Genesis, chapter 11

I let out a deep sigh of relief as I plopped down on top of a pile of clothes. Sheesh, I could use a nap. It feels good to be back inside. I had a great time with Eden, but my body is still trying to catch up on rest, I think. It's been so long since I've been able to actually just sleep peacefully, so I'm soaking all this in.

Admittedly, the pile of clothes wasn't the most comfortable, but I'm so close to just passing out, I don't care. My mind drifted as I phased in and out of consciousness. It must've been maybe half an hour later, and I was dead in my sleep, snoring, with drool running down my cheek.

All good things must come to an end, though. Right? My slumber was interrupted by a knocking at my door that woke me up and I shot up from the couch "Yep! Yep! I'm up, I'm up!" I looked around for a second and caught my breath. There was another knock at the door, reminding me of what woke me up in the first place. I groggily went to the door and looked through the peephole.

It's David. I opened the door and he smiled "What's up? Come take a walk with me." Before I could even respond, he was walking away already. Begrudgingly I followed him, trying my best to keep up, with my body still heavy from my brief nap.

I yawned before asking "Where are we headed?" "To the front gate. Don't worry, this won't take too long." Hopefully not. I'm so exhausted. I can't wait to get in bed. Maybe I should get some food first.

"Oh! How'd the meeting go?" I asked David as we walked. He looked back with a confused face "What meeting?" Only then did it hit me that Eden was looking out for me, so I could get some rest

I laughed to myself and said "Nevermind." David just shrugged his shoulders and said "Okay." The trip wasn't long, maybe five minutes. It was filled with idle chatter before we arrived. John was at the top of the gate, sitting in a chair. Asleep.

David took notice to this and grabbed a rock from the ground, launching it at him, hitting him right in the head "Fuck! We're getting attacked! Battle stations! Everyone!" John scrambled around in a panic, grabbing his gun and waving it towards the perimeter before realising that we were in fact, not under attack, and the assault came from a friendly.

He turned around and looked down at us. David pointed at me, throwing the blame my way. "What!? No, I didn't do that. I promise." David laughed and said to John "Open the door, slouch."

John grumbled under his breath as he lifted the gate for us. I stepped outside with David and he took a deep breath of the outside air "Yep. Same as the shit inside. Wonderful. Anyway, I just wanted to take a quick stroll. Take you to see the surrounding area, you know? Oh, just a sec. What am I thinking?" David turned around and yelled up to John who was much more attentive, this time.

"Hey! I left my gun up there, and there should be an extra assault rifle, too. Toss em." John looked around and tossed the assault rifle, and asked David "Is your gun this sniper rifle?"

"Yes it is. Don't hurt yourself trying to pick it up."

"What? It's just a gu- Holy shit! This thing is fucking heavy!" He said with a few groans and moans

"Uh huh. Lift with your back, not your knees. Or is it the other way around?" John picked the gun up, with relative ease, even though he was complaining, and tossed it down to David, who grabbed the gun with one hand before throwing the strap over his shoulder and tossing me the assault rifle

"You know how to use that? I'd hate for you to shoot your eye out." He jokingly asked and gave me a playful shove.

"Yeah, I've used one or two. You just point and shoot, right?" I joked back

"Shit, that's worked for me so far." We laughed as we started to walk off. About a mile of the area surrounding Ricket City was cleared of all trees. I'd have to think it's so they can see ahead, and stay aware. We walked about half a mile through the forest, accompanied by the sound of birds singing, critters crawling around, and the occasional random ray of sunshine, beaming through the thick treetops.

It's funny. I've walked through plenty of forest, Marsh's, deserts, and whatever else you can think of, but never once was it so peaceful. For once I could just take it all in, and kinda enjoy it.

Out of curiosity, I asked "Got a specific destination in mind?"

"Well I was gonna show you a glimpse of the S class zone, but I think our plans just changed. Get down." Before I could even realise what David said, he grabbed me and threw me to the ground, laying overtop of me. His body was pressed against mine, and I could practically feel his heart beating. A smell radiated off of him, that sent me into a frenzy inside.

