Chapter 19: Chapter 019 [Alice]

Alice sat inside the totaled vehicle and looked outside into the row of torches that had been lit up as soon as they’d detected the first signs of movement. The stench of gasoline permeated the inside of the bus and mingled with the stale air. It was light enough it only tickled at her nose.

Outside, shadows moved in the night, shuffling between the trees. She’d counted at least a dozen or so. She could hear hushed whispers and soft barks from the gloom of the woods, not even the moon shining down on the forest floor. Perhaps there was more to be seen, but to Alice, the darkness became harder to peer through once the flames had been lit up.

A handful of men held improvised torches high, sticks with gasoline soaked rags at the end that flickered in slow flames. They stood between the shadows and the bus. A facade of strength, Alice knew most of them would limp if they dared move from where they were. One had his arm wrapped in cloth since he’d badly hurt his wrist. The only one not present in the lineup had been Victor. The teacher had been drenched in gasoline, the stench clinging to him even after he’d changed clothes and done his best to dry off.

Inside the bus was Alice, the other women, as well as those too hurt to be able to stand outside. They were all looking into the forest and seeing the light that flickered from the shadows, glimmers reflected in the eyes of the monsters. There were growls, barks, and a howl. But the creatures did not approach, keeping themselves in the darkness and well away. Most appeared more focused on the corpses that were at the very edge of the clearing.

Someone shrieked when one shadow took a body and dragged it out of the light and into the blackness. The growling grew in intensity. A whine followed. The men tightened, sharing glances and raising their torches higher, moving to make sure and place themselves between the creatures and the bus, holding their torches toward the monsters.

For a moment, Alice spotted one of them. It was like the feline, a woman, but not quite. The monster’s eyes were wild. Fur partially coated her back and arms, as if they were a werewolf of sorts that had failed mid way, its face still remarkably human. It resembled a human only in form, but definitely not in nature or thought. A savage edge was apparent in its gaze, a wild hunger that burned within.

How many were there? She wasn’t sure. A dozen? More? Less?

If these creatures were of comparable strength to the cat, then there was little doubt the monsters would take them head on and win if they so chose to go for it. They could only hope to scare them off. The fire certainly was the thing all the monsters were focused on, never taking their eyes away from the torches, sometimes barking at them. But never stepping into the clearing.

The monsters were reaching for the corpses and dragging some of them off into the shadows. It was slow. A handful of the canine creatures, the larger ones, remained near the bodies but did not touch them. Instead, they were focused on the torches and those wielding them.

They could cut the tension with a knife.

Alice huddled next to May and two others, silently praying to whoever would be willing to hear her. Her eyes closed, the woman squirming slightly and turning away from the glare of the torches.

Her breath caught in her throat as she heard something.

Tapping, and the soft crunch of glass.

Her eyes snapped open to look through the wall of seats out into the darkness on the opposite side of the bus. She gasped as she saw a creature quietly peeking through the holes the seats left when blocking the window.

For a fraction of a second, the teacher could only peer into those curious wide eyes that looked through the holes in the windows. For a fraction of a second, she’d thought the being to be human. But it was not so. There were two black canine ears atop her head, her face was caked in dirt, there was dried blood in her hands.

Alice had not been the only one to see the creature. Next to the teacher, May let out a blood-curdling scream.

It snapped her into action. “There’s one behind us!” Alice shouted from inside.

“Do not move!” Came the shout from outside. “We move from where we are and they’ll jump us. Julian…”

Alice could only feel her eyes widening at such a proclamation. She turned from the men with torches and the intruder that was circling behind the bus and approaching the door where Victor stood, the only defense between them and the monsters.

An image flashed through her mind, the feline standing tall and powerful inside the bus, her claws tearing through the one who’d tried to attack her in defense of the others. The splatters of blood still coated the wall.

A cold chilling panic gripped Alice’s throat, her eyes looking at her fellow teacher as he’d frozen in place, looking at the canine that was slowly approaching. His face was pale, his eyes wide. What could they do? If they fought, they’d die. WHAT COULD THEY DO!?

Alice began to stand up, stopping as a clawed hand clutched at her arm. She turned to see the shadowy face of Ms. Dodson as she slowly shook her head. “If you draw its attention, we are next,” she said with a hiss. “Do not get us killed.”

She turned to look at the bus entrance. From where she was, Alice saw Julian just barely outside and using himself to block the door. To her right and at the other side of the improvised barricade, she could make out the shadow of the creature. Alice’s hands tightened in the first piece of metal she could find, yanking her arm away from Ms. Dodson’s cold grip.

A growl rumbled through the night air. Victor flinched.

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And for a split second, she could see it clear as day. That little moment of weakness all the monster would need to decide to attack.

No, NO!

Alice’s hand swung towards the vehicle’s wall with everything she had. The resounding CLANG struck her ears with a piercing sound. Her hands shuddered from the impact, she almost dropped the piece of scrap.

“AAAAAHHHHH!” she screamed, roared, letting out a bellow as she swung again, hitting the frame hard enough that the metal rang all around her, deafening in its intensity.

Her action caused Victor to startle, but it had saved his life, the monster had yelped and jumped away, covering her ears and whining. Alice did not deter however, she swung again. CLANG the sound exploded, her lungs emptied, she drew a sharp breath, peering out of the bus and into the eyes of the hastily retreating monster. CLANG she swung again, her lungs burst with a roar, her arms shook. CLANG metal against metal, the beast was vanishing between the trees.

And suddenly, the lone scream turned into a cacophony of noise. Two others followed in the shouts, bashing their hands against the bus’ frame. It was loud, very loud. In seconds, several more joined. Perhaps it was the fear, or the nerves, or that there was just the barest ray of hope. Maybe it was the pressure that had been bubbling and weighing down and threatening to crush them.

As one, yet with no rhyme of rhythm, they let out a racket of shrieking roars.

Alice swung again against the bus as hard as her arms would let her. Her fingers hurt and her throat felt like it was burning. Her own voice drowned it all out, but it didn’t stop her heart hammering against the roof of her mouth. But it gave her strength. She stomped her shoes against the floor, and she screamed louder, swinging again.

Again and again and again.

Until her hands were bloodied, dropping the piece of scrap, until her throat was so hoarse it hurt. Alice collapsed to her knees, tears streaked down her cheeks as she took the world around her once more.

The others had stopped, slowing down. There were no signs of the monsters, there were no signs of them having been hurt. The fires had burnt out, the dim light came from several phones. All eyes were on her, the psychology teacher only barely able to awkwardly shift on the floor. Her breath was short, body drenched in sweat, she couldn’t summon enough strength to do much else.

“Here.”

The voice came from Victor, a lukewarm bottle of water offered and brought to quell her parched throat. It might as well have been ambrosia, Alice drank deep.

“Are they gone?” she asked, drying her cheeks from the tears that had ran their course. Somehow, she found the strength to stand, moving to step outside.

“They are,” the man said with a slight nod.

Through the artificially lit darkness, Alice’s eyes fell onto the remaining corpses that sat at the edge of the clearing, still untouched. How many had been dragged away? Her lips pursed as a heavyweight fell upon her heart.

“We should give them proper rest,” she said with a half-whispered breath.

“It’s going to be tough to dig deep.” A harrowed weight lingered from his words.

The psychology teacher shook her head. “No.” There was a strange clarity to her thoughts, perhaps brought about from the adrenaline. “If we bury them, it could still attract more monsters.”

“Then we should burn them.” Victor spoke with a soft nod. “And cover the remains.”

If there was a complaint to be had, none spoke it.

It would be a long night for everyone.

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