A Wilting Flower

by Terran34

8. Taking Charge

The group trudged their way through the streets as fast as they could, intent on getting as far away from the subway as possible. The group stayed close together in an attempt to avoid attracting attention from the Oppressed that were likely still in the city.

Aven and Amaryllis were leading the way forward, while Samuel held up the back. This formation was Samuel’s idea, but although tactically sound, there was one major problem: Amaryllis had no idea where she was going. Each building looked the same as the others to her. Her home was rural, so her sense of direction was thrown for a loop by the regular square blocks, narrow streets, and uniform buildings.

The sounds of battle only increased as time went on. Gunshots rang out in the distance, accompanied by the howling of the Oppressed. Every so often an explosion would be heard. Amaryllis shuddered; it must be hell on earth deeper in the city. As much as she hated to say it, she’d been lucky to get attacked in the subway so close to the edge of the island. This would likely be the last place the Oppressed would attack. No doubt their commander would be more occupied with the law enforcement… and hopefully the military.

She paused at an abandoned city intersection to get a sense of her surroundings. Looking to her left revealed the cityscape coming to an abrupt end as it met the waters of the Arthur Kill. There was no way forward there. There were likely docks, but Amaryllis knew that searching them for an escape would be a waste of time as well as suicidal. If cornered by the Oppressed by the docks, they would be caught with nowhere to go.

To her right was a road that led deeper into the city; she could notice the buildings getting taller in that general direction. She quickly ruled out that direction as well. The distant sounds of battle seemed to be coming from over there. No doubt if the group went that way, they’d walk right into a firefight… or worse, a horde of Oppressed.

Amaryllis turned her attention to the intersection in general. There was no sign of anybody alive in this area. Some of the cars were driven into buildings, or one another, and there was even a flipped over NYPD patrol car at the far end of the intersection. Beside the patrol car were the torn and mutilated bodies of two policemen, blood steadily oozing from their wounds. They didn’t appear freshly killed, but it was clear that some Oppressed had passed through here.

There was only one way forward, so Amaryllis crossed the street, the other passengers following her closely. When she reached the bodies of the fallen police, she paused and noticed the fallen handguns they held. She knelt down and picked up one of them, testing how it felt in her hands.

“Wait, why are we stopping?” Jakob protested from his position near the rear of the group. Amaryllis let out a long and emphatic groan. Out of everyone in this group, this man was the one that tried her patience the most.

“I’m doing the smart thing and arming myself, now shut it!” Amaryllis snapped back at him. Aven stepped up beside her, glancing at the gun and nodding with approval.

“Do you know how to use one of those?” Aven questioned before Jakob could start another argument.

“I’ve been to a range once or twice, but martial arts was more my thing,” Amaryllis admitted. Despite saying that, she knew how to hold it properly to keep from injuring herself. Her aim wasn’t great, and she wasn’t entirely sure how to reload the weapon, but it was better than fighting the Oppressed barehanded.

Samuel approached the two of them, leaving one of the others in charge of keeping a lookout. “Let me see that,” he requested, holding out his hand.

Amaryllis gave his outstretched hand a askance glance. Instead of giving him the gun, she indicated the ground with a flick of her head. “There’s another on the ground, by the second body,” she told him.

Samuel nodded and acquired the second handgun, glancing it over approvingly. “Typical standard issue .45 S&W handgun,” he identifies it immediately after looking at it. Amaryllis couldn’t tell one gun from another, so she decided it was a good thing Samuel was here. “This variant carries about seven shots, including the one in the chamber. Check and see how many rounds are in your magazine.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” Amaryllis stated flatly.

Samuel paused, and then he nodded. “Okay, watch me then. You’ll need to know how to reload if you plan on using the weapon,” he advised her. Amaryllis rolled her eyes, but she did watch as the soldier slid out the magazine. He winced. “Damn, it’s empty. What about yours?”

