Earth: Book One (Elemental Series) (6 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Day One: March 27
th
, 2020; 3:23 pm

Out of breath, Forres looked back.

No one was following them but Forres wanted to make sure. The three of them jogged into a walk, all breathing hard. “Where’s everyone? The humans? The dead? Anyone?” Ben yelled out of breath.

Zander nudged Ben to the side, making Ben’s hip bump Forres’. “Shut up,” Zander said as he does it.

Ben looked over at Forres before saying, “No one’s around. God,” he started. He shook out his hands. “I’m hyped on adrenaline. That was fun,” Forres gave him a side glare as Zander gives him a glare. “Well it was fun for me… What was in the case?”

“Don’t know,” Zander lied. He seemed like a pro at lying because Forres believed him too. She then realized he was lying.

“Oh…,” Ben scowled. “So you left it?”

“Hmm,” Zander nodded.

“Why? I thought she could open it,” Ben asked. Zander gave him a look that told him to drop it. They all faced forward as they walked into the city of lost souls or New York.

Forres reached up and touched her necklaces out of habit. She played with the four triangle necklace for a second before letting go of it and putting her hands at her side.  She felt something warm and wet on her clothing. Forres didn’t want to look down because she knew she’s just freak out. Trying to breathe normally, she entered the first clothing store she saw. The boys followed without questioning. As soon as Forres got in, she bended over breathing harder than normal. She caught a glance of her bloody clothing.

“Are you okay?” Ben asks, going to put his hand on her shoulder but stopped noticing it was her bad shoulder. The shoulder he had shot her.

“I-I’m f-fine,” Forres stuttered. Groans came, making Forres stood up.

Two zombies stood on the other side of the room: one a woman in a pink suit, and the other was a teen in punk clothing. The woman’s face was half off, making her skull be exposed. The teen just had a tear off of its neck.

Ben raised his rifle at them.

Zander pushed the tip of the rifle down to the ground, mentally telling Ben not to shoot.

The zombies started staggering to them after noticing they were humans with warm and pumping blood.

Forres noticed Ben holds the rifle like he knew what he was doing with it like Zander had. Forres wondered with unsettled thoughts of Zander and Ben working together.

Zander saw a metal pole rack. He goes over and grabbed it off, making clothing fall to the floor. He threw the pole to Ben.

Ben dropped his rifle but it only went so far because he had it on a belt that was wrapped around his shoulder. He caught the pole. Forres stood back as he swung it around like in those action movies, only Ben ended up dropping it. “Ben!” Zander barked at him.

“Sorry!” Ben exclaimed and picked it up quickly. Ben swung at the women and hit her on the head.

Brains and blood flew from her skull onto Forres. She closed her eyes trying not to get blood in them. She felt the urge to lick her bloody lips but resisted it.

“Sorry, again,” Ben muttered and put the pole into the chest of the teen. The pole exited through the teen’s back and he swerves into the wall. The pole went into the wall making a tight hole for it to stay in. Ben let go of the pole as the teen struggled to get him.

Forres grabbed a random shirt and wipes her face with it. After she took a breath and goes to the women rack. Self-consciously, she took off her shirt with her backs to the boys. She felt eyes on her as she put on a shirt as quickly as she could with a bullet wound.

But the boys weren’t watching her, they were getting change themselves.

Forres took off her pants, glancing at the guys to see if they were watching her. They weren’t, she realized. She started to put on new pants as Zander put on a new shirt and Ben took off his. Something was written on Ben’s ribs. A tattoo. Forres craned her neck to see what was written but she almost fell over in the process. She gave up and buttoned her baggy jeans. She took her new shoes and goes over the counter. Sitting on it, she changed her sneakers to running shoes, listening to the zombie growl.

When Ben was done, he goes over to Forres leaned on the counter to the left of where she was sitting on. Forres tied her shoes slowly, biting her lips. “What’s on your ribs?” Forres blurted out the question that was on her mind as if she couldn’t help it.

Ben turned to her, raising a brow. He had a smile on his face that was full of amusement. “You were watching me change, Forres?”

Forres opened her mouth to object but no words came out.

Ben let out a small chuckle and looked down, “It something that my friends and I got before going into service.”

Forres nodded as if she knew what that was like. “What does it say?” Forres watched Ben. She noticed some features on his face she hadn’t noticed before. His face was full of odd freckles. His hair stood up in the front and was dark but his eyes were naturally a light, concerned brown.

