Cruelty

"Run!"

With a scream of horror, the hearts of the people in the church trembled. Everyone was bewildered by what was happening and looked at each other in consternation, knowing they were under attack. They immediately understood they had to leave this place as quickly as possible, and all followed Ennis toward a back door.

"Boom! Boom!"

But just as Balk, who was running at the front, was about to enter and dash down the hallway, he heard two loud bangs from both sides. A cloud of gunpowder smoke filled the air, and explosions were also heard at the main door, which had been broken down.

But how could Balk let the enemy enter at will? He couldn't let them attack without retaliating. Raising his rifle, he fired toward the church door.

"Bang Bang Bang Bang!"

"Shoot, shoot, damn it!"

Balk took cover and began leading a counterattack against those attacking them. When his eyes fixed on the hospital entrance, he saw green lasers and black figures with ballistic shields, realizing this wasn't a simple attack.

When the lasers targeted the people inside the church, bullets rained down on them, and in no time, they were being massacred. There was no comparison between the attack and the defense; no one could do anything to stop the intruders from entering the church.

"Damn it! Come on, shoot them!"

But just when Balk thought they could hold out a bit longer, he suddenly heard glass breaking and terrified screams behind him.

Balk turned his head, and the acrid smell of gasoline invaded his nostrils. He saw a raging fire igniting at the corners of the church, preventing them from escaping through the windows or doors on either side. In no time, they were surrounded by flames.

With futile resistance, Balk and the others were distracted when a flaming gasoline bottle flew through one of the windows. Before he could react, it crashed into a pile of debris they were about to climb, and the flames immediately reflected their figures.

Innumerable drops of cold sweat slid down his forehead. Balk's legs gave way, and he sat on the ground, staring at the sea of flames in front of him. If he had climbed directly through that place, he could have been burned to death by now. It wasn't just the diverse supplies that would be lost, but also his own life!

"They're at the windows, shoot! Shoot!"

Seeing that the numerous exits were blocked, the crowd soon retreated toward the back door while resisting the advance of the black figures at the church's main entrance. All the remaining vultures who hadn't escaped through the back door fired frantically in all directions.

Bang Bang Bang!

Boom!

Suddenly, gunfire intensified in the church, mixed with the horrified screams of the crowd and some cries of pain. Although the enemy was unknown and unidentifiable, they knew that if they didn't kill the figures at the door, they would eventually suffocate to death.

Some bullets were fired at the glass windows, shattering possible escape routes for the vultures. The shards of broken glass fell to the ground from above and hit the floor.

Crack.

As the crowd fired incessantly, their firearms clicked one after another, indicating they were out of bullets.

"Stop shooting! Those bastards at the entrance are making us waste all our ammunition."

As time passed, some ingenious individuals in the crowd gradually regained their senses and quickly shouted loudly to remind their comrades around them.

But just as one of them spoke, a Molotov cocktail was thrown from above, and the blazing flame instantly turned nearby people into a ball of fire, drowning out his words.

"Help me! Help me!"

"Ahh!!!"

Unimaginable pain poured into the brains of those being burned alive. Like delirious walkers, they emitted miserable and heart-wrenching groans, chasing their companions, begging and grabbing them, and pleading for salvation, but they could barely save themselves.

Trying to extinguish the fire on their companions now would only increase the casualties. The few remaining vultures couldn't take it anymore and raised their guns toward their companions as an act of mercy, killing them with a few shots.

After the first Molotov cocktail fell, more were thrown from above, landing in the open space in the center with a crackling sound.

"Move to the sides and get out through the corner door! Dodge, you damned idiots!"

However, these survivors had wandered the city all year, dealt with many fierce walkers, survived the initial apocalypse, and seen incendiary bombs thrown from above the cities. But now they weren't being attacked by mere survivors inexperienced in combat; everyone knew these people weren't civilians before walkers roamed the streets.

As time passed and more incendiary bombs were thrown to their sides, there were fewer and fewer places to escape, pushing them more toward the center of the church. The surroundings were engulfed in thick smoke from the fire, and the consciousness of several people was starting to blur, causing them to forget to keep shooting.

Everyone knew that if they couldn't escape in the next few minutes, they would all die here today.

"Damn it!"

"Cough* Cough* Cough*!"

A bald, fat man in the crowd cursed angrily, threw the empty gun from his hand, reached into his coat, and pulled out two grenades.

He looked at the grenade in his hand, and his eyes shone with pain. Originally, it was a weapon he planned to use later, but in this situation, he didn't have to fear alerting the walkers.

The man, with a choked expression, quickly looked around and fixed his gaze on the escape route—the door blocked by the fire.

He pulled the pin from the grenade and threw it toward the door, hoping to create a gap.

Boom!

The grenade landed in the pile of burning debris at the entrance, and after a loud explosion, the debris was blown aside. Although flames still blocked the way, a passage was now visible!

"Follow me!"

The man quickly ran to the carpet they had just laid on the ground, picked up several blankets that hadn't been burned by the flames, draped them over himself, and rushed toward the gap.

Those who saw his brave appearance and heard his shout a moment ago looked at the sea of flames around them and followed him without thinking.

"Ah!"

Waving the blanket in his hand, the man threw himself to one side, the burning debris in front of him opening a vigorous path.

Even if they were stepping on flames, burning the soles of their shoes and parts of their bodies, compared to their own lives, this small pain was nothing at all!

Throwing the blanket over the last wooden crate blocking the way, temporarily suppressing the flames burning on it, the man instantly became a quick and flexible guide in the face of life or death.

The people behind him closely followed him and quickly passed through the burning door, escaping the church.

"Keep running! Once we get out of the church, we can hide in the city, and there will be no problem since the walkers will be attracted by the noises here."

Just when Balk was focused on getting out of the burning church while shooting at the enemies at the church's main entrance, he felt something was wrong when he saw everyone stopping in front after passing the flames surrounding the church.

Balk instinctively looked ahead, the gun in his hand falling to the ground, and stared at those dozens of people pointing various weapons at him. To the side, Ennis was being dragged like a dog, and soon they were all loaded into a vehicle.

Under the light of the fire, a steel cable that had been kicked fell at his feet. Slowly, he raised his head, looked forward, his eyes filled with despair, and cursed:

"Shit!"

Removing his mask, the man said, "I'm Negan, friend. You know, my boss has some questions for you. That's why we captured some of your companions and why you're not dead."

Without saying anything else, Negan turned his gun and hit Balk on the head without saying another word. Bang!

"Take them away, including that young girl. You know what to do with the others!"

"Yes, sir!"

Bang Bang Bang Bang!

Amid the terrified screams of those who surrendered, many were mercilessly killed. Their bodies fell to the ground, each with a bullet between the eyes.