The Scourge System

CHAPTER III

Chapter III

"Run! Run! Run! Ack!" Leo shouted that alarmed them. Their eyes found Leo getting bitten by Grae at his shoulder. Leo screamed in agonizingly pain Grae's causing him.

Grae has his head bleeding from being knocked on the floor, as for his mouth as he bite Leo's shoulder, wriggling his head like some kind of an aggressive animal eating his lunch after so many years of hunger.

"Oh my gosh!" Clarissa exclaimed with her shaky voice holding on the grills on the yacht.

Gavin instantly took himself on guard, hiding the student behind him and his arms. Although that doesn't mean there will be no harm intended pass through him.

"Leo! No!" Jessa cried as she watched her classmate getting attacked by that thing.

"Sh*t!" Jeiger shrieked as the yacht bumped into the docking station of the pier. "We got a freaking zeke in the yacht!" He shouted.

All of them are doing all their best to keep their balance from the swaying of the yacht.

Amando came running from inside his cabin and helped Leo, he grabbed Grae by his hair and pulled him but Grae's too strong... too strong from that stick figured body of him. The infection that spread in his blood seems to mutate him, makes him stronger but no smarter.

"F*ck!" Amando cursed as he was thwacked back. Grae's arms are towards him and it's clawing him, frankly, hurling himself on Amando, displaying it's bloody teeth and mouth.

"Man! What the heck are you thinking?" Jeiger scolded him and helped him contain Grae away from them. "In the bathroom! Bathroom!"

"Oh no, look! Leo!" Jessa pointed her finger at Leo, who's choking blood and twisting turn on the ground. He's growling and his skin is changing it's color, those black veins tainting his skin forming nerves. He stood up looking like a teenager with his meds kicking in. His eyes are no more black, he has his mouth wide open and making a wheezing sound... then his eyes found them.

"Oh no, what to do? What to do?!" Jonixa wiggle Brenda's arm too harshly while jumping an inch high from the ground with his heels making a tack tack sound.

"Stop pulling my arm away from my body, that's what you have to do." Brenda pushed him away from her, balancing him out from where he stands, tripping on an elevated part of the yacht and fell on the waters.

"Brenda!" He shouts. "I'm going to kick you with my heels when I get up there, you bish!" He choked while kicking his feet like a frog under the water.

"Stand back, ladies, I got this." Gavin was about to launch himself to Leo when Amando and Jeiger pulled him by his feet. "What--"

"Take them away from here, Gav! Go! Go!" Amando shouted to them, Gavin gave him a quick nod before pulling the four of them out of the yacht.

"Come on!" He helped them to jump one by one at the dock. "Clarissa, hurry come on." He jumped down to help her but as she was going down, a growl from behind, made her turn her head to see what it is.

It's Harvey, eyeing on his target... her. Gasping, she runs away from him but the way he sprints... it would be impossible for her to outrun him in this kind of distance.

Screaming, she tripped on a cable and fell on her knees. Facing Harvey who jumped to hover over her.

"Clarissa!" Rohana called for her from down the yacht while Brenda and Jessa helped Jonixa to get out of the water. "We've got to do something!" She told Gavin who seems to black out from thinking.

"Help!" Clarissa screamed as she pushes Harvey away from her. Biting in the air and almost taking a piece of her skin. "Rohana! Help!" Her eyes are beginning to water. She's not strong, but the way she's surviving to push Harvey away from her, it's a surprise.

Heaving, Gavin urges himself to climb up the yacht with his bare hands and strength, up there he saw his friend winning against Leo's infected body and Clarissa who's on the ground, trying to save her flesh and skin from being bitten.

"I'm coming, Clarissa! Hold on!" He succeeded climbing and quickly run towards them and kicked Harvey with less effort and fell right through the water. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He helped her stand.

Clarissa instantly hugged him in fear from what just happened. "What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry, now go down the yacht with the others, don't move until we get back to you, you hear me?" He led her to the edge where the others wait and gets back to Amando and Jeiger.

"Sh*t!" Jeiger cursed when he was pushed over the counter and almost bang his head on the dishes.

