Chapter 7
Days Since Incident: 1,095
Time: 16:17
Place: 40.3360°N, 74.2911°W
Climate: 70°F
“Drive!” Captain Rayn ordered Auto.
“But Captain, the civil-” The young Outrider began. He was quickly silenced by a stern look from the Captain. Everyone immediately went into position; the civilians huddled back towards the end of the bus. They remained extra vigilant, expecting the worst case scenario. Even the two young kids, who had remained quiet due to fear, kept their fear-filled eyes to the older female Outrider.
Just as Auto began to drive away, he asked, “Captain, what about the bikes?” He looked to Captain Rayn, who remained silent. He carried Grae a few rows back and gently placed her on the old, worn out seat. The older female Outrider followed him, her worried eyes remained glued on Grae.
Auto pulled beside the carcass of the Hybrid Chaser. Dozens of mixed Chasers had circled it, devouring every piece of flesh. Its mouth was blown wide open; its jaw was barely attached. Its white blood was splattered everywhere, and bits of its rotten, decaying brain caked the side of the building.
Auto turned to Ron, Mykael, and Tori. “You three, go grab the bikes! Meet us back at the checkpoint. Do not, I repeat, do not engage anyone or anything!” The three looked at each other, then let out a heavy sigh. They jumped out of the bus before Auto started yelling. Thankfully the Chasers were preoccupied with feasting on the Hybrid Chaser. They managed to get to the bikes safely. Auto pulled out of the clearing and made his way down Yellowknife Rd. Auto drove slowly; he needed to preserve what was left of the gas. Not to mention, he needed to keep the bus from shaking too much...for Grae’s sake.
He needed to get into Newman Springs Rd, past Route 9, behind a former Lowe’s Home Improvement. Just behind the building, laid two storage containers that were surrounded by extensive barbed wire, barrels, and buses that no longer worked. But the ride to the checkpoint was going to be a long one, especially with the unpredictable civilians.
Captain Rayn removed his helmet, and tossed it onto the row next to him. The older female Outrider began inspecting Grae, who laid painfully on a row of seats.
“Rayn...was she scratched or bitten?” She asked.
Rayn let out a heavy sigh, wiping his sweaty face. His slick hair stuck to his face, and his once radiant brown skin was sickly pale. “To be honest Doc, I have no idea. I can only say she was nearly crushed by that fucking weird Chaser. Do you think…?” His shaky voice trailed off.
“Rayn, Grae will be fine. She’s been through a hell of a lot worse.” Doc said. Rayn’s eyes quickly surveyed Grae’s trembling form. He hated seeing her in pain, and though he knew it would only last a few minutes, it didn’t make it any less painful.
Doc gently lifted her shirt to reveal a large, watermelon-sized bruise. Grae winced at the slightest touch of the Doc’s fingers. Grae’s body began to overheat due to an intense fever.
“She looks to have broken a few ribs” Doc said, after gently tracing Grae’s stomach and abdomen. “I won’t be able to make sure until we stop at the checkpoint. I could do a more thorough inspection of her body, but the road is bumpy. One false step on my part, and-” Doc began, but was cut off by an understanding look from Rayn.
“I’ll leave you to it then.” He said, slowly making his way out of the row. His eyes fell upon Mike, who sat quietly at the front. He sat behind Auto, and beside Lori (the other female Outrider), and Tobi. He walked up to the group slowly, though everything in his body wanted to attack all at once.
He knelt quietly in front of Mike, making sure to keep distance between the two. Mike knew he was in trouble; Ron had luckily spared Captain Rayn.
“I just need to know what happened…” He asked painfully slow. He had to make sure that he spoke with a calm voice; he couldn’t afford attacking Mike for answers. Rayn began to flex his hands, as if trying to grab an invisible cord. Mike knew he only had a few seconds before Captain Rayn lost patience with him and got mad.
“Ron and I had explored the first floor under Captain Grae’s order.” He blurted out. The fear he had acted like an ignition to his words, and everything started coming out like rapid fire. “She told us not to engage any Chasers, but there were so many. And, and there were civilians, and we hid-” Mike was cut off by Rayn’s hand gripping over his mouth.
Mike’s eyes nearly bulged out, but Rayn remained calm. “What civilians?” He asked. After a few seconds, Mike’s eyes rested on the group in the back.
Captain Rayn found the group, huddled close to the far left corner of the bus. They were so tightly packed together, that they would’ve gone unnoticed by Rayn. He walked up to the group, stopping a few feet in front of them.
He eyed the group carefully for a few minutes, looking for any exposed skin. The older female, out of the group, looked as if she was cradling something bloody in her arms. His eyes then wandered to the two small kids, who looked like they were losing a battle with death. Though he felt bad for the kids, he couldn’t ignore the voice in his head that wanted him to kill the older woman.
“Who speaks for you?” Rayn asked. There was a moment of silence, before the young man from before stepped forward.
“I do.” he said nervously, eyeing the group of Outriders behind him. The Outriders kept to themselves, though making sure to keep an attentive ear towards the conversation.
Rayn sighed. “I am sure that you’ve all been through a lot. You must’ve been through a lot of death and suffering. But we cannot take you with us. We can drop you off with-”
“What do you mean you cannot take us?!” the male civilian interrupted. The kids began crying hysterically. The others began screaming wildly, hoping that if someone outside heard their cries, they would be rescued once again.
“Please folks, calm down. We can offer a few supplies-”Rayn began, but quickly realized it was futile.
The male civilian attempted to attack Rayn, but was quickly pushed away. Weak fist, and angry words quickly filled the back of the bus. All of the available Outriders, including Doc, made their way to aid their captain.
“Auto! Stop the bus!” Rayn ordered angrily. He didn’t have time to deal with this. Grae’s condition, and her recovery time, were still unknown. Not to mention, he needed to make sure that none of his men were injured.
“You cannot do this to us!” the male screamed. Auto came to an abrupt stop at the side of the street.
“You need to leave now!” Rayn ordered. The scene erupted into chaos. Before anything turned fatal, Grae screamed at the top of her lungs, “RAYN! HECTOR! SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STOP!”
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