Day 03: On the Run

Group 3: Jake, JC, Nina, Sara, Lucky, Mike, Chloe
Location: School

Cold, hard, autumn winds brushed harshly against Jake’s face as he and JC sprinted as fast as they could through the forest behind the compound. Left with very few options once the reserve tanks went up, they grabbed what little they could find and huffed it over the back fence. They had been surrounded instantly by trucks but somehow managed to get away before the men fired upon them. But now it would seem, their luck was running out.

His breathing was labored, panicked, and seemingly short. They were still being chased. That much he could tell. The sound of footsteps echoed through the woods around them and every now and again he would see the beam of a flashlight bounce in the darkness behind them. His heart thumped wildly sounding like one long, hard beat nearly drowned out by heavy panting. They were running with no real idea to where.

A horrifying groan rumbled from within a cluster of trees in front of them, then another from the side. “Shit…they’re…in front of us…too,” JC puffed between words.

“No. Not them,” Jake corrected, seeing the figure of a zombie stagger out of the brush to his right. It was followed closely by another that tripped and stumbled to the ground with a whine. He moved closer to JC’s side as another cluster revealed itself to their left.

“Christ! There are too many,” JC exclaimed, coming to a stop as he watched a small crowd gather in front of them as well. Releasing the magazine in his weapon, he checked the number of bullets remaining and blew out a breath. 

“Yeah and we can’t use our guns,” Jake said, also checking the load of his glock. “That’ll certainly bring more and those assholes behind us will know exactly where we are.”

“So what are you thinking?”

“We use this to our advantage. You got a knife?” he asked, pulling some rope from his backpack.

“Machete, yeah, I’m good.”

“Good. We’ll set a trap that’ll hopefully keep us safe from both sides.”

JC kept watch as Jake wrapped the rope around a tree and secured the end to another. Ducking behind a large boulder, they both waited, keeping watch of the zombies continuously moving towards them. “I hope this works,” JC whispered while the low growls of the many undead grew louder around them. 

Moments passed before the sound of shoes scuffling along the mossy ground alerted them to the presence of their trackers. Jake poked his head out from behind the rock, watching as the two men drew closer. Timing their steps, he took a deep breath and held it. They hadn’t yet noticed the group of zombies mindlessly ambling forward which played well into his hands. Suddenly, one of the men stopped and flashed his light over in their direction. With haste, he ducked back beside JC and listened as footsteps moved towards them. “3…2…1!” He counted and snatched the cord.

The rope sprang up, tripping the two men, causing their weapons to fly to the ground in opposite directions. The packs they carried also fell, scattering their contents to the forest floor and JC quickly sprinted forward.

Before the men could register what was happening, Jake and JC were on them. Fists flew. JC hit one in the nose with the butt of his machete, dizzying his would-be attacker and leaving him vulnerable and semi-conscious. “You good?” he asked, collecting the men’s fallen loot. 

“Yeah, I’m good,” Jake said, staring down at the man he’d tied up. “Who are you? Why did you attack us?”

“Fuck you!” the man snarled, tugging at his binds and kicking at Jake.

“Fuck me? No, fuck you,” he said, jerking his head in the direction of the approaching pack. “You either tell me what I want to know or I will leave your ass out here for those things.” The man sniffled, protecting his bravado as best he could, he closed his eyes and ignored Jake’s questions. “Fine. Enjoy your death.”

Jake snatched his bag from the ground. He hated the idea of leaving perfectly good rope behind but he was not about to untie the men nor did he want to take their lives. He was hoping the scare would have been enough to get them to talk. Allowing the zombies to move closer, he kept an eye on them intermittently motioning to the man that they were coming. But he hadn’t accounted for the two behind the pile of rocks beside them. A scream knocked him back and he gasped as his uncooperative assailant was pushed to the ground beneath a large, one-armed woman.

Curiously, JC twisted his body in the direction of the noise and watched as two zombies emerged and attacked the first man from every vulnerable angle. One of the creatures bit at the man’s neck while the other took a huge chunk out of his arm, swallowed the mangled flesh and went back for more causing him to release a thunderous wail. His mournful screams gained the attention of more zombies at the head of the trail and without hesitation the group charged forward. 

“WAIT! PLEASE! Don’t leave me here like this!” The second man turned to JC, begging and pleading for him to untie his hands so he could make a run for it.

And just as JC started forward a zombie pounced on the man’s back and began clawing at his clothes and biting at whatever it could get to. His eyes widened in terror as he watched them consume both men right in front of him. It only took him a moment to collect himself as he realized once their screaming stopped the ravenous group of monsters would be after him next. “Jake, we gotta move!” he shouted and together they fled, rushing forward in the direction of the highway.

Finding herself in a gutter miles away from the compound, Nina pulled her body out of the cramped space and started towards the street. She was near the gas station; one she recognized from a recent trip with Elise and Jeremiah. They’d broken into the back and found a few items that previous scavengers had missed. Nina didn’t think she’d have that luck again. She was weaponless and knew if that didn’t change soon, she’d end up on the wrong side of a hungry mob. Armed with only her backpack containing two bottles of water, three sandwiches and a few pieces of food she started into town…a dangerous trek but one she needed to make to find the others. 

“Oh no,” she muttered beneath her breath. She’d only gotten as far as the corner before her eyes fell upon a group of zombies congregating in front of the store. There were about six of them, all large, all scary, and all hungry. Tiptoeing up to a crashed SUV, Nina rested beside the driver’s door, trying to figure out how to get around them and back on the road leading to the compound before they spotted her.

A wake of vultures had converged on a corpse leaning out of a car window in the front of the liquor store. Several bodies had been left out in the sun and many had already started to bloat and pop. The large-winged birds were having a feast, picking the bones clean. Noticing the movement, the group of undead shifted in the direction, hoping to grab a meal of their own. It was the break Nina needed. 

Taking advantage of the distraction, she jumped from her hiding spot and started towards the gas station. Running from one abandoned car to the next, she concealed herself against each rusted piece of tin as she slowly made her way forward. The closer she got, the more the foul stench of the dead made her ill. She held her nose, trying to keep the odor suppressed but it was of little use.

Advancing more, she was just a few yards away from the store when her tiny feet kicked a pile of empty beer cans. The sound of clanking metal stopped the wandering horde who immediately turned towards it. The eyes of the ravenous creatures locked on her and she froze. It was six or more bloodthirsty flesh-eaters versus one weaponless little girl; she didn’t stand a chance. The walking corpses wasted no time starting for her. Dragging limbs, scuffling shoes, chilling moans and outstretched arms, they came for her, moving as quickly as their tattered bodies could go.

Before she realized, they’d reached the truck nearly cornering her beside the front bumper, but Nina was faster. Ducking into a backstreet, she squeezed her tiny body through the narrow opening of a chain-link fence and continued behind the convenience store, rushing towards the parking lot.

Nina ran as fast as she could, her eyes darting all over the alley on the lookout for zombies. She came out of the side road and onto another street, turning left towards the thoroughfare. A large blue dumpster had been pushed up against a door, blocking her exit. She turned, hoping to get back through the alley and down the opposite street before the zombies caught up but she could hear them groaning as they persistently closed the gap. She was trapped. And her only way out was over the dumpster…maybe.

The growling grew louder behind her and Nina again froze in place. She turned in time to see a large, brown blur barreling towards her.

Continue---->

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