Amaryllis replicated what Samuel did with his gun and slid out the magazine as well. She checked inside and noticed one cartridge left inside. “There’s one shot. These guys must have unloaded on those fuckers,” Amaryllis conjectured.

“And yet they still fell. Which leads me to conclude that either these two were overwhelmed, or these bullets didn’t have much effect on those things,” Samuel surmised. Amaryllis suddenly felt stupid for picking up the gun in the first place. Of course simple bullets wouldn’t do much to hamper the Oppressed; they didn’t feel pain. Samuel notices her expression. “Don’t worry, it’s better to have them than not. See if the bodies have any clips.”

That seemed like a good idea. At the very least, she’d have a way to attack the Oppressed from a distance. Maybe if she managed to nail one in the leg, it would slow them down. After a few moments, Amaryllis and Samuel had loaded up their weapons and gathered a few clips from the fallen policemen. She felt some apprehension about rifling through the possessions of the dead, but her own survival could depend on how well armed she was. In light of that fact, her apprehension went forgotten.

Amaryllis glanced around the eerily empty intersection, questions forming in her mind. She was under the impression that the invasion of the Oppressed began only recently. If Samuel was right about the loss of power and communications being connected to the attack, then it followed that said outage marked the start of it all. If that was the case, something didn’t make sense to her. How did the Oppressed reach this area so fast? Where were all of the bodies? Given the state of the intersection along with the copious amounts of blood spattered all around, it didn’t make sense for there to only be two bodies.

“We should get moving,” Samuel interjects, breaking her train of thought. The soldier was holding the handgun down by his side, his posture a testament to his experience.

Amaryllis nodded and was about to take a step forward when Jakob spoke up again. “Where are we even going?” he demanded, moving towards the front of the group. “It just seems like we’re moving aimlessly!”

“We’re not moving aimlessly; we’re moving away from the subway before those monsters catch up to us.” Samuel patiently attempted to explain, even as Amaryllis rubbed her forehead in irritation.

“And then what? Some of us have family in the city! Why should we follow the rest of you around when you could be leading us into even more of those things?!” Jakob shot back, the man’s brow slick with sweat.

“That’s because…” Samuel tried again, but Jakob’s complaints seemed to have taken root in the minds of the other passengers.

“He has a point; I don’t know this place at all, and those things could be anywhere,” Jennifer said with uncertainty evident in her wavering voice.

“Well, we can’t stay here.” William offered, pointing out the obvious while attempting to keep his body from trembling.

“I don’t want to stay here with you people when my son could be in danger!” Jakob reiterated. That line in particular caused a reaction from the others.

“You want to try splitting up? Are you insane?” Avil snapped at Jakob, storming up to him.

“Everyone, please, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Aven interjected while holding up his hands placatingly. “Calm down and…”

“Insane? Maybe, but no more insane than following this rabble around! You’ll take us right into the monsters! I need to get away!” Jakob asserted, ignoring Aven’s attempts to intervene.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” Avil returned viciously. “Seriously, all you’re doing is making everyone panic!”

“Maybe they should panic! At least I’m…” The argument between Avil and Jakob increased in intensity, their voices getting dangerously loud. Some of the others joined in, the group falling into disarray as panic started to set in.

Amaryllis growled under her breath, continuing to rub her temples in an attempt to quell her growing headache. The more the others argued, the more restless she became, her teeth clenching and grinding against one another. She couldn’t believe they were this incompetent and stupid. If they kept shouting, they’d just bring more of the Oppressed down upon them. That would spell the end of their little group.

She noticed Mary and Emma, the latter hugging her mother tightly and starting to cry. The small girl appeared mentally incapable of handling the growing discord among the group; Amaryllis could hear her gently sobbing. “Please… please… just stop fighting… ”

Nobody seemed close to coming up with a solution. Dawson had been the closest thing they’d had to a leader, and he had bravely sacrificed himself to buy them all time. Without him, the group appeared to have ground to a halt. As Amaryllis listened, she heard several people both condemning and advocating Jakob’s plan. Others, such as Avil, were even suggesting getting rid of Jakob entirely to keep him from tearing them apart.

