《Among the Dead》 Chapter 1: The School Chapter 1: The School ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When the world comes crashing down on everything that you once knew and cared about, and when your life hangs on the thinnest of threads, threatening to break with even the slightest movement, the last thing that would run through your mind would be why it all happened. All you would be able to think about is the immediate necessity to preserve your life; live a little longer, move a little faster, because the second you slow down- the second the idea of giving up even flashes through your mind- would be the moment you¡¯d be submitting your life to the inevitable death that awaits you. All you would have time for is to take the next step, to keep moving forward. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ John sat hunched in his seat, looking out through the grimy windows of the bus as the rain ceaselessly pelted the glass. The scenery outside whipped past as the trees and bushes all became one long, green blur. The petrichor of the foliage lining the side of the road seeped through the school buss¡¯ ventilation, giving the interior a calming smell of wilderness accompanied by a dampness that made his hands and arms clammy. Readjusting his position on the seat to avoid having to touch the vinyl cover with his moist skin, John pulled out his earphones and plugged them into his smartphone. Looking at rainy weather always left him pensive and melancholy so he decided some classical music would best compliment the overall atmosphere. Listening to Beethoven¡¯s Moonlight Sonata, he didn¡¯t hear the buzz of conversation in the packed bus increased as more students were picked up to go to school. Raising the volume, and continuing to look out the window, he noticed too late that someone was about to sit next to him. He didn¡¯t like to sit next to people on the bus as there was never enough room and the person sitting next to him always seemed to smell like he¡¯d never taken a shower in his life. He would customarily put his backpack on the seat and try to take up as much room as possible to ward off any would-be seatmates but having been distracted by the weather and the music, he hadn¡¯t the opportunity to do so before another boy sat next to him. Luckily, the person who sat down was his close friend, Sam. John was of slightly above average height, around an odd inch shy of breaking the six feet mark, with dark brown hair and eyes that you would mistake as black if you didn¡¯t look closely. Having been in the soccer team since the beginning of freshman year, his body had toned to a lean, muscular frame. In contrast, Sam was less athletic. With blond hair and green-blue eyes, he boasted a more wiry build with a jawline so sharp it could cut stone. Due to his generally amiable disposition, Sam had become quite popular among the right circles. John was the type that was usually reserved and introverted when he was by himself but easily was the life of a party if he needed to be, which was largely the reason why he was quite familiar with most of the different friend groups in the school. Placing his backpack between his legs to avoid it rolling down the walkway of the bus, Sam greeted John. ¡°Good morning, John. You look tired as always.¡± Sam said amicably. Giving a defeated smile and a sigh, John replied, ¡°Hey. Yeah. Didn¡¯t get much sleep last night.¡± ¡°You never get sleep,¡± Sam scoffed. John had to agree, his habits of taking three hour naps right after getting home, followed by a good 8 hour session of cruising through the internet left him little time to finish his homework before dawn broke. Sleeping at 3 in the morning was not an uncommon occurrence. Giving a noncommittal shrug, he decided to change the topic from broaching on analyzing his bad habits. ¡°Did you see the news?¡± John asked. ¡°Yeah. You mean the disease that turns people crazy that they found in-what was it? Afghanistan? Kazakhstan, I think? One of the ¡®-stan¡¯ countries.¡± ¡°Pakistan, you uncultured swine.¡± John replied jokingly. As an American, they naturally were not inclined to learning the basic country names and cultures outside of their own and the internet never spared an opportunity to remind them of the capitalist, imperial Americans that they were. The only reason John could recall the name was because he¡¯d read the article just that morning. At 3 AM. When he should have been doing his homework, instead. Sam, trying to save some of his dignity, took out his phone and brought up an article on the disease. CCN had reported a week before of unrest rising in Pakistan as riots and looting had risen in frequency sharply over the course of a few days. Although the news may have seemed less than extraordinary, what made it jump to the headlines was the fact that the country was actually in a period of extreme stability for the past several months, and the new emergence of seemingly unprovoked unrest may either be the arrival of a new movement in the people, or a new radicalist group working behind the scenes to create unrest. What really raised the eyebrows of the people back in the States was the government¡¯s military response to the situation. Airports, borders, and streets had been locked down in the radius of the riots and the military had been called in with full force to handle the situation. It seemed somewhat excessive yet no word from the Pakistani government left many people around the world guessing as to what was going on in the South Asian country. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. It was only yesterday that news broke suggesting that the commotion may have been caused by growing concern regarding a disease originating from one of their small towns. After reading the article, the two, as the proud Americans they were, found some interest in the military movements but soon wrote it off as the Middle East being the Middle East. They arrive at school, being the last of a long entourage of yellow painted school buses that systematically unloaded their cargo of students before heading off to whatever magical land buses go to when not transporting children. Contemplating the mysterious laws governing the after-hour social lives of buses, John made his way to the first class of the day. Entering the classroom, John sat in the very front and center and started taking out his materials for class. He wasn¡¯t such a dedicated student as to consistently sit at the front of class hoping to curry the favor of the teacher, but rather he had a habit of falling asleep in class due to his irregular sleep schedule and thus left it to the teacher to keep him accountable and attentive during class. If he sat at the front, the teacher, seeing him dozing, would discreetly bump his foot into the leg of John¡¯s desk, jerking him back to the realm of the living. The teacher, confirming that the time for class to start had arrived, stood up from his seat and began teaching the lecture while the students furiously scribbled in their notebooks to keep up with the material. Starting to daydream, John went into a trance like state of writing while his mind went to battle fantastical creatures elsewhere in the depths of his mind. Only when the bell rang did he return from his stupor and pack up his stuff. The teacher assigned the students to write an essay describing their thoughts and feelings on the current news of the disease and to relate it to some of the material they¡¯d learned in class. After stuffing the assignment in his bag, he headed off to his next class.. Rinse and repeat. Five more classes passed in relatively the same way and he made his way to the cafeteria. Walking up behind John, two figures approached. ¡°Going to lunch?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Yeah. Hey David.¡± John replied while greeting his other friend who had accompanied Sam. David was Chinese and had been John¡¯s close friend since middle school. Slightly shorter than John, David had gotten an interest in a variety of interests that ran parallel with John¡¯s, never intersecting. Because of this, over the years they had not had many opportunities to hang out but they still maintained a good relationship. The three made their way down to the cafeteria and got their lunches before sitting down with the rest of their friends. The table was packed with at least a dozen people trying to talk over each other. After some aimless and pointless banter to pass the time, Sam turned to David. ¡°Did you hear the news? Shits going down in Pakistan.¡± Sam emphasized Pakistan, seemingly making a point to recoup from the embarrassment of showing his ignorance of the world earlier that day. ¡°Shits always happening. Somewhere. All the time.¡± David said indifferently. ¡°Yeah but this is different. Apparently an update came out a few hours ago saying that the disease messes with the mind or something.¡± Sam said excitedly. John perked up at the new information and intently listened while pretending to be distracted by some other conversation. He wasn¡¯t going to give Sam the satisfaction of knowing more than him. But as he turned to look away into the distance, he caught sight of a girl. She had long, wavy dark brown hair and a heart shaped face and a light tan. She had curves that would make a man snap his neck trying to turn to get a glimpse of her rear. Secretly admiring such a beauty, he appreciated the God-given gift that was women. Realizing his original intent, he once again focused his attention on Sam. ¡°-and now they¡¯re closing airports and borders to try to contain the situation but looks like it won¡¯t hold.¡± Sam finished his story with an ominous tone trying to get a rise from David. Frustrated that he missed the majority of the story, John sighed and decided to just read about it in the news when he had time. ¡°It won¡¯t get in the US, will it?¡± Vinay, one of the friends at the table asked worriedly. He wanted to be a doctor when he graduated college but ironically, was too afraid of disease and germs to actually do anything remotely close to working in medicine. ¡°Doubt it. Not with homeland security being hounded by Faux New¡¯s fear mongering. It¡¯ll fade from our minds in a few days¡± David assuaged Vinay¡¯s fears. John looked out of the window, seeing the rain pelting the glass. He contemplated on the growing fear and how blinded to reason people could become because of it. He thought to himself, it¡¯s just another hyped up danger out in the other side of the world. It¡¯ll pass with time. Unfortunately, it would not pass. Not with this. It would only get worse. Chapter 2: The Market Chapter 2: The Market -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The eyes were the first indication that you had the sickness. Bloodshot eyes would be followed by increasingly erratic behavior and frequent nose bleeds. Extremely violent tendencies would persist until a total organ system failure ended the life of those would had caught it just days before. At least that¡¯s the bits and pieces of news we¡¯d managed to gather from what the media is saying. The news reporters aren¡¯t really sure as to the exact symptoms either, simply that it¡¯s extremely deadly and is transmitted by body fluids. The scientists are saying it isn¡¯t air transmitted, which would otherwise be good news if not for the fear gripping the nation by its balls for them to heed the assurances of the scientists. They were calling it the P15 Virus, P standing for Pakistan, the country of origin of the virus and 15 for the day it was announced, on the 15th of May. It had been two weeks since the outbreak of the sickness and ever since then, most countries had in some form or another established lockdown procedures prohibiting entry for anyone coming from anywhere near the affected areas. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Her name is Abby Trettle. Her dad is one of those scientists and he told her that they didn¡¯t have anything to fear. They¡¯d set up extensive measures to ensure the safety of the citizens and the sickness had little to no chance of entering the States without the authorities knowing about it and stopping it. She believed him but the news, screaming till kingdom come that every single one of their lives are at risk, wasn¡¯t doing much to help the general public who didn¡¯t have fathers that worked with the government. It was a Thursday two weeks after the outbreak and she¡¯d been assigned in her English class to write an essay on the virus as a current event analysis assignment. Her entire family was down with a cold so they stayed home that day instead of going to school. She¡¯d just finished the essay when her younger brother Joey yelled for her to come downstairs. Slightly annoyed, Abby ran down the stairs and asked, ¡°What is it? This better be important if you¡¯re going to be bursting our eardrums this late in the evening.¡± However, her brother didn¡¯t entertain her goading to start a healthy sibling dispute and just motioned for her to come to the sofa where the television was on. ¡°Look at this.¡± He simply said. Abby walked up beside him and looked at what the T.V was saying in big red letters at the banner on the bottom going from right to left: ¡®FIRST CONFIRMED PATIENT OF P15 VIRUS ADMITTED AT SAINT GEORGE¡¯S HOSPITAL¡¯. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. Her eyes widening in surprise as she asked, ¡°When was this?¡± ¡°20 minutes ago.¡± He replied. ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of police and guys in hazmat suits there.¡± Saint George¡¯s Hospital was one of the largest hospitals in the city jointly run by the government and the local university that used it for clinical and medical research. The virus that was supposed to be some far off danger in a foreign country had terrifyingly shown up at their very doorstep. This thought left her hands shaking and all the blood to drain from her face. She quickly ran to the phone and dialed the only person she knew who could give her a proper explanation on what was going on. The phone immediately played the tone signalling all lines were busy. Silently cursing under her breath for having just experienced first-hand a classical movie cliche, she wisely ran back up to her room and retrieved her smartphone. Turning it on, she quickly sent her dad a text so that he could respond once he saw it. It was a simple text of six words that held both her fears and her hopes that her dad could make it alright, that with a simple text, he could wash her fears and doubts boiling in her heart away: ¡°WHAT IS HAPPENING. ARE WE SAFE.¡± She put her phone down and waited for her father to reply. Each second felt like an eternity and her consciousness slowly tunnel visioned to only see her phone. ¡°ABBY!¡± She nearly jumped out of her own skin when she heard the shout, turning to see a very disheveled middle-age woman with dirty blonde hair and almond shaped blue eyes who looked a lot like her standing in her doorway. It was her mother. ¡°Good heavens, girl I called you three times already. Come with me, we need to go right now.¡± Her mother impatiently said as she grabbed Abby¡¯s wrist and pulled her out of the room. Abby, seeing her mother¡¯s state, quietly followed after grabbing her phone and shoving it in her pocket. It was still raining so she put on her red hoodie and pulled up the hood to block the rain as her mom, Joey, and she got into the old station wagon and pulled out of the driveway. Thinking this was the right time to ask while she had the chance, she tentatively raised her voice to ask a question, ¡°Mom, where are we going?¡± Without looking away from the road, she replied, ¡°We¡¯re going to pick up your Aunt Jenna to run some errands.¡± This left Abby confused, as she could not understand why they had to pick up Aunt Jenna if they were simply going to get groceries. Joey leaned over and whispered, ¡°People are scrambling to the markets. They¡¯re clearing out the shelves like madmen, it¡¯s almost borderline rioting out there. Mom wants to get in and out fast enough to get us enough food before everything runs out in case things run south.¡± She nodded, finally comprehending the situation. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.Aunt Jenna¡¯s house was only a few blocks down from theirs so it only took a minute to get there. ¡°We better hurry, Mary, looks like the folks are working up a shopping frenzy.¡± Aunt Jenna said to her mother as they sped down the road towards the local supermarket. ¡°Where¡¯s the money?¡± Aunt Jenna inquired of her mother. ¡°Glovebox.¡± She replied. Aunt Jenna opened up the compartment and took out a white envelope and divided the cash, handing each of the two siblings a wad of bills. After counting, Abby was astonished to see there were over 500 dollars in her hand. ¡°This is¡­¡± Abby was at a loss for words. ¡°...a lot of cash¡­.¡± Joey completed her thought. Aunt Jenna ignored the two comments and proceeded to look directly in their eyes and said, ¡°Alright listen up. Each of you grab a cart and go in there and grab everything we may need. Things like water, milk, and nonperishables are the first things on your list, Abby. Joey, you go and get the toiletries and see if you can¡¯t grab all the supplement pills you can find. Money isn¡¯t an issue so just grab as much as you can, and fill it up to the brim.¡± Apparently, the closed ports had basically ceased trading and so new goods weren¡¯t coming in. In the end, the market owners had just decided that they would take two hundred dollars per cart. Whatever they could fit in one cart would be theirs. As they made their way into the parking lot, they could see other adults wildly pushing carts to the market and others pushing full cars to their car, unloading, and then quickly returning to the market for another load. They parked and grabbed a few carts and headed in. Abby went straight for the beverages section and seeing the fast dwindling water supply, madly grabbed for a case of water bottles. Several moms were fighting in the background for what looked like the last of baby formula and diapers, crashing into other ¡°customers¡± and generally making a huge scene causing the people around to be distracted. Using this opportunity, Abby sneaked past and grabbed as cases of water she could before moving on to get milk. To her dismay, none were left so she instead got powdered milk and, on a whim, added a few jugs of Gatorade. She rolled her cart over to the canned goods section and without looking or caring much for what she picked, grabbed as many cans as she could and filled up her cart. Once the cart was full and noticeably heavier, she went to the cashier. In all the chaos, the customers were just throwing the money at the poor cashier to run out to their cars. She also threw a few bills at the cashier and made her way to the car. As she was halfway to the car, a man with dark brown hair and eyes ran up to her, eyeing the car. ¡°Hey, kid. Let me buy that cart off you. I¡¯ll pay twice as much as what you paid for it.¡± He said while pulling out a wad of Benjamins. ¡°Not interested.¡± Abby said while continuing to roll the cart past the man but the man grabbed the cart and stopped it, looking at Abby with frantic, bloodshot eyes. ¡°Look, I have a wife and two boys, one¡¯s even about your age, and everyone¡¯s already grabbed most of the good stuff. I need these. Looks like you¡¯re not here alone and I¡¯m sure they have plenty of the stuff that you all need. You¡¯d be saving my life.¡± The man pleaded in mad desperation. Somewhat scared of the man but also somewhat sympathetic of his plight, she hesitated. Turning her head back to the mart, she said to the man directly. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry but there¡¯s a lot of carts left and you can go in and find stuff yourself. There¡¯s plenty left.¡± She tried to reason with this man while trying to move the cart forward, unable to do so under the man¡¯s vice-like grip. The man started shaking and his face was in panic as if he¡¯d die if he didn¡¯t get that cart. ¡°Please, I¡¯m begging you.¡± He still held onto the cart and even tried to move it towards him. ¡°Get your hands off my cart!¡± She yelled loudly, hoping some figure of authority, a cop, hopefully would hear her and come to her rescue. No such help came. The cops were too busy containing the situation elsewhere. As he was much bigger, he wrenched the cart from her hands. Panicking and not knowing what to do in such a situation, she did the only thing she could do. She kicked him as hard as she could between the legs. The man doubled over and fell down. Overcoming the shock of what she just did, she quickly hopped over the incapacitated man and pushed the cart, running towards the car. When she got there, the others were already loading the food into the ladened station wagon, trying to fit everything in like a 3D tetris game. Her mother turned to her and asked, ¡°What took you so long?¡± Panting, Abby could not reply. Her mother after sparing only a second to look at her daughter, shrugged and took Abby¡¯s cart to load onto the car. Once it was full, they filed in and drove off. As they drove out of the parking lot, Abby remembered her message and took out her phone to find that her dad had sent her a reply. Opening the message, her breath caught in her throat as she read the capitalized letters on the screen: ¡°SITUATION BAD. STAY INSIDE. LOCK THE DOORS.¡± No sooner had she read the text did she look up to see a car shooting down the four way intersection on their right side, heading in a collision course straight for them. She screamed at the top of her lungs, ¡°LOOK OU-¡± but was stopped short as the car rammed into the right side of their station wagon. Everything went dark as she lost consciousness. Chapter 3: Code Red Chapter 3: Code Red ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John sighed as he looked out the window of his classroom. He was bored out of his mind listening to the current lecture so he was busily looking for something to occupy himself. It was raining, as if to mock the otherwise tense atmosphere permeating the nation. Six days ago, the first news report came in about riots in Pakistan that turned out to be caused by an unknown virus that causes extremely violent tendencies followed by death. The media did not show any pictures but rather opted to show reporters standing in front of broken windows of stores that had been raided the night prior or some random building that was set on fire by a rampaging patient. The students are calling it mad fever, the scientists are labeling it as the P15 virus, but there really was no need to name it. It was all anyone was talking about these days. When you called in sick, people would get into a frenzy think you had the mad fever when in fact it might have just been the common cold. Everyone was on edge. Everyone except John. He¡¯d lived his entire life listening to the same media talking about terrorist threats to bombings but it never impacted his life in any way. To him, all the news about the virus was taken in a very detached manner. To John, such an epidemic would never in his wildest dreams reach where he lived. He lived in the suburbs in the shadow of D.C. only a stone¡¯s throw away from the 1% millionaires. Living in one of the richest places, he and his family of moderate income enjoyed much of the benefits that were left for the best and richest of the U.S. The health services were good and the police were well trained and nice. They didn¡¯t shoot people indiscriminately but they kept the order just fine. He turned away from the window and looked at his fellow classmates. A good few of them were soundly asleep, doing a poor job of concealing it, while the rest were clearly struggling to not fall like the comrades around them. He noticed the girl from the other day sitting near the back and wondered how he¡¯d never noticed a girl like her sooner. Deciding it was a combination of her sitting in his blind spot or her being a transfer student, he decided to turn back and give his full attention back to where it belonged in a classroom, the window. As he looked out, he saw a hint of smoke rising from the distance and wondered if someone was having a cookout. I guess we need one to light up the atmosphere around here he thought to himself as he looked at the wispy trail of smoke. As he looked closer, the smoke seemed to grow larger and darker and a small frown appeared on his face. ¡°A bonfire party, perhaps?¡± He murmured to himself. ¡°What was that, Mr. Rider? You have a question?¡± The teacher said as John¡¯s murmuring was overheard by the teacher. He turned to see the teacher looking at him, as well as the attention of half the class, while the other half were waking up from the commotion, looking around only to rest their gazes on him. He saw this and just shrugged his shoulders while pointing his thumb towards the window. ¡°There seems to be a fire¡± He explained. The class collectively turned their attention to the window and looked out. Seeing the billowing smoke, conversation erupted in class as to what could have caused such a large fire. Some students took out their phones to investigate. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. Everyone quiet down and get back to taking notes.¡± Ms. Potts said trying to control the suddenly unruly crowd of students. ¡°Oh my God¡­¡± A girl¡¯s trembling voice sounded out from the back of the classroom as the rest of the class turned to look at what happened. She looked up from intensely staring at her phone and turned towards the class. ¡°Someone with the virus was admitted to Saint George¡¯s 40 minutes ago.¡± This caused an uproar in class and general pandemonium as students started discussing with each other, and some also took out their own smartphones to verify the news. After finding out it was true, their faces turned pale and their hands started to tremble in fear. John was shocked as well as he had never expect the virus to advance so far into the United States. It seems other classes had noticed the fire and ran through similar sequences of events as his own class as shouts and noises could be heard from the other classrooms. The teacher frantically tried to calm the students to no avail until the announcement system turned on with a buzz. ¡°Attention all students. As many of you have recently found out, there has been a case of the virus admitted to the Saint George¡¯s Hospital earlier this afternoon.¡± The principal making the announcement paused to let the news sink in. He continued, ¡°However, we have been notified by the authorities that the situation had been contained and there seem to be no evidence as to any other cases. Thus, we will be continuing classes but will monitor the situation closely. I shall not repeat myself, so listen carefully: Do not get out of hand and don¡¯t start a fuss. Sorry for the interruption, teachers, you may resume your lessons.¡± With that, the calm returned somewhat to the classroom but the students were even more high strung. John decided that this was the best time to relieve some of his pent up stress and fatigue and asked the teacher if he could go to the bathroom. After getting an approving nod from the distracted teacher, he left the classroom and walked down the hallway. As he passed by another window looking out over the street in front of the school, there were no cars but a lone figure that was walking towards the school. The security guards patrolling the perimeter of the school could be seen walking towards the man with their hands slowly reaching for their tasers. One of them talked into his walkie talkie and soon after, a buzz from the P.A system could be heard, The announcement system turned back on and the principal, now with a tint of worry in his voice said, ¡°Attention students, visitors, and faculty, due to a security emergency in the nearby vicinity of the school grounds, we are issuing a temporary code blue alert. You may continue with classes but you are not permitted to allow anyone entry or exit into classrooms. Please lock your doors and close the blinds and we will notify you of any changes. I repeat, this is not a drill, we are in a code blue.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. John hearing the announcement got somewhat worried but decided to see how the events at the school entrance would unfold. The man walking over seemed to be unresponsive to the warnings of the security guards probably telling him that the school was private property. The man ignored the warnings and started picking up speed and eventually started stumbling towards the guards. One of the guards quickly took out his taser and after several more warnings, let loose. However, the electricity seemed to have no effect on the man as he continued stumbling forward. The second security guard called in another time to the walkie talkie and walked briskly next to the other security guard, raising a taser of his own and firing. John remained transfixed at the spot both out of fascination at a scene that he could have only imagined seeing in movies or T.V shows and out of fear. He was so immersed in the scene before him that he did not hear the sound of the P.A system announce a code red, initiating a total school lock-down. The man remained undeterred and arrived at the first security guard. The guard pushed the man away with his arm but with fast reactions, the man grabbed the arm and suddenly bit down hard, tearing through the thin fabric, skin and muscle, tearing away at a large chunk of meat on the arm. Screams of pain could be heard from the guard as he tried to extricate himself from the man while the other security guard took out his gun and fired. BANG. The first bullet hit the knee cap of the man, causing his legs to buckle unable to support the weight, and the first guard went down with him. The man crawled up the struggling body of the guard while the other guard pelted the man with bullets in the rib cage with no effect. The man reached the neck of the guard and with a open mouth lined with bloody teeth and bits of human flesh, bit down on the nape of the guards neck, silencing his screams. The guard finally shot the man in the head, and the force knocked the man off the dead guard and the man lay still, dead. ¡°SHIT, SHIT, CALL AN AMBULANCE.¡± The guard could be heard screaming into the walkie talkie so loudly that his voice could be heard from the window where John was standing. John quickly snapped out of his shock and hid underneath the window, sitting down to control his shaking body and legs. This was the first time he had seen someone die in front of him, let alone in such a savage manner. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What was wrong with that man? Could it be the virus?¡± Questions raced through John¡¯s head as he struggled to understand the situation that had unraveled before him. His vision started becoming dark around the edges and he started seeing spots, at which point he realized he wasn¡¯t breathing. He took a deep, gasping breath and hyperventilated, calming his senses. Afterwards, he peeked up over the window to see that the guard was leaning over the downed guard, trying to stop the blood flow and checking the pulse of the guard. He leaned down to put his ear up against the guards nose to hear for breathing but at that moment, the injured guards eyes snapped open, bloodshot and his mouth opened wide and, leaning up, ripped off the ear of the guard. The injured guard grabbed the guards head and started tearing with his teeth at the flesh on the side of his cheek, exposing the row of teeth underneath as the guard screamed in agony. The injured guard sat up and brought the other guard down and started eating away at his face stopping after the guard stopped moving. The injured guard looked up towards the school, stood up and walked towards the entrance. Soon after, the other guard, who John had thought dead, also slowly stood up and shuffled towards the entrance. John¡¯s voice, body, and mind were frozen in shock and fear at the scene that was before him. He simply could not comprehend what had happened as he watched the two men walk towards the double metal doors. They slammed into the door and started banging it with their fists. BANG. BANG. BANG. The noise resounded throughout the still and noiseless school. The banging seemed to reverberate off the walls and echo down the halls, crashing into the thick silence that screamed in the air after each bang. John looked towards the man that had started it all, lying motionless on the field. What is he, that he could remain standing despite the injuries? Why did he not get up again like the others? What was different? John¡¯s eyes narrowed in realization. The man had been unaffected by tasers and several gunshot wounds but the last bullet, the bullet to the head, had stopped him. Confused by this realization as it defied all of his known biological science, he decided that questioning why it happened was not important. What was important was that the virus had caused this change in the man and the guards. Seeing as how the second guard was not affected until he stood back up after being attacked, it didn¡¯t seem the virus was triggered by proximity. So, naturally John¡¯s conclusion was that the virus was not airborne, but was in fact transferred by the fluid transfer he had heard about. He breathed a small sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that as long as he wasn¡¯t bitten by the infected, he would be safe. What was most scary, was that the people infected seemed to not fear pain or death and indeed could kill others without any remorse. This truly terrified John. If those infected guards get in this building, there is no stopping them with the way I am now, and the others don¡¯t know how to deal with the situation. I have to warn someone. I have to warn the principal and the guards! With that thought, John quickly ran towards the principal¡¯s office, his sneakers hitting the linoleum floors the only sounds resounding through the empty halls. Chapter 4: The Return Chapter 4: The Return ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BANG. BANG. BANG. The sound of the guards smashing against the metal walls rang out in tandem with the sound of John¡¯s falling footsteps. He ran to the Principal¡¯s office which was located near the front doors. As he went around the hall, he saw a couple security personnel make their way to the door, attempting to open it, seeing that it was the other security guards that were outside. ¡°STOP. Don¡¯t open the door!¡± John shouted while running to stop them. However, they did not hear this in time, as one of them already had opened the door, while looking back at who was shouting. He didn¡¯t see the guards outside lunging at the distracted guard. Pushing through the door, the first guard grabbed ahold of the other¡¯s shoulders and proceeded to rip the flesh and muscles from the back of his neck. The remaining guard pounced on the neck of the last guard and ripped out his trachea with his bare hands, munching on the string of muscle from the now dead guard. John hardened his resolve and continued running towards the guards. Quickly, he unbuckled the gun of the dissected guard and jumped back out of the reach of the infected on top of the guard who had stopped eating the guard and had reached out his hand to grab at John¡¯s hair. Just barely escaping the infected man¡¯s hand, John took several steps back. With shaking hands, he raises the gun point to the head of the man. **click** Cursing under his breath, John fumbled to undo the safety while the guard, now aware of his presence, slowly stood up from the corpse of his coworker. John finally flips the safety and lifts the gun up to the head of the man. He hesitates. Can I really do this? I¡¯ve never shot anyone before. I would be a murderer. With doubts in his mind, he hesitates which gives the guard enough time to have arrived at John, lifting his hand and swatting the gun out of John¡¯s grip. The man grabs onto John¡¯s wrist and lifts it to his mouth. John attempts to release the grip but the man¡¯s vice-like hold on his wrist shows no signs of releasing him. John, thinking fast, lifts his foot, slamming it into the knee of the man, causing a sharp **SNAP** as his leg breaks. The two fall down together and John using his arm, locks it underneath the man¡¯s neck away from his mouth and holds his head just inches from his face, gnashing wildly. John looks to his side and sees the gun, using his other hand, he reaches for the gun and fumbling to reposition it, he finally puts his finger on the trigger, lifts it to the temple of the man, and pulls. BANG. A spray of dark crimson blood seeps out of the gaping hole. The man¡¯s eyes roll up in his head and his body goes limp, slumping over John. With effort, he pushes the man¡¯s body to the side and stands up with unsteady legs. He looks to the other guards and is not surprised at what he sees. The other guard had stopped attacking and looked up, attracted by the sound of the gunshot. He started moving towards John, but John would not give him the chance. BANG. BANG. BANG. Three more shots rang out in quick succession. Each shot had entered each of the heads of the three remaining guards, killing the one while preventing the others from getting back up. He knew the sounds would have been heard throughout the school, as he now just noticed the screaming and commotion on the opposite side of many of the classroom doors. No one left the rooms as it was a code red and people were too scared to go outside after hearing the shots. Without wasting any more time, John went over to the three guards, checking that they were indeed dead, and retrieved their guns and ammunition. In total, he now had four Beretta 92¡¯s and 57 rounds of 9mm bullets. Gathering them all up and shoving them into various pant pockets, he quickly ran to the science hallway, entering an empty biology classroom. He quickly went to the drawers and opened them. After sifting through the various biology utensils, he retrieved several scalpels that they used earlier that year to dissect pigs. After the close quarters encounter with the infected man, he did not want a repeat. As he left the classroom, he grabbed a lab coat and protective glasses to prevent any blood or fluids from going onto his body or eyes and infecting him. Donning the lab equipment over his dark blue jeans and black button-down shirt, he checked the hallways before making his way towards the classroom. This virus is much more deadly and serious than anything the news had told us. Shit¡¯s hit the fan and I need to be prepared for the fallout. He¡¯d watched enough shows to understand what type of pandemonium would come with news of an outbreak that turned people into crazy cannibals. Riots, panic, and everything in between would break out all over the city, if not the nation if this went out. If he ever faced another one of those things again, he wanted to be prepared to save himself. At that thought, he suddenly stopped, is his family safe? He remembered just this morning talking to his family over the breakfast table. