“Zach! Wait!” said Fiona, but it was too late and he was already running across to the front of the store.

  Somewhere inside a fire burned, and it gave just enough light for everyone to see the wreckage beyond the broken windows.

  Zach raised his rifle and stepped over broken glass and scattered parts of televisions and old computers.

  “Abbey!” he shouted into the shadows.

  The smell of death and burning plastic filled the air as he walked forward and shone his flashlight into the large opening at the back of the helicopter. Two bodies lay like rag dolls just beyond the ramp, but most of the others were still in their seats. It was obvious the E.L.F’s had gotten to them before they had a chance to escape.

  He flashed his beam at each new horror inside the aluminum coffin confirming none were the woman he loved.

  A noise made him turn around.

  “Zach, there are things coming this way, we can’t stay here,” said Fiona.

  “Yeah okay, I’m coming out,” he walked down the ramp. “She’s not here, she must have got away or something.”

  As they neared the stores broken front windows, the ground shook and the remaining panes of glass fell to the ground.

  Ducking through the opening, they ran back onto the sidewalk and looked up into the sky around them. The ground shook again, this time with such ferocity that it knocked both of them almost off their feet.

  Zach shone his flashlight’s beam at the other stores and buildings. Abbey where are you?

  “Zach we have to go!”

  An almighty crash made them all look a few hundred yards towards one of the skyscrapers and a wave of dust washed past them. Then they saw it. A shadow five stories high, rising even higher against the night sky.

  They both started to run back to the Humvee, when the ground around them shook again and cracks opened up in the road. This time they couldn’t stay on their feet and they were sent sprawling to the ground.

  “Zach!”

  “Abbey?” Zach scrambled to his feet, trying to understand from where his name was called.

  He then saw three shadows running towards them, about a hundred yards in front of the creature that would soon be on them. Zach started running forward.

  “Can you drive?” shouted Michael to the solder in the back seat.

  “Yes!”

  “Then get in the front, we need to lead—”

  A hand the size of a bus slammed into the Humvee flicking it over and through the air, finally slamming it into a wall of a building.

  Zach looked back momentarily, then kept running towards the people running towards him.

  As he got to Abbey and the two others, the creature above them roared, a noise so intense that it was almost strong enough to knock them backwards. It then rose up higher, blocking out the sky above their heads. Zach grabbed Abbey close to him. “I love you,” he said, as their entire world became a dark void.

  He felt her breath on his face, and they both held each other waiting.

  The creature roared in pain and the sky reappeared. Fur and anger ran past them and tore into the huge creature. Squawks and growls filled the air.

  “It’s other creatures, they’re attacking the big one,” said Daphne cowering close by.

  The ground shook once more, while what seemed a never-ending stream of creatures clawed and jumped at the huge shadow just tens of yards from them, sending it staggering backwards against a small building, which crumpled under the weight.

  Zach pulled Abbey away. “Run!”

  They and the two others both ran with every part of their being away from the onslaught that was bearing down around them.

  The huge creature then fell completely backwards onto a skyscraper, crushing a huge segment of the lower floors. Dust and Masonry flew up into the night air.

  Soon they were running across the street to the wreckage of the Humvee.

  “Michael!” shouted Zach. There was no reply.

  “Over here!” shouted Irwin who was kneeling near a body, with an arm at an impossible angle.

  Zach and Abbey ran to him and immediately recognized Michael.

  Zach knelt and felt his pulse. “He’s alive,” he then looked inside the remains of the Humvee. “Only Michael.”

  Dark shapes filled the sky, swooping and diving, while others ran and galloped across the ground around them. Roars and growls filled the air as creature set upon creature.

  “Yes!” shouted Abbey. “Get them, kill them!” She looked at Zach. “It’s the E.L.F’s we found, they finally got here!”

  “We need to get inside, there are still plenty of bad things out here,” said Irwin looking nervous as shadows flitted past.

  “I don’t think we should move this young man,” said Daphne.

  Abbey walked forward slightly, and closed her eyes. Soon a dark form left the fighting that was happening and bounded towards them.

  As it came into the Humvee’s headlight beams that were still partially functioning, the small group apart from Abbey leaned back. One of the wolf looking creatures which stood on its hind legs, stood panting in front of her.

  “He will protect us,” said Abbey.

  “You are one of them!” said Irwin.

  Zach clicked on his radio. “Core, this is Major Felton, I’m in the southern part of the capital I need immediate evac. Send the following message to all units. If they see an E.L.F and it’s not attacking them, do not attack it, I repeat do not attack it, they are on our side! Over.”

  “Yes, sir, evac is inbound, ETA fifteen minutes. Over.”

  “Have a medical team onboard, we have injuries. Over.”

  “Yes, sir. And the order regarding the E.L.F’s—”

  Zach missed the last part of the radio message as he took the radio away from his ear. He kneeled down and put his hand on the sidewalk. “Do you feel that?”

  “Feel what?” said Irwin.

  Zach looked at Fiona, she had a quick look at her rifle and then ran off into the gloom.

  “We need to find cover.”

