III - Goodbye, Innocence
The last light from the sun disappeared, leaving a dark night sky. The stars floated around and the tree leaves rustled as the branches swayed.
Becky set a bottle of vodka down, still filled more than halfway as she took a drink from a shot bottle. She set the shot bottle down at the table in the kitchen of her house, looking at the clock in the wall with only the candle on the table allowing her to see the hands. She heard the second hand tick and tick and tick. The candlelight quivered as she stared into the fire. She then hovered her fingers over the candle. With slight hesitation, she put out the fire with her fingers, making her whimper softly in pain. She grabbed her lighter and lit up the candle again. She stared at the fire again, crying quietly as the thoughts in her head raced again.
Why did no one back her up at the party? Why did no one follow her home? Why does no one believe her? Why is she alone?
She put out the fire again with her fingers, making her whimper in pain again before she pulled back her fingers fast, gasping at how much they were hurting. She then grabbed the unlit candle and tossed it at the ground, shattering it apart before grabbing her fire axe and headed out the house.
Meanwhile, Lincoln, Clyde, and Simon— all equipped with flashlights— all headed to the manhole cover by the opening in the wall. Each of them climbed down into the sewers, with Lincoln closing the manhole cover. They all turned on their flashlights, watching the water flow slowly along the sewers. To their surprise, the water was mostly blue, though the odor was still repulsive.
At the police station, Schoffner placed her police cap and her uniform into a locker. The only thing she carried with her was a flashlight and the folded papers that Lori handed her.
"Enjoy the rest of your night, Detective," said Schoffner.
"Night, Schoffner," said Plesko from his office.
Schoffner walked out of the police station and began to walk towards the gate. After two minutes, she arrived at the gate. She looked up at the guard post, seeing Will sitting in a chair.
"Where's the other one?" asked Schoffner.
"I don't know," said Will, biting into a potato. "Officer, are you headed out?"
"I am. I'm investigating something."
"Alright. You know how to open the gate, right?"
"Someone's gotta lock it."
Schoffner unlocked and opened the gate. She turned around and closed the gate, though it was left unlocked as she couldn't lock it from outside the walls.
"I'll lock it later," said Will. "I'm just gonna finish this potato first."
Carol turned on the lights in the kitchen. Ms. Carmichael looked around the backyard. Tucker looked around Becky's room.
Carol picked up the shot bottle, which had small traces of vodka in it. She then looked at the vodka bottle, seeing it almost completely full. Two shots was how much Becky drank, Carol thought. She then looked at the broken candle vase.
Ms. Carmichael walked back inside while rubbing her temples, stressing over Becky's disappearance. Tucker came down from Becky's room and shook his head.
"I'll look for her," said Carol.
Back at the police station, Plesko was talking in a walkie-talkie with Oscar on the other line.
"I respect your choice in females," said Plesko. "All I'm saying is that as much as those jugs look squishable, and as great as those legs are— some top-notch legs, by the way— she's crazy. She definitely gives off crazy bitch vibes! Remember that ex I had back in high school? Catherine?"
"Katherine Mulligan?" asked Oscar.
"No, man, I never dated that bitch. Catherine Ash, 'member her? Captain of the girls' softball team?"
The doors to the police station opened. Plesko heard footsteps approaching the office.
"Hold on—" said Plesko, standing up, moving his hand towards his pistol. "Schoffner, you forgot something?"
"I need your help, Detective," said a surly female voice. "I lost a gun of mine at home and I need your help finding it."
Plesko let out a chuckle as he set the walkie-talkie down. He grabbed some pills from his desk and stuffed them in his pocket.
"Yeah, sure," said Plesko, walking out of his office. "Let's go to your—"
Becky thrust the end of the handle of her fire axe at Plesko's face, causing him to stumble back and fall. Plesko reached for his pistol before Becky kicked it out of his hands. He crawled back as Becky held the axe ready to strike.
"If this is about what happened yesterday, then please—"
"Stand up," said Becky.
Plesko gulped and nodded, now sweating bullets from his head. He placed his hands on the desk and put a knee on the ground to pick himself up before Becky swung her axe down, chopping both his hands off. Plesko screamed in agony as he stumbled back down to the floor, holding his handless arms up.
"My— My hands!"
"Your walkie—"
"My hands!"
Becky kicked his jaw before stepping on his throat, causing him to spit out some blood from his cut lips. His face grew red instantly as Becky stepped harder. She then released some pressure from his throat and grabbed the walkie-talkie from the desk.
"What channel are you on right now?" asked Becky.
"Channel 5," groaned Plesko.
"What channel does Oscar use to talk to the cannibals?"
"Wha—?"
"The cannibals. Calvin, Beatrice, Guillermo, Nora, and Moose. What channel?"
"Channel 6. Definitely Channel 6."
"Where's Carol's gun?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about yesterday."
"You're not answering my question," said Becky, pressing on Plesko's throat.
"Don't kill me— please, don't… they'll hear the gunshot…"
"I'm not gonna shoot you, pig. I just want to give her gun back. Then you can crawl your way into the infirmary. But if you tell Oscar about any of this… even a slight oink… then I'll find you…"
"It's in the middle drawer… behind my desk… take it and go…"
Becky lifted her boot from Plesko's throat and began to turn around. She smiled as she heard Plesko crawling away, using his elbows to support himself. She then turned around again and swung the axe.
