Learning Mercy

Chapter 7 ─ The First Attack

Audrey stood under the spray of water until it become cold, only exiting when shivers began to wrack her body. She slowly exited the tub and removed the garbage bag that covered the cast on her arm before stuffing it into the small trash bin next to the toilet. She then reached out and grabbed the scrappy towel sitting folded on the counter next to the toilet and wrapped it around herself.

She paused then, and took took a moment to sit on the edge of the tub, her head hung as she closed her eyes and simply listened to the sound of her own breathing.

Audrey wasn't sure how long she sat there, letting herself relax and think of nothing, but after a time she slowly stood and started ruffling through the clothes that Lyle had given her.

It was a mid-length floral dress ─ white and covered with small pink and blue flowers. It wasn't something that Audrey would've picked for herself, as it was older in style and far too bright for her tastes, but clean was clean, so she mentally shrugged and began dressing. Anything was better than the ripped and filthy clothes she'd been stuck in for so long.

Audrey also spotted a pair of black spandex shorts lying on the floor next to her feet, and figured that they had been folded up with the dress – they were a good enough replacement for underwear, so she slipped them on too.

Double checking that everything was in order, Audrey gathered up her old clothes in the damp towel and opened the door. Steam spilled out of the bathroom as Audrey stepped into the hallway and made her way towards the living room, ready to ask Lyle where she should put her things, when she heard a distant explosion and felt a small rumble shake the house.

'What the fuck was that?' Audrey thought, hands beginning to shake as she dropped her clothes and began to search through them. Her fingers quickly met the cool handle of the dagger and she removed it from the loop of her old skirt to hold out in front of her defensively.

"Lyle?" Audrey shouted as she carefully made her way towards the kitchen and living room. She squinted when she noticed a scrap of paper taped to the front door. "Lyle, are you here?"

Only silence greeted her from inside the house, and she could hear the distant echo of gunshots being fired off from outside.

"Fine, great." Audrey muttered, her fingers clenching and unclenching around the hilt of the dagger nervously as she headed towards the door. "Couldn't catch a damn break if it was handed to me..."

Once close enough, Audrey could make out the words STAY INSIDE scribbled sloppily in permanent marker on the paper. She also noticed that the front door was locked.

Well, Audrey thought, she could stay inside, but then again, those creatures (as she wasn't dellusioned enough to think it was anything else) could swarm the house in no time. It didn't help that she was alone, injured, and practically unarmed – a single human would be too easy for them.

Besides, it wasn't like Audrey had actually told Lyle what had happened at the diner yet; he had no idea how much experience she had with those things.

No, she wasn't about to just sit here, twiddling her thumbs and waiting for those damn things to find her. If she had learned anything at the diner, it was that there was power in numbers. She was going to go find Lyle and the others.

Besides, she had this feeling: something similar to your heart dropping, and it was pulling her─ like someone had a thin string in her chest and was giving it gentle little tugs...

Well, she'd been in more life threatening situations in the past few days than she could count, what was one more?

Her mind made up, Audrey reached to unlock the front door, but paused just short when she felt a rush of cool air against on her bare toes.

Ah, yes, shoes.

Audrey briefly considered donning her heels once more, but the protesting blisters─ which had formed and popped sometime during her trek yesterday─ stung as if to tell her what a bad idea that would be, so she discarded the idea swiftly.

She hoped that Lyle wouldn't mind her borrowing a pair of shoes.

Too bad she had no clue where to start looking. Lyle's house lacked a hall closet, and there was no shoe basket or anything of the like in the kitchen or living room─ and it was then that Audrey remembered that her parents had kept their shoes in their bedroom closet at home.

Audrey figured that it was worth a shot, and quickly made her way to the door at the end of the hall which she assumed to be Lyle's. The door was unlocked, and the hinges creaked in protest as she pushed her way into the room.

The walls were plain and the room smelled strongly of dust and old cologne. Audrey scanned over the empty queen sized bed─ unconsciously noting that the right half of the bed was made perfectly while the other was disheveled. To the right of the door, against the wall, was a long dresser: it was littered with old jewelry, a few watches, older sunglasses, a hairbrush, some bottles of perfume, a dusty black and white photograph, and some other dusty trinkets. There was a bathroom just to the left of the main door, and a closet with two sliding doors next to the bathroom; one of the doors to the closet was already open.

Audrey hesitantly entered the rest of the way into the room, feeling discomfort lodge itself in her throat as she felt more and more like an intruder. She could recall feeling much the same when sneaking into her parents' bedroom as a child.

