"Back, back, back!" Zaria held Muin up behind the neighbor's house. His breath was uneven as he heard the familiar sound of the enemy The walking, always a march with the sound of something dragging behind them: Their ghastly skinned tail. He slowly peeked out to see what was going on, but ducked his head immediately back.
"Zaria?" Xiam whispered as he continued to hold onto the shocked Zella. "How are we going to get to Happy's? The cars are out front."
Zaria couldn't answer that. Originals weren't fighters, not unless they were bred from a young age. Zeph would have no problem maneuvering everyone around, but Zaria wasn't him. He barely knew how to throw a punch. "I don't know," he whispered back. "We should wait-"
A high pitched deadly scream rang out, then quit. Zaria gathered his courage and peaked out from behind the house again. He whipped his head back so fast, he almost gave himself whiplash. His heart pounded, and his legs trembled from what he witnessed.
A man lied on the ground, his body sprawled out and his eyes unmoving. A bloody hole was pierced in his head with a shock of surprise left upon his face. Piled on top of him was another male, their furry tail covered in blood.
"Zaria?" Xiam whispered.
They're piling up bodies. A sight Zaria wished he could erase from his mind. The enemies were killing everyone and piling them in a corner as mere trash. He felt his legs give out as his body dragged downward from the house. "We've..." He gulped. "We've got to get out of here."
"We need to wait," Muin insisted as she tried to help him back up. "They'll leave soon and we can-"
"No, we need to get the hell out of here now." Zaria rarely opposed her, but he had no time for the 'I know best' routine.
Xiam nodded, appearing to understand the severity of the situation. "Let's stay behind the houses, we'll travel by alleys. It looks like the enemies are only on streets."
So far. Zaria agreed though and turned to Muin. He grabbed her hand and held it firmly. If only Zeph were there. He tried to hide his watery eyes to be brave for his wife. For his female. He could tell from her sparkling eyes she was scared out of her wits. "Move fast, but don't make noise everyone."
They continued to stroll down the alley, but they ran into others trying to do the same thing. Soon, a group of twenty were traversing the alleys, while some were jumping the fences and running across the yards.
"Too many people," Muin said with worry. "We're going to make too much noise."
Zaria agreed and turned to Xiam. "Muin's right." He gestured toward his left. "Grammy Happy's house is past the forest, I think our best option is to get through it." He saw a person's car in the back of the house they were by. "If that's got energy, we could book it out of here." He and the others strolled into the yard.
Xiam headed for another wheel, but a group of ten already had the same idea. They all clamored into the car, trying to start it up.
"There goes that idea," Xiam said in defeat. He looked toward Zaria. "Now what?"
Damn! If Zeph had been here. Zeph was never going to be there though. Zaria looked back at Muin and Zella. He looked back toward the people trying to start the car. Groomed or not, he had to do something, there chance at survival would plummet if they didn't get that car. "Xiam, we've got to fight for the car."
"Fight?" Xiam shook his head. "I don't want to fight." He gestured toward all the others. "They were there first."
"Xiam, we are going to die if we don't get that car," Zaria said firmly grabbing Xiam by the wrist. "Ignore your conscience, we've got to steal that car away from them."
Xiam looked back at the car. The others had the car hooked up with a mobile energy giver. "They're pumping energy into it, they're risking everything Zaria. I can't do it. When that car starts up-"
"Everyone will hear it," Zaria finished for him. "If they start it, we're dead. If we start it, they're dead." He grabbed Xiam by the collar, much like Zeph would do in this situation. "It's survival of the fittest this time. Either them or us." He let go and headed over. Instinct kept telling him to go back, to flee, to try and outrun everything, but his mind wouldn't listen. He could only see the car starting up, the enemy coming and Muinela and his unborn children being...
He bottled up his fists and closed his eyes. He opened them again with renewed vigor and ran toward them.
With a quick smack to the jaw of the driver, he opened the door and pulled him out. The other people stared at him in disbelief, while a couple tried their hand at fighting him back.
Zaria watched as Xiam showed up by his side. The fighting stance was even, nobody knew how to fight, but at least he'd been arou nd Zeph enough to see a couple maneuvers. Wait. He glared at the others as if each one was a predator, and in his best impression of Zeph, crossed his arms. "Get away from the car, or this Guard will kick your ass. I don't give second warnings."
His bluff worked and the others scattered. He breathed a sigh of relief and motioned for the others to come over. "I'll get behind the wheel, Xiam, you help Zella and Muin get in."