Plesko's head dropped to the ground and rolled around separated from the body that now lay still on the floor. Becky walked around the desk, her axe leaving a trail of blood as she grabbed Carol's snub-nosed revolver and Plesko's walkie-talkie.
She whistled ominously to the tune of the horror movie, The Shining, while walking away from Plesko's office, letting the metal detector go off as she walked through with her axe and Carol's revolver.
"Detective Plesko, you there?" asked Oscar through the walkie-talkie. "Plesko!"
Becky shook her head, stifling her laugh.
"Asshole," she said.
Oscar looked at his walkie-talkie. He paced around his office before looking out the window. He shook his head and then switched channels.
"Officer Schoffner, you there?" asked Oscar.
"Yeah."
"Go back to the police station. See if Plesko's alright."
"I'm a bit busy right now, can't you get Officer Ravi to do it?"
"Officer Ravi is guarding City Hall! You go and look!"
"W-What was… that? C-Connection is b-breaking… up."
"Schoffner. Schoffner! Damn it."
Oscar then switched from Channel 3 to Channel 1.
"Will, you there?"
"I am," said Will.
"Did Schoffner leave the walls?"
"Yeah. Why, was she not supposed to leave? If she wasn't… I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"It's fine. Did she tell you where she was going? Any clues?"
"Just that she was going to investigate something."
"Damn it. Alright, Will. Thank you."
Oscar switched channels once again, going from 1 to 6.
"Guillermo, you there?" he asked.
"Yo, what's up, big man?"
"It's urgent," said Oscar, his hands shaking. "I need you to kill Schoffner."
Guillermo nodded as he lowered his walkie-talkie. He tapped on Beatrice's back. She turned around, shrugging.
"What?" she asked, annoyed.
"I'm going after Schoffner," said Guillermo. "Keep the plan going."
Guillermo walked out of a backyard filled with fireworks that were set and ready to launch. Beatrice, knelt down by the fireworks, tapped on a digital timer, setting it to thirty-five minutes.
Guillermo walked out of the gates and stepped into a car. Will watched as the headlights to Guillermo's car turned on, feeling suspicious as Guillermo drove away.
He then turned around to see Becky walking up to the gate with a fire axe leaking blood.
"You can't go outside," said Will. "Hey! Dude!"
Becky slid the gate open before walking out, leaving without closing the gate. Will turned on his walkie-talkie.
"Plesko, we got a situation here," he said. "Plesko? Plesko! Are you there, man?"
Will lowered the walkie-talkie as Carol ran after Becky, sliding the gate closed as she left the community. He looked as Carol quickly caught up to Becky.
"What are you doing?" asked Carol.
"Gonna kill some cannibals," said Becky.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Becky, your mom wants you home. This isn't the time."
"Oscar is not just defending the cannibals because he likes them, Carol. He is the one making them do the things we accused them of. He's already ordered Calvin to kill Lori and he ordered Guillermo to kill Schoffner. We need to stop them before it's too late."
Carol gulped before turning around, looking up at Will.
"We'll be right back," said Carol. "Don't tell Oscar."
"Carol, it's curfew!" exclaimed Will.
"Please, Will. Don't tell Oscar."
Carol and Becky began to jog away from the walls. Will groaned out of frustration before coming down from his guard post to lock the gate.
Lincoln, Clyde, and Simon jogged along the sidewalk, using their flashlights to navigate through the empty streets. They saw the woods ahead of them, which led to the Farmlands. Then, they heard the sound of a truck.
"Quick, turn off your flashlights!" whispered Lincoln.
All three boys turned off their flashlights and hid behind a car as they watched a truck enter the street. The truck passed by them, unaware of the boys hidden behind the car.
"Whose truck was that?" asked Clyde.
"Was that the supply-run truck?" asked Simon.
"I don't know."
"We have to go after it to make sure!"
"No," said Lincoln. "I'll go after it. You guys keep going to the barn."
"But what if Sam is in there?" asked Simon.
"The truck came from the direction of the Farmlands. Maybe Sam is at the barn."
"Lori would have said something," said Clyde.
"I can think of many reasons why she would not have."
Clyde nodded. Simon looked at the truck moving away in the distance. He reluctantly turned around and jogged behind Clyde as they continued to run to the Farmlands.
Lincoln stood up and ran to a nearby driveway. He opened the garage door and looked around. However, there was nothing useful for him there. He sighed and closed the garage door before turning around and finding a bike leaning against the back door.
Soon after, Lincoln came out of the driveway with his bike and peddled down the street and towards the direction that the truck went, following the tracks that its wheels made against the dusty road.
After a few minutes, he heard another vehicle coming. He ditched the bike and quickly hid behind a parked car. He looked through the windows of the parked car and saw a police car passing by. He saw only one person— Schoffner. He nodded, knowing that Lori was actually able to convince her to investigate.
Lincoln got on his bike again and rode away, following the truck wheel marks. The air flowed against his hair, free from a helmet, making his ride risky at his speed. But he had no choice. He had to go as fast as he could on the bike if he didn't want to lose the truck.
