General heads up, content warning from chapter 6 forward. Just a general, blanket sweep content warning. Anchor heads to some pretty dark places.

  After the week rolled on, things returned to a… sense of normalcy. Josh wasn’t there anymore. Rumor had it he had recently hurt his arm, and Dani’s “small” push just put it over the edge and snapped it out of its socket. It was pretty obvious to everyone that that was a total lie. But people just tried to move on. At the end of the week on Friday, there was a Kentucky Derby Parade downtown that the school let out for every year. It was a parade that said many things. Mainly, the power and force of the Heartland Pact. But it was also to celebrate unity. Louisville coming under the Heartland Pact’s power after being agreed upon by a treaty with Free Dixie was huge, and the Heartland Pact wanted to remind everyone of that.

  It was always a fun parade, though. No one minded that it shut down downtown Neo-Louisville. It was a celebration that they could do just that. The reinstating of the Kentucky Derby was also a huge event. Of course, only folks from the Heartland Pact and Free Dixie were permitted entry into their event.

  Dani faced no consequences of her actions. It wasn’t something she was complaining about, but the guilt of it ate away at her for most of her time in school. Murmurs of it echoing through the hall. Dani was never super high on the social ladder, but that one event definitely caused shockwaves throughout the school. She felt like an outsider. Her friends didn’t see her any different, but they just prodded her more about it than she’d like. The same friends she was at the parade with now.

  “Where’s your dad, Rach?” Juno asked.

  “Ugh, dude he’s up north on some business trip. He has been in and out for weeks.” She responded.

  Rachel’s dad was not known for consistency with his schedule. Needless to say, it caused wedges with the family.

  Dani had also genuinely forgiven Rachel. Rachel knew she shouldn’t have brought it up, but she had told Dani it just couldn’t get out of her mind.

  One of the flying eagle holograms flew overhead. Signal of Freedom, it was known as. It was massive, and the detail was immaculate. Feathers fluttering in the wind like it was really there. Dani always wondered how they got holograms to look so damn good. Just so impossibly lifelike.

  Juno was dressed in their usual garb. Baggy clothes, all dark and black with some highlights of color here and there. But the colors that were there were dark. And they had to be hitting the light in just the right way to be seen. They had some big boots on that made them almost a half-inch taller. And their hair was done up in this extravagant bun, and they had dyed it purple and green over the week. Their makeup was extremely detailed too, care was put into every inch, her eyes looked like they were crying tears of black. They had a pale layer of foundation on them, and they made the black on her face pop. Their lipstick was like staring into the cold void of space.

  Markus, in his usual cowboy get-up. An obnoxious cowboy hat with some jewels embedded in it. Cowboy boots, a black and red flannel, and pants with a synth-leather belt with a big buckle that said “HTLD” the abbreviation for Heartland.

  And Rachel had this nice, beautiful flowery sundress on. Really hugged her. She looked beautiful.

  Dani, however, was in jeans and a band t-shirt. She was usually the least-dressed of them all. Wasn’t out of protest for anything. Just who she was.

  A big, red fire truck went by, with some of it’s crew standing on top, flexing their bodies to everyone. Dani bumped arms with a woman, a constant reminder of the crowds. You couldn’t reach your arm up without hitting someone. Luckily, Dani was behind Rachel. Dani usually just kept her hand on Rachel’s shoulder, Markus next to her, holding onto Juno. It was like shuffling through school hallways, except much hotter and a lot meaner. The usual vendor would call out to them, offering some toy or trinket. It was easier to ignore them.

  The group was on their way to a spot on a bridge, a walking bridge that you can get a damn good view from, but they had to park way further away from it than they usually did. Juno was a little late.

  They got caught up in what looked to be a mass stoppage of the crowd. People stopped moving. The group lined up in a single file with Juno in front, people usually stepped out of the way if they saw them moving through. And they did. Until it got to a point where people just stopped moving. It got thick. With the rising humidity and heat in general, the crowds were not an easy place to be in. Dani took a sip of her water. It felt good. Dani was in the back with Rachel in front of her.