His light eyes met Forres’ dark eyes. Ben moved from the counter and lifted his shirt. Black fancy ink sat on his right ribs. Forres stared for second as his chest raises then fells. She wasn’t even reading it; she was just admiring his chest. “For those I love, I will sacrifice,” Ben read the black ink. He put down his shirt and Forres’ eyes went to his face.

“Did you going into a lot of wars?” Forres questioned.

“Actually, there weren’t any more wars because the domes, but I always wanted to fight for our country. All I do… well did… is guard the domes for something like this not to happen,” Ben looked down ashamed.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Forres explained. Zander stood off to the side, listening.

“If we would have guarded the dome better, this wouldn’t have happened. If I had listened to my father…”

Forres looked from Ben to Zander. She didn’t know what the last part meant but she wasn’t going to make these guys feel guilty for being alive. “You guys would have died…”

“Better than a thousand people dead,” Ben flatly said.

Zander looked down as well. “I’d rather you guys alive then a thousand,” Forres stated. “Stop feeling bad and be grateful you’re alive.”

“How could we?” Ben said, grabbing his gun. “If I was dead, you wouldn’t have been shot,” Ben starts out.

And I wouldn’t like you if you were dead, Ben.
Forres bit back that part. She started after Ben as they walked outside. “I’m fine,” Forres whispered in his ear. She slowly slid her hand into Ben’s warm hand. Ben glanced over at Forres, holding her hand tighter. “I’m fine,” Forres repeated.

Zander trailed behind them, holding his gun, tightly, not with jealousy but with fear. Fear of what would happen to them. Fear of their future. And fear of the aftermath of all of the destroyed New York.

Chapter Fifteen

Day One: March 27
th
, 2020; 12:23pm

“Touching,” Doctor Greene muttered with no emotions. “I want him dead…”

“Ben?” An assistant next to him asked.

“Yes…”

“Sir?” A woman in lab coat behind him asked. Doctor Greene turned away from the camera screen that was focused on Ben and Forres holding hands with Zander behind them. “The team you called for is here. Would you like to talk to them before they go in?”

“Of course,” Doctor Greene said. “Someone needs to watch Forres and the other, though.”

The woman snapped her fingers at a young intern. “You, watch Forres,” The intern nodded. “Make sure she doesn’t die.”

“Die?” The doctor chuckled. “Trust me when I say this, Forres cannot ever die. No zombie, no gun, or person can ever kill Forres.” Doctor Greene started out.

“Sir? If she can’t die, why could she get hurt? Can’t she get hurt enough to kill herself?” The woman questioned.

Doctor Greene opened the door of the camera room and turned to the woman, stopping. “Tracy,” He started. The woman felt uncomfortably that Doctor Greene had used her first name. She looked away then looks back at the handsome looking doctor. He wasn’t young but he was handsome. He has brown combed to the side hair and hard blue eyes. Sometimes he looked like his son. Square hard jaw, hard features. They were some much alike but they didn’t want to admit it. “She’ll heal,” He left through the door.

Tracy followed. “Then sir? Why do we need to have all those clones of her if she doesn’t die?”

A few scientists said “Hi,” to the doctor and he just nods back to them.

Doctor Greene stops, noticing that Tracy was right. “Well, that’s the question, isn’t it? Why don’t we put more into the domes?”

“But Doctor Greene?” She stopped him in the middle of the testing hall. The testing hall had a window for them to see the test being done. “Some of the clones don’t respond well to the medication.”

On cue, a Forres clone slammed her fist against the glass window. As she does that, flames ignite around her. She let out a scream of anger but the sounds were muffled by the window. Tracy jumped but Doctor Greene doesn’t as if he was used to it. “Wow,” A fire extinguisher had to put her out. The window was burnt as the girl let out a crazy laugh. “Put her in one of the domes.”

“Are you trying to kill people?” Tracy said as the doctor starts walking again.

“Nope, just trying to have fun,” Doctor Greene chuckled.

Tracy stopped in the middle of the hall that had the rescue team in it at the end of the hall. “You’re trying to kill Forres?” The doctor turned as he goes into the door at the end of the hall. Tracy sighed and gave in, “But she can’t die,” she exclaimed.

He smiled. “Exactly,” He then disappeared behind the doors.