Schoffner held the map against the steering wheel, trying to check if she had the right coordinates as she glanced up multiple times to check the road. Then, a light reflecting from her side mirrors caught her attention before she heard loud gunshots. The car wheels popped behind her and glass shattered all over the place as she ducked and pressed on the brakes as hard as she could. The car skidded against the asphalt before losing its balance and flipping across the road.
"Ah, shit!" muttered Schoffner as she covered her head. "Damn! Damn!"
The car continued to roll around before landing upside-down on the road. Schoffner groaned as her face bled from the cuts that she suffered in the accident. Luckily, her seatbelt held her in place. In the corner of her eyes, she saw the headlights of another car reflecting on the road and through the broken windows of her police car.
Lori looked out the open window of the loft attic inside the barn while digging her spoon into a small plastic cup. She grabbed a spoonful of applesauce and ate it, watching the stars twinkle across the sky. The applesauce stung the cut in her lips a bit, though satisfying her hunger was worth the slight pain.
She then heard footsteps coming from the opposite side of the barn, along with voices. The voices were very soft and muffled, making it hard to understand. She placed her plastic cup and spoon down before climbing down the wooden ladder into the ground, where she saw chains wrapped around support beams. She was careful not to step and break the bones on the floor as she approached the other side of the barn. She placed her ear against the wooden walls, recognizing it as Nora's.
"I don't know, Moose. It's been years, and no kind of man has been able to make me feel the way he has. He's old enough to understand everything's that going on— which I gotta say, is a whole lotta messed up stuff. Besides, you can't tell me boys his age— especially with the whole puberty thing going on— fantasize about being with an experienced woman… Ugh, this school is making me think of sinful things..."
Lori heard a small static noise along with a growl. Within a second of realizing what just happened, she took out her revolver, cocked it, turned around, and aimed it at the loft floor, seeing a shadow standing by the window.
"Easy there," said the figure, which Lori recognized as Calvin's voice. "I just heard you cock your Python, but before you pull that trigger… I just want to let you know that you're checkmated."
Lori clicked the trigger, creating a small snapping sound from the hammer. However, nothing came out of the gun.
"Like I said…," stated Calvin as he lit a match, showing his battered face and revealing him holding the Colt Python's firing pin, "...you're checkmated. You know what that means?"
Lori lowered her Colt Python and holstered it, as she gave Calvin an angry glare— one that Calvin couldn't see yet. But she could see his confident smirk.
"It means you lost," explained Calvin. "No matter what you do… you cannot win. There's no way out of this. That clever girl is not around to help you get out of this anymore."
"You'll pay for what you did to Lisa," snarled Lori.
"Heh, I'm sorry, it's a bit amusing to me talking like this… I feel like I'm talking to a void. It's so dark here. Here, let me light this place up and see the face that your husband fell in love with."
"Wait!"
Calvin stuffed the firing pin in his pocket. He tried to get a good look at Lori, though he could barely see her move around in the dark. The light from the match reflected off her eyes, the only things that he can see.
"Why stall your inevitable death? No one is going to come for you. There isn't any shimmer of hope that you're getting out of this. Good. Too many months went by where you were allowed to roam around in this world. All those months… I have to admit— I was never at peace. But now, you won't interfere anymore. After I watch you die slowly, I can finally do things my way with no stress."
Calvin tossed the match to the ground, next to the ladder. The dry grass, branches, and wooden splinters immediately lit up in fire, now creating a bright light that revealed Lori's terrified face. The fire spread to the ladder, making it impossible for Lori to climb up.
"Calvin…!"
A firework exploded in the sky behind Calvin. He chuckled as he shook his head. He
"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. Fifteen fireworks to attract a herd that will surround Royal Woods. It'll all be strategically timed to get as many of the dead around the walls as possible. You know what that means Lori?"
Lori took a step back from the growing blaze. Calvin kicked the spoon and the applesauce cup into the fire.
"It's gonna be hellish inside the walls. No one is going to be able to escape. Everyone will be trapped… like farm animals. Except— they won't be quite as roasted as you… yet."
"Where are the others?" asked Lori.
"Hmm?"
"The people from the DairyLand supply-run. Where are they?"
"You're about to get barbecued and all you're worried about is the people that Moose captured? Oh, I see. Perhaps it's important information for other people to know… something you can tell them once you get out. But you're not getting out, right?"
Calvin tightened his fists.
"You and your damn walkie-talkie can burn in hell," he hissed. "I'm keeping my mouth shut."
"Ugh, fine," groaned Lori. "Fuck it."
Lori pulled out a pistol from a back pocket on her cargo shirt. Calvin looked at the pistol, confused as to why she would aim a broken gun at him. Perhaps a desperate attempt to get it to fire again? Distracted by her own emotions? Forgetful? He then noticed that her Colt Python was still inside her holster. It wasn't a Python she was aiming at him. It was a different gun altogether.
Calvin leaped when this sudden realization hit him. Lori shot the pistol, its recoil sending a large shock of pain throughout her right shoulder as she groaned loudly. The 9mm bullet flew across the air like lightning and struck Calvin's leg, causing him to fall into the scaffold after leaping out the window.
