Chapter 2 All Alone

The intensity finally dissipates and soon fades completely. I hesitate and keep my head covered with my forearms while my knees are against my chest before slowly glancing around, thinking it may not be over. Earthquakes don’t happen in Blackfoot. Either it pissed the earth off about how shitty humans treat it, or something else is happening.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Mr. Granbury is the first to move, looking for hurt students. “Everyone, we need to move outside as quickly as possible,” he announces as he climbs over fallen bookshelves and broken ceiling particles, helping students out of the debris.

Several bloody classmates whine in pain as the teacher crosses the room, removing the bricks and drywall from them. The fire department rushes in, grabs the wounded, and ushers the rest outside to safety. They escort those with no injuries into the hall, where the gym is now a giant sinkhole.

Firefighters and police scurry around, taking the injured towards waiting ambulances. My first thought is of my brother. Then Jay crosses my mind.

Oh my God, they both had gym during their first period.

I run to search for them, bolting away from my classmates.

It feels like I’ve been walking around for hours when a familiar voice calls for me across the football field, which is full of bloody students.

“Kari!” Jay shouts, relief all over his face as I turn to face him. He runs toward me, his well-sculpted biceps wrapping around me tightly as if they never want to let me go. As we pull apart, he looks me over for any injuries. “Are you okay?” He cups my jaw and turns my head from side to side.

“I’m okay,” I reassure him, noticing he had blood around his torso. “Oh God, you’re bleeding,” I frantically check his wound, but he stops me.

“It’s not mine, Kari,” His expression is hesitant.

My eyes narrow. “Whose is it then?”

Jay places both his hands on either side of my shoulders. “Listen, Sakari.” He pauses. “I tried everything I could.”

I shake his hands off me, closing my eyes. “Just fucking tell me?” I shout, waiting for his answer.

No response.

My eyes fly open. “Jay!” I scream, infuriated. He’s breaking inside, and I already know.

There’s no time to answer back. The crowd surrounding us becomes unsettled. Students shriek and run past like a tsunami towering over them.

Jay clutches onto my wrist and yanks me behind him as he darts for the forest beyond our border.

My eyes grow wide. “Jay, we can’t go out there!” I shout as he continues to pull me away. I didn’t believe the stories, but never went beyond the border. Honestly, I was too terrified to.

The urge to look behind us takes over. All I can see is zombie-like people attacking everyone they can get their blood-soaked hands on.

All the stories flood my mind.

Are the legends true? And if they are, how are they feeding in the middle of the day?

My thoughts wash away as I stumble to the forest floor, hands sliding across the damp soil.

Jay quickly returns to me, helping me off the dirt. “You okay?” He asks, out of breath while brushing me off.

Speechless, I say nothing, only stare at Jay, still in shock over the whole situation.

Is it the fangs? The night stalkers? Or even more bizarre, aliens. Why the hell did I have to wish for an alien invasion? Oh geez, am I living in the realm of magical creatures? Am I living out the Twilight series in real life?

“Kari, we have to keep moving,” Jay says, pulling me out of my thought crisis and intertwining his fingers with mine.

I accept his hand, and we run further into the forest. The more we get into the wilderness, the more I’m lost. I hope Jay knows what he is doing because my father never thought it necessary to teach me survival out here. He always thought he’d be by my side.

The crinkling of leaves catches Jay off guard. A gust of wind blows past, and Jay disappears in the blink of an eye. His hand rips from mine, almost spinning me in a complete three-sixty.

My eyes bounce frantically around the darkening forest. “JAY!” I cry out, turning in circles, searching for him. Terrified, my chest heaves, hyperventilating. I fall to the forest floor. My sobs echo the woods; fear, sadness, grief, and every emotion you can think of runs through my veins.

Is Jay alive? Did they kill him already and drink his blood? Or did they turn him into one of those zombie freaks?

“No,” I say aloud, forcing myself to refocus and get to my feet, darting off into the icy darkness alone, searching for a safe place.

Running through the forest, I’m unsure where I’m going and alone. If I am going to survive, I must be strong and get it through my head that everyone I once knew was probably dead, including my entire family and best friend.

As I trudge through the woods, it feels like too much. My body is weak, and I stop mid-walk. My breath is heavy. It feels like my throat is closing shut. Oh my God, I’m never going to see them again. I think and fall to the ground again, gasping for air. The last words I said to my family were hateful and ungrateful.

“I’m a horrible person.” I sob, wrapping my arms around my torso and rocking back and forth. My entire body trembles, and my eyes ricochet around, watching for any movements. The crunch of twigs catches my attention, and I look behind me.

“Jay?” I whisper.

But nothing.

My choices are slim. It’s stay get caught or run get caught. Either way, I’m most likely a dead girl.

Having no survival skills, how will I fight off whatever supernatural shit is going on? I’m not. I’m just flat-out doomed.

But I decide if I’m going to die. It’s not going to be without a fight, so I get to my feet and rush further into the woods, pushing through the pain in my calves. I admit that I should have taken Sway up on the offer to be my trainer, but it was summer. What girl wants to spend that time working out when she can sit in her room watching Jacob try to win over Bella while munching on Doritos and ugly crying that she chose Edward?

Or is that just me?

Out of breath, I know I’m getting weaker, but I must keep pushing myself on. I can’t give up.

Rays of the sun appear via a clearing a few yards away. The spirits are guiding me to a safe place, and I race towards it. I feel relief at the edge of the clearing, like I made it. Ha, the loser is the only one to survive this ordeal. However, the spirits quickly remind me I’m still a loser. I trip over a large log that anyone would have seen if I paid attention instead of gloating in my head.

