Welcome to Gaia! ::

So, I'm in the middle of writing a full-blown novel. It's a little out there as far as plotlines go- so be warned, it's a scifi action thriller. If that's not your cup of tea, then I can't force you to read it. But I would ask that everyone would give it a chance, and give opinions. I'll post the story chapters here, in the following posts, and I'll probably make another topic for comments if that's okay. Remember, comments and critiques are welcome- as long as they're intelligent, well thought out, and not purposefully destructive. If it's about grammatical errors dealing with the word being in the wrong time (past tense vs. present tense), don't bother. I know, it has a lot of those... But there's a reason. I started this story as a first person, present tense narration. But a few chapters on I decided that present tense wouldn't do it as much justice as past tense, so I tried to fix it. And unfortunately, MS word wasn't going to make it easy on me. I tried the find/replace function, which worked to a certain degree... But it changed a lot of things that didn't need to be, and it didn't change a lot of things that DID need to be. So there will be problems with that. Anyway, read and enjoy!

Keep reading for the tale of a lifetime!

Chapter 2: Interesting Developments

A few days had passed, and not much had changed since then. We moved out of the town and into a neighboring one, a few miles away. There, we were attacked again, and got the idea. Heavily populated areas were bad places to be. We moved around from place to place, never staying at one location for long. We looked for anything that might have helped us find out who could have done this. Any sort of clue, in the newspaper, on a television, anything. Nothing useful, but we couldn’t stop. We also looked for anybody who may have possibly been unaffected by the signals, but so far, we hadn’t found anyone. It got everyone; it didn’t discriminate. Black or white, Asian, Mexican, Pacific Islander. Rich, poor, middle class, Goths, preps, jocks, geeks. Everyone was gone, no longer human. But knowing they weren’t human anymore didn’t make it any easier to kill them. I had to focus on why they were like that. The machine that made them the way they were, and the people who made that machine.

Coming to the conclusion that they were indeed no longer humans, we decided to give them a name. After a long, in depth discussion with Daniel of why “Previously humanoid beings subjected to brain-altering signals” was a bad name, we decided on “Crazies”. Firstly, because it was humorous. And secondly, because it was short, and easy to understand. I thought it described them quite well.

Finding shelter every day was difficult. We had to search fast, and during the day, when the activities of the Crazies was lowest. They seemed to be mostly nocturnal, but some were still out during the day. And when one found us while we were out, they called all the other ones with that inhuman screech, and we have another fight for our lives. As I predicted, it did happen a lot.

And of course, we just happen to be spotted while raiding an abandoned farmhouse for food.

The screech that freezes my blood, and then the rush of Crazies, and the fight began. I saw one jumping off of the roof, higher and farther than any human (or anything previously human) should have been able to. I caught him/it in midair, and tossed him/it into the side of the barn. I turned to Ian and said “and you thought I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn!” and we all laugh, in the middle of all the insanity. Then we heard another scream, but this one was different: this one was still human. I yelled to Ian, “Clear a path!” and a wall of flames erupt in front of him and blast onward in an awe striking wave. The carnage left behind was horrendous, and smelt like the sausages from breakfast at the lab.

We sprinted through the temporary opening, following close to the wall of flame in front of us. Right before the fire hit the barn, I yelled to Ian, “STOP!” and he extinguished the wall immediately. We charged inside, lock the doors, and barricaded the windows. As I looked for any other possible entrances, I noticed something odd: the barn walls were steel reinforced. As I wondered why, I saw another oddity. There was a staircase leading to a basement. And I realized this because of the girl coming up from the staircase with a double barreled shotgun in her hands. She fired at me, but my mind was quicker than her gun, and the gun flew away from her hands, the slugs burrowing themselves harmlessly in the wall behind me.

I held her still and yelled “we’re not one of them!” she looked at me, then at the others, and said with an air of arrogance and collected coolness,
“I totally knew that.”

The first thing I thought to ask was “Why are you not like them?”

“Why aren’t you?” was the snippy response.

“I was made this way.” I said, and she gave me a funny looked. Then I asked, “So, what’s your name?”

“My name isn’t any of your business.” She said. Then, looking at me strangely for a moment, added in a tone I wasn’t familiar with, “yet.”

“Well, since we’re here, do you know anything about what’s happening?” asked Dan.

“They said something on the news one day about a terrorist attack on this big corporation, and then it all faded from memory. Then suddenly, a few months later, everyone was all… like them.” Suddenly she realized that she couldn’t move, and freaked out. “What are you doing? How are you doing this?”

“Like I said. I was made this way.” I picked her up and spun her about, to demonstrate, and set her down. Then I let go, and she fainted. Just right there, fell out on the floor. “Uh… oops?” we looked at her for a second. Dan checked her pulse. Or, you know, did that learning thing he does.
“She’s fine.” He said, and set her on the couch. Since our no-longer hostile host was unconscious, I decided to look around. I went down to the basement, through the door that she came through before, and looked around. I found myself in a high-tech laboratory, complete with blinking lights and bubbling test tubes. After the initial shock of this, I came to realize that the lab was completely trashed. Papers strewn about across the room, smashed computers, broken floor tiles, and shattered glass completed the image of this mad scientist’s paradise, and then I saw another startling image: a body lying in the middle of the floor, missing the left arm, most of the left leg, and the entire face, along with the top part of the head.

After the quick episode of jumping in surprise and yelping like a small dog, I called up to Ian and Matt. They ran down the stairs, ready for a fight, only to be disappointed by the sight of the target already dead. “What did you DO to it?” asked Ian, after getting a good looked at the ravaged body.

“Nothing, it was like this when I got here!” I explained. They both looked at me funny, and then shrugged. I went up the stairs, and told Dan that he was needed downstairs. He came up a few minutes later and tells me that the cause of death was…

“An explosion was what killed her,” he said, also confirming the gender of our mystery corpse, “but the arm was removed by several massive bite wounds, tearing and the like. And the leg was removed from a shotgun blast.” Looking at the shotgun our ‘host’ was wielding earlier, then at her, I wonder if perhaps we had wandered into the lair of a psychopath.