My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I know my face was scarlet red. I whispered to him "Uh... Uhm, what's, what's wrong?"

"Something is coming. And it's big." What? I didn't hear anything. "Don't worry. I can take it out. Unless you'd like to give it a try."

"No, it's oka-" before I could finish he grabbed me and rolled over, putting me on top. I had just managed to calm myself down, but this excited me all over again. Ugh, focus! David passed me his gun and I immediately could see what John was talking about. This thing was so much heavier than usual!

"I know, it's heavy. I'm gonna hold most the weight. Look down the sights, and aim a few inches to the left." I followed his directions, struggling to move the gun, even with David's help.

As I looked through the sights, for a moment I didn't see anything. "Are you sure you heard something? I'm not seeing anything."

"Wait for it. Wait for it. Alright, you should be seeing it now. Don't worry about the recoil. I've got you. Just aim and shoot." At that moment he placed one hand on my lower back, and the other on my shoulder. Chills ran down my spine, as soon as I felt his touch. Focus perv! Again I looked down the sights and my heart skipped a beat. Clear as day, a black tiger, creeping through the forest. With the events from all those years ago, animals got scattered all over, so eventually you get used to seeing them where they don't belong. This felt different, though.

I still can't get over the size increase, though. This tiger was probably two or three times bigger than usual. I could faintly hear the growl he was mustering up from the pits of his stomach, while coming forward. "Carly. Shoot." Right. This is no time to marvel. My finger gripped the trigger and I squeezed while I had a clear shot at him. The gun almost flew out of my hands from the recoil, and if David hadn't of been holding me, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't of been able to brace myself, and would've ended up with a broken shoulder.

My ears were ringing, like bells, and I was kinda discombobulated from the shot. As the ringing subsided, I could hear David's talking to me, but it was all mumbled at first. When it cleared I heard him say "Carly! You okay?"

"Huh? Oh. Uh, yeah. Yeah, I think so." "Good. You can get up now, you know." He said, while patting my back

"Oh. Sorry. Still kinda fucked up off that shot." I said as I stood up and wiped myself off. David stood up and said

"Alright. Well, that was unexpected. I only know one person with a Tiger like that. Why the fuck would they be here?..... Watch out!" David lunged forward, pushing me out of the way, just as a bolt of lightning struck the ground right where I was at.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" David angrily asked. "Who is it? What was that? The sky's are clear!" I said in confusion

"Go to John to ring the alarm! Hurry!" I don't know what's going on, and I don't have time to figure out. I ran back, avoiding trees and trying my best to not stumble. Once I was out the forest and getting close to the gate, I started to yell out to John. "John! John, the alarm! Ring the alarm!" I wasn't close enough, though. He could hear me, but couldn't understand what I was saying.

"Huh!? You're too far! Can't hear yah!" For fucks sake. I should be be close enough now "Ring the alarm! David said ring the alarm!"

"Oh. Oh shit! Okay!" I could see John start to fumble around up top, before an alarm began to blare. Once I got inside the gate, I climbed up and in between breathes, said "I don't know what's going on, but David said to ring the alarm. What's gonna happen now?" John just turned around and pointed in the city before saying "That is."

I turned around and saw a wave of MK's making their way towards the gate, geared up and ready. "Watch this. Shit's about to go down." John pressed a button attached to the gate and on the ground in front of the gate, the grass started to lift up, revealing metal barriers, as the MK's posted up behind them, aiming out forward, waiting to see what was going on.

There was easily 60 or 70 of them, ready for whatever was coming at them. Silence ensued. For a moment there was nothing. Everyone stood waiting, anxious to see what danger was looming. All of a sudden I could faintly hear something. Each second passing it got louder

"Fuuuuccckk!" David screamed as he came crashing down from the sky, right in front of everyone. I jumped down and went to him, helping him up "What the fuck was that? What just happened!"

"Ugh. Ahh fuck. Bjorn. He's another chosen one. He just goes by thor now, though. Pretty fitting, seeing as how Mother Nature gave him Thor's powers."