  *****

  Troy Carlson waved his flashlight around the dust filled interior of a huge dark open space, with dormant machinery. A door behind him opened and a man with glasses appeared.

  “We're getting reports that our E.L.F's are being attacked by other E.L.F's in the capital.”

  “Yup. It was only a matter of time before that happened. Just make sure our little gang of Cascaders keep playing their part and sending whatever monsters they find in this direction,” said Troy. He turned the flashlight around so it illuminated Aaron, making him put his hand to his face. “Have the rest of our forces entered the camp yet?”

  “Most have, we control all the northern wall gates and most on the west. We are having trouble at the south and east walls.”

  “Just keep them busy on those sides, we don’t need to take them, just need to stop them from using those gates as a means to escape. What’s their military numbers?”

  “It’s hard to get accurate figures but I would say they are at least thirty-five percent down on what they had. Although they seem to be holding back most of the helicopters.”

  “Hmm, they might be a problem, get the Cascaders to get their pets to target the airfields and any hangers that are housing them.”

  “I’ve been told that there are a number of E.L.F’s approaching from where our Cascaders have been, but it’s some miles out. Either way I don’t see the camp’s former inhabitants lasting very long.”

  “Good.” He waved his flashlight back towards the machinery. “We’re going to build a new world Aaron.”

  “Yes, sir. I should get back,” said the younger man, turning to leave.

  “Aaron?”

  “Yes?”

  “I want to know the moment we control the capital.”

  “Of course.” Aaron left.

  Troy took one last look at machines and racks around him then left the hall and walked down narrow corridors until he emerged into the night air.

  Winged creatures sailed overhead only visible as dark shadows, while huge six legged bear like creatures stood in packs on the road and parking lots of the stores and buildings around him.

  Clovis stopped stroking one of the creatures and walked over to him. “When do we move into the capital I want to see what my boys can do,” he said looking eagerly at the E.L.F’s around him.

  “They’re not softened up enough yet. Let the other creatures do their job, then you can have as much fun as you want.”

  “There’s one of their bunkers around here, we can use a charge to get the door open then tear them up.”

  Troy walked closer to the taller man and looked directly into his eyes. “We need the people of this place on our side. If we start killing them for fun, that’s not going to happen is it?”

  Clovis looked away. “Maybe they need to be taught a lesson,” he growled.

  “I think what has happened today and will happen tomorrow will do that. You and your…” Troy looked around him. “Pet’s will have plenty of chances to taste blood when we finish off their military, okay?”

  Clovis nodded.

  “For now, we all need to get a few hours sleep,” he patted Clovis on his arm. “Big day tomorrow. These walls and everything inside will belong to us.”

  Clovis slowly grinned, while one of the creatures around them let out a slow drooling howl.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Zach looked out from the fifth floor apartment window onto the city. Daylight was just breaking and the carcasses of E.L.F’s and soldiers lay strewn across the street where Zach and the others were almost killed the night before.

  Fiona found the apartment block nearby and they managed to get themselves and Michael into it only a few minutes before tank shells started exploding all around.

  Even in the dark they could make out the rectangular shapes of modern buildings around them, but as Zach scoured the landscape with his rifle, only jagged ruins were left of most of the smaller structures.

  The first lot of E.L.F’s that Abbey and the other Cascaders had found had arrived and been killed by a combination of the gang’s creatures and weaponry, and now it seemed the capital that had grown from nothing over the course of eight months belonged to the Hell Fire gang.

  Since finding their refuge he had only contacted the core twice. Once to send the chopper back and again to tell them the gang’s forces are moving into the city.

  “Haven’t seen any of their people for a good while,” said Zach.

  Abbey handed him a mug of brown liquid. “Cold coffee is all we got.”

  He smiled. “Coffee is coffee. You get any sleep?”

  “Not much.”

  He grabbed her hand. “We’ll get out of this.”

  “They have the city Zach, and you haven’t contacted the Core for a few hours, maybe they have that too!”

  “If that were the case they would have broken radio silence and told me. This war’s not over yet.”

  She looked down at her own mug of coffee. “I thought we found enough creatures.”

  “What you found saved our lives. How is the big furry thing outside?”

  “I found some tinned meat, which I threw to him, he liked it I think…” she looked at the sky outside. “I hope Mo’s okay.”

  “You left him back at the house?”

  “Yeah, well I told him to go back and stay there, I don’t know if he’s still there.”

  Fiona came into the living room, breathing heavily. “They got check points all around us, but they’re stronger the more you head into the city to the north. There’s only one checkpoint to our south.”

  Irwin came out of one of the bedrooms. “Any of that left?” he said looking at their coffee.

  “Sure, in the kitchen.”

  Irwin nodded and moved into the other room.

  Fiona sat on the sofa. “We could wait till night time and make a run for it, they won’t be able to catch us if we avoid the main road.”

  “This battle might be over by then, we have to get back to the Core as soon as we can.”

  “Then we’re going to need a vehicle, and the only usable ones I know of are being used by the gang.”

  “Then we know what we gotta do.”