I went back downstairs to Matt and Ian picking up the corpse on a sheet, beginning to wrap her up. “Take her upstairs,” I said, “so that when the live one wakes up, maybe she could give us some answers.” Half way up the stairs, they dropped her. I looked at them, then at her body, lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. I slapped myself on the forehead. We laugh at the inappropriateness of the situation, at the same time wondering why we were laughing at all. And then the door at the top of the stairs opens up to reveal the other girl, awake and staring at what had just happened.

She fainted again.

When she woke up the second time, she looked at us, then at the dead body lying in the sheet on the floor upstairs. “Who was she?” I asked, and the answer didn’t come for a few moments. In the silence, I wondered if perhaps she didn’t know, but then:

“She was my twin sister,” she answered. Then looked again at the mangled remains, and began to cry.

I asked, “Are you okay? Because, we can’t exactly stay here much longer… Do you want to come with us?”

She sniffed a little, looked up at me, and nods. I hold out my hand, and she took it, and stood up.

“Is there any food here?” asked Dan.

“No.”

“How about vehicles?” I questioned.

“Nope.” Was the answer.

“What DO you had here?” blurted Matt.

“Well, there’s the lab downstairs… but it’s kinda messed up.”She responded.

“Yeah, we saw that much already.” Matt, Ian, and I laughed, and Daniel chuckled. She just looked at us as if we had walked in from another planet. We went back to the lab, to scrounge for any possible supplies, and we came upon a very important piece of equipment: a first aid kit. I take the first aid kit off the wall, and heard a loud hiss of released gas. The wall begins to slide out, and flip around, to reveal a massive gun rack. We stared at the mass of weaponry, from AK-47’s to M-16’s and MP-5’s, RPG’s and Grenade Launchers, cases of C-4 and sticks of dynamite, a few shotguns, about 6 boxes of grenades, and next to all of this, a big red button.

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Hidden walls with big red buttons. Two clichés in one?” Ian and Daniel laughed, but Matt was preoccupied with something a little more interesting.

Being the person he was, Matt said, “OOH, LOOK! A BUTTON!” and pushed the button before we could stop him. The building shakes and the entire floor started sinking into the ground. We looked around in wonder and awe as this massive elevator sank lower and lower, until it stopped in an enormous underground warehouse. Still awestruck from the surprise elevator, we were unaware for a moment of our surroundings. When we reoriented ourselves, we realized that we were in a huge warehouse, with an exit tunnel lit in red and yellow lights. Then we saw that we were surrounded my military-grade vehicles. Immediately we saw a Jeep with a mounted machine gun, and Daniel hops in the driver’s seat. I get in the front passenger seat, and I toss some spare supplies; food, medical aid, grenades, etc, in the trunk. Ian and Matt get the back with the windows down, and the girl gets in the turret seat.

A few minutes later, we get to the end of the exiting tunnel, and found ourselves in the unfinished section of the city. Driving through the empty lots and half built houses and apartments, and buildings, we notice that there were many crazies about. But they didn’t seem to notice us at all. They seemed too busy with carrying materials about, running like ants to a nest. Then we saw the metaphorical “nest” they were running to: an enormous pile of garbage, stacked up like a beaver’s dam, but instead of wood, it was made with anything you could find.

Cars, streetlights, chunks of asphalt, dead bodies, litter and garbage galore. It was taller than all of the building skeletons around it, and wider than seven buildings side by side. We looked at it, and we knew exactly what we had to do.

“That place had got to burn,” said Ian, putting in words what we were all thinking. We were sitting at the top of a building within sight of the Nest, around a makeshift fire pit, eating what little food we found on our last raid, discussing how we were going to take down the Nest. Daniel thought that if we could get inside, and somehow destabilize the support, the whole building would come crashing down, killing everything inside. But considering we have no idea what to expect on the inside, it might be hard to bring it down with a full on assault, just a random bum rush. That would be suicide. Instead, we decided to send a recon team to find out what the inside layout was like, and what to expect. Guess who was first pick?
“No way.” I said, shaking my head and turning from the group. “There was NO WAY I am doing this.” I looked to Matt, who was picked to go along. “Does this sound like a good idea to you?”

“Actually, it kinda does.” He said. I stared at him, half stunned, half furious. “I mean, think about it!” He said, “Who can move the fastest? Me. Who could get us out of there if I couldn’t get out myself? You. So why was it a bad idea?”

After thinking about it, I decided it couldn’t be all that bad. So I focused for a moment, took a deep breath in mental preparation. After a few seconds, I looked up, a newfound determination presenting itself to me. “Alright,” I said. “I’m ready. Let’s go blow some stuff up.”

A few minutes later, and I’m flying across the top of the buildings, just barely keeping up with Matt. Our destination: The Nest in the center of the unfinished section of the city. I could see it, an enormous pile of garbage stacked up as if a giant child had emptied his toy box over the city. Nearing the base of the mound, we saw that it had hundreds of Crazies around it, many more than we had previously expected. It was as if everyone in the city had gathered here. Only, they were all bleeding and vicious.

Standing on the building nearest to the pile, we saw the mass of Crazies surrounding it, all seemingly gathering useless junk endlessly, some throwing it on the pile, some carrying it inside the gargantuan shrine to chaos and disorder. Low beneath the ground, I heard a crunching, grinding noise. I asked Matt, “Do you hear that?” he nods, and looked back to the ground. We saw a huge group of Crazies running in the direction our group was, screaming and yelling, and we knew they were going for an attack.

I looked at Matt; he looked at me, said, “Alex, you remember that one time in the car, where you asked if this was going to happen a lot?”
I nod.

“It definitely is.” and he ran as fast as he could back to our group. I decided to use this momentary distraction to slip inside of the massive monument.

Looking around the inside, I stopped for a moment in incredulous awe. The sight of this breathtaking, seemingly impossible structure was amazing, a pile of garbage stuck together and holding by almost nothing.

