Here We Wait

The fire burned slowly, the embers no longer swirling into the air as Danielle sat staring at the orange burning log. The sky was a navy color speckled with the stars. She was slightly cold with only her palms still being warmed by the flames. She waited patiently as the rest of the crew explored the large, abandoned barn behind her. A radio sat beside her, the volume almost completely turned down, but she could hear the others whispering.

"Basement clear," Thomas spoke. Danielle's head whipped around and she could see a faint flashlight come from the barn's lower windows. "Moving to main level. Maria, meet me there." Thomas whispered again.

"Roger that," Maria replied. Danielle's head whipped to look over her other shoulder as Maria disappeared into the darkness of the barn's large sliding front doors. She shook as the wind swept across the field, simultaneously stimulating and attempting to put out what was left of the campfire.

"Thomas, I might not be alone up here." Ben's voice came through the radio, shakily. Danielle stood, facing the barn as another flashlight beam came out of the top floor windows.

"We're coming to you," Thomas whispered. The hairs on Danielle's arms rose as she took small steps toward the dark exterior of the barn.

A gunshot rang out from the barn's top floor, scaring Danielle. She paused, her hand covering her mouth. Then suddenly an ear-splitting shriek burned through the air, dropping Danielle to her knees as she covered her ears.

The front of the barn exploded out, sending wood and bricks all over the field. Ben flew out among the debris, his body crashing into the grass. Danielle's panic swarmed as she tried to quickly get to Ben's side. Gunshots echoed in the barn as more shriek's filled the air.

Danielle struggled as the debris settled in the grass around her. She pushed hard, rolling Ben onto his back. His chest was covered in a giant burn mark, from his stomach up his chest and neck and burned half his face. Another shriek echoed, sending a pulse of energy, blowing the debris farther from the barn and knocking Danielle to her side.

She climbed to her feet and began moving toward the barn, fighting each pulse with each shriek. The gunshot still echoing.

Once inside the bar, she turned a hard right and climbed rickety stairs until she reached the top level. Thomas fell to the ground as a Ghost stood above him. She'd heard of these creatures. Experiments done to humans in an attempt to connect them straight into the Framework which had in turn made them into monsters. It's body seemed ethereal, it's eyes glowing yellow with a smoke billowing from under it's ragged black coat. In it's hand, a long machete dragged against the ground as it moved toward Thomas.

"Thomas!" Danielle shrieked out, unable to control her voice. The Ghost turned and looked to her. It began to slow moved toward her, it's legs almost invisible in the smoke.

Maria appeared from around a support beam and fired a shot off, hitting the Ghost square in the ribs. Smoke flew everywhere as it changed it's attention to her. "Now Thomas. Do it!" she screamed.

Thomas rolled, pulling a small trigger from a pocket on his plate carrier. "Run!" he shouted to Danielle and began sprinting toward the front of the barn.

As he passed her, he grabbed Danielle's hand and dragged her off the edge of the barn, pulling the trigger as he went. Almost in slow motion the barn exploded in flames from the back wall. The entire structure engulfed in flames and swallowed the Ghost and Maria whole.

Thomas and Danielle flew through the air, crashing into the grass and debris. They rolled as the fire from the barn came to a smolder. Danielle sat up first, her ears ringing. She wanted to search for Thomas but could only stare at the flames.