Group 3: Jake, JC, Nina, Sara, Lucky, Mike, Chloe Location: School
The door wouldn’t budge. JC tried putting all of his weight
into it, but it gave resistance. Lucky sniffed the ground, her head lowered to
the floor as she followed the scent around the side of the building. She was
onto something. Giving up on the barred entrance, JC followed the dog. Directed
by her keen sense of smell, Lucky led him to another point of entry. She
whimpered and clawed at the bottom frame. JC immediately pushed against the
door. It inched away a tiny bit. Placing his gun in the waistband of his jeans,
he pressed both hands to the weather-beaten wood and shoved. The door swung
open with a whirling gust of air, and out with it the smell of rot.
Group 3: Jake, JC, Nina, Sara, Lucky, Mike, Chloe Location: School
The group walked in silence, some breathing heavily, others
taking quick shallow breaths, all trying to keep their calm which was growing
increasingly hard to do. Blood dribbled through Mike’s fingers as he tightly
pressed his hand against his side. They’d been running for several blocks and
he felt himself growing weaker with every step he took. The shirt he wore was
drenched in his own blood. He’d closed his jacket to keep the others from
noticing, but it wouldn’t be long before the exhaustion made him collapse. “How
much farther to the school?” he asked out of breath as he stumbled along behind
them.
“Not much,” Jake replied, keeping his eyes on the road
ahead.
JC had made it a point to watch their rear, ensuring they’d
all made a clean get-away. “We need to get off the street,” he said,
redirecting them off road and through the trees.
Mike could barely lift his leg to get across the guardrail
and a grunt escaped his lips. “Are you ok?” Nina asked, stealing a peek at the
man and the heavy sweat beading on his forehead.
“Fine. Just tired,” he replied, trying not to exert too much
breath on his reply.
Lucky trotted between them, her attention flitting between
all the movements of the trees as wind caressed bare branches. Leaves rustled
to the ground around them with every step they took. If she let herself, she
could imagine being back at home and playing in a freshly raked pile of leaves
with her mom. The sound of her mom’s laugh always made her smile and brought with
it a sense of warm comfort. But those carefree moments seemed so long ago. Nina
sighed and ran her hand over the soft fur on Lucky’s head. The dog returned the
gesture with an affectionate lick and carried on with her excited exploration.
“Wait,” Jake instructed as they began to emerge through the
other side of the forest. He took a quick look at the building across the
street. He could see several dark alcoves and barred doorways. Someone had
secured the location…or at least tried.
Suddenly, gunshots rang out, and everyone ducked. Instincts
took over and JC whirled around, faster than he’d ever moved before. Likewise, Lucky
snarled, her brown eyes shining brightly. They both bolted out of the woods
towards the building.
“No!” Jake snapped as Nina took off after Lucky. “Stay down
and try not to make a sound. Mike, stay with Nina.” He gave a nod watched as
Jake hurried after the others.
Reacting entirely on impulse, JC reached for the handle. The
door wasn’t locked and he found himself stepping in a pool of blood. Lucky,
too, pushed her way inside, sniffing the air with furious concentration.
There was someone alive upstairs and they were fighting to
keep it that way.
The polls are now open. Vote for your chance to control the action! Remember, you can add your own choice to the plot through the comments section or the poll below. Polls close at 12 noon EST tomorrow and reopen at 8 pm EST.
Group 3: Jake, JC, Nina, Sara, Lucky, Mike, Chloe Location: School
“Mike!” Chloe yelled as she saw him fighting one of the men
who’d attacked them. The man lunged at him with a knife and Mike quickly
sidestepped. The blow glanced his side. The sharp edge of the blade sliced into
his ribcage and his hand immediately went to his injury.
The knife-wielding fiend grinned watching the blood drip
from Mike’s wound. Feeling confident, he again tried a forward attack, but this
time, Mike was ready for him. The moment the razor-tipped stiletto started
towards him, he leaned back, kicking his feet out fast and hard in a leg sweep
and knocked his assailant to the ground.
Group 3: Jake, JC, Nina, Sara, Lucky, Mike, Chloe Location: School
“It was here,” Chloe announced as she, Sara, Jake and JC
made it to the corner where she was attacked. There was blood on the pavement
and scuff marks in the sand, all signs pointed to a struggle; so far it seemed
she was telling the truth. But no matter the amount of evidence, Jake remained
wary.
“So what happened exactly?” he asked, keeping himself
distanced so Chloe remained in front of him at all times.
“Like I said, Mike and I were trying to find another vehicle
when this woman…she looked so desperate. She came running up to us, begging and
pleading for our help. She said her son had been hurt. Right away I thought something
was up. If he was hurt, why wasn’t she with him? But Mike wanted to help. He fell
for it hook, line and sinker; and I followed him.”
Group 3: Jake, JC, Nina, Sara, Lucky, Mike, Chloe Location: School
“You wanna explain why you’re bleeding? Or should I just
eliminate the possible risk of infection right now?” Jake asked, still aiming
his weapon at the woman’s head.
