Human Nature (Book 4): Human Nature IV by Borthwick, Finlay (book recommendations website .TXT) 📗

the impact on her cheek with her hand and then finally unleashed the anger harboured within.

“Come on!” Adela swung at her second time.

Before the punch landed however, Erica tackled her onto the ground. “Fuck you!” She raised her fists and then repeatedly battered Adela’s face.

“Get off!” She tried to push Erica off of her, but the wrath of a mother with nothing to lose was undefeatable.

“I lost Zach… I lost Cora… I will not stand back and watch as another child is--”

Oliver pulled Erica off of her. “Leave her alone!”

“You’re not taking her!” Erica attempted reaching for her knife, but Oliver twisted her arm before she could do so.

“Stop it!” Tia burst into tears. “Sis! Do something!” She begged Adela, who merely stood there, watching as Erica struggled in Oliver’s grip. “Ade! Please!”

Adela spat blood out of her mouth and onto the floor. She looked back up at Erica angrily, “Ironic… You say the army are the bad ones but look at everything you alone have done in the past minute.”

Erica continued to resist, wincing at the pain of her twisted arm.

“Whatever happened to your kids, or your siblings, whoever it was… It doesn’t automatically give you rights over my kin.” She marched towards her. “Do you understand? This is happening, and you’re not stopping it.”

But Erica refused to concede, “No…” She threw her head back at Oliver, causing his nose to break.

“Agh!” He cried out in pain. Catching him off guard, Erica shook his arms off of her. Then, she ran at Adela.

Panicked, Adela ran back at her, causing them both to stumble and roll towards the brick wall between them and the river.

“Adela! Adela!” Tia continued to cry as she watched helplessly.

Erica scrambled to her feet before Adela. Instantly, she tackled her against the short wall.

“For the last time! Tia stays here.” Erica reiterated, pinning Adela down with her arm.

“C-crazy bi-itch.” Adela remarked and spat in her face.

Now, Erica was in complete overdrive. She reached down for her knife with her twisted arm, but such a quick movement caused her to wince in pain.

Feeling as though there were no other choice, Adela lifted her legs up, causing them both to teeter on the wall.

“Sis! No!” Tia reached out, as Erica and Adela both tumbled over the wall and down into the river beneath.

Both ladies popped back up above the water, gasping for air.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Erica raged at Adela.

“Me?” Adela retorted, “You were the one who threw us over the wall!”

Rather than feeding into this blame game, Erica simply swam back to the wall and hoisted herself up over it. She held her hand out to assist Adela back up as well.

But Adela merely laughed, “No thanks.” She used her own strength to tumble back over the ledge.

For several moments, there was quiet. Erica and Adela both manged to regulate their breathing again.

…But the peace did not last for long.

From across the horizon, there was a deep, booming whirring sound echoing out.

“What’s that?” Tia asked, her eyebrows dipped in curiosity.

Gradually, all of the residents came crawling out of the buildings they were in, as their attention was directed towards the sun.

“Look!” A woman called out, covering her eyes with one hand, and pointing outwards with the other.

Erica turned around to see what everyone was looking at, “…I don’t believe it.” She was completely awestruck by what she was witnessing.

“That… That’s a plane!” Adela proclaimed.

And indeed, it was. As the plane came closer, it blocked out the sun’s rays and provided artificial cover.

“The hell kind of a plane even is that?!” A panicked resident asked in distress, upon noticing the craft’s rather triangular shape.

“Oh no…” Erica mumbled, having realised that she had seen this craft before. “It’s a stealth bomber.” She asserted.

“Bomber?!” Adela panicked, as did most of the other survivors.

“Erica,” the same man who first noticed the craft’s shape now addressed his de-facto leader, “What do we do?”

Erica hesitated for a moment upon noticing four turrets descending from the bomber’s wings, “…Run… Everybody, run!” She ordered them in a panic as she ran for her life, followed by all of the others.

As the aircraft came inbound, Erica’s assumption turned out to be correct. She kept glancing back at it every couple of seconds.

“Wait!” A man cried out, stopping dead in his tracks. “What’s that coming off of it?” He pointed to several objects falling from the craft’s wings, prompting Erica to stop and glance back as well.

Erica’s eyes widened into sheer horror, “Oh my God! Fucking hell, go! Everyone, keep going and don’t stop!” She had never been in a more dire situation in her life; and that said quite a lot.

As the bomber passed over the town, the objects falling from it reached the ground with great speed.

From the outskirts, Erica looked back.

‘BOOM! BAM! BOOM!’

The explosions were so bright and intense that they were reflected off of Erica’s pupils.

“Fuck…” She cursed to herself as the fallout came speeding towards her and the panicked survivors who were still pointlessly running…

Chapter 6: Going Back

 

SIX MONTHS LATER…

 

Everyone was firmly strapped in onboard the jet. Each row contained three seats, and there were only seven rows in total.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Anna announced over the intercom, which was actually just a long plastic tube that echoed her voice throughout the craft, “This is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard your flight to London, England, United Kingdom.”

Hearing those words made Elliot shutter in his seat.

Noticing her brother’s discomfort, Annabelle caressed his shoulder, “It’s going to be alright, okay?”

Elliot nodded with confidence.

Annabelle looked to her right, only to see that her mother was also slightly concerned about going back to England.

“It’s okay.”