THE ENTRY (Book one of two)

Chapter 10: Riya.

My heart pounded in my chest, making me whine like a sad puppy with anticipation. "Stay calm, Riya..." I told myself, holding my face.

Before me, stood one last figure, holding Samantha by the neck with a gun to her head. Samantha stood slouched over the figure's arm, whimpering. As everything came more into view, I saw a familiar, acne-ridden face. "Olivia?!" I yelled, my eyes widened. Samantha choked as Olivia's arm pressed into her throat. "Wait, this is Olivia?" She asked, wheezing. "Yeah, it's me." She grumbled, yanking down the mask that was covering her red face. "Sorry, but... I gotta kidnap you." She grabbed Samantha's head, smashing it into the window sill, a crack ringing through the room. I gasped as Samantha fell limp in Olivia's arms, her breathing slowed. "What-" I began. "Don't question it, pretend I kidnapped you, too. Get over here." She muttered. I inched over, my hands sweaty. She grabbed my hands, binding them together tightly. "Ow." I protested. She grabbed a large brown sack, throwing it over my head and tying it to my neck.

I gasped as she stood me up, her gloved hands filing us outside. "Hey!" Someone screamed. It sounded like Loranna, but I wasn't sure. Olivia dropped me, and I fell down the stairs, thumping all the way down. I smashed into the wall, almost barreling through to the other side, creating a hole. I screamed, holding my head as I uncoiled my rigid body from it's position.

I struggled, attempting to remove the bands from my wrists. She clearly hadn't done a very good job, considering my hands slipped out fairly easily. I ripped the bag off my head, looking around violently, my head thrashing around in the dark helplessly. I saw Loranna and Olivia at the top of the stairs, talking quietly in exchanged whispers.

I saw Loranna's facial expression darken before she grabbed Olivia's hair, slamming her fist into her jaw. Olivia screamed, holding her face and she dropped to a knee. "Get up, dammit." Loranna mumbled, grabbing her arm and standing her up. Loranna grabbed Olivia, lifting her over her shoulder and running with her down the stairs. "Loranna, what's happening?!" I yelled, struggling to my feet. "No time!" She yelled. "Go find the others, we're getting out." I was slightly confused, but I got the general idea that we were probably escaping. I knew some people were upstairs, and some were outside. I bolted outside to find Loranna with Samantha, Alyssa and Devin huddled around, conversing over something. "Will that really work?" Alyssa mumbled over the rest of them. "We have to try," Devin pitched in, pocketing his hands and shifting back and forth. Loranna handed Olivia over to Devin for him to hold on his shoulder.

I gasped quietly, hiding behind the wall of my house. I inhaled sharply, going inside to go look for Madison, Maggie and Aiden. I ran up the stairs to the nearest bathroom, in which the door had been unhinged. I peered inside, looking around the dark room. I grabbed for the light switch in the never ending pool of darkness, grasping onto the plastic switch. I exhaled with relief, flicking it up. The lights stayed off. I soon remembered that the power had been cut everywhere and none of the lights worked.

A hand clapped around my mouth, yanking me outside of the bathroom. There was a man with a bandana, peering over me. I opened my mouth to scream, but the figure slammed me to the ground, pinning me to the floor.

"You're next," He whispered. He pressed his forearm into my neck, his bone scratching into my muscles. I choked loudly, gasping for air. He gripped my throat with his free hand, lifting me up. He grabbed something out of his pocket, in which I was unable to see. "Pl-" I began. I heard a scream echo throughout the hallway, signifying a death in my opinion. The figure dropped me, leaving me to choke and gasp for air, clawing at my neck. The man left me alone with my thoughts as I lay there, sprawled out on the cold wooden flooring. My head throbbed, sending me into a spiral of pain. My eyes fluttered, shutting from the sheer drowsiness I was put into. My body became still as a dribble of blood emitted from my nose and ears, pooling around my still head. I began to laugh softly, tears pooling up in my closed eyes. My muscles loosened, letting me relax for a moment as I stared up at the dark, cracked ceiling. "I guess this is it for me," I began, smiling gently. I began to draw my last breath of air, before someone came bolting up the stairs.

"Riya!" Samantha shrieked. She ran to my side, kneeling down next to me. "No! I can't lose you too, dammit!" Samantha began to perform CPR, pushing against my chest. "No!" She panted, dripping with sweat, tears dripping down her face. I let out a small sob, exhaling slowly. My life had come to an end, but in hopes that someone else would survive. My last memory of this world was Samantha leaning over me, fists clenched over my still body, cursing at herself for not being able to protect anyone.

As darkness faded into white, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the survivors and everything else they'd have to deal with in the times to come.