Kyle's grip on Ollie's hand tightened as her little brother almost tripped over a large tree root. Inhuman screeches followed close behind them. Dax was right on their heels, breathing heavily and struggling to keep up with the two long legged siblings.
He made the mistake of turning around, his eyes going wide as they met soulless blacks. A hoard of grey skin and monstrous teeth was right behind them, reaching for the slowest of the small group. A loud scream of fear left his lips and he sped up instinctively, his heart pounding in his ears.
"Dax!"
Kyle yelled out worriedly for the man without a weapon.
"Keep going!"
"I'm... trying!..."
Dax huffed. He felt like he was going to be sick if he didn't stop for a breather.
"Help!"
Kyle yelled as loud as she could. They were already in worst case scenario, it didn't matter if more zombies came. They were already doomed without any kind of weapon. So she did the only thing she could and screamed for help in hopes someone from their group was within hearing distance.
"Help us! Please! Ezra! Rory!"
Ollie didn't say anything as he ran, trying to conserve his energy to keep going for as long as he could.
Dax's legs shook, threatening to collapse from underneath him.
"Don't stop!"
The brunette was drenched top to bottom with sweat, his breath getting continuously harder to catch.
"Help us!"
Kyle screamed so loud it scratched her throat causing her voice to crack.
"Anyone!"
Dax suddenly tripped, a loud agonizing scream leaving his lips as he fell to the group with a loud crack and thud.
Kyle stopped in her tracks. Ollie ripped his hand away, continuing to run without them. Kyle went back for Dax who was only a few steps behind her.
"My ankle!"
Kyle looked down to see Dax's foot stuck under a tree root sticking out of the ground. His bone poked through the skin on the back of his ankle, not yet breaking the flesh. The injured man turned to the screechers only a few feet away, his jaw clenching and tears welling in his eyes.
He didn't want to die but... he didn't want Kyle to die more.
"Go."
He spoke in a stern, broken voice. Kyles brows knitted, her jaw dropping slightly.
"I can't run. I don't want you to die for nothing."
"I'm not dying for nothing."
She grabbed Dax's leg and pulled his foot out with a rough yank, a pitchy scream leaving his lips.
Kyle grunted as she pulled the man over her shoulder, helping him to his feet as they started to run.
Dax winced at every step but tried his hardest to keep up. It was obvious they weren't as fast as before.
"Help!"
Kyle continued to scream. The pain in Dax's ankle was unbearable, he couldn't do this.
"You have to let me go-"
"No!"
"Kyle, plea-"
Before Dax could beg the woman anymore there was a gun shot.
Then another.
And another.
Kyle stopped suddenly as she turned to face the direction of the sound. Screechers dropped left and right behind them.
She looked around frantically for the source, her eyes falling on an unusually clean Ezra and Violet shooting from the top of a hill to their far right. A woman with thick blonde ringlets stood beside them confidently, her bow and arrow drawn but not shooting. Ollie stood next to her watching the scene before him with wide eyes.
A relieved smile pulled at Kyle's lips as the last of the large hoard was put down with ease.
She dropped to her knees tiredly, the adrenaline in her veins falling with her. Dax sighed in relief, a small hiss escaping his lips as his ankle relaxed on the soft dirt below them.
Ezra and Violet slid down the hill and quickly made their way to the pair to help them back to the sanctuary before more screechers showed up.
As soon as Ezra was close enough Kyle got to her feet and ran to him, slamming their bodies together as she wrapped herself around the dark headed man. Her fingers curled into short black hair and her hand squeezed his dirty brown jacket that always smelled like liquor. Ezra wasted no time hugging her back with a protective grip.
"I'm so happy you're safe."
Ezra spoke into her ear intimately, his vision covered by oily curls that felt so familiar. He kissed her ear and her short hair, appreciating his girlfriend like it was the first time he'd seen her in months. He was almost too late. If Ollie hadn't found the sanctuary as soon as he did Kyle would have been toast.
He couldn't live without her.
***
A thick wooden gate sporting threatening spikes at the top stood at least eight feet tall around the so called sanctuary.
The girl with long, curly blonde hair glanced back at the large group of boys she was about to let in, a sour expression on her face. She sighed as her eyes fell on Violet before struggling to lift the large piece of wood holding the door closed. Kyle's eyes widened as they examined the village surrounded by the excessive gate. At least seven cabins were built, along with a couple of sheds and a lake in the middle. They stepped through the threshold with tired legs and grateful expressions. Dax's weight on Kyle and Ezra's shoulders was suddenly lifted as two unhappy looking girls forcefully took him without question. Kyle looked over to Ezra who held an expression that was just as confused as her own. The girls started towards a cabin on the left and Kyle followed close behind. One of the girls with a short red bob noticed this and let go, turning around to stop her with a hand to her chest.
"The infirmary is closed to anyone not injured. You can see him when he's out."
With that she turned back and opened the door for the other girl, the sound of loud, unrecognizable, music playing through the opening.
"I'll find you when I get out."
Kyle nodded at the bigger man's promise and the door slammed on her.
"What do you think that's about?"
Ezra asked, skepticism obvious in his voice.
"I don't know... it's weird, I guess."
