Chapter 7: Day 3

Don had scouted out a small building with enough room for each of them to lay low for the night. Since it was clear, he returned to get the others and escort them inside. Once they arrived, Don pushed a few desks against the door as a blockade to keep others from entering, especially the giant bugs. April moved to the small office firm's center and pulled out a few unlit candles through her traveling bag. She set them in the center, then pulled out some water bottles and offered them to Noah and Rebecca, who were happy to partake of her generous offer.

Don returned after making sure there was no way anyone could get in quickly; of course, the tables' scratching would probably attract something; however, Don doubted it would be a problem. From the bugs' size, he figured that unless they tore through the sturdy building, there was no way they were going to get inside without alerting them.

"How are you two feeling?" April asked with a worried expression. "Like shit," Rebecca replied weakly. "I honestly just want to sleep..." Noah replied with depression in his voice. It was understandable why both of them felt so defeated. Don sat next to April and pulled out his lighter from his pocket. He lit the candles, then stuffed his lighter into his pocket only to search through his traveling bag and pull out a bottle of painkillers that he would offer to Rebecca and Noah.

"Take some and get some rest," Don commented. Rebecca nodded silently and took the bottle. She would take a few painkillers and then offer Noah the bottle, who did the same before giving Don the bottle back. Both of them went through their bags to pull out a blanket and then proceeded to lay down. Don put away the bottle of painkillers, closed the bag, and laid back using his arms as pillows. April pulled out her blanket, cuddled up to Don, and used his chest as a pillow.

"We will be safe here, right?" April whispered worriedly. "Yes. I'll keep watch for now. You get some sleep. If anything happens, I'll wake you all up." Don replied calmly, his eyes staring at the ceiling. April smiled softly and relaxed a little before closing her eyes. "Okay." She said softly. Rebecca and Noah had their backs to one another, but they couldn't seem to fall asleep just yet. This wasn't the first they had been treated like that.

Before they met up with Don, Rebecca had to save Noah since he was taken hostage. Unlike when they were ambushed, Rebecca had the advantage and could take out the small group of people who abducted Noah. She used the bugs to distract the group while saving Noah. Of course, she wasn't naive; she would kill someone to keep herself and another safe. But if she didn't have to kill anyone, she did not want to.

There was another time when Rebecca was the one who was abducted, and Noah had to save her. It was when they were scouting for food at the time. Rebecca was drugged and put to sleep. A note was left for Noah with instructions to bring all of their ammo, food, water, and narcotics. Noah had no fighting experience nor knew how to use a gun. He wasn't the bravest person out there either, but he did not want to leave Rebecca, who had saved him before and had been taking care of him this entire time. So, he brought a horde of zombies to the outpost those guys instructed him to go to and used the confusion to free Rebecca. Both of them escaped thanks to the confusion.

As the hours went by, Don's eyes started to grow heavy. He noticed everyone had already passed out. Gently he placed one of his arms over April in a protective manner before shifting his gaze towards the windows. There wasn't much besides a few trampling movements and buzzing sounds from outside. The lights from the candles had already gone out, so the only thing bringing light into this room came from the moon that shone through the windows. Eventually, Don let sleep overcome him, and his mind seeped into a dream.

In the back alleys of a rural area was a small boy, no older than maybe eight or nine. The boy was covered from head to toe in bruises and dirt. His clothing was ripped and torn here and there, and blood could be seen from various wounds on his body. His vision was starting to become blurry, and his body heavy. He stumbled forward a bit before collapsing on the ground, breathing heavily. The faint sounds of a dog barking could be heard before he eventually passed out.

When he awoke, he found himself lying in a comfortable bed with a white ceiling. The chirping of birds could be heard outside of a nearby window, but the curtains kept the bright sun from breaking into the dimly lit room. 'I'm... alive?' The boy thought to himself as he looked around the room.

Then, he found a young woman, maybe in her twenties, with long brown hair and deep brown eyes wearing comfortable clothes, making her way to him. She had a concerned expression on her features. "Oh my, you finally woke up! Thank goodness!" The woman exclaimed while kneeling beside the bed. She placed the back of her hand on the boy's forehead to test his temperature. The boy laid there in silence. "Your fever finally broke too. That's good! How are you feeling?" The woman asked the boy softly.

"Who are you?" The boy asked, ignoring the woman's question since he was more curious about who this woman was. His voice was weakened. The woman figured the boy had questions and felt it was best to answer any questions she could. "My name is Rebecca Rodriguez. I found you collapsed just outside my backyard. Well, specifically my dog did. How are you feeling?" The woman asked, still holding a concerned expression.

