OTHER SIDE
"Mom, what's that?" A ten-year-old inquired with curiosity reaching her eyes which wandered in the dark, trying hard to comprehend the distorted and blurred figure outside the car's window. Her young mother who was turning on the engine of the car scanned at the direction pointed out by her child. She squeezed her eyes hard enough to see through the black figure outside and what followed afterwards were her eyes widening with realization.
"It's nothing, Kezia." The mother tried to dominate terror as she was shrewd enough to notice something which is abnormal. Working for the Department of human welfare in the mayor's office, she underwent how to identify danger and human nature. What was outside was certainly not human as the shadow was of a human being but it was disfigured. As a deer-blooded with good hearing she could sense the growling coming from the same direction which satisfied the need of running away right at that instant.
Turning the car keys to start off released a sound which alerted the figure as the misshapen abnormal moved awkwardly in the direction of the car parked at the supermarket. Kezia was thrilled as she could finally make certain of the mysterious person but her expectations turned horror as her mother screamed beside her. Something was there resting on their car's roof which pierced the metal roof with its rotten hand and grabbed her mother's hair.
Kezia tried to help her mother out but the latter kicked upon the driver seat's door and throwed her toddler out of the car, begging her to run away and save herself. The child stammered and hesitated but had to give a nod as the deadling outside she saw, had already reached the car and joined his comrade on top of the car to tear her mother apart. Tears strolled down as her mother was murdered by the deads who cared only to satisfy their hunger without caring about a lone child watching her mother's brutal manslaughter.
Moments after and distances away a SUV almost hit the red fire hydrant attracting three deadlings who were feeding upon a woman in the car. Kezia was nowhere to be seen. The SUV's window of the back passenger seat was down and a pistol was resting on the down glass which masterly shot down the deadling who were marching forward to their new prey but a predator is only one if it doesn't meet someone stronger than it. And sadly, this time the deadlings were not predators but their supposed prey was.
The person in the passenger seat with the gun nudged the driver with his foot kicking the front seat, "Six foul mouthed crooks we encountered. This isn't some coincidence, Turner."
"Mr. Sylvester, should we turn around-" The driver, Turner was cut off.
"-Of course not!" Mr. Sylvester exclaimed as he loaded his gun with his leg still booting the driver's seat. "It's been a month the shooting arena had been closed down by the mayor. What a good opportunity to continue practice."
"Sir but these things-""-Are not human."
"Zombies?"
"You are a Kid?"
"Sorry, my bad."
"Just drive. I won't step out and the best thing is that I am saving lives! Can you believe it that finally my ancestors listened up to my childhood wish to be a superhero."
"At the middle of the night with unlicensed gun. Certainly superhero's hobby." Turner, the driver murmured but warned afterwards, "You know the mayor doesn't approve firearms for the citizens to carry. That's why the shooting arena was shut down."
"I am a businessman and more importantly, this gun is a gift from my bald friend. Only he knows how to smuggle things under the mayor's nose when even I couldn't. The mayor is impossible. I regret voting for him. He is always after my and my friend's happiness."
The driver tried to smile but stiffened up as the businessman smacked his head hard and hollered, "One more crook down the road. Fast or we will miss!"
"Yes, sir. Certainly." The driver sighed and once again almost hit the nearby stall when his boss's impatient and ungrateful leg hit the driver's seat. Turner sighed and drive without retorting even though he wished to.
Maple street
"Miss Evergarden is not here," The person sitting on the street bench of the maple garden got up while pressing the speaker option on his phone. The person on the other side of the phone explained, "Apologizes. Miss Evergarden just got a divorce and today is her daughter's birthday so she went to an outing. She called me an hour ago when she was in supermarket that after giving you the documents she will resign and leave Northpass."
"Leave Northpass? Is she done with her life," the person walked down the maple street while kicking off the fallen leaves with censored anger. "She can't leave or the department will execute her. Is she aware?"
"The dark web. She is getting help from there and told me to tell you as you are her mentor, Sir."
The person revealed a faint smile, "We can't tie her down if she desires freedom for herself and her child. I just hope to meet her and her daughter one last time."
"She will come tomorrow in the office to deliver the documents and her resignation letter."
"The mayor shouldn't know about this. Do me a last favor for Miss Evergarden, Rupert."
"Worry not, sir. I have booked tickets for the two of them and my men will personally escort them out till the airport discreetly. The mayor will never know."
"He shouldn't." The phone call ended as the person reached the edge of the fenced maple garden. It was dark as the trees shrouded the moonlight from reaching the ground. The breeze lifted up the brown curls of the person revealing his amber eyes behind the spectacles which slid down from his smooth nose. The veined hands lifted up to push the spectacles up while in the corner something shifted. A move of stepping on the dried leaves alerted the person who didn't turn back and walked behind the tree nearby before finally turning to watch the deserted maple street in silence.
The footsteps neared as well as a strange sound from the same direction. "Ha." The person's muffled laugh came out as a disfigured dead decaying body came into light with limps. "History surely loves to make an entrance more than once."
On twenty-one September before the fall festival, in Northpass, the descendants faced something deriding and anonymous as several deadlings rose up and attacked the nearby source of food. Out of thousands, a batch of them marched toward the hill which was a spectacle of brightness as the noiseless firecrackers still bring attention if not by sound then by light. The group of the deadlings limped at the top and welcomed themselves with a sight of their dead comrades but in comparison to the food beside the pile of dead deadlings, they didn't dare to grieve or respond but instead attacked at the centaurs and the museum workers as well as the two kids beside them.
