“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.
Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie Location: Warehouse
“That’s where they prep the intake for treatment,” David
said as he, Natalie and Elise scouted the safe zone. He had led them there
shortly after the attack. Natalie was seeking revenge. Ignoring the dangers of
walking into such a heavily guarded location and against David’s advice. Eddie
and Amélia hung back to watch over their prisoner. She’d blamed the man for
Veronica’s death, but deep down she knew the real source of the problem was the
medical company that started it all. BioCore workers transported boxes into the
facility out the back of unmarked trucks.
The place was cordoned off by a large electric fence and several armed guards. Working cameras were posted on every corner of the building as well as what appeared to be command dogs and even alert sirens.
“Where do they go from there?” Natalie asked, formulating a plan.
“There are several research rooms within the facility,
there’s no telling where each individual is taken,” David replied. “I can tell
you, however, it’s never good. Some of the ‘research’ I witnessed…it makes
prison look like a trip to the spa.”
Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie Location: Warehouse
Eddie rushed forward, tackling one of the men to the floor.
His gun flew, landing near the door and misfired another round. Amélia fell to
the ground, covering her head with her hands as chaos erupted. Elise fired at
the second gunman as he rushed towards the other injured shooter, hitting him
in the leg. He turned to fire at her and David moved to wrestle away his gun.
Finally grabbing hold of the glock 19, David quickly aimed
and fired. The bullet drilled through the man’s chest and he fell on top of David.
“No!” the injured shooter screamed, watching the life drain from his brother
and pool around him. “You son of a bitch!’ The man struggled to retrieve a
knife from his boot. Natalie stood to help. The throb in her knee crescendoed
and she tumbled to the ground.
Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie Location: Warehouse
Another series of bullets drilled the walls above them.
Glass shattered and fell to the floor as more of the warehouse windows
exploded. Elise, Eddie, Amélia and Veronica kept their heads down while David
did all he could to keep Natalie covered. Once the bullets stopped, she pulled
away and checked herself for injuries. “How’d they find us here?” she asked,
satisfied she wasn’t hurt.
“It’s the only building for miles,” David said. “Process of
elimination.”
“Come on out! You don’t want us coming in after you,” the
same voice cried out with an even angrier tone.
Veronica moved beneath the window, preparing for combat.
Eddie shook his head no. They were out gunned and in no position to shoot it
out with these people. She stayed her hand, knowing that if she did fire, it
would cause a reaction no one in the room was prepared for.
“This can be over right now. I can end this,” David said,
getting to his feet. “I’m what they want. No one else needs to get hurt.”
“No!” Natalie exclaimed pulling him back to the floor beside
her. “I’m not letting you commit suicide by walking out there. Besides, what guarantee
do we have they’ll turn and leave once they have what they want?”
“She’s right,” Eddie said, repositioning himself beside the
window. “The only way out of this is to fight.”
“Fight?” Amélia exclaimed. “There are four of them out there
with automatic weapons. We have what? A couple of glocks and a shotgun?”
“Then what do you propose? That backdoor is sealed up,
remember? We patched that nice and tight before holing up in this room. The
only way out is through them,” Eddie said.
“I say we let them in,” Veronica stated, her voice cold and
serious. “If they want to get us, any of us, they’ll need to be willing to
enter. And when they do, we’ll be ready.” The group listened closely as she
formulated a plan.
Elise and Eddie hid themselves on opposite sides of the
front door. Amélia and Natalie remained where they were, listening as the men
outside continued taunting them. The shouting stopped. And everyone waited with
bated breath as footsteps approached the building.
David stepped into the center of the room. He was bait, for
all intents and purposes, and he felt about as vulnerable as a baby deer in a
lion’s den. With no weapon to protect himself, he had to trust the others would
take out the gunman before they got to him.
The board fell from across the handle, landing with a
resounding crash. The door had been opened. He took a deep breath. The soft
padding of footsteps drew closer and he clenched his fists in anticipation.
This wasn’t such a brilliant idea after all. Why did he have to open his big mouth?
A window shattered. Shit.
They were encroaching from different locations. If they somehow got behind them
through the back stairwell…another window, to the east. Eddie switched
positons. Now he and Elise were guarding separate doors alone. David took a
moment to catch his breath and calm himself. He could feel his entire body
trembling.
At last, the door opened. Two men walked inside. The first
to speak was instantly recognized. “There he is. The man of the hour!” The
second gunman had David dead-to-rights. The first never flinched; even when he
heard the weapon click behind him. “Why don’t you tell your friends to drop
their weapons and move where I can see them?”
“No. Why don’t you drop yours,” Veronica said, dragging one
of the others out from the back. He was bleeding from a leg wound; a large
knife dangling from her left hand while she aimed her gun with the right.
“STOP!” she shouted at the gunman standing beside the ringleader. He’d made a
motion forward and she quickly redirected her aim. “Stay right where you are.”
“He’s my brother. He’ll bleed to death! Let me help him.”
“You really think I give a shit if he dies? You assholes are
here to kill us! For all I care he can join the rest of your friends in hell
and I swear to GOD if you don’t stop inching towards him I will put a fucking
bullet in his head right now!” Veronica yelled watching the other man slowly
move to comfort his brother. “BACK UP! MOVE!”
“Alright, I’m going, just…please.”
“Now, drop your weapons or no one is walking out of here alive.”
“I like option B.” The
man’s face twitched into a wicked smile. All his rage and strength accumulated
at his finger on the trigger. He looked between the two again and without
giving a second thought to her words, he pulled the trigger.
