Chapter 8

Luna crept from street to street watching for signs of danger. In the distance she could hear screaming. She held the knife close to her and went from shadow to shadow. She tried to slip into combat mode from her training. She spotted one of the creatures punching the glass window of a sedan. A frightened woman's head appeared a bit over the seat. In two great bounds she was upon the creature and with a vicious swing she severed its head from its body. She could feel the sinew and bones snapping as the blade traveled through its neck.

The corpse fell to the ground with a dull thud; the head rolled away still gnashing its teeth. Luna glanced inside the car briefly, and then continued on her way to the school. She would need to be careful to not wear herself out before she made it to the school. If the Gelthak had already arrived and did their damage it was sure that this planet was doomed. She could see the same scene replaying itself over and over again. The walking corpses would smash through windows or doorways intent on devouring the people that they saw.

The terrifying part was that some were welcomed into homes with open arms. She couldn't understand why they refused to defend themselves. She absently wondered if this would make their downfall that much quicker. She spotted the school and could see many smashed windows and broken doors. She would need to be careful inside. Being cornered would mean David would have to come find her once she died to revive her. She refused to allow that to happen. She crept inside, attempting to avoid the broken glass strewn about. She was unsure where Beth was hiding other than in a small closet. She assumed it wouldn't be that difficult to locate.

Luna came to the corner of the gate and glanced around it quickly. The cool brick pathway extended beyond the entrance. She opted to skip searching the administration building, because it was unlikely that Beth would be there. She had passed the gateway into a courtyard. She was walking along the brick path when she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. Quickly she ducked for cover as two students walked towards the gym. She kept her eye on them and noticed that they were walking a bit too stiffly to still be alive. She couldn't see what wounds had done them in, but she knew it was a fact.

Leaving the shadow of the tree she made her way through one of the school corridors. The grey floor and whitewashed floors were a stark contrast to the splatters of blood she found here and there. There were no bodies to be seen. She idly spun the knife's handle in her palm, feeling her whole body tense and release.

Luna peered into one of the open classroom doors. The horror inside was startling. Several of the students were devouring their former friends, the cold sucking sound they made as they swallowed the gory treats made her flesh crawl. She crawled past the doorway and kept low to the ground until she made it past the end of the corridor. Luna peeked in both directions from the intersection she now came upon. She could see one of them slamming their fists into a small door. The meaty thuds were slowly but surely wearing the door down. Another 5 minutes and the door would come off its hinges.

Luna started to leave the corridor and headed towards the closet when she heard more shuffling coming from further down the hallway. She moved back to hide herself from view.

There were at least 4 more of them now. They seemed to be excited by the pounding that the first one was doing. What she found to be strange was that they seemed to be moving together and hunting in a pack. She knew this information was vital to their survival.

<Master, can you hear me?>

<Yes Luna, what's happening at the school?>

<Listen Master, I need you to turn off all the lights in the house and stay out of sight until I return. They are here and in full force. I have seen them working together which frightens me. Please stay safe till I can return. I will be able to get to Beth soon.>

<Ok Luna, stay safe.>

Luna tightened her grip on the knife and thought about how she would proceed. The group now banging on the door was sure to attract more attention to them so she would need to act fast. She moved silently behind the one furthest from the group and gently pressed the blade through the underside of its skull. The creature went slack in her hands and she laid it down on the ground. She used the same maneuver again; the soft crying coming from the closet seemed to keep them occupied. She had three more in front of her but the pounding had increased. She decided it was now or never and sprinted towards the group.

One of them had heard her movement and turned around, only to get an eyeful of her stainless steel blade as it passed into his brain. The rest of the group saw their fallen comrade hit the ground and their attacker. They made a choked gurgling sound and reached for her. They moved far too stiffly for them to catch her that way. The one on the left threw its body forward with teeth barred. She dropped her elbow into its skull forcing the creature down with her full weight behind it. There was a satisfying crunching sound as they landed on the ground.

The creature at the doorway continued to pound on the door, its hinges finally giving out. She heard a startled shriek from behind the door as the creature tried to push its way inside. Luna dispatched the last of the pack with a well placed knife throw. Luna grabbed the one in the doorway who was still struggling with the shards of broken door. She threw it backwards with all her might and was satisfied when she heard the popping sound. The head lay at an odd angle, the neck was clearly snapped.

Luna cautiously looked inside the dark closet and saw Beth huddled in the corner.

"Come with me Beth, my Master sent me to retrieve you."

Beth looked a bit shell shocked and simply nodded her head. Beth climbed over the broken doorway just in time to see more of the corpses walking around the hallway that Luna came from. Luna knew that a roomful of those things would be too much for them to handle without more weapons. She quickly retrieved the knife from the skull she had thrown it into. Taking Beth's hand Luna led her out away from the carnage. They ran along the hallway until they found the double doors that led outside. The sunlight streamed into the building as they made their way to the street. There was a commotion near the gym where almost 60 of those things were trying to get inside the building. They slammed into the doors and walls over and over again, making them creak and buckle.

The door gave way to the hoard outside and screams could be heard from within the building. Beth made a move as to help the people but Luna yanked her back. Beth started to protest but Luna simply covered her mouth and hid both of them behind a low hedge. From the doorway they had been standing in came the rest of the classroom Luna had witnessed. The blood around their mouth was quickly drying. Some of them had great gashes in their body, while others were missing hunks of flesh from all over them.

They were attracted to the noise coming from the gym and quickly lost interest in Beth and Luna. The gruesome march continued and the screaming intensified only to be silenced less than a minute later. Luna led Beth along the outside of the school fence and used cover whenever possible. They made their way back to David's house with Luna only having to dispatch a few of the creatures along the way. When they arrived the house was completely dark and no noise came from within.

Luna ushered Beth up to the house and they went inside. Luna left Beth to explain the situation to the family as she stepped back outside. She was going to make a quick sweep to see if the area was clear for now. The sun was starting to set and it gave the landscape an eerie glow. Luna had seen no movement in the front of the houses but she kept hearing that telltale banging noise that the creatures made. She slipped around the neighbor's car and made her way down three houses. There was nobody at the front door so she crept around the back. To her ears it sounded as if someone was punching a glass window. When she reached the back she expected to see one of those things trying to force its way in. To her dismay it was someone trying to force their way out.

A little girl wearing a cute yellow flower printed sundress. She would be a real looker when she grew up. Well, that would be the case if she hadn't died earlier that day. She was missing one of her hands but that didn't stop her from banging away on the sliding glass door. The glass had shown cracks in it from the repeated hits and Luna knew she had to take care of this before it made even more noise. It would draw those things from all around the area if the glass broke. Luna steeled her nerves and flung the door open. The small girl looked at her with teeth barred and lunged at her. With one smooth motion she sliced the girl's head in twain. The force of her swing causing the blood to splatter the sliding glass door she had just opened. The tiny girl's body crumpled to a heap and remained still.