All Chapters of THE CULLING TRIAL: Chapter 61
- Chapter 70
94 chapters
CHAPTER 61 — UNDER ATTACK
It started as a low rumble, then a roar that peeled the air apart as millions of black shapes rose from the ground and blotted out the sky.This sound that erupted from beneath our ark was unlike anything I'd ever heard, a roar that seemed to crawl up from the depths of hell itself, sending ice through my veins.How could something like this exist under our home? How long had it been waiting down there?The roar was followed by something that made my blood run cold.In the distance, what looked like millions of tiny black specks poured out of the ground in thin streams. They rose toward the ceiling of the sphere, then suddenly redirected, heading straight at us. My system interface flickered to life, displaying information that made my heart stop:MASSIVE THREAT DETECTED ESTIMATEDARRIVAL: THIRTY MINUTESDANGER LEVEL: EXTREME LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Thirty minutes. I had thirty minutes before whatever was coming reached us."Cent! Vivi!" I called out, spinning around frantically. They h
CHAPTER 62 — ABANDONED
One of the creatures' claws caught Vivi across the thigh, dragging her right out of. Y grip. I heard her agonizing cry “Kae!” as I jumped right to grab her hand. I tried pulling her closer to me but that only made it more hurtful to her as the claw deepened into her thigh. She screamed in pain which immediately alerted every monster in the area.I pushed Cent into Vira's arms. "Keep running!" I shouted, then turned back for Vivi.The creature that had wounded her raised its claws for a killing blow. I grabbed a rock and hurled it at the monster's head, getting its attention.I could see more were coming, heading straight towards us due to Vivi’s scream.The creature began stalking toward me while I desperately searched for a weapon. I spotted a piece of broken rebar from some construction debris.As the monster lunged at me, I drove the metal spike straight through its skull, pinning it to the ground.Even as more creatures approached, I grabbed handfuls of stones and threw them in
CHAPTER 63 — HORDE CHALLENGED
The monsters didn’t need to tear us apart, yet the silence was enough to make us do it to ourselves. They clung to the pharmacy walls like living nightmares, their claws scraping, their teeth gnashing, as if they could already taste us.I stared at them surrounding the pharmacy, my mind racing with panic and desperation.We were trapped, completely cut off from escape, and every second that passed was another second Vivi didn't have. The weight of helplessness pressed down on me like a crushing stone."There are too many of them." I complained "How much are they that they have to fill up every opened space?"I know it's a dumb question because I saw how they came, but seeing them this many and this close isn't something I thought I would have to experience. "We could stay put," Vira suggested quietly. "Hope someone or something makes noise to lure them away.""I don't know if I have that kind of time," I replied, my voice tight with fear. "Certainly, Vivi doesn't have much time as w
CHAPTER 64 — RESCUED
“So this is the plan.”She paused, looking at everyone to know if we were all paying attention. When she saw that we were, she went on, "I've got one more of these so here's the plan. When I activate the device and draw the creatures away, you all run to the right side of town, there's a Razorwing transport waiting. Under no circumstances should anyone look back, neither should you slow down." We all nodded. "Who here can't run?" she asked, "Excluding the little one." The nurse and a few older survivors raised their hands."Then the faster ones will need to help pull them along," she said matter-of-factly like that sounded helpful. I looked at Vivi, whose face was pale and drawn with pain. "You're doing great, darling. Just hold on a little longer."She just cried quietly, the pain was overwhelming for someone her age.Vira stepped forward. "I can carry her."I shook my head. "She's probably too weak to move. I've got this."I carefully lifted Vivi and positioned her against my c
CHAPTER 65 — LAST MOMENT
The words echoed in my head like a strange chant. Fiancé? I stood there frozen, unable to process what I'd just heard. It shouldn’t matter, but it did, and I hated it. The connection I'd felt with Vira since the trial should be nothing, right? So explain to me why I'm feeling some sort of tightening around my chest? Was this the older guy she said she was into? Or how did she put it again? My mind was spiraling out of control.Vira stared at me, her blue eyes wide and unreadable. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.Dr. Reid turned to her, his back to me now, completely oblivious to the devastation his introduction had caused."Come on, the others are waiting for you," he said cheerfully, taking her arm.As they walked away, Vira glanced back over her shoulder. Our eyes met for a brief moment, and I saw something flicker in her expression. Guilt? Before she turned forward again and disappeared into a tent."Kae!" Jabari's voice cut through my spiral. H
CHAPTER 66 — LOSING EVERYTHING.