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He lived in a small town house in the middle of a sprawling suburb and enjoyed a simple life with his family of four. Eric, John¡¯s father, had recently received an award for his stellar service in the health industry working as a neurosurgeon and the Rider household had been celebrating with a full continental breakfast. For a family that usually didn¡¯t spend much time or thought on breakfast, they had gone all out to celebrate the big occasion. ¡°I heard you got first in yesterday¡¯s spelling bee. I¡¯m so proud of you, Jacob.¡± Their father commented on the younger son¡¯s recent achievement. ¡°It wasn¡¯t anything big. Your award is a lot cooler, dad.¡± Jacob said while scratching his nose, poorly trying to hide his satisfaction at being complimented. Everyone in the family had the same traits, dark brown hair and eyes that seemed to change shades in different lighting. John and Jacob had both decided to pursue medicine in the footsteps of the father they looked up to and they tried hard to achieve academically to prove their achievements and desires to their father. ¡°That thing? No, speak nothing of it. You, young man, shine much more brightly than this old fart.¡± His father said while deflecting the compliment and shooting it right back at his son. ¡°Of course it¡¯s big, honey. You boys take so much after your father¡­ Humility is good but sometimes you have to take pride in your achievements.¡± Their mother, Jessica Rider, said to Jacob and her husband. Jacob nodded happily and resumed eating his breakfast. The parents looking at Jacob¡¯s shy attitude laughed lovingly. John, seeing this love filled atmosphere, smiled warmly and also continued to work on the pile of pancakes in front of him. To John, family was everything, and he would in a heartbeat give his life for any of them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. He suddenly became very scared at the thought of what might happen to his family in such a situation. His father was a strong willed man so he could fend for himself and his wife but Jacob.... Jacob was still young, only recently turning 11, he was too weak and young to know what to do. John knew that he had to get to Jacob as fast as he could, but he couldn¡¯t do it alone. He quickly made his way back to the classroom. On his way back, more gunshots could be heard. In total, there were 6 guards on campus at any given time so the other two must have met some trouble. The sounds of gunfire had transformed the once peaceful school into a battleground and the sounds of sirens could be heard from out in the city. More and more smoke could be seen rising in the distance and if you listened closely, the sound of cars crashing and windows breaking could be heard. The students and teachers hid in the corner of the room. Sam and David were there as well, huddled underneath a couple of tables. ¡°You think it¡¯s a terrorist attack?¡± Sam asked David. ¡°Maybe. Could be the sickness.¡± David replied. Sam tensed up at the mention of the sickness. ¡°Why the sickness? That just makes people mildly violent and they¡¯re supposed to die soon after. There¡¯s no way it¡¯s gotten so out of hand.¡± Sam argued, trying in small part to retort to David¡¯s claim but in larger part to calm himself. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Wait, where¡¯s John?¡± David asked as he looked around. Sam also looked around the classroom and, seeing no John, crawled over to the teacher who was also sitting with her legs tucked in underneath her, huddled in a corner. ¡°Ms. Potts, John isn¡¯t here.¡± Sam whispered to the teacher. The teacher who seemed shell shocked, didn¡¯t respond, whether she ignored him or simply didn¡¯t hear, Sam didn¡¯t know, so he tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped at the sudden contact, and looked up from her musings. ¡°What? John? I believe he went to the bathroom. He should have went to the nearest classroom when he heard the announcement. Don¡¯t worry about it and sit back where you were.¡± The teacher told Sam. Sam, seeing as there was nothing he could do, returned to his place next to David. Just then, a banging could be heard from the other side of the wooden door. BANG. BANG. Everyone in the room froze, hold their breath. The silence was only broken by a voice from the other side of the door. ¡°It¡¯s John. John Rider. Let me in, hurry!.¡± John¡¯s muffled voice could be heard from the other side of the door. The students, recognizing the sound of the voice, calmed somewhat but did not move to open the door. For all they know, terrorists could be holding him at gunpoint to convince the students to open the doors. Sam, not even considering that possibility, ran to the door and opened it. There John stood with his lab coat and protective glasses in the door-frame. John pushed his way in, closing the door. ¡°John, where the hell have you been? Do you know what¡¯s happening?¡± Sam asked, worry clearly evident in his voice. David scurried over. ¡°Does he know what¡¯s going on?¡± David asked Sam. ¡°We need to leave. Now. People are going crazy out there. I think it¡¯s the virus.¡± John quickly retold what he had gone through outside of the classroom. Hearing that the sound of the shots originated from John and that he even killed people, Sam and David¡¯s faces paled and a hint of fear was in their eyes as they looked at John. ¡°You killed them?¡± David asked. ¡°There was no other choice. It was either me or them.¡± John tried to argue. Sam and David seemed to have a moment of internal struggle. They looked at John¡¯s eyes and then looked to each other and nodded. ¡°We get it. You did what you had to do.¡± Sam said while giving John¡¯s shoulder a pat. John looked over the shoulders of his friends and looked at the other classmates. They were looking at them in confusion and were whispering amongst themselves. John passed by his friends and went over to the teacher. ¡°There¡¯s been an attack on the school grounds. I saw several of the security guards try to contain a man that seemed to be infected with the virus. Tasers and bullets didn¡¯t work on him and already four guards are dead. More seem to be coming and the situation will only get worse. We need to get the students out of the building and somewhere safe.¡± John calmly tried to explain the situation and convince the teacher. She seemed to be dazed as she replied. ¡°Safe...? Safe? This place is perfectly safe. The police will come and the authorities will handle it. You children don¡¯t need to worry about it. Let¡¯s all wait here until help arrives.¡± She said frantically, pulling him to sit down. John pulled her hands off him and moved back to his friends. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem she understands the full magnitude of the situation.¡± John told them as he glanced back at the teacher who had now wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth slowly. He frowned and scanned his eyes over the others. He then spoke loud enough for the rest of the students to hear. He explained the situation to them the same way he did with the teacher. ¡°If you want to stay alive, come with us.¡± He told the students. The students hesitantly looked over at their peers and glanced at their teacher who made no movement or said a word. She simply rocked back and forth ever so slightly. No one made a move. Listening to authority and adults had been ingrained in their minds that they could not leave. John looked at the unresponsive students, stopping his gaze on the black haired girl who was looking directly at him with an unwavering gaze. He felt his heart jump as their eyes met but calmed down. This wasn¡¯t the time nor the place to be having teenage thoughts. ¡°Are you coming?¡± He asked her directly. She hesitated, but then stood up and went to them. ¡°If I did go with you, where would you even go?¡± She asked. The boys were stumped. They understood that they had to leave the death trap of a school but they hadn¡¯t thought of where to go afterwards. ¡°I need to stop by the elementary school near here to make sure my brother is safe and then we¡¯ll leave the city. Get as far away from here.¡± John said resolutely. The two other boys, suddenly realizing their families may be in danger, agreed with worried expressions. She silently looked at the three boys and nodded. ¡°Alright. Lead the way.¡± She said to John. He nodded and left the room with the other three. As they left moved towards the door, the teacher grabbed John¡¯s left hand, twirling him around. She hissed, ¡°You will do no such thing. You all will stay here and that is an order.¡± John narrowed his eyes at her and shook her off. Growling in a low voice, he said, ¡°We¡¯re leaving. That¡¯s final.¡± He turned around and patting David¡¯s shoulder, he turned to the others. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± He moved past the others and opened the door. Behind them they could hear the teacher shouting at them. ¡°You¡¯re all going to be in so much trouble when the principal hears of this! I¡¯ll have you all in detention for the entire week!¡± Shaking his head at the teacher¡¯s foolishness, he ignored her and left the room with the others in tow. Chapter 5: The Escape Chapter 5: The Escape ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As John closed the door behind them, he turned to look at his group. Reaching into his pockets, he said, ¡°You¡¯ll need these.¡± He handed each of them a pistol and a magazine of bullets. They looked at the heavy piece of metal in their hands. ¡°I--I don¡¯t think...I don¡¯t think I can use this.¡± Sam said hesitantly. ¡°Make sure the safety is off, aim for the head, and pull the trigger.¡± He said as he checked his own gun. ¡°Or at least, that¡¯s all that there is to it.¡± He added. He was no gun expert. The first time he¡¯d ever shot one was a few minutes ago and he¡¯d only seen how to do it by trial and error and what he¡¯d seen in the movies. "No, I mean, I don''t think I can kill people, John." John looked at the others and they seemed to also be struggling with the thought of taking a life. "You get killed or you kill. I''m not going to force you guys but if you''re in a position where the only chance of surviving and saving the ones you love is by pulling that trigger, wouldn''t you do it?" He asked, looking deep into the eyes of each person. They all looked down at their guns. David''s eyes flashed with resolve and he firmly gripped the gun. The girl also put the gun behind her in her pants. Sam, after a few seconds, looked up at his friends who seemed ready to take the lives of others. "You''re really going to do it? Take a life?" He asked them. "I want to survive, yeah. But I''m not going to do it over the dead bodies of others. You guys deal with the infected. I won''t take part in it." He tried to hand John back the gun but John refused it. "Keep it. Just in case." John said. Sam hesitated but nodded his head and pocketed the gun in his pocket. They carefully made their way through the empty halls. John heard squishing sounds and banging at the hallway intersecting the one they were currently in. Lifting a hand to stop the others, they went into a crouching position and John carefully peered over the side of the wall. On the other side a female student was kneeling over the body of a teacher. The students hair was ripped out in patches on one side of her head, as if someone had yanked it out trying to pull her somewhere. The rest of her brown hair was matted down against her skin, plastered with blood from some unknown assailant or victim. She was crouching low to the ground, standing on her hands and knees like some animal as she gorged on the intestines spilled out over the gaping hole of the dead teacher¡¯s abdomen. Blood flowed like rivers from various open wounds on her body, a thick, viscous red-black substance that seemed to flow out like lava, slowly making its way down to the once clean bleached floors, joining with the other pools of blood. Further down the hall, other students could be seen banging on the doors of some of the rooms while other doors had been smashed open. Screams could be heard all around that wing of the school as students not affected by the virus scrambled to find places to escape or hide. Shattered doors and windows permeated the hallway as the infected broke through to get at the students inside, while the students broke the windows, opting to jump out the two story window rather than deal with what came knocking at their door. The others saw the massacre that lay before them, and their faces went green. Sam ran a little bit back down the hall and hurled what he had eaten for breakfast that day. The others didn¡¯t seem that far behind from following Sam¡¯s actions but managed to hold theirs in. John wasn¡¯t feeling too well either, seeing so much blood and guts scattered around the hallway. It was truly a terrifying scene of carnage that they could have only seen in horror movies. Living and breathing it in reality was much more sickening and left their stomachs rampaging to push its contents back up their throats ¡°Other way. There.¡± John said as he moved down another hallway towards the science hall. He had been there earlier so, as far as he knew, that was a safer option to getting towards the front entrance. The only reason he hadn¡¯t taken that way beforehand was because he didn¡¯t want the others to see his handiwork in dispatching the four security cards. On their way, he remembered to enter the same biology classroom that he had been in earlier. The sterile environment with vials and test tubes hanging in racks, the anatomy posters hanging on the wall, even the poster of a little cat wearing a lab coat saying a science pun, all these little things recalled a time of peace, order, and rationalism, something that was hardly seen in the current predicament the students found themselves. The room was quiet except for the muffled sounds of chaos that seeped through the walls. The atmosphere was so peaceful and quiet that the four walked with light steps, barely making a sound as they fear that it would shatter the precious silence. As John made his way over to the drawer to retrieve some more scalpels, the others had a chance to have a breather from the stress that had piled up until that point. David made sure the door was closed and kept a lookout through the small window on the door while the girl sat down on one of the chairs near the front of the classroom. Sam simply slid down the wall and sat on the floor, his head in his hands as his shaky, rasping breaths pierced the tense silence of the room. ¡°Sam.¡± David said. Sam lifted his head from his hands and looked up at David, wiping away at some of the tears that had started streaking down his face. ¡°What?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll handle everything. We¡¯ll all get out of here.¡± David awkwardly tried to reassure his unstable friend. He had never really been good at dealing with openly expressing emotions and feelings, preferring to internalize it and rebrand it with his own cynical twist. Seeing his close friend breaking down, he had tried to step in and calm him. Sam rubbed hard at his eyes and looked up, a little bit better but still struggling with something. ¡°Thanks...I guess.¡± Sam said. John returned from rummaging through cabinets and returned, giving each of them the same lab coats and glasses as well as arming them with more scalpels to act as makeshift knives. ¡°The lab coats and glasses should protect you from any fluids getting on or in you and will ward off the infection. If you ever need to kill one of them up close, use a scalpel to their temple and I think that should basically do the job.¡± John explained. The others took the equipment and put them on, making them look like a team of scientists rather than a group of students fending for their lives. They left the room and headed towards the front door but before they could, the girl stopped them. "Look!" The four looked out the window and saw several dozen people moving towards the front door. "Seems like we need a new exit plan." David commented. "Come on. We can go out the back." Sam said as he moved toward the other side of the school. The others followed and turned down another hallway. Luckily, this one was devoid of people and they had no trouble getting to the back door. They opened the door which led out to an area dug out below ground level. Going up the stairs, they finally made it out of the building. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The stairs led out into a rear parking lot where John noticed a man fumbling with his keys trying to get into his car. The man was a security guard who had been in charge of watching the cameras, who, seeing what had befell the others, decided it was above his pay grade and abandoned his post. A moan was heard from behind him, and as he turned his head, he saw the last security guard, or at least what remained of him, walking towards him. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Come on." He fumbled with his keys, dropping it accidentally. He quickly bent down to pick it up and clumsily looked for the correct key. He kept looking backwards to see the approaching security guard. He yelled in frustration and as the other was nearly upon him, he turned around, taking out his gun to point at the stumbling man. ¡°Stay back, Harold! Get away from me!¡± He said with a shaky voice. Harold didn¡¯t respond and just continued forward. ¡°Please, don¡¯t make me do this.¡± With trembling hands, he raised the gun up and hearing no response, shot at near point blank range at the chest of the guard. Seeing no reaction from Harold, the guard had a look of horror and before he knew it, Harold pushed the man into the car, knocking them down, and started biting the man like a rabid dog. Seeing all that had happened, John went up to the duo and promptly shot Harold in the head. ¡°Holy shit, John.¡± Sam whispered as the others came up to see what had transpired. ¡°Are they alive?¡± David asked. ¡°Watch¡± John replied to them both. After a few moments, the man awoke and stood up. He looked at the group and walked towards them. John turned to the others then. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Did you see? They come back and once they do, they¡¯re not the same. Bullets don¡¯t kill them unless you aim for the head.¡± With that, John raised his gun and shot the man, ending him. ¡°How-how is that possible? The virus was supposed to be nothing like this.¡± The girl said. It seems she, too, had heard the erroneous news report on the symptom progression of the virus. John walked up to the two security guards and picked up their guns and ammunition and after thinking for a moment, took their wallets. ¡°You¡¯re stealing from the dead? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Sam said, angered that John could so nonchalantly kill two people and proceed to take everything they had. He pulled John¡¯s shoulder trying to move him away from the dead man. John stood up suddenly and turning around quickly, backhanded Sam across the face. Sam stumbled, nearly falling over from the hit. ¡°What was that fo-¡± ¡°Get a grip, Sam.¡± John said. ¡°You see what happens to these people and we need what they have to get out of here and make it out there. You think I¡¯m doing this for fun? Wake up. We have to do what we have to do.¡± John almost yelled the last sentence in anger both at Sam¡¯s stubbornness and at his own actions. He understood the harshness of his words and the brutality he had just committed. The blood of these men would never be washed from his hands. In a gentler voice he said, ¡°Look I¡¯m sorry for hitting you. But there was really nothing we could have done for these peop-these things anymore.¡± Sam was rubbing his red cheek, flexing his jaw to make sure nothing was broken. He glared at John and didn¡¯t say a word. Sighing, John turned around and picked up the keys the man had dropped and opened the car door. ¡°Get in.¡± John told them. ¡°You have a license?¡± ¡°Got it last month.¡± ¡°What?! Damn, you beat me. I was going to get tested next Saturday.¡± David replied. The almost normal conversation seemed out of place for the gruesome seen they were standing around. They all got into the car. Sam and the girl sat in the back while John drove and David called shotgun. They pulled out of the parking lot and made their way out onto the road. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As they drove in the back roads, they saw a few cars racing by filled with people or supplies going to some unknown place they would deem safe from everything that is happening. The four of them just ignored them and drove by, the occasional police car screeching past, trying to control the mayhem. As they turned onto a main street, they saw a barricade of police standing in front of the city hall. ¡°-I repeat. Remain where you are or we will open fire! I repeat, we will open fire!¡± Police cars lined the road and police equipped with shotguns, pistols, and semi-automatics pointed towards a crowd of over a hundred infected people shuffling towards them, oblivious to the warnings of the police captain on the megaphone. No change was seen until a sudden, lone gunshot was heard. ¡°Hold your fir-¡± The captain was yelling at the policemen but he was drowned out by the shooting. The others, hearing the first gunshot, had thought that they were given the orders to open fire, so they rained hell upon the horde coming towards them. After 15 seconds of continuous gunfire, the sounds died down as they lowered their empty weapons in shock. Only a handful of people in the crowd had died, while the majority continued to walk on, impervious to any injury. ¡°Reload and open fire!¡± The captains shrill shout could be heard over the deafening silence that had followed. Quickly, the clicking of reloading could be heard and soon after, the shooting resumed. The four teens in the car, having seen this unfold, new that the situation was truly dire and the pandemic had spread fast and hard to their city. Sam was in the back seat but having seen the entire thing unfold, he finally came to realize the inhuman side of these infected. ¡°What are those things¡­¡± Sam asked himself. To him, these were people originally, but what he was seeing in front of him simply went against everything he knew. These were no longer people, they were something more...something so scary he couldn¡¯t bring himself to think about. ¡°Floor it, John.¡± David said. John happily complied and they sped away towards the elementary school. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Five minutes passed in silence as they drove. John finally spoke up, never looking away from the road. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He asked the girl. She had been staring out the window and she looked back towards him. ¡°What is your name? I realized we never introduced ourselves. I¡¯m John.¡± ¡°David¡± ¡°Sam¡± The others said their names. ¡°It¡¯s Sophia.¡± She said. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Sophia. I hope it could have been under better circumstances.¡± John replied. She showed a strained smile and said nothing, resuming to study the world beyond her car door window. Another minute passed before they arrived in front of the elementary school. Because it was detached from the main portion of the city, John hoped that it hadn¡¯t been affected by what was going on. They rolled into the circular driveway in front of the school and got out of the car. It was eerily quiet and that put them all on edge. John slowly stepped up to the double doors and looked inside. There didn¡¯t seem to be any commotion so he opened the door and stepped in, a blast of cool air from the air conditioning blowing past his face, causing his lab coat to flutter slightly behind him. He walked into the building and looked around and down each of the two hallways that led to either wing of the building. ¡°Can I help you?¡± A voice rang out in the quiet antechamber, causing the four to jump. John turned around and saw an old man with greying hair standing in the door frame of his office, a leg propping the door open as he looked out at the four of them. He eyed them suspiciously up and down as their lab coats were out of place at such an establishment. John simply said, ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up my brother.¡± ¡°Oh, well in that case, you wouldn¡¯t mind if I see your ID?¡± The old man wanted to take some precautions to verify that the teen in front of him was who he said he was. John took out his wallet, being careful not to confuse it with the dead security guard¡¯s and took out his school ID. Handing it to over, he waited as the old man looked over the card to make sure it wasn¡¯t a forgery and then said, ¡°Ah, you must be Jacob¡¯s brother. Yes, I¡¯ll call him up in a moment. Why don¡¯t you step into my office, the all of you.¡± He motioned for them to enter. John and Sophia took the chairs in the room while David leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Sam just stood their for a moment and went to stand next to the window, looking out occasionally to check for any infected. The principal maneuvered his way past the teens and sat down at his desk. He pulled up the phone and clicking a button, a buzz could be heard from the P.A. system. ¡°Jacob Rider, please come to the main office. Your brother is here to pick you up.¡± The man said in a professional manner. Minutes passed before a young boy came in with his backpack and entered the office. Seeing John and several people he didn¡¯t know present wearing lab coats, he was confused. ¡°John, what¡¯s going on?¡± He asked. Not wanting to worry him too much, John smiled and said, ¡°Nothing much, we need to go home though. Do you have your stuff?¡± ¡°Yeah. Did something happen?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you on the way there.¡± They stood up to leave and everyone filed out of the room. Before the professor closed the door, John stopped him and looked directly into the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°I suggest you lock the doors, Mr. Principal. Don¡¯t let anyone in, no matter how much they ask.¡± He said with a serious voice. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean young man. Is something going on?¡± The man asked. ¡°Yeah. Something like a code red, but times a thousand.¡± John said. Seeing the man still not able to comprehend, he sighed and whispered, ¡°the virus is spreading in the city and it¡¯s a lot worse than what the news is saying it is.¡± At that, the man¡¯s face paled and he nodded. John nodded back and left the man to deal with his school the way he saw fit. The others had already made it to the car when John came out. ¡°What was that about?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°Nothing much, just wanted to give the old man a heads up on what¡¯s happening downtown. Get in.¡± he said. Moments later, the slamming of doors and the skidding of wheels could be heard as the car drove out of the school lot. Chapter 6: Home Hey everyone. I''m the writer, and I''m adding this preamble to thank you for reading and to inform you all that I''ll be able to keep up writing on a regular basis and will usually have a couple chapters ready as a buffer to post in case I can''t write any that particular day. As such, this is the last chapter of the day as I continue to write. I encourage you to leave comments telling me what you think so far and any suggestions you may have in terms of plot and character development you want to see. If I like the idea, I''ll incorporate it into the story. Once again, thank you so much for reading up to this point (I know the first few chapters were a bit slow in terms of action as I''m trying to develop the character relations more). Now, enjoy the chapter! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: Home --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Are you getting through?¡± John asked Sam and David, who were continuously trying the phone lines to try to contact their parents. ¡°Not yet¡± Sam replied after not getting any response from the lines. ¡°Same for me.¡± David added. Sam¡¯s parents had taken a month long vacation to Hawaii so so he hadn¡¯t seen them in weeks and there hadn¡¯t been any reports of an outbreak in that area. All the airports had already been shut down the day before the first case in Pakistan due to bad weather conditions so no one was getting in or out when it all started, and they had indefinitely closed the borders once they got word of the virus. David¡¯s parents, however were still in the States. His father and mother were both researchers. His father went down to Georgia for a meeting at the Center for Disease Control and his mother had been working at the National Institutes of Health working on the same thing. Out of anyone there, David should have been the most informed, but his parents had never told him anything about how serious the virus was. In fact, a few days ago they had called in saying that work was going to keep them so they had to stay. He hadn¡¯t been able to contact them ever since. ¡°Sophia? What about you?¡± John asked as he turned his head to look at her through the rear view mirror. ¡°Don¡¯t have parents.¡± She simply said. ¡°Oh.¡± He didn¡¯t know what to say. Had her parents died? He sensed that it may be a bad topic to talk about so he simply said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Yeah. Me, too.¡± She replied. Not knowing what story lied behind that implication, he simply nodded and continued driving. Since most of their parents were MIA, they had decided to stop by John¡¯s house as that was where his mom would most likely be. But, he was scared. Scared of what he might find. He had seen what the things could do. They hadn¡¯t felt pain, or anger, and they could break down wooden doors an inch thick. What if they came to their house? What if she accidentally opened the door because of the banging on the door and was---. No. He stopped his train of thought. There¡¯s no use thinking of bad thoughts. Just keep moving forward. One step at a time. He gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles went white. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°But I don¡¯t want to go to school.¡± A young John said to his father, biting his lower lip and holding back the tears welling up in his eyes. His father, a younger Eric Rider, got on one knee to look into the boy¡¯s eyes. ¡°Well, son. Now why is that?¡± He asked gently. John didn¡¯t reply and simply clenched his little fist into a ball. ¡°Did the teacher give you a time-out?¡± He offered. John simply shook his head. The teacher had not given him a time-out. ¡°Hmm. What is it, bud? Dad will make it all better.¡± He said, putting his big hands on the boys small shoulders, squeezing slightly to show his support. With the show of affection, John could not hold the tears back anymore and, one by one, the droplets rolled down his cheeks. ¡°The-the bigger kids are mean to me.¡± He barely managed to get the sentence out before he really started bawling. ¡°Oh, my boy¡­ Come here.¡± His father gave him a tight hug and held him there for a minute until he calmed down. Again holding his son¡¯s shoulders, his father looked him right in the eyes and said, ¡°Do you want to hear a secret.¡± The boy sniffing and hiccuping, replied, ¡°what?¡± ¡°Well, the truth is, I have a trick that¡¯ll make all the kids want to play with you and at the very least, it¡¯ll help you when you¡¯re feeling lonely.¡± His father said with a reassuring smile. The father¡¯s smile had always been contagious to the boy as he found himself smiling along with him. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Well, I want you to close your eyes.¡± The boy obeyed his father and shut them tightly. ¡°Now I want you to think of all the happy things you can think of. Like your family or your birthday, or-¡± ¡®-or ice cream?¡± The boy added with a smile. Ice cream was his favorite. The father grinned, ¡°haha--. Yeah. Like ice cream.¡± ¡°Now I want you to keep all those memories in your mind and imagine them all scrunched up into a tiny ball.¡± The boy imagined this, scrunching his face up as he imaged the memories condensing into a tiny sphere of happiness. ¡°Now take that ball and imagine it going into right here.¡± The dad said while putting his finger on the boys heart. ¡°Once you do that, I want you to count to 3 really slowly while taking deep breaths while keeping that ball in your heart and slowly let it spread out to fill your heart like a glass of water.¡± The boy followed his father¡¯s directions and imagined it like he said. ¡°That ball of happiness in your heart will spread as you breathe, filling up your lungs and moving all over your body¡± His father said the last part while tickling the boy all over, making him giggle wildly. ¡°And once that happiness is in you, it¡¯ll make you stronger. Stronger than you¡¯ve ever been before. You can do anything and be anything but you need to give the happiness a helping hand. Take the first step, John. And then the next, and the next, and you keep going until before you know it, you¡¯re running like no tomorrow.¡± As his father was saying this, the boy imagined the ball of happiness diffuse as threads of light, moving throughout his body and empowering him. He dreamed of running through green pastures as fast as the wind, leaving behind a swirl of light and music. He smiled at this image and the father seeing his son happy again, smiled as well. ¡°Now open your eyes, John.¡± When John opened his eyes, he saw his father looking into his. ¡°That¡¯s all it is, son. Carry the light in you and keep moving forward.¡± The boy nodded. His father always knew how to make him feel better. ¡°Alright, bud. Time for school.¡± His father said while standing up and patting John¡¯s back. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. John picked up his bag and ran to the bus stop. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°One...two....three¡­¡± John whispered while taking deep breathes and his tense shoulders and hands relaxed. They rolled up to their house. The street was empty and even some doors were left hanging open. There were no sign of infected, but the silence seemed more terrifying than any man eating lunatic. John and Jacob got out of the car and made their way to their house. The door was locked, which was a good sign. John told Jacob to stay by the car while he took out his key and slowly opened the door. He took out his gun, which made Jacob¡¯s eyes go wide. ¡°Is that real?¡± Jacob asked. He had been informed partially about the situation but the teens, in good judgement, decided to leave out most of the blood and gore. This was the first time Jacob had seen a real weapon and for a second, he thought it may have been a toy. ¡°Yeah. Now stay back.¡± John said as he went into the house. The floorboards creaked softly as his foot landed on the ground. He cautiously yelled out, ¡°is anybody home? Mom? Dad?¡± No response. He made his way inside and went to the kitchen. On the table was a note. Dear John and Jacob, If you¡¯re reading this, that means you just missed me. The soldiers came and told us that we were getting evacuated to a safe area outside of the city. They¡¯re going to quarantine the entire city and are evacuating people like us who live in the outskirts. They said that the children were being evacuated separately but I just can¡¯t think of the possibility that they might not have gotten to you in time. Oh my baby boys, if you were evacuated, that¡¯s great and this letter will be left unread, but if you weren¡¯t and you made your way back here...Get out of the city. Your father said he had to get supplies from the market but he hasn¡¯t come back yet. I¡¯m afraid for his and your safety. Please, if you¡¯re reading this, go to the west of the city outside the quarantine zone and find the army camp. Make your way to me and stay safe. Love, Mom John folded the note and was about to put it in his pocket when he saw Jacob coming into the house. ¡°I told you to stay outside.¡± John said, somewhat annoyed. ¡°It seemed like no one was home anyways.¡± Sighing, John gave up and just handed over the note, while moving to the supply closet. He got out a car gas siphon pump and went outside, throwing it at David along with a set of keys. David caught it and looked at John. ¡°The keys are for the Escalade parked out front. Siphon as much gas as you can from the other cars and fill it up. I¡¯ll get something to store whatever extra we can.¡± John explained. ¡°Good thinking.¡± David moved off to do just that. ¡°Damn. Your parents got you a freaking Escalade? Spoiled brat.