Chapter 10 – Struggle
Josh had reached the bank first, and ran over to Will, kneeling down beside him. Will's hands were on his knees, which looked abnormal even from his crumpled position. His left leg just seemed a little twisted to the side, but his right leg was bent forwards, his kneecap popped out and broken. As he looked past his friends who were now all scrambling out of the water, he was the giant red figured moving closer to the edge of the bank. His heart was beating too fast for fear to increase it, and he began to panic.
"Josh, Josh holy fuck they're coming! I can't feel my fucking legs! Josh what the fuck are we going to do?!" Will asked frantically, his voice strained as he fought back the searing pain in his legs.
For the first time in a few days, Josh had absolutely no idea. He looked at Will's legs, then over his shoulder at the oncoming aliens, then past will to the burning city of London. There were at least two fields between them and any form of cover, which looked to be a cargo truck parking area, with some warehouses. He glanced back at Aaron, who caught his eye, returning the look of sheer terror Josh had. Josh turned back to Will and looked him in the face.
"We'll carry you across the fields, we may have enough time." He said, trying to reassure his friend, but Will's eyes didn't change from his look of despair. Dan and the woman finally clambered out of the river and looked around. Josh and Aaron were now pulling Will to his feet, and he was crying out in pain as his legs began to move, then hang totally limp.
"Go!" the woman cried to the three friends. She looked up at Dan, who looked at them, then back to the woman.
"Nat, are you sure?" He asked, knowing what she meant.
"Yea, we can do this, right?"
"Of course." Dan turned and met Aarons gaze. "Take him as far as you can, we'll distract those things." He said, jerking a thumb at the first red figure, which had now made his was to the top of the bank.
"What do you mean? How?" Aaron asked, confused.
Dan held out his hand. "No time, just throw as his pistol, we can lead them away!" Natalie nodded in agreement, as she flicked her sopping wet hair out of her face and tightened the straps on her backpack.
"But you'll-"
"Don't try and argue, you saved us both out on the road, now give me the damn gun!" ordered Dan, waving his hand impatiently.
Aaron paused for a second, and then saw the red creature begin to take large and secure steps down the bank. He gritted his teeth, and took Will's pistol from his pocket and threw it to Dan. He also took out the last two clips of ammo from Will's vest and threw it to Natalie. The couple loaded the gun. Natalie turned to face the cluster of friends.
"Good luck you guys." She said, before turning towards the alien and jumping up and down, screaming taunts at it.
Dan took his pistol in both hands and cocked it. He turned his head towards Will. "See you guys around, don't stop moving!" He called out, before firing three shots towards the red alien. The beast's eye turned from the cluster of friends to the source of the bullets, and began to move towards it. Dan and Natalie broke into a sprint as a second alien climbed over the barrier by the road and began its decent. Natalie was constantly yelling out at the creatures, while Dan occasionally fired a shot in its general direction.
Josh and Aaron took this opportunity, lifting Will up as high as they can, and starting to sprint across the field with him, arms under his.
"Hold on buddy, you're gonna be okay." Josh said reassuringly.
Will gave a soft grunt, his eyes only half open, and Aaron noticed blood was seeping into his jeans and dripping onto the bright green grass. From behind them, they heard the bullets stop, and Aaron turned to see Dan reloading, now 4 aliens heading in their direction. They still had reasonable distance between them and the invaders as Dan began to fire his last 6 bullets. They seemed to be headed towards a small town east of where they were headed, if they made it that far.
Aaron turned his head back around, focussing on carrying Will to safety. As they hopped over a fence into the last field before they could take cover between the trucks and rest, he heard alien beams began to slam into dull earth from far behind him. He heard 4 bullets being fired. More jeering from Natalie. More slamming of beams into fresh soil.
As the trio finally made it to the truck lot, Aaron turned his head back again. He saw two figures in the distance, with aliens close to them. One of the figures handed their gun to the other. The smaller figure tried to give it back, but the taller one shoved it into their hands and then pushed them away, pointing towards the housing. The small figure shook its head violently, but began to slowly walk backwards. Aaron heard Dan's voice call out across the fields.
"GO!"
The smaller figure wiped its face with its sleeve, before turning and running as fast as they could into the housing estate, running down a very exposed road that lead towards safer areas. The taller figure turned and ran back towards the aliens, ducking and dodging. Two aliens missed their targets, hitting the dirt behind the figure. As a third alien came into range, it raised its massive hand. Aaron watched as a red beam erupted from the beast's hand, aimed directly at Dan. There was a bright flash of light, as the beam hit its target on the side, Blowing off it arm and shoulder. From across the fields, all three of them heard a primal shout of pain and anger, and Aaron turned his head away. The shouting continued for a few seconds, and was suddenly silenced.