"Not again," I muttered, feeling the weight of despair settling over me like a shroud.I glanced at Vira, who looked confused and frightened. She quickly left the tent, probably to find her sister.I started to follow her when Cent grabbed my hand. "Where are you going?""Stay here and watch Vivi for me," I said. "I'll be back.""You can't leave us again!" His voice rose with panic."I'm not!" I said firmly, perhaps too harshly. "She needs at least one of us beside her when she wakes up." he looked away angrily and I had to place my hands on his shoulders to force him to look at me as my tone softened. "Please, Cent. She needs someone beside her and I need you to be strong for that, at least."He looked at Vivi's unconscious form, then back at me, another fresh tears forming in his eyes. Finally, he nodded reluctantly.I kissed his forehead. "I'll be right back. I promise."Outside the tent, chaos had erupted. People were running in every direction, screaming and crying as they fled t
CHAPTER 67 — DESPERATION
Twenty-four hours. That was all Vivi had left.Every step felt heavier than the last. Maybe it was guilt. Maybe it was the weight of knowing my sister’s life was slipping away by the second.I walked back, my head facing down like I was a child that got scolded. ‘I can't let Vivi down.’ I thought ‘I have lost too many people.’I don't know what to do but I had to tell someone. I had to do something……. And fast. I found Kambi in the command center, reviewing evacuation reports with a few military personnel. When she saw me, she spoke with her colleagues briefly before gesturing me to come in. “Still worried about your sister?”“Yeah.” I sighed “Especially now that time is ticking against her.”She poked my shoulder. “Don't be. The doctors are good at what they do, you can count on them to help Vivi.” she assured me I don't think she understands the message I'm trying to pass across to her. I need her military leverage to help me go retrieve the cure. Seeing that I'm still not in t
CHAPTER 68 — AGAINST THE CLOCK
Hours passed. I'd given up hope of getting out in time when I heard footsteps approaching. The door opened, but instead of guards coming to process me, a figure in a dark hood slipped inside.I rose to my feet and pulled out the nearest wood to slam it straight into the figure's head. It grunted as it staggered back and I took that opportunity to slam him again. At this point, the figure was on the ground with hands raised high when I was going in for the third strike. “Hey! Hey! It's me.” a familiar voice whispered. He pulled his hood to reveal his face. It was Lex! I felt embarrassed. “Oh man, I'm sorry.” I pulled him up “Thought you were an assassin.”“Noted.” he wiped the blood that had painted his face and rubbed his head “come on, we need to move.”He quickly led me through a series of maintenance corridors, avoiding patrols, until we emerged into a vehicle depot where several ground transports waited.Kambi stood beside one of them, her expression a mixture of anger and det
CHAPTER 69 — FLASH POINT
The spider-looking mutant loomed over us, its predatory eyes gleaming at us . It landed right at my feet, twitching, as it moves closer to us. We also moved back to maintain the distance between us and it. I raised my rifle and fired, aiming for its clustered eyes. The creature shrieked and staggered, ichor spraying from its wounds, before collapsing in a heap of twitching legs.In this place, killing one thing only meant you’d just told everything else where to find you.The silence lasted three seconds before the ground began to shake. The gunfire had alerted every mutant that was nearest to us in the area.Static crackled through my comm unit. "Kae? Vira? Is anyone there?""Kambi!" Relief flooded through me. "Are you alright?""Barely. We crash-landed near an underground channel." She rattled off coordinates about half a mile from our position. "It's a bit far from where you stand and based on our circumstances might be a little difficult…..” my comm crackled, “If you can get her
CHAPTER 70 — SEVERED LINES
The wreckage began to shake violently as mutants swarmed over it, searching for prey. I held my breath, hoping none have found me.I was trapped and alone, with no escape route, that is, until I heard crackling static from the cockpit. A man's voice came through the damaged comm system."Kambi? Baby, are you there?” It's Xavier! “Please respond. If you can hear me, there's help on the way. I need you to get to the government building. That's where the extraction team will look for you."A mutant lunged at the sound, knocking the comm unit across the cockpit. It slid to a stop right in front of my hiding spot.I waited until the creature turned away, then slowly reached for the comm unit. I whispered, "Kambi isn't here but she's safe.” I didn't spare a minute as I immediately identified myself and I explained my situation.Xavier's response was fury. "Honestly, I don't know why she has to go to great lengths for you but if anything happens to my wife because of you, death will be a me