“The fridge fell,” she replied, matter-of-factly. “I jumped
out of the way to keep from getting smashed and landed on some broken glass.”
“And you’ve just been trapped in here this whole time?” Jake
asked, looking around the room. “Are you alone?”
“Yes. It’s a little hard to make friends when everyone’s either
dead or trying to kill you. In speaking of which, do you mind pointing your gun
somewhere else?” She asked, breathing a sigh of relief as Jake holstered his
weapon.
“Sorry about that. Have to be sure these days. I’m Jake. What’s
your name?”
“Sara,” she replied and glanced over at JC who completed the
introductions. “Now, if we done with that, do you mind telling me…”
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.
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.
“Oh my god! Someone just crashed into the car where Dom is
hiding!” Veronica shouted. Soon after, something that sounded like firecrackers rattled off
outside and she quickly stepped away from the door. “And now someone’s
shooting!”
“Shooting? Shooting what?” JC carefully stepped closer and
peered out. “I see a truck…someone’s pulling into the station.”
“Who’s shooting?” Jeremiah asked.
“I don’t know. There are two…three people with guns; two
guys and a girl and another girl is carrying a few bags with her. Whoa,
wait…wait a second, they see Dom! They’re getting to Dom!”
“I don’t see him!” Veronica said, peering out the slats of
the shutters. Panic set in. The zombies were covering both sides of the
building making it impossible to open either door for Dominic. “This is your
fault you son of a bitch!” Veronica yelled in Richard’s direction. She stormed
away from the door and back-handed him as hard as she could. Richard’s eyes shut and he kept his mouth closed as he
licked the split on his lip while struggling in the binds of the rope. “If he
gets hurt, you’re next!”
“This is bullshit, why don’t we just throw him outside right
now?” Jeremiah suggested, standing closed-fist beside the businessman.
“We killed him,” Veronica cried into Dominic’s arms. “We got
him killed.”
“This isn’t our fault,” Dominic soothed, gently brushing his
hand over her back. “There is no way we could have predicted this outcome,
Roni.”
“It was dangerous, we knew that. Kurt’s dead because of us!”
“Kurt wasn’t doing this group any favors by sitting around
drinking. His belligerence is what got him killed,” JC said, inching back
another step as the body continued bouncing beneath the door. The echoes of the
zombies outside reverberated against the metal shutters and he guessed there
were at least five out there munching away on Kurt’s remains.
“Well that was easy. Now how the hell do we wake him before
he becomes zombie chow?” Veronica asked, watching Kurt snoring soundly outside.
“Like this,” Dominic replied and began banging on the glass.
“Wake up you piece of shit!” The others took point and everyone continued
screaming for him until he started to stir.
“Kurt! Kurt!”
“Wha…” Lazily rubbing a hand across his face, Kurt finally
opened his eyes and pulled himself up. When he fully came to he realized while
in his drunken stupor, the others had placed him outside on top of a car parked
in the lot. Nearly falling as he roused, he caught himself and shook off his
dazed feeling. “Son of a bitch!” he growled and glared towards the front doors
and the others frantically yelling for him.
“How are we going to do this? Vote to see who’s going out
there? Draw straws?” Richard asked, looking over the group. It was obvious from
the suggestion he was none too thrilled with the idea. While the prospect of
security stroked his fancy, being the one to actually pull the trigger was a
whole other story. “We could also pull names from a hat.”
“Seriously? No one is going to volunteer?” Dominic scowled.
“How about this,” Veronica started, before anyone else could
weigh in. “We take turns doing the dirty work. The heavy lifting shouldn’t fall
on the same person every time. And since Dom and I took care of the clerks in
the back, our names are not going in that hat. So, Kurt, JC, Richard, you three
can discuss it among yourselves.”
“What was that?” Veronica asked, turning quickly towards the
sound.
“Probably a fucking cat,” Kurt grumbled, barely looking up
from his cup. “It’s always a fucking cat in the movies,” he laughed.
“Someone should probably go see,” Richard replied, glancing
towards JC.
“Why you looking at me? You suggested it, YOU go see.
Kurt’s ass over there talking about scary movies and shit. Brothers never last
in those situations ESPECIALLY if they go investigating strange noises like a dumbass. Thank you but no thank you,” he waved him off and pointed to the floor. “I’m
staying my ass right here.”
“Block the doors, hurry! Don’t let them get inside!” JC
Crystal shouted as he and Richard Dietrich pushed themselves against the doors. Veronica Meier shoved items in front of the entrance of
the Sheep Mart as more and more infected pushed from the outside. “The fridge!
Get that thing over here.”
Dominic Bryant kicked at the cord on the freezer as he moved
behind it. Ice cream shook inside the container as he thrust the large
appliance against the double doors. “Ok. That should hold them for now,” he
sighed, backing away.