Audrey pushed the feelings away and quickened her stride, Lyle didn't seem like the kind of person to care about privacy when people's lives were at stake. He could be dying out there for all she knew, she had to hurry!

Reaching the closet, Audrey leaned forward and squinted into the darkness. She was right, there were several pairs of shoes in here: three pairs of worn slippers, a pair of large dust-covered boots, a set of red heels, some modern-looking moccasins...

Audrey set down the blade to pick up the moccasins, inspecting them: they were worn-in, with a thick fuzzy material inside them, half a size too large, but the furry lining would rule out her need for socks.

Audrey shoved them on her feet, noticing that they didn't hurt her blisters as much as she had expected. She took a couple of test steps and was satisfied that the shoes had thick soles and didn't slip from her heel as she had expected them to.

Deciding that this was probably the best pair she could find, Audrey retrieved the blade before she exited the room, being sure to shut Lyle's bedroom door firmly behind her. She wasted no more time and made her way to the front door, ignoring the note as she turned the lock and pulled open the door. It shut with a resounding thud behind her.

It was sunny outside, the sky a vibrant blue with not a cloud in sight, and Audrey felt a low breeze blow through the dusty valley, keeping the sun from being too overbearing as she stepped off the porch and descended the stairs.

Quite nice, Audrey noted─ but the pleasant weather was put off by the cracking gunshots and the occasional shout echoing from a ways off.

Audrey wasted no more time as she adjusted the knife in her hand and began jogging towards the source of the noise─ following the invisible string tugging at her chest.

(WARNING: Violence and gore ahead)

There was dark smoke in the air which scorched its way down Audrey's suddenly dry throat – it smelled unpleasantly of charred chemicals, and reminded her of the smell of exploded fireworks.

Audrey approached the main road, her sight obscured by a large brick building that jutted out and blocked her view of the rest of the town. She could hear that the source of the gunshots were close, along with the shouting of both commands and pain.

Audrey rounded the side of the building to chaos.

The smoke (and earlier explosion, Audrey suspected) originated from one of the buildings along the main road. The building itself was engulfed in flames which licked out the windows and towards the sky. Around the street there were roughly a dozen or so townspeople scattered about: some ducking behind cars; others hiding around corners of buildings and in alleyways, pointing weapons and firing off rounds; a few people ran back the way she'd come, injured or retreating; and a couple of the more brave (or foolish) people were marching forward in plain sight, guns drawn and shooting at the creatures head on.

The possessed were here. She already knew this, but it was easier to think about than it was to see them again. Audrey swallowed thickly.

There was a screech and Audrey watched in horror as a couple of the beasts lunged at a man; one of the creatures falling limply to the ground with a bullet wound between the eyes, and the other reaching the man, tearing into the soft flesh of his belly with sharp claws and razor-tipped teeth. The man shouted out in pain, struggling beneath the monster before he suddenly stiffened, and then his arms slumped limply to the ground. Noticing the attack too late, a woman shouted out in agony before running up behind the creature to club it off of the man with a wooden plank, tears streaming down her face as she proceeded to bludgeon the creature to death.

Audrey was hyperventilating as she took a step away from the scene. There was something off about the possessed: the claws, the bloodshot eyes, the posture, the red and black sores forming on their bodies...

What had she been thinking when she ran out of the house? Did she honestly believe that she was supposed to swoop in and save the town like a hero? She was an idiot if she thought she could fend off even a few of the normal possessed─ let alone one of these.

But before Audrey could so much as take another step back, there was an urgent shout from behind her.

"Get down!"

Audrey didn't question the order and dropped─ before she'd even fully hit the ground three heavy gunshots sounded from behind her and into the alley just to her right, followed by a cry from something decidedly inhuman, then the sound of a body collapsing.

Realization dawned and Audrey felt sick. One of them was almost upon her and she hadn't even realized it.

I would've been ripped apart like my father. Audrey choked a bit on the information, closing her eyes tightly. The image of his stunned expression as Gladys tore into his throat crossed her mind. Audrey let out a dry sob.

She barely noticed that she was shaking and took no action to remove herself from the ground. A couple of seconds ticked by before a calloused hand gripped her upper arm, pulling her to stand.

Audrey was still shaking, but desperately willed the images away as she was dragged to her feet. She pulled herself together enough to take a deep breath and open her eyes to look at the man who had saved her.

