9 Chapter 6

"Wow" Jackson mumbled as he took in the sight of his kitchen.

No. No. It's not dirty, knor is it ugly. It's just that, two people decided to pig out.

"What? We were hungry!" Kyle said as he continued to eat his sandwich that looked like pure fat.

"Why does it seem like you always look like you're robbing me" Jackson mumbled as he rummaged through his fridge.

"We're friends. We're allowed to steal from you" Kyle said as he took another bite from his sandwich.

"Yeah. When you take from me it's all good. And when I ask you for a chip. One piece of chip and you act like I just stole your whole house" Jackson bitterly spat.

"It was one time. And it was my favorite" Kyle shrugged. Jackson replied with a stink eye as he took a bite off his cookie.

"The sugar's at the top left cupboard, Sheena" Jackson pointed a finger.

"Thanks" Sheena took a tablespoon and dumped it at her coffee.

"Why don't you accuse Sheena of stealing then?" Kyle jokingly glared at Jackson.

"First of all. I invited her to eat. And, I know for a fact that Sheena won't eat from someone else's kitchen before she tells them first. This girl" she pointed at Sheena "is shy as hell"

"And you two are absolutely shameless" Sheena added with a laugh.

"Hey" the twins said at the same time, earning another laugh from the girl.

"Well, you know what they say. Confidence is sexy" Kylie and Kyle comically flipped their hair at the same time.

"From where I live, Confidence and being Shameless are two different things"

"You live under a rock then, mate" Kylie finished her sandwich off with a laugh.

"Hey.. guys?" All the attention was now on Jackson who had grown quiet. He clutched his phone tightly on his hand. His face screamed fear as his eyes swept over his concerned friends.

"What's wrong?" Kyle was at his side in a second. Continuously asking what's wrong.

Instead of answering verbally, he shoved his phone at their faces and pressed play on the paused video.

-humans. A reward would be given to whoever captures all of the test subjects, alive. The humans were last seen jumping off a hospital. Trackers are now searchi-

"Shoot" Kyle had wide eyes as he stared at the paused video.

Now that the word was out, it's over.

They're exposed, vulnerable. 

"Nobody knows we're here, right?" Everyone looked at Kylie.

"I haven't been in this place ever since I was like, 12" Jackson finally moved. His muscles obeyed his every command in precision as he turned around and left the kitchen, his voice echoing inside the empty mansion.

"They probably know where we are. They're probably on their way as we speak. Pack your bags. We're leaving"

They just got here and they were already leaving. Again. It was honestly getting tiring. But no. Sheena won't give up. Not now, not ever.

She didn't have a family. Her parents weren't even her parents to begin with! So, Sheena swore she'll do anything to keep this family alive.

Her family.

She took her bags from the room she resided. She didn't spare the room one last glance as she dashed out of it.

The hallways seemed to swallow her whole. It seemed longer. And it just made her run faster until she reached the staircase.

"Sheena. Take my bag?" Jackson tossed the backpack to Sheena, who caught is effortlessly.

Jackson walked away, only to appear a few moments later with a struggling doctor in tow. Shouts and threats kept spewing out if Dr. Adler's mouth as he struggled against the ropes on his wrist and Jackson's firm grip on his arms.

"Let me go you fu-"

"Listen here doc. We don't have much time. I don't like having you, but please for the love of our lives, shut your damn mouth until we atleast get out of this house"

That made the Doctor absolutely shut his mouth until they reached Sheena's parked car.

"Sheena, you drive. I'll give you directions" Jackson tossed the now silent doctor at the back seat, who was instantly squashed by the twins.

Sheena turned on the ignition and instantly stepped on the gas. The lurched forward and instantly zoomed pass a steady speed that was way pass the speed limit.

The silent car ride continued on for a few moments. Everyone was tense. Even the Doctor seemed afraid enough to even try to escape.

Everything was going smoothly. That was until they heard popping sounds from behind them.

"Of course they have guns! Why wouldn't they!" Sheena made a sharp turn, making the 4 people beside her either yelp or groan in pain by hitting the car doors too hard.

"They couldn't be guns. How would you know?"

Sheena glared at the rear view mirror.

