“What the fuck is this?” Troy asked, finally shutting the
door. “Who are those men?”
“They work as part of a militia,” Pete said. “They broke
into the store and were rifling through my stuff. I waited until they split up
and one-by-one I attacked them and got them subdued.”
“You took them down by yourself?” Dominic asked. Pete nodded.
“Were there any others? They don’t usually move without groups.”
“As far as I know it was only those two. I-I didn’t want you
to see. I was hoping the zombies would take care of them.”
“Yeah they don’t appear too interested in your hostages but
I know someone who might be,” Troy replied.
Elise drifted through darkness, floating weightlessly in an
inky black void. Slowly she realized she must have passed out for some reason
and was not quite awake. Muddled voices could be heard as her eyes blinked
behind closed lids and she shook her head as she came to.
The first thing she noticed was a sharp stabbing pain in her
head. Reaching up, she felt her hair matted in blood and grimaced as she ran her
fingers over the jagged edges of what must certainly be a serious head wound.
In addition, her left arm, shoulder, and side were numb.
Moving them slightly, she winced at small twinges of pain here and there, but was
relieved to see that they were not broken though it did seem that she had been
thrown down on that side recently and with significant force.
“Pick it up, Theresa. We have to keep moving,” Billy said as
he lifted his backpack higher on his shoulder.
“I need a break, please,” Theresa huffed and nearly
collapsed against the brick wall of the alley. “We’ve been running for three
blocks. We had to have lost them by now.”
Billy turned to look at his sister. Her face was flushed and
sweat poured down her forehead. If he didn’t agree to let her catch her breath,
he’d be forced to carry her until they found a decent place to hide. “Fine.
Three minutes, then we need to go.”
As Theresa took a seat on a stack of pallets, Billy paced
around the area, keeping watch. He couldn’t relax, not with the horde so close.
But they weren’t the only impending danger. “Do you have any water left?” she
asked, tossing her bottle into the dumpster behind her.
“They’re walking into their deaths. We need to stop them!”
Elise exclaimed, but Natalie was already running forward.
“MATT!” she shouted, frantically waving her arms as she
called his name, “MATT!!” It wasn’t his name that made him freeze, it was the
sound of her voice. A voice he thought he’d never hear again.
Matthew glanced towards the cluster of trees. She appeared
through the forest, arms outstretched and a smile on her face. Tossing Dominic
his weapon, he rushed forward. They met halfway, his arms instantly enclosing
her in a warm hug as she bounded into him. “I can’t believe it’s you,” he
whispered against her ear before their lips met. He could feel the moisture on
her cheeks as her hands slipped around his neck.
Edward scratched at the bandage on his arm. That damn
mongrel really did a number on him and now his skin felt like it was on fire.
He eyed the animal as it trotted along beside Nina, playfully nudging her arm making
her rub her head. It was bad enough he was forced to wear a dead man’s clothes
but now he had to deal with that mutt; and he hated dogs. Five minutes along
with that animal and he’d send it to doggy heaven where it belonged. Sensing
the man’s eyes on her, Lucky looked back with a happy expression as the group
continued down the road.
“It’s just up ahead,” Matthew said. The group had been
walking for nearly an hour, heading to the rendezvous. Upon arrival, they could
see no one was waiting, but it appeared someone had been here recently. Tire
tracks, two distinct treads, were imprinted in the soft dirt. One appeared to
belong to a large vehicle of some kind while the other, possibly a truck. The
wide wheel base gave Matthew the impression that it could have been one of the
pickups from the compound.
Group 2: Katrina, Troy, Dominic, Mathew, Ryan, Aisha Location: Police Station
“Are either of you hurt? Did everyone get out?” Katrina
asked as Ryan slammed the door shut behind them.
“Aisha, throw me that chair,” he said before shoving the
back beneath the handle, securing them all inside. “Alright, first thing’s
first, how much ammo do you have?” he asked of Katrina who was still having a
mini-meltdown near the back of the room.
