Run

I ignore the burning running up my right arm and look around, not being able to focus on any one thing. The screams are so close and yet I can’t seem to locate anyone making them.

Demonic growls and grunts and screams explode around us. I turn to tell Adrian to run, but I see he’s already gone. I want to call out for him, find where he is and run off with him, but I can’t risk getting caught. Maybe he thought I would notice and follow right after him.

No time for that now.

I dart behind a building and peek out. I see a glimpse of what I think is a werewolf and I lean back to avoid being seen. A dark, heavy feeling sets in my stomach, and I know I don’t have much time to escape.

Maybe if I make it back to my cabin, I’ll be okay.

As I make a run for my cabin, more screams erupt. I stop. They’re children’s screams. A chill makes its way down my spine and I know I can’t leave yet. I turn around and run towards the direction of the screams. Left and right, cabins splintered and broke, falling apart as I run by. I ignore them and try to locate the children.

Another scream catches my attention and I know where they are. I stop as a human figure darts in front of me and I jump out of the way. It may look human, but I know better. I’ve fallen for that facade before; I won’t do it again.

I brandish my blade and run into the cabin. Three small children are huddled in the far corner, a desk in between them and the door. The oldest of the three held the two younger kids in their arms. I stepped forward and right away I notice a dark liquid on the floor. It only takes a second glance to see it’s coming from two adult figures on the floor.

I glance out the window and see a group of adults gathering at the edge of the village. It looks like they have packed bags full of supplies, and I’m sure they have room for a few kids.

I kneel down in front of the children and set my blade down.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” I say in a soft, understanding tone. “I can guide you to some people that’ll take care of you, okay? They can get you out of here.”

The oldest child, the son, glances at the adults on the floor. I don’t need confirmation to know they’re the children’s parents.

Or, they were.

“But—but mama and—”

His cries cut him off. I get his attention again.

“Your mama and papa need you to take your sisters to a safer place, okay? They want you three to be safe.”

His crying comes to a halt and he nods. He wipes his tears away and I help them to their feet.

“Now, do you see those people over there?” I point out the window. The group, to my relief, is still at the edge of the village. They wait for survivors to join them, but I know they won’t wait forever.

The children nod.

“I’m gonna take you to them, alright? They can take you to a safe place. Stay close to me until we all make it over, okay?”

They nod again and they hold hands. The boy holds my free hand and I lead them out of the cabin. We wait while I glance around, and when I think the coast is clear, we run over to the group. One of the girls trips and loses her grip on the others, and I run back to help them up. I push the three of them towards the group. We caught their attention before they could leave and I feel thankful that they stay long enough to let the kids catch up.

“You’re leaving?” I ask.

The woman in charge nods.

“Good. Take care of them.”

“Their parents?”

I shake my head.

“They didn’t….”

She nods and takes the daughters’ hands.

“Thank you for getting them out.”

I nod and I turn to leave.

“Aren’t you coming with us?”

I look back at her and shake my head. My mind goes back to Adrian, and I realize just how much I want—I need—to find him. He’s the one person I’ve always been able to count on, the person who’s been there for me ever since I met him. We’ve been thick as thieves since we met and we stop at nothing to make sure we’re okay. How can I leave him behind now?

“There’s someone I need to find.”

She nods, like she understands. I guess she does. Without another word, she signals and the group heads off.

I turn back to the village and run in. I want to call out for Adrian, try to find him that way, but I know how stupid that is. The monsters would be attracted to the noise and come attack us.

I glance around the scene. So far the monsters hardly noticed me. For a brief moment while I led the children to the group, the pain in my wrist lifted. Now that I’m back in the village, the mark hurts. I despise the all too familiar pain.

I grip the handle of my silver blade tighter and run to the nearest cabin. I rush in and glance around. Aside from some overturned desks and a messy bed, I couldn’t find anyone. I rush out and run to the next cabin.

I repeat the process a few more times, but I come up with nothing. I can’t find Adrian, but I know he can’t be dead. It doesn’t make sense.

