Beyond the Walls

Event

*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH

The sound was ear splitting and enough to render the close contact, Elijah, stunned for a few seconds.

It felt like his eardrum exploded and after the screeching sound it made Elijah’s knees weak. His mind blanked out, almost to the point of passing out.

*Thud

He fell unconscious, defenselessly.

*Thud thud thud thud thud

As if there is an incoming earthquake, multiple rushing runs are heading at the ride tower once again.

“This is payback, Lucas.” Liam mumbled as soon as he spotted several mutants in an urgent haste to come back to the same spot where Team 1’s member had died.

Him and Brandy took cover down the booth table. It was really good that booths at these theme parks are made to last. In a while after, they hear the outside being bumped several times.

Alongside with it are screeching sounds. Terrifying it may sound, to Liam it was a lovely melody. ‘What will you do now, Lucas?’ Just like he was a few hours ago, he expected Lucas to make the same choice as he did.

‘Abandon him.’

Right outside, multiple mutants had gathered around Elijah. The first batch of mutants that tried reaching for him was shot to death

“I can’t hold much longer!” Lucas said in a very low and desperate tone as he pulled the trigger again. On top of a rundown food booth, Lucas is plank down with a long snipping gun on his side and concentrating on shooting down mutants.

“Give me the Smoke gun. I’ll distract them!” Aaron said.

“Impossible! They will be preoccupied until their meal is out of sight.”

That’s why he kept reminding them to stay out of their sight because once they are spotted they wouldn’t let them go.

With Elijah out in the open and unmoving 100% sure, he will become their meal, unless someone rescues him. Aaron, who is closer to Elijah, is placed in a distance. Even if they run towards him, they will not get past these hunchback ghouls.

Aaron bit his lips at their helplessness. It was unexpected that they will be using sound bomb.

“We can’t just stay here and do nothing?!” Aaron is also planking down together with Lucas.

Nobody could move up because once they do, they will be quickly spotted.

“This gun has a few more bullets left. I can’t support both you and guard Elijah at the same time.” Lucas said in hissing strained voice as he clicked away an empty bullet case.

*Thud

Aaron with clenched fist smacked the roof they are in hard and loud. It was loud enough to garner attention but maybe because of the continuous howls of the ghouls and their uncared way smashing of anything on their way, Aaron’s noise was left unattended.

“...! Aaron, Look! Kiko and Jack are moving in.” Lucas spotted two of his teammates moving in.

Aaron immediately looks at binoculars and sees them running low and Lucas supports them by not letting mutants come close.

Since the screeching sound, it has only been 20 seconds, but it feels like an hour has passed. The beating of Lucas’ heart is slowing down. His deep calm breathes in between each pulled trigger, is tense but focused. One wrong move and three of his members will inevitably face death.

“Aaron, locate the other team. I think they are hiding somewhere too.” Lucas said without blinking his eyes and removing his gaze on the scope.

“s**t!” Lucas cursed as one mutant appeared out of nowhere and blocked the real target which made the real target get passed and jumped to Jack’s side. It’s long arms hold Jack down as it didn’t think twice to open up his pointed teeth on him.

The mutant’s head is now out of Lucas’ view the hit he could do is at the of the slouching mutant but wouldn’t be enough.

“ARGH!” Jack can only groan, and tremble as his head is about to be torn off.

“AHHHH!” Kiko, who is on the side, didn't abandon him and swung his axe up with all his might. It didn’t separate its head but it was enough to make the ghoul arched up and give Lucas a clear shot.

Kiko pulled up Jack and didn’t retrieve the axe due to more ghouls closing in. They reached the ride tower and thanks to the bars on the tower, it was difficult for the ghouls to come in closer faster.

*Slap

“WAKE UP SHITHEAD!! We are going to die!” Since they have the undivided attention of the ghouls, Kiko didn’t bother to lower his voice anymore.

“Ahh.. ahh” Elijah is still out of it.

*Slap

He slapped Elijah again. “GET A GRIP!!”

“We don’t have time!” Jack said as he kept his eyes on the crawling ghouls inside the tower.