“Ammo? How could that be your first concern? Our friends are
missing and we have no idea if any of them have been hurt. And now there is a
hallway full of zombies out there and the only thing separating us from them is
a tiny metal chair!”
“Exactly! And if they get in here, I’d like to know we’d at
least have a fighting chance. Focus, Katrina, ammo, how much?” Ryan repeated,
cutting through the shit.
“I think…half a clip,” Katrina said. Removing her weapon,
she checked the load and nodded to confirm her answer. Down to eight bullets.
There was at least twice that amount of undead waiting outside the door.
Panic overwhelmed Aisha as she gazed down at hands covered
in blood and trembling. She was tired but she couldn’t sleep. Didn’t want to.
The images played out on the back of her eyelids were unpleasant enough without
having to recount them over and over. This had been her hell since that night.
And it all started with her parents. That night on the bridge and every night
since. She had been trying to cope with the death. The loss. The never-ending
loneliness and the constant fighting.
She’d watched as the Joe Mason Bridge collapsed. Stood by
helplessly as hundreds of people trying to drive out of town were sucked into
the giant pit the military had blown into the ground. They claimed they were
there to help, but Aisha saw it much differently. She and her parents were on
their way out of town to one of many “safe zones” the military had set up. But
once they arrived, they realized it was anything but safe.
They had constructed a fence and everyone was forced into a
containment area until they were given clearance to proceed inside; no
infection detected. Aisha made it, her parents were not so lucky. Dozens of
cars flooded the bridge. People were jumping out of them, rushing the gates,
all running from the undead and trying to get into the walls; to safety. The
safe zone was quickly overrun with the living and the others.
Given the go ahead to “take control” the military opened
fire. Aisha watched as innocent people were gunned down by those sworn to serve
and protect. Men, women and children were murdered in cold blood, dying beside
the undead only ten feet away from the gates.
Her dad held her mom. She watched in horror with just a
fence between them as their bodies were riddled with bullets and left on the
street like roadkill. The last thing she remembered was the sound of the rocket
hitting the bridge and exploding one of the main supports. Hundreds of people
were dead and she was carted off by the U.S. Government.
“We’re all going to die in here, aren’t we?” Aisha
whimpered, her voice shaking just as bad as the rest of her.
“Stop!” Katrina said. “Stop that right now. Ryan’s right. We
need to focus. We need to keep our eyes ahead. Stay calm. We can get through
this. We’ll be fine.” She repeated the words as though she was trying to
convince herself. “We’ll be fine.”
“Get that table over here,” Dominic instructed, keeping the
double doors sealed shut as he felt the force of the zombies pushing against
it. “Hurry it up!” Mathew and Troy shoved more objects in front of the door,
barring themselves inside from the monsters trying to get in.
“Did you see which way the others went?” Mathew asked,
finally able to take a breath.
“No. There were too many. We’re lucky to have even made it
inside,” Troy replied.
“Luck…” Dominic scoffed. “It’ll be luck if we survive the
night. We never should have come up here. I led us here; I did this. And now…”
“Enough!” Troy shouted, cutting off Dominic’s sentence. “We
don’t have time for this. We need to figure out a plan.” Dominic was tired. He
could see it in his face, but he was tired too. And he was also determined to
not let today be his last day on earth.
“Alright, Troy, what do you suggest?” Mathew asked, slumping
down into a chair beside him.
Continue----> (Clicking this continues the story in order. If you would like to move to the next part of this group’s story. Click the # below.) #7---->
---------------------------------------
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 2: Katrina, Troy, Dominic, Mathew, Ryan, Aisha Location: Police Station
Aisha waited out in the hallway as Katrina entered the
office. The foul odor of death permeated the room, seeping into the walls. She
thought she would have been used to it by now, but it still caused a reaction
in the pit of her stomach. Inhaling a deep breath, and releasing it slowly
through her mouth, she advanced, carefully looking over the partitions and in
the corners for any surprises.