I don’t understand how he could disappear without any trace. If a monster had killed him, I would notice; I stood in front of him when the attack started.

So where is he?

I start to run to the next cabin, but a monster blocks my path. It turns to me and I can tell by the blood staining its mouth that it’s a vampire. I hold my blade up and prepare for a fight. But then the vampire looks over my shoulder and I swear I catch a look of fear in its face. Then it’s gone and the vampire runs off.

I look back to see what spooked it, but I find nothing, not even a set of footprints in the snow. I shake the thought away and run into another cabin. Footprints begin to come my way, so I shut the door and barricade it. I don’t know whether or not it’ll hold. In a panic, I start looking around for anything that can help me and I almost fall into a tunnel. I step back and there’s nothing underneath my foot, so I fall backwards and land on my back.

As the monster pounds on the door, I see a rather obvious escape tunnel with the door wide open. I feel stupid for not having seen it, but I don’t waste any time. I sheathe my blade and go down the tunnel, closing the door behind me.

The tunnel is dark and I have no way of lighting my way, so I have to hope that I won’t run into any monsters while I’m down here. I place my hand on the wall and start walking.

Though I’m a little ways underground, I can still hear the chaos reigning on the village above. A sinking feeling develops in my gut and I wish I could find where Adrian is. I think about finding him, alive, and running away with him. As much as I hate the thought of leaving the village, I know we can’t stay here after today. The damage being done by the monsters is too much to recover from. I feel sad, like I’m grieving someone’s death.

I guess I am, in a way. I made a life for myself here, a Natalie that only the people of this village know about. Moving on means leaving that version of myself behind, and I don’t want to. It’s become who I am and the person I’ve always wanted to be. I don’t know what to do if I have to leave her behind me.
I shake my head and focus on getting through the tunnel. When I get out of the tunnel, I can go off and find Adrian. The possibilities of where he could be run through my mind.

We stood close to the edge of the village; maybe he’d run off into the forest. It occurs to me that Adrian left footprints in the snow and I curse myself for not following them. It’s so obvious, and in my panic I hadn’t thought of it.

Okay, just focus on getting out of this tunnel and you can circle back to where you two were standing.
The thought is comforting.

I let out a happy kind of sigh, but it doesn’t last. Pain erupts in my face and for a moment I think I’m being attacked by something. The lack of pain in my wrist tells me otherwise. I feel blood flowing down my face and I realize that I’ve been struck in the nose.

“Why are you following us?” A voice demands.

I look up and a lantern illuminates the tunnel, and I can see a boy and a girl, both around my age, glaring down at me.

“Hey—I didn’t mean to—I didn’t realize—”

“Nick, look. Her blood, it’s red!”

I felt confused and put a hand to my nose, as if to see if she’s right. Pulling my hand back, I see blood staining my skin.

“You’re human,” Nick says, although it’s more like he’s informing me. He has a commanding sort of tone.

“Well, yeah, always have been,” I say.

The girl holds her hand out and helps me up.

“I’m Carmen. This is my brother, Nick.”

He relaxes a bit, though he doesn’t act friendly towards me.

“We’re trying to get as far away as possible. Sorry about your nose, by the way. We thought a monster was following us.”

I shake my head.

“No problem. I would’ve done the same.” I place a hand on the handle of my blade and Carmen nods in agreement.

“Come on, we need to make it out of here,” Nick interrupts.

We don’t say anything else as we rush to the end of the tunnel. Nick and Carmen help me out and we all shield our eyes from the light of the day until we adjust. The two of them start to head off, and I turn back to the village. Carmen’s hand on my arm stops me.

“What are you doing? We have to leave. There’s no going back.”

I glance at her for a second. Adrian comes to mind again.

“There’s someone back there, someone important to me. I—I can’t just leave him behind.”

Carmen and Nick exchange glances before nodding. They seem to understand.

“Good luck finding him,” Carmen says to me.

“And if you make it out, you can come find us. We humans should stick together, you know?” Nick adds.

I nod and give them a small smile. Then they turn and leave. After a few seconds, the smile fades and I run back to the village.