"This whole place is weird."
Ezra scoffed.
"It's a women's sanctuary and the girl with the curly, blond hair is Harper, she seems to be the one calling the shots at the moment."
He turned to Kyle who was staring at the door Dax had just gone through with a worried expression. His dark brows knitted as he looked between the two.
"You okay?"
"What?"
Kyle quickly met her boyfriend's eyes as she asked the question. Ezra lifted a hand and pushed red curls away from green eyes, a sigh leaving his lips.
"They have a water pump here so you can take a shower. Why don't i show you where it's at and then get you some food?"
Kyle smiled weakly and Ezra couldn't help but do the same. He wrapped an arm around her and lead the way.
***
"I spy something red."
Rory started in a monotone voice, his eyes half lidded from exhaustion. He refused to sleep, he knew the second he closed his eyes one of those girls would come down here and do something terrible to him.
"Finn's blood."
Cash answered boredly. The pain in his hand had subsided and the pins and needles in his feet had finally gone numb. Now all they had left to deal with was this terrible boredom and the horror of what was to come once the girls decided what to do to them. That was, if they didn't already have a plan.
"You can't do the same thing twice."
Tabb interjected, his tone just as dull as the others. Finn had fallen asleep hours ago, probably worn out from the amount of blood she had lost.
Rory suddenly groaned, loud and annoyed.
"I'm so sick of this! If they're going to kill us they should just hurry up and do it!"
As if on cue the door upstairs opened and heavy foot steps made their way down.
Brown eyes met blue as Red stepped down the last stair and looked over the chained boys, Rory being the one to grab her attention.
"What're you looking at, ugly?"
He asked in a rude tone. She smiled wickedly. It was a lie, she wasn't ugly. In fact she was quite beautiful; her body skinny yet muscular and her hair perfectly messy. A necklace around her fragile throat caught his attention and he followed it down to her tight shirt, the outline of what he hoped was a key just barely visible.
"Today's your lucky day."
She pulled a long looking syringe from her back pocket, a dangerous expression on her face as she walked towards him.
"What is that?"
His voice was unsteady as he asked, his eyes darting to the other's watching in horror. He hadn't actually mean what he said!
"Stay still or this is going to hurt more than it needs to."
He didn't. He kicked and screamed and jangled the chains holding his arms above his head to no avail. The long needle was shoved slowly into the skin between his neck and shoulder. He tensed up, his face scrunching in pain as she did so. Warm liquid stung as it was emptied into his blood stream.
"What is that?"
Tabb asked in a worried tone.
"What're you doing to him?"
She didn't answer, only glaring at the blonde as she pulled the now empty syringe out. Rory's toes started to tingle and his jaw became slack.
He wouldn't lie, he'd taken a lot of drugs before but nothing had ever felt like this. Nothing had ever kicked in this fast.
His whole body was going numb, pins and needles shooting through each limb.
"Rory?"
Cash's voice was distressed as he called out the man's name. Rory's already lidded eyes were closing more and more as he attempted to keep them open and focused. Cash's brows knitted as he watched Rory go from kicking and screaming to the most relaxed he'd ever seen him. His eyelids struggled to stay open, his pupils blown wide and crossing.
"What did you do to him?"
He asked in a stern tone, his voice as deep and threatening as he could make it. Although, he knew it meant nothing when his body was chained and tied up like this. She pulled a key from under her shirt and stood on her toes as she unlocked the chains around Rory's wrists. As soon as he was free his body fell limply to the ground with a thud. His wrists were blood red and raw, it was painful to even look at. Rory couldn't feel it though, he couldn't feel anything.
She gripped his arm and slung him over her shoulder, his shoes dragging as she struggled towards the stairs.
"Hey!"
Tabb called after them.
"Where are you taking him?!"
Rory's motor functions were completely off. He couldn't think straight, he couldn't find his feet, he couldn't even feel the girl making her best effort to carry him up the stairs. He somehow felt like he was floating and falling at the same time. Familiar voices echoed in the background but he couldn't make out who it was or what they were saying.
A door creaked open loudly and suddenly he was blinded by light. Music was now playing in the background, although in his drugged state he couldn't make out where it was coming from.
They turned to the left and he was faced with a terrifying, large, metal door.
"In you go."
She opened the door and even through his incompetent state he couldn't help the drugged gasp that left his chapped lips as cold air slapped him in the face. Although it was blurry he could make out a skinned body hanging by hooks in the middle of what looked like an otherwise empty freezer. Not a whole body, just a frozen torso with an arm. The the head and the waist down either torn or cut away ungracefully. He felt his stomach turn as she took a step into the room. They were going to freeze him before they killed him.
He reached for her with the last of his strength as she attempted to drop him to the floor, his hand wrapped around her throat as tight as it could. Her expression was surprised, her eyes wide in panic at the realization that he was stronger than her even with the drug in his system. He concentrated as hard as he could on staying on his feet and squeezing her throat. She tried to pull his hands away but he refused to let up on his death grip.
Without warning he was pushed by another girl, he grabbed the necklace around her neck as he fell to the floor and went completely numb. The freezer door closed with a loud slam before his eyes finally rolled to the back of his head and he passed out.