Group 2: Katrina, Troy, Dominic, Mathew, Ryan, Aisha Location: Police Station
Aisha stood there, palms sweating, heart pounding, watching Ryan
and Troy struggling to hold back the mounting horde. Dominic and the others had
pushed tables in front of the doors to relieve some of the strain, but it
was obvious the exertion was taking a physical toll. Their faces contorted in
pain as the monsters on the other side threw their rotting bodies against the
door again and again.
“This isn’t going to hold for very long!” Troy said, backing
up a little as Mathew placed a heavy filing cabinet in front of the growing
barricade. “We need to find another way!”
“We need to take some out,” Ryan suggested. “Loosen the
tension.”
“Ryan’s right,” Katrina agreed. “Dom, remember how we took
out the door at the convenience store? It’s the same concept. We need to get
them back. Line bodies at the front to keep the others from getting close.”
“We had guns at the store, Kat. Molotov cocktails and enough
ammo to keep us sustained. All of our stuff is outside.”
“Then we get it!” she said, stepping away from the door. “I
didn’t fight this hard against those monsters out there only to starve to death
now or to let them corner me until they eventually break in and rip us apart!”
“She’s right. And if what Aisha said is true, there’s still more heading this way,” Mat added. “We need to get to those trucks before that
happens.”
“Fine,” Dominic sighed. He knew they were both right. He
also knew no one would be up to the task. With limited ammo and a lot of heavy
equipment to get into the building it was a dangerous gambit. “Mat
and I will go. We can keep Ryan and Troy here at the door, make sure they don’t
break through the barricade before we get back. Kat, you and Aisha look for
more stuff to keep this area protected. If you find some way of boarding it up,
even better.”
Katrina nodded and led Aisha from the room. Grabbing a handgun from the
duffel bag she’d brought inside, she gestured for the teen to stay behind her
but follow close. They moved back along the stairs and towards the main office.
Pushing against a closed door, Katrina tried desperately to pry it open but to
no avail. The door wasn’t locked, but something was blocking it.
The smell of blood and viscera drifted through the metal causing
them both to suppress their gag reflexes. Aisha’s stomach lurched and Katrina
could tell she would be sick if she continued behind her. Motioning for her to
remain put, Katrina continued forward, searching for another way inside. Gazing
over the partition, she quickly located the source of the foul stench; a woman,
likely a desk sergeant from the way she was dressed, was lying against the door.
The lower half of her body was partially disintegrated and rats were feeding
off of her rotting flesh.
At first she was set to ignore it and keep searching the
rest of the building for more material, but something caught her eye. Something
glinted beside the woman’s left hand that, if they were lucky, would be
their answer to everything.
Dominic scanned the street outside, searching for signs of
the undead. Nothing. Nothing except for the warm glow of the sun splashing its
rays across the pavement, the road, highlighting the destruction that took
place over night. Beaming over the smashed and abandoned cars and the bodies rotting out in
the heat. His breathing was short and shallow, fast like his heartbeat which
pulsed powerfully in his ears as he prepared himself for what he had to do. Mat
and the others would be safe inside. He, on the other hand, would be faced with
the possibility of never seeing another sunrise.
Barely able to breathe, he clutched the handle to the door,
threatening to tear it from the frame. “You ready for this?” Mat asked, situating
himself inside the stairwell. He was positioned in such a way to systematically dismantle
any threat that would approach Dominic while leaving him room to get in and out
of the building.
“No. But that doesn’t matter at this point. It has to be
done. You better be good with that thing. If something gets me, I’m coming back
to personally chew a hole in your ass.”
“I got your six, Dominic, don’t worry about that.”
Dominic bit his tongue. He wasn’t about to tell the man what
he thought of him while he had to count on him to keep him alive. And thanks to
Troy’s curiosity they were stuck together through this mess. It was time they
learned whether or not their new friends could be trusted. With a deep breath,
he pulled the door open and started to creep out into the parking lot,
listening carefully for any unwelcomed intruders. By the time he reached the
military transport, his heart was beating so hard he could feel his pulse in
every part of his body. Stepping near the back, he took in three deep breaths,
preparing himself for the work ahead.
*Author’s note: You may have noticed the lack of pictures.