"Deadlings." Hael screamed so hard that one of the nearby deadling with a small figure and head burst open with its fluid splashing over him. Liliane picked up Hael in her arms with her eyebrow's hooked up, "I didn't believe it before but it seems you are not useless. Shout more or I will drop you."
"W-What h-ha-apanned?!" The new recruit shivered down as his senior most hid behind the bald chief. The senior yelled, "You didn't tell me there are more!"
"Like I am psychic," The Chief rolled his eyes and dropped the drunkards off from his grip who hollered from the pain of dropping down on the ground. Before they didn't want to be in the clutches of Loid but now at the sight of deadlings they hoped to be.
Grey handed the weapons to everyone except the centaurs who didn't knew how to react even though they have guns in their belly hoister. The new recruit was quick to grasp the situation as he pointed out the gun at the nearing deadling and shot him in the leg while getting rebuked from Odette, "Uncle, shoot on the head! Don't waste ammunition. Watch me."
Odette was already standing on the wide sill of the window at a lengths distance from everyone who were shielding her but in reality Odette was doing that work. But before honing this backup guarding job, she missed two times when she was trying to flaunt her newbie skills, earning a mock from the new recruit but during pressures people often performs miracles. The third shot was on the shoulder followed by the forth one on the head and fifth on the neck. Her arms felt heavy and it pained but the grip was solid throughout as even her friend and two kids with a rope and scream were doing something.
She was a human with no inhuman strength from her ancestors or ability to adapt shooting. Her friend were all the descendants of great creatures with inherited strength and posture in their blood itself, that's the reason why they who never wielded a weapon could even kill something unknown. On the other hand, only practice can make up to her shortcomings because she is a human.
However, the new recruit didn't dare to taunt even further and helped the employees to get rid of the hungry deads after witnessing Loid, the badmouthed bastard famous for his notorious mind in the police station, slaughtering off the deadling effortlessly.
While this, one of the centaurs couldn't resist getting killed by a deadling enormous in size and ended up being his food of the day. But when you relish upon your favorite dish you seek to enjoy more of it like the deadling who didn't halt after one man eating.
The Chief didn't have the desire to protect the police drunkards but when he saw one of the centaurs getting dinned upon he couldn't deny conscience and protected the two who needed protection the most. As anticipated, the drunkards lurched forward on the Chief's thighs when finding themselves incapable of surviving. The Chief sneered, "Go inside."
He opened the door to the museum and without batting an eye to others, the drunkards were gone earning disdain from many. Cowards.
The senior most centaur might not look like but he knew that running away was the most successful option of survival. He was the first to run away after the deadlings came in picture. But when death comes at door it will follow you even if you run away. Three deadlings trailed his tracks which was noticed by Newt but he pledged ignorance and hit another deadling close to Riruru at chest with his baseball bat.
Hael and Liliane now had understood that Hael's effective scream didn't have a leash and it couldn't be controlled to be useful as even after several attempts of banshee-screaming nothing happened except twice. Liliane put Hael beside Odette and turned towards the deadlings but was stopped by Odette, "Don't." Liliane give a faint smile but defied Odette's request and went on with her knife.
Hael looked at Odette's mortified sad face and sighed, "Ahh, young love." Odette pretended not to have heard and Hael feigned that he said that. Odette released a sigh and grimed as even a kid knew her feeling but the expected one never got aware. How stupid and laughable.
Mysty's ears twitched suddenly after she hit one of the deadling in leg and before she could warn everyone, another wave of deadlings crawled towards them, with this time enhanced and robust than before. Hael screamed as one of the new appeared deadling came near the window sill but nothing happened, instead a flying rod hit the head and the Chief ordered, "Inside. Everyone!"
But nobody couldn't because there was one deadling who approached faster than before and grabbed Riruru's throat. She kicked him in the jaw but the dead thing didn't flinch. The Chief was surrounded by five deadlings but he had to protect Hael with useless screaming and Odette who was out of ammunitions. He didn't dare to act rashly and shouted at others to help the kid.
Grey and Mysty were distances away from Riruru with three of deadlings to deal with. Newt and Liliane had to fight off the deadlings which surrounded the flash-like deadling gripping Riruru. It seemed like a shield which was protecting its master from having food without disturbance. Hael cried for the first time for his sister whose head was hung back with eye balls up because of choking.
No one knew what to do. There was a mix of anger and frustration but strongest was the understanding of helplessness. Among them was fear which got suppress with a flicker of bravery as a bullet was inserted in the chamber, loaded and fired at the deadling who was just one inch close from killing Hael's sister. A gasp was released and Riruru fell down and breathed heavily as if the oxygen was scarce. The dealing's head hit the ground and instead of blood, the yellow liquid came out from the bullet hole.
Suddenly the air changed as the seemingly stronger deadlings became weak for everyone like before. Newt understood but avoided explanation for later. When the Chief in seven moves killed the deadlings, Hael ran towards his sister and hugged her while hiccupping. Odette stood beside him but realized the second later to grab a handful of bullets. She went inside and picked up the bag of guns given by the Chief at the reception but before she could leave she was horrified at the scene inside the museum.
Her returning steps were quicker than arriving one and this time she bolted the main entrance of the museum and yelled, "The two officers are dead inside."
The Chief put his palm against his head in distress while Grey patted the new recruit who just saved Riruru, to comfort him. The new recruit, if before, would have cried but he didn't... couldn't after getting conscious of the officers and his senior's true bravery.
Mysty warned, "I can hear-"
The main entrance's gate which was closed by Odette, blast open as several deadlings possessing a strong aura walked outside. Mysty completed her sentence with stress lines surfacing, "-The deadlings."