Chapter 5: First Blood

Ten hours had passed since Asher and Sarah had left their home. Asher and Sarah determined that their home would no longer be a safe place to stay as soon as homes near them started being broken into. While their home would be seen as quite plain and unassuming anywhere else, in the Boundary it stood out in comparison to most others. Asher also just did not like the idea of staying in one place and figured their chances were much higher if they moved around and actively avoided coming into contact with others.

 The Boundary was in disarray with people hunting others down mercilessly, trying to reach the population goal and they were succeeding. In just ten hours more than six hundred thousand people had been wiped out and the number was steadily increasing as time passed. The Boundary had become a kill zone where no one was safe. People were so afraid of whatever that thing was that had appeared that they would rather murder anyone in sight than have it come back. Asher and Sarah were avoiding any conflict and instead chose to hide, moving between buildings and hiding in alleyways. They had managed to evade all those out hunting others but they were both growing tired from the hours they'd been moving from place to place, never allowing themselves to stay in one place for long. They had a few close calls but managed to slip away unseen. 

"I'm exhausted." Asher sighed as he and his mother were hiding in a back alley behind two bins. 

"This is what you get for never doing any exercise you know." Sarah whispered sarcastically. As she turned and grinned at him. 

Asher could not help but chuckle. Somehow even with everything going on she was still able to make jokes and jabs. He was thankful though, he would have been more worried if his mother was not messing with him. That was how they had always been around each other for the most part since he could remember and in this hell they currently found themselves in it was one of the few familiar things they could hold on to. 

A small group of men and women carrying bats, knives and various other blunt and sharp instruments passed by. Asher and Sarah began to relax as the group had not noticed them. A lot of people had started to form small groups to protect themselves from others. Asher understood why people would join into groups, there was definitely strength in numbers and people were less likely to attack a group of people than an individual. Still even knowing this he could not bring himself to trust anyone enough to consider joining one. He had always been distrustful of others since he was a kid and that was not going to change now, no if anything now he was just more wary of others than he had ever been. 

Asher and Sarah continued slipping through alleys and avoiding any place where they could hear people for another few hours until finally they reached a seemingly quiet street. They found an unassuming house and approached it. Asher put his hand on the door handle, he looked at Sarah who nodded and then he slowly opened the door. They entered quietly just in case anyone was inside but to their glee no one was home. Sarah closed the door behind them and Asher grabbed a chair and put it up against the door. They both began looking around the house for any food and found several packs of protein gel. Asher never thought a day would come where he would actually be thrilled to see the grey goop. Asher had been hungry but never like this, a mix of fear and fatigue from the transpiring events had made him ravenously hungry. 

Sitting down at the table both Sarah and Asher greedily ate the packets of protein gel. After they were done they sat back and relaxed allowing their battered minds and bodies some time to rest. 

"Ash you should sleep, you haven't slept in over twenty four hours by now." Sarah said warmly. 

Asher looked at her and shook his head. "No I can't, we don't know what could happen out there, plus you have been awake just as long as I have." He replied.

Sarah frowned. "We need to sleep at some stage, we won't be able to move about as swiftly in future if we are too exhausted, plus I'd rather not fall asleep while running away from others." 

Asher gave her a curious look and laughed. 

"What are you laughing at? Can you imagine how embarrassing it'd be for me if I died because I fell asleep in the middle of a get away." Sarah said sarcastically. 

"Fine, fine I get it." Asher said, rolling his eyes. "We can sleep in shifts. You can sleep first since I'm obviously the more capable of the two of us." 

Sarah smiled warmly. "Well if you say so Mr capable." 

With that Sarah went to the room to go get some rest but not before giving Asher a wink and a thumbs up. Asher sighed, amazed at how well she was seeming to cope with the situation. Sure he had been joking back with her but deep down he was a mess both physically and mentally. He was drained beyond belief and started regretting to volunteer to keep watch first. Resigning himself to his fate Asher sits down on the wooden chair keeping his eyes locked on the door. After about three hours Asher realised they had never even discussed how long each one of them would rest for. Thinking about when he should wake his mother he was startled when he began to hear voices coming from outside. He listened carefully and could hear two voices getting closer. His heart began to beat a little bit faster and he went to the kitchen and grabbed a large knife from the drawer. As he turned back to the door he noticed that the voices had stopped, he glanced over at the window which looked into the alley beside the house. No one was there. Then the door moved slightly, stopped by the chair he had put there earlier. Asher turned back to look at the door which was still moving as someone tried to open it from outside. 