Yep. I was betting on you being in a sugar coma by this time of night (or
other vice) so you wouldn’t, BUT, it’s not Halloween yet. Well, there’s a great
explanation for this. And I’d tell you but what fun would that be? Ok, ok. The
game was not cooperating, alright? Stop looking at me like that. I tried. I
did. And like previous nights I knew it would run late (yep, that’s why 8
starting time is more like 10). I think there is a gremlin inside my machine
and it’s causing all sorts of trouble. It takes a full hour to load my game.
And then most times it freezes on startup and well…we get 10pm EST post nights.
Anyway, just want to let you know why things have been slow on my end and
apologize. It sucks. But I am seeing this thing through, like always. Thanks
for your understanding!*
Continue----> (Clicking this continues the story in order. If you would like to move to the next part of this group’s story. Click the # below.)
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 2: Katrina, Troy, Dominic, Mathew, Ryan, Aisha Location: Police Station
Ryan reached the end of the parking lot first with Troy
right behind him. Looking around, nothing seemed out of place. For the moment,
the sound had stopped. Ryan glanced back at Troy as if to say “told you so” and
began loading more rounds into his weapon. “Come on let’s…” the last of Troy’s
words were swallowed as the thumping sound returned, this time louder and
closer.
“The trunk,” Ryan nodded, motioning towards the early model
sedan parked midways down the lot. “I think someone’s inside. Take a look, I’ll cover you.”
Group 2: Katrina, Troy, Dominic, Mathew, Ryan, Aisha Location: Police Station
“We’re here,” Dominic announced as he pulled the truck into
an available spot in front of the Cabot Creek Police Department. Glancing in
the rearview mirror he watched as their new friends found a spot nearby.
“You sure about this?” Katrina asked, watching the large
transport vehicle navigate into the parking spot.
“No. Which is exactly why we need to remain on guard at all
times,” Dominic said, grabbing his weapon from the center console before
hopping out.
“This the place?” Mat asked, stepping around the truck as he
took in the large, vacant building. “Doesn’t seem like anyone’s home.”
“As we may have mentioned before,” Katrina snapped. “Nothing
and no one is around besides rotting corpses. Whatever news report brought you
here was a lie.”
Group 2: Katrina, Troy, Dominic, Mathew, Ryan, Aisha Location: Police Station
Dominic drove, passing over the dry dirt of the desert
towards the heavily used trail they’d trekked on numerous occasions before. Katrina
kept his company while Troy snored in the backseat. They’d been driving for nearly
an hour, stopping only once to refuel the truck before continuing on to their
destination. For most of the trip the scenery was pretty peaceful, aside from
the occasional zombie, they hadn’t encountered anything rather unusual. Still,
Katrina remained on guard just to be sure.
The lights could be seen from the highway. At night, the
place lit up like the Rockefeller Center at Christmas. For the last two weeks, he’d
been watching and planning. He’d gotten to know the ins and outs of the place
rather well and everyone was set in a routine. He shut the walkie-talkie off
and retrieved his binoculars from his bag. Adjusting the focus, he gave a look
out over the compound, watching as his unknowing prey went about their day.
In three minutes, the two he’d come to know as ‘Spirited
Redhead’ and ‘Annoying Jock’ would be making their patrol. They’d pat along the
outer edge of the gate, keeping their backs to one another. When they reached
the rear of the mountain path they would split up, searching opposite ends of
the forest. It would take less than five minutes to make the trek around the
compound before they called it and headed back inside.
**Warning: Picture heavy. Um...oh and it’s long. (Info dump?)**
It was the gunshots—not the nightmare—that woke her.
Veronica had slept long past it, though not without
considerable effort. Her sheets were in a ball around her feet, well below the heavy comforter, and Dominic’s
pillow was between her thighs. Raising her head, she inspected the room she was
in, barely blinking at the sound of more gunfire.
“Hey has anyone seen Fadil?” Liz asked, glancing around the
room. Richard screamed and the sound of falling objects exploded from the back
room.