"Watch out!" Gavin came in rescue, pulling a knife from the holders and plunge it on Harvey, thrusting on his skull.

With a heavy release of breathe, Gavin let's go of the the handle of the knife. Then Harvey's body fell on the floor with a loud thud.

"Gee, that does it." Jeiger gulped loudly while staring at the body.

"Anyone hurt?" All of them shook their head negatively. "Good, let's go."

~ ● ~

"I can make you drop, some money, dropping all my money. Drop, some money, all this bread so yummy, yea-- ouch! That hurts!" Jonixa exclaimed when he felt Rohana pinched his side that sizzles all the hairs on his body. "What was that for? My smooth, silky, soft skin is ruined!" He complained in whisper while caressing the part of his skin with a pout. Glaring at Rohana and stomping his feet as he marches beside her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rohana yelled in whisper. "You're not a kid anymore and stop walking like that if you don't want those freaks starts chasing our ass and if you don't stop, I'm the one to feed with those things!" She added so mean at him, glaring badly with those squinted eyes she wears.

"You don't have to be mean about it, it's my way of calming myself. Oh gosh, I wonder how's my darling Pinks going in Korea? Oh no! My husbands! I wish they are all okay, I hope that this global distinction won't last forever. I still have to kiss all their abs!" Jonixa tucks his short hair behind his ear, whether there's nothing to tuck.

"Stop it, you two. We're still unsure if those things will attack by any second. If you continue being this noisy, I'll call us rather be dead right now." Jeiger strictly told them with that annoyed expression of his.

"So cranky, no wonder you got wrinkles on your forehead." Jonixa commented, receiving a glare from him.

"Well I won't be this peckish if it ain't weren't for you and your lovely classmates. Because of you--"

"Jeiger, that's enough. Let's not blame anyone." Amando stopped his motor mouth with that authoritative voice of his. "Look, let's stop over there." He pointed at a bench, a bit hidden because of the abandoned cars outside.

"Ouch, my feet, I'm desperate to buy that chunky white shoes I saw at the online shop." Jonixa groans, enduring the pain of his feet as he wore high heels. His clothes are still soaked and he's feeling sick and weird inside it.

"Good luck with you on that." Rohana mumbled to her breath as she rolled her eyes, dragging herself at one of the benches to raise her feet. They've been walking for hours and fortunately, they didn't encounter any attack.

The city seemed haunted, everything's abandoned. It's like being in a movie, but the difference is that it's really happening.

"If we could find even just a convenient store near here, we could gather enough food to eat for the whole week." Gavin took the tire sitting just near the benches.

"We have to only get what's necessary and what's needed." Clarissa added as she has Jessa hugging her arm for the whole time they're walking.

Jessa adjusts her glasses and gulped. "What if there's those things inside them? What are we going to do?" She asked, trembling in fear and what's keeping her sane is Clarissa's warm hand holding hers.

"I'll give them dope." Brenda smirked, giving them her usual bored and a pain in ass look.

All of them grunted and shakes their head negatively. "Let's just try not to get bitten by those junkies. We have to keep ourselves tight so we don't have to find each other if something happens. Just 3 meters apart." Amando broke the glares they're giving at Brenda.

"If we ever encounter those things, we're gonna need more than this knives, at least something that could be used against them without getting bitten." Jeiger threw the knife just anywhere, making a faint clanking sound.

"Definitely, but where are going to find those kind of--" Gavin was cut off when Clarissa opened a car's trunk, revealing their fortune. "Guess I don't have to continue asking my question." He stood up and joins Clarissa and Jessa who are both looking at the trunk of the car.

"What's that?" Jonixa asked to herself while looking at whatever they are looking at.

"Guess we don't have to find anymore." Gavin holds a big smile, picking it up from the trunk and raised it. It's a bat.

Soon, Amando and Jeiger came close to him, taking one each for them. "This is a lot nicer than a knife. Enough for killing them brutally, bang them with their head." Jeiger singed it in the air, making a whooshing sound.

"Only three?" Rohana asked when she saw there's nothing more inside.

"It's enough." Amando uttered looking at the bat and face them.

"Enough? We wouldn't know if there's more of them in the place we're going in!" Rohana exclaimed to him with wide eyes.