He looked to be in his early twenties, almost a good head taller than her, with a tan that suggested many days working outside. He had brown eyes and dusty blonde hair─ which was cropped short to his head─ and a tidy soul patch. His features were strong, with a square jaw and an almost hawk-like nose. He wore a white tank top and blue jeans─which were covered in dust and oil stains─ and a pair of cowboy boots. Audrey also noticed a tribal tattoo which started on his right wrist and snaked it's way up his right shoulder to touch just below his collarbone.

Audrey met his gaze and saw the mildly amused look he was giving her. She realized she'd been caught giving him a quick once over.

But before she could so much as blink, he reached back, grabbing a small handgun from his back pocket and pressing it into her good hand. "Here, take this," he said quickly. "It has twelve rounds. You know how to use one right?" Audrey nodded at him numbly and he shot her a strained grin. "Good, try not to get yourself killed, alright?"

Audrey nodded once more and watched as he jogged over to another younger man who was crouched behind a truck. They nodded to each other and headed out toward the entrance of the town. Past them, Audrey could see a large group of figures fighting ahead─ that must be what they were heading for. She noticed that most of the other townspeople were moving out and heading in the same direction.

Audrey inhaled deeply to gather her resolve, and carefully pinned the barrel of the gun between her chest and chin to free up her hands before reaching down to grab the angel's dagger from where she'd dropped it.

With nowhere else to put the blade, Audrey scanned the ground before hastily picking up a nearby scrap of cloth─ which was stiff with age, dirt, and who knew what else. She fumbled a bit as she wrapped the rag over the sharp end of the blade.

Finished, Audrey hiked up her dress, tucking the wrapped blade under the elastic band of the spandex shorts before dropping the hem of her dress. She then moved to grip the handgun in her good hand once more.

Audrey flipped off the safety to the gun before pulling the slide back and releasing it with a two grinding clicks.

With her paralyzing fear mostly gone, Audrey gathered as much determination as she could and decided that she wouldn't let those bastards catch her off guard again. Not if she could help it.

After being pulled from the ground and regaining some of her composure, she'd realized that she'd rather die fighting than wait to be sniffed out and mauled while hiding under a bed; and by the looks of things─ Audrey's eyes scanned over the human bodies lying in pools of their own blood─ it might just come to that.

Swallowing down the persistent lump in her throat, Audrey released a breath and held the gun up in front of her as she began jogging toward the group of people ahead.

Along the way she passed a few dead bodies, both of the possessed and non, before spotting one of the possessed hunched over a body of an older woman, tearing at her throat as the woman convulsed beneath it.

Audrey didn't hesitate and fired the first shot, which missed entirely. Noticing the miss, she shot again, this time hitting the creature in the forehead─ it stiffened before slumping limply off to the side of the woman and she writhed a few more times before stilling entirely.

Audrey lowered the gun slightly and jogged up to her, but by the time she made it close enough she could see that the woman's eyes were already glazed over, both wide and staring at nothing.

Audrey felt sick, but still managed to force her legs back into motion to continue forward.

There was more shouting and screeching from ahead, and she noticed that there was a group of a dozen or so people standing a safe distance from the fight. They were close enough to watch, but made no move to continue forward.

Audrey looked past them and watched the clustered figures of men and women press forward toward the main group of the clawed and feral-looking possessed.

Wait. Audrey stopped dead in her tracks a few paces behind the small group of still observers.

Before, Audrey hadn't paid much mind to the fighting group, only acknowledging their presence while keeping an eye out for nearby possessed. But now that she was nearer she could see that something was off about them.

The fighting men and women with their backs to her were hunched unnaturally, jumping and lunging into the mass of the oncoming possessed and using their teeth to tear at them. Some even had elongated arms and legs, on all fours, and charged forward, taking down their prey before descending with their razor-sharp teeth to mangle the bodies beneath them. Some even used weapons: planks of wood, rocks, and bricks; anything they could find laying about.

Audrey was baffled. The possessed were fighting each other? What...

Pulling herself from her stupor, Audrey looked around and noticed that the handful or two of remaining townspeople looked just as confused and frightened as she did, watching the battle in silence but clearly unsure of what to do with themselves.

Then Audrey heard a familiar voice─ shouting a command─ and she turned shocked eyes to scan over the fight before she spotted a man wielding a sword in the center of the mob.

Michael! Audrey's eyes widened and her mouth parted as if to call out to him before she closed wordlessly.