The three of them finally made it inside the warehouse, and gently placed Will against a wall. Josh looked back along the path they had taken, and noticed a trail of blood that lead back to Will's legs. Aaron went back to the door to close it, and looked one last time back towards the river. Four aliens were stood close to each other, surrounding an extremely charred patch of earth, where a man had ones stood. He shook his head and bit his lip hard, before pulling the door shut.
"Will, you with me?" Josh asked, clicking his fingers in front of Will's glazed eyes. Will managed a weak groan, but nodded. Josh reached into Will's vest and found a pocketknife. Aaron came and knelt by him, raising an eyebrow at Josh.
"What's that for?"
"We need to see how bad his leg is, it's bleeding a lot, maybe we can bandage it."
"With what?"
"His jeans."
Josh took the knife and began to gently and carefully hack away at the legs of Will's jeans. Starting with the left, he tore away the fabric below Will's knee. His leg was twisted a little, but not bleeding. Aaron nodded, realising what Josh was doing, and took the torn fabric and began to tear it open, making it like a large gauze. Josh began to hack away at Will's other leg, before finally pulling away the fabric.
It was a gruesome sight. Will's kneecap was totally popped out, taking his leg look like it had a large bulge in the joint. His bones had splintered, and shards of bone had torn through his flesh, stabbing out in all directions. Blood oozed from the multiple punctures in his leg, starting to create a small pool on the cool concrete floor. Josh stared at it, a hand going to his mouth, involuntarily trying not to vomit. Aaron glanced at it and looked away almost instantly, looking up at Will's face.
Will's eyes were glossy, and his face showed no signs of pain anymore. His body must have been blocking the pain, finally numbing his lower body to stop him from passing out. He'd gone into shock now, and his arms were trembling.
Josh and Aaron met each other's eyes. Neither wanted to say it, but the facts were clear. Neither of them had access to a vehicle. They'd have to go through or around London. Will was going to bleed out soon if he wasn't bandaged well. But the main fact that was on both their minds was what they were both mentally debating.
Will would slow them down, and they'd be caught.
Josh looked down at Will, putting a bloody and clammy hand to his cheek. "Hey man, everything is going to be alright yea? You're gonna make it."
Aaron leaned down, his face in front of Will's. "We're here man, we got you."
Will gave no response. His breath was fast and erratic, and his arms stopped twitching. His eyes blinked once, slowly, then focussed on his two friends in front of him. He gave a deep and audible swallow, and then spoke in a slow and wheezing voice.
"I think... I need... To sleep..."
Aaron nodded, and Josh patted his cheek.
"Its okay buddy, we can rest here. As long as you want to." Aaron said, as Josh began to clumsily bandage his leg.
Will shook his head softly. "No... I think I'll... Sleep here a while..."
It dawned on Aaron what Will was trying to say, but he pushed that thought away. "Its okay buddy, we'll stay here as long as you need us to." Aaron looked down at Josh, and he could see that gentle tears were trailing down from behind his glasses. Clearly he knew what Will meant as well.
"You guys... Are some of the... Best friends I could... Ever ask for." Will said, coughing a little, flecks of blood coming from his mouth, which was slowly being drained of colour.
Josh's body was trembling now, as he finished wrapping Will's knee. His head was down and his hands were on his knees. Aaron could tell he was crying.
"You too man. You did so well." Aaron said, his voice starting to get shakier. "You were really strong."
Will gave a very light chuckle, reaching out an arm and patting Josh's forearm. "Its alright man... We had a-" Will gave a groan of pain, but continued. "We had a good run... Didn't we?"
Josh's voice came from his trembling form, higher pitched and shaky. "Y-Yes man... We had a great run." He raised his head, his eyes red with tears. He raised up a hand again and patted Will's pale cheek. "You... Y-You rest now, okay buddy?"
Will let out a gentle sigh, his eyes moving from Josh who was fighting back from full on bawling, to Aaron, who's eyes were misty as he fought back against the tears.
"Aaron... When this is over... don't make a sheep joke at my funeral..." Will said, a light grin on his mouth.
This tipped Aaron over the edge, and his head dropped, the tears he'd been fighting now began to pour down his cheeks. His body shook as ferociously as Josh's now, and his hands curled into fists, which he pushed into the concrete. He couldn't speak, it was all he could do to avoid letting audible sobs escape his throat.
Josh rubbed Will's cheek gently, choking on his own tears. "G'night man... Have a good sleep..." He managed, Aaron's tears making his more powerful.
Will managed a proper smile, before he closed his eyes. His breathing became slower and slower, and as Josh and Aaron sat on their knees, their bodies shaking from their emotions, the room fell silent. Will's breath came to a slow and peaceful stop, as a deep silence filled the empty warehouse. The only sound was Josh and Aaron's gentle sobs, before Josh said his final goodbye.
"Sleep well man... You earned it..."