Enormous columns of junk holding the ceiling up, lanes and strings of garbage strung throughout as bridges, and walls of garbage that seemed really unstable, but I saw some Crazies walking on the edges, and crawling up the wall, and I realize that it was just as stable as concrete.
Testing my theory, I jumped kick onto the wall, and found out (quite painfully, I might add) that it was indeed as solid as I had thought.

Grabbing an outcropping truck tire, I began my ascent to the upper bridges and walkways. The climb was a lot longer than I had thought, and I saw a lot of Crazies on my way, but they didn’t seemed to notice me. A few looked my way and growl, but most of them completely ignore me. Climbing up towards the top, I saw a large, glowing structure standing from the middle of the Nest. Inside, I saw a body; huge and mangled, with all assortments of bumps and growths spurting hideously from it, suspended in a thick, gooey liquid. I couldn’t even tell what it had been, aside from the fact that I could still see part of the face. It was caught in the middle of a silent scream, but the eyes were rolling in its head: It was still alive.

Having been freaked out enough, I let myself fell off of the wall, and fell all the way to the ground, before catching myself in perfect time and walking off without missing a beat. Seeing a group of crazies walk in the front entrance, I hid behind a column and peeked out, to see what the commotion was about.

I take a closer looked at the Crazies, and I saw they’re carrying something: Matt, Ian, and Daniel! They seemed unconscious, and at least mostly unharmed. But I saw the Crazies walking towards the glowing bulb in the center of the mound, and I realize that won’t be the case for long if I didn’t help. Not really thinking it through, I ran out at them, screaming bloody murder and throwing anything I could wrap my mind around. Accidentally, I threw a gas tank into the glowing bulb in the center, and that’s when it all goes to hell.

The tank ruptures, igniting the fluid inside, creating a sizable explosion on its own. But the liquid and body inside the glowing bulb was obviously very volatile as well, because the explosion suddenly grew exponentially, and I heard a loud crack. I saw the tire I had climbed on earlier fall out of the wall, hit the ground, and roll away. I looked at the tire, and I had seen enough to know that this place was going down. I ran, picked up my incapacitated friends, and sprinted as fast as I could out the exit.

My unconscious teammates dangling in the air behind me, I ran out the exit, and jump, hoping to be able to pick myself up as well and flew away. It didn’t work quite like that. Instead, I failed and face-planted on a toy dump truck. Ian, Matt, and Daniel fell to the ground on top of a mattress, and all woke up simultaneously. They looked at their surroundings in surprise for a moment, but that moment was soon ruined by another loud explosion, sending a crack through the Nest, and sending chunks of garbage flying through the air.

I got the message that it was time to leave when a nine inch long shard of glass buried itself into the ground three inches from my head. I got up, and yelled at my friends, “HEY GUYS! TIME TO GO!” We all started making a break for the building we camped out in before, and behind us we heard the pounding of a hundred thousand crazy feet running toward us. Ian shot blasts of fire behind us, and I brought down chunks of buildings in their way. But they still came, and we still ran for our lives. The crazies we saw before, the ones outside the massive structure, all started looking to saw what’s going on, and join in the chase. These ones get a bit too close for comfort, and we rip through them before they had a chance to react.

We’re almost at the building, with the Crazies right on our tail. Thinking of a new plan, I yelled to them, “EVERYONE IN THE CAR!” jumping in the car. We all climb in the car, Matt in the front passenger, me and Ian in the back, and Daniel driving, we rev the engine, and drive like hell. The girl, who for some reason was untouched in the previous events, was already in the gun turret, screaming at us to drive faster. I turned to Ian and said, “Want to play a game?” he looked at me like I’m insane, then I pull out a tank of gasoline from the compartment and tossed it to him.

“Get creative,” I said, already seeing the wicked grin grow on his face. Then I turned to the truck and saw the supplies I had put in there earlier: namely, a few boxes of grenades. I picked them all up with my mind, pulled the pins and threw them, one after another after another. A few seconds, then we heard the first explosion, and saw the pieces flying everywhere. Pieces of asphalt and bloody chunks of Crazies were blasting all over the place.

We were tearing through downtown, but we hadn’t quite lost them yet. A few very persistent Crazies were still on our tail, going faster than anything that used to be human should be able to. Ian decided to throw the tank of gas now, and blast it as it falls between the dozen or so Crazies still chasing us. The tank ignited, and most of the Crazies were engulfed in flame. The three that survived were still running at us, and I picked one up and threw it into a wall. Then the girl fired up the turret, and tore through the other two with a hail of lead. Then silence and driving.

I looked around, and saw that we were outside the city, back in the suburbs. The next thing I notice was how quiet it was. Dead silence, thickening the air, making it almost hard to breathe. Driving down the street, we saw some houses. We stopped at a corner, loaded out of the truck, and started searching houses. Since we didn’t know what to expect in this part of town, we split up. Daniel and Matt in a group, Ian by himself, and the girl and I were the decided groups.

Walking down the street, towards a big, three story houses with her, I try and strike up conversation. “So, how are you holding up?”

“I’ve been better.” She replied.

“That makes one of us,” I said, then fell silent for a moment. “What did you said your name was?”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh yeah.” I said. “So, what IS your name?” I asked.

“My name?” she asked. “Why do you want to know my name?”

“Well, I just thought since we’re some of the only sane people left on the entire planet, maybe we could be on first name terms?” I said, half sarcastically.

“My name is-“A loud, masculine scream interrupted her, and we looked around quizzically in the direction of the noise.

“That sounded like Daniel!” I shout, and lift off the ground, starting to fly in the direction the scream came from, then remembered the girl, and lifted her off the ground with me and pulled her along. I looked behind me, to check on her, and already the initial shock had worn off and she was focusing, reloading her shotgun and checking how much ammo she had left. I turned forward, and continue on in the direction of the scream. Up a hill, towards a very sizable mansion.

Upon arrival, I saw Daniel leaning against the door of said enormous mansion, holding his bloody arm to his side, a bunch of dead Crazies lying on the inside of the foyer. “They were waiting for me to come in!” he said frantically. “They ambushed me!”

“Where’s Matt?” I asked.