Zenny got behind the wheel and looked at the ignition. This was it, any people in the area would be caught, but there wasn't any choice. He grasped around for the keys hiding in the visor. He put the keys in the ignition, and with trembling hands, turned the ignition.
In a blur, the evolved descended upon the backyard. People screamed and ran as Zenny peeled out in reverse. He crashed into the next house's fence, stopped, turned the car out of the yard and tore out of there as fast as he could.
They drove out into the forest as far as they could before the car ran out of energy. Ancient Happy lived out in her Den, deep in the forest. She wasn't so much an 'I love everyone' kind of person Children were easy for her to get along with, adults, not so much. Zenny teased once that one of her middle names should have been Crabby, until he found out her real last name was Grumpy. He didn't know whether to laugh or not.
Zenny continued to walk steadily with his wife, brother, and sister to her small town. Walking through forests weren't easy, but chances of running into an evolved would be less here. Oh, the evolved. His first experience. He'd seen one of them deeply evolved before, they tended to be crabby and more serious but nothing like a pure. The black soul invading eyes with that long, fleshy tail. Their uniform, nothing but a random shirt and pants, not even bothering to wear armor? Why would they? Zenny's poor kind were easy enough to slaughter.
When they reached her home, Zenny put on a small smile. The Den was an underground cave, the entrance a small entrance protruding from the ground. He lifted the handle and went inside. The others helped as they looked around the closets. There would be a secret lever to let them in.
Xiam smiled as he found a small lever behind a jacket. A secret door opened in the back of the closet. They all headed down the stairs and shut the door behind them.
"Here it is," Xiam said gesturing around him. They were in the underground area of Ancient Happy's place. "Just like Grammy said." It wasn't very big at all, but what should they expect for a hiding place? The ceiling cleared at about four feet so they all stood without crouching. The distance was about ten by fifteen, similar to his living room area. The walls weren't colored, instead there were rocks and dirt like the space had been carved out. Even the floor had no color to it, a bare wooden and splintery mess of boards.
Muin breathed hard, and said, "I can't believe this is happening. What kind of world are Zaria and Cooey going to have?"
"It's alright," Zaria said as he massaged her shoulders. "Don't think about that, this isn't permanent. Evolved attack out of the blue. This one's bigger but you'll see. Within a week, we'll be back home. Everything will be fine…" He looked over at Zella."…well, almost everything."
Zella stared at the ground miserably. It didn't matter whether they had to hide for a few days or a few weeks. Nothing would change the fact that Zeph was gone.
Zella's mother, Scentella, looked anxious as well. "We must trust that they are in a better place." She took the necklace off her neck and opened it. A picture of her and her husband were in there. "Io."
"I'm sure Dad's fine," Xiam replied. "He'll eventually come." He hugged Iri, "Are you okay too?"
"Yeah." Iri looked over at Muin. "Muin, how are you?"
Muin shrugged her shoulders as Zaria held her.
Zella continued to stare at the ground. She let her mind drift back.
"Well, how are they doing?" Zeph knelt down and put his ear on Zella's tummy.
"Hey you two, you ready to come out yet?" He poked her tummy.
Zella laughed as she felt a poke back.
Zeph poked her tummy again.
"Zeph." She chuckled as she felt a poke back. "Are you gonna do this all day?"
Zeph shrugged his shoulders, smiled and poked her tummy again.
…Zeph…
How could he really be gone?
"I heard some. They went this way."
"Remember, don't shoot randomly, get the females first."
Zeph kept his back against the wall of an abandoned store. Oh, I can't believe this. He looked around him at some of the now worthless furniture around. Who needed couches and chairs at a time like this? I can't believe the king said that. Why? He knew it would cause protest. He hit his fist against the wall. I've got to get back to Zella and the others, but how? They'll have gone somewhere safe, so where would they have gone too?
He looked out the door making sure he saw no more enemies. He was a long distance away from home but otherwise fine. His unpowered car wouldn't move and by the time he found someone who could help he was already late for the meeting.
At first, he was mad. He blew his one chance to get his family back. Then, once the media reported what was happening he couldn't be happier he missed that one meeting. If he had made it, he would have ended up like the rest. As tragic as everything was though, there was only one thing that mattered:
Getting back to Zella and the others.
I'm sure they're fine. They survived. I just need to find them. Zeph told himself that over and over as he walked. He hid behind a tree as he spotted another group of enemies coming by. There's so freaking many. What, did the whole kingdom invade? When the coast was clear, he snuck out again.
Seeing another small place near him, he quietly went inside. The house was in shambles, but he spotted two others huddled together. Zeph held out his hand to them. "You two alright?"