¡± Sam said enviously as he checked out the black SUV. He seemed to be feeling better now that they were away from all the violence. John just shrugged. ¡°Sam, Sophia, help me pack some stuff for the road.¡± The two got inside and started packing up whatever they found useful. Clothes for all seasons, soap, toiletries, towels, a radio, and even a few pillows. John took a few water containers and filled them up to the brim with water and moved them into the trunk of the Escalade. He then helped carry the supplies, blankets, and food. Jacob picked out clothes for them and stuffed them into two briefcases while Sophia organized and raided the pantry, taking all the canned goods and non-perishables. John went down to his father¡¯s office and moved to his desk, opening the bottom drawer to reveal a thick envelope filled with hundreds of dollars. He took it and went outside. The others had finished packing everything. They had even taken the knives to upgrade from their set of laboratory use scalpels. David had finished loading the SUV with a few jugs of gasoline siphoned from cars in the parking lot and loaded them in as well. Remembering something, John ran back inside and into his room. He opened his closet and went through his considerably emptier wardrobe and picked up an old case in the back. He blew the dust off and opened it, revealing a katana. During one of his father¡¯s business trips to Japan, he had bought a katana from a famous sword maker as a souvenir for his son¡¯s 18th birthday. The blade was black and slightly curved, a wavy line passed through the middle, signifying the tempered steel of the sharpened blade. The handle was jade and black. The hilt was an ornate gold design of a coiling dragon while the sheath was made of jade embroidered with a gold dragon wrapped along its length. He gingerly picked it up and put it into its sheath. He attached the band onto the sheath so that he could sling it over his back. He quickly changed into a clean black button-down shirt and put on black leather gloves and went downstairs. He changed shoes to black boots and walked back out. The others had changed their clothes as well. Sophia had decided to go with black boots and leggings and a hooded brown shawl. David wore simple jeans, boots, and a thin black hoodie. Sam wore the same blue button down and added a beige, form fitting overcoat. Jacob wore cargo pants and his aviator jacket. Looking at them all, John couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°I didn¡¯t know we were having a costume party.¡± John said as he eyed the attire of his friends. His gaze rested a moment longer on the tall, lean figure of Sophia. ¡°Might as well dress the part. You don¡¯t look too bad yourself.¡± Sophia said, finishing the last knots while tying her shoelaces. She eyed the katana on his back. "Cool sword." A whistle could be heard from the back as David noticed it as well. "My father gave it to me. Might come in handy." John shrugged and walked up to them and looked them up and down one more time before shaking his head and getting into the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°I¡¯m definitely getting myself one of those when I have the chance.¡± David said, vowing to get his hands on a katana of his own. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± John said while starting up the car. ¡°Where to?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°My mom left a note. Said there¡¯s an army base of sorts out in the west outskirts of town. If we circle around through the back roads, we should be able to avoid the blockades and get out of the quarantine. We¡¯ll make our way there and see what happens once we get there.¡± The others nodded. ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± Sophia shrugged and got in next to John. Sam, David, and Jacob got in the back. Once they all got in, John set the car to drive and rolled out of their driveway and away from the home he once knew. Looking through the mirror, he gave it one last look and then cast his gaze forward, not looking back again. That would be the last time he would see his home. Chapter 7: The Road A bit darker, this one. Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7: The Road --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The drive there was one in silence. Most of them were too busy thinking of their loved ones to make conversation. As they drove down the street, destruction could be seen everywhere. Cars that had crashed into signposts or fire hydrants, causing streams of water to shoot up 10 feet into the air. Vandalized buildings and homes simply left abandoned as people dropped everything to get out of dodge. The lack of people left the road eerily empty. Not a soul could be seen anywhere. Having seen the rampaging horde just a few blocks inwards towards the city, suddenly converging on their position, John shivered at the thought. Although empty of people, cars seemed to have veered every which way on and off the road, sometimes smashing into other vehicles or running through the walls of buildings. As John tried to maneuver the car through the road of broken vehicles, a man came running up to them, slamming his hands on the roof of the car to stop it. John hit the brakes hard, causing everyone''s heads to whip forward, except Sam''s who had forgotten to wear his seatbelt and slammed headfirst into the car seat head support. "Ouch. What the hell was that." Sam said while rubbing his red nose. "Please! Stop!" the man moved towards the driver side window and rapped his knuckles against it. The windows were tinted so he couldn''t see who was inside. "Please, my wife and my baby boy, we need to get out of the city. Could you give us a lift." "Car is full" John''s muffled voice could be heard through the door. "Sir. I''m sure you can fit just two more people. My son is just a year old. I promise, I''ll pay you. Anything you want. We can''t get out of this city alone." The man pleaded. The windows rolled down slowly. The man had a look of relief on his face which soon vanished as he was looking down the muzzle of a gun. "Car is full. Go get your own ride." John said coldly. "I-I-I''m sorry. Okay. Okay. Just calm down. I''ll leave. Just-just don''t shoot" the man said as he slowly backed away from the car with his hands up. A woman came from behind some rubble with a small boy wrapped up in her arms. "Honey? What did they say?" "Let''s go. Come on. We have to go." The man took the woman by the arm and quickly left through an alleyway. John sighed and put the gun down and rolled up the windows, proceeding to drive again. "Why didn''t we give those people a ride?" Jacob asked. "There''s not enough room." John answered. "We could have squeezed them in." John hesitated before giving Jacob the straight answer. "They might have been bad people, Jacob." "But what if they weren''t? They had a baby. Parents wouldn''t be bad people." "Yeah well, some are." Sophia said more to herself than to Jacob. John shot her a look but she made no indication that she saw him. "I''m sure they''ll find their own way. They''re adults, you know. They can fend for themselves." John reasoned. Jacob remained silent after that. John sighed. Jacob was always soft hearted. He simply could not leave someone alone if he saw them in trouble. John feared for his brother. In the current, rapidly changing world, a soft heart was a weakness that could get break you or kill you. John didn¡¯t want Jacob to be tainted by the world that was growing crueler each passing minute. They left the road and exited the suburbs, making their way through back roads towards the west of the city, only skirting the edge of the area without ever going in. It would take longer but it was much safer. The military must have already gone through most of the outskirts, picking up people and killing the infected as there were very few encounters. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As John drove down the road, he saw smoke rising over the crest of the hill before him. Slowing down the car, they reached the top and looked down to see a 14-car crash piled up completely blocking the road. ¡°Damn.¡± He whispered. There was simply no way of getting through this way, as either side of the road was bordered by a dense line of trees. Turning around, he set the car in reverse and attempted to backtrack through another road. But as he twisted his body to see behind him, he cursed. 300 meters behind their car, a large group of infected people were coming towards them. They must have been attracted by the sound of destruction that arose from the crash and explosions. John counted around 30 people. Some of the infected had similar marks of mutilation adorning their bodies in various places. Others didn¡¯t even have any visible wounds that may have caused the transfer of the infection. Each and every one of the infected had their sights on the untouched Escalade. How did they know we¡¯re even inside? He wondered. Their windows were tinted and they had not moved in a while. Did they hear us? Or perhaps they just have an excellent sense of smell, John hypothesized. He simply could not figure out how they had been targeted by that group of infected. Thinking of fighting through that horde, the blood drained from his face as cold sweat appeared on his back and forehead. ¡°John. In front.¡± Sophia said hurriedly. John turned his head back to the front to see that through the black smoke and wreckage. Blurry figures could be seen moving towards them. ¡°Shit. We¡¯re surrounded. You think we can take them?¡± David asked as he kept an eye on the ones in the back while taking out his gun. ¡°You¡¯re not really thinking of going out there, are you?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Well, it¡¯s either that or die. I¡¯m not quite done living yet, so I guess we are.¡± John said, also taking out two guns. ¡°We¡¯ll leave the car and Jacob to you, Sam. Can you do that?¡± John asked. Sam slowly took out his gun and cocked it. ¡°Just make sure they don¡¯t get in the car.¡± John added, seeing Sam¡¯s lingering reluctance. ¡°No...no I got this. You can count on me.¡± Sam hurriedly replied. John just nodded in approval. ¡°Jacob, close your eyes and cover your ears and sit on the floor.¡± Jacob followed and huddled himself in the leg space between the seats, his hands tightly holding his ears while his eyes were squeezed shut. He turned to David and Sophia. ¡°Ready?¡± He asked them. They replied with a nod. ¡°Sophia and David, you clear out the back, make a path for the move through. I¡¯ll back the car out while keep the guys up front in check. Ready?¡± Confirming the two¡¯s resolve, he turned the safety off his gun. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Sophia and David simultaneously opened their doors and stepped out, quickly turning towards the back while raising the pistols in their hands. Moments later, the staccatoed rhythm of gunfire could be heard as one by one, the approaching infected were taken down. Because it was the first time they fired a gun, often, the bullets would fly right by the infected people¡¯s heads or lodge itself in their necks, shoulders, or chests. As John rolled down the windows on either side of the front seats, he yelled out to the two outside, ¡°make those bullets count! We don¡¯t have all the ammo in the world!¡± ¡°Yeah, easier said than done, friend.¡± David¡¯s shout could be heard as he replied over the gunfire. John opened his door and half stepped out of the car, propping himself up between the floor of the car and the door, as he hoisted his two pistols towards the dozen or so people walking towards them through the wreckage. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°If any of you aren¡¯t infected, lie down on the ground or you will be shot!¡± John sent out a warning shout to those coming through the smoke as he could not recognize the distinctive characteristics of the infected through the smoke screen. Seeing none comply with his warning, he opened fire. Looking at his right pistol first, he aimed down the iron sights and shot the closest man directly in the head, causing him to fall backwards due to the impact. He then looked down the sights of his left pistol and did the same with a nearby woman. Continuously alternating sights between the two, slowly mowed down the line of infected walking towards him. After a solid 5 minutes of gunfire, the crowd had been reduced to a handful of stragglers who were easily dispatched by the pair outside. The wreckage side had no more infected coming out of the smoke either. With a sigh they remained stock still,.waiting to see if anything else would come to surprise them. They were only greeted with silence. Holstering their guns in their pockets after switching back the safety, they returned to the car while John set the car in reverse and backed out of the road. ¡°Any more, and I would have been a walking dead man. I¡¯m out of ammo.¡± David exclaimed as he checked his gun¡¯s magazine. John tossed him a full one from his supply and continued driving backwards. John glanced over and saw that Sophia was silent, simply staring at her gun. ¡°You alright?¡± He asked her. She looked up, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m fine.¡± She avoided the question and simply put her gun away and started looking through her bag of supplies. John decided not to pry. If she didn¡¯t want to talk about what was on her mind, who was he to force it out of her. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As they drove down the road, Jacob had fallen asleep in Sam¡¯s lap, while the others were starting to nod off into the land of dreamless rest. They had had a long day, and the fatigue and mental strain were finally catching up to them. John struggled to stay awake. He looked over at the sleeping figure of Sophia. Her brown hair cascaded down either side of her head, resting softly on her small shoulders as her chest rose up and down gently. She seemed so peaceful. Any man or woman before everything happened would have never imagined this innocent looking girl could mercilessly shoot dozens of people in the head. Shaking his head to clear himself of morbid thoughts, he almost didn¡¯t see the infected shuffling by, almost running into them. Suddenly recalling something from earlier that day, he stopped the car. ¡°Fuck.¡± He whispered. He unbuckled his seatbelt while the others slowly woke up from their light nap. ¡°What is it?¡± David asked. John didn¡¯t say anything and opened the car door to get out. ¡°John, what are you doing? What¡¯s wrong?¡± David persisted to ask. John had already left the car and were walking towards that small group of infected he had seen earlier. He stopped a good two dozen meters from them and simply stared at them in shock. The others had already gotten out and walked up next to John. ¡°John, man what is up wit-. Oh shit.¡± David was getting annoyed but upon seeing what had stopped John, he exclaimed in surprise. Jacob, rubbing his eyes, while making his way out of the car, walked up to them sleepily. ¡°What is it? Are we there, yet?¡± He asked. What he saw stopped him in his tracks, dropping the blanket he had been carrying. In front of them were a pair of infected. They were the ones that had stopped the car back in the city. ¡°Looks like they made it out, but were infected at some point down the line.¡± Sophia observed, regret filling her voice. ¡°John, can we save them? They¡¯re sick. Dad can help them if we bring them, right?¡± Jacob asked, tugging the lab coat of his older brother. He couldn¡¯t accept the fact that the kind couple from just a few hours earlier could fall to this state. John didn¡¯t say anything. A dark shadow was cast over his face. He had a mixed expression of guilt, sadness, and regret. Guilt that he had not taken the two in. Sadness that they had not survived. Regret and self-loathing for not doing more for others in their time of need. Didn¡¯t I want to be a doctor? He thought. Doctors are supposed to help people like them in their time of need, but I- but I just abandoned them. I killed them. I. Killed. Them. He cursed himself internally. Although he had killed before, it was in self defence against people that were already too far gone. This couple...This couple was still healthy and alive when they had asked for help. There was room in the car, but John just couldn¡¯t take the risk. He knew what he had to do, the only thing he could do to ease the guilt racking his heart and the suffering he knew that the couple had to have had endured. He pulled out his gun and walked towards them. ¡°John, no!¡± Jacob yelled, pulling John¡¯s sleeve as hard as he could, but John would not be stopped, he could not be stopped. ¡°Please, John! We can save them! We can help them! You don¡¯t have to do this.¡± Jacob pleaded through a river of tears. Sam knelt on the ground, praying for forgiveness. David walked away, pacing in circles in an attempt to cool his head. John turned to look at Jacob with guilt evident in his eyes. He slowly but firmly forced Jacob¡¯s grip off him. ¡°I have to do this, Jacob. They¡¯re too far gone and it was my fault.¡± John said. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have known.¡± Sophia stepped up, trying to console John. ¡°No...no but I did. We all knew what waited for them out there but I let them go. This is on me. I¡¯ve got to see it through.¡± John said, raising his gun towards the infected man. His gun hand was shaking and he couldn¡¯t get a clear shot. Sighing out of exasperation he lowered the gun, putting it in his other hand while he looked at his right hand, squeezing it tight, digging in so hard that it cut off circulation to his fingers. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut as a trickle of a tear fell down his cheek. If one listened closely, they could hear him with shaking breath counting: ¡°one...two...three...one...two...three¡±. But no matter how much he counted, the light would not gather. Try as he might, at that moment he could not make that ball of happiness diffuse. It was like the happiness, the light, had gone and hid itself in the deepest recesses of his mind. Exasperated, he opened his eyes, putting his gun back in his right hand and walked briskly up to the man, aiming at nearly point black range. There would be no chance at missing. Jacob made no noise. Sam looked up from his prayer, staring at John. David stopped pacing. Sophia simply continued to look on. All eyes were on him. He made the shot. BANG. A few seconds later, again. BANG. All was quiet after that. Two fresh corpses lie before him, a man and a woman. John lowered his gun arm, loosening his grip so that the gun would drop to the ground. John looked at the corpses with dead eyes and slowly looked down the road a little further, which was blocked by the couple¡¯s bodies. What he saw, made him take a step back, tripping over himself and falling on his rear. He just sat there and pulled his legs towards his body. Covering his face, he started weeping. The others walked up next to him to see what had caused his current state and they too, began to cry. Laid before them near the bodies of the couple was a bloodied human infant, headless and gutted lying on the road. Chapter 8: The Camp Chapter 8: The Camp --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No one spoke for a long time after that. It had been half an hour since the incident and Jacob finally broke the silence. ¡°We could have at least taken the baby with us.¡± Jacob said. It broke them from their own musings and some turned to look at the boy. ¡°The baby couldn¡¯t have been bad. We could have saved it.¡± No one said anything in response. They, too, understood the consequences of having turned away the couple. There was simply nothing to do at this point but to work through their regret. ¡°Can we help the next ones?¡± Jacob asked. John was silent for a while before answering. ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll definitely take the next ones.¡± He realized that recently he had lost sight of himself in all the commotion. John and Jacob had always been raised by their parents to lend a hand to those in need, even when they themselves did not have much to give. ¡°It¡¯s a given that humans want to help each other and look for the best in the ones next to them.¡± Their mother would always tell them as she dragged the sometimes unwilling sons to the local soup kitchen every saturday evening. ¡°But mom, what if they were there because they had done something bad? What if it¡¯s life giving them what they deserve?¡± The young Jacob had once asked. His mom frowned and sternly rebuked him, ¡°We will have none of that talk in our household, young man. Regardless of whether he¡¯s the president or a lowly thief, if he asks for a helping hand, it¡¯s our duty as human beings to help him. The moment we don¡¯t is the moment we¡¯ll be no better than the worst of them.¡± Remembering what his mom said to Jacob and what his father said to him, John reaffirmed his resolve. Even if the world comes crashing and everyone gets crushed under the weight of it all, he would still be there to pick up the pieces and look for survivors. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As they drove longer, the sun started to set, basking the evening sky in a dark red orange hue. Jacob and the others had been lulled to sleep once more by the humming of the engine and the rocking of the road. Other than stopping once at a lone self-service gas station to refill their tanks and loot the snack bars and beef jerky left in the convenience store adjacent to it, using the police officer¡¯s credit card to pay for the gas, they had made few stops. As they went over another hill, they saw spotlights shining up into the sky. Fences had been set up along a perimeter of almost a square mile with patrol cars roaming the inside of the fence, looking for any straggling infected that may be trying to gain entry into the compound. Inside, army tents painted in camouflage patterns dotted the hills while smaller tents and a deluge of cars were parked about inside as people could be seen settling down in groups for the night. Bonfires lit the various corners of the small makeshift city. ¡°Guys, we¡¯re here.¡± John woke up the others. Seeing order and civilization again, they all secretly let out sighs of relief. Before they went into the camp, they hid their guns in a compartment in the floor. John hid his katana in a golf bag and hid it along with the guns. As they approached the compound and joined the line of cars, a group of soldiers walked up to the driver¡¯s side window. Tapping on the window, an officer looking young man stood there with a clipboard and a flashlight. John rolled down the window and squinted into the blinding light of the flashlight. ¡°Good evening.¡± He tried to say amicably. ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll have to ask all occupants to step out of the vehicle with your hands above your heads.¡± Slowly obeying, the five quickly got out of the car and stood in a single file line. The officer motioned two others to search them, seeing if they were bitten. A medical officer went up to each one of them and using some kind of scanner, did a retinal scan of their eye. ¡°Clean.¡± He would say after each one of them. ¡°They¡¯re clean on our end as well, sir.¡± One of the officers doing the body search would say. ¡°Alright, I¡¯d like your name, age, and date of birth.¡± He said as he wrote down each of their information. ¡°Stealing, fighting, killing, vandalism, and general disorderly conduct will result in your immediate confinement and/or termination by security personnel stationed throughout the compound so I want you all to follow whatever laws you did out there as you do in here, and then some. You can drive your car into whatever spot is open.¡± The officer explained in a drab, practiced manner, showing how many times he had said the same lines to the countless people that came before. ¡° Lunch and dinner are at 1400 and 1800 respectively each day. If you notice any movements in the fences or anyone acting in a manner that may even hint at them being sick, report it. If anyone gets bit or hurt, report it. And if anyone tries to break any of the rules said before, report it. Do you understand? ¡± He enunciated each word of the last sentence as if he was a drill sergeant and they were the unlucky cadets assigned for basic training. ¡°We got it...sir¡± Sam said hesitantly. ¡°Alright, well you have a fine evening now. NEXT!¡± The officer said in such a pleasant, informal tone that the change left all of their heads reeling after tensing up for so long. As they were about to get back in their car, they noticed that a majority of their supplies had been taken from their car. ¡°Hey! Where¡¯s our stuff?!¡± John yelled at the officer. ¡°Your stuff? This is a time of crisis and you¡¯re worrying about what belongs to who? All the supplies are needed to keep this facility operational to protect the civilians. By withholding any supplies, you are jeopardizing the lives of everyone in this compound. Under executive order, we have been authorized complete and comprehensive seizure of all private assets that may be conducive for the operation and containment of the virus. Now if that is all, you can have a fine evening, sir.¡± ¡°But-¡± John tried to objected but the officer sent him a glare so cold, it left the words caught in his throat. ¡°I said¡­.have a fine evening.¡± The officer said politely but it somehow left him with a sense of dread. He went back to the others who were currently looking through what remained of their belongings. ¡°Don¡¯t steal, my ass. They¡¯re the real thieves around here.¡± David said frustrated as he threw out some empty boxes. ¡°They took all the food and water down to the last candy bar.¡± David kicked a box laying on the ground. John got in the back and looked through their stuff. Indeed, there was barely anything left for them to salvage. A couple hand-pump flashlights, his golf bag, clothes, gas siphon, water purifier, and matches were left. He didn¡¯t check the secret compartment as he was afraid the officers might see. With a sigh, he hopped out of the back and shook his head. They got in the car and drove into the compound. As they drove past tents, they could see it was packed with people, so many in fact that legs were poking out of the entrance. It was still summer and the cars and tents were the only places for shade around there. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. They found an empty parking spot and stopped the car. As they got out, they saw many people were eyeing the car and what might be inside. David whispered to John, ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind and watch the car, you go look for your parents.¡± John gave a nod of appreciation to David and decided to head out. John walked around for what seemed like hours. Everywhere he looked, he saw regular people huddled together in fear and shock as they tried to hold onto whatever shred of their previous reality they could. Some were on their cellphones, trying in vain to get a signal while others were talking and chatting about what was going on and how crazy it was going to seem after it all passed, seemingly not being able to recognize their world crumbling around them. Or perhaps they had, and were too distraught to face the reality, desperately clinging onto the world as they had known it. It reminded John of the cartoon short where the man would be reading his newspaper in his house, unaware that the four walls of his home had collapsed, leaving him sitting on his couch wide in the open. As he continued to walk, he saw children playing football or tag, weaving in and out of the cars as they chased each other around in circles, their parents long ago having given up on trying to contain their restless children. Others simply stared off into nowhere, sometimes accompanied by a bottle of beer or a cup of coffee. Others still simply looked in awe at the smoke rising from the city, as if they were simply there for sightseeing. It almost disgusted John how out of touch all these people seemed from what horrors were happening outside. ¡°John?¡± A weak, female voice sounded out from behind him. He turned around and looked at the person who had called him. ¡°Oh thank God, it¡¯s really you.¡± Before he could react, his mother had thrown herself on John, bringing him into a tight embrace. She was crying tears of joy as she continuously thanked God for bring her son back to her. He hugged her back and took in the familiar scent of lilacs he had come to associate with his mother. After a minute of this, she slowly recovered and backed away to look at his face, a joyous smile plastered on hers. ¡°Jacob? And your father? Are they with you?¡± She asked, a hint of worry and a frown touching her forehead. ¡°Jacob¡¯s with me. We went home and found the letter. Has dad still not come back?¡± He asked. His heart skipped a beat when he realized his dad had not come with his mother. Where could he have gone? What could have happened to him? Is he still alive? There were too many uncertainties to start rejoicing. They made their way back to the car. David and Jacob were waiting there. Jacob, upon seeing his mom, jumped up in joy and ran to her embrace. John walked up to David and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Sophia and Sam? I¡¯m not seeing them.¡± ¡°Sophia said she¡¯s going to explore the compound, look for more information on what¡¯s been going on. Sam is...¡± David paused and looked over towards Sam who was standing apart from them, looking out the fence towards the city. John walked up beside him and didn¡¯t say a word. He just looked at the city with Sam. They stayed like this for a while, looking out at the setting sun, streaked by the rising smoke. ¡°What are we doing, John.?¡± Sam asked. John looked over at him. ¡°I mean. We killed people. Ended their lives when we could have been saving them. How are we going to live with this?¡± Sam asked. His eyes were red and his hand tightly clenched the metal fence. ¡°We did what we had to. They were monst-¡± ¡°But they weren¡¯t, John! They were sick people.¡± Sam said. He gave a long, defeated sigh. ¡°They needed help, but instead we put bullets in their heads.¡± John didn¡¯t say anything. He didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°What if-what if this is just a passing thing? What if in a couple days they come out with a cure or, or-or the people get back their senses? What will we do then?¡± Sam asked. ¡°Will we go back to school? With the blood of our classmates on our hands?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t kill anyone, Sam. This is on me.¡± John tried to comfort him. ¡°No. This is on all of us. I would say we¡¯re going to hell but it looks like we¡¯re already there.¡± Sam pushed off the fence. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he walked off to the other side of the compound. John just looked after him, not moving from his spot. He frustratedly kicked the fence, punching it and pulling it. Exhausted, he stopped and stepped back, looking up at the setting sun. He felt a stinging so he looked down at his hand to see it had scraped and was bloodied by hitting the fence. ¡°ssss¡± He hissed as he clenched and unclenched his fist. Turning around, he made his way to the car. He returned back to David, who had been leaning against the car. He pretended to be busy, but John knew that David had been listening to their conversation. David gave John a knowing and sympathetic look and stared off behind John. John turned around to see what David was looking at. At that moment, Sophia could be seen running back to them. ¡°Hey. Did you hear anything?¡± David asked her. She shook her head and caught her breath. ¡°Nothing conclusive. Some people are saying it slipped through the security cracks at the airport, others saying it came up from the borders, and still more saying it was a bioterrorist attack. No one is saying the same thing and no one has any evidence to back their claims. It¡¯s pure speculation at this point.¡± John frowned. ¡°Have the military said anything? I¡¯m sure they should be aware of the situation and informing the citizens?¡± ¡°No such luck. In fact, they haven¡¯t said anything related to the orders from upstairs. Some heard rumors that they¡¯d lost contact hours ago and are just maintaining their position for now.¡± ¡°Yeah, the military doesn¡¯t give two shits about the survivors. I¡¯ve looked around and they¡¯re basically treating us like cattle. Less, in fact, these people look like they haven¡¯t eaten or drank anything in hours.¡± The others looked around and they saw everyone around them had tired, sunken eyes and there was no energy in them at all. John could see a little boy darting off with a can of beans from the requisition pile only to be stopped by a guard who ripped the can from his hands and threw the boy across the ground, skidding to a stop in front of his parents. These types of scenes could be found all around the camp. A group of missionaries in an orange van were passing out blankets and water bottles but that was it in terms of aid. They stayed there for the night, huddled together in the SUV as the cold of the night seeped in and rain started drenching the camp. John¡¯s mom brought her stuff into the car to prevent the rain from ruining it. Mostly family pictures and official documents, she hadn¡¯t thought of bringing any heavy duty equipment so they were able to fit it all into one or two boxes. Sam didn¡¯t return that night. Chapter 9: The Plan Chapter 9: The Plan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next morning, they were given a miniscule meal. Two granola bars and a small bottle of water was all they had to last them until dinner. John¡¯s mother gave her portion to Jacob. ¡°He needs it more than I.¡± She said as she handed him her granola bars. They ate in relative quiet. No one in camp really talked much anymore. The truth that things may never be the same started to sink into the hearts of the refugees. Two more days passed as such and everyone was getting hungrier and more tired. There simply was not enough food going around. Often, there were be fights to try to take the rations of others. John looked around and saw a couple girls coming back from military tents carrying entire bags of food. When he asked his group why, Sophia responded while chewing on her granola bar. ¡°The soldiers give them a little extra from their rations if the girls keep them company for the night.¡± She said. It was the oldest profession in the history of man. John, upon realizing this, was appalled and angered at the military. He thought they came here to be safe, but all they were given were meager rations and sat around doing little more than act as the playthings of the soldiers. His image of comfort and security after meeting his mom, his belief that things might be okay, shattered instantly. ¡°I could go. Bring back some food.¡± Sophia offered quietly. ¡°No.¡± John said quickly. ¡°I won¡¯t let them do anything to me. I can handle myse-¡± ¡°I said no. You stay here.¡± John almost shouted. He was not going to let her play their game. They had nothing left except their tenacity and dignity and John wasn¡¯t going to let a few extra granola bars change that. Not for him. Not for his group. ¡°The second we find the chance, we¡¯re leaving.¡± John decided. ¡°Leave where? There¡¯s nowhere safer than here.¡± His mother asked. ¡°Somewhere. West. Or south, towards Georgia. We could stop by the NIH, pick up David¡¯s mom and head down south to the CDC and see if his dad can give us some answers.¡± John proposed. It was the most viable way of finding out what had happened but there was a problem. ¡°That¡¯s hundreds of miles of road, John.¡± Sophia said. ¡°Who knows how many infected we¡¯d have to fight through to get there.¡± ¡°What about West?¡± Jacob asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t it less populated there? We could be safer there than here.¡± The others thought for a moment. Would it be better to go south, looking for answers? Or West, to find safety? The choice was simple, but the matter of finding David¡¯s parents were also important. David made the choice for them. ¡°We¡¯ll go South-West. We¡¯ll take a detour, heading inland before turning south. That way we can avoid the coastal cities and hopefully stay out of the fallout radius of the bombs that may have dropped on other places.¡± David reasoned. ¡°Once we go down, we¡¯ll see if dad is alive and...and if not, we go back inland. Set up camp and bunker down until the virus runs its course.¡± The others, after thinking about it, decided to go with that plan. Sophia raised a question, ¡°a bit of a problem with that plan.¡± She looked towards the guards patrolling the fence. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they won¡¯t let us leave. Plus, we don¡¯t have supplies to last us if we do. I don¡¯t expect to find a lot if we have to scavenge on the way there.¡± They agreed. Later, they decided to wait for a few days, gathering as much supplies as they could get, stealing if need be. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David used to part-time at a mechanics so he offered to help fix the army vehicles in exchange for extra food. With what he got and the little bits and pieces he managed to steal on the job, the group started stockpiling once again. They needed to hide the supplies from the soldiers and the refugees to avoid gathering unwanted attention. Sophia had gone to hit the medical tent while Jacob and his mother watched the car. As for Sam...They let Sam sort out his issues by himself. He came and went on his own. John walked around the camp. Not many people were walking, most opting to sit around and talk amongst themselves in hushed tones. He was looking for something that would meet his needs. Just then, he found just the person. She was a brunette with a larger than life bust. She was wearing very provocative clothing and she was making her way to her small red jeep, putting in a bag of supplies into the trunk. ¡°Excuse me.