All of this was because of Jakob, that man who seemed unable to do anything other than whine. Amaryllis felt her patience grow thin. She cast her gaze to the different streets, her eyes on alert for signs of any Oppressed that may be hearing this ruckus. She grew more and more stressed, until finally she lost her temper.

“All of you just shut the hell up!” Amaryllis snapped loud enough to be heard over the others. There was so much anger in her tone that the others stopped talking all at once, turning to face her… the only one apart from Samuel who hadn’t weighed in. Now that she had their attention, she continued in a quieter voice. “What, are you trying to get us all killed? If the Op… if those monsters hear us, we’re all dead!”

“I know, that’s what I’ve been trying to say. Let’s just get rid of this prick, and then we’ll…” Avil started to agree with her, indicating Jakob.

“Shut it!” Amaryllis cut Avil off before she could finish her dissentful suggestion. Avil blinked, shocked. No doubt she thought Amaryllis shared her opinion on Jakob’s whining. Amaryllis turned to look at Jakob, the cause of the whole argument. “Look, if you’re so hell bent on splitting up, go right ahead. I’ll be sure to help your son with the funeral arrangements.”

Amaryllis’ words were spiteful and sarcastic, but they seemed to have the desired effect. She had essentially given Jakob permission to leave, yet now that he was faced with the opportunity as well as aware of the consequences of doing so, he hesitated, unable to meet her gaze.

“I’m gonna be straight with all of you; as moronic as you’re all being right now, even I know sticking together is our best shot. Something’s not right about this whole attack, and assuming some of you are at least halfway intelligent… you’ll have picked up on that too,” Amaryllis pointed out. In response, some of the others started to nod or glance at one another.

She wasn’t referring to the fact that the Oppressed were undead and controlled by magic; instead, Amaryllis was more referring to how fast and methodical this attack had seemed. Within only a short time of the outage, Staten Island already appeared abandoned. That didn’t seem possible, even with magic.

“So what if your son, mother, uncle, second cousin twice removed or whatever is missing? You’re no good to them dead. Which is exactly what you’ll be if you follow this imbecile’s ridiculous plan.” Amaryllis pointed at Jakob, much to his frustration.

Jakob glared back at her. “So far all you seem to be doing is insulting us,” he remarks. “Just because you can fight doesn’t mean you can look down on the rest of us.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Grant asks curiously.

“That’s a good question. Do you have a plan, Amaryllis?” Samuel rejoins the conversation, looking to her for direction.

Amaryllis suddenly realized that everyone was looking to her for direction. The fire died inside of her and she hesitated, realizing she may have bitten off more than she could chew. She wasn’t planning on taking charge; she just wanted them all to shut up. “Why are you all asking me?” Amaryllis demanded, stammering a bit.

“That’s a good question…” Jakob responded, glaring at Grant and Samuel.

Samuel was the one to answer that question. “We’re asking you because you appear to be the calmest out of all of us, despite all of the death around us. You seem to have picked up more about this enemy than we have in just a short time. It’s only natural that we’d want to listen to the words of someone like that,” he explained to her. He spoke with a guarded suspicion evident in his expression; Amaryllis could tell he still thought she was holding something back. His shrewdness could become a problem.

“Speak for yourself,” Jakob retorted. Amaryllis finally had enough of his complaining, and transfixed him with a glare, causing him to freeze.

“Okay, first of all, fuck you. I’m tired of hearing you bitch and moan,” Amaryllis stopped trying to filter herself and just stated what she thought. Over where Mary was standing, she noticed the mother gasp and cover her daughter’s ears. Amaryllis scoffed and paid them no attention. It was practically the end of the world; she could care less who could hear. She then turned to Samuel. “Right, but you’re the soldier and you know this kind of situation. Why don’t you take charge?”

