30. Monsters
It had been sometime since they had all trooped into the hall, awaiting the arrival of the commander.
They stood at different angles, making small talks as they waited but there was no sign of him.
They heard the sound of iron moving from the roof, and looked up, watching in bewilderment as it was halfway from being fully removed.
Yue felt it as his palm itched, something was wrong.
He looked at the door that had been shut without anyone noticing.
He caught sight of some soldier by the window just before he shut it.
'What are they doing' he wondered as a little box fell in from the opened ceiling. They heard the sound of a little explosion, dark smoke emitting from the box, and filling up the whole room.
Yue held his breath reaching out for the windows to escape.
The windows had been sealed from the outside, and the roof was drawn back to its original position leaving them in total darkness.
"Hey, somebody, what is going on" he heard someone say as they began coughing and wheezing from the smoke they had inhaled.
He felt his eyes watering, as he struggled to keep from breathing. They were falling to the floor, one after the other, making strangled, and strange sounds like wounded animals. He could see them in the dark, everyone were groaning in pain, squeezing themselves into uncomfortable positions as they tried to withstand the urge to tear each other apart.
His vision was failing him, his brain sending signal that air was needed. He feel to the floor, inhaling it shakily, feeling relieved just before he felt his heart tug.
The others had began fighting one another, tearing each other to pieces. He saw one come for him, and he dodged it, hitting the guy with his fist.
He stood up and walked to the door, banging forcefully on it in his attempts to bring it down, when he felt the pain intensify.
It floored him, the pain driving him to a craze, as his control kept slipping away from him.
He held onto the door handle firmly, trying to fight whatever it was that had been spread into the room.
*** ***
The wind blew relentlessly, the entire place covered thickly in an endless expanse of snow, with no grass or tree in sight.
Lily and Kai held onto one another, the cold numbing their feet, as they struggled to get past it.
They trudged on the snow hopelessly and with great effort, watching their breaths, and their lips too heavy for them to speak.
They weren't the only ones here, of that they hadn't been aware of, until three days ago when they had met so many others.
They heard the sound of their heavy footsteps behind them and exhaled in relief.
"Are we really going to survive this one?" Lily asked shakily breaking the silence that had enshrouded them.
Kai nodded with certainty, but she felt her heart waver 'there was still so much snow ahead of them'