The female shook her head. "They're all over!"
The male brought her closer and looked at Zeph. "Who are you?"
"I'm a Guard and I'll do my best to get you out," Zeph answered.
The male looked him up and down. "You're not wearing a shirt and all the Guards were destroyed."
Zeph held his hand firmly up and said, "I vow I am a Guard. I missed the meeting and I had to ditch my shirt and vest so I didn't become an instant target."
The female held on tighter. "I think we should believe him Rofy. What choice do we have?"
"Fine." The male was still not fully convinced. "Where do you think you're going to then? You got family you're trying to find?"
"Family?" Zeph blinked, "Well, they aren't technically family. We are close though, or we all used to be close." He started to smile. "Actually, well, they are family."
"Good luck," the female said sniffling. "We're all scattered and hidden now, how can you find-"
"I hear voices," a voice bellowed through the walls.
Zeph tried to grab their hands and run with them, but the female screamed and the male just didn't trust his word.
"We need to get out, now!"
"Quit yelling, honey, they will hear you!" the male yelled back at the female.
Too late. If they didn't trust him, then he couldn't really help them. Zeph got out and pressed himself against the place to make himself less noticeable, but couldn't help from overhearing the screaming inside.
"No, don't take her, please!"
"Help me, help!"
"You can't take-"
Zeph closed his eyes tightly as he heard an enemy weapon go off.
"Rofyyyyy!"
He watched out the corner of his eye as the female was dragged out. Eliminating others and stealing females? Again? He moved as the enemies left his line of vision. Forget Guards being targets after all, everyone had become one.
I couldn't do anything, they refused to trust me. Too late now, I need to get back to the others. He looked in another abandoned home and saw a map sticking out. I'm not that far away from the safety house. If I could find them and take them there, we'll all be safe.
Then again, how far away were they?
"Daddy, I'm getting really tired," Prince Regwallis shouted as he tried to keep up with his father.
"Shut up and keep moving," King Sheward demanded. Where he was heading to, he didn't know. They were cut off from the secret exits outside the palaces. All they were doing now was running from the enemies chasing them. Guards were all canceled out at the castle, his wife had been killed, he had been injured, all he could do now was run with his son.
Even that couldn't last forever as the wound he had sustained bled profusely. Finally, he could no longer do anything but stagger, then collapse to the floor.
"Daddy?" his young son said innocently.
King Sheward breathed very hard. "…Regwallis." He closed his eyes briefly and gulped. "No matter what anyone ever says, your daddy didn't bring this on. I simply didn't let them come in without a show of pride. We're originals but we are not pushovers. Repeat that."
"We're originals but we are not pushovers," the prince said sniffling as he bent down beside his father. "Are you going to quit moving like Mommy?"
The king smiled. An innocent way of looking at death. "Regwallis, I didn't think this day would come for some time." He struggled to remove the crown from his head and placed it on his son's head. The crown slid over one of Regwallis' ears haphazardly. He was a little boy and too young to wear the crown.
"You need to survive and keep the kingdom alive. Even if it doesn't seem like it's worth it. Every life is worth it, understand?" The king said gently as his breathing faded away.
Regwallis tried to keep the crown up but it fell down over his ear again. "Okay. Everyone's worth it. Daddy?"
The king only stared back, his eyes no longer blinking.
"Well, well, well. Look, we found the new king."
Regwallis turned around and saw the enemies. He tried to run away but stumbled.
One of them picked him up. "Must be, he's wearing the crown." He looked down at Regwallis' father. "King Sheward is dead." He scoffed, "That was easy." He looked at the frightened Regwallis. "This puny kid is the new king?"
"Of what?" another evolved said. "A fallen kingdom? This place is done for."
"Yeah," The evolved dropped Regwallis, "done for." He grinned wickedly as he took Regwallis' crown. "Let's get out of here, this place is about to be rubble."
Time passed by slowly as the enemies attacked. Day in and day out it was becoming worse. No one had suspected the attacks would be so vicious, so gigantic. Food was becoming more scarce.
Zaria looked hesitantly. They had brought some baby food, thinking ahead about that, but for real food they didn't gather as much. They brought what they had on hand, but it wasn't enough. They only had enough for two maybe three proper size dinners. "We need to find food."
"Zaria," Muin said frowning. "It's too risky, they are always out there."
"We can't stay here and starve." Zaria said firmly back. "There's no choice, we've got to go find food. Xiam?"
Xiam nodded. "He's right, we're gonna die of starvation if we stay here."
"Xiam." Iri pulled on Xiam's shoulder. "It's dangerous. Maybe, can we find something like covetall?"
