Hunted

Jordan stepped forward into hell.

The life in the community was gone. The sunny sky was overcast. Restaurants that had been bustling with customers were far less so, with only ones offering greasy hamburgers and fries having any success. Gone were things like taco trucks or the ice cream man, the parks were now barren and surrounded by chain-link fences. 

It was a wasteland stripped of color and culture.

She had no time to take it in. Grey kept pulling her down the street and Jordan had to run in a dead sprint to keep up.

They had round a corner when the squeal of tires echoed in the air.

“Over here!” Jordan pulled back on Grey, taking them both into a nearby alley and ducking behind a dumpster.

The two gasped for breath. Out in the street, engines roared and cars sped by as sirens started announcing the police had entered the search. Jordan started getting up, only for Grey to hold out her arm to keep her down.

Moments later, policemen with leopard’s heads ran by the entrance to the alley.

“We can’t stay here,” whispered Grey. “The town’s crawling with them. It’s only a matter of time before they find us.”

Jordan agreed. “We have to get back to Frank’s.” She held up the bag of parts for Elijah’s ham radio. “Once we rebuild the radio, we’ll figure out what to do next.”

Grey peeked down the alley to the street, where cars were still flying past. “How? We can’t stay on the roads. They’ll find us.”

She was right. Even when the town had a working bus system it wasn’t good or reliable. Getting anywhere depended on having a car or a bike. And with how people in this town drove, getting on a bike was taking your life into your own hands.

Overhead, Jordan heard the rumble of thunder. Was it going to rain soon?

Rain. That was it.

“Storm drains,” Jordan explained. “There’s a stormwater outlet behind an old clinic my parents used to take me to. We go into the outlet, work our way through, and go up through a manhole close to the house.”

Grey shook her head. “How do you know that'll work?”

“I skipped class a few times.” She chuckled. “Follow me. I know the way.”

----

The trek across town shot the nerves of both Jordan and Grey.

Police cars raced past them every other street. But that was nothing compared to the people. Every person who looked at Jordan, she had to wonder if they were going to report her or say anything. Her heart sank every time someone’s head turned to look at them to judge. It felt like everyone was staring. It felt like everyone was in on it.

That Jordan no longer suffered the effects from Lethenine withdrawal was only a small comfort. She couldn’t even blame the paranoia on the drugs. It wasn’t paranoid if they really were out to get you.

Jordan and Grey jogged across the crosswalk towards a building whose signage had fallen apart. The last time Jordan had been here, she had a case of strep throat. She didn’t remember many of the other details. Just that her family took her to get ice cream on the way home.

She wondered for a moment if that parlor was still there. Only for a moment. Then she circled around the clinic and navigated what was left of its parking lot.

The two climbed through a hole in a fence and stared down into a ditch. At the bottom, past a steep slope that Jordan knew she’d fallen down at least once, was a large concrete hole in the side of the ground.

Grey lingered behind even as Jordan went towards the outlet drain. “Are you sure this is the only way?”

“Positive.” Jordan turned back. “In fact…” She went to the side of the drain and reached under a large rock. If she was right, it still might be there. After a few moments she smiled. “Got it!”

Jordan pulled out a flashlight from beneath the rock. It was an older one, heavy and black. A quick press of the button and both women saw that the batteries still worked. Jordan moved the light down the drain, brightening the segment closest to them for a moment before pulling it back. “I know the way.”

Grey had come down the hill but still hesitated. Jordan wasn’t sure why. Was it a fear of the dark? Confined spaces?

Jordan held out her hand to the unnerved Grey. “We’re going to get through this. I promise.”

Having Grey’s hand in hers gave Jordan a bit of the comfort she was trying to project. She didn’t have the heart to tell Grey about the skull next to her foot.

----

The storm sewer grew pitch black in moments. With only what illumination the flashlight could provide, Jordan led Grey further into the depths.

Grey didn’t look like she wanted to spend any more time down here than she had to. But Jordan froze when she heard a muffled groan at an intersection. One that she recognized from her encounter with Elijah.

“What is that?” asked Grey.

Jordan held up a finger and motioned for Grey to keep quiet. The two moved straight ahead.

As they weaved through the tunnels and made a right, they heard the groan again. And a figure lingering ahead without a face.

The women both froze. Jordan immediately pointed her flashlight at the floor and tightened her hand in Grey’s. There was no avoiding it. They needed to go down this way.

Jordan put her back to the concrete and sidestepping along it. She could see Grey had followed her lead. Even with the light pointed at the bottom of the pipe, Jordan could see the light reflect on the man’s perfectly smooth head.

The two women were now directly at the faceless man’s side. He twitched, slowly turning toward Jordan and Grey. Jordan held her breath. She suspected Elijah couldn’t see her at all at the house. But he seemed more than able to hear her.

That seemed to be how the faceless man was acting as he took a step towards them. He was shambling in his gait, nearly tripping over his own feet with each movement. Jordan reached into the bag of ham radio parts and pulled out a ball of foil and wrapping that Grey and her had pulled off of their ice cream sandwiches.

The faceless man lifted his arms as he hobbled just beyond arm’s reach.

Jordan threw the trash ball past the faceless man and closed her eyes. A soft thump echoed through the tunnel.

The faceless man stopped and started turning towards the source of the noise.

Jordan pulled Grey too her and finally pulled herself off of the wall. They didn’t have much further to go. One more turn –

There was a beam of light coming from a manhole cover in the ceiling. A thin ladder led up to it.

And between them and the ladder were a dozen faceless figures. From the way they were groaning, they may not have good vision.

But they could tell Jordan had just shone a light in their missing faces.