“Shit,” Matthew cussed and quickly rushed to the stock room.
The door wouldn’t budge. Something had fallen and was blocking it shut. “Give
me a hand here,” he said. Josh and Dominic stepped forward and together, the three
men forced the door open.
“Looks like we’re not the only ones under attacked,” Troy
said, motioning towards the bodies. “This place got wrecked!”
Matthew continued up the stairs, stepping over blood and
detached limbs. “Hey! Is there anybody in there? Let us in,” he shouted,
banging the shutters fiercely, hoping to get the attention of someone inside.
An odd humming sound was coming from behind them and Natalie
glanced back over her shoulder. At least two dozen zombies were heading their
way, groaning and hissing as they gathered closer. “Oh my god, they’re coming.”
“Open the door!” Matthew shouted again with Troy and Natalie joining in. The metal began to
shake and pretty soon the three of them were staring blankly at a large group of
people inside the store. Moving Natalie into the door first, Matthew turned and
fired off a couple rounds at the incoming group. Three zombies fell before he
jumped backwards inside the store and watched the shutters fall into place.
“Thank you,” he said, as JC helped him stand. “The world’s gone to shit. It’s a
madhouse out there.”
“Can we run through this one more time?” Troy asked as they
stood at the exit of the emergency room.
“Sure,” Matthew sighed, motioning for Natalie to hold her
position. “Natalie’s going to remove the automatic timers so that the emergency doors open. You and I are going out there to clear any roamers who may
be lurking out back, drive one of those ambulances closer, pile in all of the
stuff we’ve collected and get the hell out of here.”
“See, this is where the plan hits a snag for me. Where
exactly are we going?”
“I don’t know, Troy. Hopefully we can find a place that’s
not…infested.”
“Here we go,” Troy said as Matthew gave Natalie the signal.
A loud crash echoed through the empty hallway and everyone
turned. “What was that?” Natalie asked.
Matthew stepped in front of her, hand
clutched on the butt of the guard’s gun, he moved closer towards the door. “Hello?”
“Are you serious? You don’t go shouting ‘hello’ when you’re
investigating noises!” Troy groaned. “Are you expecting them to reply? They
don’t talk!”
“What is it?” Avery asked as Matthew snatched open the door
to the storage locker.
“A stairwell.”
“Wait, you’re not seriously thinking about going down there are you?” Avery asked, watching Matthew check the load on his weapon and step inside the door. “You have no idea what’s down there!”
“Hence the reason I’m going to see,” Matthew sighed and started forward. Troy dropped the crate to the countertop and he and Natalie followed down after him. The stairs led to an employee’s only section of the hospital where the laundry and maintenance rooms were located. At the end of the hallway was an elevator. The lights indicated it was headed to the basement.
“What about him?” Troy asked, motioning towards the guard.
“We need to take care of it,” Matthew replied.
“Take care of him?” Avery asked. “He was conscious and
talking a second ago.”
“Yeah and Lorelei was just sitting there complaining about
her face. If he’s been bitten, he will turn. It’s as simple as that. I’m not
taking any chances with my life.”
“Yeah but…”
“How about this,” Matthew interrupted Avery’s rebuttal, “We
put it to a vote. All in favor of seeing if the guard can be saved, raise your
hands.” Natalie, Troy and Matthew’s hands remained at their sides and he
nodded. “Majority rules.”
“Did I stop speaking English at some point or is everyone
conveniently ignoring the words coming out of my mouth? I’m not going in there
and getting myself killed! And I’m sorry, did it fail to grab your attention
that there are bloody handprints on the door with even bloodier boot prints
leading towards it? You people are insane!”
“YOU’RE NOT GOING TO…” Matthew growled and angrily stepped
forward. Natalie placed a calming hand on his shoulder and took lead.
“Lorelei, you have a choice. You can shimmy your narrow hips
and bulimic buns through that window or I can take Matt’s knife and put an end
to your constant whining. And if you think for one second that I’m bluffing,”
Natalie glanced back at Matthew and smiled as he politely offered her his
dagger. “Try me.”