"I was trained since I was 5. I know a gun when I hear it" bullets zoomed pass them, breaking Sheena's window. She didn't flinch though. "Guns"

Sheena made a sharp left, barely missing a probably non human pedestrian, as she steered away from the city, and into the countryside.

"Did we loose them?" A little voice that belonged to Kylie whispered.

A sharp, warm pain blossomed on Sheena's arm. She hissed as she felt the bullet penetrate her through her broken window.

Blood instantly oozed out of her fresh wound. She let her shot arm lay limply on her side as she steered the wheel with her good hand.

"Oh my gosh! Sheena! Pull over" Kylie was already getting ready to move seats but Jackson held her back.

"Don't, Kylie. Sheena's way more experienced than any of us"

"And we can't pull over" Sheena was sounding a little breathless now. " We didn't even loose them yet"

Another bullet passed by them, breaking the windshield. Glass rained on Jackson and Sheena.

Jackson yelled as a few glasses embedded on his arms, thighs and face. Sheena didn't flinch when she felt a glass break the skin of her thigh.

She endured worse before.

"Pull over!" The doctor yelled this time. It shocked the others as the silent doctor was now screaming bloody murder.

"Didn't you hear what he sai-"

"I heard what they said" Dr. Adler snapped at Kylie, causing Kyle to glare at the doctor.

He didn't care.

"I see two bloody people in front of me. I. Am. A. Doctor. I feel like I'm letting my patients die as I sit here. Let me help"

"You can help by sitting quietly" Sheena was panting. She stepped harder on the gas, the sounds of popping were already disappearing behind them.

"You can patch us up when we find a safe place"

Eventually, Sheena parked at a secluded area in the middle of the woods. She decided that it was a good idea to go off road for a moment.

They stopped at a clear patch of ground. Trees were as tall as 10 story buildings. She turned off the ignition and slumped back on the driver's seat.

She had lost lots of blood. She could feel it. And the throbbing on her arm and thigh didn't help either.

"No. Help Sheena first" She heard Jackson beside her mumble. A few shuffling was heard, then she felt her side of the car open.

Hands carried her bridal style. She opened her eyes a little, catching a glimpse of short, brunette hair.

"Kyle" Sheena mumbled, half awake.

She heard a hum above her as she felt herself being lowered on a blanket.

"You and Kylie should set up a tent or something.. I'll be fine" Sheena was far away from okay. Kyle could tell.

"No"

"Actually, yes. I need some space to move around the patient. So, if you may" Dr. Adler dropped a bag beside Sheena-which she had no idea where he got or how he managed to pack a whole medical bag while escaping.

But he did. So once he finally shooed off a reluctant Kyle, he got to work.

He first tended to Sheena's bullet wound. Which was a lot harder than expected.

"Uh.. does anyone have a flashlight?"

Footsteps, then Sheena heard a clicking sound which she assumed was the flashlight.

"Hold it steady... Yeah, there"

Sheena bit back a groan as she felt the twizzers on her wound. A hand rubbed her hair out of her face in a comforting manner.

She opened her eyes and saw Jackson looking down at her with a small smile. His wounds were already bandaged up. Most of the bandages littered his arms, and a few on his thighs as well. Little scratches littered his face as well. Small enough that it didn't need any bandages.

"Kylie did it for me" Jackson answered the unasked question.

"Its gonna be alright. Hold my hand and squeeze it when you need to, Yeah? I couldn't find any anesthesia at the medical wing back home. I'm sorry"

Sheena smiled a little, which soon turned into a grimace as the twizzers dug deeper at her wound.

"I'm fine"

A few more groans and multiple hand squeezes later, Dr. Adler finally found the lost bullet.

"I originally don't need stitches for bullet wounds. But since I felt around a little longer, I might've damaged more tissue" Dr. Adler looked nervously at Sheena and Jackson. Who was glaring at the doctor.

"What!? It's hard to perform this kind of thing with limited resources and on the ground might I add"

"Stitches it is then" Sheena groaned.

"Good thing you lost the tail earlier, huh?" Jackson spoke as an attempt to distract Sheena from the needle that was digging on her arm.

Sheena smiled at his attempt.

"I didn't loose them. They gave up on their own" Sheena spoke, garnering the attention of the two boys.