"Nothing's like covetall, trying any kind of spray will mess up our hair even more." Xiam touched her hand gently. "There's no reason to try, your pink hair is beautiful." He gently rubbed her cheek. "Now, I have to take the risk." Xiam stood up beside Zaria. "I remember when we used to visit, there would be a store about a mile away."
"Probably ransacked but we could see if there's anything left." Zaria smiled confidently at Muin. "Don't worry, I'll be right back."
"It's so dangerous." Muin sniffled. "Are you sure you have to go?"
"I'll be right back Muin, stay put." Zaria gave his wife a gentle kiss on the cheek before following Xiam out.
Zaria looked over at Xiam. "If places are ransacked, we're going to need more than one. One person traveling alone is better than two."
"Agreed," Xiam said nodding. "I'll head to the left and you head to the right. We're bound to find something."
Xiam traveled carefully, watching out for any sounds of the enemy. It didn't take long before he finally saw the store. It wasn't ransacked but it didn't look protected.
"Stop right there!" An angry man pointed a weapon at him.
Well, it didn't look protected.
The shop owner glared at Xiam as he held the enemy's weapon. "What do you want?"
Xiam held his hands up, "Just some food." He pointed down the road. "My family's running out of food."
The shop owner held his hand out, "It'll cost you."
Xiam handed him twenty coins but the shop owner glared.
"Food is rarer than this," he said as he grabbed five cans of something, "100 coins."
"For five cans of vegetables?" Xiam couldn't believe it. "I've only got eighty coins."
"Then here." The shop keep grabbed some bread. "Three cans and a loaf."
Three cans and a loaf. That shouldn't have even cost five coins back at home.
"Food is running out, it's your decision," The shopkeeper yelled as he saw another man approaching, "What?"
"One can," the man said quickly.
"Thirty gold," the shopkeeper said as he caught the money and threw the can at the guy. He looked over at Xiam. "Well?"
Xiam fiddled around with his money. "Here." He handed him the money.
The shopkeeper threw the loaf and three cans at him. "You come back again, it'll be twice that. Now get, it's not safe around here." He headed back to a cold dark corner of his shop.
Xiam looked down at the three cans and a loaf. Maybe things weren't going to be as simple as they thought. I hope Zaria finds something better.
Zaria grinned as he saw a store ahead of him. He'd been walking for miles but he finally found his destination. "Hello?"
A guy popped out slowly. "Sorry, sir, there's not much food. It's all been robbed," he said as he gestured to his little store. "Take what you can find."
Zaria headed into the store. Shelf after shelf was empty. He finally found a can of veggies that fell to the floor. "One can? There's no way we can survive on this."
"It's slim pickings now," the owner said as he came in from behind. "You said we? You've got family?"
"Yeah, a whole troupe. My wife and sister are even both pregnant with twins," Zaria groaned. "How is one can of veggies going to help out?"
"Both pregnant? Oh that's really rough." The owner sighed and pulled out another can of veggies. "I don't have much myself stranger but here's another can. Hope it helps a bit."
Zaria graciously took it. "Thanks. Oh, I'll be so happy when this is over."
"It'd be nice," the shopkeeper said as he looked out his window. "I really feel less and less like that's going to happen though." He looked back at Zaria. "Go get back to your family, the enemy will start their patrol again any second."
Zaria looked at the two cans of veggies sadly. Oh Xiam, I hope you did better than-
"Stop!"
Zaria froze as he saw evolved in front of him. Without thinking he dropped the cans and ran.
The evolved yelled stop again as they chased after him.
Stop? Yeah like he would stop. He didn't have any covetall on his hair or on his green tail. Zaria kept running until he found an old Den to hide in.
"See him?" one of the enemies asked.
"Let's go, we'll find more eventually," another one answered back.
Zaria crept out a bit. Is the coast clear?
Unfortunately, he didn't creep out fast enough. The Den was heavily damaged and it didn't take more than a ricochet of a couple of bullets to make it unstable. Right before he made it out, it crumbled.
Zaria lied beneath the rubble, pinched and unable to move. Muin. He tried to move but the weight was too much. Thoughts raced through his mind as he continued to struggle. Thoughts of his family. His friends. His Muinela.
He stopped moving after some time when he realized it was too late. No one was around to help him. If anyone found him, it would be the enemies. Muin…I'm sorry. He finally let his tail collapse to the ground. He'd never see her again. He'd never see anyone again.
He never even got to see his kids being born…
Zaria closed his eyes and knew he had to accept fate.