I face-plant in the dirt.

“Ugh!” I growl. “Why me?” I say, frustrated as I sit up, spitting dirt out of my mouth.

While wiping the dirt from my eyes and mouth, I see a cave and glance around for a second, realizing this may be what the spirits want me to find. I get to my feet and hurry towards the cave before another zombie asshole comes along, swooping me up, too.

As I enter the dark cave opening, I glance around. But what’s the use? It’s too dark to distinguish between a bear and a damn zombie. Sighing, I sit near the entrance to stay in the light, but man, am I thirsty from all the running, and my stomach grumbles.

Way to go, Sakari, skipping breakfast on the most important day I need. Ugh, you’re an idiot.

As my eyes search the cave, I think I can hear something trickling further in, but I’m too terrified to move. My body forces me to stand in desperate need of water, so I hesitantly walk further in. The trickle gets closer and closer, so I feel around. My hand hits the cave wall, and I stop. “It has to be close,” I say aloud, but who am I even talking to? I haven’t even been in the wilderness for two hours, and I’m already going crazy. I think as I walk, keeping my hands on the wall, feeling every crease. The sound was coming from behind me. So, I turn and slowly cross the cave floor, hoping not to trip over anything, especially if it’s alive and can eat me. Well, dead, too, I guess.

Finally, I run right into the wall, which isn’t too far. The cave can’t be vast. I feel the wall again, and cold water splatters on my hand. “YES!” I hail.

Shit, be quiet, dumbass. I scold myself. I’ll most likely get myself caught because I’m too loud.

Geez, I really need to focus.

I cup my hand under the mini waterfall, collecting enough to sip on, but soon I’ll need food, which means going back out.

How the hell did my people survive back in the day? Fuck…

I have no clue how even to hunt or fish—pissed that I should have paid attention when my father tried to teach me these things.

The dread of going back out there makes my stomach flip-flop. If there is the slightest possibility that my family is alive, I need to find them.

What if my family is all turned, and are the ones going to kill me? With my track record of being the loser, I’m sure no one would even flinch at ripping my throat out.

I shake the thoughts away as tears overwhelm me. I lie on the hard cave floor, curling into a ball to keep warm, and soon drift into a slumber.

***

My body jolts upright at the sound of howling in the distance. Fear consumes me.

Are those the night stalkers? How close are they? Oh god, can they smell me?

I quickly grab a handful of mud under the water trickling from the wall and smother it all over myself.

I can’t get caught. I must save my family.

Thinking back to my ancestors’ stories, they can smell humans, and I’m a human on their land. They have every right to kill me with the treaty still in place.

Their howls warn the pack of intruders or let them know their location. My grandmother said the Alpha was fierce, and all the other Alphas must be the same. Their kind is ruthless; they have no care for human life, only to protect their lands. The question about my great-grandfather surviving the attack by the fangs has me curious.

Would the Alpha kill me or help?

Nah, he’d probably kill me.

Realizing I was going over stupid shit in my head again, and didn’t notice the howling stops.

What did that mean? Did they find me? Are they in this very cave using their night vision?

My heart pounds against my rib cage, and I’m sure wolves can hear my heartbeat miles away.

Shit! I knew I was doomed initially, but now that death is at my doorstep, I’m not ready. I’m freaking out.

My palms sweat profusely.

I stagger to my feet and race out of the cave, hoping I don’t knock myself out by hitting a wall, but the cave entrance illuminates with light as I approach. I sprint out and run as fast as I can without looking back. Not sure where I’m even heading. I just run. Tree branches smack me in the face as I stumble through the woods back the way I came.

I run, chanting as I make my way through the thick trees. “Please don’t let me be a zombie snack,” I repeat with heavy breaths. Humor is my way of staying sane at this point. I’m going to be someone’s meal, whether it be the zombie assholes or the night stalkers. I’m just running meat to them. I wonder.

Do I look like a running steak in their heads? Like literally a piece of meat?

It’s the sunlight that gets my attention. Finally, I'm mere feet away from the very field I ran from earlier. I don’t know how, but I made it. Proud of myself, I halt at the edge of the woods, which is the borderline of our territory. Seeing as the fangs crossed onto our lands, I’m guessing the treaty is void.

Shit.

How are the fangs feeding during the day? There must be some explanation. Are the night stalkers able to turn human all the time, or are they even real? Maybe I’m just dreaming and need to pinch myself, and I’ll wake.

I’m rudely interrupted by being tackled to the ground. We tumble over each other, and soon, I’m face to face with a creature I’ve only heard of in stories. Bloodshot eyes and sharp fangs drip with blood from their last victim as their pale face stares down at me.

“Ah!” I scream.

There is no way I am strong enough to fight it off, but I’m trying my best. My hand flies up, connecting with his jaw, and he falls back slightly. Surprised by my strength, I stare, mystified. The thing comes back unfazed. “Shit,” I murmur, getting to my feet and be-line it for the school.

Zombie dude is on my heels, and it’s clearly a losing game for me. I’m no star quarterback like my brother. Looking back, it’s not just one fang. It’s now two. Frantically, I search for a hiding place, but I’m wide open. I need cover. There is no way I can make it back to my house. It’s well over a mile, so I head back toward the school.

Darting towards the now empty school, I force myself to focus as I jump over the mauled bodies of my fellow peers. Just as I thought things were looking up for me, they hit the ground harder than before. I screech to a stop and swallow hard as I look at over a dozen wolves in various colors staring back at me.

Fuck me.