  Dani felt the crowd close in behind her. She could feel people’s bodies close in on her. Sweaty and muggy. It was claustrophobic.

  Her breathing started to get a little more labored, but it was most likely due to the thickness of the air.

  There was just no room at all to breathe. No room to move. Dani felt someone push in on her a bit more from behind. Some big man. Unapologetic, he yelled out a bit, but his voice was drowned out by the crowd. Dani only heard bits of what he said. Something about getting a move on. She felt the same way.

  Dani looked around. Her eyes caught some kind of fluid movement behind a building across the street. It was orange, and rose suddenly, then went down. It came again. The light from it reflected off the sides of windows and buildings. Fire.

  The chatter lulled as some pops came out from somewhere in the crowd. Then screams. Then people began to push the crowd. Dani felt the air push out of her lungs as she was smashed into Rachel’s back, and Rachel fell down onto the ground. Dani fell down on top of her as Dani felt somebody’s foot push down onto her arm, it stayed there longer than it should have. It felt like she dropped a weight on her arm that wouldn’t move, and just kept adding more weight.

  Dani freed her other arm from being trapped under Rachel’s body and punched the ankle of the foot, as the person moved away, like a bug was itching it’s foot. Dani made an effort to get up, but it was like being buried under the sand at the beach, except the sand was dozens of people closing in on you. She saw Rachel’s hand reach for her, as Dani grabbed it, she pulled as Dani went up.

  The pops continued.

  They kept going and Dani saw the same big man who was only just in front of them flinch for a split second and fall down, with a hole in his throat. It bled profusely, like a water fountain. His mouth was open, as if he wanted to scream, but he only gurgled. The breath was trying to escape his body. He was still alive. He made eye contact with Dani, and reached out to her, and used his other hand to cover the hole, as blood began to pour out of his mouth. Dani couldn’t help but stare. She watched him die in moments.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  It was seconds. Those seconds Dani spent hunched over Rachel. Rachel saw it too. She began to cry. Dani didn’t know what to do.

  It was then that she realized Markus and Juno were gone.

  Dani looked across the street. She saw people were throwing up, as tumors and warts began to grow on their bodies and pop out pus and other diseases. Dani could smell them from here. They oozed out of their bodies, as if their body were killing itself. And it did in moments. You watched as small cuts on their arms or faces spread infection and disease all over their bodies.

  On the other side of the street, she saw people being set ablaze. Their bodies becoming black and burnt imitations of humans.

  Dani began to move from where the group had come. She had Rachel by the hand. She was fighting the crowd, who were just as confused as her.

  Dani gripped Rachel’s hand tightly. She saw a quick fireball from someone in front of her as two people near her dropped dead, the warm, fresh blood drenched Dani’s face. She could feel it enter her eye as she couldn’t bring herself to blink. More pops, closer.

  Dani ducked down and brought Rachel in close. The two were behind the moving crowd. Hidden in plain sight, as best they could be.

  “What the fuck is happening, Dani?” Rachel stammered out, going close. “Oh fuck is that your blood?!” She asked.

  “No, it’s someone else’s.” She said. “Did you see where Markus and Juno went?”

  Rachel shook her head.

  “Fuck.” Dani muttered.

  More pops. More people fell near them. Dani saw a doorway to a local, closed-down business a couple of spots down.

  “Follow close, Rachel,” Dani said. She gripped Rachel close. She began moving in the opposite direction of the crowd. It was like fighting a powerful river. You’d take two steps then get pushed back four more. Dani wasn’t sure how the crowd hadn’t dispersed yet. She heard gunshots just across the street. It sounded like people were returning fire.

  She looked into the street and saw… something not human. It definitely was human at some point in time. It was at least ten feet tall. Muscular, but not due to a workout routine. It was fully exposed. It was taking shots like it wasn’t even relatively bothered by them. One of the hands it had was outstretched, and had some woman in it, and Dani saw as the woman’s head caved in, and she slumped down from the screaming and panicking she was doing. Her body slid out of the thing's hand. It was slimy. It oozed and secreted body oils. They seemed to heal whatever was damaging it. In its other beefy hand, it had a gigantic sledgehammer. Not one you’d find at the store. Dani started to put the pieces together. It was Drudge. A well-known terrorist from the group called “The Cell”. Anti-Heartland terrorists.