¡± John spoke up. The woman turned around and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it seems you¡¯re a bit young for my services.¡± She said, looking him up and down seductively. ¡°But if you¡¯ve got what I need, I can make an exception.¡± John just threw a bag of food at her feet. It landed with a clatter as you could hear a couple cans clang together. ¡°I¡¯m not here for that.¡± John said with a straight face. Keep it together. Don¡¯t look down. Don¡¯t look down. John recited the sacred mantra chanted by most men in the presence of a such a woman. ¡°Oh? And what is that?¡± She asked. ¡°You see that officer?¡± John asked as he pointed to a man stepping out of a humvee. ¡°I need you to steal his keys for me.¡± He said. The woman raised her eyebrows, looking at the food, and nodded. ¡°Two birds with one stone. It¡¯s a deal.¡± She replied, walking off to the man¡¯s tent. ¡°Wait for me, hun. This¡¯ll only take a little while.¡± Indeed, she hadn¡¯t entered the tent for more than 20 minutes before she came out. Not very impressive. John secretly said to the officer. It didn¡¯t matter for him though, as he had gotten what he came for. The woman threw the keys to him and he deftly caught it. He pocketed the keys and nodded towards her and returned to the car. On his way back, he marked all the supply crates in his mind and decided to go for them on his next run. He had already stolen sets of army uniforms earlier and they were planning on using that disguise to leave. The camp was separated into two parts. On one side, the civilians stayed in their cars or in their tents while the other side housed the army. John had walked to the edge of the boundary between the two camps and had asked the woman to steal the keys for the humvee parked along the edge. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He arrived at the Escalade and found everyone back from their own assignments. David had stolen an entire toolbox and even a radio. Sophia had somehow got her hands on a lot of medical supplies. That included syringes, medication, painkillers, and gauze. She also had an entire set of surgeon¡¯s tools wrapped up in a leather bag. John had just a pair of keys. He felt like he was losing somehow. ¡°Sam?¡±. ¡°Bathroom, as far as I know.¡± David said. ¡°You got all that in one trip?¡± John asked Sophia. She simply shrugged, ¡°What can I say, I have talent.¡± Just when she finished saying that, a whirring sound could be heard overhead, causing everyone in the compound to look for the source. Soon someone pointed to the sky and others looked up as well. There, several jets could be seen streaking across the sky. Their engines howled like an army of angry ghosts. The planes flew past their heads and went towards the city. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. John looked towards David, who looked back at him. The same thought was running through their minds. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t do that...would they?¡± David asked unbelieving, his facing draining of color. ¡°Do what?¡± Sophia asked. David, Sam, and John had been long time fans of hate-loving the overly militaristic approach of some of the United States¡¯ foreign and domestic policies and had cried accusing police state every chance they could. Of course, they immediately thought of one possibility when a military plane approached a city in chaos, or just any city in general. They were going to bomb the living daylights out of it. They climbed on the roof of the car and looked as the plane approached the city center. ¡°You dumbasses, don¡¯t do what I think you¡¯re going to do¡­¡± John whispered as he watched the plane fly towards the city. Large packages were released from the planes as they passed over the city hall. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding m-¡± John said as he and the others jumped down from the car, hiding behind the large SUV for cover. He couldn¡¯t finish his sentence before a blast exploded from the epicenter, instantly sending a shockwave through the city, traversing the dozens of miles to get to the compound. Since they were far enough away, they were outside the blast radius, but the force of the shock wave and wind alone traversed that distance in seconds and blasted through the camp. The fences simply crumbled under the wind pressure, tents were ripped from their roots, while cars were flipped over. The small group had leaned on the SUV as hard as they could, trying to stop it from flipping over and crushing them. Despite their efforts, it skidded backwards at least 5 feet, lifting off one end and tipping over dangerously over the group, as they tried to counterbalance the weight pressed upon them. After what seemed like minutes, but was in reality mere seconds, the winds died down and the car once again crashed to the ground. Around them, screams of pain and groans could be heard from the luck survivors. Those not so fortunate had simply been ripped from the ground and flung off dozens of meters in the distance. Around them, wreckage and destruction could be seen. The five sat down against the car, breathing heavily to catch their breath and calm their hearts after that ordeal. ¡°I thought it¡¯d be something like napalm but who would have thought they¡¯d nuke the fucking city.¡± David cursed. Indeed, the explosion was equivalent to that of a nuclear blast. John could not hear David, however. The Rider trio were stunned. Their father had last been seen going to the market to pick up supplies and had not returned. If he didn¡¯t die from the infected, the nuclear blast or the radioactive fallout would surely have finished the job. John¡¯s father was dead. John could hear a ringing in his ears as he sat stunned at the realization. He had somewhere buried in his heart, a hope that his father would have already been at the camp, fine and well, by the time John made it, or that he was hiding somewhere safe, waiting for the time to make his way back to his family. But the bomb had taken away that possibility. No one within a ten-mile radius could have survived that blast. His father¡¯s words were running through his mind. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°That ball of happiness in your heart will spread as you breathe, filling up your lungs and moving all over your body¡± His father said the last part while tickling the boy all over, making him giggle wildly. ¡°And once that happiness is in you, it¡¯ll make you stronger. Stronger than you¡¯ve ever been before. You can do anything and be anything but you need to give the happiness a helping hand. Take the first step, John. And then the next, and the next, and you keep going until before you know it, you¡¯re running like no tomorrow.¡± As his father was saying this, the boy imagined the ball of happiness diffuse as threads of light, moving throughout his body and empowering him. He dreamed of running through green pastures as fast as the wind, leaving behind a swirl of light and music. He smiled at this image and the father seeing his son happy again, smiled as well. ¡°Now open your eyes, John.¡± When John opened his eyes, he saw his father looking into his. ¡°That¡¯s all it is, son. Carry the light in you and keep moving forward.¡± The boy nodded. His father always knew how to make him feel better. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°One...two...three¡­one...two...thr-*sob*¡± John tried counting but broke down crying. Whenever he remembered happy thoughts and made that ball of light, it was filled with memories of him with his family and his father. But now his father was gone and the light inside him had dimmed. ¡°Dad...I-I don¡¯t have the light in me anymore¡± He sobbed, clenching his heart. After all the pain and suffering, there was no more light within him to summon. Tears streamed down his face as he looked up into the ash filled sky. Suddenly a torrent of moments with his father poured into his mind. Memories of his father taking him to the zoo or memories of his father encouraging him, giving him that trademark smile that would make John feel like the proudest son in the entire world. ¡°I know you can do it, son. You¡¯re strong. Come on.¡± He recollected his father standing above him, his head outlined by the crimson red of the setting sun. He had been training him for the upcoming race at his school and he had collapsed out of exhaustion, lying prostrate on the ground. When he thought he could not go on, his father had pushed him, sensing the hidden potential within him. ¡°Get up, bud. Just keep moving forward, one step at a time. Come on, get up. Get up...¡± --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°GET UP!¡± David¡¯s yell snapped John back to reality as he looked up. David was dragging John towards the back of the car, trying to put him in. The others had gotten in as well and his mother had taken the wheel. In the distance, the destroyed fence had provided an opening to the outside world, and several infected had made their way into the compound. In moments, they would be upon the little group. John struggled to stand up on his legs but they had no power. ¡°Come on, John. One step at a time. Let¡¯s go.¡± David encouraged. Hearing the familiar words, John¡¯s consciousness was dragged back to reality and strength slowly returned to his appendages. He moved one leg at a time and with effort got into the back seat with David and Jacob. Once they were all in they started driving in the opposite direction as the city, towards the back entrance of the compound. John simply looked back at the mushroom cloud suspended over the city. He only felt a coldness seeping through his entire being. He silently saluted towards the city, in the direction he believed his father rested, and turned back around. ¡°Sam? Where is he?¡± John asked. David simply shook his head. Sam had not made it back when the bomb dropped. Chapter 10: The Medical Tent Chapter 10: The Medical Tent ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Muffled voices could be heard but everything was dark. It was a struggle to stay conscious, but a voice was heard. ¡°How¡¯s it looking?¡± a rough voice asked. It sounded strangely familiar. ¡°Minor injuries. No broken bones. Just a concussion. Should be up and about in a couple hours.¡± A second voice could be heard, this one female. ¡°That¡¯s good...that¡¯s really good. Make sure to update me if anything changes.¡± The first man said. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± was the reply. No longer to maintain awareness, the darkness closed in again and sleep took over. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Abby. Abby wake up.¡± With a groan, she opened her eyes. A blinding light caused her to squint before her pupils adjusted. A female doctor could be at the corner of her vision, looking at her. ¡°Look here.¡± She said while snapping her fingers some distance from Abby. She instinctively focused her eyes where she was told. The female doctor brought a flashlight up to her eyes, moving it back and forth. Abby followed the moving light. ¡°Seems you¡¯re fine. Minor concussion symptoms but you¡¯ll live.¡± The doctor said. ¡°Here, let me get you up.¡± The doctor moved and propped Abby up on the bed. She looked around and she found herself in a hospital. Or rather, a medical tent. It was an elongated tent that had at least three dozen beds similar to the one she was on. ¡°Where am I?¡± She asked. ¡°You¡¯ve had an accident, darling. A scouting convey rescued you and brought you to the compound.¡± she explained. ¡°The compound? Wha-¡± Before she could ask, a shout could be heard. ¡°Abby!¡± She turned her head to the entrance to see two familiar figures walking in. Joey leapt into her arms and wrapped his arms around her neck. ¡°I thought you were going to die.¡± He said in a wavering voice. ¡°Why would I die? See? I¡¯m perfectly fine.¡± She said trying to reassure him. ¡°Alright, Joey that¡¯s enough. She just woke up so give her some room.¡± Their mother¡¯s voice could be heard behind Joey. She sounded tired, without any energy in her voice, but her eyes seemed to show some happiness at seeing her daughter alive and well. ¡°You feeling alright, honey?¡± She asked. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m fine.¡± Abby waved the worry off. Looking around, she noticed someone missing. ¡°Where¡¯s aunt Jenna?¡± She asked. Joey¡¯s face became somber and her mother¡¯s eyes became filled with sadness. ¡°Your aunt-Jenna she...The crash happened on her side of the car, and it was going so fast...Abby, aunt Jenna passed away.¡± Her mother said. Abby was speechless. She had just spoken to her aunt that morning. ¡°What do you mean? She was just with us, how could she be dead?¡± Abby couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing. Her mother didn¡¯t say anything, which just made it worse for Abby. She started crying. It took her nearly half an hour to recover. ¡°What about dad?¡± She asked hesitantly. She feared she would hear the same news. Her mom smiled tightly, ¡°He¡¯s here. Outside. He was called here earlier to help evacuate patients and work with medical team here.¡± ¡°I want to see him¡± She said as she motioned to get up. ¡°Whoa, hold on. You¡¯re not quite in shape to-¡± The female doctor tried to stop her. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She said, waving the doctor off. Using the support of her mother and her brother, they made their way outside the building. There, two guards and a doctor were talking to a middle-aged man with greying hair on the sides and a sharp set of eyebrows. ¡°Dad.¡± Abby called out to the middle-aged man. He turned to see his daughter, a smile spreading on his face. He rushed to her side and helped her stand while hugging her. ¡°How are you, baby girl?¡± He asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine, dad. What¡¯s going on?¡± He frowned and, deciding to tell her early on to get her emotionally ready for what was in store, sat her down on a supply crate. ¡°Have you heard of the virus spreading in the US?¡± He asked her. She nodded that she did. ¡°Well it seems to have mutated or was deadlier than what our initial reports suggested. The people turn extremely violent and are almost oblivious to the outside world. They lose themselves and become crazed things. Bullets can¡¯t even stop them.¡± He explained. He went on to give in more detail the events that had unfolded during her time unconscious. Apparently, hearing no contact from her after the initial text, her father had negotiated with the commander of the compound to send in a search party for his family and retrieved them right after the collision and brought them all to the compound. She struggled to believe him at first, thinking it was all in bad humor, but when he did not renege on his story, she was forced to believe him. ¡°So these...things, are eating people?¡± She asked incredulously. ¡°More or less. They¡¯re using their hands, feet and teeth to rip their prey to shreds.¡± He said bluntly which caused her to gag. ¡°So what happens now?¡± ¡°We wait. The commander hasn¡¯t gotten word back from headquarters on what actions to take so we¡¯re simply holding the fort for now.¡± She nodded. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re tired, go get some more rest.¡± She obliged as the new information and meeting her father again had drained whatever energy she regained from her time unconscious. She sat back down in her bed a minute later and said farewell to her family. --------------------------------------------------------------- She was bored out of her mind a few minutes later. Her phone wasn¡¯t working and there was nothing to do other than watch the sick people be sick in the medical tent that was quickly feeling smaller by the minute. The flap of the entrance opening could be heard as she turned around, expecting to see another patient get carted in. Instead, she saw a pretty girl with dark brown hair wearing a brown hooded shawl walk in. She look around, picking up gauze and different medicines and discretely pocketing them while eyeing the distracted doctors. ¡°You know, you¡¯re not allowed to take those.¡± Abby called out. The girl started and looked over at the prostrate girl. ¡°What, are you going to tell on me?¡± The brown haired girl asked in a sarcastically condescending manner. Abby was annoyed by her attitude, frowning as she replied. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Maybe I will.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s just great. My brother got a broken ankle but we don¡¯t have the money to pay for the treatment so I¡¯m trying to at least help him fight off infection. Or, if it makes you that happy, you can just tell the doctor. It¡¯s fine either way.¡± The girl said while seeming sad. She tried to play it off as if she didn¡¯t care but Abby could see a hint of worry in her eyes which made her believe her story. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know about your injured brother.¡± She said. ¡°Well that¡¯s a coincidence, I didn¡¯t know I had one either.¡± The girl replied with a straight face. After a moment, Abby realized she¡¯d been toyed with and her face went red with anger, but it disappeared as she laughed lightly. The entire situation of an almost crippled girl chastising someone who was clearly making her run in mental circles was so ridiculous she simply had to laugh. The brown haired girl also laughed with her. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Abby asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t it polite to tell someone your name before asking for theirs?¡± The girl asked back. ¡°Oh...my name is Abby.¡± ¡°Well hello Abby. It¡¯s nice to meet you. So what¡¯s left you cooped up in this place?¡± The girl responded. ¡°Car crash. My dad¡¯s a doctor here so he arranged for me to be moved here.¡± Abby explained. At the mention of her dad working here, the brown haired girl¡¯s eyebrows slightly rose but they returned to their usual impassivity a moment later. ¡°Oh.. Your dad must be pretty important to be calling the shots like that.¡± The girl said. Abby just shook her head. ¡°No. He¡¯s just the head doctor and asked the commander of the place for a favor. Since apparently there weren¡¯t any orders to be carried out from headquarters so far, they must have had extra manpower to throw around.¡± Abby unwittingly had given up a truckload of information, thinking this was common knowledge based on how easily her dad had told her. In fact, not many people knew what was going on, let alone the military¡¯s directives, or lack thereof. The girl quickly made note of all this and continued her conversation. ¡°Did you see the things outside?¡± Abby asked. She had been curious to find out if what her father said had been the truth. Most of the people in the medical tent were there since very early on before the mass spread of the virus. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s really rough out there. People are killing each other left and right and half of them don¡¯t even realize they¡¯re doing it.¡± The girl said. So it was true Abby thought. ¡°Did you meet one face to face?¡± The girl just nodded, not saying more. Abby knew when a dialogue reached its end and so she stopped exploring that topic. They talked more about trivial things before the girl stood up to leave. They said their goodbyes and Abby was happy to have met a new friend. Ah~ what a nice person. I hope I meet¡­.wait! I never got her name! Abby screamed internally while slapping her forward for being tricked by the girl a second time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abby got up and was about to chase after the girl when an ear shattering boom roared through the camp. The blast knocked Abby over and rolled her under a Humvee. She knocked her head on the way down and almost lost consciousness. The last things she heard were the sound of screaming and wind howling through the camp. The Humvee rocked back and forth but remained rooted to the ground. She could feel blood trickling down her right temple where she had hit it on her way down. In horror, she saw the mushroom cloud in the distance and the destruction that was brought upon the compound. Meters away, she noticed three people huddled around a flagpole. They were her family. Screaming their name, she tried to get their attention but her voice was drowned out by the wind. The blast had already popped her eardrums but she did not realize the possibility that it could be the same for the opposite party. She watched in horror as a small car flipped over and over, crashing into tents and heading straight towards the flagpole her father, mother, and brother were hanging onto for dear life. The car flipped one final time before crashing into the midsection of the flagpole, snapping it in half. The shards of the metal could be seen spraying out in every direction while several pierced the back and shoulders of her father, who had stood above the other two to protect them. The upper piece of the flagpole, still attached by a strand of metal, whipped around and hit the rib of her father, sending him and the rest of her family rolling away. They tried to crawl to each other, but the wretched flagpole finally broke off and impaled her father, going clean through his left shoulder and out his lower torso, killing him instantly. Her mother and brother, still holding hands, were lifted from the ground and flung away, smashing into another set of Humvees, crushing their bodies in the moment of impact. Abby screamed until her voice went hoarse. She wretched, gagged, and wailed but nobody could hear her. Nobody would care. It was a fight to stay alive themselves, let alone worry about the lives of others. In the blink of an eye, the wind and howling passed, and in the blink of an eye, she had her family taken from her. She stayed like that underneath the Humvee for ages before, finally, the sounds of screaming could be heard as her eardrums recovered. She crawled out of her hiding hole and stood up shakily using the side of the Humvee for support. She slowly walked, dazed, towards the still bodies of her family lying about on the quad of the compound before her. As she was making her way there, a black Escalade stopped in front of her, and the girl from earlier got out of the passengers seat, shouting something at Abby, but she was too shocked to make it out. The girl, seeing no response, took Abby by the arm and started dragging her towards the Escalade. ¡°No. No! I need to see my family! They¡¯re right there! They¡¯re right over there!¡± She screamed maniacally as she struggled against the girl, reaching out towards the bodies of her deceased family. Another pair of hands could be seen grabbing her and pulling her. She was dragged into the back seat of the car where she started hitting her captors. Suddenly, a sharp pain in the back of her head caused her to finally enter the sweet embrace of unconsciousness and all went dark. Chapter 11: The Departure Only one chapter for today. I''ll get more out later tonight/early morning. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1!: The Departure --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sam was just leaving the portable restroom when the jet passed overhead going towards the city. He also had his suspicions about its objective so he quickly stood behind the largest vehicle he could find. No sooner had he done so that the blast swept through his part of the camp. He hid underneath the vehicle but the forceful gale started tipping the car over. It flipped and rolled several meters away from him, lying on its side. Sam had no way of fighting off the wind on the ground so he was picked up as well and he was flung towards the toppled vehicle. CRUNCH. His back slammed against the underside of the vehicle that had been upturned. Coughing out blood, Sam could only slump on the ground, out of breath. His vision blurred and he felt a warmness spreading from his diaphragm. He struggled to move his head to look down and he saw a long piece of metal protruding from his body. He could not move and every breath felt like magma coursing through his lungs. The front axle of the car had broke off and jabbed him through the back and out the front. He bloodied his hands trying to stop the bleeding around it but it would not stop. ¡°Help.¡± He whispered, barely getting the word out. A pain pierced through his entire body and he used it to channel his voice, ¡°HELP ME, SOMEBODY!¡± No one came. He looked around in desperation, trying to find someone who could save him. Everywhere, he saw people slumped over, either dead or unconscious. Burning tent pieces floated through the air and sounds of roaring fire could be heard all around him. In the distance, he saw the fence collapsed while a swarm of infected pushed their way into the camp to pounce upon the view survivors. More screams in that area could be heard. A low growl sounded a few meters away from him. He looked and to his horror, an infected, completely cut from its lower torso and legs, was crawling its way towards him. Sam was too weak to fight in that position. He looked around and found no weapons he could use. Breathing fast, he held onto the axle. ¡°One...two...thre-ARGH¡± He tried to push the axle back out while pulling himself out, but the pain almost caused him to pass out. He was seeing dark spots in his vision as he slumped back down defeated. The metal rod re-impaled his torso, ripping through more flesh and organs. Sam had no more energy to move. His hands slumped to the ground as he looked towards the crawling infected. It was a small girl with pigtails and a pretty white and red dress, stained crimson by the blood from her missing body parts. ¡°No, please, no.¡± Sam said as he squeezed tears out of his eyes, closing them and looking up at the sun. The girl¡¯s groans could be heard almost upon him. ¡°Just do it.¡± He whispered softly. Just as the girl was about to bite down on his neck, she hesitated. He opened his eyes in confusion, and he saw her moving her hand back. The hand sped towards him and shoved itself through his throat. Sam¡¯s eyes went wide for a moment, looking at the small petite hand that had gone through his neck. Gurgling, blood came out of his throat. His eyes rolled back and his body slumped, never to rise again. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John looked at the unconscious girl slumped next to him in the car seat. After driving away from the collapsed fences on the far end of the camp, they had driven towards the military section of the compound which had fallen into disarray. The soldiers were trying to maintain order and hold back the horde but were failing miserably. They only had a few minutes before the defensive perimeter would completely collapse. They drove the Escalade towards the Humvee that John stole the keys from. As he hopped out, he saw two infected around the vehicle. One wore civilian clothing while the other was the officer who he had stolen the keys from. Seeing this, John felt guilt again, but it didn¡¯t stop him from pulling out the gun and quickly dispatching the two. ¡°Come on, load those crates in the cars.¡± John said as he pointed at the supply crates near the Humvee. David, Sophia, and his mother all got out and worked together to move four crates into the Escalade and another 4 into the Humvee. They had filled the cars up until they were packed. John then used the keys to startup the Humvee and hopped in. The two cars drove off together, continuing deeper into the camp. The group had all changed into their disguises while packing and were not stopped as they moved along. John had gotten the officer clothing through similar methods as when he acquired the keys to the Humvee. As they drove, they looked left and right, hoping beyond hope that they would spot Sam amidst the chaos. The blast had destroyed much of the camp and incapacitated ,many of the soldiers. The ones that had survived in battle-ready condition scrambled for weapons and moved towards the approaching infected, opening fire upon nearly anything that moved. The civilian survivors also rushed towards the army camp trying to find safety, only to be shot down by the rain of lead from the soldiers. It seems they had given up differentiating friendlies from targets. The two car group passed by a large, collapsed green tent. Suddenly, Sophia yelled out. ¡°Stop the car!¡± The two cars stopped, and Sophia got out the car, moving towards a dazed girl in a hospital gown standing next to a humvee, looking at something in the distance. The way she was shuffling forward listlessly almost made John think that she was infected. John got out of the Humvee and walked over to Sophia, who was yelling at the girl to get her attention. ¡°Abby! It¡¯s me. We have to get you out of here!.¡± John could not believe what Sophia was doing. They had just survived what seemed like a nuclear blast, a horde of infected, and were currently trying to escape, but Sophia had stopped them to save a random girl. ¡°We have to go! We¡¯re running out of time.¡± John eyed the front lines. The infected had turned a majority of the civilian populace at this point and were engaged in a one-sided massacre with the soldiers. He took out his guns and started shooting down the few infected that had gotten through. Although he was holding them back while Sophia was struggling to bring the girl towards the Escalade, the girl was struggling very hard, making it difficult to move her. John was running out of bullets so he walked towards the girl and hit her across the back of her head with the butt of her gun. Sophia was surprised at his actions but quickly started picking her up, putting the girls arms around her neck. ¡°Put her in the Humvee. There¡¯s not enough room in the other.¡± John said. Because of the crates, the group had originally been piling up on top of each other in the cramped interior of the car. Now that John was driving the Humvee, there was finally room for the others to sit somewhat comfortably. John put the girls arms around his neck as well and they dragged her to the car, dumping her into the passengers seat. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. As he was going around the car to get into the driver¡¯s seat, he saw a slumped figure. Looking closer, he realized it was Sam, impaled by a metal rod, his neck split open to reveal the insides. His eyes were bloodshot and he was groaning while trying to move. There was no way he could be alive like that unless he was infected. John clenched his fist and grit his teeth. Lifting his gun, he pointed it at the reanimated Sam and took the shot. Moments later, John hopped back in and kicked the car into drive and they headed out again. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abby awoke suddenly. She had suddenly fallen unconscious, giving her the feeling of dunking herself into a sea of darkness, only to be jerked right back out into the light a moment later. ¡°Ahhh!¡± she sat up screaming but a hand moved quickly to cover her mouth. She desperately tried to move the hands away from her mouth. She didn¡¯t know what was going on, where she was, and who this person trying to silence her was. ¡°Shh! You¡¯ll bring them to us.¡± A young man around her age with dark brown hair and eyes looked at her in a mix of annoyance and anger. She tried to tell him to let go, but only a muffled voice came through. ¡°Only whisper. If you scream, I swear we¡¯ll leave you here.¡± She looked around to find that they were in what seemed to be a small warehouse. No lights were shining through the few windows present so she assumed it was night time. Boxes upon boxes were piled up around the room. She looked back directly into his eyes and nodded. He stared at her for a few seconds before moving his hand away from her mouth. No sooner had he done so, did the questions most on her mind come rushing out. ¡°Who are you? Why did you bring me here?¡± ¡°My name is John. I heard you¡¯re an acquaintance of Sophia.¡± He looked behind Abby. She turned around to see the brown haired girl from earlier in the tent standing behind her, looking at the two with her arms crossed. She raised one hand in greeting. ¡°As to where you are¡­¡± John continued. Abby looked back at him. ¡°We think it¡¯s some kind of food warehouse that some organization had stockpiled to feed the homeless.¡± She observed the boxes more carefully and they did seem to be filled with cans, boxes of cereal, juice boxes, apple sauce, and anything she could imagine in terms of food stockpiled in them. ¡°It¡¯s one of those charity food warehouses. We¡¯re going to stay here for a while and then make our way South, try to find survivors and answers.¡± At the mention of survivors, she remembered her family and their deaths but she had no more tears to cry. She just lost all her energy and slumped even further than she already was. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± She asked. Clearly they had saved her, but for what purpose? ¡°I¡¯m not too sure myself.¡± John replied. ¡°But Sophia seems to want you to stay so until you find something useful to do, just get some rest. We¡¯re going to be leaving in the future so you have some time to decide whether to join us. As for the rest of us, we can see how you do and decide whether we even want you.¡± She felt indignant at his tone and words. Frowning she shot back, ¡°What¡¯s so great about you guys that I¡¯d want to stay.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Then leave. The doors are right there. That¡¯s one less person to worry about.¡± She looked towards the doors and remembering what waited for her outside, she shivered and said nothing. Seeing no response, John nodded toward Sophia and walked off towards another young man, a woman, and a younger boy. ¡°He¡¯s just being careful. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s worrying more about safety than being nice to people.¡± Sophia said sitting next to her. ¡°How come you don¡¯t sound convinced?¡± Abby asked. Indeed, Sophia had said that in a detached manner that seemed as if she wasn¡¯t quite close to the young man. ¡°He¡¯s a classmate from school but we never talked before the incident. We escaped together with his buddies but we never really got to know each other.¡± She said somewhat regretfully. Abby smiled a little. ¡°Did you want to?¡± Sophia just looked at her before looking at John¡¯s back. ¡°If I stick around, I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be a lot of chances to. But at this point, we¡¯re more worried about staying alive.¡± Abby remembered that the world they lived in was no longer the sunshine and buttercups she had known just a few days before. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Sophia asked Abby. She was referring to how Abby was handling the deaths of her parents. ¡°Better than before. I¡¯ll live, thanks to you.¡± Abby replied. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± ¡°Why did you save me?¡± Abby asked. She was just one among many and they had only met for a very short while. ¡°You seemed like a nice girl. But truthfully, it was more for us than it was for you.¡± Sophia looked at Jacob who was sleeping next to his mother in the Escalade, his body stretched out over the back seats. ¡°The others and I had seen a lot of bad stuff out there, done a lot of bad stuff. I guess we wanted to atone for it in a way. Make sure we still had our humanity intact.¡± Sophia stood up and handed her a blanket. ¡°You should get some rest.¡± Abby nodded and found herself a corner and quickly went to sleep. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°How is she?¡± John asked Sophia who walked up to them. ¡°She¡¯ll hold up. Not sure when the grief will sink in but she¡¯ll live through it. Hopefully.¡± ¡°Alright. But if she turns out to be more weight than lift, we¡¯ve got to cut her loose. You understand that, right?¡± John asked. ¡°Yeah, I get it. Did you finish running inventory on the place?¡± David broke out into a tired grin. ¡°Food for months and the boxes we picked up are full of weapons. Assault rifles, pistols, grenades, a rocket launcher. You name it, we¡¯ve got it. There¡¯re even bulletproof vests.¡± ¡°Quite the haul.¡± John admired. ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡± His mother walked up. She had left most of the decisions to the teens but they still looked for her input. ¡°I¡¯d say we wait it out here. We¡¯ve got everything we could want. Just stay here and wait out the storm.¡± The others hesitated. The place was a very attractive place to stay in and the road ahead was treacherous. ¡°I say we start recruiting.¡± John said. ¡°I thought you don¡¯t like new additions.¡± Sophia asked. ¡°I don¡¯t like dead weight. But we need people to help us if we¡¯re going to fight those things. We¡¯ve got the supplies, we just need the manpower.¡± ¡°How do you know they¡¯re not just going to steal it right from under us?¡± David asked. ¡°We¡¯ll watch them. If they seem like someone we can use and trust, we take them in. Take real people. The ones with something to protect. We treat them like family and hopefully they won¡¯t hit us behind our backs. If they do,¡± John paused. ¡°We kill them.¡± David thought. He shrugged. ¡°The more the merrier.¡± Sophia added, ¡°Might as well try restoring some order to this hell hole.¡± John smiled. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go rally the troops.