THE CULLING TRIAL

CHAPTER 3 — AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER

If I could describe what hopelessness is, this would be it. 

The shadow moved, rippled in the emergency lighting. I pressed against the metal wall, breath trapped. Fifteen others did the same. No one whispered. No one moved.

An enforcer three seats ahead clutched his bleeding arm, face pale. Blood dripped onto the floor with soft plinks that thundered in the silence.

He groaned.

The shadow twisted, condensed, and the creature appeared, its massive claws punching through reinforced glass like paper. It wrapped around the enforcer's torso and yanked him through the jagged opening.

Toxic gas hissed in.

The monster scraped along the Ironwyrm's top with metallic shrieks, then dropped to peer through another window. Amber eyes fixed on the girl near the front.

Swift, brutal. Claws sheared through glass and flesh. The girl's scream died with her.

Another female candidate shrieked in terror. Those glowing eyes snapped toward us. The creature launched itself forward.

She was still screaming when the claws found her.

"Open fire!" Enforcers raised weapons, plasma bolts lighting the dim compartment. The creature moved like liquid shadow, avoiding each shot. It snatched a young boy in retreat, his wails fading.

An enforcer fumbled with his comm. "Backup required! Code Red—"

Claws tore through his throat.

Chaos was in the air until fingers grabbed my arm to get my attention. "Please!" The blonde girl from the ceremony stared up, tears streaming. "Help me! My foot—"

Her ankle twisted at an unnatural angle, swelling purple. I looked toward the exit, then back at her face. My chest tightened.

"Okay," I whispered. "Wait over here."

I helped her through a gap between twisted metal, a pocket of shadow, and crawled toward the rear compartments, glass crunching under my palms. 

Outside, screams echoed as survivors met their end. The door remained jammed as I pulled the twisted metal until my fingers bled.

A low growl rumbled behind me.

The creature filled the doorway, saliva dripping from its maw, amber eyes locked on mine.

I stumbled through the wreckage as it roared behind me, claws scraping like nails on a chalkboard. The floor tilted. I bit my tongue, tasting blood.

My fingers found the emergency release. Nothing.

"Come on!"

The door hissed open as something wet splattered my neck. I dove through, rolling as claws raked where my head had been.

The creature loomed over me, claws raised, when its head snapped aside, sniffing the air.

In the distance, the blonde girl limped from the wreckage, leaving a blood trail.

The monster lunged after her, enough distraction for me to press deeper into the debris.

My arm throbbed where I'd scraped it. Without hesitation, I tore off my shirt, ignoring the toxic gas burning my exposed skin, and bound the wound.

The girl's scream echoed, then cut off.

A sick part of me was grateful her foolishness bought me minutes.

I grabbed a metal rod and crept toward the exit closest to home. The creature's roar told me it had finished. Heavy footsteps stomped in my direction.

I burst into the toxic channel when a gunshot rang out.

The bolt caught the monster's shoulder, spinning it around.

"Kae! Get in!"

Pierce gripped the armored jeep's wheel, smoke curling from his rifle. His eyes were hard behind the breathing mask.

I scrambled into the passenger seat as he gunned the engine.

"Here." Pierce tossed me an oxygen mask. "Put it on. Now."

I strapped it on as he fired at the creature giving chase.

"Why did you come back?" I shouted. "After putting me in this death trap!"

Pierce's jaw clenched. "We'll, aren't you an ungrateful chatter mouth” he murmured, “Beside genius, it's either you or your siblings." The threat struck like ice through my chest. If Cent or Vivi had been on that train…

Pierce grabbed his comm. "Control, this is Pierce! Immediate backup at Channel Seven! Category Five breach!"

He then faced me. "If you want to save your siblings," Pierce said, eyes on the mirror, "survive no matter what, cause when you're gone, they're next."

His rifle clicked empty. The monster gained ground, claws sparking on channel walls.

It leaped.

"Duck!" Pierce shoved me down as the creature crashed onto our roof. Claws punched through, swiping blindly.

Pierce's skin had a grayish tint as the mask wasn't perfect in the heaviest concentrations.

The claw found its mark, punching through Pierce's shoulder. He grunted but kept driving, blood soaking his uniform.

"Almost there," he muttered. Ahead us was the Ark gate.

The monster struck again, piercing clean through his chest. Consciousness faded from his eyes, but he kept his hands on the wheel.

He looked at me and smiled, red trickling from his mouth.

"I'm glad I got to meet the son of the great Wudi," he whispered.

The creature ripped him from his seat and flung him out of the moving car before leaping after Pierce. 

Our vehicle careened wildly. I scrambled toward the driver's seat, but was slammed into the tube wall before I could reach it.

Metal shrieked as glass exploded. I opened my eyes to searing pain and blurred vision, my damaged mask leaked blood from a gash on my forehead.

Through the cracked windshield, the creature stalked toward me, Pierce's blood dripping from its claws.

I struggled to drag myself out of the wrecked vehicle, broken pieces of glass tearing my skin. It was a bloody scene, something I wish I can erase from my memory. 

As it got closer to me, I couldn't help but fight the unwanted thoughts raiding my mind. 

Is thus going to be my final moment? That alone sent bile straight to my mouth.

I can't die here, not now at least. I just promised Cent I'll come back to him but now, it seems that's unlikely going to happen.

It finally got closer to me while I'm still in my struggle to stand on my feet, my entire body now battered in cold blood and sweat.

I kept churning out words in my head 'I can't die! I won't die!' and I want to believe 

It rose it's claws and instantly buried it in my body, sending waves of fire in my body. The pain was out of the ordinary, like my entire body was crushed through the exact spot it's claws pierced through.

The claws completely pinning me straight to the ground. 

"This is it." I sobbed "I'm officially going to die."