Escape [Ch. 6]

The Bird has landed on the opposite side of the wall. It was so big, that it was able to look at everyone on the otherside of the wall. The trees swayed and creaked, the leaves rustling. Smaller birds vacated their nests, all fleeing the area in mass numbers. A large black feather from the Bird had fallen off, fluttering down onto the ground inside the camp.

Joseph and Talen were frozen in fear. They couldn't take their eyes off of it as it rested on the otherside of the wall. It open its beak, then closing it with brute force. Talen jumped, then backing up into Fred; who was standing behind him. Some people ran back into their small cabins, taking shelter inside and away from the Bird mutant. Only a few people stayed outside to witness it up close.

"You two," Mike said, "you need to leave."

Joseph and Talen both rapidly turned their heads, looking over at Mike, Fred, and Bernard. They were at a loss for words, mumbling quietly and faintly. The wind gusts lessened, Bernard hearing a loud snapping sound coming from above. SNAP!

Everyone looked up into the towering trees above them. A chunk of a thick branch came tumbling down, slamming into the ground with immense force; breaking into smaller pieces. It had only landed a few feet away from where Joseph and Talen were standing.

Their hearts were pounding rapidly. Beating any faster and it would fly right out of their chests. People acted quickly to gather their weapons. Torches, slingshots, molotov's, bombs, and makeshift catapults that could throw large rocks high into the air. It worth mentioning that catapults are proven to be more inaccurate than credited for. But it was something that would be put to use in this case.

A woman had emerged from behind Mike's tent. A hood was draped down, covering up the top half of her face. Strapped behind her back was a quiver full of arrows, carrying a bow in her right hand. As she got closer, Joseph and Talen took note of a katana and four grenades dangling from her belt. In its holster was a silver gun.

"Stand your ground, fire on my word!" Mike shouted as he turned to his right to look over at Joseph and Talen. They looked back at him, able to see the fear in his eyes.

"No need for violence," the Red Man shouted from the other side of the wall. His voice was just barely muted. But everyone was still able to hear him talking. "I've come to bargain."

There was a brief pause in between that statement and what he was going to say next. Everyone remained quiet. The leaves still rustled and the trees still creaked and groaned. Something seemed off. Without the light from the moon, it made seeing anything up in the trees almost impossible. Unlike everyone else, Bernard focused his attention upwards.

The woman walked up to them, pulling back her hood. She shook her head, her blonde hair whipping back and forth. His mutant Bird was far bigger than him, dwarfing him size and making him seem like an ant. He was petting the head of the Bird as he spoke.

"Surrender Joseph and Talen, and I'll let you live. Don't…well…."

"Name's Amber," she introduced herself.

"Joseph."

"Talen."

Fred and Mike glanced over at her. She looked over at them. "Go with her," Mike demanded, "she'll keep you two safe."

"We can't–we can't just leave," Joseph remarked, "what about that?" He continued, pointing to his right at the Bird. Mike sighed with frustration while shaking his head.

"It's not safe," Mike said, "just go–."

Then, an arm descended downward towards Bernard. The skin was a pale grey. This was nothing close to being a realistic arm, no. Its hand was stitched to its wrist and forearm.

Amber grabbed their hands and yanked them. The guys were now leaving against their wishes. Sure they were frightened, but they wanted to help. By doing so, they'd repay their debt. Mike didn't have to take them in, but he did. So much for doing that, right?

"Fire!" Mike shouted. Amber grabbed Joseph and Talen's arms.

Joseph and Talen followed close behind Amber as she led the way. Looking back over his shoulder, Talen the Bird descending towards the ground. It was flapping its wings so it could land.

"We need to go back," Joseph shouted. He had forgotten all about Eric. They couldn't just leave him behind. After everything, he's done for them. Saving him would repay their debt.

"No!" Amber said, "getting you somewhere safe is my only priority."

Joseph glanced over to his left at Talen. Amber had run up to the wall, lifting an oakwood plank. That's what prevents mutants from getting into the camp. It couldn't permanently keep the mutants out, but it was a measure that would slow them down.

This way out wasn't the ideal way of fleeing the camp. About ten feet under the camp, a tunnel was dug out. It had two purposes. One: it could be used as an escape route. Two: it could be utilized as a faster way to and from camp. It was mainly used for transporting supplies though.

"Where are we going?" Joseph asked.

"The beach," Amber answered. "That's where our transport awaits!"

The further away they got from the camp, the closer to the beach they got. The sky had cleared up. The fog had stuck around, becoming denser as they progressed towards the beach.

"Come on, we're almost there," Amber shouted.

Suddenly, Amber slowed down; coming to a full stop. Joseph and Talen did the same. Spotting something strange up ahead, she stopped running abruptly. Due to the fog, it was difficult to make out what it was that she was seeing. Amber assumed it was just the shadows of trees.

High-pitched giggling sounds suddenly spooked Joseph and Talen; Amber not so much. Quickly and quietly, she pulled her gun out from behind her. Pulling a small lever back, she cocked the gun. All she had to do now was shoot. But shoot at what, you ask?

"Huddle up," Amber whispered. They did just that.

Then… the giggling noises started again. The tone sounded deeper than the other one. Amber slowly tilted her head back, looking upwards into the trees. Joseph and Talen saw this and did the same. She pointed with her right hand finger.

"There!" Amber whispered; Joseph and Talen both looking up at where she was pointing. They looked but didn't see anything. That doesn't mean, however, that they didn't hear what she had seen. Out of nowhere, dropped two Albino cannibals. One being female, and the other being male. The male one was holding a glass pure alcohol bottle in his hand with a piece of cloth sticking out the top of it. The female was carrying a torch.