  *****

  A scrawny man with flat hair that parted in the middle looked along the road at the snapped trees and rubble lying across the sidewalk and squinted. “Hey, hand me those eyepieces.”

  An overweight bearded man in a baseball cap did as asked and the scrawny man scrunched his face up, then put the paint chipped pair of binoculars to his eyes.

  “Looks like we got a straggler,” he said looking at the fur-covered beast walking on two legs towards them. “Hand me the rifle.”

  “How’d you know it’s not one of the good ones? We gotta look after those. Not kill them.”

  He sighed. “Maybe you’re right, it doesn’t seem to be angling to do us any harm.”

  They both stood at the junction with two cars pulled across it and watched the wolf like creature move towards them.

  “Hand me that rifle just in case, maybe it woke up hungry!”

  The man with the beard started to laugh then stopped, his face frozen while a tiny trickle of blood ran down his cheek from under his cap. The scrawny man went to grab the rifle when a jaw lined with teeth flew towards him.

  Zach ran over to the pickup that sat dormant behind the wreckage of the vehicles that had been placed as barricades. The wolf creature leaped forward with blood dripping from its fangs and stood watching Zach as he checked for the keys. Luckily they were still in the ignition. As he pulled back out of the car, he instantly raised his gun towards the E.L.F just a few yards from him.

  Abbey ran across to him. “It’s okay Zach, he won’t harm us.”

  He frowned. “I got the keys, let’s go.” He went to jump into the pickup when he realized Abbey was standing with her eyes closed. “What are you doing?”

  The creature turned and ran off.

  “Nothing, let’s get back to the others.”

  Soon they had picked up everyone and were on their way out of the city.

  Fiona pulled back onto the same dirt track they used the night before, but the scene around them was very different. Every field and beige green space was littered with dead things. Torn creatures and people half buried in rocks and earth lay scattered in every direction, together with smoldering metal hulls of tanks and other armored vehicles.

  Zach clicked on his radio. “This is Brigadier General Zach Felton. We are heading back to the Core. We will need an air evac, at…” He looked at his map. “Highway fifty two, at grid reference thirty five, eighty nine. Over.”

  There was a moment of silence, then Trow came on. “We hear you Zach. There’s a helicopter on its way to that location now. How’s your injured?”

  “Michael’s been in and out. But he’s alive. What’s the status? Over.”

  “The gang’s forces have about sixty percent of the camp. Mostly the north and west, including the capital. About six hours ago they stopped and held their positions, including their creatures. Things are pretty bad here Zach. We had to close the entrance to the main elevator. There are a whole lot of people up top that want in. We’ll bring you in by the emergency shaft. Over.”

  Zach held his radio for a moment before replying. “Negative, land me in the parking lot. Over.”

  “Zach, we won’t be able to protect you out there.”

  “I know what I’m doing general. Any word from Bass? Over.”

  “He’s still at the south wall, near the bridge. Over.”

  “Okay, see you soon.”

  It wasn’t long before they got to their destination and transferred to the transport helicopter. The officers onboard strongly protested about Zach wanting to go back to the Core parking lot, but eventually they gave in.

  They flew low over beige muddy fields with scorched craters and countless remains of trees that were mere splintered trunks. As they neared the cave system that was the Core, they saw them. Thousands of people, like they were approaching the crowds at a music festival. Some looked up and waved as they flew overhead.

  The helicopter started to descend onto the Core parking lot, scattering hundreds below that had made the cold concrete their home. As it touched down, the hordes watched, standing just beyond the updraft of the rotors.

  “Turn the engines off,” said Zach. The crewman shook his head. “Trust me.”

  The crewman spoke into his headset, and the rotors above their heads started slowing.

  “You got an external speaker system right?”

  The crewman nodded.

  “Good, how do I use it?”

  The crewman spoke into his headset, then after a short pause handed it to Zach. “Talk when you want!” he shouted.

  “Open the door, they need to see me.”

  The crewman pulled on the latch and pulled the large door open. A ripple of movement ran through the crowd.

  Zach stepped down from the helicopter. “I’m Zachariah Felton. I’m in charge of the camp.”

  “Help us!” and “You killed us all!” came from the tired people around him.

  “I know you’re scared! I am too. But this fight is not over. Not by a long way.”

  The crowd jostled around him and a stone flew through the air just missing his head.

  “Yeah, you can kill me. I couldn’t stop you. But I want you to look at the ground. Go on…”

  The people in the crowd looked at each other, and then slowly began to look down.

  “You see that concrete? That’s yours. This land, everything you see around you, belongs to you. This is your camp. Your home. Your salvation. You built it. And nothing between now and yesterday has changed that. The question is, are you going to fight for it?”

  “We’re not soldiers!” came from the crowd.

  “If you believe in this camp and you can hold a gun, you’re as much a soldier as I am.”

  There was a commotion to his left and the crowd there parted. Soldiers ran forward, looking nervous and pointing their rifles at those around them.

  “Everyone put your guns down,” said Zach into the headset. He then looked back out at the crowd. “My friends and I, have been in the capital overnight, and the gang and their people are there, as well as to the north. Soon they will come here. What say we show them what it means to try and take our land from us?”