¡± Chapter 12: Recon Chapter 12: Recon --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They knew that their ragtag group of teenagers with minimal weapons and combat training were not in the least an impressive fighting force to combat the countless infected they may have to face on their road south. John did not like the idea of bringing in people. He simply didn¡¯t trust others. When a peaceful society suddenly gets thrown into a situation where they must fight for their lives, there would be simply no way of knowing how people, regular people who had regular jobs and lives, would react. The weak ones had already mostly died. John knew at least that. In this type of environment, or at least in the environment John and the group had to live in, the weak hearted would be very hard to come by. At this point, John needed help. There was no way to go south by themselves so they were hoping to find a few more people to travel with. In the end, they were taking a page out of the book of the infected: travel in packs because there¡¯s safety in numbers. The group slept a restless night, often having to change shifts to look out for infected or ¡°regulars¡±, as they were starting to call them. On more than one occasion, the next shift would wake up hours after the changing time to see the previous shift had fallen asleep and failed to wake them up. The teens had pulled a few all nighters in the past but that was usually for school projects or simply wasting time on the web. Having to stay awake looking into the abyss of night was hardly something to stay awake for any amount of time. As the sun finally broke through the horizon, everyone awoke. John and Sophia had decided to go out to the city to look for survivors while David held down the fort with the others. John¡¯s mother was still shaken up about the whole ordeal and didn¡¯t acclimate as fast as the younger generation but she was coming around, helping them here and there. Jacob was eager to avoid guns whenever he was given the chance, opting to cling to his mother and talk with Abby. The two had not come to fully accept the new paradigm of fighting to survive. Jacob wished simply to cling to what was familiar and safe, which he found in his mother. John made no attempt to separate the two as he also wanted to maintain the boy¡¯s purity, which was becoming harder to do as more tasks demanded the cruelty of action and occasional violence. John and Sophia had set out on the Escalade, hoping driving a regular car would ease the tension in any survivors they picked up. If the radio was working, they would have played a song to attract the people and ease them into joining them. John smirked at this thought. It¡¯s like we¡¯re the ice cream truck for the apocalypse. The two set out in the morning back towards the refugee camp. It was the most likely place where they would find survivors. They drove relatively undisturbed and the few infected they met, they ignored. No reason to bother them if they aren¡¯t bothering me. They drove right by, already in the distance before the infected even started pursuit. They stopped the car a bit further away and walked the rest of the way. They crawled up a hill and looked down on the compound. Or rather, they looked down on the remains of the camp. The refugees and military were no match for the horde of infected, numbering perhaps in the hundreds at the time of the explosion. They had descended upon the camp like a swarm of locusts and by dawn, their numbers had swelled to the thousands, if not the tens of thousands. John inhaled sharply at the sheer number of the infected, simply walking around the compound, sniffing here and there and sometimes wandering off into the forest adjacent to the compound. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of stuff.¡± John said, noticing how the military¡¯s equipment, vehicles, and supplies had been left almost untouched by the horde or any people that may have escaped. ¡°No hope of getting it now. Let¡¯s go back.¡± Sophia said while getting up. John remained in a prone position, squinting to see if he could find Sam. He had shot Sam before they left and he had told the others about it, but during the chaos, he didn¡¯t know if he actually had shot Sam in the head or not, properly killing him before he turned. He still remembered the last real conversation they had. Sam had always had a softer heart than others. There was no way he¡¯d have survived long in this kind of world. John gave a silent prayer for his deceased friend. ¡°John¡­¡± Sophia¡¯s voice rang out. John stood up and turned around. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m comi-¡± **Click** John had turned around to see the muzzle of a gun pointed only a few feet away from him. A man in his forties, with a brown leather jacket and a pair of majestic dad jeans was holding Sophia by the neck with one firm grip while pointing a gun at her head. John raised both his hands to his chest level. ¡°Whoa, calm down. We can talk ab-¡± ¡°Shut up. We need your supplies. Food. Do you have food?¡± The man asked. He seemed scared, almost as if he was the one with a gun to his head, not the other way around. ¡°Yeah. Whatever you want. We¡¯ll give it to you, just lower your gun.¡± John said while taking one tentative step towards the man. ¡°Stay back!¡± He said, pointing the gun at him. John froze in his tracks. ¡°I¡¯ll shoot her in the head, I swear!¡± He moved the gun back to her head. ¡°Alright. Alright. No moving forward, I got it.¡± John moved back and glanced at Sophia. Their eyes met for a brief moment and he was her glance downward. He moved his eye to see her moving her hand slowly to her pocket. She took out one of the scalpels they had scavenged on their first day after the outbreak. Her eyes looked determined. She was going to make a move. ¡°Hand over everything you have, and I won¡¯t hurt anyone.¡± The man said with a strained voice. ¡°Alright, look, calm down. I¡¯ll give you everything you asked for.¡± He slowly tensed up as he said that, eyeing Sophia to wait for her signal. Once she made a move, it would be up to him to make a distraction and, most importantly, make sure he doesn¡¯t die. ¡°Daddy, are you going to hurt those people?¡± A small voice rang out as Sophia was just about to swing the scalpel. She stopped when she heard the voice. From the side brushes, a small boy, around 7 or 8 was seen looking at the people. ¡°Daddy¡¯s just getting something from these people. No one¡¯s getting hurt unless they try some funny business.¡± He said. ¡°Get back, Lucas.¡± Sophia glanced at John again. He shook his head slightly, and she pocketed the knife. John looked down at his hand that he had dropped to his side during the conversation. He extended three fingers and counted down with them. Three...two...one! As the last finger was folded, John jumped and did a half roll, failing, and then scrambling to get ahold of the kid. He landed and positioned himself behind the boy and stayed there, poised to move as necessary. He knew the father wasn¡¯t going to shoot him if there was a chance of his son getting caught in the friendly fire. At the same time, Sophia lifted her right arm and balling her right hand into a fist. Her left hand came up and covered the right fist. Together, the two came down hard, using the combined force to slam her sharp elbow into rib. As the man doubled over, she pushed the man¡¯s gun arm up and away as it fired a stray shot during the struggle. The lone gunshot reverberated the valley area in silence as Sophia ran some distance away from the man, taking out her own gun to point it at him. John had also taken out his gun and kept it at his side, implying that the man¡¯s son was being held captive by him. ¡°It seems the tables are turned.¡± John called out. The man recovered and looking at the situation that had indeed been reversed, he showed a resigned face that turned into panic as he saw his son in the hands of the people he had threatened moments ago at gunpoint. ¡°Please. I¡¯m so sorry. I had no choice my son was starving and I- I just had no choice. Please don¡¯t hurt my son.¡± He begged. He dropped the gun and put his hands up. ¡°Relax. We¡¯re not going to hurt you.¡± Sophia moved in and kicked the gun away from the man. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°We¡¯re going to give you an offer, instead.¡± John said seriously. ¡°What?¡± the man asked confused. ¡°We were out here looking for survivors, picking them up if they seem alright. Although you tried to rob us at gun point¡­¡± He looked down at the little boy in front of him. He was standing ramrod straight, not daring to move a muscle. ¡°...but your motives were honest. You don¡¯t seem like a bad guy. Why don¡¯t you come with us?¡± He asked. ¡°How can I trust what you¡¯re saying? Who are you guys, anyway?¡± The last thing the man was expecting in this encounter was to be let go, let alone offered to join them. ¡°We¡¯re living, breathing regulars. It¡¯s us versus them, now. We don¡¯t have interest in killing regulars.¡± He said. The man simply scoffed. ¡°Yeah, well clearly you haven¡¯t been in the city the past few days. There ain¡¯t nothing regular about anything living or infected in there.¡± John frowned. ¡°You came from the city?¡± ¡°Yeah, why?¡± ¡°The city was blown up days ago.¡± John had seen it with his own eyes. A giant mushroom cloud filling half the cloud had erupted a ways over the city. ¡°Yeah, well it missed a few spots. A lot actually.¡± John¡¯s frown turned upside down. If the bombs had not completely decimated the city, there was still a chance that his father, and many others, were still alive! ¡°That¡¯s a different issue for another time. You seem to lack for food. We happened to have a lot going around back at our base. Do you have others?¡± John asked. ¡°Just me and my son.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re heading south. One of our group has a father that works at the CDC and a mother that works at the NIH. One of the two are bound to have some answers, maybe even the cure. Our best chance of surviving is finding his parents. We have weapons and food. Even a younger boy around your son¡¯s age. Would you like to join us?¡± John said. The man did not reply for a while, simply looking at his son. John released the boy and the boy ran over to the arms of his father, who kept him close, ruffling his hair. He looked down at his son and back up at the two young adults. ¡°Have you killed people?¡± The man asked. John shook his head. They had not. ¡°Infected?¡± The man asked another. John nodded. They had killed many times. ¡°Will the boy be safe?¡± The man asked his final question. John hesitated. He could not know the answer to that question. He was not completely confident in protecting themselves. That¡¯s why they had gone out and looked for others in the first place. Simply, John replied. ¡°That depends on you but it would be a hell of a lot easier than going it alone For either of us.¡± The man seemed satisfied by this answer and nodded. ¡°If you¡¯d said yeah to that last one, I would have never agreed. I wouldn¡¯t trust a man that could be that confident in a hell hole like this.¡± ¡°My name is John. This is Sophia.¡± ¡°Richard, but you can call me Rick.¡± John lowered his weapon and walked up to the man. They shook hands. And such, they had recruited Rick and Lucas. The infected had been attracted by the gunshot and were making their way over, so the four made a hasty retreat and went back to the Escalade, where John and Richard sat up front while Sophia and Lucas sat in the back. This move was planned ahead to show that they were a team, with the two originally different groups sitting side by side, and also as a contingency plan, just in case the others tried to literally stab them behind their backs. There were no incidents but despite that, Sophia¡¯s hand never strayed too far from her pistol for the entire ride. They arrived at the warehouse. David had figured out how the warehouse¡¯s big doors worked and so he flipped the switch and it opened up slowly, allowing passage for the Escalade inside. Once in the main area, John parked the car and they all went outside. ¡°Wow. Quite the operation you got going on here.¡± Rick exclaimed, marveling at the large amounts of food. ¡°Yeah. We found it a couple days ago. Meet the rest of the group.¡± John introduced the new additions to the group and they were well received. John¡¯s mother fetched food and water for the two and Abby had already set up a bedding area for them near the others. They had used the main area as a parking lot to keep their vehicles and also as their sleeping quarters, opting to huddle around in a circle near the door to sleep. John left the two to mingle with the others and walked up to David. ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of supplies down at the compound that¡¯s basically untouched.¡± John said. ¡°You want to hit the compound? You¡¯ll need a heck of a lot more people to handle that kind of operation.¡± David exclaimed. ¡°Yeah, I know. It¡¯s just something to keep in mind for the future. Now that we¡¯ve got Rick, we¡¯ll go with him on a few missions, see if he checks out. I¡¯m going to ask Abby, my mother, and Jacob to accommodate Lucas as best they can. If Lucas wants to stay, I¡¯m pretty sure Rick will want to as well.¡± John had little worries about keeping Rick and Lucas in check. In this new world, Rick had suddenly run dry of options in doing enjoyable things with his son and giving him treats. If Lucas found a friend, that would be all it would take to have Rick begging to stay there. Lucas was Rick¡¯s world, and he would do anything to keep him alive and happy. John offered both of those things. What risk was there in bringing them in? ¡°More importantly¡­¡± John looked David up and down. David looked uncomfortable at the critical gaze. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We need to get in shape.¡± John said matter of factly. David was stunned that he couldn¡¯t answer for a second. ¡°We¡¯re going through a legitimate apocalypse. World shattering disaster that might very well drive us to extinction and you¡¯re thinking of working out?¡± David¡¯s voice rose to almost a shout. ¡°Yeah, basically.¡± John had noticed when doing maneuvers avoiding the man¡¯s bullet and trying to get to the kid. That little bit of acrobatics had extremely winded him and he nearly was shot for his slow reactions. Plus, the failed roll had been the most shameful moment possible for such a high stakes situation. He needed to get better at moving his body and building his stamina or else he¡¯d fail worse when fighting the infected, perhaps forfeiting his life in the process. As such, the two devised a plan to work in an exercise regimen to increase their cardio. Each morning, they would run around the interior of the warehouse, do push ups, and other exercises. John tried doing a pull up, but since he¡¯d never done one before, he failed after being unable to complete one. Sophia saw this, came over, and easily completed a set of 20. John had gone off to some other place, grumbling that her lighter weight versus muscle mass gave her an advantage or some other excuse of that nature. John would end the day by going around the outer perimeter of the warehouse with his katana, slicing through heads of infected as he came across them. His radius increased with every lap. David had come along to do some target practice with throwing knives, but after failing to get how to hold the knife so that the blade would actually go into the head, he gave up and went back inside, dejected. Although somewhat lacking in being a legitimate training plan, it was the best they could come up with in terms of training with the facilities they had. They understood that being in their top form gave them an edge in survival and they needed all the help they could get. Although only one day had passed since they began, John was so tired he immediately went to bed after a meager dinner of baked beans. He thought that after watching so many movies of campers eating beans over a fire, he would come to appreciate the delicacies that are beans in a can, but he found them to be delightfully bland and not at all as glamorous as what the movies had portrayed it as. Cursing false advertising, he went to sleep while wondering if he would ever be able to once again enjoy such things as watching a movie. Chapter 13: Recruiting Chapter 13: Recruiting By the next morning, Lucas and Jacob had become fast friends. Jacob was a few years older so he enjoyed being the older one for a change while Lucas just enjoyed the company of a new friend. Rick had been passed out most of the morning and they let him sleep. He had been through a lot trying to protect his family. When John woke up, he saw that Rick was not among them. Not completely having put his trust in the man, John walked around looking for him. He found Rick outside the warehouse, looking towards the city. It glowed with the raging fires that were still alive throughout the city, lighting it up like an ember against the dark blue dawn sky. ¡°What are you doing out here?¡± John asked casually. ¡°Remembering.¡± The both didn¡¯t say a word for a while. ¡°It¡¯s only been a bit over a week since it all happened but it feels much longer than that. It¡¯s like the life I led before was simply a dream.¡± ¡°What did you do..before?¡± ¡°I was an architect. Pretty damn good one, too. If I¡¯d known this would happen, I would¡¯ve built myself a bunker.¡± Rick chuckled. ¡°Not like I had the money to, anyways.¡± Rick turned his head to John. ¡°What about you? What did you do.¡± John shrugged. ¡°Mostly little things. Fighter of the infected, Saviour of Children and Fathers, but most of the time I was student.¡± ¡°College?¡± ¡°High school.¡± John replied. Rick was surprised. John hadn¡¯t shaved once in that time so he had developed a stubble and the events that occurred up to that point seemed to have aged him considerably. ¡°Must have had it tough, protecting your mother and brother like that for so long.¡± John shrugged. ¡°I had friends.¡± ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡± Rick nodded, looking back at the city. He patted his legs, dusting them off. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to head back in. Coming?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± They headed back in together. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John began doing his ¡°exercises¡± before breakfast. As he was doing laps around the warehouse, Sophia was sitting on a crate, watching as he would go passed her. ¡°You realize this is stupid, right?¡± Sophia yelled after John as he went by the second time. John slowed down and jogged in place. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean¡­¡± Sophia hopped down from the crate she was sitting on, lightly landing on her feet. ¡°...that this training won¡¯t help you a lot out there. Yeah, sure. Building cardio is great, but that¡¯s not going to do you much good other than for running away unless you know how to use it right.¡± ¡°Okay. You think you can do better? John taunted. He kept his tone playful but secretly he was a little annoyed at her pointing out his flaws. She walked up so close to him that their noses almost touched. She looked into his eyes. John started to lose himself in her eyes when suddenly he felt a force pushing into the back of his leg, causing him to fall backward. Sophia¡¯s hand grabbed his throat and pushed him down to the ground, slamming his back into the cold hard concrete. John had all his breath knocked out of him as he groaned in pain. Sophia¡¯s face appeared in front of his vision, looking down at him. Her brown hair cascading down to brush his face, the light from the morning sun basked her head in a garland of light. ¡°I know I can do better.¡± She said, smiling. She got up and walked back as she watched John struggle to stand. ¡°What was that for?¡± He asked, rubbing his bruised back. ¡°You want to improve yourself, but you need is experience. I¡¯ll spar with you.¡± She said, loosening her muscles by doing various stretches. She jumped up and down, shaking her arms and cracking her neck. John put his hands on his hips, leaning back and checking his back. He looked down in thought and then looked up at her. Shaking his arms, he bent down into a ready stance. Seeing this, Sophia also took a stance. And so began an almost hour long sparring session between the two. As Sophia knocked him down again for the umpteenth time, David walked up to them. ¡°Hey. It¡¯s time to make the run.¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯ll be there in 5 minutes.¡± Sophia said, standing up. John just tiredly waved his hand in acknowledgement while still on the ground. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After changing into their regular clothes, John, Sophia, and Rick got into the car, armed to the teeth with weapons. John brought along his katana. As they drove out of the warehouse, they made their way towards the city. Rick had said some parts of the city had been untouched by the scope of the bombing so they decided to check those areas closest to them to see if they could pick up survivors, gather supplies, and ascertain the situation in the city. Rick directed the others towards his workplace, an old apartment complex next to the west of the city that had not been hit by the explosion. As trees and grasslands made way for small suburban homes and office buildings, they started coming closer to the apartment building. As they were going down the street, they noticed a lack of people. John had expected there to be some regulars in the area but they seemed to have gone elsewhere in a hurry, some even leaving their doors hanging open as they sped off to some other place. As they made their way through the area, they stopped and entered several of the houses. John and the others had decided that they had enough food to last them ages, so what they were looking for were things that would be hard to come by. In a few hours, they had combed through dozens of houses, taking toilet paper, towels, blankets, power tools, and even a few generators. They were running out of space when Sophia suggested they get another car. Indeed, there were cars that were almost untouched and accessible. However, John was reluctant to choose just any car. Ever since he was young, John liked two things when they came to cars and most things in general. They had to be black, and they had to be uniform. So, John was keeping his eyes out for another car that would fit those criteria. Surprisingly, it was hard to find another black Escalade when he was actually looking for it. Sighing out of John¡¯s stubbornness, Sophia and Rick decided to keep searching houses. Soon they had packed their car with enough supplies that they were bursting at the seams. They made a quick return to the base and dropped off the supplies and returned out. There was still some light left in the day and they decided to hit a hospital. They had decided that medicine was next on their list so they made their way around the destroyed city to find an intact hospital or clinic. They hadn¡¯t found a hospital, however. The hospitals were located into the city or at the south end and they didn¡¯t have enough time to go there. Instead, they found a local pharmacy and parked in the lot. As they stepped out, suddenly, another two cars drove into the lot, surrounding them. Two groups of people numbering around 8 people stepped out of the cars and started walking towards them. The groups consisted of six men and two women, carrying baseball bats and some carrying pistols. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Shit. What do we do?¡± Rick muttered nervously. He gripped the handle on his door tightly. John was also stumped. If it was a few people, they could deal with them easily, but with so many of them there, it would be hard to negotiate their escape. Suddenly, he remembered. ¡°Oh! We can use that thing.¡± John asked Sophia to hand him his bag. As he was rummaging through it, Rick was getting more nervous. Sophia pulled out her assault rifle and got ready for a possible fight. ¡°Close your eyes.¡± John said as he took out an object. He rolled down the window a little, letting in the cold night air. He threw out a metal object. ¡°Cover your ears!¡± Suddenly, a flashbang erupted in the parking lot, letting out an extremely loud noise and a piercing light. The men outside were blinded and hearing impaired, stumbling around. John, who had covered himself, was not as affected, but his ears were ringing. He got out of the car and pointed his gun at the people with pistols. As they were stumbling, many had dropped their weapons. However, others were trying to shoot blindly, aiming their weapons at what seemed to be the direction of the car. John and Sophia had both gotten out almost immediately and either shot the gun out of their hands, or in Sophia¡¯s case, disarmed them manually. They kicked the guns and weapons out of the way and when the people came to their senses, they saw three people pointing assault rifles at them. Frightened, some even tried to run but were stopped by a bullet near their feet. ¡°Look. We didn¡¯t mean no trouble. We just wanted to get whatever food and supplies you had on you and we would have let you go. I swear.¡± The man who spoke was a large man with a balding head. He wore round glasses and had a scruffy beard that was peppered with white hairs. As John looked at the people, he noticed that none of them matched with the image of roaming bandits that he would see in the movies. ¡°These are just regular people.¡± John remarked to Sophia in a low voice. ¡°People that just tried to rob us of everything we have.¡± Sophia replied. John had nothing in defense for them, other than that these people, very much like them, were doing what they had to do to survive. John walked back up to the man. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± He asked. The man looked up in confusion. ¡°It¡¯s James. James Gallagher. Look, please let us go. Some of us have families.¡± He said. ¡°You should have robbed the houses. Anything else would have worked.¡± John replied. ¡°We¡¯d already been through them. We needed food. The stores and the markets had already been picked dry in the outer parts of the city. If anybody had food, it would have been you. There was no other choice.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a shit excuse.¡± John grunted. ¡°Yeah well, you try living out here for almost two weeks with a bunch of infected roaming around the inner city and the only places to get food were already raided by others before you. See if you would still be so closed minded as to not provide for those you care about no matter what shameful things you have to do.¡± James growled back. His face turned a bit red with anger and frustration. As John looked closer, many of them did seem as if they hadn¡¯t eaten in days. ¡°Is there food in there?¡± John pointed towards the pharmacy that also acted as a mart. ¡°Picked clean.¡± ¡°What about medicine?¡± ¡°Gone.¡± John cursed under his breath. They¡¯d been searching for nothing. Indeed, they hadn¡¯t found much in the houses in terms of food. They¡¯d primarily taken blankets, toilet paper, and other things the others probably had more than enough of. John thought for a while. Would he be able to take these people in. He didn¡¯t trust these people that much but they seemed to be regular people, people that had normal lives before the outbreak. If anything, they were desparate. Desparate is good, John thought. If they were desperate but not ruthless, they still had a chance at bringing them in. If he threw them a bone, they would definitely bite. ¡°Do you have families?¡± John asked. ¡°Some of us do. I lost my daughter in the outbreak. Jack and George have wives. Harry, Pete, and Dan are alone. Jess and Rachel are by themselves as well.¡± James made a roll call with a bunch of names. John wasn¡¯t good with names. He forget their names even before James was finished with the introductions. I¡¯ll learn them later,John thought. ¡°How many people have you robbed like this?¡± ¡°None. You¡¯re the first group.¡± John kept quiet for a minute. ¡°We could take you somewhere safe.¡± John said. Everyone looked at him when he said that. ¡°We¡¯ve got a shelter. It¡¯s relatively safe and we have food, supplies. We could bring you all into the group, but that would require a level of trust that I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve established yet.¡± John knew that they could accommodate a lot more people in the warehouse and he wanted to recruit them. They hadn¡¯t robbed before and they didn¡¯t seem experienced at killing. Most likely, they had banded together some time after the outbreak and hid out in some hole until they ran out of food, forcing them to come out to scavenge. Seeing the city destroyed or picked clean, they had no other options but to try their hand at turning to violence against other regulars. ¡°If what you say is true, we¡¯ll do anything.¡± James said slowly, unable to believe what he had said. There was no way that someone would offer to take an entire group in and supply them with food and shelter for nothing. It could more likely be a trap. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to believe me, that¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll find others.¡± John said, turning to leave. ¡°Wait! We never said that. We just can¡¯t trust you either.¡± John nodded. He took out something from his pocket. He walked up to the kneeling man and showed it to him. It was a picture. He had found an old polaroid camera in one of the houses and had taken several pictures of the warehouse with it. ¡°This is¡­?¡± James asked. ¡°Pictures of the warehouse we have. It has enough food to feed a thousand people for months and a hundred for years.¡± John said. ¡°What do you say.¡± John asked, putting out his hand. ¡°Do you want to join us?¡± James looked towards his companions who were leaning over to see the pictures. Seeing so much food, their eyes grew wide in shock. They looked at each other and an understanding came to pass between them. James nodded at John and reached out his own hand and took John¡¯s. They shook hands. ¡°We¡¯re in.¡± John nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go to your place and pick up your people. We¡¯ll go to the base afterwards.¡± John said, hopping back into his driver¡¯s seat. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± John asked the stunned group of people who had suddenly been saved from their situation. Hearing John, they scrambled to their cars. James rode in the front seat with John in the Escalade and they moved forwards towards the new recruits¡¯ base. Chapter 14: Rags to Riches Chapter 14: Rags to Riches --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The cars drove into an underground parking lot. The doors to the lot were closed manually so a few men from the other group got out and shut the door behind them. As John and the others got out of the car, they saw a hodgepodge of people collectively huddled in a corner with a small fire. There, a young lady was cooking what seemed like the last of their food in a pot. John could tell it was the last few meals because the portions were not even big enough to fill a dixie cup. Two men had stayed behind in the base to protect the three women and several children that remained. They raised their pistols upon seeing John¡¯s group but were told by James that they were with them. James gathered the people and they talked amongst themselves, whispering back and forth about what had happened. John stood quietly with his hands behind his back, looking around the place. Sophia and Rick were standing a little behind him. Looking around, he could see blankets spread out to indicate the sleeping area. Water was dripping through an opening in the ceiling and they had a bucket underneath to catch the water for drinking. In another corner, there was a putrid stench that wafted over, and as John looked at it, he could see a pile of feces that marked the bathroom area. He scrunched his nose from the smell and looked away. The people had been living in absolute squalor trying to avoid the infected and other marauding groups, so scared to go to the surface that they had not even moved the bathroom outside the parking lot. One of the children ran up to them, his eyes shining with excitement. ¡°Are you here to save us?¡± He asked. John smiled at the little boy, who had seemingly remained cheery throughout all the chaos happening above ground. ¡°Yeah. We are. If you want to come with us.¡± ¡°I do! Right mommy? We can go with them, right?¡± The boy said excitedly as he turned to one of the three women who had been there originally. She walked up to the boy and picked him up. Soon, the others had come to John as well. James stepped up again. ¡°After considering, we would like to accept your offer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± John said happily. ¡°We will leave in 10 minutes. Pack up anything valuable or useful.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± James said as the others scrambled to pack up. Soon, they headed out once more and were leaving the city within the hour. As the sun had already set, they drove under the cover of darkness. ¡°David, be advised, we¡¯re bringing back a large group of people and should be home in a few minutes.¡± John said into the walkie talkie they had. Phone service was down so they had resorted to walkie talkies but because of their limited range, they could only talk within a few minutes distance of the base. They usually used it to signal each other ahead of time of any changes or their approach. A moment later, the walkie talkie buzzed to life. ¡°Understood, we¡¯ll be waiting.¡± James was sitting next to the teen and he was looking at him concerned. ¡°How old are you, boy?¡± James asked. ¡°18. Turning 19 in a few months.¡± John replied. ¡°I¡¯m scared of what you must have gone through to become like this.¡± James sighed. ¡°Become like what?¡± ¡°Your eyes, boy. They¡¯re hard as steel and as cold as ice. Those aren¡¯t any eyes I¡¯ve seen in any 18 year old.¡± ¡°Well, most 18 year olds haven¡¯t lived and seen what I have.¡± John replied. He remembered his dead friend, his missing father, the mutilated bodies of the couple they had met on the side of the road, and the baby. The images of the trail of bodies in his wake as he struggled to stay alive kept him awake with nightmares on most nights. He would not be alone. Jacob cried himself to sleep, mostly because he mourned the death of his father and his comfortable life. But it was also in part because he wanted to reaffirm that his mother was really there-that her warm embrace wasn¡¯t going to suddenly vanish in a puff of smoke. ¡°Yeah. I reckon not many have.¡± James agreed. He looked out the window to make sure the other three cars were following them. Indeed, they were close on their tail. As they were leaving the base of the new group, each and every person gave John a hug and thanked him. He had to struggle not to gag at their smell, which reeked of urine, sweat, and feces. Their hairs were matted to their head, dirtied by countless nights sleeping and surviving in a basement parking lot. The eight John¡¯s group had met were relatively cleaner. James had told them that they washed up to lessen the smell, which in excess attracts infected from hundreds of meters away. Just as they were leaving the parking lot, John spotted an Escalade parked in a corner just outside. He had hopped out and quick looked around for keys. He found that there was an infected inside the driver¡¯s seat. He carefully opened the door and jumped back. As the infected man slumped and dropped out of the seat, falling to the ground, John shot him in the head before he could get up. John checked the fuel, and seeing it was full, he thanked God above for the blessing that was uniformity. Rick drove the new Escalade and they went on their way. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the four cars drove in front the warehouse, John got out of the car with the others and waited until the group were assembled in front of him. John¡¯s original group had come out of the warehouse and looked at the new arrivals warily. ¡°Welcome to the Warehouse, ladies and gentlemen.¡± John spoke. He waited for the chattering to calm down. ¡°When are we going inside?¡± One of them asked. ¡°In a moment. First we need to lay some ground rules to maintain order.¡± John said. Everyone quieted down. This was serious business and they paid close attention to make sure that they were not walking into some unfair deal or trap. ¡°In this place, we need to establish order. Previously, in both our group and the society before, we used a system of democracy to rule. Now, however, is a crucial time where survival is the most important, and those who don¡¯t contribute are hurting and endangering the lives of everyone else. Even the children.¡± John said. The parents held their kids tighter. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Although I am young, among us all, my friends and I have had the most experience dealing with the infected. I still believe in having voices heard so we will have one of your group join us in the decision making process.¡± John said. There was an outcry at his proposal. By only allowing one representative from their group while maintaining power and position in the original group, they would be effectively become subservient to them. ¡°Kid, your group is just a bunch of brats and two actual adults. Bring those two out here so we can discuss the matter with actual adults.¡± One of the men sauntered up, a hint of annoyance on his face and in his voice. John took out his gun and shot it at the man¡¯s foot, missing it by a few inches. The man hurried back and the entire group became very tense, poised to fight for their lives. ¡°Are you stupid?¡± John asked. He walked up to the man who raised the question. ¡°You little shit. Who the fuck do you think you are!¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m the only person that¡¯s standing in the way between you and a city full of infected. I think I¡¯m the only one with actual experience dealing with them and surviving here.