Lori lowered her pistol as she felt an immense pain building up. It felt like her right shoulder blade was going to dislocate as she placed her second gun back in her pocket. After seeing Calvin escape her sight, the pressure to escape the barn felt heavy. The heat from the raging flames now felt intense as sweat dripped from her face. She looked around, seeing no windows and no doors other than front ones. But the front doors were locked from the outside.
Lori groaned as she grabbed her hatchet with her right hand. She couldn't handle the soreness of her wounded shoulder blade as she tried to lift her hatchet. Instead, with her left hand, she grabbed the hatchet and lifted it. She swung it down at the front doors, trying to break it apart. One of the swings ripped a large splinter of wood from the door, allowing Lori to see outside the barn. However, she could not see Calvin anywhere.
The fire raged harder as smoke began to fill up the loft floor. It puffed out of the open window like a chimney while the support beam began to break apart. Part of the barn roof broke apart and fell down, crashing onto the ground as Lori continued to chop away at the door. She chopped as hard as she could, until her hatchet was unable to sustain any more damage. In her final swing, the blade of her hatchet stuck onto the wooden door and the handle broke apart.
In her left hand, Lori looked at a broken handle. She turned around in fear, looking at the inferno raging around her. She began to cough as she slammed on the door, screaming for help. She kicked on the door repeatedly, though the locked doors refused to budge. She tried to stick her hand through the broken splinter, but it was too narrow for her fingers to make it through.
The fire was now reflecting off the side of her eyes as the front walls caught on fire, slowly reaching the front doors. But it wasn't only her eyes that were picking up on something. Her nose began to smell the decaying odor of rotting flesh and blood.
Screams echoed around Lori's head. But the screams weren't hers.
She saw a hand reach out for her. She turned around and felt her heart sink to her stomach as she saw Darcy inside the fire, trying to reach her hands towards hers.
Lori blinked and raised her hands, though the image of Darcy quickly faded away. She could still hear her screams though. She leaned against the door, sliding down to the ground as she placed her hands on her ears, trying to shut out the screams.
Darcy's crackling body appeared in front of her, inside the fire that was now mere inches away from her. Lori cried softly as she saw the body approaching closer and closer as the barn continued to break apart and fall to the ground as burning debris. She began to hyperventilate as she began to feel her own body burning up.
Suddenly, she fell back and was dragged away from the burning barn before all of it collapsed, now leaving no walls standing. She looked at the chains in the ground before turning around, seeing Simon holding his multitool and Clyde kneeling down.
"It's okay, Lori," said Clyde, taking out a paper bag from his backpack. "We're here now. You're okay. You're alive."
Lori hyperventilated into the paper bag as Clyde wiped the tears away from her face with a small towelette. The screams faded as she looked into the burning rubble, seeing a roamer with a walkie-talkie attached to it struggling to get out. Her breaths steadied.
"He's getting away!" said Simon.
"I know, just hold on!" said Clyde before making eye contact with Lori. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," gulped Lori. "Thank you."
Lori stood up, dusting off her cargo shorts as she backed away from the burning barn. She looked around the ground before Clyde nudged her.
"He went in that direction," he said, pointing towards the woods.
Lori nodded as she began to jog ahead, now holding the large revolver with her left hand. She saw another firework explode in the sky, causing her heart to race as she picked up her pace. Clyde and Simon were right behind her, though Clyde briefly paused to look at the burning farm. His expression was not one of fear— it was one of grief. He turned back around and continued to follow Lori.
The headlights beamed strongly against the toppled police car. The driver's door to the undamaged car opened as a pair of boots stepped out into the road, and a G36 rifle came into view. The doors closed and the boots were now walking while the barrel of the rifle pointed downwards, swaying back and forth as the boots stepped on the asphalt, swaggering towards the police car.
Schoffner groaned as she looked at her lacerated arms, before a firework blew up in the sky, causing her heart to skip a beat. She was now sweating intensely as she tried to grab her walkie-talkie. However, it was nowhere on her person. She then looked out into the road away from the undamaged car and began to crawl out of the broken window.
Guillermo walked around the toppled car, finding Schoffner freeing herself from the car. He chuckled softly before walking towards her, prompting her to reach for her pistol as she remained in the ground. Just as she slowly pulled it out, Guillermo stepped on her wrist, making her unable to lift it up.
"Wow," said Guillermo, licking his lips. "You look so goddamn tasty. I hope nothing's bleeding inside you right now. Would ruin the taste."
"Lori… was right," whispered Schoffner.
"What's that?"
"You're… you don't want to kill me. I—"
"Yes, I do."
Guillermo moved the rifle strap across his chest and the rifle across his back. He then took out a sharp knife, causing Schoffner's breath to shudder.
"W-Why are you doing this?" she asked.
"People don't eat just to fill their stomachs," answered Guillermo, unaware of the figure approaching from behind him. "They eat for the taste as well. And humans have a particular taste…"
Schoffner looked at headlight's reflection on the glimmering axe that swung back and forth near the ground. The blood stains were clear as day. Then, the axe was lifted as a whistle caught Guillermo's attention.