He points towards the door. “He ran inside after we finished off these ones!” without saying a word to either of them, I sprinted inside the mansion and started yelling,

“MATT! YOU IDIOT! WHERE DID YOU GO?”

I heard sounds like glass being broken from upstairs, so I looked up, and jump. With a little boost, I clear the stair railing easily and ran down the hallway. I heard noises from behind me, and the second I turned around, the door nearest to me blew open and Crazies started spewing out. Having left my pistols in the truck, I seemed weaponless to the Crazies… but they didn’t know what I could do. One of them charges me, and I blast him back into the group and send them sprawling across the floor.

Picking up two more, I threw them off the railing to the floor below. It might not be the longest fall, but I was sure it hurt. Three regain themselves quicker than the others, and were already back on their feet and running at me. I grabbed one and slam it into the wall, then drag it across the floor to trip another. Then I toss him like a ragdoll into an expensive looking vase.

At the sound of breaking glass, I heard a rush of wind, and suddenly a Crazy’s head pops. Just kind of explodes, like sticking a needle into a balloon. Sitting there stunned, I wondered what could have happened. Then I looked behind me, and I saw Matt standing there with a stack of plates, throwing them like Frisbees past my head. I turned back towards the Crazies, only to saw that there weren’t much of them left. A chunk of an arm here, a disembodied torso there, and blood staining the walls and carpet. Another door behind Matt gets kicked down, only this time it’s by a kid of about 6 or 7, wielding a sawed off shotgun and an Uzi. Before he gets the chance to go trigger-happy, I grabbed his guns and yanked them away from him. “Heeeeeeyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!! Those are Miiiiiiiiinnnnnneeee!!!!!!” he whines, in the exact annoying tone I was expecting.

The kid ran at me, spazzing out and flailing like a maniac. I picked him up and hold him in the air, and he still flails. I shook him a little, and he snaps out of it, and looked around. Suddenly realizing he was no longer standing on the ground, he screams, “What’s happening?? Somebody! GET ME DOWN!!!” I drop him. After the THUD, he stands back up and looked at me.

“Was that YOU???” he asks, staring at me in what was either fear or admiration. Maybe both.

“Yeah.” I responded, raising an eyebrow at this kid. I could already tell he was as obnoxious as they came, and I didn’t think I was looking forward to spending a whole lot of time with him.

“How did you do that???” he asked, now jumping up and down frantically.
Thinking of a witty reply, partially hoping to shut him up, I came back with, “A magician NEVER reveals his secrets.”

His eyes opened even wider, if that was possible. “You’re a MAGICIAN???” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, sure. Now come on, kid. We have to move, before more of those things come.” I said, and lead the way out the door.

We walk down the path and back into the zone of houses, and I took a good look at this kid. He didn’t look like the kind that lives in a mansion. The clothes, the way he carries himself, he seemed like the awkward loner kid who sits in a corner rather than a rich snobby spoiled-rotten child. So, I asked about it.

“Did you live there?”

“Where, the mansion?” The kid laughed. “No, silly! I live in that house down there!” He points to a much smaller house, easily viewable from the top of this hill. Then Dan and the girl came up behind us, and we all exchange greetings. Then, finally, we get names.

“My name is Blake, but my nickname is Shrimp.” said the kid.

“I’m Clara.” said the girl.

“You already know us,” I said to Clara. But to the kid, “well, since you don’t, I’m Alex.”

“Alex?” he questions. “What kind of name was Alex for a magician??”

Daniel, Matt, and Clara all gave me a funny look. “So, you’re a magician now, huh?” asked Dan.

“Apparently.” I sighed.

“Well, I think its cute.” said Clara.

“You would, wouldn’t you?” I said sarcastically.

She gives me the evil eye, and turns away, taking Shrimp’s hand and dragging him back towards the truck. I stand there for a moment, feeling a twinge of regret for my harsh tone. Then a screech sounds in the distance, and I know that sound well enough to go back to the truck with them. A few steps behind them now, and I could already hear the stampeding footsteps of countless Crazies running at us. I grabbed Shrimp and Clara, and Daniel and Matt as well. Then I flew us all back to the truck.

At the truck, we started gathering our weapons and positioning traps such as gas tanks, explosives, etc. Shrimp ran about, chattering with himself (at least, we thought it was to himself) as Clara keeps a watchful eye and gathers ammo at the same time. Matt then notices a very disturbing detail:
“Hey, where’s Ian?”

Those few words were enough to send a chill through my blood, stopped me in my tracks, drop a box of grenades, and flew off as fast as I could in the direction I last saw him.

“Where are you going???” I heard a voice yelled.
“If we don’t stick together, we’ll never make it!” I screamed back, and then return to my frantic search for my best friend. Flying as fast as I can, I started screaming his name.

“IAN! IAN!!!!”

Silence. I kept screaming, with no response. I screamed as loud as I could one last time, and then I saw something: a weak burst of flame shoot up from a chimney and curl away into nothing. Without a doubt in my mind, I flew down to the house with the chimney. Ripping the door off its hinges, I rush inside, only to find Ian pinned under a massive, nearly humanoid beast. Its hulking frame resembles an ape, but the way the spine sticks out was something else entirely. Its skin was a pale, sickly green shade, and it had a light pulse to it, all about its body. Its hands could have easily fit Shrimp in them, and seeing how ridiculously muscular it was, could probably throw him quite a ways as well. The other thing about this thing was its smell. Like rotting cabbage, and dead animal. The once ferocious beast had now been reduced to pitiful moans.
Ian was in even worse condition, but he was not bleeding quite as bad, and he was breathing easier. Just unconscious. I picked up the enormous creature, and drag Ian out from under it, and drop the creature. Thanking the powers that be for my telekinesis; if I had to get soaked in Ian’s and that thing’s blood, I might have vomited. Then, knowing our time before the Crazies arrival was short, I sprint-fly back to the truck.