¡± He said. ¡°Tell me. How many infected have you killed.¡± John asked. The man remained silent. James walked up trying to diffuse the situation. ¡°Look, he didn¡¯t mean any harm. We can talk this out, yeah?¡± ¡°Yes. We can. But first tell me. How many have you all killed?¡± John asked the entire group. They remained silent. They had survived mainly by hiding and sneaking around, running at the first sight of any infected. ¡°None. They won¡¯t go down by bullets.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s bullshit. A bullet to the head will knock them dead as a doorbell.¡± John replied coolly. ¡°Now I get it. I¡¯m young and in the previous world, you were accustomed to-¡± John was interrupted by the same man. ¡°What previous world? This is still the same.¡± ¡°You really are dense. Or you¡¯re just denying it.¡± John walked up to the man. ¡°There are infected roaming the city streets in the thousands, maybe the millions, ripping the flesh off of their neighbors and children. Do you really think this is the same fucking world?¡± John asked. ¡°Do your kids still go to school? Can you call the police? Can you even order a goddamn pizza, for crying out loud! What in God¡¯s name do you think this is ANYTHING like what our lives were like before?¡± The man was quiet. He was fuming, angry at the little teenager who dared speak to him like that. The man suddenly took out a pistol and aimed it at John. If words wouldn¡¯t work with the kid, it would have to be by force. Just when he took out his gun, a hand grabbed out and twisted his arm behind his back, pushing him to the ground. Sophia had tackled and disarmed him in one motion. She was standing behind the group to watch out for any movement like what had just happened. Screams erupted in the group. ¡°Are you crazy? If you are so slow to adapt to the current paradigm, thinking I¡¯m still a little kid that doesn¡¯t know left from right, why would you even think about shooting me?¡± John asked. He was annoyed immensely. ¡°James, is this man really with you?¡± John asked. His mentality seemed different than the others. ¡°He joined us a few days ago.¡± ¡°Well, I really can¡¯t deal with bullshit. Let¡¯s put it out there, now. Either you work with us, work against us, or want to get out of our way.¡± There are only three states of being. ¡°If he can¡¯t do what¡¯s necessary to secure the safety of the entire group, then there¡¯s no need to have him here. He¡¯ll constantly get in our way, keeping us from doing what is best for the group and probably convince enough people to his side, causing a falling out. If we aren¡¯t united together, then we¡¯ll fall apart and probably get ourselves killed. This man is way too slow on the uptake and will definitely hinder us in the future unless he changes his act.¡± John¡¯s mom walked up behind him, touching his shoulder. ¡°John, calm down honey. He¡¯s just out of his mind because of everything that¡¯s going on. Why don¡¯t you simply let him cool down and talk to him separately?¡± John nodded and went to James. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t like dealing with people because of this. That¡¯s why I hesitated to bring your group in. At this point, it¡¯s really not about who has power, and who¡¯s in charge, no matter the age. As long as we can get through it alive, that¡¯s all that matters. Don¡¯t you agree.¡± John asked calmly. James had a cold sweat going down his back. This teen seemed nice to his allies but was cold and heartless to his enemies. He didn¡¯t want to become his enemy. There was simply no benefit. The other side had better weapons, experience, and seemed a lot keener to changing situations and making split second decisions. James and the others were simply office workers or labourers. They were more used to getting orders than making them. Although they¡¯ve managed to stay alive, they¡¯ve gotten through by the skin of their teeth. ¡°We¡¯ll follow your suggestions but I get to have a say. Is that okay with you?¡± James asked. ¡°Perfect. If anyone else wants to voice a suggestion on plans, you¡¯re free to make them, but we¡¯ve got to follow order around here, or else we¡¯re no better than the world outside. Is that okay with everyone?¡± John asked the group. They nodded and accepted it. After some few negotiations on meals, duties and other small orders of business, John decided that they had become satisfied with the current situation and would not try to assert themselves as long as they were met with their basic needs. ¡°Alright then. David, open the gates.¡± John yelled to David who was inside. David opened the doors and the group walked in, amazed at the vast amount of food. ¡°Let me try this a second time.¡± John said, walking to the front. He turned around and opened his arms to them. ¡°Welcome to the Warehouse!¡± Chapter 15: Law and Order A huge shoutout to muffinbandit and GrimWayne for their reviews! I''ve read your suggestions, comments, and critiques and I really appreciate you taking the time to write them. I agree with some of your points and I''ll try to use them to improve my writing in future chapters. Quick comment on addressing GrimWayne''s point that the disease progressed too fast in the span of a couple hours. If you read back, you should notice that the disease actually took a few weeks to spread, and most people didn''t know what they were dealing with. A short recap on the progression would be something like: Disease discovered in Pakistan and spreads mass hysteria and chaos throughout the country. A couple hours later, countries issue quarantines to stop the spread but it fails. Somehow, the disease spreads to the US despite the countermeasures and spreads quickly through the city. If you look closely at the story introducing Abby, you can see that they brought in a man with the disease to the local hospital, but that doesn''t necessarily imply that he was the only infected at the time. HOW the disease entered the States and HOW it spread so fast, is a story for another time. P.S I know Pakistan is in South Asia. I was just making a joke at the boy''s geographical ignorance. :P All in all, thank you for your comments and I hope to continue getting these chapters out for you on a regular basis, hopefully with the implemented improvements. P.P.S I''m just going to keep calling them the infected XD Here''s the next chapter and make sure to respond to the post! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 15: Law and Order --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John and the others had detained the man in a small office room to the side of the warehouse. John walked into the room, sitting down at the other side of the table as the man. David walked into the room with his rifle resting on his front as he stood by the door. They weren¡¯t planning on using it. They¡¯d decided to do a huge bluff to act as if they were do or die types of people to scare the newcomers into order and destroy any ideas of just taking over and stealing everything they had. John had a quick meeting with Sophia, Rick, and the people back home on how to assimilate the people. They had decided the best way not to get taken advantage of was to use the carrot and stick method. John had taken the role of the stick, using the warehouse of food as the carrot. The combative man was a bonus in sealing the entire act together. John was really nervous at the time while he was confronting the man, but after asking Sophia and the others how he did, they¡¯d said he performed stupendously. They had successfully whipped the others into line. Now it was all a matter of settling things with the man. If they could convince him to obediently join the fold, that would be great. But if not, they¡¯d have to send him away. That would basically be killing him off and would not look good for John. He wanted order but not at the cost of everyone looking over their shoulder at every turn. He sat there and offered the man a mug of coffee. They had found instant coffee mix and so they¡¯d brought mugs from other homes to pass out coffee to the new members as a form of giving a hint of normalcy. It was a method of keeping them from being tense and an act of kindness such as that would go a long way after the show they had put on in front of the warehouse. The man didn¡¯t take it. ¡°We need to settle some things. We¡¯re going to be calling most of the shots but if you feel like you can give advice, we will gladly take it into consideration when making decisions. I¡¯m pretty sure we are very rational and won¡¯t do anything that would endanger the safety of the group.¡± John said calmly and slowly. He wanted to diffuse the situation and not aggravate him further. If he couldn¡¯t win him over with words, he would find another method. If that failed as well...the man was not crucial to their current operation. The man spit out to the side. ¡°I¡¯m not taking any orders from a boy who still gets weaned from his mother¡¯s teat.¡± John thought that this man may be a man of actions more than words. If he could assert dominance, it may prove enough to make the man submit. John didn¡¯t like playing alpha dog as he viewed it as a pointless game that amounted to little more than measuring dicks and how far they could shoot their pee. He nodded and got up. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s see who can win in a fight.¡± Minutes later, the two were in a ring of crates, standing a few feet away from each other. They looked into each other¡¯s eyes, sizing up their opponent. Except, John was doing most of the sizing up, while the man seemed to greatly underestimate the boy. They circled around before moving in. John had grappled with Sophia for a day and had been working on building his strength, but a few days workout and a few spars couldn¡¯t do much for his battle sense. John decided to go in for the legs and topple the man, hoping that he would fare better on the ground. The man just dodged out of the way and gave a quick jab to the boy¡¯s ribs. John stumbled from the hit and he felt the bruise forming already. He rubbed at his side and looked back at the man. The man clearly had slightly better experience so he needed to do some sneaky maneuvers to get the man to submit. They circled each other and started drawing closer. If John didn¡¯t think of something soon, he¡¯d be losing support from his group. If he couldn¡¯t take down one man, how could he take on the world? John decided he¡¯d try one of the moves Sophia used. Just as they were getting closer, John whipped out his two arms, smashing them against the side of the man¡¯s head. The man had raised his arms and blocked, slightly too slow, which only managed to lessen the impact and not negate it. John then swept his leg underneath the man and using his shoulder, pushed the man to the ground. His other leg, after losing a bit of balance, landed squarely upon the man¡¯s lower stomach, causing the wind to be knocked out of him. John then made a quick jab at the man¡¯s throat, causing him to choke. To finish it off, John pretended to take out a gun, making the shape with his hand, and put it to the man¡¯s head. ¡°Pew.¡± He said before getting up. John reached out his hand and the man took it. ¡°I may have underestimated you, kid. But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m completely okay with this. I¡¯ll see how you do and then make my decision from then on.¡± The man said before walking off, rubbing his throat. ¡°Fair enough¡± John smirked before sitting back down in exhaustion. ¡°That was sloppy.¡± A voice commented from on top of a crate. ¡°Yeah, well, it got the job done, didn¡¯t it?¡± John said, turning his head to see Sophia. ¡°You still need a lot more practice.¡± She said. ¡°Yeah? Where did you learn how to fight?¡± When he asked, Sophia¡¯s face darkened and she became more somber. Her playful smile disappearing from her face to be replaced by an impassive one, she replied. ¡°My father taught me.¡± ¡°Oh. Can I ask....what happened to him?¡± John asked tentatively. She shrugged her previous sad expression away. ¡°He was a veteran. Two tours in Afghanistan. He used to teach me martial arts and guns.¡± she chuckled. ¡°He said he was preparing me to become a super soldier so I could join the academy once I graduated high school. He just didn¡¯t want to pay and the military would have covered it.¡± She sat down next to John and continued. ¡°He¡¯d used to come home with souvenirs from all the places he¡¯d gone to on his tour and tell my mom and I stories. But one day, he came back and he just wasn¡¯t the same. He¡¯d been so lively, but one day the light in his eyes just disappeared. He¡¯d start coming home drunk and getting into huge fights with my mother.¡± Her eyes slightly reddened and watered. John was panicking. He didn¡¯t realize he¡¯d just stepped on a landmine in this girl¡¯s past. He simply did not know what to do in this situation. Give me an infected or a hundred to fight any day, but this? John thought to himself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have asked if I¡¯d known¡­¡± he began. His sentence trailed off as he didn¡¯t know how to finish. ¡°No. It¡¯s fine.¡± She said. Wiping her tears. ¡°My mother and I left the house when I was 14 and we moved from North Carolina up to Boston. We stayed there for a few years and then my mother got really sick. She passed away a month ago. The doctors say it was stage four breast cancer. There was no saving her. I lived at my aunts in this city afterwards and came to the school soon after.¡± John didn¡¯t know if he should say sorry. Didn¡¯t people who told stories like this not like it when the listeners say sorry? Something about them saying it that ticked people off thinking it was a cop-out for showing sympathy. John just wrapped his arms around her and brought her into a hug. She tensed up for a second before returning it. They stayed like that for almost a minute before letting go. She wiped her eyes. She slapped her cheeks and stood up, turning back to John. ¡°Enough of that. You fight like a girl. Come on, let¡¯s spar.¡± She said. John grinned and got up as well. They began their sparring lesson while Sophia gave pointers on how to move faster and respond to certain attacks by the opponent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After practice, John returned to the group. Everyone was given new blankets and a new set of clothes. They all had an opportunity to wash themselves and everyone looked a lot more presentable. Currently, they were sitting around eating food from one of the crates. Collectively, they had decided to splurge on a big feast the first day to satisfy their hunger and to celebrate and would returned to rationed meals going forward. There was gravy, mashed potatoes, ham, cereal in powdered milk, beans, corn, and even a bottle of fine wine being passed around. ¡°Quite the feast.¡± John remarked as he sat down next to James, David, and Rick. He looked to see that his mother had summoned her inner hostess skills and was passing out the food and mingling with the people, quickly making friends. His mother was nothing if not excellent at making friends fast. She would always surprise his family by saying she¡¯d been invited to the dinner party or wedding of some famous movie star or politician. It was like she somehow maintained the image and lifestyle of a housemom, but had more connections than the mafia. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. She wielded her skills like a champ and soon enough, the ice was broken and the group was laughing and eating, quickly becoming friends with the old group. The kids were running around and playing while exploring the place. Jacob acted as the chief of the group while Lucas acts as lieutenant, strutting around and showing the place to the younger kids. ¡°Yeah. It seems like ages since I¡¯ve had gravy.¡± James said. He took a cracker and dipped it in the mashed potatoes, soaking it in gravy before stuffing it into his mouth. ¡°mmmm...I could turn right now and I wouldn¡¯t even mind.¡± James mused in pure ecstasy. John and Rick laughed at his antics and began eating as well. They¡¯d been on meager rations as well so they took advantage of the opportunity to stuff themselves silly. Soon, everyone was lying around in their nests of blankets and fell asleep from food comas. John and James took the first watch, while Rick and David would be assigned the second. They didn¡¯t leave it to the others as they wanted them to enjoy a relaxing day and probably would just fall asleep on the job anyway. They had set up the watches in pairs to keep each other awake and accountable. They talked about little things throughout the night. John talked about his family, his dreams before the event, and his high school. James described his job and how he¡¯d joined the group early on, helping them find and set up their base in the parking lot before bunkering down. John never brought up the topic of James¡¯ daughter. He didn¡¯t want a repeat of what happened with Sophia, except with a fully grown man. If he was going to talk about it, he¡¯d do it on his own time. John learned much about other things from the man. He had been an electrical and mechanical engineer, but after having lost his job after the recession, took up work as a general contractor, doing physical labour building houses and office buildings while applying his knowledge to help give him an edge over his coworkers in getting job assignments. The basement parking lot had actually been one of his jobs to build so he knew it was safe and led the people there. His finding the shelter was what had primarily boosted him to the position of leader. ¡°I¡¯m not built to be a leader. Never was and never will be. I¡¯m just not the charismatic, take-charge type. I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.¡± He paused in thought. ¡°Seeing how much of a pinch we were in before you guys came along, I guess I failed my destiny to lead my people.¡± They chuckled. ¡°But then again, you led them to the promised land.¡± John added. Like this, they continued to talk, when John suddenly silenced James. John listened carefully and in the distance, he could hear a faint groaning. ¡°Wake up David and Rick. Tell them infected are coming. David will handle the rest.¡± John whispered to James. John didn¡¯t want to actively attract the infected so he slowly unsheathed his katana. James ran inside and soon, David, Rick, and James came outside, armed with pistols and an assault rifle each. ¡°Have you told the others?¡± John asked David. ¡°Sophia is waking them up and bring out any of the people that are ready for action and can use a gun.¡± David replied. ¡°Alright, great. I¡¯ll go thin the crowd, you guys just hold off any that get too close.¡± John said. They turned on their flashlights and beamed the light into the darkness beyond. What showed up terrified them. In the distance, they could see at least two hundred infected coming towards their general direction. In a few minutes, they would hit their location. John turned to Rick. ¡°Get Sophia to bring every able bodied man and woman who can use a gun out here. NOW.¡± Rick went in and a minute later, 9 men and women from the new group, Sophia, Abby, and Rick came outside. Each were armed with a standard assault rifle and pistol. ¡°Listen up, we¡¯ve got a horde of hundreds of infected coming towards us.¡± John said. The others became restless and fearful. ¡°Calm down. We can handle this if you keep your cool.¡± Each of you should have two magazines. We already showed you all how to fire it earlier today so it won¡¯t be much different. There are 14 people here, each with 60 bullets. That¡¯s more than enough ammo to take them. Remember to aim for the head, and only spend one bullet for one kill. If you start missing, stop and take a few deep breaths before starting. You¡¯re in good company and as long as you take down one every second or two, we can pick them off in a few minutes. Ready?¡± The others nodded a little, adjusting the straps from the guns on their shoulders. They got into a two row formation, staggering their bodies to give a clear line of shot into the direction of the horde. The rows were curved at the ends, with people checking the sides for any infected that may sneak in from their blind spots. As the infected got into their fire range, John lifted his own gun. ¡°Ready...Deep breaths and pick your targets. One...two...three...fire!¡± John shouted. Everyone shot exactly one shot towards the darkness, hitting the nearest infected. Almost none of the bullets hit the heads but some glanced off the side or didn¡¯t penetrate the skull. Cursing under his breath, he could almost laugh at how bad their aims were. Then again, he couldn¡¯t blame them. They were regular people suddenly given guns. It wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if their aim was bad. ¡°Deep breaths. Mark your targets. Fire! Fire! Fire!¡± John yelled fire every second. Eventually, the group were in synchronized rhythm, forgetting the tension and being lulled by the pulsating beat of the gunfire. Soon, they only needed one or two shots to take down one infected and they quickly cleared out over a hundred in less than a minute. ¡°Good progress! Keep at it!¡± John yelled. However, he forgot to account for one thing. Suddenly, everyone was scrambling to reload as several infected approached. John jumped in to buy them some time. Running around in the semi circular shape of the group, he sliced the heads off of nearing infected cleanly from the bases of their necks. The infected continued walking for a moment before toppling over. John continued like this, going back and forth, before he was out of breath. He wasn¡¯t slashing his way through a sea of infected. The infected were spaced out so it was more of him running around trying to keep them at bay. He would sprint to the nearest infected, stop, lift his katana, and slash sideways, twisting his body. Then, he would start sprinting to the next infected and repeat the process. It wasn¡¯t too hard as the reach of the sword allowed him to stay away from the infected person¡¯s arm reach. The sprinting was what really got to him. He looked over and saw that everyone was done reloading so he went back behind cover to catch his breath and reload. The others had become accustomed to the rhythm so they started immediately after John left the line of fire. When it was time for them to reload, John used his gun to fire and once he ran out of ammo, ran around with his sword again, cutting down any infected that would come too close. The sharp edge of the black steel katana cleanly sliced through each of the necks and spinal cords like butter. He was like a reaper of death, moving back and forth, causing heads to fly every time he swung his sword. Unbeknownst to him, the others had actually slowed down in shock and awe to see the young man fighting the horde by himself. On the third repeat of this process, no more infected could be seen and John nearly collapsed from exhaustion. The high suspense and adrenaline rush crashed his systems as he almost blacked out after finishing the fight. He had to be carried back inside by Rick and David and given almost two liters of water before he recovered. James had returned inside while Rick and David continued the night patrol. ¡°What you did out there...it was amazing. Without you, we would all have been goners.¡± James pointed out. The others in the group around all nodded and looked at John with respect and admiration he felt uncomfortable with receiving. ¡°I still never thought about reload times. I¡¯m still far from receiving such words.¡± John rebuked himself. He walked off and dropped into his sleeping nest, exhausted. Before he went to sleep, a soft voice could be heard. ¡°John¡­¡± He turned around to see Abby. ¡°Oh, hi. What¡¯s up?¡± John asked groggily. He was already half asleep so he had responded very casually as if he was meeting a friend at the mall. ¡°I just wanted to say that you were really cool out there. You were like a hero.¡± Abby said the last sentence in an almost whisper. ¡°Yeah...thanks.¡± John responded a little confused. He didn¡¯t remember doing anything extravagant to be getting such praises from her. ¡°No. Thank you, John. Really.¡± With that, Abby left. Although John was too frantic to protect his group and too tired to notice, he had singlehandedly taken down more than 30 infected with his sword alone, moving through like a righteous bolt of lightning as he cut them down. It wasn¡¯t some magic or superpowers that had amazed them. His sharp sword was more than enough to easily cut through any infected. It was the perseverance, the dedication, and the frantic wish to protect his comrades evident in his actions and eyes that had inspired them. He had quite literally thrown himself in the line of fire for them and had risked his life. With that action alone, in the hearts of all the men and women present that night, he had become respected and admired. Even the aggressive man decided to follow the boy after seeing him that night risk his life for the group. They put their full trust in him because they knew he would put his life on the line for any of them in a heartbeat. Chapter 16: Basic Training Chapter 16: Basic Training --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John woke up to the throbbing ache pulsating down his arms. The fatigue that built up while continually swinging the sword had caught up to him and was biting back in full force. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re awake.¡± David said to John. John groaned as he struggled to sit. ¡°How long was I out?¡± He asked. ¡°You¡¯ve been asleep for almost the entire day. Looks like you really wore yourself down out there.¡± ¡°Yeah. The situation sort of called for it.¡± John tried to move his arms in circles and stretched the tired muscles. It was like the burning pain you¡¯d have after a workout except a lot worse. ¡°So what did I miss?¡± ¡°Nothing much. Sophia¡¯s out front teaching them how to use the guns properly. But damn, she¡¯s something else.¡± David sighed. ¡°What do you mean?¡± David just motioned for John to follow him. As they made their way to the entrance, John noticed that almost all the people save for the children and women, were missing. ¡°Where is everybody?¡± ¡°Outside.¡± John heard the muffled gun shots coming from outside. When they walked out, John was surprised. There, the men and women were standing in two neat rows with their guns at the ready. ¡°Ready!¡± Sophia shouted as she stood at the back, pacing to and fro. The people all at once hoisted their guns. ¡°Aim!¡± Everyone lifted the guns up, aiming them down the sights. Sophia quickly walked over to one man who was standing slightly wrong. She fixed his stance and he nodded in thanks. ¡°Fire!¡± They all shot their bullets, most of them accurately hitting the set of bottles that were lined up 30 paces in front of them. They continued this for another 40 minutes as they perfected different formations and scenarios. Sometimes they would suddenly be told to fire to their flanks, shooting at imaginary infected that had managed to circle around and attack from the sides. Other times they were told to take cover and shoot behind objects. And still other times they were told to shoot while running, shoot while crouching, crawling, and even after performing a roll. They rarely shot to conserve ammunition. Sophia would walk up to them and lean in to see if their shots would hit or not. She had pretty good accuracy so based on the people¡¯s angles, she could more or less predict where the shot would hit. They trained like this until Sophia called for a break. The others nearly collapsed out of exhaustion and talked with each other animatedly. Getting to practice in such a fashion made them excited and made them feel closer as a team. ¡°This is really legit.¡± Is all John could muster after watching the training session. Sophia walked up to them and shrugged. ¡°They still need a lot of work but they¡¯re getting there.¡± ¡°How long have they been at this?¡± John asked. She checked her watch. ¡°Since around 4 hours ago.¡± John¡¯s mouth almost dropped open. They were a lot more persistent than he had thought. ¡°They¡¯re doing this because of you, you know.¡± David said. John looked at him and back at the people. They had a look of determination in their eyes while wiping their sweat away. ¡°After what you did for them and fighting a horde of infected, they¡¯d collectively got together and decided that they needed to be a lot more prepared.¡± Sophia nodded along. ¡°We made a staggered firing rotation so that we never run into the same mishap as last time with the reloading time. Once one person runs out of ammo, another steps in while he reloads.¡± ¡°Did you come up with that yourself?¡± John asked in amazement. ¡°Read it in book.¡± She said with a straight face. ¡°Ah¡­¡± John nodded. ¡°So when do you expect we¡¯d be ready to head out?¡± David asked. ¡°We¡¯ve got a bunch of stuff. Perhaps we can recruit a few more people, start training them into units, mixing the groups so they intermingle and not split up into factions. We¡¯d also probably need a few trucks to transport this much stuff south.¡± ¡°Is that a good idea? Hauling an entire warehouse of stuff with us would hinder our progress.¡± Sophia asked frowning. ¡°We don¡¯t have the manpower or the confidence to split up the group for people to stay behind and guard it either.¡± David reasoned. They were stumped. How were they going to get all these people and supplies across several states without losing precious time and jeopardizing their own safety by giving up mobility? Having trucks would be useful but it wouldn¡¯t negate the unwieldiness of the entire situation. They decided that right now, stabilizing and solidifying their own position was the most pressing issue so they postponed that problem for later. ¡°We still need to a hospital, though.¡± John remembered. They had all been distracted by the sudden influx of recruits to actually think of going back out to look for the medicine they may need in the future. The hospitals in the outer city had already been picked clean by looters. Many of them were probably already dead but trying to track them all down would take too much time and effort. ¡°We need to go deeper into the city. Somewhere the looters wouldn¡¯t have touched.¡± John said. ¡°Those are filled with infected. There¡¯d be no way anyone would go near one of those places.¡± Sophia argued. She was right. During the early stages of the spread of the disease, the first patients were brought to the hospitals to quarantine the virus, but it had spread internally, turning most of the people inside. There were probably hundreds of infected to clear out in each building before they would have access to the medicine. ¡°Perhaps we can just go in there guns blazing. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not too hard to clear a building out if we take it slow.¡± Sophia frowned. John was really driven, she could admit. But sometimes, he would try to complete his objective no matter the costs. ¡°You¡¯d be putting a lot of lives in danger, John. I don¡¯t like this idea. The others aren¡¯t ready to handle that kind of mission yet.¡± Sophia was adamant. She didn¡¯t want others to be hurt because of their goals and she definitely didn¡¯t want John to needlessly throw himself in harm¡¯s way. Seeing she would not budge on this issue, John just resigned and nodded. They could attempt the hospital run another time. As Sophia was satisfied, she got back to training the others. David, John, and she also ran alongside the group as they would run laps and do drills. As the second day together came to a close, everyone returned to the warehouse and had dinner before sitting around to talk before curfew. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The aggressive man from earlier walked up to John. His name was Harry and he was one of the original people that John had recruited. Ever since he joined the first group, he had tried to act as the leader. However, James was always the more amiable and relatable person, winning much of the support of the group. Harry wanted to be in some control over others. He hadn¡¯t realized this was simply his way of dealing with how out of control his life had become, and being in charge of others gave him back some control and sense of security. When he saw that the young boy invited them to the warehouse, he had sneered, thinking that it was a naive kid that wanted to make friends and help people. He tried to overpower the teen with his age and experience in life, but never expected that the boy would instead turn the situation back onto him. Enraged by the condescension in John¡¯s tone, he tried to take out his gun to threaten him, but Sophia disarmed him before he could realize what was going on. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Harry later had the chance to redeem his hurt pride in the fight with John but again was humiliatingly defeated. He knew now that John was stronger and a better speaker than him but he still had a lingering desire to be in charge. This all changed after that night. Watching the hordes of infected moving en masse towards them, Harry nearly peed himself in fright. John¡¯s voice shook him from his stupor but even when he lifted his gun, his arms were weak and shaky, making him miss often. When John went out in front of them to fight off the infected single handedly, Harry finally accepted the truth. He¡¯s stronger, faster, smarter, and more experienced than me. Harry was forced to accept the fact that between them, John was the more qualified to lead them. He was still extraordinarily young, but it didn¡¯t change the facts that were presented before him. He was stubborn, but not stupid. After eating dinner with them in comfort, not having to watch his back in terror and wallow in his own shit and piss, he finally felt that everything would be alright with these people. When he heard John woke up, Harry made his way to him. John was initially wary of the man, having completely even forgotten his name other than the fact that he was against John, was surprised at what he said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I acted rashly the other day. Wasn¡¯t thinking straight, I guess. Your performance the other day convinced me. I have no problems with letting you make the decisions. No hard feelings?¡± He asked, stretching out his hand. John looked at it for a second before grabbing it. ¡°Yeah. No hard feelings.¡± Harry broke out into a smile. He grabbed John by the shoulder and they walked back to the group to eat. ¡°By the way.¡± Harry said. ¡°What do you think of letting me be in charge of my own unit some day?¡± John shrugged. ¡°If you¡¯re good enough.¡± Harry¡¯s grin widened and he laughed harder. If you can¡¯t beat ¡®em, join ¡®em. Harry thought. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the others sat down to eat, Abby walked over to Sophia, who had been entertaining Jacob¡¯s questions on guns. ¡°Sophia.¡± Abby called out. Sophia looked up and saw Abby wanting to talk to her. She excused herself from Jacob. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Sophia asked her. They hadn¡¯t talked much, what with Abby busy helping John¡¯s mother take care of the kids and inventory everything in the warehouse while Sophia was going out recruiting with John. That was, however, precisely the problem. Abby had finally come to terms with the deaths of her parents and brother but as she did, she slowly began to realize how useless she had been in the group. She had barely contributed and it made her feel like dead weight. She didn¡¯t want to drag down the group that had saved her so she desperately looked for something to do. She didn¡¯t care for killing people at first, but she soon realized that she was utterly talentless. She wasn¡¯t as calculating and disciplined as David, athletic and trained as Sophia, or charismatic and driven as John. They each had a place in the group but she felt like the odd one out. I¡¯m like the ugly duckling amongst a family of lions, she thought. Racking her brain on what to do, she was awoken from her musing the other night by the sound of gunfire. She looked outside to see that the group were fighting hundreds of infected. Each one had a purpose, but when she saw they had to stop to reload, she gasped. When John walked up and started covering for them with his sword, she was mesmerized. He was the cornerstone in their group and was supporting them all single handedly. There was no way to describe it but as awe and gratitude. She thanked him for his efforts that night and went to bed feeling even more useless. John was out there fighting infected single handedly but all she could do was hide on the sidelines. She decided that she needed to toughen up, so she approached Sophia the next day. ¡°Can I join your practice tomorrow?¡± She asked hesitantly. Sophia¡¯s eyes widened. She didn¡¯t expect the sweetly innocent girl would actually ask to join their shooting practice. But at the same time, she was happy. ¡°Of course. See you on the field tomorrow evening.¡± She said. Abby broke out into a grin and nodded excitedly. ¡°Okay!¡± She almost saluted before walking off. Sophia just chuckled and shook her head, returning to Jacob. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the bombs had fallen, the city was drowned in a sea of fire and an avalanche of collapsing buildings. On one of the hills of rubble stood a man with tousled dark brown hair. His long coat hung loosely around his body as he stood overlooking the bridge that used to connect a portion of the city with the other. The bombs had destabilized it, causing the support wires to snap and collapse half of the bridge. Behind the man, the groans of the infected permeated the silent atmosphere. Occasionally, a shot could be heard ringing out and another infected would fall. The hill of rubble he was standing on was too steep to allow any of the infected a chance to get to him. Standing off to the side was another man, wiry in nature wearing a cowboy hat as he toted a large hunting rifle leisurely picking off the infected one at a time. ¡°Stop wasting ammo, Tim.