Guillermo turned around before feeling a heavy blow against his chest tackling him against the police car. He coughed out blood as Becky removed the axe from his chest. He tried to reach for the rifle in his back before Becky swung her axe again, screaming instead of whistling this time. The axe chopped his right hand off, making Guillermo scream through his bleeding clenched teeth.
Schoffner gasped before feeling a pair of hands touching her, spooking her. She turned around to see Carol lifting her up. As she stood up, she then saw Carol pull out her revolver.
"That's the second hand I chopped off today," said Becky.
Guillermo slid down to the ground with one leg bent upwards and another laying flat on the ground. Blood poured out of his chest and his right hand. He continued to cough out blood as Carol aimed her revolver at him.
"Where's Calvin?" asked Carol.
"Hunnicutt farm..." groaned Guillermo. "He's waiting… for y'all…"
"Whoever is launching the fireworks— tell them to stop."
"I can't."
"Wanna bet?"
"You can't stop… what can't be stopped."
Another firework was set off, exploding in the night sky, lighting it up with bright colors.
"It's such a shame, Becky…" groaned Guillermo, now ignoring Carol. "You were the one… I looked most forward… to—"
Becky yelled as she swung her axe, cutting in between Guillermo's lips and chopping off the part of his head that included anything above his lower lips. His upper head slid away from the lower head before falling into the ground, leaving Guillermo's lower jaw and tongue exposed.
Schoffner's eyes widened as she looked down at the upper part of Guillermo's head. She felt like vomiting as his lifeless eyes looked upwards. Then, she saw Becky stomp his face inwards repeatedly, breaking through his skull with her boots.
Carol looked away from the disturbing sight and towards the woods, seeing Lori, Clyde, and Simon walk out. She then turned towards Schoffner, who could only watch what remained of Guillermo's head sit still in the road as Becky walked away, leaving behind bloody footprints.
"Oh my…" whispered Schoffner.
"Lori, you're alright?" asked Carol.
"Yeah. Who's that?" asked Lori.
"Guillermo. He said Calvin's at the barn."
"Not anymore. The barn is gone. Calvin burned it down and managed to escape… but not before I got a good shot on his leg. He's gotta be stumbling around somewhere."
"He never passed by here."
"He must've went down the other road then!" exclaimed Clyde.
"Yeah," agreed Lori. "You look hurt, Schoffner. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just… car accident," said Schoffner. "Guillermo shot up my car— almost killed me…"
"Good thing we were following him," said Becky. "Saved your ass, cop."
"We can take you back to Royal Woods," said Clyde.
"No, we have to stop Calvin first," said Schoffner. "I'm okay… really."
"All right, we have no time to waste," said Lori. "Let's go."
Another firework exploded in the sky, catching Lily's attention as she looked out the window from the living room. Her eyes glittered with the sight of the fireworks reflecting off of them. She stared in wonder.
"Seems to be coming from here," said Lana, staring out from a different window.
"That can't be good," said Benny, staring out from the same window.
"Maybe it's part of a celebration we don't know about?"
"Even Oscar has to know that launching fireworks in the night is a stupid thing to do. No… I think they're being launched in a careful pattern. I think Calvin's people are making their move. Luan? Luan!"
"She left the house."
"What? When?"
"Like a minute ago, I think. Maybe she's gonna try to stop the fireworks."
"Oh, no."
"What happened?" asked Lily as she began to tremble softly. "Is something bad happened?"
"Nothing yet," said Benny. "I have to go help her."
Lily began to walk away from the windows as another firework went off. She was now visibly distressed as Lana began to sweat nervously.
"You're freaking us out, man," said Lana. "Please don't leave us alone here."
Benny sighed as he walked up to the windows, holding Lily's hands.
"Okay. Nothing bad is happening, Lily," said Benny. "Let's just watch the pretty fireworks."
Lily nodded as she trembled less, now feeling more safe around Benny. Lana watched as people came out of their houses, wondering what was going on.
Another firework went off.
"Bobby!" exclaimed Ronnie Anne. "Mom isn't home yet?"
"No," replied Bobby as he looked out the window. "Where are those fireworks coming from?"
"Sounds like it's really close. Me and Vonda are gonna check it out."
Bobby turned around and saw Ronnie Anne carrying her crossbow while Vonda grabbed her bow and arrows.
"Woah, woah, hold on, what do you mean check it out?" asked Bobby.
"Stay here," said Ronnie Anne. "Watch Carlitos."
Ronnie Anne and Vonda ran out the house as Bobby sighed softly. He turned around, seeing Carlitos standing awkwardly in the living room.
"Freaked out by those fireworks?" asked Bobby. "Oh, they're nothing to be scared of."
Carlitos stared at Bobby as his body did not budge. Bobby rubbed the back of his head as he awkwardly stared at him back.
The sound of a firework shooting up into the air was loud, though not as loud as the sound of the explosion that followed it.
Ronnie Anne and Vonda saw people huddled around the driveway. Some of these people included Ravi, Clancy, and Katherine Mulligan. They pushed through them as they forced themselves into the front of the crowd.
"Hold on!" said Ravi.