On seeing the truck, I knew something was terribly wrong. Partially because there was a very concerning lack of truck, and the burning pile of metal a few feet away kind of spoiled the suspense as to what happened to it. But also partially because there was an odd smell… a smell of rotting cabbage and dead animals. Already knowing what it was we’re up against, I turned back to the remains of the truck to saw if any heavy artillery survived the impact. No such luck. Realizing how dire the situation had become, I flew higher for a better view. To the south, I saw Dan, Clara, and Shrimp, fighting off a mass of Crazies. But they weren’t the massive creatures I was thinking. Then, to the southwest, heading away from the group, was Matt, running circles around the bumbling abomination, irritating it to no end, leading it away from the much more vulnerable group.

I wasn’t sure who was in more trouble, and it was times like these that it would be nice to have some help, but Ian was unconscious and the choice had been left up to me. Hoping that Matt could handle himself for a few more minutes, I decided to lessen the number of Crazies harassing my other friends.

Flying towards them, hoping they see me flailing my arms like a maniac, I threw groups of Crazies into the nearby pond, just to make sure I had their attention. I land next to them, and lay Ian near Shrimp. He looked at me as I blasted a few Crazies away from us. I yelled at him, “Keep him safe!” and ran off into the mob. The next minute or so was chaos. Surrounded by bloody, screaming, inhuman creatures, I was in constant danger of being completely overwhelmed and drowned in this sea of chaos. Killing group after group of crazies, there was no end. I had lost sight of the rest of the group, but at the moment, I didn’t care. The only thing I cared about now was killing, move on, and then kill some more. Wiping them off the face of the planet. Making it as if they were never even here.

Some time passed. I didn’t know how long. Could have been a few seconds, could have been an hour. Either way, it didn’t matter. I had lost control. I wasn’t even really doing anything, just sitting back and watching myself tear through hordes of Crazies. Subconsciously, I guess I really was enjoying myself. Realizing how thin the waves of Crazies had become, how littered the ground was with dead bodies, how stained the grass was with blood, I turned back towards the group, hoping I haven’t hurt anyone on accident, praying they were all ok. I saw Daniel, and Clara, and even Ian waking up… but Shrimp was nowhere to be seen.
I sprinted back to them, already asking where Shrimp was. I’d only known the kid a few hours, and I figured he was the most annoying thing on the face of the planet… But the thought of losing him was oddly unthinkable; he was already a part of the group. Clara put a comforting hand on my shoulder, and looking into her eyes, I could already tell what’s happened. The little kid didn’t make it.

Needing a distraction before I broke down in front of the group, I suddenly remember Matt was still fighting that freakish abomination. I told them to find Shrimp’s body, and then rushed off to find Matt. Flying in the direction I saw him last, I spot him again, this time farther south, and in worse trouble than I thought. The freak was holding him by the chest with one hand, crushing him between its fingers. I was flying as fast as I could, but I could tell it wasn’t fast enough. I wasn’t going to make it in time. Another of my friends, this one I’ve known almost my whole life, was about to die. And this time, I was going to be forced to watch.

I could saw how much pressure was being exerted on Matt. I could sense the agony in his face, the way he’s breathing tells me he couldn’t hold on for much longer. But I’m too far away, too slow to help. I’m almost there, but he’s almost gone… and suddenly the creature’s head explodes, it lets go, and falls over dead. Matt stands up, gasping for breath and cradling his broken frame. I looked at the dead thing, the way its brain was splattered all over the left, none to the right. That means that the gunshot had come from that direction...

“There’s a sniper to the right.” I said almost casually, and picked up Matt to go take a look.

Standing in the top of the clock tower in the middle of the square, I saw an African American boy of about 16, standing there with a .50 caliber sniper rifle, decked out in full camouflage. At least, from the waist down. All he was wearing torso-wise was a torn, bloody white tank-top. He had a bunch of knives strapped to his right leg, and his right ankle was wrapped up in bandages. I flew up to the window, and knocked on it. With a very surprised looked on his face, he opens it up and lets us in.

“You can fly?” he asked, still looking a little stunned.

“Not in so many words,” I said, “but it seems like you have the general idea.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, now simply looking confused. I demonstrate by picking him up, moving him around the room, and setting him down.

“It’s exactly the same concept, except on me instead of someone else.” I explained, shrugging.

“Pretty cool. Bet you can rip people’s heads off real easy,” He said, and I nodded despite being slightly disgusted.

“Yeah... Well, I have to say, I’m impressed you’ve lasted by yourself this long.” I said, trying to ignore the slightly crazy comment. “But from the look of it, you won’t be able to hold out here for much longer.”

He looked around. “Well… yeah.” He said, “I guess this place is in sorry shape…” he looked at his ankle and added, “and so am I. But I’m better off than those people,” he said, gesturing outside.

“Welcome to the club, my friend,” I said, shaking my head. “We’ve got a little group down by the pond. We’re wandering around until we find somewhere better… Interested?” I ask, raising a quizzical eyebrow at him.

“There is nowhere better. Everywhere is like this,” he muttered, but after a moment of silence he sighed. “But I guess I don’t really have a choice, other than die. And as fun as that would be… I’d like to take out a few more of those bastards before I go.” So then I picked him up, and started flying back to the lake, with both him and Matt dangling behind me like ragdolls. Deciding to make the slow, leisurely flight back to the lake a bit of a learning experience, I turned myself towards the newcomer.

“So, how’d you get here? Did you live here?” I asked him.

“Nope. Walked here with a kid named Blake… Called himself Shrimp.” He replied, and I fell silent for a moment, the weight of his words hitting me like a sledgehammer.

“You were with Shrimp?” I asked him, just to clarify.

“Yeah, you know him?” he replied, now slightly more baffled than before.

“We found him in a mansion up on a hill,” I tell him.

“Good to know the little guy made it,” he said, showing obvious relief.

“What do you mean?” I asked. Now it was my turned to be baffled.

“Well, Shrimp had a nasty habit of running away during fights,” he said.
“And one day, there was a really big fight. We lost the other two people in our group, and Shrimp ran. Never saw him again. Figured he was dead.”
A tiny wisp of hope simmered to life in my heart. “So, he ran often?” I asked.

“Pretty much any fight that lasted longer than 10 minutes, Shrimp ran from.” He replied.