Samuel shook his head with a wry smile. “I’m no leader. I am willing to offer my expertise, but that is all I have to give. I’ve always taken orders, rather than giving them.”

“Well, isn’t that just a fat lot of good,” Amaryllis grunted.

“So the question stands, what do you think we should do, Amaryllis?” Samuel asks her again, increasing the pressure on her even more.

Amaryllis looked at the other passengers, hoping that at least one of them would object. Unfortunately, she received quite the opposite of what she was expecting. Several of them were nodding approvingly, while others made their approval more vocal.

“I’ve worked with Amaryllis before. I trust her enough to know she won’t lead us astray.” William was the first to vocally support her.

“Fair enough. I’ll follow your lead, Amaryllis,” Aven chimes in next, lifting his wrench.”What do you think we should do?”

Amaryllis couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation. It didn’t seem as though there was any way out of this. Whether she liked it or not, she now had the ears of every single one of them. As she thought about it, she realized that this may be the best possible situation. If she had all of them willing to listen to her, the chances of her getting out of this alive would be that much higher.

With that resolution, she surveyed the intersection one last time. She quickly determined that she didn’t have enough information. “Alright, here’s what I’m thinking. Which of you actually live here in the city?” Amaryllis began, speaking clearly and authoritatively. When she didn’t immediately get a response, she grunted. “Some time today please, those monsters won’t stay gone forever.”

“I uh...I live in Manhattan,” William reminds her.

In addition, Mary also raised her hand timidly. “I live here too, in Bay Ridge,” she answers. Amaryllis glanced at the both of them. Two people...she could have sworn there were more than that. Either way, this is what she had to work with.

“Are you both familiar with the island we’re on?” Amaryllis pressed.

“Staten Island? I come here with my friends whenever I have time off,” William answers. “I’d like to say I know my way around.”

“I work down here, and Emma goes to school here,” Mary responds. Amaryllis nodded; she could work with this.

“Then here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to get out of the city and get help. I have friends in the military who… may know a thing or two about all of this,” Amaryllis revealed to them. She noticed Samuel’s brow rise slightly at her words, but she paid no attention to him. She filed away in her mind that she would have to deal with him at some point in the future. “Mary, William, I want you two up here with me. You’re going to help me navigate.”

“Got it.”

“Okay.” The two moved to do as they were told, but Amaryllis didn’t wait for them to get in position.

“Aven, do what you’ve been doing. You’re our rear guard; if something stirs back there… and I don’t care what it is, you give a holler,” Amaryllis continued to snap out orders, her voice growing in confidence and conviction the more she did it. “Samuel, you stay up here with me. The rest of you, stay close to one another, but don’t group up. If the… the monsters show up, scatter in every direction and take cover; give the fighters time to take them down.”

Amaryllis heard them move to follow her orders, giving her sounds of consent. “Now then, any objections?” The moment that question left her mouth, she noticed Jakob opening his mouth. She wasn’t going to have any of that. “Not you. All you’ve done is whine, cause arguments, and nearly get us all killed.”

“But…” Jakob tried to start anyway.

“I’m going to be straight with you. You either stay with us and do as you’re told, or stay behind. I don’t have the time nor the patience for your shit,” Amaryllis told him flat out. Jakob closed his mouth with a snap, the forming protest dying in his throat. “Now then, objections?”

There was silence from everyone else. They were already in the formation she’d specified, indicating their willingness to follow her. She sighed again, questioning how she’d been put in this impossible situation. Nevertheless, she needed to get out of the city.

“Good. Then let’s get moving,” Amaryllis finishes. Once she heard the murmur of assent sweep through the passengers, she turned the other direction and headed straight down the intersection, choosing not to head to the docks or deeper into the city.

Once William, Mary and Emma were up front with her, Amaryllis turned back to them while walking forward. “What’s the quickest way out of the city?” she asked.

