205: Hartman Tribe -Alice-

I stood there frozen in place as I heard movement all around me getting closer. The Black Baggers were hunting me and I didn't know what direction they were coming from.

I was still in the garden, but my back was against a stone wall with pathways leading to my left and right. On the other side of the plants in front of me, I could hear the Bagger that I had escaped from trying to pull at the plants. For the moment they were holding, but I couldn't be too sure how long they'd stay that way.

From both directions I could hear movement now. I was trapped with out any way to defend myself.

Why had I agreed to this? Had Ben known it would be dangerous? If so, he didn't say anything. I shook my head. No. Ben wouldn't have done that, he wouldn't have put me in danger intentionally unless he had no choice.

The screaming started up again as they got closer. Any second now they'd be visible in the pathway, and soon after they'd get to me. I sat staring to the right, waiting for them to appear.

"Hey!", I felt something hit the top of my head, it was a rope made of sheets. Glancing up I saw a guy's head looking out a window.

"Are you going to stay down there and let them get you, or climb up?" There was sarcasm in his voice, but I ignored it as I grabbed the sheet-rope.

Just as they started pulling me up The Black Baggers appeared in my pathway racing toward me.

"Pull faster!"

"We're pulling as fast as we can!"

I swung my foot out and caught a Bagger in the face as it got close. It fell back, causing the ones behind it to trip into a mess of black bags, arms and legs. When the next group of Baggers got to me, I was too high for them to reach. I grabbed the windowsill and pulled myself inside.

Inside the room stood the guy that helped me and four people. There was a young woman with a young child, a tall, fat guy who was lying on the bed looking at the ceiling, and another tall guy that wasn't as fat as the last, but had some weight on him.

The one who helped pointed to the young woman and child, "This is Stephanie Berthiaume and her daughter, Emily.", he gestured to the one that was lying down, "That's Alex Kayser, and finally this is Vincent Smith. He joined us just right before you did." He held out his hand.

"And I'm Jason Hartman."