The priest told us the city has fallen. The barrier covering the city disappeared. The men have gotten up and arranged themselves around the main door. There's only ten of us. Six of them are going to the main door. The priest led the rest of us to the backdoor.
I decided to join them for one reason. The backdoor provided me with better chances to escape. I have no intention of sacrificing my life for people I don't know. The priest did do me a favor by providing me lodging but at the end of the day: it isn't worth my life.
We wait by the door. There is a quiet hush. I'm starting to hear shouts and screams streaming in from outside. Invading soldiers are brutal, I have no doubt about. The priest is leading the women into the back-room and down into a basement. It is covered up by a trap-door. Smart.
I want to go in there but at the end of the day, that basement is a dead-end. Although, there might be a hidden tunnel down there. The thought makes my mind-race.
I'm trying to think of a way to sneak down there. I have a partial view of the front door. It is made of heavy oak-wood and it is holding up quite well.
However, a system is only good at its weakest point. I see a bunch of zombie- yes, actual zombies -drop down from the little awnings I jumped in from. I rush over and bar the door leading into our little room. A man with long brown hair grabs my arm and tries to stop me.
"We can't let them in here! The children are down there." I point at the little trap-door. That makes him pause and I close the door. "Help me out here."
I grab one end of the desk and he grabs the other end. I push it over the door. Other then this brown-haired man is a boy with the same olive skin complexion and freckles on his face. I'm guessing they're brothers. Brothers who don't want to die.
Now time for some morally dubious words. I pause, for a second I do, but then I think about my previous life. I have to survive. I made a promise to myself and I have to uphold it.
"We should go down there." I pull the carpet up from the trap-door. I haven't forgotten the fact that our dear old priest hasn't stayed up here, to fight.
They look at me disbelief but they're tempted. The elephant is in the room, I'm just forcing them to look at it. "If there's a tunnel down there we don't have to stay up here."
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I can see the gears turning in their heads. The brown-haired man looks at his brother. His brother has a pleading look in his eyes, good. "Let's go down Ake."
Ake, what a weird name. I can't stop now. They're right on the edge, just one more push. "Let's just bar up the doors. By the time somebody gets inside we'll be long gone! Think about your family!" Yes, I know, I'm a jerk.
Ake makes a sound in the back of his throat. I take that as an agreement. The other man besides us has voiced any objections, so he agrees as well. I start telling them to push the furniture in the room against the doors until it forms a row all the way to the wall.
We can hear audible, guttural screams now from the other end of the door. Somebody starts banging on the door, screaming: "Let me in! Please let me in! Oh! OH, LORD!"
All of them are avoiding eye-contact. Nobody addresses the new elephant in the room. Again, I have no intention of being a hero and I intent to stand by that.
Ake opens the trap-door. I let him go in first. I'm the third one to get in after his brother. I was mistaken, there is no tunnel down here. It's just a basement and everybody is just huddled down here. Shaking and crying. They must've heard the screams as well.
The priest walks over to us, fuming. I'm surprised steam isn't blowing out his ears. "What are you doing down here!? Who's defending the door!?"
"We barred it up." I speak first. His anger turns on me.
"Go back up there right this instant!"
"No, old man." I say. The other men aren't speaking.
"I am telling you to go back up!" He hisses at me. I am not scared of his anger but his metallic chains melt into a round sphere. Magic(!?) is my first thought, my second thought is how I couldn't have seen this coming. The zombies should've been the first clue.
The brown-haired man whispers at the priest. "Father, please." His eyes glow up in the dark room and he moves into something I can only describe as a martial art stance.
The old priest launches the metal ball at me and I jump out of the way. The ball doubles back and jams straight into the fourth man's face. I can hear wails and sobs, some of his family members are shouting out STOP!
A woman gets up and tries to rush over. The priest waves his hand and says, [Cast Freeze]. I can't move. No, I have the ability to move but an unimaginable fear grips my heart. It is telling me one thing, defiance will lead to death. That other woman is frozen now as well.
"Father, forgive me." The brown-haired man steps forward and kicks the man straight in his abdomen. He isn't affected. His legs hit solid metal. The old-man's clothes melt away, the temperature in the basement is rising. A solid metallic armor is covering the old man now. A priest in armor. Never thought I'd see the day or even have the thought.
Mr. Ake is unaffected. He moves in further and starts giving him an intense series of body shots. The old man's metal ball splits into fine needles and stabs him in his back.
There is a suppressed scream. "I told you, boy, you should've stayed up there." The priest moves forward but the martial-aritst jumps back.
He is standing beside me right now and he looks me in the eye. There is a quick excahnge of thoughts and both of us know what to do.
He punches me in the stomach and the air rushes back into my body.