Bloodboots: A Breadcrumbs For The Nasties Short Read Online Free Page B

idea what to do with us. Not all of them were cold-blooded killers.

    Some were just assholes. 

    The few that didn’t want us dead were changed by the howler attack. They were through fighting the good fight. They were on edge. They’d had enough. 

    The howlers outside the walls of the base were louder than ever. We’d killed one of their own. We’d blown it to pieces, spread its brains across the dirt and burned its body. They probably smelled it from the forest. We all knew what was going to happen. It was as clear as day. More than ever we realized the reality of the world we lived in, what it was capable of, the lengths it would go to survive. Anything remaining, anything resembling a human being was gone and no longer served a purpose. The monsters had inherited the earth.

    Maybe they just found their way home.

4.
    They came for us in the morning. 

    “Everybody up!” 

    The butt of a rifle knocked the air from my lungs. A boot stomped my leg.

    “Move it, fuckers! Get yer asses up!”

    I could barely stand, everything sore, bruises on top of bruises, skin purple and blue. I was heading for the door when one of the soldiers shoved me back and pointed at Patrick. “Bring the Bertie.”

    Carrying my brother was getting easier. He’d lost so much weight. His eyes didn’t really open anymore. When he moved, he squinted, half awake and half somewhere better. When I scooped him up his cracked lips opened, whimpered. He wouldn’t last much longer. That much was obvious. Twenty soldiers greeted us outside. The rest were scattered through the base, leaning against walls, kicking dirt, trying their best to look away. It was clear not everyone agreed with what was about to happen. They also didn’t care enough to stop it. I’d be lying if I said I was angry. I wasn’t. They were doing what they had to do, keeping a low profile, trying to survive. I would have done the same. 

    I’m not proud of it.

    Sir, yes Sir, Walker looked annoyed. When he spoke, it was obvious. “Here’s the deal, folks. As much as I’d love to tell you we have the means to feed you indefinitely, we don’t. Rations are low. This base was only partially staffed and half-stocked when it opened. It was a last resort, tucked away. You all paid for something private and you got it. It wasn’t meant to house this many people for this long. We’re running low and we need to make some choices. We’re all suffering. We don’t all have to.”

    My eyes went to Walker’s belly, significantly larger than when we first met.

    Some of us were suffering more than others.

    Walker paused, eyes rolled. It was subtle. “I wish I could help all of you, I really do…”

    No he didn’t. 

    He paused again, this time longer. “I guess there’s no easy way to say this, so here it is…we’ve run out of options. Tough decisions had to be made and last night we made them. Some of us wanted to put you down humanely…”

    That was it, all it took. The words hit the sleepy crowd like a sledgehammer. They shattered and responded as a group. Some dropped to their knees, legs useless, weeping into the dirt, begging with what little voice remained. A few screamed and pointed, blabbering anger and indignant shock. Someone threw a punch. Someone else punched back. Twenty rifles rose. Twenty feet stepped forward, moving as a unit.

    “A few of us wanted to set you free, give you a fighting chance!” Walker was screaming now, struggling to be heard over the noise of the crowd. “We can’t have that, though! You wouldn’t survive an hour, and we don’t need you riling up those fuckers in the woods anymore than they already are or drawing more gimps to the fence!”

    The soldiers spread out, surrounding us, screaming for us to keep calm while pointing guns in our faces. They were grouping us into a circle, herding us like cattle. Most of us were going along with it. Two men broke from the mass and bolted for the fence. They were immediately put