Kay’s voice came from the hood of a synth-suit. She blended in with the night and I had to squint to make out her form.
Her voice carried across the Quad, and several Floraes looked up at us, torn between their fresh kills and the promise of more meat. I sprinted quickly to her side and placed my head next to her ear.
“What is happening?!” I whispered desperately.
Kay shook her head. “I wish I knew.”
“Do you have an extra synth-suit?”
“At the Rumble Room . . . I can’t spare a Guardian to go with you, but I could give you my keycard . . .”
“That would take too long. Forget it. I’ll be fine without one. I’m used to this.”
“Good luck,” Kay whispered, and disappeared into the night. Hopefully the Guardians were prepared. This wasn’t search and rescue, this was war. The Guardians were accustomed to meeting the Floraes with other Guardians as backup. We had to protect the people of New Hope now. They were absolutely defenseless.
I felt dangerously exposed with the moonlight reflecting off my pale skin and white pajamas. But at least I had a gun. I snapped into focus.
There was a Florae to my left. I knew it had spotted me because of its frenzied snarl and its sudden galloping strides. I turned and shot it in the shoulder, which barely slowed it down. I re-aimed and managed to get its neck. Its momentum threw it forward and it fell at my feet, its head flopping to the side. Black-green blood spurted and I jumped back. I didn’t want the scent of blood on me.
I needed to make every shot a head shot, or I would just piss them off. That’s what the Guardians taught me: to kill a Florae you have to shoot it in its head or slit its throat, detaching the head from the body. I remembered every training session.
More screams tore into the night from across the Quad. The world was ending again. I fought my urge to run and hide, like I did so many times in the After.
A blur of yellow sped by me, then one of red. I killed the two Floraes following the children, whose jumpsuits reflected the moonlight so they were lit up like beacons. They were running home, to their dorm, but the movement only attracted more Floraes.
I crept along the shadows to the school, where dorms took up the two top floors. Those kids were all sitting ducks, but I didn’t know what I would do when I ran out of bullets. I had no knife; besides, I doubted I could actually kill a Florae with just a blade, even though I’d been training for it.
I reached the school’s main entrance, and from the splintered wood it was clear the Floraes were already inside. My heart stopped. The children in their beds would have nowhere to hide. They would be slaughtered.
I rushed inside and down the hall, keeping as silent as possible. Most of the yellow and orange doors were closed. Upstairs past the red doors, I crossed back to the stairs that led to the dorms. I was in too much of a hurry. I didn’t hear the heavy breathing until it was almost too late. One of Them was nearly upon me when I spun around to fire. Luckily my shot found its forehead. Its yellow eyes, fierce and burning, extinguished as it fell to the floor.
I took the stairs sideways, trying to keep one ear above and one ear below. When I heard whimpers, I burst through a door and skidded into the room, almost falling. When I regained my balance, I realized why the floor was wet; it was slick with blood.
Crazed, I scanned the room, shooting the feeding Floraes one by one. There were no survivors. I wasn’t thinking straight; I should have started at the first room and worked my way down. I stepped back into the hall, leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind me. I heard a noise from behind a closed door.
I leaned in, listening. I heard a whimper, then a soft “Shhhhhhh.”
I opened the door and stepped into the room quickly, closing the door behind me with an almost inaudible click. The Floraes would be there soon. If I heard, They did too.
The room looked like a kindergarten classroom: lots of little tables surrounded by small chairs. There was a door at the far end. I listened for noise, breathing, anything to tell me where people were hiding.
Near the far wall I heard a gasp, and when I ducked low, I saw them under a covered table. A Minder and two toddlers in pink stared at me fearfully. I looked under the other tables, where more little children crouched, frightened.
I motioned for the Minder to come out and she crawled forward on her hands and knees, painfully loud. I put my mouth to her ear.
“What’s through that connecting door?” I whispered.
“Class Two dorm room,” she said, her whisper loud with desperation. “There are kids in there now, under the beds. We came from the room next door when we heard the screams outside.”
“Get the kids in there,” I said. She looked at me blankly. “Now. Quickly and quietly,” I ordered in a hushed tone.
The Minder waved the children out from under the tables and herded them into the adjoining room. I helped, but stayed focused on the door. We were making a lot of noise and it was only a matter of time. I searched the small kitchen they used for snack time and found a couple of knives. I shoved one in my waistband and handed the other to the Minder before she left the room.
“Keep silent,” I cautioned. “If one breaks through the door, go for its neck.” She took the knife with trembling hands. “And turn off the lights.”
She nodded once and quietly closed the door. It was silent as a graveyard, but the Floraes knew we were there. Within seconds there was a scratching at the door, then a frenzied panting. With the sonic emitters back up and running, They were agitated. There was nowhere to hide from the noise.
In a few short moments, the creatures were almost through the door. I didn’t know how many there were, but I was guessing more than I had bullets for. I took a deep breath. I’d hold them off for as long as I could. If I wounded a few, They would start feeding on each other. I could buy some time.
The door creaked and pressed inward. I aimed, ready to shoot as soon as it broke open, as soon as I saw the green gleam of a Florae’s head. My heart thudded, but my hands didn’t shake. I knew I could kill Them. They’d bottleneck through the door, and a bullet was still faster than a Florae.
Then, abruptly, it stopped. No more noise, no more scraping, no more snarls. I stepped back cautiously, keeping my gun raised. Then the door began to open.
“Amy!” Gareth yanked off his hood, shocked. “What the hell are you doing in here?”
“There’s a bunch of Class Twos in the other room.” I motioned over my shoulder.
“Stay here with them while we clean up. We think we got them all, but the Elite Eight are still on the prowl outside.”
I nodded, weak with relief, too exhausted to speak. He looked at me. “Those dead Floraes in the other room . . .?”
“I took care of them, but I couldn’t save the chil—” I didn’t want to cry. Not there. Not yet.
“You did a good job,” Gareth told me. He pulled his hood back up and stepped lightly out of the room.
I backed against the door, slid down, and collapsed in a heap. I began to shake as the adrenaline left my body. I wondered how many people were dead. I hugged my knees and waited for Gareth to come back and tell us it was all over.