  She had to move.

  She brought Rachel along even more, and in a blink, they were inside the shop. Dani stood still for a minute. Then she looked at Rachel.

  “Wh- what. Wait- D- What? Dani?!” Rachel was too confused to make a sentence.

  “Was that me?” Dani asked.

  “I don’t fucking know.” Rachel responded.

  “It’s fine. We’re safe. Get down.” Dani and Rachel saw an old bar and got behind it. Just as they did, some bullets cracked the glass windows of the shop. It pierced their ears.

  “I’m gonna text Markus and Juno.” Rachel said.

  “No no. Don’t. Remember what school teaches us about school shootings? Don’t text others. Notifications can sound.” Dani said. “You could get them killed.”

  Rachel nodded.

  Dani’s mom was here somewhere with her siblings.

  Dani saw the piles of bodies outside. They were up to the door. People had been clawing to get inside. She saw bloody handprints on the windows. Dani looked across the street as she saw one of the attacker's line up some people, and shoot them all one by one. Their bodies fell limp. Blood and brain matter shooting out the other side.

  She saw someone in a.. Weird, Renaissance era kind of mask walk around, swinging some kind of blade in his hand. She watched as he kneeled down in front of someone who was just barely alive, make a small cut on the person’s hand, and the person festered up in wounds, tumors and the like. Dani watched the person’s body die in front of her. Again.

  Dani slunk down below the bar with Rachel.

  Dani put her head into her hands. “I dunno what to do. They got Signalites.” She said.

  “Oh god…” Rachel whimpered.

  “It’s gonna be okay, though. The Enforcement Agency should be here any minute.” Dani said.

  As Dani said that, she saw flames engulf the outsides of the shop and plaster themselves on the windows. Someone was burning the bodies. The flames crackled with a wave of anger.

  Then she heard some knocking on the door of the shop. They both tensed up instantly.

  Dani felt it again. The matter on her skin and the world breathing around her. The itching started at the base of her skull, then rose behind her eyes.

  They heard a voice behind the door. “You…” An inhale “Think I didn’t… see you?” A sickly voice said. It was gargling on every word.

  They both stayed silent. “I can smell you in there.” It said. “You’re pretty, aren’t you? You’d make good meat for Drudge. He likes them pretty.”

  They both remained silent. The door began to open.

  Dani put a hand on Rachel’s knee.

  “It’s just us in here… I won’t even use my knife on you, kid.” The man said.

  Dani thought for a moment. She whispered to Rachel. “Don’t move.”

  Dani stood up with her hands up. It was the man in the weird costume. She went out from behind the bar. “Don’t hurt me, please. I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” He chuckled with a cough.

  “You didn’t interrupt me.” He said. “What’s your name?”

  “Dani.” She responded.

  “Full name.” Dani hesitated. As he stepped closer, his coat draping on the floor. He slowly reached out a hand across her throat. She let him. She was not sure what else to do.

  “Moss. Dani Moss.” She said.

  “Pretty name too.” He said. “That’s too bad you’re going to be food for Drudge.”

  He let down his hand of her throat. Dani didn’t know what to do at that moment. She was scared, obviously. Her heart pounded. He turned around. She lowered her right hand and formed it into a fist. If anything, it would give Rachel time to get out.

  She brought that fist back, and when she pushed it forward, he turned around, and the fist seemed to skip a beat as she did. Like it was punching through glass, and she needed to add more force to it for each layer. When she finally connected to the man, his jaw and the bottom of his face from his nose bridge down were gone. She didn’t just punch it super hard or something, no, it was gone. It disappeared. He reached up to where it would be. The gargling started. The top of his face sagged forward. His eyes began to waver. They had no skin to hold on to them. The blood ran up from his throat. He fell over dead. Dani didn’t have blood on her hands, not literally.