BOOM.
“The Coast” Danny blurted out. Jack and Phil looked at each other, then back at Danny.
“What?” Phil asked.
“We'll head for the coast. They're bound to be doing something to get civilians to safety, right? They've probably got a fleet of ships in a harbour, waiting to evacuate.” He was rambling. Phil had only observed him do this once before, prior to going skydiving. He was terrified.
“Danny, right?” Jack butted in. “I was in Exeter when the soldiers rolled in. Trust me. They're not evacuating anyone. Pete and I had to practically fight our way out. The city is gone and everyone in it is as good as dead.”
“Well, we could get hold of a boat then. Just the three of us. We just need to get away from land.”
“Danny. I don't know.” Phil shook his head. “The way I see it, these things are appearing out of thin air. If we get out to sea, one way or another we might just end up stuck on a boat with some tentacle faced sea monster hunting us down.”
“Well then by all means Phillip, you come up with a better idea.”
The three men decided to stick to the roads. The surrounding countryside was covered with forests and fields thick with crops. Cross country walking had never been one of Phil's favourite things so doing it with the possibility of being eaten alive in a wheat field wasn't going to sit well. Every now and then a car would speed by, some of them barely acknowledging the 3 men in the road. Jack stared at each one longingly as it whipped by, his feet aching under his weight. They passed a house which had been hastily abandoned, clothes and toys strewn across the driveway along with a broken claw hammer coated in thick yellow ooze. Phil stopped and gazed into the house through the open front door.
“Shouldn't we at least stop at one of the houses here and see if they want to come along with us?”
“No.” Danny didn't look up as he trudged past. “The people who live here are all old couples or families of four. I'm not slowing down because some little old biddy has shit her knickers or because some snotty nosed brat is scared.”
“Christ kid.” Jack started
“Oh shut your face.” Danny snapped. “You know it and so do I. The more people we bring, the more attention we'll attract and before you know it we're ripped to shreds and rotting in the fucking street.”
“Right. Fuck you Danny!” Phil shouted “We're talking about human beings.” Phil jogged up the path of the next house and hammered on the front door.
“What the Hell are you doing?” Danny stood at the end of the path.
“What I can.” Phil snapped back, hammering on the door a second time. All of a sudden, the front window of the house shattered as the mangled body of a women was flung violently out into the garden. Phil toppled backwards off the door step and landed face down on the stone slab path, crushing his nose. He felt someone lifting him to his feet and dragging him backwards away from the house. Through his blurry vision he could make out something massive and green reaching out of the window and pulling the disfigured body back into the house.
“What the fuck was that!?” he shouted, but was cut short has a fat pink had was slapped tightly over his mouth.
“Shhh.” Jack hissed, but to no avail. A second green mass smashed out of the upper floor window and let out a mighty roar, causing Jack to stumble backwards onto his back. Phil stared up into the sky as the world came back into focus. He looked back to the house and was horrified at the sight of a massive tentacle beast reaching into the sky, emitting a groan so loud it made his stomach churn. Jack was back on his feet and he grabbed Phil under his arms and hauled him off the path. Danny then took one arm, and the two men carried Phil down the street.
After they reached the next roundabout, the three of them collapsed onto the small grassy bank in the centre. The tentacle beast could still be heard singing down the road and every now and then, somewhere off in the distance there would be an explosion and a burst of gunfire.
“Is that coming from the city?” Danny gasped as he lay, staring up at the clouds.
“No.” Jack panted, “It sounds a lot closer. Maybe a squad of soldiers running from the massacre they were sent into.”
“Maybe we should hook up with them.” Phil muttered, his hands clasped over his bleeding nose.
“I thought you'd have learned to pack that kind of thinking in since you nearly got us all killed Phil. I say we stick to the plan and get to the shore.”
A) Take a left, head to the nearby village and the source of the gunfire
B) Take a right and carry on towards the coast.
C) Wait here and flag down the next car that passes.