Joseph and Talen both slowly started backing away, but bumped into Amber. She shoved them out of the way as she reached behind her to grab her gun. The male cannibal turned to his side, looking over at his companion. Just as Amber aimed her gun and placed her finger on the trigger, the male quickly looked back over at her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he mumbled.

Amber took her finger off the trigger, tilting her head slightly. Joseph and Talen were confused. Why wasn't she shooting them? They'd be dead by this point. They bickered and shouted.

"Shut up!" The male cannibal said, "we're on–."

"Watch out!" The female cannibal said as she quickly leaped back. A skinnier, dirtier cannibal screamed as he swung his stick around.

Joseph and Talen yelped in unison, like frightened children would've when spooked. He tossed the alcohol bottle over to his female companion. She just barely caught the bottle, almost dropping it.

Amber took note of the man's back. Sweat was running down his back. As it did, she tilted her head slightly. She noticed something that the others didn't.

Instead of the man's skin color being gray, it was a completely different color underneath. Was this really a cannibal? No, he wasn't. She figured that out almost instantly.

"Who are you?" Amber asked.

Cannibals weren't supposed to talk or speak full sentences. Their limited capabilities prevented them from being able to do that. They weren't as smart as you might've assumed they were. Even though they can defend themselves and fight, they weren't that smart.

The man, posing as an albino cannibal, stopped smashing the other cannibals head on his knee. Once that was done, he let go of its head. THUD! Like many of the others, they were completely naked; from head to toe. Upon turning around Amber quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Joseph and Talen held their arms up over their eyes.

"Haven't you heard of pants?" Talen asked.

"Pants?" The man laughed, "have I heard of pants? Of course–," he was saying as a grabbed the back of his head. The woman dropped the bottle of alcohol, looking over to her left. Hiding in the shadows of eternal darkness, something was breathing heavily. In and out, in and out. Huffing and puffing.

Joseph and Talen jumped by the sudden spoof. That was unexpected. The suddenness was what scared them. As the hand then yanked the man onto his back, dragging him backwards into the darkness.

"OMG, OMG, OMG!" Talen cried out as he grabbed Joseph's hand without even noticing he did. Joseph looked at him, yanking his hand free.

AHHH, the man screamed. It was short and brief. Before he could finish begging for mercy, loud cracking and crunching sounds were heard. THUD! Another cannibal had landed on the ground, jumping down from the tree he was in. He giggled and laughed and screamed at them.

"Stitches," it mumbled, followed by another giggle.

Leaves rustled and twigs and branches snapped. The woman looked over to her right at everyone else.

"Run!" She demanded.

.She along with Amber, Joseph, and Talen all began running towards the beach again.Turning around and looking over her shoulder, Amber saw the hand grab the leg of the woman. She tumbled onto her stomach. OOF! As the hand began dragging her backward, she signaled to the others to keep going.

"Don't stop, don't look back!" She pleaded.

Screaming, she then disappeared into the darkness. Amber turned back around, looking forward. Joseph and Talen were running a short distance ahead of her. Upon racing the beach, Joseph and Talen had to slide down a steeply-sloped hillside. That was the only way down to the beach. Joseph and Talen hesitated for a moment, gulping as they examined the steepness of the hill. Amber kept running, not stopping. She held her hands out, pushing them both; tumbling and rolling down to the beach. Amber was sliding down on her knees.

Upon arriving down to the beach, everyone got up. Joseph and Talen brushed themselves off, stretching and groaning. They were in a small amount of pain. Their whole bodies throbbed and ached.

"Brush it off!" Amber shouted as she ran into the water. The two of them did just that.

Chasing and catching up to her, they too ran into the water. It was cold and dark. They couldn't see the bottom muchless where they were stepping. But the water was surprising shallow thanks to the many boulders. That's one way they could tell the water was shallow.

The sun was now just beginning to rise over the Northern Mountain. Joseph and Talen both looked back to see if anything was chasing them. That was something they shouldn't have done. That confirmed their suspicions. Whatever killed that man and woman back there, was coming after them too.

Standing up at the top of the hill was a skinny blacked-out figure. The bright sun was preventing them from seeing who it was that was after them. Amber jumped up out of the water and up onto the back of her boat. She rushed over to the controls, turning a single key.

The engine stuttered back to life, the propellor starting to move and churn. Turning around, she gestured to them to hurry up.

"Common!" Amber yelled.

Then a shadow caught her attention. Looking up and away from them, she stared off into the distance at the beach. She squinted her eyes.

"Get in!"

Joseph and Talen both hoisted themselves up into the boat. Both being soaking wet and cold.

WHOOSH! The Bird suddenly emerged from the forest, casting a large shadow down onto the ground. It had its wings fully spread out, and its beak wide open. Instead of its beak being orange, it was now smothered in blood. Not much could be made out from a long distance.

As it flapped its wings and began rushing down towards, Amber backed the small boat up a tiny bit.

"Get in!" She yelled.

Joseph and Talen turned around and both hoisted themselves out of the water and into the boat. But before the could fully get into the boat, she pushed the throttle all the way forward. The engine started humming as the propellor churned faster and faster. They were picking up speed quite fast, but was it fast enough?

"Shit, one of you drive," she demanded, walking away from the wheel. Grabbing her AK out from behind her back, she readied it for firing. Her aim was steady becasue of the boat rocking; side-to-side, up and down, repeat.

Talen walked over to the wheel, standing up. He put his left hand down on the throttle while keeping his other hand on the wheel. Instead of taking it easy on the controls, he pushed the throttle forward all the way. The engine began humming and the water started splashing. The boat was now on its way. But the only question now is: where are they going exactly?