"That's true, we wouldn't know, but if could just be discreet, we won't be attacked." Gavin looks at them one by one. Every eyes of them he meets. "We'll be fine. All we have to do is to gather foods we'll be needing and find a place to stay for the night." He pep talked to them, but it ain't working. For every each one of them has an enough fear that settles inside of them.

"That's enough talk, my stomach is asking for food." Jeiger is the first one to talk after that weird yet full of frightened silence in between them.

As they walk, the empty street is such not a usual sight to see in the city of Manila. The usual Manila is loud and crowded, many people buying things, vendors calling for buyers, bell is clanging, a mass going on, wailing babies and all. But right now, it's all quiet, far from the familiar capital of the Philippines.

"All the hairs on my body stands up, I feel like I'm going to be sick." Jonixa has chicken skin, probable from wearing the same drenched clothe from earlier.

"There! Let's check that." Jessa pointed at a small bazaar.

"Yeah, let's go." Amando lead them. His eyes are attentively looking around. Gripping the bat tightly with his hands. Always ready to swing it if ever something attacks them.

"We'll find you something to change, Jonixa." Clarissa smiled at him, while still having Jessa hugging her arm as if she'd walk away any time.

"You're such an angel, no wonder Jessa keeps you with her alone." Jonixa whispered to her. "Unlike this snobbish evil on my side, all she did is to be mean to me--" He was cut off when Rohana's palm met the back of his head.

"Shut up." She scowled at her before looking at the messed stalls of pawnshops and jewelry stores on the side.

"You think there will be any of those freaks inside?" Gavin asked Amando with his lowed voice. "I hate to say this but, I'm actually scared of those things." He grimaced, thinking about how they looked like. Sprinting and clawing in the air, mouth's wide open, those visible black veins under their skin and those pale eyes. It's making him wince in fright.

"I don't know, and I hate jumping on conclusions. There maybe are or aren't. But if there is, we should be alert. And if there's none... then we're fortunate." After Amando replied that to him, they finally reached the front of the bazaar.

"Inside that bazaar, it's connected with the mall. There maybe hundreds of them inside. People who've gone shopping and the next thing they know, they'll be one of those awful people." Brenda told them, trying to look inside by squinting her hooded eyes.

All of them are standing before the place where they should be going in, except for Jeiger who keeps on acting like he's a famous baseball player. Swing the bat in the air and acts like he's hitting a ball, looking far with his left hand over his eyes.

But as his eyes looks far from where they are, his eyes caught something that made him panic. He started moaning, exclaiming it while pointing at the things he's seeing. He runs toward Amando and wiggling his arm.

"What the-- Jeiger, get your grip man." Amando frowns with his friend's sudden behavior, but his words didn't stop Jeiger there. The other have also shared their confusion until they followed where he's pointing at. "What the hell?"

"Oh my gosh." Clarissa exclaimed to her breath.

"In! In! In! Come on!"

Gavin opened the glass door for them to enter the bazaar. Making a bit of stampede with just counted numbers of them, leaving Clarissa and Jessa standing there, staring at those things... coming in close.

"What do you think you're doing? Get inside! Come on!" Gavin pulled the two of them, gasping in fear for those things come too fast towards them.

They tried closing the door, but it will be no use. Brenda pulled a bench that was sited next to the counter near the door and jammed it to the glass door.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Those things can use their heads to break through the glass!" Jeiger scolded her before pulling her with him. Getting inside the mall. "Sh*t! Where are they?"

They were left alone, the others are gone. "Where are they?" Brenda asked, looking around. Pushing the door towards the center of the mall.

"You're asking me ? You're the one who tried to block the glass door when in fact it's all useless!" Jeiger blamed her but didn't let go of his grip on her elbow.

"You're blaming me? Are you saying that this is my fault?" Her voice raised a little.

"Don't shout!" He yelled back at her through his whisper. "We should get going! We'll find them." He tried to think positively.

A sound of broken glass and choking of those things came ringing in their ears. Both of them turned their heads, only to be welcomed by those things tried to break through the second glass that's the only thing separating them.

"Sh*t! Run!"