¡± The man said to the wiry rifler. ¡°There ain¡¯t no harm in picking off a few here and there. I¡¯m bored out of my mind just waiting here¡± ¡°The others will be back in a few minutes. You¡¯re going to attract too many for us to handle if you keep it up.¡± The man calmly replied. ¡°Fine.¡± Tim lifted his gun. As they finished talking, two men walked up to them. One was a tall, heavy built African American carrying nothing but a machete and a backpack too small for his size. His muscles rippled and showed through his tight polo shirt. He seemed to be in his early to mid forties. He walked next to another man who was also equally muscled. This Caucasian man, had a buzz-cut and a large scar running down the line of his jaw. They both had a hard look to them that screamed they were either veterans or criminals. ¡°So? Did you find anything?¡± The man in the coat asked. The African man simply shook his head and responded in a French-Canadian accent that contrasted heavily with his stature. ¡°There is no way across that bridge. We must find another way around.¡± The African man was named Jim and his partner Gary and he used to be in the military. They had originally been stationed at one of the outer city refugee camps but it had been breached by an infected man who managed to sneak in before he turned. The camp quickly fell into ruin and the two had headed out in a stolen jeep at the first chance they could get. Tim was a bartender who had a knack for hunting, winning several competitions for big game. He had been saved by the man in the coat when he was holding off a particularly tenacious group of infected and decided to join their entourage. Jim and Gary used to be old friends with the man in the coat back when they were in high school so they quickly joined together when they met by chance on the road. The man in the coat simply looked off in the direction of the suburbs that were located across that narrow channel. His jaws clenched and his dark brown eyes flashed with a light of indescribable worry and determination. He whispered under his breath. ¡°I¡¯m coming, bud.¡± Chapter 17: Dead of Night Sorry about the late post! I''ll try to double or maybe even triple post tonight to make up for it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 17: Dead of Night --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John sat up in his blanket bed in the middle of the night. The others had long ago fallen asleep. However, he could not go to sleep. The stress of having so many lives count on him was starting to weigh down on him. He got up and took his pistol and his sword. Carefully maneuvering his feet around the sleeping bodies to avoid disturbing them, he made his way to the entrance. As he stepped outside, the cold, crisp air assaulted his face. He took in a deep breath through his nose, holding it for a second before exhaling out of his mouth. ¡°John? What are you doing out so late?¡± A voice called from behind him. He turned to see that Abby was standing by the door, looking out. ¡°I could say the same for you.¡± He replied, walking towards her ¡°I¡¯m a light sleeper. I heard a sound so I woke up. I saw you leaving and I followed.¡± She said. ¡°So what are you doing out here?¡± He turned around to look back outside. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Couldn¡¯t get any sleep. Thought I¡¯d come out for some fresh air, watch the stars.¡± Abby hesitated before walking outside and sitting next to him. She wrapped her arms around her legs and looked up at the stars as well. ¡°I decided to join basic training.¡± She suddenly spoke out. He turned to her, a questioning brow raised. ¡°You did?¡± She nodded. ¡°I wanted to be useful. I¡¯ve been a dead weight up until now and I wanted to change that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a dead weight.¡± He said. ¡°I am. I¡¯m not as experienced at fighting like Sophia or leading like you or cooking like your mom or-¡± She trailed off. He got the idea. John sat down next to her. He pulled out a piece of grass, playing with it between his two hands before tossing it. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be. Everyone has a purpose. Yours is different.¡± ¡°How so?¡± She asked. He thought for a second. ¡°You have the light.¡± He said, remembering what his father had once told him. ¡°The light?¡± ¡°I see you taking care of the kids, talking with the others and making them feel at home. You always bring a smile to their faces. Even in the hell we¡¯re living in, you still hold onto something that¡¯s a lot more precious than what I, Sophia, or anyone else can do.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± She asked curiously. ¡°Your humanity.¡± He plainly said. ¡°You still have the light in you. All the good memories of your parents, your family, and the world before are still in you. You¡¯ve got hope, Abby.¡± ¡°You do, too. Don¡¯t you, John?¡± She asked. She didn¡¯t know what he meant and what was so important about hope. He laughed in defeat. ¡°No. Not for me. All I know how to do is take the next step, keep going. I¡¯m just a walking deadman wait for it all to end.¡± Abby shook her head vigorously. ¡°No! That¡¯s wrong. You¡¯re still you, John. Always were and always will. You¡¯ve just lost sight of that.¡± John chuckled again before looking out at the stars. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying Abby. You¡¯ve got the light. To people like me, who are lost in this nightmare,¡± He pointed to the stars. ¡°You shine like the stars in the sky, showing us the way back to ourselves.¡± She stayed silent and for a long time, their eyes watched the stars. ¡°You should go in. You¡¯ll catch a cold.¡± John said after a while. He turned to see that Abby had already fallen asleep. He smiled and gently picked her up in his arms, bringing her back inside. He put her down softly in her bed before making his way back out. He looked back up at the stars and thought of his father¡¯s words. Where had his light gone? Perhaps it had gone to live amongst the stars, obscured by the passing of an endless sea of clouds. He had no way of clearing those clouds away. His only option was to keep moving forward, waiting for the day the light would once again find him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He saw that the two people on guard duty had fallen asleep. Shaking his head, he walked up to them and woke them up. Red faced, they coughed awkwardly and returned to vigilantly observing the surroundings. John decided to take a walk to cool off his head and so he started off down the narrow stretch of road. After almost an hour of aimless walking and killing any infected that crossed his path, he decided to turn back. Just when he was about to do so, he glimpsed a young teen standing off to the side of the road. ¡°Hey, you!¡± John called out, pulling out his sword and gun. He carried the gun in his left and the sword in his right. As John¡¯s voice rang out, the teen turned around and ran away at an inhuman speed into the underbrush. John gave chase and followed him, slashing through the branches and trees. Soon, he had lost sight of the teen so he gave up. The teen looked as if he was an infected but what caught his attention was how still he seemed. How focused his eyes were. He wasn¡¯t able to see the face clearly, but he could see black veins through the pale skin around the teen¡¯s eyes. Wondering who or what that could have been, John returned back to the warehouse. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Later that morning during breakfast, Abby who had been pensively thinking, spoke out. ¡°I think we need uniforms.¡± She said, still chewing on a banana. The people around her looked up. ¡°What for?¡± John¡¯s mother asked. ¡°Uniforms! Great!¡± John exclaimed happily. ¡°Do we have ranks?¡± Harry asked excitedly. Abby was taken aback by the sudden slew of responses. She shrugged. ¡°I just think it¡¯s a good team building thing, you know?¡± She said sheepishly. Sophia nodded. ¡°We are lacking in gear and protection. If we could get a large amount of kevlar, it would go a long way in helping us fight off any bites or bullets.¡± ¡°I heard they have cut-resistant kevlar fiber. It could effectively negate bites.¡± David added. ¡°Let¡¯s have it in black! Oh! We could totally make this into a uniform.¡± John said to himself, as he was taken by the idea. Abby was happy that they seemed to like the idea and she was proud at finally being able to contribute. She secretly pumped her first and mentally jumped for joy. James walked up to the animated group. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Something happen?¡± John placed his hand happily on Abby¡¯s shoulder while smiling. ¡°Abby over here just gave us a great idea.¡± Abby blushed and told James the idea. He pensively stroked his beard and nodded. ¡°I guess that¡¯s fine. We can identify our own people better and show organization. It¡¯ll help bring people in.¡± ¡°Doubt it¡± Rick said. The others turned to him. ¡°We¡¯re not some band of soldiers. We¡¯re just regular people. So are the people we¡¯re trying to save. Dressing us up in uniforms, making us do drills, is this a game to you?¡± He asked. He had these thoughts since the beginning but never let them out. John frowned. ¡°No. It¡¯s just so we can protect ourselves better.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t doing that. This is....it¡¯s over the top.¡± Rick said. ¡°Kevlar is a good idea and all but I just want to remind you that we¡¯re normal people, John. We aren¡¯t playing soldiers. The only reason I¡¯m fighting is because I have my boy to protect.¡± Rick finished what he said and remained silent. John understood he was getting ahead of himself. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll keep it in mind. But we still need better gear. I just like the idea of uniforms. Like Abby said, it shows solidarity.¡± The others seemed to not mind the idea. Rick just sighed and shrugged. James saw that Rick was dissatisfied. He offered, ¡°Rick, how about you and I help out here this time?¡± Rick looked up. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°I heard from John that you used to be an architect. You must have some experience and I used to be a laborer before becoming a general contractor. I¡¯ve been thinking we could reinforce the base, maybe make the fences outside stronger.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Rick¡¯s mood somewhat improved. He didn¡¯t like fighting if he didn¡¯t have to, so when given a nonviolent alternative, he would gladly take it. He agreed and the two went off to gather a few others to help out. In the end, a team of 6 were assembled including Rick and James. Four of the construction team would head out to the local home improvement store and see if they could get tools and building materials. As Rick and James were making the plans, John, Sophia, Abby, and David planned how to get the equipment. ¡°We should try the police station.¡± David said. ¡°The most probable place to find kevlar vests are there.¡± ¡°What if there are people there?¡± Abby asked. ¡°Depends, if they¡¯re friendly, we can ask them to join us. If not, we get out. There¡¯s no point in trying to fight them.¡± The four friends went with a few of the others and everyone left to complete their respective tasks. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As John and the gang took one of the Escalades towards the police station, they noticed a striking lack of infected around the area. ¡°Do you think they were attracted somewhere?¡± David asked. ¡°Maybe there were survivors running through and led them all away.¡± Sophia shook her head and pointed. ¡°Doubt it. Look.¡± As she said, they all slowed down to see a massive pile of bodies burning. It seemed that someone had cleared out this area and burned the bodies to stem the infection. ¡°It¡¯s like the Plague.¡± Abby mentioned. ¡°What?¡± David asked. ¡°The Plague. Back in the day, so many people died that they had to burn the bodies. It was to try to stop the spread of the disease. The smell of the bodies were so bad that they had to carry around something to block the smell. That¡¯s what the origin of the song ¡®Ring around the rosies¡¯ is about.¡± She explained. The others were surprised that she was so knowledgeable. ¡°What? I read.¡± She defended herself. ¡°But who could have done it? As far as I know, the military hasn¡¯t been clearing the cities out like this.¡± David said. ¡°Let¡¯s keep our eyes peeled.¡± John replied. They hadn¡¯t seen anyone yet so they carried on towards the direction of the police station. When they got close, David stopped John. ¡°Stop here. Let¡¯s walk from here.¡± When John wanted to ask why, David answered before he could. ¡°There may be people. We can scout first and then work from there.¡± They decided to follow his advice to err on the safe side so they parked the car and walked the rest of the way. The lack of infected had made them cautious. A group that could so thoroughly exterminate a large portion of the infected in the area was one that was most likely highly trained and armed. If they were not friends, they would make the most troublesome of enemies. As they turned the corner on the street, they saw the police station on the other side of the road, one block down. A car drove out of the station and moved down a street. Two guards stood in front. They stopped as they saw two men patrolling the area wearing riot gear. In every sense of the word, they looked like SWAT. ¡°Should we go? They seem to be well trained. There¡¯s no way we could get anything from there.¡± Sophia said. John and David nodded in agreement. There was no way, despite their experience, that they could handle going up against trained SWAT. Even in the case that they weren¡¯t police, just by the fact that they cleared out the area, they were deterred from making a confrontation. ¡°Wait! Maybe they¡¯re good guys like the others. Shouldn¡¯t we at least ask them?¡± Abby asked. John shook his head. ¡°Too risky. We can¡¯t expose ourselves to them. All we can do right now is get as much intel on them and leave quietly. Sophia, can you take Abby and go see if you can get a better angle from above on the station?¡± Sophia nodded and brought Abby with her. They entered a nearby building and made their way up. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can¡¯t get closer to the station¡± John said. ¡°I thought you said it was too risky.¡± David questioned. ¡°It is, but what isn¡¯t? Are you coming?¡± ¡°You crazy bastard. Yeah I¡¯m coming.¡± They made their way closer to the station, making sure to stay out of the line of sight. There were a few buildings between them and the station and some of them had partially collapsed under the blast. They hid behind the rubble and cars as they got closer. Soon, they had their backs again . On either side of the front to the station were roadblocks and barbed fencing. Police cars and trucks were parked in front and the two uniformed men were sitting together, sharing a smoke together. The two could hear their voices travelling . ¡°Did you hear what happened to the Broods?¡± One rough sounding Irish man said. ¡°Yeah. The fucks tried to hit the Hill. I heard Rajan¡¯s men killed half of them.¡± ¡°Crazy bastards would throw themselves at a grabber if given the chance.¡± The two laughed but the boys were confused. The Hill as they knew it, was the name the locals would give to the city hall, which, coincidentally, sat on a hill. But who was Rajan and the Broods? They hadn¡¯t seen any sign of this in the few weeks they had been in the outskirts so there must have been more people further in. A real concern is that the blast seems to have left many people alive, which is frightening because that means the infected weren¡¯t reduced much either. There were too many sudden new variables to keep account of and not enough information. However, neither of the men said much of any importance afterwards. ¡°You think we should try to take them down?¡± John asked for David¡¯s thoughts. After thinking, David shook his head. ¡°Like you said, too risky. We should just turn around, make our way back and pick up other gear on the way.¡± Just as they were about to leave, a voice rang out from behind them. ¡°Well look at that. We¡¯ve got two visitors, boys.¡± They swiveled around to see that four men in police uniforms were standing behind them. ¡°Shit.¡± John said under his breath. ¡°Apprehend them, boys.¡± The lead man said. The guys came up and hit them across the temples with the butt of their rifles and they both lost consciousness. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John groggily came awake at the sound of a voice. ¡°Hey. Wake up!¡± Suddenly a hard slap fell across his left cheek. ¡°Wha-¡± ¡°Shut it.¡± One of the blurry men said. John couldn¡¯t open his right eye and he felt a throbbing pain from it. ¡°You boys have been quite naughty.¡± A voice said. He looked up to see one of the police men walking in front of his chair. He looked around the room to see that it was one of the jail cells and that all of his weapons were taken from him. David was nowhere to be seen but he could hear screaming coming from another cell. ¡°It¡¯s time we put you under questioning to see just what exactly you were doing snooping around, huh?¡± The policeman said. He leaned in and with one hand, grabbed John¡¯s face so hard, he could feel his cheeks digging into his teeth. ¡°Who are you with, boy? The Broods? The Wangs?¡± John didn¡¯t know what he was talking about so he stayed silent. The policeman grew more serious and whispered. ¡°Are you one of Rajan¡¯s boys? Did he send you?¡± John was too out of it to answer or even defend himself. ¡°Not talkative? Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll come around.¡± The man lifted up a flap on his belt and took out a taser. He turned it on and a crisp buzzing sound of electricity coursed through the air, causing John¡¯s hairs to stand on end. The man shoved the taser straight into his rib, and the jab sent bolts of lightning through every fiber of his body. His fists clenched and he screamed out in agony. The man leaned in to whisper in John¡¯s ear. ¡°They always talk in the end.¡± John blacked out as he could no longer resist the pain. He entered the void of unconsciousness under the sound of the man''s laughter. Chapter 18: Bad Cop, Worse Cop Chapter 18: Bad Cop, Worse Cop --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Oh my God, they have John and David.¡± Abby gasped as she saw the men surround the two boys on the street below. ¡°Damn. I can¡¯t get a clear shot.¡± She murmured. Even if she could somehow manage to kill or disable the four men surrounding John and David, there was no guarantee she could do it in time before one of them shot the boys. Nor did she know if guards inside would come out and see her shooting, possibly endangering everyone in the unit. She picked up her walkie talkie and called it in. ¡°Advising the base and all units on the ground, we have hostile groups out in the police station. They¡¯ve taken John and David. They¡¯re alive, but I don¡¯t know for how long. Please advise, over.¡± After a few seconds, the walkie talkie buzzed to life. ¡°We¡¯re coming over.¡± Rick¡¯s voice came through the walkie talkie. Sophia could do nothing but continue to observe the situation. ¡°Stay alive, guys.¡± She wished in her heart. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John¡¯s mother wept when she heard the news and tried to go save her son right away, but James stopped her. ¡°Let me go! I have to go to my son. He needs me!¡± She cried while struggling in his grasp. The others stood somber as they also felt fondly for the boys who had saved and led them. Jacob was trying to hold back tears. ¡°Is John going to die, too?¡± He was the only man left in the warehouse to protect his mother. He had to stay strong, our at least that¡¯s what he kept telling himself. James tried to comfort John¡¯s mother. ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll get your John back. I promise.¡± He didn¡¯t know whether they could, but they had to at least try. Rick nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll get him back.¡± ¡°Are we taking on an entire group of armed people just to save two kids?¡± The others looked towards who had said such a thing, and it was Harry. John and Jacob¡¯s mother, Jessica Rider, could not believe what had come out of the man¡¯s mouth. She stood up and walked up to him and gave a resounding slap across his face. With seething anger, she said through clenched teeth, ¡°That¡¯s my son. And we are going to get him. If you have a problem, leave.¡± Harry rubbed his cheek. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that we shouldn¡¯t save them. Do we even have a plan? Those are real people with guns, Jessica. This is not some game of king of the hill we¡¯re doing here.¡± James put his hand on Harry¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We take care of our own. You understand? They don¡¯t know about us. We still have the element of surprise.¡± Rick was already planning on how to save the boy who had rescued him and his son when they were mere days away from starvation and death. The others had already gotten their guns and were ready to go. All they needed was a plan. ¡°We try to stay as quiet as possible. We can take down the guards at the front and slowly make our way inside. If we get found, we open fire and take down everyone as fast as we can.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t work.¡± Dan, one of the others said. ¡°We don¡¯t know where he is. If we go in guns blazing, they¡¯ll probably hold them hostage and we¡¯ll never get to them.¡± ¡°They¡¯re already holding them hostage!¡± Jessica Rider said. ¡°This isn¡¯t a matter of whether or not we can get to them. It¡¯s a matter of whether we can do it without getting ourselves killed.¡± James reasoned. They were stumped. How would they be able to get to the boys without getting caught or killed in the process? ¡°Is the front entrance the only way in?¡± James asked Sophia on the radio. ¡°Let me check.¡± She said. After almost 10 minutes, she radioed back. ¡°Yeah it looks like it¡¯s a service entrance. It looks locked.¡± ¡°We can get through that.¡± Pete said. ¡°We picked up a few drills on our supply run. We could use those to break the lock and get in but it¡¯s going to make a lot of noise.¡± ¡°We need a distraction.¡± Rick thought. He suddenly had an idea. ¡°We use the infected. Draw them in towards the front and we go in through the back, take out anyone from behind. It¡¯ll keep them occupied and we can search the building.¡± ¡°That¡¯s suicide!¡± Harry yelled. ¡°How are you going to attract them? There¡¯s no way you can control that large of a group plus prevent any more from coming in from the gunfire!¡± ¡°Sophia said there weren¡¯t a lot of infected in the area. If we take a group from someplace else and lead them there, there¡¯s probably not going to be any surprises.¡± Rick argued back. ¡°Do we have another option?¡± James sighed. ¡°We could take hostages of our own! We could sneak in at night and kill them in their sleep! There are so many other options!¡± Harry yelled back frustrated. Rick shook his head. ¡°They¡¯ll probably have patrols at night and we don¡¯t know if hostages will work. They could just as easily just kill off the boys out of spite. We don¡¯t know how they operate.¡± ¡°I like the night idea though. We could combine the two. Hold the infiltration at night would confuse the people more and give us more time to get in.¡± James said. ¡°You¡¯re all looking for death.¡± Harry said and walked away in frustration. ¡°I¡¯ll handle bringing the infected. You guys can come up with an entry and extraction plan in case anything goes wrong.¡± Everyone nodded and they got to work planning. ¡°I can¡¯t lose my son, too. Please. Oh please, be alive.¡± Mrs. Rider pleaded in her heart. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John went in and out of consciousness. Whenever he awoke by a strong slap or a bucket of some liquid splashed in his face, he would be questioned. ¡°Who sent you here?¡± ¡°No one.¡± A taser would follow after that kind of answer. The man in the policeman suit did not like such an answer. ¡°Are you alone.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± John couldn¡¯t give away the position of his friends. He still got a jab in the stomach or the ribs for the answer anyway. There was no satisfying the man. ¡°You lying to me, boy? I told you to tell me the truth. Do my words pass right through you, huh?¡± He would emphasize each question with a forceful hit to John¡¯s thighs, arms, shins, or ribs. He felt that several of his bones were broken. He had barely done anything to oppose or upset the man, yet he seemed to take pleasure in beating the living daylights out of him. When next he awoke, he was taken into another room. It was similar to an interrogation room except it had been decorated with the brilliantly cheerful color of blood. Skin, hair, teeth, fingers, even an eyeball were strewn around the room as if they had been thrown about by a rampaging bear. He looked up to see a despicable man. With greasy blonde hair and a pudgy face. His potbelly protruded out of a dirty blue colored shirt emblazoned ironically with the city police department shield. John had to spit out a ball of congealed blood that had gathered in his mouth. It spun away, landing with a splatter next to the excavated eyeball. It was quite marvelous really. The eyeball had somehow remained intact during extraction and most likely had been scooped out right from the socket. As John glanced at the eyeball, it failed to escape the notice of the man, and he grinned proudly. ¡°You like that? Your friend was brought in here before you and he wasn¡¯t too cooperative, you see.¡± The man¡¯s words implied more than enough. John¡¯s face paled. David had held out but at what cost? ¡°We decided to take a little souvenir from him.¡± The man said as he shambled over to the eyeball. He picked it up and brought it to the metal interrogation table. He sat down on the other side, lifting up the eyeball to the light to admire it. ¡°Fascinating thing, this. You wouldn¡¯t imagine how much blood and screams came out of him as we were taking this out. We had to get two others to hold him down so I could pull this gem out.¡± The man gloated. John raged. He struggled in his chair. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Piss off!¡± John yelled, spitting another ball of blood at the man¡¯s face. He dodged it, but it landed on his clothes. The man¡¯s face grew red and he stood up. ¡°You stained my shirt you little fuck.¡± The man said as he slammed his fist into the side of John¡¯s already swollen face. He once again grabbed his face. ¡°Here, let me give you a little treat.¡± The man pried open John¡¯s mouth and stuffed the eyeball in it. John tried to resist but the hand was too strong and he didn¡¯t have enough strength. The man¡¯s filth covered hands pushed the eyeball into John¡¯s mouth and closed it. John¡¯s eyes watered in disgusted and he could feel the bile already forming at the back of his throat. The man pinched John¡¯s nose, blocking airflow. He also covered John¡¯s mouth, forcing him to swallow. And with no choice and a rapidly decreasing air supply, he did. As the slimy mass went down his throat, tears of pain, disgust, and anger poured out of his own eyes. At long last, the man stepped back, and John immediately hurled onto the floor in front of him. The swallowed mass once again reemerged and he puked until there was only bile. He yelled for a long time out of shock and anger, trembling visibly as veins all over his body popped out as he struggled against his restraints. His wrists had chafed until the raw muscles against the rough used to tie them. He could feel the blood from various cuts and wounds all over his body seeping down towards the ground. He lowered his head again in exhaustion. The recent regurgitation had taken whatever energy he had managed to regain during his short, but blissful, reprieves. ¡°Now I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve had formal introductions. My name is Lieutenant Steve. What¡¯s yours?¡± John didn¡¯t say anything. Steve frowned and picked up a dismembered finger. ¡°You know, there are a lot of other things that we can allow you to sampl-¡± ¡°John.¡± He said. ¡°It¡¯s John.¡± ¡°Well John, now wasn¡¯t that easy?¡± The man sat back and smiled, placing his hands on his stomach. ¡°Now look, I know you¡¯re concerned about your friend. You want to keep him alive? I can do that. What do you want?¡± He asked. ¡°Tell me what you want, John.¡± John didn¡¯t reply. ¡°Tell me how you want to deal with this situation you¡¯ve put you and your friend in. You can¡¯t go back home. But you don¡¯t have to let your friend go through this anymore. Let me help you find the strategy to save your friend. Who are you working for? Why did you--come snooping around our home?¡± The man asked patiently. ¡°For the last time...We work for no one. We just came looking for supplies and we saw that there were people. That¡¯s it.¡± John struggled to say. The man sighed. ¡°John, you know I had a lot of faith in you. I believed you would be better than this.¡± He stood up with a sigh and walked up behind John. ¡°But it looks like I was wrong.¡± Suddenly he slammed John¡¯s head against the table, holding it there. The force was so strong that it had split a wound open on his forehead and a pool of blood collected around his head. ¡°I really didn¡¯t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.¡± The man took out a long knife and started to tap it against the table only an inch away from his eyes. ¡°Now...should I take an eye? A finger? An ear?¡± And as he said that last body part, the man leaned down and licked John¡¯s ear. John summoned from some unknown place, a new-found energy and slammed his head into Steve¡¯s face. Steve cursed as he took several steps back. His nose had become crooked and it was bleeding. The shock had caused him to clamp his mouth down on his still protruding oral organ, which had been bitten through halfway. Steve quivered in anger and was about to attack John, when a man ran into the room. ¡°Steve! Infected coming straight toward us!¡± The man said frantically. Indeed, as John listened, there were countless groans and moans and the rhythmic pops of gunfire. Steve turned to John. ¡°Wait right here, you brat. I¡¯m not done with you.¡± His words were garbled as he tried to talk around his injured organ. Cursing, he left the room and the door slammed shut. John immediately began to try to undo his bindings. John noticed that Steve had dropped the knife onto the ground after having his face smashed in by John¡¯s head. John struggled to bounce the chair near the knife and with great difficulty, tipped the chair over. As the chair fell, it slammed against the ground and a searing pain stabbed at John¡¯s ribs and legs. He was positive a few bones had been broken and the force of the impact had done little to help him. He wiggled over and grabbed the blade with his fingers. As he struggled to reposition the blade towards the ropes tying his hands, he heard the groans of the infected growing louder. To hear it from here, it most likely signalled an extremely large body of infected numbering in the thousands. He finally renegotiated the position of the knife and frantically moved his wrists up and down, slowly whittling away at the rope. After what felt like an eternity, he finally cut through the rope and freed his arms. He could barely move them because of the injuries on his wrists that stung at every movement. The entire process of cutting his arms had left his entire arms burning. He bent over and did the same for his legs and crawled up from the ground, almost slipping on the floor that was slick with blood. Whether it was his or David¡¯s, he did not know. As he made his way to the door, he stumbled and walked to the door. He tried opening it with the handle, but it was locked. Of course it¡¯s locked, John muttered to himself. Hyperventilating to prepare himself for what he was about to do, he rammed his arm into the door, trying to break it down. He gasped as the pain once again paraded through his body. He slid down against the door and gasped for breath as he waited for the pain to subside. Once it did, he stood back up and continued again. After the fourth repetition of this, he slammed through the door, breaking the lock. The door had been an old, wooden door and the interrogation room had been only retrofitted from an office room. As he stumbled out, he hit the window on the other side of the narrow hallway, looking down on the lot in front of the police station. There, he could see countless infected shambling towards the police station. the policemen were futility struggling to keep the infected at bay. There were so many that it felt as if the collective heads of the infected manifested into an undulating sea of death. His face paled and his breath quickened as he pushed himself off the window and looked around. There was a stairwell at the end of the hallway and he walked towards it. His vision swayed and dimmed with each passing step and his breath was ragged. He could feel each heart beat pushing blood through his veins, seeping out of the various wounds across his body. He made it to the door of the stairwell and opened it. He made his way downwards, clutching onto the knife as it was his only defense and with the other hand, grasped the railing. As he went downstairs, he came out into the jail holding area and he looked for David. Not being able to find him, John made his way to the door. Just as he was about to go, he heard a groan. He turned around and saw that in the back of one of the cells, was a figure huddled into a ball. ¡°David?¡± John called out. He walked up to him slowly, opening the jail cell door with a button on the wall. David remained motionless, lying there on the ground. As John approached, he took out his knife, expecting the worst. He slowly reached out his hand and touched David¡¯s back. He turned David around. John put a hand to his mouth in shock at what he saw. Chapter 19: David Chapter 19: David --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rick gripped the wheel of the car nervously. He had taken one of the spare station wagons from James¡¯ group and was now driving in the area located around six blocks from the police station. Sitting behind him were Pete and Harry. Harry wasn¡¯t happy having to put himself on the line for, what he believed, was a suicide mission. ¡°I think we¡¯re far enough.¡± Rick said, stopping in front of a sizeable group of infected. ¡°Ready?¡± He asked the two in the back. ¡°Yeah, just say when.¡± Pete said. Harry just nodded. Rick rolled down all the windows and he counted to three. ¡°Now!¡± He shouted. The three started yelling at the top of their lungs and clanking metal pipes and crowbars against the side of the car¡¯s metal frame. ¡°We¡¯re over here!¡± ¡°Come get us!¡± They shouted at the top of their lungs and in the stillness of night, the ruckus crashed through the air like a foghorn. Hundreds of infected in the area turned to them and started walking their way. Rick put his foot on the gas and they moved forward slowly, allowing the infected to follow them while maintaining a safe distance. As they drove forward, more and more infected were drawn by the noise and they soon had a veritable horde of infected nipping at their heels. One by one, the infected that were wandering about were attracted by their noise. As they got closer to the police station, the guards could be seen looking in their direction. ¡°Stop!¡± One of them yelled. He lifted his gun and started firing on the car. their windows shattered and the car was filled with bullet holes. With a pop, one of the tires blew, almost making Rick lose control. Right before hitting the blockade, Rick swerved to the left, driving down the next road. Just as he was making the turn, Pete threw out a flashbang from the car at the guards. The guard was taken aback and didn¡¯t react fast enough before the flashbang went off, sending out a searing light and a piercing noise through the night. The trio in the car drove away, not daring to make any more noise. At the blockade, the gunfire and the flashbang had attracted the attention of the infected and had confused the guard. As the car swerved away, it moved out of the line of sight of the infected and the majority of the horde descended upon the pitiful guards. Rick and the hit-and-run team high fived each other as they drove away. Laughing, Harry exclaimed, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that would actually work!¡± ¡°Holy shit. I can¡¯t believe we actually just did that.¡± Pete said as well, clutching his rapidly beating heart. Their car, however, soon sputtered to a stop as the bullets had left it far too destroyed to drive any longer. ¡°Damn. Looks like this car is fried. We have to look for another car.¡± Rick said as he got out and ran to the nearby cars, hoping the keys were still there and the car still ran. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Hurry up. I hear them starting to fight.¡± Sophia whispered. Their team were in charge of infiltrating the station while the police were distracted by the infected in the front. The back was an alleyway separated from the roads on the front so there was no problem of having to deal with the infected. ¡°I¡¯m working as fast as I can. Now be quiet while I focus.