The boy's lips would part to speak, but a wave of fatigue overtook him, and he passed out again. Rebecca had cleaned the boy off, dressed his wounds, and then put him in a clean pair of clothes. She was relieved to see his fever broke but still held a worried expression. For now, she continued to keep an eye on him. After getting a name, she would see if she could help him reunite with his parents or guardian.

"Don..."

"Don...."

A soft voice woke Don up from his slumber. Opening his eyes, he saw April shaking him awake. Night had passed, and day pulled in. The room was filled with sunlight rays. Don sat up and took a look around the room. Nothing seemed out of place; nothing tried to break in. Don could see both Noah and Rebecca would be partaking in some canned food. April was eating some canned food and offered Don a can of peaches and a can opener. "Here you go," April said with a smile across her face. Don took the can and the can opener with a silent nod before parking for a morning meal. In between slurps of peaches, he glanced at Rebecca.

Rebecca noticed he was looking at her and said, "Yes?" Don had been looking at her thanks to his memory of their first meeting. "Are you going to be okay?" Don asked after a moment of silence. Rebecca was a bit taken back by the sudden question but smiled softly and nodded. "I will be fine. This isn't the first time I have been taken as a hostage..." It was evident in her voice that she was still hurting inside. Don could tell but decided not to pry. He could tell she was putting on a front so no one would continue to worry. "Alright." Don didn't want to let the remark about being taken hostage before slip, but it seemed Rebecca did not wish to speak any further on the matter.

April noticed the little transaction between the two of them. From yesterday's conversation, she could gather that Rebecca was someone important to Don. Although, it wasn't in a sense that she thought it was. Perhaps it was a familial sense? However, Don never said anything about his parents; she knew Rebecca wasn't Don's mother either. Even when she asked Don about his parents, Don never responded to her.

Her attention shifted towards Noah, "What about you?" Noah had been silently eating when April spoke to him. His eyes moved towards her, "Me?" Noah asked absentmindedly, and April nodded. "How are you feeling?" April inquired. Noah was silent for a moment before he spoke up, "Could be better." After that, the conversation fell dry. No one said anything more and remained silent until they finished their food.

"I am going to check outside. You three prepare to move. The plans haven't changed; we are headed back to Harris." Don stated while making his way towards the entrance. He removed the desks he used a blockade before exiting the building while leaving the others to pack everything up. Removing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, Don went through lighting one up, then put the contents away and took a deep drag. The cool minty feeling of his throat felt relaxing. He exhaled the toxic fumes and took a look around.

He saw a few butterflies soaring high in the air along with ladybugs. He could hear faint buzzing off in the distance, but it wasn't in the direction they were headed. The look on his face was grim when he took a look in the direction they were headed. "Webs..." Don muttered.

Webs meant that something had spun them last night. It wouldn't be a problem to travel through since the webs appeared too large enough to catch something on a much smaller scale; however, Don did not like what may have been lying in wait for them. Don finished his cigarette before going back inside to provide information to the others.

"So, how was it?" April asked upon seeing Don enter the office firm. "Not looking too hot. There are webs sprung up in the direction we have to go. Aside from the ladybugs and butterflies that will leave us alone, buzzing sounds come from different areas of downtown They are not in our pathway, so they won't be a problem." Don answered.

"Spiders." Rebecca grimaced, and Noah gulped heavily. April shifted her attention toward Rebecca. "So even those are here?" She was almost in disbelief and wanted it to be fake, but it seemed there were indeed Spiders.

"Yeah, Noah and I have had our fair share of encounters with them. They mostly move at night but will leave traps for their prey to fall into it during the day. They are tricky to deal with as well. One moment the spider will be behind you, and the next, it will be in front of you if you are not paying attention. The only way we've dealt with them is by finding something else for them to prey after like Flies or Mosquitos, even butterflies." Rebecca explained.

"Don't forget the time with the yellow jacket. We were lucky to run into it since the spider pissed it off. While they fought each other, we decided to make a run for it." Noah added. "Wasps as well..." April sighed with exhaustion. "I suppose we should just assume every kind of bug exists here, but in a larger state than the norm," Don commented. "Don't forget the undead," Noah added. Everyone gave him a certain look, which caused him to shy back and put his hands up defensively.

"Anyways. It doesn't look like we have much of a choice. Just remain vigilant. If we have to make a run for it then we will." Don stated firmly. Everyone just nodded to his statement. There wasn't much they could do. Even if they wanted to go an alternative route, they didn't know what would lay in wait for them. At least going in the direction of the web gave them information on what could be there.

"Here." Don removed his shotgun from the strap and tossed it toward Rebecca, who took it in hand. "It's fully loaded and ready to be used. Just make sure you keep count of the slugs. I have a few boxes in my bag but don't go crazy. I do not know when we'll be able to restock." Don remarked. Rebecca caught the shotgun and gave it a look over. A typical pump action.