At the same time, “Dammit” Lucas cursed low as the sniping gun was now out of bullets. He reached at his side and pulled another gun with a silencer. Closing his other eye he tried to get a clear shot view but

*Phew

A slight sound came out from the gun but it missed his target. It went past hair breathing at Jack’s side arm.

He went to look at the direction of it and clicked his tongue.

“Hey! Lucas is out of snipping bullets! We need to go now!”

“Ughhh. My head is still ringing.” Groggy and weakly Elijah said, Jack and Kiko put Elijah’s arms around them.

“Ah! Wait.” Jack said as he picked up the Lark’s watch and put it in his pocket.

They are ready to go but there is no open space to go anymore.

“Aaron!” Lucas hurriedly said.

“I can’t find them.!”

“Just light them!”

Plan B in motion, if Elijah gets trapped, we will buy him time to get out. On their side is a glass bottle with liquid and cloth in the inside hanging to the outside. Aaron lights up using matchsticks at the ends of the cloth and gets up.

He threw it as far as he could on the horde of mutants.

Those in the ride tower immediately know what the flying item is not so far away from them.

“That stupid muscle brain!” Kiko cursed first and he put the two heads down together with him.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The explosion was so loud that it distraught the ghouls in seconds, as they regained their focus, several ghouls were already dead if not chopped.

Returning their focus on the three humans on the ride tower, they found nothing. Except two more ghouls with holes in their heads.

The nearby drone who had it’s signal disrupted for a while returned and tried zooming on an unstable connection.

“Switch to Drone 3.” Macord said.

The big screen displayed the position of Aaron and Lucas who are currently exiting that place. They went around and started running around.

“Find the other members of team 2! Display Team 1 position.”

Team 2’s window turned small in the side while another two separate screens opened. The previously hiding team 1 is cautiously looking outside at the sudden explosion.

“Where did he get the bomb? Did you sell it to them?” Yuslan asked as he looked at the screen grinning. With the smoke and flame residue caught in camera.

“Sir, we retrieve the video before the explosion.”

“Play it.”

The bottle was placed near Aaron all along but if you look closely there is nothing wrong in it.

“Sir, I’ve confirmed. It’s a glass water bottle from an item store.” In cue the soldier behind the computer opened the same exact bottle that they sold to the player.

“Display all the items he bought.”

There were not many items in him. There are only two weapons, one knife and a gun with silencer, lots of ammunition, rope, first aid kit, smoke gun, and a tool box.

‘Tool box?’

“Play it back from last night.”

Another video had been rewind before they went to the watch location, they can see Lucas and others are looking for something inside the small space, once they confirmed the location of the camera, Lucas turned his back on it and from the window. The others kept blocking the camera view in subtle ways.

“Zoom in to Player 2.” As the camera looms closer in look, they can see that Lucas’ tool box and first aid kit was opened, as are some boxes of ammunition.

“Ha. Gunpowder.” Yuslan said it proudly out loud. “...He should have joined the military with that kind of knowledge. Where has such a gem been hiding all along?”

Macord on the other hand should be proud of these development since they are advancing towards a promising result but something is rubbing him in the wrong way, especially when Lucas was the last one to exit the space he turned to look at the camera as if he can see beyond that.

“Sir, We found the rest of Team 2.”

With Limping Elijah in the middle, the three of them are running as much as they could. They shook off the mutants from the other street but they know it won’t be long until they are spotted. The rumble from the other side is getting apparent.

“They’re here!” Jack said seeing Lucas and Aaron running to meet them.

Lucas seemed tired and exhausted as he was left behind by Aaron.

“W,we h,hav–” Lucas is huffing and puffing as he reached up.

“Yes, yes, rest it up.” Kiko cut him off. Aaron took Elijah to his back and they begin to jog again.

“Do you need help?” Jack offered to Lucas who can barely keep up.

“Haaa… haa.” His side is killing him. “I- I.”

*Flap flap flap

*Stab

Like a bag of blood that had been burst open, the red liquid splashed down, tainting the ground.