the bones in my body tweaking uncontrollably. I fell against the wall, next to Shanna in agonizing pain. This man, he was the real deal, a real genuine cold, blooded criminal. I felt shaken apart for a couple of seconds, as I slowly stood up, and lined myself with the others. There were six prisoners inside this hidden compartment, all bearing sinister and evil looks on their faces. The prisoners were a combination of men and women, and most of them were roughly my age. What was even more shocking was that their shackles were still on, and were still restricting half of their movements.
“Man, I can’t wait any longer,” one of the male prisoners shrugged, walking up to us, salivating like a rabid hyena. “I want her, no, I want her.”
His eyes were darting in a creepy way as he studied the women in the most disturbing manner. When he moved closer to Shanna, she almost kicked him, but he moved away quickly without getting so much as a scratch.
“You missed me,” the strange man commented, making funny faces at her, with his hands raised.
“What do we do now,” I asked Shanna, moving a few inches towards her, my eyes rotating from left to right.
Despite outnumbering them, despite being free from shackles, there was no way we could take on these hardened criminals in a physical confrontation. They lived for that stuff, and we were just civilians, for crying out loud. Leaning slightly to the left, I leaned closer to Shanna, trying to intimidate her aggressor from getting too close. I really had no idea what I was doing, or why I was even doing this risky move. I mean, I was not brave or anything—just a wimp in most cases.
“Well, look at this,” the creepy guy grinned, looking at his comrades. “He wants to protect his little girlfriend.”
“She is not my girlfriend, you weird creep,” I rattled at him, clenching my left fist tightly.
“Then why are you getting so angry,” the weird guy laughed, looking around, his right hand raised. “Do you want to rip me to shreds?”
“Don’t get so worked up about it,” Shanna nudged me, shaking her head in disapproval. “Try to know your enemy first, Den, before you run your mouth. These are not your average convicts; they are something else, something beyond help and understanding.”
“Whose bright idea was it to transport a group of convicts during a monster invasion,” I whispered back, hoping none of them caught my sarcasm.
“So we have a comedian in our midst, huh?” a lady prisoner overheard me, and approached quickly. “Please say something else funny.”
This lady, I thought—there was something distasteful and horrible about her. Unlike the other prisoners, she had more binds on her hands, and legs. She had tan skin, long dark hair, with red lashes, and lean physique. As she approached, she motioned her head left, checking all the captives with an evil intent.
“Be careful,” Shanna said, glancing away from her. “That’s Sarah Clawe, she is very dangerous.”
Upon hearing that name, my heart raced out of control, as I felt fear. Back in the day, the lady was wanted in all providences in the world for her gruesome acts. She was a cold-blooded spree killer, and the worst of them all. When I saw her on the news, I didn’t think much about it, since I sort of had other things to worry about. But right now, I wish I had. She moved closer and stopped, looking at me straight in the eye.
“Say another joke,” she whispered, her mouth close to my left ear. “Say something funny right now or I will cut your legs off.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I trembled, suddenly feeling the compartment shake softly beneath my feet.
I heard an odd noise, coming from all directions outside the hidden room. The reinforced steel, embedded inside this place, intensified the noise greatly.
“I said, make me laugh,” she roared. “I want you to tell me a joke, now.”
“Okay, crazy lady,” I moved away from her as she reached for my neck. “I don’t really like to tell jokes, especially with some sick psychos breathing down my neck.”
Oh crap! I really had a tendency of saying stupid stuff when I was under pressure—a weakness that could become my undoing. I shifted my weight between my feet, edging further away from her. While I did that, I saw all of the convicts lock on me. They were silent, unnerved by my rude words, their body movements remaining steady. The air in the room was getting very cold and stale. What was this maddening sensation I was feeling all around me? This bloodlust sensation was manifesting from all of the convicts, creating this abyss-like atmosphere. I was really pushing my luck, and I needed to shut my mouth, before I made things worse.
“So you don’t want to tell me a joke, then?” she asked, popping her knuckles with aching wrath.
