The Survivor

Recovery

Slowly, I blink myself into conciousness. Where am I? Sitting up, I realize I was laying on a bed. My nose hurts like no other. I stand up from the soft mattress, only to be overcome by overwhelming nausea, bringing me back down onto the bed. The sheets are dark green, with black stripes running through them. I lay back onto the pillows, looking up at the ceiling. What.... What happened? After a moment of thought, I recall the events of the previous night. Wait.... My car. All our supplies, all our weapons. Dakota..... Valerie. Where are they?
Fighting off nausea, I stand, hobbling over to the door. After fumbling with the door panel for more than a minute, I finally click the button that slides the thing open.
"Hello?" I say, peeking my head out the door.
The door open up into about a 10 foot hall, that leads straight to the stairs. Two other doors are in the hallway, one on the left, one on the right. I stumble down the hall, feeling the soft carpet squish under my toes. All of the sudden, a kid walks up the staircase.
"Frick man, trying to walk already?" The kid says.
Probably 16 or 17, the teen walks up to me and puts my arm around his neck. With his help, I make it down the stairs and onto the soft recliner. My head pounds, feeling like someone punching my head from the inside. My vision clears a little, and I see him walking into the kitchen. He has silvery hair that falls down to the middle of his neck, and stands probably 5'11".
"Where are my friends?" I ask, scared of what the answer will be.
"The guy I found hanging from the backseat of your car is alright, but I can't say the same for the girl. She has a mild concussion, a broken arm, and 2 broken ribs. Lots of glass cuts and road rash, too."
"What about Dakota? They guy, I mean."
"He twisted his leg pretty bad, displaced his arm, and broke his nose."
"Are you like... A doctor or something?" I ask the silvery haired teen.
"Not really, but I did study first aid for a while in high school."
Well, at least they're both alive.
"Have either of them woken up yet?"
"Nope. You're the first one, man."
"What I don't get is.... Why did you come help us? How'd you even know where we were?"
"I heard the crash, started heading over that way until I heard the gunshots. Looks like I got there right on time, too."
"What about our supplies?"
"What supplies?"
You have got to be freaking kidding me. All our supplies are still in the trunk of my totaled Camaro.
On the coffee table, I spot the handgun previously strapped to my waist. I sit up, taking the weapon in hand. Extracting the clip, I see it's completely dry.
"Here." The teen says, handing me the holster.
I remove a spare mag from the pocket inside the holster, placing it inside the weapon.
"What's your name?" I ask him.
"Seth."
"Damon." I respond, standing up and walking towards the kitchen.
Opening the fridge, I remove a water bottle that sits on the top shelf. With more effort than it should require, I twist off the cap, pouring the liquid down my parched throat.
"You saved her life you know." Seth declares to me.
"What?"
"By giving her CPR. She would have died any other way."
For a moment I don't believe him, but then I realize that what he says is true. I look down at my bloodstained, ragged, torn shirt, realizing I need a replacement.
"As soon as Dakota and Valerie wake up, we go back for the supplies. I suggest that only you and me go, as of we are the only ones who can walk." I say, my eyebrows furrowed.
As if on cue, I hear a door open from upstairs. Dakota trudges down the stairs, favoring one leg, and using the handrail for support. I run out into the living room, wrapping one arm around Dakota and carrying him to the sofa that I laid on previously.
"You alright man?" I ask, in fear for my best friend.
"Dude, I'm fine." Dakota says, laughing while wincing.
"Bad news, we left all the supplies back at the Camaro. Seth and I are going back to get them as soon as Valerie wakes up."
"Who's Seth?"
Right then, Seth emerges from the kitchen, drinking another water bottle.
"I'm coming." Dakota states.
"No, you're not man. You can barely even walk."
He nods, laying his head back against the sofa.
"How long have we been out?" I ask, looking at Seth.
"You guys crashed last night, and it's about 6 P.M."
Taking it all in, I sit there, petrified at the fact that I totaled my favorite car. I stand, walking up the staircase and back into the little hallway. Opening the only door that isn't open already, I walk into the dark bedroom. There, laying in the light blue sheets, is Valerie. I crouch beside her bed, looking over her injuries. It's evident that Seth had to re-break her arm, and bandages cover her left ribcage. A long gash slashes through her right cheek, probably from the glass. Lifting up the sheets, I find that Valerie's leg is a bloody mess. Pulling the sheets up to her neck, I stand and exit the room.
I walk down the stairs. "She's messed up."
Seth stands from the couch, turning towards me. "Yeah. She definitely had it the worst."
"I say we leave now, with Dakota here to see her when she wakes up."
"Alright," Seth comments, opening the closet to remove his own supplies.
He pulls on a bandana, masking it over his lower face like a bandit would in western movies. The silver haired teen places dark sunglasses over his eyes, and slings a backpack full of supplies over his shoulder. I wrap the holster around my leg, placing the hand gun inside.
"You ready?" I ask.
He nods, and we head towards the door. Dakota lay on the couch, water bottle in hand. As soon as I open the door, sweet smells of nature enter my nostrils. For only an instant, I feel like it's a normal summer day, not the end of the world. The house we exit is more of a cabin, the first floor sitting ground level, but the second floor and back patio sitting backwards onto a hill. The grass is overgrown, evidently smashed down where Seth carried us into the cabin.
"Where are we?" I say while walking down wooden steps that lead off the patio.
"Maybe a quarter mile from the interstate. I had a car but it ran out of gas on the way up here."