William pondered for a moment before answering “Well...if I remember right, if we cut through Old Place, Goethals Bridge should take us away from the city proper and into Elizabeth, New Jersey,” he suggested. “That’s not too far from here. It should be safe.”

“Assuming New Jersey hasn’t been hit yet,” Samuel points out. The three of them look at him with shock. “Hey, I’m just pointing out the possibility. Attacking New York, one of the country’s most important city centers, is tantamount to suicide without overwhelming force or a great deal of strategy. They may move to cut off our retreats.”

“If that’s the case, we’re pretty much screwed,” Amaryllis grunted in annoyance. “So we’re going to hope they haven’t gotten that far yet. Any other ways out of the city nearby?”

“A little further north, there’s the Bayonne Bridge. That will also take us into New Jersey,” Mary reveals. She didn’t look like she was finished, so Amaryllis let her continue. “Then there’s… the Verrazano into Brooklyn, where I live, but that’s really far to the east.”

“What a pain. Alright, we’re going to Elizabeth. It’s closer, and the sooner we get there, the less likely the Oppressed will be there,” Amaryllis decided. That last part was more along the lines of wishful thinking, but she left that part unsaid. “What can you tell me about Old Place?”

“We’re headed right to it. It’s a suburban area with lots of open field, but in the past few years, it’s been a bit more urbanized,” William explains. Amaryllis looks to Mary for confirmation, and receives a nod.

“I don’t like the idea of open field, but I guess it’s the best we have,” Amaryllis grunted. “That’s where we’re going. You two direct me to the bridge.”

“Okay.”

“Understood.”

---

The group moved steadily north through the city. The further they went, the closer they grew to the sounds of battle. Several times, Amaryllis had to think fast and direct the group into the alleyways to avoid a traveling group of Oppressed. They were monsters, but they didn’t appear to have very good senses apart from sight and hearing.

Amaryllis witnessed horrors beyond anything she’d ever seen. She once spotted a group of Oppressed heading for another roaming group of civilian survivors. She could do nothing to warn them, and was instead forced to save her own group and leave the civilians to die, helpless as they were before the claws of the Oppressed.

She’d really thought she’d have had more time before all this happened. To think that she’d thought she could live out the rest of her life in peace… Amaryllis cursed herself for thinking so naively. If she’d have known this was going to happen, she’d never have left Seth’s family.

As the group traveled, the city thinned out and gave way to a more suburban area. In stark contrast to the enclosed blocks of concrete and steel, there were wide open expanses of green, interrupted only by gurgling creeks and winding streets. It was an area that they could most certainly get lost in. However…

“It’s open. Too open,” Samuel observed doubtfully. He glanced back behind them to the towering buildings. “Those creatures would be able to spot us from a mile away.”

“Ugh, you’re probably right. But I can see the damn bridge from here,” Amaryllis responded. Far in the distance, the Goethals Bridge towered over the rest of the island. If they could just get there, it would promise them safety and deliverance from the Oppressed, especially if they could reach the military on the other side.

“That leaves us with two choices; cut through the fields and risk getting seen, or stick to the cover of the buildings and cut east, risking further proximity to the monsters,” Samuel pointed out. He traced a potential path across the horizon with his finger.

“Yeah, let’s not get ourselves seen. We’ll just have to follow the buildings and hope,” Amaryllis decided. She surveyed her surroundings quickly to make sure there were no Oppressed lurking, and then she motioned for everyone to follow her.

The group stuck close to the cover of the buildings, taking their time to avoid drawing attention to themselves. As time passed and the sun began to set, the shadows grew longer the light dimmer. Despite this, Amaryllis could hear the battle raging on in the deeper city without pause. According to William, there was a military base on Staten Island near the bridge to Brooklyn… which would explain the assault rifle fire she could hear. She only hoped they were putting up a fight.