And... he had wings?

Michael stood tall at the front of the group of the 'regular' possessed (although Audrey had to admit that it was difficult for her to tell the difference between the two groups), shouting the occasional order while swinging his blade in swooping arcs─ hacking through the feral possessed as if they were nothing. Audrey watched as one of the opposing possessed charged at Michael, taking his sword arm in mouth and trying to tear his flesh from his bones.

Michael grimaced in pain at the assault, but before he could take action one of the regular possessed took notice and leapt upon the attacking feral, wrenching the jaw off of Michael's arm with its bare hands and wrestling it to the ground. Michel staggered back, arm bleeding, but he seemed to ignore the pain as he drove his blade into the feral's head. The other moved off of the corpse and nodded to Michael before it resumed fighting. Michael lifted his blade once more and the bodies began falling around him.

Tearing her eyes from the strange scene in front of her, Audrey scanned the small group of humans around her before she saw Lyle come to a running stop as he reached the cluster of humans. He had a wound on his thigh and was panting heavily, sweat trickling down his wrinkled forehead in beads. There was blood─ someone or something else's blood─ splattered all over his front.

Lyle barely took notice of the townspeople gathered around him as his gaze settled on the fight. He stared wide-eyed at the scene for a few seconds before his lips set into a grim line. He raised his gun, peering through the mounted scope on the weapon and preparing to shoot.

Audrey realized with a sickening jolt that he was aiming awfully close to Michael...

"Lyle, wait!" Audrey shouted, making him jump and those around her come out of their stupor. His eyes widened as he spotted her from over his weapon.

Audrey released a shaky breath of relief when he lowered the gun to his side.

"What're ya doin' here, Audrey? I thought ya had more sense then ta come out here in the shape you're in..." He didn't sound all too mad, but his voice did carry a reprimanding tone as if he had caught a child sneaking cookies before dinner.

"I know, I'm sorry," Audrey said, then noticed that she had successfully gathered the attention of the humans in the area. 'Well, now or never,' Audrey thought as she licked her suddenly dry lips. This time she addressed the crowd, "I- I know you all don't have a reason to believe me, but I know him... the angel. His name is Michael, and he saved my life. I promise that he won't hurt us. Just... don't try to kill him." She saw some of the faces around her contort in confusion and others in disbelief─ some people outright scoffed. "Please, just trust me and let him do this."

There were murmurs then, and then a pretty red-haired woman – who held a bleeding man in her lap- met Audrey's gaze firmly, "And if you're wrong?" she challenged, her voice firm and fearful all at once.

"I'm not." Audrey replied, meeting the woman's eyes to show the confidence she held in that statement.

She'd come to know Michael in those few days while trapped in the diner: he stood with them when no other had─ he had gone against God himself to save them; he wouldn't betray them now, she was sure of it.

But then a burly man─ who looked to be in his late thirties, with a thick brown beard and dark eyes─ stepped forward. "I don' think I trust the word of one bratty outsider," he growled, his voice beginning to rise in pitch, "she wasn't here for the attacks, doesn't know what these... things are capable of! We need ta kill all'a these freaks! Gett'em outta our town or die tryin'! Who's with me?"

Some shouts rose up from the group, a couple of men even raising their weapons in the air, and Audrey felt her stomach drop. Were they really that stupid? Couldn't these people see that Michael was defending the town? She fumbled for something to say to convince them otherwise when a new voice chimed in.

"I'd listen ta her if ya value your lives," Audrey's eyes widened and she looked back just in time to see Jeep making his way though the crowd; his features determined and the strange tattoos showing under the tank top he wore. "That angel, Michael, saved us, and I mean all of us. If it weren't for him the human race would'a been wiped out entirely." Jeep said confidently, his gaze settling on the burly man who was a good head taller than himself.

Now that Audrey saw Jeep, knew he was alive, she suddenly felt as if she could breathe properly for the first time since she woke up from the accident. She hadn't realized how worried she'd been over her last remaining friends from the diner─ and she would consider them friends now, surviving that horror had given all of them a bond. A bond of which Audrey was sure that she would share with no others for the rest of her days.

But there was still a nagging in the back of her mind. Yes, Jeep was alive, but there was still Charlie and the baby for her to worry about. Where were they? Did they survive? Audrey was practically crawling out of her skin with her eagerness to ask, but held herself back as she watched Jeep come to a stop a few paces from the burly man.