“Ah.” Was all I could have said, my mind already racing, trying to figure out the possibilities of Shrimp still being alive. Silence falls again, and I spot the lake.

I landed in front of the lake, next to the large pile of bodies. I placed Matt down gently, and the rest of our group came to greet us, including Ian, who was up and moving without much trouble. Daniel rushed over to Matt, did a quick once-over, and puts a hand on his forehead.

“His ribcage is busted up pretty badly,” said Dan, “He’s lucky to be breathing.”

“You have no idea,” I replied, and then turned to Ian. “So, how do you feel?” I asked.

“I’ve been better.” He huffed. “Who’s this?” he asked, and nodded towards the new guy.

“Who, him?” I said, and then turned back toward our new friend. “Oh, this is…”

“Jonathan.” He answered of his own accord, and then turned towards Matt. “He going to be alright?” he asked Dan.

“Yeah, he already looks better.” said Dan, “But we should probably get him somewhere safe.”

I turned and looked to Clara. Deciding not to bring up Shrimp yet, I ask, “How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

She turns and walked towards the lake, staring at her reflection in the water. I watched for a few more seconds, and then I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked up behind her, put my hand on her shoulder. She turned around, and I took her into my arms and held her tight. She sniffed, and then I felt her tears start to dampen my shoulder. I pulled away, and looked at her.

“It’s going to be ok. Trust me,” I said, and then walked back to the group. She followed, still crying, but wiping the tears off of her face. “Well, we should probably start heading back to the ma-“

I stopped in midsentence, and we all heard the reason why: the rumbling thunder of thousands of stampeding feet, headed in our direction. I looked at Ian. “You stay and fight until I come back and help hold them off.” Then I looked at Jonathan. “You too, buddy. Let’s see what you got.”

Jonathan picks up a few extra rounds of ammo from the scraps of the truck, and reloads his sniper. “Alright, I’ll go find a good spot.” He said, and ran off towards some trees. Ian turns towards me, nods, and his hands ignite. Fire surrounds his eyes, giving him a demon-like mask for a moment, then he turns away and launches off with a blast that knocks us back, flying up like a space shuttle-jet hybrid.

“Hm. Never seen that trick before.” I said after my hearing returns, and then I swiftly picked up the remaining team and flew back to the mansion. I flew faster than I ever had before, desperate for time. I nearly smash into the side of the house before stopping and skidding to a halt at the main entrance. I set everyone down gently, and let Dan carry Matt inside. Clara came up to me and hugs me, and said, “Be careful… please.”

I nod, then turned around, and stared in shock and awe.

A reverse maelstrom of fire was swirling around on the ground, spiraling up to what I know must have been Ian, funneling like an upside down tornado, sweeping across the town below, and the crazies as well. No longer sure if he even needs my help, I flew more cautiously towards my friend, in case he happens to be in a state similar to the one I was in at the lake. I approach Ian slowly, but then it got too hot to get closer, so I kept my distance. I watched as he blasted and scorched everything below, razing the entire town, leaving nothing taller than a car tire standing. Attila the Hun would have been proud.

Suddenly, the reverse fire maelstrom stopped, and Ian hovered for a moment, before rocketing up beyond my limit of vision. I looked around, confused for a moment. Then I looked down again, and saw the Crazies that weren’t incinerated by the heat were coming back, and some of those abominations survived.

I heard a scream, like a loud firework going off, and a blur of light rushed past me, and slammed into the ground with the force of a small meteor. The explosion sends me flying (uncontrollably) into a hill, where I slam into the ground. Hard. The wind rushes out of me, and I heard a loud crack. A stabbing pain in my head, a ringing in my ears, and sharp pains in my chest, I no longer feel alright. I try and stand up, but I couldn’t move. About to panic, I try picking myself up.

Right on cue, I lift off the ground and suddenly, motor controls were returned to me, and I’m free to move. Then, looking back to the site of the explosion, and seeing the newly formed crater, I realize what that thing was: Ian.

I flew as fast as I could towards the center of the crater, and I saw Ian’s body, lying limp at the bottom. I floated down, and picked him up, and saw that he’s smoking and slightly burnt looking. I flew over to the lake, and dropped him into the center. The second he was completely submerged, he regains consciousness and starts screaming. I pulled him up out of the water.

He glares at me viciously, snarling “Don’t do that! I can’t swim!”

I looked at him and laughed.

“What?” he asked.

“You can’t swim?” I ask.

“No, I never learned.” He said.

I shook my head. “I never knew that.”

At that, we both laughed, and then the adrenaline wore off. I started coughing, which hurt. So I just stopped moving all together. Ian looked at me, and said, “Hey, you alright man? You’re not looking so good.”

I nodded, because I couldn’t do much other than inhale and exhale, and that hurt as it was. He puts his hand on my shoulder, and suddenly I feel an explosion of pain, and the world blanked out. Again.

I woke to the sound of a gentle voice saying “I told you to be careful, you stupid boy…” and the feeling of a soft hand stroking my cheek. I opened my eyes, and I saw Clara sitting next to me. She looked at me, and smiles. “Thank goodness you’re alright!” she said, then goes to hug me, then remembers how furious she is. “You IDIOT! You said you’d be careful! You come back with four broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a dislocated shoulder, and a concussion????”

I tried to sit up, but couldn’t. So instead, I looked up at her and said, “It’s not that bad.”

“NOT THAT BAD????” She screeched, and then she poked my side. I screamed in pain, and then fell back to the bed. “Oh, god… I’m so sorry…” then she walked out of the room. I laid there for a moment, catching my breath, readjusting myself, trying to stop the ringing in my ears.

I laid there for a few more minutes, head spinning from pain. After it reduces to a dull pounding, I found the strength to stand up and walk out of the room and down the hall. I almost make it to the stairs when Ian saw me, and said, “Uh… I don’t think you’re quite ready to be up and about yet.”

I looked at him, and said straight to his face, “shut up.”

He falls silent for a moment, then I smile and we both started laughing.

“Glad you’re alright.” He said, and then helps me into the kitchen.