"They could've killed us" Sheena said. "But they didn't. They were trying to make a point. And I think they have a plan. They won't kill us that easily" She looked the two in the eye,

"They'll torture us if they capture us. Slowly. Very, very Slowly" Sheena's voice turned dark.

It was silent for a moment. The stitching was done a few moments later. Her leg wound was also cleaned and bandaged neatly. The two gave her some time to rest as they helped the twins set up the fire.

They were a couple of feet away from Sheena. Far enough for her to see them because of the trees and bushes.

But near enough for them to hear her when she screams.

And it was a good thing they did.

The next thing Sheena knew, arms held tightly on her ankles. Nails dug on her flesh.

She screamed. Not because of the pain. But for them to hear her.

"SHEENA!?" She heard the bushes rustle, but she didn't see them. It was already dark and the thing that grabbed her was now pinning her to the ground. Her head was tightly pressed against the moist grass. She tried kicking her assailant, but it was quick to pin her legs.

Her injured arm throbbed. She could've escaped easily. But her injuries prevented her to.

She sighed in relief when she felt light shine on her.

"SHEENA! OH MY GOODNESS WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?"

"SHUT UP JACKSON! HELP HER!" It was now Kylie who spoke.

The thing made an inhumane sound that made everyone flinch. It screeched and rushed forward, towards the 4.

Sheena shot up immidiently. Chills ran down her spine as he saw the monster that held her to the ground a few moments ago.

It was tall. Really tall. It was about 7 feet. And it was black. It's skin was rotting, making Sheena only register the foul smell as she gagged.

It had 6 arms and no legs. It crawled on the ground like a cockroach.

"KYLE!" Sheena screeched. Or was it Kylie? All she knew was the thing aimed for Kyle, who was the closest to the ugly monster.

It dove towards Kyle with a Screech. Sheena stood up on her wobbly feet as she sprinted to save her friend.

But it was too late.

The thing ran at Kyle, making them collide with a force strong enough to knock Kyle down. They  both fell on the ground, making another scream that belonged to Kylie and Jackson rip through the air.

"KYLE!" Sheena ran towards the black blob on the ground, the sound of multiple people running followed behind her.

"No. No no no. NO!" Kylie kneeled beside Sheena as they both stared at the monster.

The thing was still moving. It's stomach going up and down as it feeded on her best friend.

"DO SOMETHING!" Jackson tried to get to the blob. He needed to save his friend! It was eating him infront of him!

"No! Don't! It's a lost cause" Everyone stilled at the Doctor's voice. The tone of his voice mirrored the emotion on his face.

He had given up.

"No. I know my twin. He's alive! I can feel It!" Kylie screeched and made an attempt to ran at the still moving monster.

"Kylie. Don't " Jackson held him back, making Kylie stagger back and fall back into Jackson's chest.

"That's my twin! Let go!" Sheena also made an attempt to attack the monster from behind, but Dr. Adler held her still.

Sheena screamed and kicked. The logical side of her brain had shut down, making her fight and cuss at the Doctor with all she has.

She fell lifelessly on the floor when she saw the monster stop moving. Everything was still. They all stood 6 feet away from the now still, and probably full monster.

"We.. we should leave" Jackson muttered. He turned around and walked slowly, he mumbled to himself in an attempt to not cry.

But it was useless.

His shoulders shook violently and hiccups and chocked sobs escaped from him.

Dr. Adler dragged Sheena and Kylie towards Jackson who waited for them. Or maybe he didn't have the strength to walk away.

But everyone knew it was the latter.

They walked away slowly. The sinking filling on Sheena's stomach made her want to throw up.

It was silent. The discarded flashlight was still shining on the ground, illuminating their path.

They were almost out if ear shot from the groaning monster, when they heard it. It was very faint given the distance between them, but they heard it.

"Guys"

In an instant, Kylie, Jakson and Sheena bolted back.

No. They could not mistake that voice.

It was Kyle. He's alive. He was alive!

And their hearing didn't fail them. They saw Kyle, covered in what looked like black blood. A knife was clutched tightly in his hand. He staggered forward a small smile on his face.

"Hey, Lee" then he slumped on the ground.

A cry. Footsteps. Then a gasp.