice Ben in time when the latter slashed his throat with the lethal baseball bat. Blood sprayed Ben's face, entering his eyes, his nose and his mouth. Khan sat on the ground, whimpering upon seeing Ben.
"Come on, bud. We need to go. Come on!" he ordered, sighing of relief when he saw that his friend was only shot in the leg. Luckily, the white wolf was strong enough to run with Ben. He didn't know how many soldiers were after them, but he knew they outnumbered them.
Ben ran until his legs began showing the signs of betrayal, his head tilting widely with every next step. At first, he had the strength and speed to drag through and jump over every obstacle on his way, but then the saliva in his mouth becomes bitter and his energy melts away, because of which he aimlessly roamed the park as branches slapped his face.
The worst part was losing the pursuers that tirelessly shot at him that was forcing him to slow down to be able to twist his body to avoid the bullets. That way, soldiers managed to reduce the distance between them he managed to create. Then, they lost the sight of him once again when he retreated into the very dense overgrowth. Both Ben and Khan successfully manage to fade away between the trees.
Ben loses his baseball bat when he bent down to untie the creepers that have tangled around his ankle. Cursing, he kept running. With his baseball bat, he still had the chance to fight his pursuers. Those chances are reduced to a minimum now that he doesn't have a weapon for close combat. A bullet and a bolt left. Not enough.
He couldn't escape his pursuers completely, but he managed to find the way outside the park, into the concrete ruins of Seattle. As he staggered through the overgrown streets, he looked for the place least conspicuous for soldiers to find it. Fear was piling up in his throat and it was impossible to swallow it. He looked back to see that the Wolves weren't relenting, they got out of the park as well. Their weapons were lowered, but that doesn't instill hope. He didn't plan on being chased for miles, and there was no use in regretting he entered the park. His panting was more and more sonorous and every breath was reminiscent of the cry of a body that cannot withstand such an effort. He doesn't know how far he's come. There was still enough daylight that gave away his position, but a quick turn through the alleys and shady streets was enough to get out of their sight. That didn't mean he could afford to stop, the Wolves would search every corner of the city to find him. The road he used, Route 5 as he read on one of the signs, didn't seem to end, no matter how long he ran.
A narrow stream stretched through the road, and his foot slips on the damp stone which throws him with all his weight into the icy water. Ben gets up quickly and moves on faster. This fall seemed to wake him from his trance and gave him some strength for at least the next few heartbeats. As he ran, he listened to the sounds behind him, counting the steps until he heard the splash of their feet in the same stream. They were fifty three steps behind and close enough to knock him down like a deer if given the chance to aim unhindered. Ben raised his head, estimating how much longer he will last like this. His body was running out of strength, but he remembered his friends and decided to press on.
A crack in the wall surprised him and he ran through, followed by Khan. A new hiding spot hid him from the eyes of his pursuers, and he used the chance to scope his surroundings. Darkness conquered the tight room he was in, the fern was almost human height, and he immersed himself in one without a second thought, avoiding thorns that tore his skin and provided its shadowy protection at the same time. There was enough space for both him and his quiet companion, who was showing the obvious signs of weakness. The bullet wound in Khan's leg was crippling the wolf. Much to Ben's relief, the bullet only scratched his leg, but the cut was still deep.
He was desperate and on the verge of panic, but when he went deep enough into the fern, unable to see the daylight anymore, he curls up and remains motionless. His lungs yearn for air as he lied petrified, avoiding even the slightest movement. The discomfort grew, sweat flooded his skin, his face blushed and his hands trembled, but he tightened every muscle of his face, breathing only through a thin slit on his lips.
He heard soldiers running, calling to each other. They won't go too far before they come back to look for him, he was sure of it. And although he didn't want to just close his eyes and relax, he used precious time to crawl deeper into the dark shelter of leaves. Thorns stung him from all sides, but he must not let out a voice and clinged to it until the thorns sink deeper into his skin. Such pain is negligible compared to what he would experience if he were caught.
With effort he rejected all superfluous thoughts swarming in his head. For a while, he thought of nothing but darkness and security, like a hunted animal. Part of him knows that the trembling of the leaves would betray his position if he did not eliminate every, even the slightest movement. That inner being searched for the remnants of cold despair, and tried to regain control. Eventually he's terrified by the sound of Manny's voice and he closed his eyes in some sort of relief. There was nothing more he could do.
"He's hiding." Ben heard Manny's voice from a dangerous vicinity. Soldiers obviously came back as soon as they lost the sight of him.
Ben's chest twitched, and he put his hand on his sticky lips to soothe any pain. He concentrated on Ellie's face and sees her turn her back on him to walk into the distance.
"We know you can hear us." exclaimed Manny, panting. He was also tired of running, but he still represented the embodiment of endurance because he was recovering quickly.
Ben lied with his face pressed against the fleshy leaves, and his nostrils were full of the slimy smell of old rot that has never seen the light of day. He knew that he would surely escape in the dark, but the evening will fall in an hour or two, and he saw no other way out but to wait. He hated the man who seeks him, he hated him with such zeal that he was afraid he could feel it.
"Where's the girl?" exclaimed Manny again "You and her are the only ones we want. Do you understand?"
Ben heard Manny addressing his soldiers in a low voice "He's hiding. He can't be far. Search everything and call out if you see him."
Manny's voice seemed to have regained some self-confidence, and Ben was praying to the Lord to hit Manny with lightning on the spot, to burn him alive, to strike him with a lighting as he saw a lighting hit three men at once. The Lord didn't answer, and Ben wondered if he heard it at all.
New rage erupted in Ben's chest, darkening his eyes and burning his blood. His breath calms down, but his heart beat at an unabated rate as he restrained his panting and every movement of his body. He heard footsteps nearby and writhed even more in the thorns and leaves. A ray of light shined on his face. To his horror, he saw a foot pass right by him and obscure the light for a moment. Her eyes widen as he looks back and grits his teeth like a wild dog. For a moment, he and the blonde girl stared at each other and then the girl disappears.
"He's gone." said the girl and moved on.
Ben felt his eyes filling with tears and blood pulsating in his ears. He suddenly felt pain from all the scratches and wounds he suffered on his body after the escape. Then he remembered how he saved the blonde girl and the feeling of relief slowly arises.
He heard Manny's voice in the distance and stays alone for a long time, listening only to his muffled breath. The invisible sun was slowly sinking behind tall buildings and darkness covered the thick ferns. Ben heard about five soldiers shouting to each other, but those sounds seem too far away. Exhaustion eventually took its toll and he fell into the abyss.