“So what have we got to eat around here? I’m starving!” he opens up the pantry, and said,

“We have… soup, soup, and… more soup. What do you want?”

“I think I’ll have the soup.” I replied, and he takes a can of soup out, opens the can, and pours it in a bowl. He hands it to me, and I ask, “Don’t you need to heat…” then I saw that the bowl was steaming.

“Oh. Right.” I said, and then stuffed my face.

Chapter 4: Unforeseen Departure

Suddenly, the world was spinning out of control; I’m flying faster than I’ve ever flown before. The wind was moving so fast past my face it’s starting to burn, and I’m starting to freak out. I had no control. I try to stop, but all that did was drop Shrimp. I heard a small scream that suddenly fades to silence- or as silent as it could be with wind screaming past you at near-sonic speeds.

Luckily I’m not very high up, so Shrimp almost definitely survived. Now, I just had myself to worry about. Swirling around in a spiral now, I’m starting to feel sick to my stomach, and I could tell already that the world wasn’t going to stopped spinning when I do.

I couldn’t really see at all now, the world was more a mass of colors and blurs than visible objects, but I thought that maybe, if I really, truly focus, I can-

Slam into a wall, and fall to the ground. Pain shoots viciously through my entire body, blinding me and nearly paralyzing me. I thought I heard a few bones crack, and I could feel blood rolling down my face and chest in hot, wet gushes.

In a heartbeat rhythm. Either my heart was beating way too fast right now, or I had some sort of arterial bleeding going on. Either way, that was seriously not good. I reach up to my head, and a few seconds after my brain gives the command, I feel my hand crawl and shook slowly and painfully up to the destination.

I stopped for a moment, and looked inside myself the same way I saw inside the locks.

Dislocated shoulder, cracked skull, fractured rib or two, and of course, a small tear in my jugular artery. It’s a miracle the impact didn’t kill me, I suppose. I must have been going over 65 miles an hour.

But, realizing how short my time was unless I do something, I focus on the most important thing, the laceration of my jugular.

Focusing in on the artery, I saw the small tear was less than two inches across, but there’s no doubt in my mind that if that cut didn’t close, I’m dead. I tried just closing it, pushing the artery walls together, to stop the blood flow, but that would only last until I let go. I thought about stitching myself back together… but I didn’t have anything to do that with.

Then I get an idea: something even better than stitching.

Why didn’t I just used my ability to stick the cells themselves back together, making the cut disappear on the cellular level?

I focus and zoom in, almost as if my mind were a very powerful microscopic camera. I grabbed one side of the artery, and the cells. I bring the other side closer, and fuse the cell membranes together, closing the wound. Eliminating the life-threatening injury. Now, to get back to Shrimp, and to get back to the mansion, so we could get to the bus depot, so we could get… Wherever we’re going.

I turned back towards the direction I came from, and looked. Nothing suspicious, nothing to suggest that I had just nearly died. I couldn’t even see where Shrimp was, I’m almost on the other side of town.

The first thing I thought of doing was flying, but after what just happened, I didn’t look forward to doing that anytime soon. So instead, I started running. It’s a long way, and I’m not even sure where I dropped Shrimp.

But I had to find him.

I sprinted to the edge of the crater that Ian left a while back, and bring myself to a stop. Looking into the crater, I could see there were now tunnels being dug into the sides, and Crazies hurriedly running to and fro inside the scarred earth.

“That’s bad,” I whisper to myself. “Very, very bad.”

If Crazies were working together, then they didn’t just swarm and frenzy like animals. They actually work together, like a team.

No, more like a pack. This was very, very bad.

I looked over the edge again. The Crazies were still scurrying about, they haven’t noticed me yet. At least one piece of good news. Then another bad piece: the crater was pretty much surrounded by those abominations. This means there’s no going around it. I have to go either over… or through.

“This might be about to get interesting,” I said, and then drop over the edge of the cliff that leads directly into the crater. Falling, I realize I couldn’t take the chance of using my powers again anytime soon. So, I tuck my legs and arms in, and roll down the rest of the way, tucked in the fetal position.

It’s extremely uncomfortable. The rocks, still jagged and broken from Ian’s impact, cut into my back and tear my shirt. Warm blood flows from the fresh wounds, sure to attract any Crazies that haven’t seen me already.
I finally hit the bottom, and sprawl out, already exhausted. “Crap,” I mutter to myself. I force myself to stand up, and begin to jog in one direction, not yet recovered enough to run. I pulled out my pistols, ready to shoot at the first thing that came at me.

A skinny Crazy, who looked no older than me, jumped out of one of the nearby holes, and charges at me. I aim for the torso, looking to maim, not kill. I hit it in the leg, and it goes down, howling in pain.

I kept jogging, trying to be quieter now. Not working so well, I could see, from the small group of Crazies running at me from the right. I shot at them, trying to scare them off. “Yeah, fat chance of that,” I said, the comment aimed at no one in particular.

I ran a few steps further, and looked back at the Crazies. They’re closer than before. Not good. I shoot at them while running, hitting a few, killing at least one. Over a large rock, through a ditch, grey-brown dirt passing under my feet… Not enough distance. I turned back to looked at them, only to saw one of them in midair, making a mad leap for my face. I react the only way I know how, blasting him back with my mind.

The result was a loud “splat” sound as the Crazy was ripped apart, reduced to a bloody puddle in a few seconds. I shuddered as the mess fell to the ground around me, and I quickly turned too kept running. I spun around, and came face to face with another horde of oncoming Crazies.
But this time, I didn’t have any backup.

I stopped suddenly, and stand there staring, fists clenched. I duck suddenly, dodging another leaping Crazy. “Those things were getting fond of jumping,” I said absurdly, then blast it upwards.

This time, instead of being disintegrated, it did exactly what I wanted it to- flew up, and then fall limply to the ground.

Not wanting to take this as a sure sign my powers were back, I continue testing, sending random blasts into the oncoming horde, cutting down their numbers. Evening the odds.