The Goethals Bridge drew ever closer as the group continued forward. It was a massive bridge that stretched a full mile across the Arthur Kill, connecting the island with the city of Elizabeth. It only had one small entry point from which to cross; it was not a bridge one could approach from the sides.

Amaryllis paused upon reaching the edge of the urban area. She planted her back against a building and carefully peered around the corner to see down the street that led deeper into the city. Her caution paid off, as she spotted a large number of Oppressed a good distance away. They were swarming through the streets like an ocean tide, ripping apart anything living in their way. It was absolute carnage down there…

However, there were no more buildings to hide their path forward. Angling her gaze towards the bridge, she observed open fields dotted with copses of trees, along with a flowing stream. Mary called it Old Place Creek, and told her they’d need to cross it before reaching the bridge.

“We don’t have a choice now. We have to risk the open,” Amaryllis whispered to William, Mary, and Samuel, who were essentially serving as her “advisors” at this point. She jerked her thumb down in the direction of the Oppressed. “It’s a death trap down there.”

“Let’s cut through the woods over there. If we keep to the brush, we’ll lessen our chances of getting spotted,” Samuel suggests, indicating the woods he was talking about with a hand.

“Okay. Let’s stay close to the street. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not get lost. Who knows how long until this whole place gets overrun,” Amaryllis responds. She glanced around again, and then started to move once more, the others following her.

“Don’t even joke about that,” William stammered, turning pale at the thought. “All of those monsters… with nowhere to run, I…”

“Do you know how many there are, Amaryllis?” Samuel interrupted William before he could unnerve anyone else. He was staring at her pointedly.

Amaryllis met his stare as she walked, knowing full well why he was asking her. In all honesty, she didn’t even know how many there were. She was going off of conjecture, so she decided to tell the truth. “Hell if I know. A lot. Did you see how many were in the train tunnels?” Amaryllis reminded him. “And do you hear that crap in the city? There could be hundreds. Even thousands.”

“Where are they all coming from?” Mary asks, shuddering at the figures Amaryllis gave her. “What even are they? It’s like… like…”

“...someone broke a human in half and made it run on all fours… like a horse,” Samuel finished for her, causing her and William to wince. “Just like that other… horse-like being we saw.”

“More like a pony,” Amaryllis corrected him without thinking, and then immediately cursed her stupidity. Thankfully, Samuel was nodding, agreeing that the creature was too small to be a proper horse.

“That wasn’t a pony…” Emma whispered from her place beside her mother. She’d been so quiet this whole time, Amaryllis had practically forgotten she was even there. Emma looked awful. Not only was her whole body trembling, but her cheeks were puffy and her eyes were reddened and wide with fright and sadness. Amaryllis found that she had difficulty meeting the girl’s eyes. “That can’t have been a pony. Ponies aren’t mean… ponies should be cute, happy, and surrounded by friends… that… that thing wasn’t anything like a pony...”

“You’re right… I’m sure it was something else,” Mary attempted to comfort her daughter. Amaryllis could help but think that it must suck to be that young and stuck in the middle of an apocalypse. She normally hated kids, but Emma seemed to possess none of the traits she despised.

“Come on, let’s pick up the pace. We can’t afford to be out here that long,” Amaryllis directed them. She quickened her pace into a jog, darting to a nearby bush and using it as cover before moving to the next.

In this manner, the group made their way through the fields. The Goethals Bridge was getting closer and closer, until finally they could see the beginning of the ramp. This was it. If she could just get out of the city and find Gerome…

In the middle of her thoughts, an explosion ripped through the air from behind them. The noise was so great Amaryllis had to cover her ears. She whirled around just in time to see a pillar of smoke and flame erupt from the north, partially obscured behind the cityscape.

“What the hell!?” Amaryllis demanded, just as the shockwaves blew over them. She squinted and covered her eyes. What the hell just happened? She hadn’t seen any planes, so the military couldn’t be bombing the place… no, the very thought of that was absurd. So what could have caused an explosion so intense that a miniature mushroom cloud was forming?

