Nightfall Pt. 2

Nightfall Pt. 2

The forces of darkness have gathered and risen under a common flag. Humanity no longer resists, merely struggles to survive.

Daytime is the only time where it's safe to rest. There's still people to worry about but the monsters rarely venture out. She couldn't be grateful to see the dawn because it meant that she'd spent the entire night shuddering in the dark little corner she had found.



She walked back the way she came and came across the body, or what was left of it. Fresh blood like that could make monsters come out even in daylight if they were close enough. If it wasn't for the hormone injections she'd raid hospitals for, that would add another worry to her existence. She wasn't sure how other women managed. She had to find the local hospital to see if she could find anything worth raiding. First, she'd have to find a safe place to rest.

She turned a corner onto a street riddled with debris and ended up in front of a chapel. When she stepped past the entry way she couldn't help but think about the little boy she'd shot dead. It was silly but she imagined what his life would be like if he had grown up in the world that she did. She thought about the white lies he would have told his parents and about a child's impatience to grow up.

She found a tight little place up in the rafters where she could sleep and feel safe. She didn't know what it was about small spaces that made her feel safe. When she was little she would hide in the closet whenever she was afraid. She'd hid in a closet when the lights first went out. Eventually, sleep erased the thoughts from her mind and replaced them with endless darkness.

She felt sluggish. There was something wet and cold on her. It made her clothes cling to her skin and rub against it painfully. There was light, a single beam. Was she dreaming?

"Try not to fall back asleep gorgeous, you might not wake up again with that venom in your system," someone said distantly. She couldn't focus but she understood that she needed to stay awake.

Her breathing sounded rough though she was having a hard time hearing anything over the ringing in her ears. The beam of light came closer. She moved her hands, painful as it was, to keep whatever it was away.

"Come on. Don't do that. I'm going to have to give you a shot of adrenaline because we have got to move," he said.

The voice was human and she stopped struggling in momentary confusion. Why was he trying to help her? Why was he risking his life for her? She would have left him to his fate. She tried to speak but she couldn't feel her lips and tongue. If he'd injected her, as he said he would, she couldn't feel it. She could hear a sound that must have been loud but her hearing wasn't any better than her sight. He pulled her up forcibly and half-carried half-dragged her from her spot.

She didn't hear the gunshot but she saw a large inhuman figure fall from the rafters ahead of them. How he did it, she didn't know, but somehow he got them across the rafters and up onto the roof.

"Transport should be coming soon," another male voice said but she couldn't tell where it came from, "Hopefully they get here before the rest of those things. This is the biggest of the masses they've sent to the outpost. We need to find the egghead before they find our headquarters. Hold on, who's that you have there?"

"She survived the poison of a deadly imp. She must have good genes," he said.

"If the eggheads back home can't extract it we're just going to have another useless body to impose on our generosity," the other man snapped.

"I'm sure we'll find a place for her if that's the case," his voice went cold. He pulled her closer to himself.

"You're too softhearted. You can't pick up every stray we come across," he muttered but his voice was drowned out in the thunderous noise of a helicopter.

She woke to the feeling of stiff cloth against her skin. She sat up abruptly and looked around without seeing. Her hands were clenched in the cloth. She released them, slowly, as she became more aware of her surroundings. Most importantly, the fan hanging from the ceiling was turning and a dim glow slipped under the crack of a door. She pushed the linen off of herself and walked towards it.

The light was dim but after the darkness of the room it was blinding. She put up her hand to reach her eyes. It didn't help much since someone in the room hit the light switch making it brighter.

"You're awake," the voice reminded her of her mother's laughter long ago.

Her eyes adjusted enough that she could make out a man in a stiff white coat. When they finally focused fully she couldn't help but notice the pale yellow splotches here and there on the garment.

"Ah, let me get you some clothes," he said before disappearing through a door.

Looking down at herself she realized that she was absolutely naked and oddly clean. Her mind was too fuzzy to act on the idea of going back into the room to get the sheet. Even if it wasn't she wouldn't have had the time though, as the man walked back in just then with a bundle of cloth. He pushed it into her hands and went through the door again.

There was no underwear in the pile, just a pair of shorts and a thin tank top that looked two sizes too big for her. She pulled them on as quickly as her body would let her, not wanting the man to come back through that door to find her still nude. She shouldn't have worried. There were voices from somewhere beyond the door.

"I won't treat her. I don't even know how and how do we know she isn't going to turn right around and betray us to her kind?" the doctor said.

For a moment, she froze, thinking he was talking about her but that didn't make sense. The tension didn't leave her body but she was listening. She didn't come any closer to the door lest he come back through it.

"I won't have you starting a witch hunt," a rough voice said, muffled by the door.

"She's infamous among her kind for selling information to the highest bidder. We are not the highest bidder," the doctor hissed, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a patient I need to attend to.

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