Not enough, obviously, because these things were still surrounding me. Soon, they’d overwhelm me, and I wouldn’t even be able to try to fly away. But I still didn’t want to try flying again, after what had just happened.
So I continued blasting, decimating tens of hundreds of Crazies every few blasts. The group was slowly getting smaller, but slowly getting closer. They were more wary now that so many had been injured or killed, and instead of just blindly rushing at me like before, they had begun to circle me, looking for weak points.

I realized a Crazy had found one, as I feel a sharp pain in the back of my leg. I turned to see, and a small child, younger than Shrimp, was clinging to my leg with his teeth. I kicked him off, but he took a small chunk of my leg with him. Bleeding and exhausted, I didn’t think I could keep this up much longer.

Correction: THERE WAS NO WAY I could kept this up much longer, because while I was busy with that little pain, the surrounding horde of Crazies had found an opportunity to charge me, and within seconds I was going to be overwhelmed.

A spark of fear ignited a flame of rising panic in my stomach as I realized the only option left to me was to attempt flying out of here. I jumped into the air, in an attempt to take off…

And I fell to the ground, confused. I ran towards the nearest Crazy, and jumped, kicking his head. I landed on him, and used his body as a springboard to make another attempt to fly. I looked at the ground, coming closer. But this time, I was horizontal. No landing on my feet for a third try. If I fell now, I was going to drown in a sea of Crazies.

A few seconds passed, and no impact comes. I opened my eyes, and I’m flying a few feet above the ground, just out of reach of the danger below. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and then went slightly higher, looking for any sign of Shrimp. I flew back in the direction of the house, hoping to re-trace my steps. Flying lower, near the street, I looked into each of the houses window’s, thinking Shrimp might have gone there, if he were conscious.

Flying by one of the houses, I notice it had a large hole in the roof. I flew up the side of the house, and drop into the wooden crater. As I suspected, Shrimp lay at the bottom, slightly bloody and unconscious. “Clara’s going to KILL me,” I sighed, and then picked Shrimp up. I heard a growling from the doorway, and saw the dog I let out in the first house standing there, hair raised and teeth bared.

“Looks like you’ve got a friend,” I said to Shrimp, and smile. The dog, apparently realizing I’m not a threat, sits next to my feet, and licks Shrimp’s hands. Shrimp stirs, letting me know he’s not dead. Yet.
“I better get you back to the mansion,” I said, and then started flying, this time holding Shrimp with my arms. The dog barked loudly, and I turned to it. “Oh, alright. I guess you could come along too,” I said, and picked it up, dragging it behind Shrimp and I. This must be a sight, I thought. Two kids and a dog randomly flying through the sky at breakneck speeds.
We arrived at the mansion shortly afterward, and I sprinted in the door, still dragging Shrimp and the dog behind me. I burst into the kitchen, and found no one. “Stay here,” I tell Shrimp, and put him and the dog down, then ran off to another room.

I dashed up the stairs, and threw opened the door to the Map Room. Matt, Ian, and Daniel stand over the map table, looking at me with very confused faces. “We need to leave,” I said. When no response came, I re-enforced it. “Now.”

Within three minutes, we were running down the road, heading towards the bus depot. The sides of the road were silent except for our footsteps, but something inside me said that wouldn’t last very long.

I was right. Yells and screams echoed from the buildings to either side, as we quickened our pace even more, nearly sprinting haphazardly down the road. Matt looked around nervously, and then nodded. “I’ll hold them for a while, for you guys to get there. I’ll catch up,” he said, his voice trembling only slightly. Then he disappeared before I could protest, a rush of wind following.

There wasn’t a point in yelling after him, so instead I threw my arm forward, running faster. “Come on!” I yelled to the people in our group. Ian, Daniel, Clara, Shrimp, and Jonathan were keeping up, but barely. I wasn’t sure whether or not I could lift so many people at a time, but I tried anyway. First Clara and Shrimp were airborne, followed by Daniel and Jonathan. Ian went up next, and then I worked on myself. We all got off the ground slowly, but kept travelling towards the bus depot. I quickly got the hang of carrying so many people, and we went forward at a much faster pace than before.

Within minutes, we arrived at the bus depot, and I dropped everyone at the front door, kicking the door in. My eyes were bleeding and I was starting to get a migraine, but we had to move. Stumbling into the main room, we looked around and spotted a bus. Not having time for many upgrades, Daniel had to be satisfied with putting nothing but the front of a bulldozer attached to the front of the bus. We all loaded up, Daniel getting in the driver’s seat as we all quickly threw a bunch of seats out the back emergency door; dropping what little equipment we had to the floor.
Once everyone had loaded onto the bus, I ran out the door of the bus depot to look for Matt. We weren’t about to leave him behind. I looked out the door, not exactly eager to run out after him. Luckily, I didn’t have to. He was sprinting as fast as his exhausted legs could carry him, fleeing for his life from a grand total of four Crazies…

But those Crazies were moving just as fast as him, and one of them was crawling on all fours across house walls, leaping onto the roofs. “Holy crap,” I mutter, and help him out by grabbing one of them and throwing it into the one on the roof, while it was in midair. The two flip out of control, landing a few feet away, broken and unmoving. Matt continued running, and he jumped into the door behind me. I whipped out my pistol and shot one of the Crazies in the chest, then again in the head. The second one launched itself at me from fifteen yards away, flying through the air effortlessly and nearly landing itself on me.

Luckily, I was a bit faster than gravity. I grabbed it before it could begin mauling me, and spun it around on its ankle, and slapped it into the asphalt. “So much for those guys,” I muttered as I walked back into the depot. I got on the bus hurriedly, and nodded to Daniel. “Gun it,” I said, and quickly sat down.

“You got it,” he said, grinning. He floored it, launching the bus out the door. Everyone lurched backward as the bus started off, but pretty soon it leveled off.

Clara walked up to me, her face expressionless. I began saying, “Hey there,” but all that I could get out was “Hey” before I got a punch straight to the face.

“That’s for taking Shrimp on that stupid food run,” She said, glaring at me angrily. Then she grabbed my shirt, and pulled me closer to her, and she kissed me.

“And that,” she said as she pulled away slowly, “Is for bringing him back.”