Ronnie Anne lifted her crossbow and Vonda drew her bow. Their sights were set at Beatrice, who was standing behind Melissa and Maria, who was kneeling. Behind Maria was the barrel of a PP-19 Bizon rifle, held by Beatrice.
"I don't think I have to ask," said Beatrice, looking at Ronnie Anne and Vonda. "You know what to do."
"Let them go!" yelled Ronnie Anne.
"You're not making demands of me. You lower your weapon or else I will shoot your mother."
Maria trembled in fear as Melissa's breaths shivered. Ronnie Anne shook her head as she lowered her crossbow. She watched as the timer in the back went off, causing another firework to be launched into the sky.
"I see you lowered your weapon," said Beatrice. "What about you, Vonda?"
"I have a clean shot on you," said Vonda. "All I have to do is let go of the string."
Beatrice placed her finger closer to the trigger.
"No!" exclaimed Ronnie Anne. "Vonda, please lower the dang bow."
Vonda faced Ronnie Anne and saw just how fearful she was. She undrew her bow and lowered it, getting a smile out of Beatrice.
"Good," said Beatrice. "Lori's words fell short yesterday. She threatened to take over the place, but then got shot by Calvin's new best friend. Oh, how things work out so well for us. Welp, just in case you haven't noticed, we're taking over the place. At this point, nothing can stop us."
Ravi and Clancy looked at each other, now realizing how wrong they were to put their trust in Oscar and in Calvin's men.
"You're delusional," said Melissa. "I had a feeling you were, but thinking just five people are going to take over…? Delusional."
"It only took five people to destroy my home in D.C.," said Beatrice. "They're all gone now… except Vonda."
Vonda gulped as she remembered that it only took her, David, Hana, Kotaro, and Jace to destroy the place. But what about Carol? Wasn't she the sixth person? Did Beatrice forget about her?
"Destroying is different than taking over," said Melissa. "You can easily destroy this place if you want to, but if you want to take over… you're going to need more than five people. You need the support of the people, which is something you'll never have."
Beatrice began to move her gun away from Maria and towards Melissa. The crowd all watched with petrifying fear as Melissa looked ahead at them.
The alarm rang again. Another firework launched again, muffling out the sound of a fence rattling behind Beatrice. However, Beatrice noticed many eyes breaking contact with her eyes as they shifted somewhere else. She turned around as the firework exploded, feeling her right arm being completely sliced off by Luan's katana. Her gun dropped to the ground behind Melissa. She opened her jaw to scream out, though she grunted instead as Luan thrust her katana into her chest.
"Oh my god," gasped Ronnie Anne.
Luan pulled out her katana and let Beatrice fall to the ground where she remained motionless. She then looked at the crowd staring at her. Among them was Oscar, who looked baffled.
"Oh, thank god," sighed Ronnie Anne as she ran towards Maria.
Maria stood up and hugged Ronnie Anne, letting out her quivering breaths while Vonda ran towards the fireworks, disconnecting the alarm from the fireworks. Ravi ran towards Melissa, asking if she was okay. Clancy looked down at Beatrice's body and picked up her gun.
"What the hell happened here?" asked Oscar.
"You were wrong," said Melissa. "Dead, dead wrong."
Ravi accompanied Melissa as she moved out of the backyard and onto the driveway where the crowd moved out of the way to let her leave. Oscar scoffed before turning towards Luan, seeing her stare back in anger.
Lori's footsteps tapped repeatedly against the road as Becky, Carol, Clyde, Simon, and Schoffner followed her. She then ran into the sidewalk and along the grass before she stopped in her tracks, looking around the ground with her flashlight.
"What happened?" asked Carol.
"The blood trail is getting hard to see," said Lori, kneeling close to the grass.
"Son of a bitch started covering his tracks," said Schoffner. "Jesus, just how smart is this guy?"
"Smart enough to have made you guys look like idiots," said Becky.
"It's important to not underestimate him at all," said Clyde. "We haven't won yet, we still have to watch our backs."
"This is gonna take too long to track," said Lori, staring at the blood stains in the dirt which were shielded by the thick grass.
"I think I may know where he's going. He might try to get to the truck holding all the people they captured in DairyLand."
"Like Sam," said Simon.
"Yeah. Lincoln went after the truck, in that direction, but I don't know where it is now."
"We'll have to ask Nora then," said Lori. "Before Calvin burned the barn, I thought I heard her voice outside. Turns out it was a walkie attached to a roamer. But now that I think about it… Nora implied that she was in a school. Could be middle school… the way that weirdo was talking about liking kids going through puberty."
"Closest school from here is the elementary school," said Clyde. "We should check there first."
Lori nodded. She began moving again as she now had a destination in mind. And as such, the others followed her.
The wheels of the bike squeaked as it approached the truck parked in front of the Royal Woods Elementary School. Lincoln hopped off the bike and pulled out his M1911 pistol as he flashed his flashlight inside the back of the truck. It was open and empty, but it was undoubtedly the same truck he was following. He then snuck around to the front before aiming his pistol at the driver's seat. But it was also empty. He then looked at the school, seeing the lights turned on for every floor. As he got closer to the school, he heard a small humming. He concluded that a generator must've been recently powered on.