*****

Day One: March 27
th
, 2020; 12:26pm

The team of solider stood up, strongly. Doctor Greene gave a warming smile, something he thought he could never do. “Doctor Greene?” The sergeant said as he stepped forward. “I’m Mathew Peterson and this is my team,” Peterson’s team consisted of four other people: two Irish red head siblings – one a boy and the other a girl –, a big dark skinned girl, and a young boy with a lot of tattoos. He started with the red headed siblings: “This is Jason Wolfe our pilot, and his sister-.”

Doctor Greene interrupted him, “Save your breath, I’ve already met Jackus,” The doctor gave a quick wink to the red headed girl. She gave a small smile.

Peterson nodded. “Aero West, our guns specialist,” He jerked his chin to the dark skinned guy. “And last the kid, Parker Amrose.”

“Nice to meet you all. You are just looking for survivors, nothing rough,” The doctor lied. That was the one thing he was the best at, lying.

“Okay sir,” Peterson nodded again. “Let’s move out and get this over with,” Peterson led the way out. Doctor Greene stood the side as they past.

When Jackus came to him, he stopped her, “Do you have it?” She nodded and pats her bag that was on her one shoulder. She goes through the door.

Jason, Jackus’s brother, stopped. “What exactly is in the dome?”

“People, of course,” Doctor Greene told him which were actually truth and a lie. Doctor Greene gave a warm smile as Jason walked out. The doctor’s smile faded.

Chapter Sixteen

Day One: March 27
th
, 2020; 3:40pm

Zander slowly entered the gun shop after he suggested they would need guns where they were going.

That’s when Ben kept asking where they were going. They really didn’t know where because – Forres learned – that the Statue of Liberty was outside of the dome. Forres didn’t really think they’d go out the dome, Zander did. He didn’t want to die as much as the next guy but for those he loves, he’d sacrifice anything. Forres was one of those loved ones, even though they had just met. He felt like he knew her.

Ben followed Zander into the shop and Forres did too. Just as they got in a gun was put to Zander’s head. He cursed under his breath.

“Hey, watched the mouth!” Jezabel exclaimed.

Forres let out the breath she was holding, relieved that it was them. She tried to turn.

“Don’t even,” Austin commanded, pushing the gun closer to Zander’s head. “Or your friend’s brains will be all over you. I knew something was up with you. You with these scums that stole from us?”

Forres wasn’t all that surprised. She knew she saw Zander with Austin’s gun. She glanced over to Ben. He just was looking down but she couldn’t tell if he was ashamed or actually felt pride.

“Come here to steal from us, again?” Austin asked. When no one answers, he yelled, “What are you doing?”

Forres jumped, almost crying. She doesn’t know why she was crying. Her brown eyes just started to water. It’s almost as if a memory is making her sad. “Austin, people do crazy things when they are hungry or desperate. They were desperate but we didn’t come to steal from you, now,” Forres sobbed

“You don’t think I’ll shoot?” Austin questioned.

“No, no! I know you would. Just please don’t,” Forres justified. Her eyes were closed. Her heart was pounding so loud, she swore they could hear it as well as her. Her body shook with pure fear. She was in fear because she really thought he’d shoot her or even worse Ben or Zander. Forres couldn’t even think about living without one of them even though they had just met.

“I do have my issues,” Zander spoke up. “But those things are the issues now. How about you shoot at them not us?”

“Austin, put the gun down,” Eleanor said, seeing Forres shake.

Austin chuckled and his gun goes off. Forres was used to the sound but she jumped and covered her ears with the palms of her hands. Her knees couldn’t hold her so she sunk to the ground.

“DUDE, THAT WASN’T FUNNY!” Ben yelled as he turned to the shaking Forres. The sudden of realization hit her stomach. Zander was dead. “Forres, he shot it up in the air. Your fine,” Forres shaking her head, trying not to cry. No matter what Ben had said, her brain had told her that Zander’s dead. He had been killed by Austin. “Trust me, you’re fine. Open your eyes and see. Forres please open your eyes,” Ben begged.

Forres slowly opened her eyes. Ben sat in front of her. His eyes filled with concern. He gave a small smile.

“That wasn’t funny,” Zander’s stern voice came.

Forres felt so much relieved that she collapsed in Ben’s arms. Ben wrapped his arm around her as she sobbed.

“Oh really? I was laughing so it was,” Austin explained.