"Your car still used gas?" Mine was running on solar power and battery reserve. Gas was a last option."
"Yeah, but your car got totaled."
I scowl, pissed off by the mention of my angel being destroyed. And not to mention my golden aviators that sit in the trunk with my bag.
"Which way we goin man?" I keenly scan my surroundings, left to right in a constant arc.
"Follow me."
My strides turn into a routine, my eyes scanning every inch of the dense foliage. I even analyze Seth's backpack; it's got at least 2 more smoke bombs, maybe 5 insta meals, some water bottles, a large KA-BAR knife, amongst other things I can't see. My Kevlar vest still sits in that trunk too..... Dang. If we don't get that stuff back then we are extremely screwed.
"You know what I've noticed about the aliens?" Seth says, taking slower steps until we walk double-file.
"What?" I casually answer.
"They try to stay inside during the day, I think the sun hurts their eyes or something. That explains why they stay in buildings mostly while it's light. But at night, they like to come out and hunt. They get way more aggressive."
I nod, taking it all in. I know I've noticed before, but now it really becomes clear.
"The interstate's just up here." Seth says, pointing up ahead.
We step out into a little clearing, beside the bars that mark the side of the interstate. The first thing that catches my eye is the overturned car. The white Camaro lays with the roof almost touching the seats. The entire front section is hammered, blood streaks the hood.
"Come on," Seth whispers, motioning for me to stay low.
It's pretty evident that he wants me to stay low out of fear the crash attracted more than just Seth. I remove my pistol from it's drop-leg holster, holding it in my hands with the safety clicked off.
The door of the Camaro is still open, just as I left it when I clambered back onto the interstate. Walking up beside the hood, I peek around the left side, giving Seth the all-clear when I see no hostiles. He walks around the the trunk of the vehicle, while I reach in the front door to pop the trunk. A lever is engraved into the floor, and all you have to do is pop it to open the trunk. I pull the lever; the noise of backpacks falling to the dirt explodes from behind me, making me cringe. Jogging over to the upside down, open trunk, I see all the gear I was afraid to loose right there on the floor.
"Thank god it's all still here!" I shout excitedly.
Picking up my Kevlar, I wrap it around my shoulders and buckle it in the front.
"Each backpack weighs almost 50 pounds of assume. There's 3 backpacks, excluding yours, so I say both of us take two bags, plain and simple." I say as I pick up my camouflage pack.
Slinging it around onto my back, I scavenge around for the weapons I lost. After moving a few backpacks, I finally find my assault rifle. It remains in perfect condition, scope and grip still attached and working.
"Oh man...." I pout disappointedly, as I hold up a broken sniper rifle. The barrel detached from the weapon, the butt snapped.
Cussing more than I should, I open the side pouch of my backpack and remove my Aviators. Still good. Sliding them on, I begin shouldering Dakota's backpack. Seth slides on Valerie's bag, then places her weaponry inside. I follow his example, storing Dakota's weaponry inside the bag as well. Checking the time, I see 8 PM, motioning in the reality of the situation.
"We've got less than an hour of daylight left. We need to move."
Seth checks his watch, eyes going wide.
"Why didn't we just leave in the morning?!" Seth realizes, mentally face palming.
"We needed to get the gear back. Now let's go!" I whisper hurriedly.
Pistol strapped to my leg, and AR in hand, I slowly walk up onto the interstate. My green dot scans over the metal barrel. Nothing. Crouching behind a dirty white Kia, I pull a Power Bar from my back, shoveling it into my mouth hungrily. The sun sits just above the tree line, threatening to slip under any second.
Seth motions for me to follow him, and immediately I move from the cover of the car. We move away from the interstate, entering the thick woods once again.
"You sure you know where we're going?" I stammer.
"Yes, man, I'm sure."
Deciding to trust the guy that saved us, I silently walk through the leaves and twigs that litter the earth. Keeping the butt of my gun pressed into my shoulder, I follow Seth through the foliage until finally we come upon a road. Just an ordinary dirt road, and I would assume that it leads back to the cabin. Seth looks down both sides of the road, then steps out onto the dirt with a soft, 'crunch.'
I aim down my sights, looking for any shape or form of danger that could even possibly be harmful. Nothing. In an unexpected instant, the sun falls below the horizon, making it officially night. The night sky still holds a hunt of light, but I know it definitely won't be long until pitch black surrounds both of us. Seth begins walking faster, almost hitting a steady jog. Catching up, I match his pace, standing to the right of him.
Then I hear the howls.
A howl that comes not from any earthly creature, but a howl with a sharp ring to it that instantly strikes fear upon me. The howls don't seem like cries for help, or an animal triumphing over an opponent. This howl sounded hungry. Hungry and close.
"Let's go!" Seth exclaims as he begins to run.
Trying to not make much noise, I begin running as well. Gripping my weapon so hard my hands turn white, resisting the urge to sprint as fast as I can, I keep running.
"How much further?" I shout carelessly.
"Less than 5 minutes."
Seth picks up pace, and once again I match it, although my breaths slowly get heavier. 'In through the nose, out through the mouth,' I tell myself.
"Seth stop!" I scream.
He looks at me with confusion, making it evident he didn't see the glowing green eyes ahead of him.
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Hey guys! Cliffhanger much? Haha sorry I just had to. I hope you guys are all enjoying this story, as it's not even halfway done and there is still much more to come!! If you enjoyed please vote, comment, and add it to your library if you already haven't! Love you all long time, and I'll update again soon.
-H