Day 07: Fools Rush In

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

The creature leapt out. Nina ducked just as the flash of fur lunged above her. Falling to the ground, she covered her face, waiting to feel the sharp teeth of the animal tear into her flesh. But when the pain never came, she slowly opened her eyes to find the dog had tackled a zombie ambling towards her from the other end of the alley. Nina sat up and watched as the animal ripped and snapped at the monster’s throat until it stopped moving and its head was separated from its shoulders.

Slowly, the Brindle Pit Bull trotted over, circled once around Nina, and gave her a sniff before plopping down in front of her. With her heart still pounding in her chest, she reached her hand out and the dog barked before leaning forward and dragging its long tongue across her opened palm. Its tail wagged excitedly as Nina stood and brushed the fur back on her head. “You saved me,” she said, leaning down to give the dog a big hug. “Thank you. You’re lucky that thing didn’t eat you too!”

Again the dog barked and stood as Nina started over to retrieve her backpack. Reaching inside, she pulled out a half-eaten ham and cheese sandwich and tossed it to the animal. She devoured it. Taking two bites before swallowing it whole. “I think that’s what I’ll call you; Lucky Duck. You like that girl?” As if answering, the dog rolled its tongue across Nina’s cheek and she giggled.

Her time with the group taught her to not let items go to waste so next, as gruesome as it seemed, she moved to check the man for anything she could find. Dressed in steel-toed boots, faded denim overalls and a flannel top half ripped to shreds, Nina hoped it meant he worked outdoors and just maybe carried something useful. Noticing a scabbard strapped around his left boot, she quickly unbuckled the leather belt and dropped the knife into her bag.

Lucky whimpered as she nudged Nina’s hand with her nose and she looked down at her in response. Croaky grumbles and drawling moans echoed through the streets behind them. Zombies were closing in. “You’re right, Lucky, we should go.” Tongue out and tail wagging, Nina’s new four-legged friend padded behind her in search of a place to rest.

“Pick up the pace, man, I’m not gonna carry your ass,” JC growled to Jake who’d been lagging behind since they left the woods.

“Chill, dude, we’ll get there. It’s just gonna take a while longer on foot,” Jake huffed and adjusted the pack on his back. “Why the hell is our meeting place so far away anyway? This is a hell of a walk, man.”

“Yeah, no shit. It seemed like a good idea at the time…when we had vehicles.” JC glanced over his shoulder and noticed Jake had once again stopped to rest. “Dude!?”

“I need to catch my breath alright? We’ve been running all fucking night.”

“Five minutes,” JC relented. “And then we get back on the road.” Jake nodded his head and dropped his pack beside him. Reaching inside, he liberated his last bottle of water and took a sip, frowning when he noticed the small amount remaining.

“And this? This is not gonna work either. You got any more water over there?”

Taking a look inside his bag JC shook his head. “One bottle, half full,” he announced. “We might have to…”

“No, don’t say it,” Jake quickly cut him off before he could finish the suggestion. “I don’t think I can deal with that right now.” He had been dreading going through any of the stores around here. The last four they’d passed were all swarming with the undead and they didn’t have enough ammo between them to take them all on. 

His stomach rumbled and JC grinned. “Then how about that? Would you really pass up the chance of finding a meal just to keep from having to fight?”

Jake rubbed his hand over his belly and sighed. JC was right. Sooner or later they would have to. Their supplies were low and if he expected to keep up the pace, he would need the energy. “Fuck man! How did this become our life?!” He shouted, suddenly feeling light-headed at the thought of spending the rest of his life being chased by ravenous monsters; the living included.  

“Let’s get going.” JC said, moving back towards the road and the store down the street. “We may get lucky. There may be five zombies and not twelve.”

They quietly made their way up to the side of the building. Three zombies mindlessly meandered near the front of the door with another on just inside the entryway. “Great. How many more you think are in there?”

“I don’t know. I can’t see from here,” JC replied. “We need to get them out without too much noise.”

“Yeah. I can try distracting them, pull them apart while you come up from behind and gank them.”

“You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Jake heavily sighed. Retrieving his weapon from his pack, he dropped the bag beside the overturned car. With one last look at JC, he took a deep breath and started over to the door. Just as he moved to the corner of the building, something caught his eye.

Hurriedly, he rushed back over to where JC crouched and grabbed his last ammo clip from his bag. “What are you doing? I thought we were going to conserve our ammo.”

“That was until I saw someone inside. I think she needs help. We don’t have time to be quiet about this.”

“Wait a minute, are you sure she’s even alive and breathing?”

“She waved at me,” he said. “I’m pretty sure the dead can’t do that.” Slipping the clip into his back pocket, Jake took aim and fired. The first zombie dropped, head first, in the middle of the group. The one in the doorway started outside with the sound of gunfire only to be met by an explosive round from Jake’s glock.

The three they had originally observed in front of the store quickly became five and JC shot Jake a look. Had they stuck to the original plan, these creatures would have been laid to waste already. Now, they had to deal with the noise of gunplay inviting more to the fray. Holstering his weapon, JC snatched his machete from his bag and rushed forward.

Jake gasped, worried for a moment, but held his cover. With one swift blow, JC embedded his blade into the skull of the first zombie. Yanking the weapon free, he swung the knife like a bat, taking another’s head clean off. Killing a third by forcing the sharp end of his machete through its temple, JC took a step back preparing to finish the last of the group when he heard the sharp rasp of a zombie over his shoulder.

A shot rang out and JC dropped to the ground, staring up at Jake as the final rotting corpse landed at his feet. “Nice save.”

“Don’t mention it.” Jake tossed JC his pack and together the two started inside the store.

“Help!” The distinctly feminine voice chimed from the back of the store. The two hurried forward, pushing aside an over turned fridge that had blocked the exit, trapping the woman inside. “Hurry!” Neither Jake nor JC could understand the rush; that is until the slithering remains of an undead worked its way from behind a shelf. The door slammed open and the woman quickly leapt from the room. “Shut it! Quickly!”

Just as the door closed again, another three zombies stepped out from the back of the room. “Are you hurt?” Jake asked, checking the distressed woman for signs of injury.

“No, I-I don’t think so,” the woman exhaled, leaning her shaking body against the wall. Blood dripped down her forearm and Jake quickly jumped back.

“You may wanna rethink your answer,” he said, aiming his weapon at her head.

Continue---->

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*Author’s note: Sorry for the tardiness of this episode. I, along with about 300,000 other Florida residents, was without power for half the night. But all is well. Given the severity of Matthew, everyone and everything I love has survived. Sadly it delays this group a bit but we should be fine for the next ep. I will have Chapter 8 and 9 tomorrow.* 

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