The burly man clenched his jaw and glared fiercely at Jeep. "Are you hearing yourself, boy? Angels? Does that bloody thing look like an angel to you?" He waved a thick hand at Michael, who at that moment, ducked and twisted, tearing through another couple of the feral-possessed with the tips of his wings. "I know what angels are, and that ain't no angel. Once it's done with those things it'll come for us; we need to kill it while it's distracted!"

Some of the people were murmuring to each-other again, others shifting from foot to foot and darting worried glances over to the fight. Audrey looked back to the burly man just in time to see a bead of sweat roll down his forehead and his adams-apple dip harshly as he swallowed: they were all frightened─ no matter what front they put up.

Jeep glanced at the angel in question before meeting the burly man's eyes again. "Listen, this ain't the time ta argue 'bout this; I'll explain the details ta ya'll later, but for now ya just need to trust me. Keep outta his way, but if he needs help, we'll help him. Until then we should move together ta kill the creatures that've split apart from the main group."

Audrey looked at Jeep curiously. What had happened to the walking doormat of a man she remembered from just a few days ago? Could someone really change so quickly?

But the fact was that he had changed, for whatever reason, and she couldn't help but respect him more for growing a backbone as the people around them moved to follow his instructions.

But it seemed that the burly man was less than impressed as his jaw clenched and he let out a growl in his throat. He opened his mouth to say something to Jeep when a gnarled hand gripped his shoulder firmly. The burly man's shoulders tensed in response, and he turned his glare to Lyle who looked up to the man with a stern look. "The boy's right, Terry, arguin'll get us nowhere. Besides, they have nothin' to gain by lyin'."

To Audrey's surprise, the burly man─ Terry─ only tightened his lips, nodding stiffly to Lyle before shrugging his hand off. Terry sent one last withering glare to Jeep as he made his way over to a small cluster of people next to a truck.

Seeing an opening, Audrey immediately hurried over to Jeep. "Jeep! Where's Charlie? The baby? Are they alright?"

Jeep tore his eyes from Michael and met her gaze evenly, "Don't worry, they're safe," he said softly, frowning when he noticed her cast and the numerous bruises lining her flesh. "I almost didn't believe Michael when he came to us this mornin' and told us that you were alive... I'm so sorry, Audrey, we were so sure you didn't survive the crash... we wouldn't have left ya if we'd known..."

Audrey shook her head gently, "It wasn't your fault Jeep, don't worry about it." Then Audrey remembered something else he'd said. "Wait, Michael came to you before all of this started? Did he tell you what's going on here?" Her mind was buzzing with the possibilities. There must be something big going on for Michael to be fighting with the very things which he had been fighting against a few days ago.

But before Jeep could answer, there were shouts from the back of the group that had all of them turning. Audrey could see a cluster of the feral-possessed approaching, claws extended and fresh blood staining their chins. One screeched tauntingly at them as the creatures fanned out, preparing themselves to attack.

"We'll talk later," Jeep said hurriedly, not taking his eyes off of the creatures as he lifted his rifle and jogged forward to get a better shot.

Other people around her set into motion, raising their weapons and firing.

Audrey followed suit, raising her weapon and aiming─ but a shout from her right had her turning just in time for her to see something moving out of the corner of her eye. She'd barely registered the creature before it hurled itself at her.

Panicked, Audrey jerked her weapon right and squeezed twice.

The body hurled into her, knocking her off of her feet and slamming her back against the ground.

The wind had been knocked out of her, and Audrey gasped for air as she struggled to remove herself out from under the limp body of the creature.

Once free, she struggled to a stand and noticed that the front of her dress was now covered in the creature's blood, but paid it no mind and looked back to where she'd last seen Lyle and Jeep. They had already moved on, a few nameless people in their places as they shot off rounds.

Audrey was still trying to regain her lost breath when she adjusted her grip on her weapon and aimed at another creature which was closing in on a black-haired man near her. She aimed for its head, shooting once, then twice, before hitting her target the third time─ the creature fell dead at the man's feet.

The man's eyes were still wide as he nodded gratefully to her before running over to a dead man and relieving him of his weapon.

Audrey never thought she'd want to thank her marine ex-boyfriend for all of the trips to the shooting range─ hell, toward the end of that relationship she would've rather shot herself in the foot than go again: the man had been obsessed with guns and it seemed that he cared more about them than he ever did her─ but she now thanked whatever had driven her to accompany the asshole. It turned out that she was quite the shot.

She aimed at another creature and fired.