“That came from the north… it couldn’t be…” Samuel gasped, the soldier losing his composure for the first time. He immediately snapped his gaze to the Goethals Bridge. “We need to move, now!”

“What’s going…” William tried to ask.

“There’s no time to explain! Get to the bridge. Move!” Samuel snapped, raising his voice. Confused, yet spurred by the urgency in his voice, Amaryllis broke into a run, throwing caution to the wind. The others moved to do so as well.

They were running for only a few seconds. Just as Amaryllis and the others reached the ramp and started to ascend towards the bridge proper.. .the entire structure erupted with a fiery explosion coming from the center of the bridge. Taken by surprise, Amaryllis skidded to a halt and stepped back, her mouth open in shock and horror.

The explosion was just as great if not greater than the one to the north. The metal of the truss bridge melted and tore apart, the bridge peeling back with a cacophony of screeching metal. The sheer force of the detonation caused a shockwave that rushed over the group before they could defend themselves, knocking them all, Amaryllis included, clear off their feet and rolling down the ramp.

“Jesus!” Amaryllis cursed loudly, her skin accumulating multiple cuts and scrapes as she tumbled down the asphalt.

“Everyone stay down!” Samuel roared, his voice barely audible over the dying cries of the bridge. Particles of concrete, asphalt, and metal rained down around them. Amaryllis covered her eyes and clung the guardrail nearby, her heart pounding as lethal shrapnel zipped over her head.

When the shockwaves had passed and the largest of the debris had fallen, Amaryllis leapt to her feet. “Son of a bitch!” The bridge was completely destroyed. As she watched, the remaining portions of the bridge groaned and tore from the concrete and asphalt, plummeting down into the waters of the Arthur Kill with a colossal splash. “That was our way out! How did this even happen!?”

“Dammit, I was afraid of this,” Samuel growled, rising from where he had fallen. “I’d thought they’d cut off our retreat with those monsters, but whoever’s controlling them is shrewd indeed.”

“They… they blew up the Goethals…” William stammered. “Why is this happening? What did we do to deserve this?”

“How are we supposed to get away now!?” Jakob started up again. This time, however, Amaryllis had no idea.

“The Bayonne Bridge…” Amaryllis began, but then she halted mid sentence. There had been two explosions...and the first one came from the north….in the direction of the northern bridge to New Jersey. “Those cunning bastards! Who exactly are we fighting!?”

“There’s got to be another way,” Samuel mused, the soldier starting to pace. “Whoever’s doing this seems to be trying to completely exterminate us… not just conquer us. They’re trying to leave no survivors…”

“Hey, Amaryllis! We’ve got incoming from the rear!” Aven’s frightened cry brought an end to their frantic musings. Amaryllis whirled around and gazed down the remains of the ramp to see a group of Oppressed that had detached from the eastern horde.

There were eight of them this time, and they didn’t seem to have spotted Amaryllis’ group yet. Instead, they were just heading straight for the bridge. Amaryllis realized that whoever they were fighting, he had a firm grasp of tactics. Blowing up the bridge to cut off escape… and then sending Oppressed to mop up anyone who had been attempting to use the bridge.

“Time to see if these guns are worth anything,” Amaryllis stated, grasping the handgun and moving forward until she was apace with Aven. She pulled back the slide and loaded a round into the chamber, hoping beyond hope that she could deal some damage before they could reach her.

Samuel soon joined her, already leveling his weapon. Aven was lifting his wrench, showing his intent to fight as well. Amaryllis glanced grimly at the coming Oppressed. They noticed their group now and howled out their bloodlust through decaying throats. There were eight of them, and only three fighters. This was going to be rough.

Amaryllis aimed her gun at the leading Oppressed and pulled the trigger. The kick surprised her, as she hadn’t wielded a gun in quite some time. The bullet went off course, ricocheting from the asphalt next to her intended target.