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.) #6---->
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Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie Location: Warehouse
Stepping away from the door, Elise tried to catch her
breath. How had this man come into contact with Natalie? Who was he? Was he the
reason she was unconscious? And if so, what had he done to her? So many
questions were running through her mind, but Elise did not have time to ponder
them all. Pounding down the stairs behind her, she turned to find Veronica, Amélia
and Eddie standing in the corridor. Veronica was the first to move, aiming her
weapon at the newcomer. Right away he knew she meant business.
Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie Location: Warehouse
The sight of the opened fence swept away Natalie’s balance.
She stumbled forward. David snatched her back and pressed her up against the
wall. “Stay down or we’re dead.” With his hand covering her mouth, Natalie was
hard-pressed to turn her head, but she did notice the armed men standing on the
other side of the wall as well as lining the gate and outer bushes. “Ok, stay
behind me but try and keep up. We have maybe three minutes to get from here to
the other side of the woods before they realize we’re gone. You ready?”
Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie Location: Warehouse
“Slowly, put your weapons on the ground and take a step
back,” the voice instructed. Veronica gazed over at Elise and quietly nodded
no. “NOW!”
More shadows danced along the ground. The man wasn’t alone.
Veronica squinted, focusing her eyes in the distance. Two figures, struggling.
A frantic howl came from the other side of the house, cut off abruptly by the
smack of something striking flesh. “EDDIE!” a woman screamed; a desperate cry
for help.
Ignoring the women he held at gunpoint, the man rushed
headlong towards the large country home, disappearing from view just on the
other side. “Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here,” Veronica said,
grabbing Elise’s arm as she attempted to flee.
“Wait, they need our help!” Elise replied, snatching free of
Veronica’s grasp.
Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie Location: Warehouse
“Keep running,” Veronica huffed as she charged forward in
front of Elise. Coming from the dark, thicker area of the woods into the
lighter open one, she could finally see where she was going without the use of
a flashlight and quickly tucked it into her backpack.
“Wait, Roni, we need to go back. The kids. Jeremiah and
Nina, they’re gone,” Elise said, leaning her body against a rock as she tried
to catch her breath.
“What? SHIT!” Veronica cussed, looking around and seeing
Elise was right. She had no idea at what point they’d lost the other two but
looking at the blaze, now visible above the trees, there was no way they could
go back. They would stand no chance of getting out alive. “We can’t go back. We
have to keep moving.”
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.”
“Be careful,” Katrina said as Jake slowly opened the door at
the end of the hall. He stepped through and immediately gagged on the stale air
as it hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Holy crap,” he wheezed. “What the hell is that?”
“Death,” Elise whispered. “Just like Georgia’s greenhouse.”
Josh pushed forward and Katrina followed after him with
Elise trailing behind, being careful and watching every step she took. “It’s so
dark in here,” she said as they barely made it inside the shadowy tunnel.
“Yeah it is. We should have probably grabbed a light or
something before coming in here.”
“Wait, try this.” Jake patted his jeans pocket before
revealing a book of matches.
“Wait, no, stop right there,” Katrina interrupted Jake
before he completed his sentence. “It’s dark, it’s scary and there’s no telling
what caused the lights to go out. Like Elise said, these places are made to
keep running. You are NOT about to leave the two of us up here alone. Weapons
or not you can forget that.”
“Ok…” Jake said through gritted teeth. “Ladies, would you like
to accompany Josh and myself down into the boiler room to get the power back
on?”
“Yes, we’d like that very much,” Katrina replied with a
smile.
“Stay behind us and stay close,” Josh grinned watching his
cousin’s assertiveness get under someone else’s skin for a change.
The group continued driving, multiple ideas being shouted
from every corner of the SUV. Jake drove towards the beach, the one place
everyone could agree on. Hoping it was as secluded and empty as they believed
with it being mid-fall and too cool for swimming. “Hey, pull over up here,”
Josh said as something outside the window caught his attention.
Jake slowly rolled to a stop just on the sand and the four
of them exited the vehicle. “What’s up, Josh?” Katrina asked, moving beside her
cousin.
“Take a look at that.” He pointed a ways up the beach and
they followed with their eyes. Situated along the coast overlooking the
breakers was the town’s iconic red and white lighthouse. And like so many ships
on approach to Cabot Creek’s shore, it was a sight for sore eyes. “What do you
think? One entrance, a great lookout and most have rooms for where the keepers
would spend the night.”
“We have to get out of here. There is no way we can take on
all of these things!” Josh said, pushing against the door as a window was
smashed in beside him.
“There’s a truck parked in the back,” Elise announced,
rushing breathlessly back into the room.
“Perfect. Grab that tire iron and let’s get moving!” Jake
said. He and Josh waited for the girls to get to the back door before they
shoved off the front and sprinted after them. Almost immediately a swell of
undead piled into the foyer, growling and shoving as they staggered after the
group. “Keys, where are the keys?” Jake yelled as he frantically looked around
the visors and dashboard. “There are no fucking keys in this truck!”
“KILL HIM! HURRY!” Elise shouted from her spot in the
corner. Phil had become extremely agitated, his unintelligible grunts and
gurgles were beginning to distress her. The noise inside caused an almost equal
reaction outside as moans of the gathering horde could be heard through the
walls.
“There’s more of them on the porch,” Katrina announced,
rushing through the house and shutting off all the lights. “We need to do
something damn it!”
“Jake!” Elise whined.
He stepped forward and reared back, preparing to swing. “NO!”
Georgia yelled. She stepped in front of Jake and he stopped mid motion.
“Look, lady, it’s four against one for getting Phil the hell
out of this house. He’s not human. I don’t know what I have to do to get that
through your thick skull but this is happening!” he snapped and shoved her out
of the way. Georgia pushed back, again stepping in front of her neighbor.
