Hater

watched I helplessly glance back over my shoulder. I can't see much but I know there are hundreds and hundreds of people behind me.
    There's a sudden noise which takes everyone by surprise. It comes from two directions - from the back end of the queue and also from the other end of the road we were originally queuing along. Even the soldiers appear confused for a second. Many of the troopers surrounding me turn and look back across the field.
    It's an attack.
    Jesus Christ, someone's attacking from both sides.
    In just a few seconds the scene degenerates from resigned calm and relative order into uncontrolled madness. I have no idea who is doing this, but I can see the bright headlights of cars and motorbikes and other random vehicles converging on this building from many directions. They're not just on the road now, I can see them driving across the fields from all around. Fucking hell, this is a coordinated attack.
    I stop walking and try and turn back.
    'Move you fucking scum,' a soldier screams at me and I'm hit hard in the middle of the back with something that knocks every scrap of breath out of my body. The force of the impact sends me tripping even deeper into the crowd being pushed through the open doors. I try to resist but I'm struggling to breathe and I can't do anything when more rough arms grab me from either side and throw me forward again. I'm inside now. There's a concrete floor beneath my feet and a high roof over my head which finally shields me from the rain. Behind me the sounds of gunshots and explosions ring out and are suddenly muted as the heavy doors I've just passed through are shut.
    It's dark in here and I can hardly see anything. I'm continually pushed and shoved forward until I can't go any further, the mass of bodies in front of me preventing me from moving on. We're tightly packed and it's clear that they've shoved as many of us as they can in here to get us away from whatever it is that's happening outside. The crowd here is silent - unable to move and hardly able to breathe. I can hear a constant soundtrack of muffled shouts, screams and explosions coming from outside.
    A sudden crackle of radio static and the soldiers guarding us move again. Up ahead another set of doors is opened, immediately releasing the pressure and allowing the crowd to flood forward into another huge room like water roaring through a suddenly breached dam. I don't want to move but, like everyone else, I have no choice. I know that the deeper I go into this building, the less chance I have of getting out again but there's nothing I can do. I'm carried along by the sheer weight and pressure of everyone else around me and we're all driven forward by the fear of the guns which are constantly aimed at us.
    Space.
    Unexpectedly I find myself in space and I'm able to move freely. I stop walking and spin around, desperate to try and get my bearings. The light levels in this room are unnervingly low and the people around me are terrified. They're screaming and shouting and yelling for help. I watch helplessly as the doors I've just come through are slammed shut and locked from the inside by more soldiers. These are wearing a different uniform than the others. They're wearing some kind of facemask. Is it a gasmask? It can't be, can it…?
    Dead bodies.
    My eyes are rapidly becoming accustomed to the low level of yellow light and I can see bodies. Jesus Christ, this room is full of them. They're everywhere - shoved up against the walls, piled up on top of each other around the edges of the room, laid out in lines on the floor… my worst suspicions and fears were right. This building is a slaughterhouse. They've brought us here to kill us. They're cataloguing us and destroying us.
    I have to get out. I run back towards the closed doors but I'm kicked back into place by one of the masked guards. I've lost all self-control now and I have to fight. I know these soldiers are armed but I don't have any choice and I know I'm dead anyway. I pick myself up and run at the guard again with a speed, strength and determination I didn't know I possessed. I launch myself at him and knock him off his feet before he has time to react. I'm aware of other people starting to fight all around me as I wrestle away his weapon and rip off his mask. He looks up at me with cold, hateful eyes as I punch his face again and again, pounding his flesh with my fists. I continue long after I know he's lost consciousness. I can't stop until I'm sure