Zander stepped closer to Austin, enraged. “My fist is about to be down your throat so you won’t be laughing,” Zander threatened.

Eleanor’s ear perked up like a dog when she heard something. “Shut up,” She tried to hush the angered boys but it didn’t work.

“Oh please do. I so want you to hit me,” Austin replied.

Zander hands balled into a fist and he lifted his balled fist to punch Austin.

“SHUT UP!” Eleanor screamed before Zander could hit Austin. Jezabel jumped at Eleanor’s raise of tone. Chyler didn’t jump but she just watched the fly on the wall. Forres dried her face and pulled back from Ben. “Is that a helicopter?”

*****

Day One: March 27
th
, 2020; 3:45 pm

“Oh god,” Jason whispered as he looked at the once called New York. Things were chaotic: buildings on fire, cars scattered all over. “What happened here, exactly?”

“I don’t… I don’t know,” Peterson said. He looked at his crew. “Anyone?”

Aero was praying. Jackus was watching, sitting next to Parker. They were just as bewildered as Peterson was. Peterson followed Jackus and Parker’s eyes. There was a building with a bunch of people around it, wanting to get in.

“A riot?” Parker questioned. They really didn’t know.

Jackus thought of a movie she had seen a couple of night before. It was the remake of
George A. Romero’s
Dawn of the Dead.
This reminded her of it and she couldn’t but to blurt out, “Zombies?”

“Not funny,” Peterson continued, “Jason land up on the building.”

Before Jason could turn the helicopter around and go land, a car almost hit the helicopter. Jason turned just in time. “What was that?!” Jason yelled, trying to steady the helicopter.

“A car,” Aero said, not that alarmed as if cars were thrown at him every day. He picked up his head from praying.

“I KNOW THAT! But why is it flying?”

“I know?” Aero raised one of his thick brows.

“CAR!” Jackus yelled as a small purple car hurtled towards them. Jason swerved the helicopter too late. The car skimmed the helicopter, taking off half of the wing off. Parker grabbed Jackus and pulled her to the floor as the car also took off part of the roof. As the helicopter spun out of control, Jackus felt something wet spraying on her. She looks over and saw that Peterson’s head wasn’t on his body.

Jackus let out a scream as Jason swerved the helicopter to a park nearby. Aero took his chances and jumped out. Aero isn’t a small guy so when he jumped out, the helicopter shook side to side and split Aero into two. Parker stood and took
his
chances. When he hit the ground, he rolled but Jackus saw he had hit the ground hard.

Jackus looked over at her red headed brother, “Go!” He yelled at her. Jackus gave him a double look before jumping out. Everything slowed down in Jackus’ eyes. In mid-air, Jackus saw the helicopter hit the ground and explode. She does a roll before hitting the ground and she landed on one knee and the back bag hitting her back.

Jackus could hear Parker calling her but she looks at the crash plane for a second. She, slowly, pried her eyes from the wreck and looked at Parker. She ran to her friend and her savior. The bone in Parker’s leg was sticking out. He looked as if he was in pain but he looked as if he didn’t want to hit his dignity. Jackus helped him get up, noticing that his shoulder was out of place too.

She couldn’t help but to notice half-Aero coming their way. Jackus looked at Parker and saw some people were strangling towards him. They were surrounded by a group of them. “What are these things?” Jackus yelled to Parker.

Guns were fired but not at them. A bullet went into the half-Aero’s head. A girl ran toward them, gun in hand. A smile came on her face. “You’re alive and not bit,” The girl had a bunch of freckles on her face with odd violet eyes. Her light, long brown hair bounced with volume as she ran over. “Come!” The girl shot the nearest thing to them. She started to the road, where another girl – with cold blue eyes – stood and shot at those things.

Jackus ran as fast as she could with Parker but she didn’t want to leave him and she wasn’t going to. When they get to the road, they saw another group running to the crash. The two girls looked at one person and at the exact same time said, “Forres,”

Forres looked at them, wondering how they knew her name.

“Mall,” The girl – whom saved Jackus and Parker – said out of breath.

Forres gave a small nod as Eleanor spoke up. “I’m a nurse,” Jackus put Parker in the car. “I’m coming! Chyler watch Jezabel for me,” Eleanor got in the other side of the car. Forres watched their car drive off. She didn’t know whether to trust them or not to so she followed her gut.