The entrance doors slowly opened as Lincoln entered the school with his gun out. He was able to see all the way to the end of the hallway. In fact, it may have been too bright inside, though his eyes were quickly adjusting.
The school was eerily silent as he snuck along the hallways, walking past the lockers. He looked inside each classroom, wondering where anyone was. He peeked inside the gym. The sight of the entire gym being lit up, but completely empty creeped him out.
Next, he peeked inside the cafeteria from outside the doors. Through the windows, he could see skeletons, decaying flesh, and fungus spread all over the walls. Floating in the air were spores. Many, many spores.
Then, he heard voices coming from upstairs.
He slowly walked up the steps and made his way to the second floor, which seemed to be less messy. He was now getting more nervous as he kept himself close to the lockers using some of the open ones as cover.
The voices were a bit louder, though still muffled. They seemed to be coming in the direction of a classroom. He looked through the rectangular window and saw some people sobbing, while others were yelling at them. One of the people inside noticed Lincoln peeking through the window. It was Bruna. She walked up to the door and tried to tell Lincoln to free them, though her voice was very muffled. Lincoln placed his hand on the doorknob and applied force to turn it, but it refused to budge.
Suddenly, the lights for the hallways turned off, leaving only the lights from the classrooms on. Lincoln looked around, seeing the dark hallways only get lit up near the classrooms.
He then turned around and saw Nora and Moose standing at the end of the hallway, one of them holding a QBZ-95 bullpup rifle and another holding Lincoln's MP5.
"Long time no see, baby," giggled Nora. "I was so upset you didn't come to the party yesterday. I had a very pretty dress on that I thought you would have found hot."
Noticing that their postures were relaxed and that they were not even lifting their weapons, Lincoln lifted his pistol and pressed the trigger. However, Nora and Moose did not react. There was nothing to react to. Lincoln pressed the trigger again. Nothing again.
"You're so silly!" laughed Nora. "You didn't notice that we took out the firing pins from your pistol? None of the guns that belong to your group work!"
"We're gonna need you to drop everything you have and enter that classroom," said Moose. "I got the keys here."
Lincoln quickly turned around and ran away as Nora's cheery demeanor quickly faded. He made a quick turn and ran around a corner, making his way into another hallway as Moose began giving chase.
"Wait," said Nora. "Go outside by the entrance. Make sure he doesn't leave. I want to tire out my prey."
Moose nodded as he turned around and headed down another set of stairs different to the ones that Lincoln used to come up. Now, Nora marched across the hallway with the MP5 in her hands, giggling softly before jogging faster.
"Playing hard-to-get?" asked Nora. "It's all right. I'll get you soon enough. Not a whole lot of places you can escape from."
Lincoln ran across a hallway and towards the set of stairs that led downstairs. He was sweating intensely as he ran towards an exit door. However, he could not get through the exit door. It was locked.
Nora's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Lincoln ran inside the gym as Nora made her way into the ground floor.
"I usually had boys chasing after me, not the other way around, but it's okay," giggled Nora, her voice echoing across the hallways. "You're worth chasing after!"
Lincoln stomped over the gym mats and hopped over the basketballs. He tried to run to the emergency exit in the corner of the gym, but upon trying to push through it, he found it was locked too. Nora entered the gym. She smiled as she looked at Lincoln's face.
"You look even cuter with the light shining in your face," said Nora.
"Leave me the hell alone!" yelled Lincoln.
"Aw, come on. What, you don't like me? You don't find me pretty?"
Lincoln picked up a basketball. Nora continued to walk towards him.
"You sick psycho," said Lincoln. "You murder and eat people— and all you care about is how you look?"
"All I care about is how you think I look. Am I not pretty?"
"Don't come any closer!"
"Come on, don't be like that, baby. Trust me, you want this."
Lincoln tossed the basketball as hard as he could, smacking Nora's face. She groaned as Lincoln ran behind the bleachers. Nora got visibly angry and aimed her gun at the bleachers, firing it.
"Ugh, forgive me for that," said Nora, now smiling again. "I don't know what got into me. I just don't appreciate it when a boy abuses me like that."
Lincoln ran out of the bleachers and towards the doors that led out of the gym. Nora immediately started chasing after him. He was easily able to outrun her, but there was nowhere he could go. He tried to run towards his locker, but the path was blocked by the spores in the hallways. He tried to run out of the entrance doors to the school, but then he remembered that Moose was waiting for him on the other side.
He ran around, finding one single exit that could help him escape. But all the exits were locked. He was completely trapped inside the school.
He ran inside the chemistry lab, before moments later, Nora ran inside too. He hid behind a toppled table, holding out his Bowie knife. He waited as Nora walked closer and closer.
"Very fitting room," said Nora. "Think we have chemistry together? I don't know— even I don't think that. Chemistry— not my favorite class. Biology— now, that is something I can teach you… because frankly, I'm starting to think you never touched a woman before."
Lincoln gripped the handle of the knife harder as he saw her boots coming closer. He then stood up and turned around as he yelled, raising his knife in preparation to stab Nora, but he was quickly smacked in the stomach with the butt of the MP5. He stumbled back before making another attempt at swinging his knife. She dodged the poor swing and hit his nose with her gun. Lincoln dropped the gun and stumbled back as he turned around, leaning into a table.