"Hello? Hello, is anyone home?" A raspy voice asked from outside the door. 

Oh fuck… 

Asher stood in silence unsure of what to do, he began slowly making his way back towards the room his mother was in. He was going to wake her up and try to sneak away, however before he did out of the corner of his eye he noticed something at the window to the alley, but before he could react he was struck in the head by something. He stumbled grabbing onto the kitchen table to support himself, he felt dizzy as he looked down at the ground trying to orient himself. A rock lay on the floor with a bit of blood on it, and just as he realised what had happened he felt drops of blood dripping from his head. 

Before he had any time to react the door flew open, the chair being pushed aside, there a large bald man stood with a bat in his hand. Asher yelled out to Sarah to wake up but the man had already barrelled towards him swinging the bat. Asher ducked down narrowly avoiding the strike, looking up he saw the man was swung at him again but Asher twisted his body avoiding the strike causing the bat to crash into the ground. Asher lunged at the man with the knife but before he could reach him he was struck in the head by another rock dazing him. The man from the window had circled back to the front door. Before Asher could react the large man kicked him in the chest sending him crashing into the wall and winding him. Asher yelped from the pain of the blow, as well as trying to catch his breath, however before he could he had a bat pressed against his forehead. 

"You little shit you almost got me there!" The large man angrily shouted. He was not exactly tall but was well built and carried a lot of extra weight which was rare for someone in the Boundary. He was bald and had dark eyes. The other man coming into view of Asher was tall and skinny, having a gaunt looking face and black hair. 

"Nice we got him boss." The gaunt man said. 

The large man turned looking at him with disgust. "This little fucker almost stabbed me because you were to slow to get around here." He said angrily. 

The gaunt man had a frightened look on his face and began apologising profusely. 

"Now, is anyone else here with you?" The large man asked Asher. 

Asher looked up at him, his vision blurry. He shook his head.

"Oh yeah, is that right? Then who was it you yelled out to earlier?" The large man asked with a sinister smile forming on his face. "Might it be a woman perhaps?" 

Asher did not say a word and just shook his head again. 

Unsatisfied, the man punched Asher in the ribs, causing Asher to cry out in pain. "Your gonna answer me or I'm gonna break every bone in that scrawny body of yours you little fuck." 

Asher was glancing around his feet seeing if he could see the knife he had but it was just out of his reach. Grimacing to himself he was trying to think of what to do. 

"Kenny give me that other rock you got, I'm gonna start shattering this guy's hands until he answers me." The man said, not taking his eyes of Asher, but there was no reply. Confused, the man glanced over to where the gaunt man had stood and there was Sarah standing behind him with a knife plunged into the man's throat, covering his mouth with her hand. The large was shocked for a moment but quickly composed himself ready to attack Sarah, but a second was all Asher had needed. Asher kicked the man as hard as he could in the kneecap, feeling it pop, the man cried out as he collapsed onto the ground. Just as soon as he had hit the ground Asher was on top of him. Asher grabbed the knife that lay on the ground, looked into the eyes of the man who just a moment ago was filled with malice now replaced by fear. Asher plunged the knife into the man's chest before the man could utter a word. A gasp left his mouth as the blade pierced into his lungs, but Asher continued ripping the knife out and stabbing him again and again ignoring the man's cries until eventually they stopped. 

Asher was covered in blood, his clothes stained dark red. He was in rough shape, his head had a gash from the first rock that had hit him and he still felt dizzy and winded. Asher hardly paid any attention to his state as the adrenaline coursing through him made him feel numb to it. After a few seconds of looking at the man he had just killed he looked up to where Sarah was, who was no less bloody than he. They both looked at each other for a few moments in silence before Sarah said "We should go."