Caring Sparkle (Under Revision)

Tyler placed his ear against the splintered, wooden door, listening for any monsters in the adjacent hallway. "I don't hear anything. Their either waiting for us or they haven't made it here yet."

Twilight looked questionably at the mirror fragment in Tyler's hand. He might be thinking of using the mirror to see out into the hall, Twilight thought.

A soft grip of a hand was placed on Twilight's shoulder, followed by Kristan whispering into her ear. "Twilight, I know this must all be pretty scary for you. It's the same way for us. We've never come across anything like this. But we need you to be strong. Do whatever you need to do to survive. No matter what the cost, do what you must to survive."

The one happy and caring face, that Kristan usually sported, was now straight and serious. Looking into Kristan's eyes, Twilight could see the fear she had tried to mask under a shroud of determination. Marcus and Tyler both shared the same look. Each of them were ready to risk their life to protect one another. It reminded Twilight of the look her brother had when he went to war...

Kristan, noticing Twilight's body posture become more solid and stand with a sense of confidence, knew her words had reached Twilight. "Good. Now let's show these fuckers exactly who they're messing with."

Kristan gave Tyler a thumbs up. With a nod, Tyler slowly cracked the door open. Using the mirror as an extension of his eyes, Tyler peered out into the hall.

"I can't see anything. The armory should be three doors down on the right hand side. When the last person gets in, we will seal the door from the inside," Tyler tossed the mirror shard off to the side and readied his rifle.

Tyler nudged the door open with the barrel of his rifle as he stepped out into the hall. With nothing in sight, Tyler gave the hand signal for the others to move out, Kristan leading the group. As the group made their way out of the room, Marcus being the last one out, Tyler closed the door behind them and joined the group at the end.

Arriving at the first door, Kristan held her hand up for everyone to stop. Kristan nudged Twilight with her foot and pointed at Marcus, indicating that Kristan wanted her to pass it down. Twilight nudged Marcus, and he did the same to Tyler. At that last nudge, Tyler steadily made his way to the door and opened it, turning his attention the the hall as Kristan and Marcus made their way into the room.

Twilight, not knowing what was happening, made her way to Tyler and watched the other end of the hall.

In a matter of seconds, Marcus and Kristan were back out into the hall. Tyler shut the door behind them and they continued their way down the hall.

Twilight connected the dots in her head. This must be a method they used to check rooms. Quite tactical, in Twilight's opinion.

The process was repeated at the next door, Tyler and Twilight watching the hall like last time.

Twilight felt a slight rumble in the floor. An earthquake maybe? No, there was a pattern. Felt more like footsteps. Looking at Tyler, she could see he noticed it as well.

Returning her eyes to her section of the hallway, Twilight caught her breath seeing the monster down the hall.

This one was not like the others. While the others looked like the other humans, this one was much larger. It almost took up the entire hallway. And it was making its way straight for them at a rapid pace.

Tyler grabbed Twilight by her bag and pulled her into the room, shutting the door behind them. "Nobody make a sound."

The rumbling in the floor became more intense as the creature got closer. The loud footsteps stopped just outside the door, sending a cold chill through the room.

The few seconds that the monster stood outside the door felt like an eternity. The footsteps started again and dimmed as the monster got further away from them.

Tyler slid to the floor, wiping the sweat from his face. "That was a big fucker."

"Are we seriously fighting monsters as big as the hulk?" Marcus took in a deep breath to relax his nerves. The entire time the beast was outside the door, Marcus had held his breath.

Tyler stood back up, regaining his compsure. "It would seem so. We need to get to the armory as fast as possible. When I open this door, we make a run for that door. I'll go first. Marcus, you and Twilight will go next. Kristan, you follow up from behind. We need to make this qui-"

Two sets of arms shot through the door, grabbing Tyler's arms and legs before smashing his body through the door.

"Tyler!" Twilight ran out into the hall, coming face to face with a horde of the monsters they saw earlier. With a blast of energy, Twilight sent the first two monsters, the ones that grabbed Tyler, flying into a nearby wall.

Marcus and Kristan follwed out into the hall. Marcus helped Tyler up while Kristan and Twilight started fending off the monsters.

"Tyler, are you okay?!" Marcus checked him for any wounds, noticing a massive cut going through his kevlar vest.

"They didn't hit flesh," Tyler pulled the safety cord on his vest, sending it falling to the floor. "Don't let them hit you. One of those fuckers cut straight through my rifle before hitting my vest. I would be dead if I didn't have it on."

"Can you still fight?" Marcus's question was answered as he looked into his friends eyes. "I see. Stupid question I guess."

Tyler no longer felt the pain in his chest. His breathing slowed back to normal as he pulled his sword out from its sheath. His eyes held a dead, blank stare on the monster. The look sent a chill down Marcus's spine.

"You know I ain't leaving you buddy..." Marcus Stood to the side as Tyler walked towards the battle.

*****************

Twilight sent another wave of energy into the monsters, sending them flying back. She was about to send another wave when Tyler walked past her without saying a word.

"Tyler, are you alright?" Twilight felt a hand rest on her head as Marcus stood beside her.

"Kristan, you and Twilight make your way to the armory. It's not far. We will hold them off. I'll page you on the radio when we reach the door. We need it open as soon as you get that page," Marcus looked down at Twilight, rustling her hair. "Don't argue with me. We got this."

Twilight, feeling her head was messing with her, rubbed her eyes. She swore she could see a spark of energy beween Marcus and Tyler.

As Marcus walked towards Tyler, Kristan knelt beside Twilight. "Don't worry Twilight. If Marcus says he's going to do something, he's going to do it. We need to get out of here."

With a nod, Kristan and Twilight made a run for the armory.

Twilight looked back at Marcus and Tyler.She knew her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. There was an energy flowing between them. Just like when Marus and Kristan had found Twilight.

******************

“Are you sure about this, Tyler?” Marcus reached down, pulling a fire axe from one of the dead monsters. “We almost died last time we did this…”

Tyler chuckled as he tightened his grip on the sword. “You know what I say? What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. And, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

Marcus smiled. “Don’t you dare die. I’d hate to have to face both Missy and Twilight.”

Tyler looked at his friend. “What if you die?”

With a large grin, Marcus raised his axe. “Bitch, someone this fabulous can’t die.”

Tyler readied his sword at his side as the monster got closer. “I guess that means I’m absolutely gorgeous.”

With an ear-piercing battle cry, Marcus and Tyler plunged into the horde of monsters.