BroccoliRiceTofu on Nostr: THE REUNION OF DARKNESS Chapter XVII. As they begin to head back, they stay in ...

THE REUNION OF DARKNESS
Chapter XVII.
As they begin to head back, they stay in formation, making sure to cover each other’s blind spots as they walk. This time, they were going slower and more direct, as they used the houses to shield them. They knew that the sound of the previous action would be noticeable, and were preparing to engage more officers.
Outside, things were taking an even darker turn, as they came around the corner they saw 2 kids that had somehow been able to survive this far. They were about 300 yards away, and they knew they had to head their way. They passed the first garage, and turned back towards the house and followed the path. As they came around the second garage, Chesty raised his fist to have the team stop.
When they were able to get a better idea of what they were seeing, they noticed that these children were already past the point of saving. The boy was gnawing on a bird that had fallen from the sky, and the blood dripped down his chin. The little girl next to him was spinning in circles as she laughed and looked up to the sky. Her neck was bent to the left, and her fully black eyes were fixated on the sky. The boy’s legs were shaking as he looked at the group in front of them, but he could not react. The boy was clearly trapped inside the prison that his body had created for himself. Not knowing how to react, or out of mercy, they threw the children some bars and soda, and decided to carry on their way without stopping.
Around the next block, they see a few spots where houses had fully burned down. They chose to use the cars along the street for cover instead. As they would pass the cars, they stopped to steal the fuel, and used one of the water containers that they had emptied out, to fill up. With each stop, the minutes to siphon the fuel felt like hours. Exposed on the side of the street, with no visibility, created tension and fear beyond what any of them had experienced. Finally they made their way back to the house.
As they came in, they could barely walk forward, as the dread of telling her what had happened to her husband took them all by surprise. Trying to speak, their voices got caught in their throats, and only a whimper could be heard, until the next would try. Finally they were able to get the words together. The group huddled together on their knees and cried collectively, for they knew that this could have been anyone of them.
It was getting closer to the evening time, and yet time felt pointless as the hours passed in darkness. All they could do was sit together at the table, with blank stares into each other’s eyes. No one knew what was happening, they were all trying to piece together events, and make sense of it all. It would be the second night, and as the candle starts to fade away as it gets smaller, they realize this night would be no better than the one before it. They would have a reunion with the darkness that now haunted their every move.
The things they knew from their lives were all gone. Money was no longer useful. Kids would no longer have their innocence. Families were forever destroyed.
As they sat, they started to share their feelings with each other. The fears of how many had passed away, and the thoughts of the conditions of those that had survived filled their heads like a dark cloud. As they get prepared to sleep, and take turns watching guard for the night, the only thing that mattered to them was the children. They placed the kids in the sleeping bags, and pushed them all together in the middle of the room. The adults laid down around them, protecting them, and keeping them sheltered and warm.
As Buckley closed his eyes to sleep, he would twitch. His body was exhausted. But as he closed his eyes once more, the twitching felt worse. As he finally began to fall asleep, his head and neck started to shift violently, waking him back up. The pain he had jumped through his spine and woke him back up. He sat up, looked around, everyone else was asleep, even the one guarding the door. As he tried to scream out for help, he couldn't breathe. His head snaps back as he tries to gasp for air. His blue eyes slowly lose color as he takes a gulp of air. He lays back down, lays his hands across his sleeping wife and closes his eyes again.

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The End… or is it