Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️SIXTY-SEVEN: HIS DIVINE CREATURES⚠️

"Obviously I didn't know what to say to her. So you know what I did?"

Everyone was eating breakfast, and Eugene was telling a dramatic story about a girl that asked him out on Valentine's Day. And despite how silly it was, everyone was hanging on to every word.

A few days had passed since you first arrived at Zion's old house, and everyone was beginning to settle in. Your nights were less restless, your days more bright, and every passing hour you felt you and your friends were growing even closer.

"What did you do?" you asked.

"I ran away," Eugene said. This earned a tableful of sighs and a groan from Zion. "Because I didn't want her to know I'd never been in a relationship before."

"I think that the fact you ran away told her enough," Zion snorted, finishing off a slightly dry cinnamon roll.

"I did take the chocolates though," Eugene added, looking deep in thought as he recalled the scene. "They were good. But I got chocolate all over my game controllers."

"Well, that story was a bummer," Zion said, leaning back in his chair. "Anyone got anything better? Harry?"

"Erm, no, sorry," Harry said apologetically. "I don't have any good stories. Only sad ones."

"Ethan?" Zion tried next.

"I saw one of my teammates dislocate his kneecap while sliding onto home base," Ethan offered.

Zion shivered. "Sheesh. Hailey?"

"My English teacher once told me to read in class," Hailey remembered. "He kept yelling at me to speak up and I got so flustered I started crying."

"Yikes. That's embarrassing," Eugene muttered.

"Yeah. He got fired," Hailey said. "And divorced. And I think he went to prison too."

Everyone fell silent.

"Okay then. (Y/n), you got anything good?" Zion spoke up.

You stopped to think. A lot of stories of your past life were about pranks or tricks you played.

"Whenever I didn't like my teachers I would ask to borrow their pens and then make them explode," you said sheepishly, feeling embarrassed. It was almost like you used to be a completely different person; you would never do that now.

"Lawrence? How about-"

"Shh!" he hissed sharply, startling Zion into silence.

You froze, and it felt almost like time stopped. Everyone was still. Everyone was silent.

And then you heard it.

A loud whoop in the distance. It was definitely human, but there was something unsettling about it. Something sinister that made your skin crawl.

Instantly Hailey put her arms over her head, beginning to tremble. "Please not now, please please please," she chanted.

"What do you think it is?" Eugene asked, looking like he wanted to run but seeming stuck in place.

"Not what. Who," Lawrence corrected. "It sounds like bad news."

The voices were becoming clearer, and you realized that they were singing. Like a song you might hear in a church.

"We should hide," Harry said urgently, standing up. "They won't know we're here."

"The bus is outside. They'll know," Zion scoffed.

"We'll assess the situation," Lawrence decided. "If they're hostile, then... we'll do what we need to do."

"I like the sound of that," Zion said, reaching into his pocket.

All of you trooped to the foyer, Harry and Hailey a little and a lot reluctant respectively. You went up the the tall window next door the door, placing your shaky hands onto it and peering out.

You couldn't see anyone yet, but the singing had stopped. You spotted a man and a woman enter your line of sight, circling the bus curiously.

"You think they want to raid our stuff?" Eugene whispered.

"I get the feeling that's not it," Lawrence murmured, narrowing his eyes as he watched them.

The woman turned toward the window, and your breath caught in your throat. Her eyes didn't seem sane and she had blood on her lips and around her mouth. The man turned too, a mirror image of her.

"T-they look like zombies," you gasped.

"Give in to Him, and you shall be welcomed to His holy Kingdom," the woman cried.

"Jesus Christ," Lawrence said, "they're nutcases."

"His Divine Creatures have blessed the Earth to stop the sins of man," the other joined in. "Allow yourself to be taken, and He will forgive your wrongdoing."

The woman and man approached the window, and instinctively you backed up. They looked beyond crazy. Their skin was yellow-ish and taut, and their bodies looked like skeletons. You noticed both of them had huge patches of hair missing.

"Hey wackos, screw off, will ya?" Zion yelled through the window, flicking them each a middle finger. The woman just giggled, dragging her pale, white tongue over the glass.

"Come on out," she cooed. "He is forgiving and He is good. He will accept you into His holy gates with open arms."

The man turned toward the door, disappearing from the window. Your adrenaline spiked and your rushed over, clicking the lock just as he jiggled the knob.

"Open up," he called, knocking surprisingly softly. "Holy children, give up your souls to Him, for He will save you."

"Hey!" Lawrence shouted, pulling out his pistol and tapping it on the glass. "Get out of here! I'll use this if I need to."

The woman's smile deepened and her hand formed a fist, slamming the window. You jumped, a small crack appearing in the glass.

"Come out!" she repeated, more demandingly, thumping the window again. The crack's tendrils began to spread across the window, and you knew it wouldn't hold up much longer.

The man's knocks grew stronger as well, and the door began to tremble in it's frame, the lock rattling.

Lawrence pointed the gun at the woman, and she stopped, tilting her head at him.

"Enough," he ordered. "This is your last chance to leave."

To your surprise, she backed away from the glass, never once breaking eye contact with him. The knocking stopped too, and the man appeared again, right at her side.

"Come, Divine Creatures, save His holy children!" the woman screamed, her shrill voice sending goosebumps across your skin.

Then she turned around and kicked the bus with all of her might.

Instantly the alarm began to wail, headlights flashing, and your blood turned cold. If you didn't stop the noise, the zombies would come.

And it would be more than you had ever seen.