She rested the gun against her shoulder and nodded. "Alright." Don turned to Noah, "I assume you don't know how to use a gun. So just stick in between us. I'll take the point, Rebecca will hold the back, and April, you are in the middle with Noah." Don spoke to Noah before giving everyone their roles. No one debated against their positions and just nodded in silence. Even if it was not brought up, they knew that Don was most likely the one to follow. Simply because of what he was capable of. His leadership skills were one thing, but his knowledge of combat and tactics was another. They all wanted to know where he had such knowledge, but no one dared ask. At least not at the moment.

With their roles given, they left the store and headed down the road. As they approached the weaved webs, a sense of anxiety overtook them. For Don, it was like a sense of caution. They were silent; they spoke no words and kept in tight formation. April had an arrow knocked in case she needed to fire. Rebecca had the gun in hand, and Don had his S&W's, one in each hand. Passing through the weaved webs was easy since the opening was more than wide enough for them to move through without getting stuck.

They continued through until they heard a loud buzzing sound. Don gave them a silent hand signal to hold position, and they all stopped. Everyone looked in the direction of the buzzing with anticipation. An oversized fly came fluttering from around the corner. Surprisingly it hadn't been trapped in the webs yet. Perhaps it was avoiding them, or maybe it had just gotten lucky. Still, the flies' luck was actually about to run out.

When it saw them, it quickly made its way to them; however, in haste, it became entangled in the webs. The webs bounced around to the struggles of the fly, and at this moment Don knew what they needed to move. "Run!" Don shouted. He knew that the vibration of the web would signal any spider or spiders to this location. Everyone raced down the road, and just before passing through the intersection, an oversized black spider came rushing from around the corner. Its eyes honed on them, and its mouth opened with saliva dripping. A clear indication that it was hungry.

"Damn it, just move!" Don shouted as he pointed his guns at the spider and fired several times. The others raced past him; the spider flinched away from the shots hitting its eyes. A monstrous groan came from the spider before it screeched out as if it had enough and started rushing towards Don.

Don kissed his teeth with a 'tch' sound and holstered his guns. "Just keep moving!" Don shouted toward the others who were a little ways from him. Don pulled out his combat knife and flipped it into a reverse style. He knew that even if they continued to run, there was a chance that one of them would end up being eaten, and even if they made it out of this web-infested city, who knew if the spider would stop chasing them? He needed to get rid of it here and now.

"Bring it." A fearless grin crept across Don's face. It was almost as if he was taunting death, or maybe he was simply enjoying the challenge before him. Either way, there was something abnormal about him. Compared to his usual self, this side of him was... different. Don could feel it, his blood rushing... his heart racing... the rapid beat. He could vividly hear it. The spider rushing him down didn't appear as fast as before. Moreover, it seemed slower.

Don jumped up the moment the spider tried to consume him. Planting a foot on the spider's head, he leaned forward and jammed his combat knife into another of the spider's eyes which caused it to heel and shriek in pain. Pulling the knife out, Don repeated the process again and again.

He used the knife as a hold for when the spider tried to toss him off, but no matter how deep the knife was, it eventually released from the spider, and Don was flung off. Don managed to flip himself in the air so he could plant his feet firmly on the ground. He also took a few steps back to avoid falling into his rear to regain his balance.

"That all?" Don wiped some of the spider's blood from his face with an arm that wasn't covered in spider fluids. The spider hissed at him and slowly began to backtrack while eyeing him. Don stood his ground while watching the spider retreat. Don would start to steady his breathing when it entirely retreated behind the building. He began to calm himself, and in doing so, the sound of his heart and the rush of his blood started to dim until he no longer vividly heard it.

Unlike before, he did not feel like he was going to pass out; but he did have a massive headache. Winching in pain and trying to massage his forehead, Don took a few more moments to catch his breath before sheathing his combat knife and heading toward the direction the others ran toward. They weren't so far off that he couldn't see them, but it would take some time to catch up to them.

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
R_V_R

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you are all still keeping up with the novel!

Today we tease a bit in on Rebecca and Don's relationship. Clearly, there is something, but Rebecca isn't Don's mother or family, for that matter. This also revealed a bit about Don. Something must've happened to him when he was a child, right?

Speaking of Don, there seems to be an abnormal side to him. The fact that he stared Death in the face with a taunting grin is proof enough! I wonder what happened to him to make him act like that, Welp; I'll let you all discuss it in the comments down below!

As always, thanks for enjoying this chapter, and I hope you will all continue to read my novel. If you don't want to wait, another novel by me goes by the name TES (The Eighth Sin.) I know that I keep plugging the novel in, but I do it just if some people skip this section and then one day decide to read it.

Anyways, have a good day, and thanks for reading my novel!

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