“We should move back now,” one of the convicts said, taking a few steps back. “I don’t think you want to get involved in that.”
“Yeah, you are right,” the others agreed, giving her enough space to go wild.
She stretched her fists, moving her legs apart—her eyes cold and hollow. Before any of us could react, especially me, she bolted like a wild animal, extending her cuffed arms to reach for my neck. I moved out of the way, just in time to see her make another attempt at the unsuspecting Shanna. She reached for Shanna’s neck, her bound hands extending outwards for her. Her hands clutched onto her throat, her fingernails digging into her skin.
“No, don’t,” one of Shanna’s comrades yelled, rushing to assist her. “I won’t let you.”
The man reached for his left ankle, pulling out a small portable pistol, and pointing it at the crazy killer lady. He aimed carefully, moving into her blind side, his back facing the other criminals. That was his mistake—it was opening these criminals would surely take advantage off.
“I said stop,” he screamed, shooting the gun into the wall, a few inches from her. “If you move, then the next one will hit you in the head.”
Sarah stopped, letting go of Shanna’s neck, small specks of blood staining her long fingernails. Turning around, she faced the man, her eyes still as cold and lifeless as before. She began to smile, like she was enjoying this horrific situation. The other criminals began to move closer, too, bearing the same stupid evil grins.
“You know what,” the creepy guy spoke, moving in even closer. “I want him as my first victim, so everyone stand back.”
“Okay, Maxx, he is all yours,” Sarah responded, turning her back to face Shanna again. “Just try not to leave a bloody mess.”
“I said shut up,” the man holding the gun said, rotating his gun left and right, threatening to shoot the convicts.
I was no gun expert or anything, but from looking at the size of his gun, I would say he had three more shots left. Provided he was a great shooter, that is. Please forgive me—when I am under stress, my mind tended to warp into another dream like state, in which I would just zone out and think of things unrelated and completely redundant. I know that one day that blunder would be also my undoing, but it was a habit I couldn’t just kick out.
The walls began to shake furiously, the floor beneath our feet starting to vibrate in resonance. Something bad was happening around us. Everyone fell to the ground as the left wall began to rip open; a large blue claw appearing through tearing. It looked like the monster was back for us. Maxx, the creep guy, jumped back to his feet and made his way towards his unsuspecting prey. He sprung both of his hands at the man, forcing the small gun out of his hands. They both wrestled for the gun, rolling each other onto the ground with brutal force. Maxx punched the man in the head, before wrapping his metal shackles around his neck, ready to deliver the final strike. The monster finally broke through, roaring with rage. It charged halfway through the metal wall before some other unknown force pulled it out, from the other side. Just what was happening?
I moved forward, supporting myself by placing my hand against the wall, hoping to stop Maxx before he took the man’s life. Everyone began to panic, scurrying off to the other side of the wall, far away from the hole made by the uninvited monster. My stomach tightened, my mind feeling blank, as
I reached down and punched Maxx in the head. This was the first time I had ever punched another person, so I was really freaking out.
Maxx released his hand from the unconscious man and stood up, rotating his head slowly to face me.
He bore a face filled with anger, his hatred for me causing his hands to shake tremendously. In an instant, he punched me in the jaw, sending me aching to the ground. Extraordinary pain filled my head, the throbbing making my whole body shake. Blood came out of my mouth and nose. I had never felt this sensation before; it was like I was finally waking up to the harsh violence of reality.
”Wait your turn, kid,” he mumbled, kicking me twice in the stomach. “Everyone will get what’s coming to them soon.”
A sudden surge of desperation caused my heart to race out of control—my mind blanking out. I pulled myself to my knees, jumping at Maxx with everything I had. Pushing him to the ground, I punched him hard in the face and in the chest, not giving him any break in-betweens. The ground shook again, knocking me off Maxx’s back. Two armored soldiers appeared, with military assault rifles half-raised, yelling at us to follow them.
“Everyone, we have to hurry now before the monster arrives,” the man, in the yellow stripped battle armor, raised his voice even louder, pointing his gun at the convicts. “Go through that hole, we’ll hold the