Samuel opened fire on an Oppressed as well, catching it right in the leg. The monster stumbled, but didn’t fall. It took several more shots to the leg before the monster fell, but even then it started to rise, pulling itself along on three legs. “Leg shots are ineffective… aim for the head,” Samuel advised, adjusting his aim.

Amaryllis gritted her teeth and shifted her aim as well, this time lining her eye up with the sights. She squeezed the trigger and the weapon roared to life once again, propelling a bullet directly between the eyes of her target. Unfortunately, even that didn’t stop the creature. “These weapons are useless!” Amaryllis snapped in annoyance.

She glanced around for anything else she could use as a weapon. Her eyes alighted upon a broken piece of guardrail that looked slender and solid enough. It wasn’t anything special, but it should work. She tossed the gun aside and picked up the shard, testing its balance.

Samuel lifted the remains of a signpost, having had the same idea. Together with Amaryllis and Aven, the three of them rushed to meet the charging Oppressed. Amaryllis leapt high into the air and brought her guardrail down on top of the first Oppressed’s head, caving it in and knocking the beast to the ground.

Immediately, the three of them were surrounded on three sides, pressed back to back and attempting to fight many more than they could handle. Amaryllis gritted her teeth as a claw snagged the edge of her shirt and cut into her skin. Aven managed to club one on the side of the head, but then took a slice on the side of his arm, causing him to cry out.

Just as they were starting to get overwhelmed, battle cries sounded from behind them. Several other passengers equipped with improvised weapons from the debris surrounding them charged into the ranks of the Oppressed.

“Take this!” Avil rammed a metal spike deep into the Oppressed threatening Amaryllis’ right, distracting it just long enough for her to finish it off by bashing its skull in with her guardrail.

Likewise, Samuel worked with Grant to fend off several Oppressed bearing down on them. Kent and Jennifer were doing their best to aid Aven, though their inexperience clearly showed. Nevertheless, their efforts were helping to distract the Oppressed long enough for the more experienced fighters to take advantage, turning the tide in their favor.

“There’s… there’s more of them!” Jakob could be heard shouting from the edge of the broken ramp. Amaryllis blocked an Oppressed’s claws and kicked it to the ground. She was about to call back to Jakob when she heard the distant howls of a great number of Oppressed, coming back from where they came from. “There’s… it’s a whole horde!”

Amaryllis cursed and finished off the Oppressed on the ground with Avil’s help. She moved to help Aven next. This situation couldn't possibly get any worse. They were trapped between the horde in the city to the east...and the horde coming from the subway in the south. Cut off to the north and west by the strait, things were looking very grim for her.

Her hopes of getting out of this city alive grew dimmer still.

Author's Note:

Okay, and got another chapter is out. This was was also hard to get out, but once I got past the hump of writer's block, the rest of it came easily. I had a lot of fun with the dynamic Jakob added to the group. Though I have so say, I'm not used to writing so many characters at once.

Hm, one thing I'm finding with these chapters is that I don't really have decent music choices for most of these scenes. There's only so much dismal dreary music I can find, thanks to youtube being utterly horrible and taking down all the soundtracks I usually use. Nevertheless, I have several good pieces picked out that inspired several scenes. For those of you that listen to my music anyway. If you're on fanfiction.net, you're out of luck.

Thanks for all of your encouraging words last chapter. It's good to see some of you still hanging around. Now if I could just figure out how to get Pontiac out of his cave

One last important thing. Due to Schadenponi leaving overseas, I've taken on a new editor who did a very good job helping me out. Everyone join me in thanking ScootalooFTW, who kindly contacted me a while back offering to help. He helped me out a lot, so go and check out his stories while you wait for me to put out another chapter.

Don't forget to comment and let me know what you think!

Comments

[DezzarTac]

Don't you just hate it when your plans are foiled?

[Nitroxtreme99]

I get a whole lot of left 4 dead feels reading this

[DezzarTac]

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