"Damn you for making me do this to you. I mean… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. Did I hit you too hard?"
Lincoln covered his nose before turning around and tossing a glass jar of sulfuric acid at Nora's face. It shattered on impact, cutting the side of her face and immediately burning her skin and left eye as she screamed in agony. The broken jar fell to the ground as Lincoln ran out of the lab and into the hallways again.
"You motherfucker!" yelled Nora, her voice sounding extremely harsh and monstrous. "Get the fuck back here!"
Lincoln ran inside the girl's restroom as Nora came out of the lab, covering her burning face with her left hand. She swung the strap of the MP5 across her chest and onto her back before grabbing her PA3 pump shotgun.
"Enough playing around. I'm gonna fuckin' kill you, little boy."
Nora walked inside the girl's restroom and looked at the reflection in the mirror. The left side of her face looked red and disfigured. She winced again as she saw her left eye socket bleeding. She then growled as she turned around, aimed her shotgun at the first stall, and fired it. A loud bang echoed around the bathroom, causing Lincoln to close his ears as he remained seated on the toilet with his legs on the toilet seat. Nora walked to the next stall and pressed the trigger again. Many bullet holes appeared in the second stall door, which she used to peek inside. Lincoln was not inside the second stall. On to the next one.
Lincoln trembled in fear as he slowly unlocked the door to his stall. He quickly shut his ears as another loud gunshot went off. Then, he saw Nora's boots step outside his stall. He heard Nora pump her shotgun.
With that cue, he quickly kicked the stall door open, slamming it into Nora as he lunged towards her, tackling her against the sink. She fired another shot, though it hit the mirror behind her, causing it to shatter. She then shoved Lincoln away from her as she released the shotgun from her hand, allowing the strap to hold it near her. She grabbed Lincoln by his arms and spun him before throwing him against another mirror. The mirror cracked as he fell to a sink, before the sink itself broke off and fell to the ground. Lincoln groaned as he rolled away from the broken sink. Nora lifted her shotgun and aimed it at him as he raised his hand, trying to shield his bleeding face.
"Oh… I can't do this…" said Nora. "Why do you fight back?"
Lincoln trembled as Nora lowered her gun. He continued to shield his face as Nora removed the guns from her body.
"I'm not sorry for what's about to happen," sighed Nora, removing her shirt. "I'm gonna take my time with you, so please… don't fight it… you're gonna enjoy it, little boy."
Lincoln turned around and tried to stand up, though Nora quickly grabbed him from behind and wrapped her left hand around his throat. She stood up and backed up against a locked stall, gripping Lincoln hard as he struggled to breathe. He tried to free his throat from her hard grip before reaching out for the mirror, seeing Nora behind him with an evil lustful smile. With her right hand, she dug beneath his underwear. Nora licked Lincoln's ear before letting out a depraved giggle. Lincoln screamed before gagging out as Nora gripped his throat harder.
"Stop… lying… to yourself," huffed Nora. "You're… enjoying this."
Lincoln felt his heart beating faster and faster while his lungs struggled to get some air. He then lowered his right hand and reached for the sink instead. He dug inside the sink and grabbed a broken glass shard. He then lifted it from the sink, alarming Nora.
"Baby, wait—!"
Lincoln bent his right arm backwards as hard as he could, stabbing Nora in her right eye. She released him as she screamed in agony, trying to remove the shard from her eye. Lincoln then turned around and grabbed the barrel of his pistol before slamming it against the shard in her eye, breaking it apart. He slammed the butt of the pistol against her face again, breaking her nose as she continued to scream. But then her screams were interrupted as Lincoln slammed the pistol against her face faster and faster, causing the stall door to shake. Nora fell down and gasped for air as blood poured from the open gashes in her face. She then felt her hair being pulled back as Lincoln screamed with pure rage.
The blood stain in the stall door slowly dripped down as the screams echoed around the bathroom. Blood splattered into the shattered mirror as the sound of thuds could be heard. Blood poured into the drain on the floor next to the broken sink as the sound of cracks could be heard. Nora's leg twitched as Lincoln's voice could be heard breaking while the shadow against the walls showed that he continued to swing his pistol back and forth.
Tears bubbled in Lincoln's eyes as he continued to scream.
"Lincoln! Lincoln!"
Lori grabbed Lincoln's arms from behind and moved him away from Nora's body. He screamed and flailed as he tried to escape from Lori's grip.
"Let me go!" screamed Lincoln. "Let me go!"
"Stop it, it's me, it's me!" exclaimed Lori. "It's okay! It's okay. I'm here now. I'm here."
Lincoln panted as he dropped his pistol, blood completely covering the grip. He stared at Nora's body, horrified at what he had done, before Lori turned him away from her.
"Lori… she…" said Lincoln before his gulp cut his voice.
"I know, Lincoln," said Lori, hugging Lincoln tightly. "It's all right. I'm here."
Lincoln panted as tears dripped down his face. He then hugged Lori back and sobbed into her shoulders. Lori opened her eyes and looked at Nora's body lying on the bathroom floor. Rage began to consume her as she turned around and walked Lincoln out of the bathroom.