¡± James said as he put the drill tip into the keyhole. He turned it on and a whirring noise sounded as the drill penetrated the hole, spraying out scraps of metal. After a minute, he finished and opened the door slowly. Two of the guys waiting with guns went in first, weapons ready. Sophia followed afterwards with a pistol. James packed up his tools, throwing them into the back seat of the Escalade. He quickly followed the group as they went inside. As they carefully traversed the abandoned hallway, they could hear the gunfire coming from the front. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re busy out there.¡± James commented. ¡°We¡¯ve got to get in and out quickly. If their line of defense falls, we¡¯re next.¡± Sophia warned. They slightly picked up the pace but remained vigilant. They had to check each of the rooms on the first floor as there was no way they could tell where John and David were being held, or if they were still alive at all. They had promised Jessica Rider that they¡¯d bring her back her boy, dead or alive. As they checked the rooms, what they saw startled and disgusted them. Some rooms looked as if they had come straight out of a horror film. Blood and guts were spread about and covered the floors and walls. In other rooms, to their dismay, were bodies of young girls and women, lying dead and naked on the floor. Others had been propped up in obscene and unnatural positions. ¡°These sick fucks.¡± James cursed. ¡°Some of these girls don¡¯t even look like they¡¯re thirteen.¡± Indeed, there were not a shortage of underaged females among the deceased. The rooms stank of piss, feces, and semen. Unable to even give the girls a proper burial, they left with heavy hearts filled with anger. As they entered the main hall, several men ran passed them towards the entrance. The group was almost discovered if not for the quick thinking of Sophia, who led them to hide behind a few office desks. Waiting to make sure no one else came, the group proceeded to the other side of the office atrium and opened the door into the holding cells. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John could barely recognize his friend. Nearly David¡¯s entire face and body was covered in a layer of blood. His left eye was gouged out, the gaping cavity filled only by the viscous flowing blood. His legs seemed to be bent at a weird angle and his fingernails were missing. Laceration, bruises, and a variety of other wounds adorned his naked upper body. His hair was matted with blood seeping out of a wound at the back of his head. John couldn¡¯t bare to look at the horrendous state of his friend. He remembered how Sam had died, gutted by a pole and half eaten at the neck by an infected. He had lost one friend and he swore he wouldn¡¯t lose another. ¡°David. David, wake up.¡± John tried to coax the boy awake. He received no answer. ¡°Come on bud, don¡¯t do this.¡± John said. He put his blade underneath David¡¯s nose but there was no airflow. David¡¯s nose had been broken and blood must have clotted his nasal cavities. He checked David¡¯s pulse but it might have been too faint, as he did not feel a pulse. Putting his ear against David¡¯s mouth, he tried to hear breathing. Faintly, he could hear a faint wheezing accompanied by a gurgle of blood. John breathed a sigh of relief. His friend was just barely alive. Turning David on his side, John gentle patted David¡¯s back until he coughed up the blood. John checked his breathing. It still seemed as if it was strained, but he was breathing ¡°Shit. David, I¡¯m so sorry. This is all my fault.¡± John was cursing at himself. It was he who suggested getting closer to the police station. He wanted to check the situation out despite David insisting they return home, and he had paid the price in John¡¯s stead after they were caught. With angry tears, he gingerly picked David up and dragged him out of the holding cell while enduring his own pain. His ribs screamed as he pulled David up. Just as he was about to open the door to leave, the handle turned and the door swung open. Shocked, John fumbled to take out his knife to protect himself and David. But against his expectations, what stood in front of him was salvation. Sophia and James saw the two and they broke into smiles before they froze, seeing their condition and the incapacitated David. ¡°You came for us.¡± John smiled in relief. He had been running on adrenaline until now so seeing the rescue, almost all his strength left him. He stumbled under the weight of David and his own body, and Sophia and James ran up to help him. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill these fucking bastards.¡± James cursed as he held up David. Sophia, after overcoming her shock, also held John¡¯s arm to support him. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been better.¡± John said with a ragged voice. He was a minute from passing out. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll get out of this.¡± Sophia reassured him. He simply winced as he re-positioned himself to better use the girl¡¯s support. They made their way back out of the door and walked towards the other side of the building. The men outside were too occupied with the infected that they didn¡¯t notice the passing group. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Just as they were about to reach the other side, a scream could be heard. They turned to see that one of the infected had suddenly sped up, lunging forward to grab at one of the men. Despite his attempts at shaking him off, the infected would not let go, crawling up towards his neck, and then biting down. The man¡¯s screams died out in a fountain of blood. In quick succession afterwards, the defensive line fell. ¡°We have to go. Now!¡± James yelled as they pulled the two along. The heard an almost animalistic howl escape from the mouth of one of the infected. It seemed to agitate the infected as they become more active and aggressive. The group finally made their way into the hallway. As they were walking, the infected had made their way passed the police and were making their way towards them. A few of the infected actually walked slightly faster than the others in jerking motions, which made it hard for the two others in the group to shoot at them. They broke into a run for the door and managed to get outside and shut the door just as the infected almost made it to them. As James was holding the door, he yelled out. ¡°Start the car!¡± Sophia jumped into the driver¡¯s seat and started the car while the other two put David and John into the back seat. Right as the car was about to leave, James ran to the car and dived into the back seat as it drove away. Panting, they didn¡¯t speak for a while. ¡°What was that?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them act like that before.¡± ¡°Who knows. All I know is they¡¯re a lot more aggressive than before.¡± James muttered. His was deep in thought. ¡°Are they changing?¡± Sophia asked. This made everyone¡¯s heart skip a beat. If they were, that would be extremely bad for them. They weren¡¯t equipped or ready to handle that kind of heat. ¡°Let¡¯s just get home as fast as we can.¡± John managed to say. His everything and everywhere were hurting so after saying so, he passed out. David had not woken the entire time, remaining motionless. ¡°I hope those sons of bitches were torn limb from limb.¡± James said as he looked at the condition of the boys. ¡°How are they looking?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°Not good. It looks like they¡¯ve got broken bones in their legs, ribs, arms. And David¡¯s eye¡­¡± His voice trailed off for a moment. ¡°We need medicine. And a professional. We can¡¯t treat this on our own.¡± ¡°Where are we going to get one?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°The hospitals are probably the most dangerous places in the city and I doubt that we¡¯ll be able to find a doctor.¡± ¡°I can do first aid, but that won¡¯t help much in the long run if they get an infection.¡± James responded. ¡°Bill, you have alcohol on you?¡± James asked one of the men. He sheepishly handed over a flask. James promptly poured it onto a clean cloth and wiped their wounds. He poured a large bit on David¡¯s eye and wiped away the blood. He kept David¡¯s head elevated to reduce swelling and wrapped a piece of cloth around the eye. There was no way to set the bones so they just left them as still as possible. They arrived back at the warehouse a few minutes later. Rick and the others were waiting by their car. When they saw the Escalade roll in, they hurriedly walked up to them. James stepped out of the car only to be assaulted by Ms. Rider¡¯s questions. ¡°Did you find him? How is he?¡± She asked. James just nodded his head before looking at Rick. ¡°We need two stretchers.¡± He said. Rick nodded. ¡°We can use the pvc pipes and some of the blankets. He and the others went off and in a few minutes came back with makeshift stretchers. As John and David were placed on the stretchers and brought out, John¡¯s mother started to cry, running to her son¡¯s side. ¡°Oh, John. Oh how could they do this to you.¡± she choked out in between her sobs. Jacob was held back from seeing his brother by Abby. She didn¡¯t want him to see John like that. ¡°Let me go! I want to see him!¡± He would yell. ¡°We¡¯ve got to wait. They¡¯re really hurt and they need their rest. If you bother them now, it¡¯ll make things harder for them.¡± She said. It quieted him down and he stood there, trying to not cry. James and the others led the boys to the back of the warehouse, where they tried to create a sterile environment in the office room. The boys were placed on tables with blankets. They proceeded to do what they could. They wiped the blood clean from their bodies and dressed the exterior wounds. Only one of them had a slight clue as to how to set the bones. As there were no exposed bones, she moved the bones inside until it felt like they were together and wrapped it with a towel and gauze before trying to make a makeshift cast with sticks and string. It was a slipshod job but they hoped it would get the job done. There didn¡¯t seem to be internal bleeding so they were thankful for that. As James and the ¡°medical¡± team stepped out of the room, Ms. Rider stood up. ¡°How is he?¡± She asked. Sophia, Jacob, Lucas, Abby, and a few others were waiting outside. ¡°We cleaned most of his wounds and tried to set the bone but until it starts healing and they wake up, we can¡¯t really tell for sure. We¡¯re no doctors, Jessica. We need medicine, painkillers, and someone who knows what they¡¯re doing to look at them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make a hospital run.¡± Sophia said. James just shook his head. ¡°We talked about that. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°Then where else can we get medicine?¡± Abby asked. ¡°They said something about Rajan.¡± A weak voice came out of the room. The others turned around to see that John had woken up. They ran inside, John¡¯s mother being the first to arrive at his side. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I should never have let you go.¡± She said as she once again broke into tears. ¡°It¡¯s okay, mom. I¡¯ll live.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to get medicine for you and David.¡± John¡¯s mother said. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay. We¡¯ll figure this out. Just leave it to me.¡± John smiled. His mom always used to say that when he had a problem whether it was a bully at school or college tuition, she would jump to help him carry whatever burden he had. Even now, despite everything that¡¯s happened, she was still his mother. ¡°I heard the police talk about The Broods and some guy named Rajan.¡± John took in a shaky breath as his ribs were still hurting. Ironically, his ribs were just extremely bruised and his shoulder had been broken instead from smashing his body against the door. He explained everything he heard before and during his stay at the station. ¡°The Broods were destroyed by Rajan. He seems to be a big shot. If anyone has medicine. It¡¯s him.¡± James exclaimed. ¡°If we can cut a deal with him, we might be able to get our hands on some medicine.¡± ¡°No.¡± John¡¯s voice rang out firmly. ¡°We don¡¯t get anywhere near Rajan. He seems more vicious than the police or the Broods, which is saying something based on what we¡¯ve seen.¡± John looked at David lying next to him. ¡°There¡¯s no other choice!¡± Sophia said. ¡°We could trade away some of our food. We¡¯ve got more than enough.¡± John tried to shake his head but his neck hurt too much to move. ¡°No. If he finds out we have so much food, he could send his people to fight us. That¡¯s putting a lot more people at risk for just the two of us.¡± Harry, who had been standing to the side, felt a little awkward hearing the words he had once said repeated by the very person he had meant it towards. ¡°We¡¯ll tough it out for now. If we get through this okay, there¡¯s no problem. If there is, then we¡¯ll rethink our strategy. But no Rajan.¡± John was adamant. He did not want to bring more harm on his friends for his own sake. Seeing they showed no reaction, John said, ¡°Promise me.¡± He looked at each of the people in the room. One by one, they all promised him, and after the last person gave their word, John¡¯s eyes softened and he went back to sleep. The others left him be as they discussed more matters privately. ¡°Are we really not going to do anything and just wait?¡± Sophia asked them. ¡°Of course not.¡± James said. ¡°We¡¯ll head out tomorrow at dawn. If Rajan seems okay, we try to make a deal. If not, we leave.¡± Ms. Rider nodded approvingly and Abby also showed her support. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s see how great this Rajan is.¡± Chapter 20: Downtown So I think an explanation for the title is in order. The reason why I chose the Suffering of Man over something more telling on the main theme than a play on the word dead or zombie, was because I tried to focus on the interpersonal relationships moreso than the actual infected. Of course, I like my share of action and all, but the Suffering of Man also has to do with a specific portion of the human condition I wanted to explore which is suffering and pain and how people react or survive in spite of that. My later books (I won''t spoil what they''re about) focus on different aspects of humanity as well. But seeing as there is a strong support for me to change the title, I just wanted to explain my thinking at least once before I do so. Thank you all for reading and I hope you stick with the story despite the coming change! P.S I don''t know about you guys, but The Dead Shall Rise has a ring to it that I kind of like. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 20: Downtown --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The man in the coat walked over the remains of a broken house. The sky was grey, covered by an endless expanse of rain-heavy clouds. As a cool breeze brushed by, his hair flips in the wind. He had let it grow, not caring to cut it after the outbreak. His usually clean-shaved stubble had now grown into a scruffy beard. His dark brown eyes, sunken into his head, held a cold light that could pierce through steel. He stood above the wreckage, his coat billowing out behind him. His compatriots stood around him, unable to summon the will to bring the man out of his thoughts. The man noticed a paper at the corner of his eye. He picked it up to see that it was a picture. It portrayed the man sitting with his family, smiling towards the camera. It was one of the Christmas card pictures his family would take each year to send to their friends and relatives. They had taken the picture the year before but never had gotten around to sending it. Jim walked up to him cautiously. He knelt down and saw the picture in the man¡¯s hands. ¡°It will be okay, Eric. We will find your family.¡± Eric Rider looked up at the city behind him. It had taken him weeks to fight through the chaos and get back to his own, only to discover that it was a shell of what it was before. His family was not there. It was a broken home. ¡°To your god or mine, I hope you¡¯re right.¡± He said while standing up. ¡°Do not be saddened, Eric Rider. If they are alive, we will find them.¡± Jim said. Eric nodded. He stood up and they walked away from the house. Tim and Gary were standing to the side. ¡°We better head out. This is chaotic turf.¡± Gary warned. They had nicknamed the areas not occupied by a specific group of people as chaotic. Not only were there hordes of infected wandering around at far greater frequencies than other places, there were also a plethora of independent survival groups, who had no problems with steal and killing others to survive. It was truly a very chaotic and dangerous area that anyone informed would stay away from. However, it must not be misunderstood that the claimed territories were any better. Infected still roamed the streets and the people there were often even more vicious to outsiders. Indeed, as Gary was speaking, he motioned with his eyes to a house that was still partially standing. The others looked discreetly to see that people were moving to surround them From the woodwork came 5 people. One of them strode up confidently. They had the group surrounded. ¡°You folks have a lot of balls to come to these parts of town. Let¡¯s get this over with. Hand over all your stu-¡± Before the man could finish his sentence, a hole had appeared in the center of his forehead. The marauding group were shocked as it happened too fast. Tim had taken out his pistol and shot the man so quickly that they didn¡¯t move until he had already shot 2 others in the chest. They started firing but Eric, Jim, and Gary had already rolled away to the sides, avoiding the fire. It had all happened within the span of two seconds and they all moved in one motion, already knowing the timing and thoughts of each other. They were now in a position where they had their guns pointed at the marauders instead of the other way around. The two remaining attackers dropped their weapons and raised their hands above their heads. ¡°Best we head out immediately. I don¡¯t want to have to deal with anything we could have just as easily have avoided.¡± Tim said. ¡°Agreed. Now that we have confirmed Eric¡¯s home is empty, the next place would be to check is the army camp. Eric Rider, do you remember where they said the camp was located?¡± Jim asked. Eric shook his head. ¡°They didn¡¯t specify when I was there. I had to leave early to run to the mart and pick up supplies and come back before we headed out but I was...caught up.¡± They nodded. They had met while Eric was trying to make his way back to the suburbs, and since they had no other place to go, they had followed. As they got up to leave, the two people that weren¡¯t dead piped up. ¡°W-What about us?¡± They asked. They were twins, no older than 18. One of them had urinated himself while the other was the one who was bold enough to speak up. The guys turned to look at each other. ¡°Eric? What do you say?¡± Gary asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine either way.¡± ¡°Do you have others?¡± Eric asked them quietly. It would have gone unheard if the two hadn¡¯t been holding their breaths. ¡°Just our family. Our mom and younger brother. Please, you can kill us, but don¡¯t kill them.¡± They begged. Eric didn¡¯t talk for a while. He just left. The others followed. As Jim walked by them, he calmly whispered, ¡°Best you leave quickly, lest we change our minds.¡± His calm words and demeanor almost made them not notice the underlying threat in his words. They quickly ran away in the opposite direction, not daring to look back. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the four companions moved north-west towards the general direction of what they believed was the army refugee camp, they came across a shocking sight. On the other block before them, there were thousands of infected milling around a police station, packed so thickly that they could not see the other side of the block. ¡°What is this? I thought the Jailers had this place cleared.¡± Gary grunted as they ran to take cover to avoid catching the attention of the infected. ¡°Don¡¯t know. Perhaps the hordes moved to this part of town.¡± Tim conjectured. ¡°That is unlikely. From what we have seen, They generally tend to stick around. Or at least, we have not seen anything like it.¡± Jim refuted. Eric shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no evidence to support that. Maybe they simply wandered here in larger numbers and were attracted by gunfire as the Jailers tried to fend them off.¡± ¡°You think any of them are left?¡± Gary asked. ¡°Those sick bastards had what¡¯s coming for them. Everyone West-side knows what they¡¯ve been doing to others in those cells of theirs. I¡¯d gladly finish off any of them still alive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the infected have finished them off. Let¡¯s go around.¡± Eric said. They skirted the outer perimeter of the hearing and smelling range of the infected. ¡°You think the Broods did it? Somehow attracted the infected to attack?¡± Tim asked. ¡°The Broods don¡¯t have half the brains they need to pull something like that off.¡± Gary said. ¡°Even though Jailers were under Rajan¡¯s payroll, they weren¡¯t even worth the dirt on his shoe.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°If anyone did it, I¡¯d bet it was Rajan¡¯s men or they somehow pissed off the Hounds.¡± No one could refute. They¡¯d known Rajan was known to be brutal with anyone who crossed him and the Hounds were, well, the Hounds. If the Jailers had messed with one of their own, they¡¯d make them pay from hell and back. After the outbreak and explosion, people had been quick to stick to their groups. Some groups were especially large or powerful, controlling large parts of the city not completely overrun by infected or defensible. As they traveled and met different groups, they¡¯d been able to garner a larger understanding of the socio-political make up that now ruled over the city. Only recently had the different factions started to solidify their foothold and fight for power, people, and supplies. Suddenly, they heard a loud scream from behind them. One of the infected had spotted them and was yelling at the top of it¡¯s lungs while hobbling towards them. ¡°Fuck, A screamer.¡± Tim said while he quickly unfastened his rifle from his back. He hoisted it up and put his eye to the sights. The gun fired and the hobbling infected was knocked back as a bullet appeared on it¡¯s head. However, the infected had already been rallied. A large portion of the group that were at the station started walking towards them. ¡°Oh for fuck¡¯s sake. Run!¡± Tim said as he spotted several figures among the crowd. In the forefront of the moving mass of bodies were infected that were on the ground crawling towards them at a speed comparable to running. Upon seeing the crawlers, the four sprinted away, trying to shake off the infected horde. They saw a bus perpendicular to the road blocking their path. ¡°Hurry, get over!¡± Eric shouted. He cupped his hands while lacing his fingers together as he hoisted up each of the guys as they went over the top. Gary reached his hand down and grabbed ahold of Eric and brought him up. During this, Tim had taken a few shots and missed as he tried to aim for the crawlers. The crawlers had widely moving heads which made taking aim and hitting them harder. ¡°Quick! Find someplace to hole up!¡± He said. ¡°I can¡¯t hold them back at all!¡± The others frantically looked for a defensible position. ¡°There!¡± Jim yelled. The others looked to see that it was a Burger Queen joint. They jumped off the bus and ran to it. Gary turned around to see that the wave of infected were not hindered by the bus barricade as them. The thousands of infected slammed into the side of the bus and after a moment of wobbling, it toppled over and the infected climbed over it or simply pushed it forward with their bodies. ¡°Damn persistent, buggers.¡± Tim muttered. They ran into the store, quickly shooting down a few stragglers inside. They ran to the back of the building just as the infected reached them. A ladder leading up to the roof was their goal. As they climbed, the crawlers were fast approaching. ¡°Go! Go! Go!¡± Eric yelled as he went up after Gary. Tim followed and Jim was almost up when a grabber grasped his ankle. ¡°Help me!¡± He yelled as he struggled to stay on the ladder. Despite his strength, the grabber¡¯s pulled far harder than was humanly possible. Tim held onto the ladder with one hand and leaned back. He looked at the grabber below and pointed his gun and shot. The grabber fell into the sea of infected and the two made it up the ladder. As they stood on the roof of the building, they looked down to see that their position had been completely surrounded. They had limited ammo so they just resorted to making sure nothing else climbed up the ladder. The only thing they could do was to wait it out until the horde lost interest, which could take a while. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eric, James, Sophia, Harry, Pete, and a few others had departed the following morning after rescuing David and John towards city hall. They weren¡¯t confident enough to take on a hospital to get supplies but at the same time weren¡¯t confident in dealing with Rajan either. They had checked a dozen pharmacies along the outskirts of the city on their way, but most of them were empty of medicine. They had found a few medications and first aid materials but there was nothing that seemed to be relevant to their particular need. Not only did they not know which antibiotics to administer in the case of an infection, they didn¡¯t know how much to administer even if they had the right medication. Pete had been relatively quiet during the ride. He had always kept his quiet during most conversations, only contributing when he had something important to say. It was what made most people quiet down and listen once he started talk. Never did he start a conversation for small talk. But despite that, he turned to Sophia sitting next to him. ¡°How are you?¡± He asked. She looked up from maintaining her weapon. They were currently heading towards the hill but they decided to stop at a few places to pick up the gear that they still needed. One of the stops were the police station and if it was empty, they would enter and retrieve the kevlar suits. If it was infested, they would steer clear, but Sophia wasn¡¯t taking any risks either way. ¡°Fine. You?¡± She said awkwardly. She hadn¡¯t talked to the man much, but it didn¡¯t hurt to be genial when approached. He tilted his head and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve seen better ways to spend a Sunday.¡± ¡°Did you go to church?¡± She asked. ¡°Used to. I stopped after my wife died.¡± He said. ¡°Oh...I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No that¡¯s fine. You couldn¡¯t have known.¡± After thinking for a bit, he resumed. ¡°You know what¡¯s funny?¡± ¡°I had spent most of our marriage working, thinking the best thing I could do for her as a husband was to be able to provide anything she wanted. Buy anything she desired.¡± ¡°But after she died, I realized that it wasn¡¯t what I did in her best interest that mattered. What she wanted most, and what I should have done, was be there for her and spend time with her.¡± Sophia was quiet. She didn¡¯t want to disturb his story. But suddenly, he looked at her and asked. ¡°Sophia, do you blame yourself for what happened to John and David?¡± She stuttered, taken aback by the sudden question. ¡°Wha- I...I mean. Yeah.¡± She did blame herself. If it wasn¡¯t for her not being able to take down the police or warn the boys ahead of time, they would have never become like they were now. If she had simply been faster, it wouldn¡¯t have left the two broken. ¡°I understand that you may be going on this mission to atone for what had happened to John and David, but it was not your fault. It was nobody¡¯s except the men who did that to them.¡± She was about to defend herself, but Pete raised a hand to stop her. ¡°I will not stop try to stop you from going on this mission to Rajan¡¯s but I want you to know that what happened had nothing to do with your inability.¡± He said. She was stuck but then finally nodded her head in understanding. ¡°Good.¡± He simply said and returned to observing the outside world, not saying a word more. She shook her head and then was about to return to her work when she caught sight of something. ¡°Stop!¡± She yelled. James slammed on the breaks and everyone jerked forward collectively. ¡°What happened?¡± Rick yelled. Sophia leaned forward towards the window. ¡°Look over there.¡± She said. They all turned to see that a sizable mass of infected were surrounding a store and on the roof were several figures trying to battle them away. Chapter 21: Crossing Paths Sorry for the wait everyone. I felt that it would be good to have a small break in posting in order to catch up on writing some more and formulating the story from here on. Consider it a mid-season break. I''ll probably be having one every month with 20 or so chapters a month followed by a short recess to write some more. Anyways, I decided to go with Among the Dead as the title for reasons unknown. Which was completely out of the blue and not at all a choice on the poll (sorry). The illusion of choice and all that, I suppose. Without further ado, here''s the chapter. --------------------------------------------- Chapter 21: Crossing Paths --------------------------------------------- ¡°Should we help them?¡± Sophia asked. The group of people on top of the restaurant were currently stranded on the roof, not daring to shoot the infected below in favor of conserving their ammunition. James struggled but then shook his head sadly. ¡°There isn¡¯t enough time. We have to get the medicine as soon as possible.¡± He turned the car back to drive and started driving away. He was stopped by Rick. ¡°Hold on. I¡¯m sure we can just give them a helping hand, right?¡± He offered. Although he knew that he had to give the greatest priority to the safety and health of the boys back home, there was no way that he could simply ignore others when they were in danger. ¡°We don¡¯t know them.¡± James said resolutely. ¡°We have to think of the group before anyone else.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not us.¡± Sophia said. "Leaving them is the same as killing them. We don''t kill people." "But we do, Sophia." Pete said. "The police station, remember? We kill people." "That''s not the same!" She yelled out. "Those people attacked us first. They were bad!" "How do you know this time will be any different?" James asked. He didn''t want to leave innocent people either but he also had to think of the welfare of the group, now that he had taken on the temporary position of leading them. "We can''t trust anyone or anything these days. We need to think of ourselves before anyone else." "Then how are we any different from anything out there?" Rick asked. "We fend for ourselves, provide for ourselves, and live for ourselves. But in turn, because of our selfish choices, good people out there have to fight by themselves, starve by themselves, and die by themselves." The others couldn''t respond as they thought of how much has changed since the outbreak. "The only thing that makes us different from the monsters out there is that we look out for others and help each other. John and Sophia helped me-helped all of us when we needed it most. Do we abandon that? Do we really give up our humanity?" He asked. After a long time, James responded. "If I see so much as a hint of anything going wrong, I''ll put a bullet in their heads...before they put bullets in ours." Pete just nodded in agreement. They got out of the car after the debate and made their way closer to the restaurant. The restaurant was located next to a parking lot and surrounded by other buildings. The only way to get into the front entrance was through the parking lot and currently there were almost a hundred infected crammed into the area. As the group moved near it, they clearly saw that the infected were acting unusual. Some had begun to climb over each other, trying to claw their way up even a little further towards the men on the roof. Others screamed and yelled while more still simply bumped into each other, creating a waving, massive crowd. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with them?¡± Pete asked. ¡°No idea. But I¡¯m assuming a headshot¡¯ll put them down just the same.¡± Harry replied. They began moving towards the parking lot, getting close enough to aim for their heads. As they started to whittle down the infected in the lot, they focused on taking out all the strange ones first. The screaming infected soon found bullets lodged within their brains. However, no matter how vigilant the actions of the group, they could not exterminate the threat quickly enough before one of the screamers finally turned its attention towards the newcomers. Screaming at the top of his lungs, the infected lurched towards the group, followed by nearly three quarters of the infected. Its guttural screams were so hoarse that blood and bits of flesh ripped from its own throat spewed out of its mouth. Before it could continue its howl, it¡¯s head was burst open. As the group looked up at the roof, they could see a man in a cowboy hat pulling back the bolt on his gun and continue to fire at the most problematic infected. ¡°I thought we were supposed to be the one doing the rescuing!¡± Harry yelled as he shot two incoming infected on his left. ¡°Behind you!¡± Sophia yelled back, quickly shooting the infected that had managed to sneak up behind Harry as he was trying to take down his own group of infected. As they traversed the span of the parking lot, the bodies of the infected started to pile and dark, blackish blood flowed from their wounds, coalescing into a stream that trickled down the slanted parking lot into the nearest drainage hole on the side of the road. Suddenly, a panicked shout resounded from the right side of the group. As they turned to look, they saw that one of the straggling infected that remained in the lot had rapidly crawled towards Pete. Unaware of the danger underneath his line of sight, he was grabbed by the infected and pulled at the ankles, causing him to fall over. "Shit! Get it off me!" He shouted as the struggled to use his weapon to put distance between his body and the festering mouth of the infected. "They got Pete!" Sophia yelled, rallying the attention of others to help their comrade. She had seen what had transpired but was too preoccupied with her own defense that she had not the opportunity to rescue him. At that moment, another rifle shot rang out in the lot and lodged itself in the jaw of the crawler on top of Pete. The force cleaved off much of the jaw, shattering the bones and teeth and taking away its ability to bite Pete. The man on the roof with rifle had once again saved them. However, this was all for naught as the infected instead resorted to using its hands, forcing its bloodied and blackened nails to penetrate the skin above Pete''s chest. Pete''s yells for help turned to agonized screams. Finally, the others heard and Rick with one quick movement shot the infected in the head, ending its assault. A minute of frantic fighting passed and the infected had been all but cleared out of the parking lot. James ran over to the fallen Pete, scrambling to stem the blood gushing from his chest with his hands. The Crimson liquid seeped out of the gaps between his fingers and flowed down to mingle with the Black blood of their enemies. "I-" Pete struggled to say something but was interrupted by a fit of coughing as a line of blood trickled down the side of his mouth. "Hey. Hey. Stay with me, bud. You''re going to be okay. It''s going to be okay." He frantically said as he positioned himself to support his fallen friend''s head. "Get something to bandage the wound!" James yelled back at the group who were standing in shock and sadness. They did not move to stem the flow of blood. "What are you guys doing? Hurry!" James yelled again seeing that no one had moved to save Pete. Struggling, he ripped his own shirt off and pressed it against the wound, trying in vain to stop the blood from leaving his weakened friend. The white t-shirt soon became soaked in red and saturated with the scent of impending death. Pete raised his hand slowly, and placed it on the arm of his friend who was holding his head up. He struggled to move his head up to look into James'' eyes and opened his mouth slowly. "I-I''m going to have to leave now...Go." He coughed more blood before taking in a shaky and wheezing breath. "Don''t talk. Just-just rest, okay?" James said as he choked on a sob. Pete just shook his head. He looked over at Sophia. "Spend time with John. Be there for him." He said resolutely. It was his last dying wish for her and she nodded. He smiled gently at the sight of the girl''s resolve. That moment, his eyes started to slowly dim as he shifted his gaze towards the heavens. "Come on, Pete. Stay with us...please." James cried out, begging for his friend to stay alive against all odds. "I''ll see Kathryn there, James. I''ll be able to see her again." James'' cries died down and he nodded. "Yeah, you will. Definitely." Pete''s face broke out into a serene smile. With his final breath, he said "This time, I''ll never let her go." With that, his body slowly slumped, and his lifeless eyes stared off into the distant skies, as if watching its soul departing to the afterlife. James sat motionless for a moment and then rocked back in forth, a painful and prolonged wail escaping his mouth. One does not see a grown man cry often, especially with such profound sorrow. When the group heard his painful cry, their hearts clenched and a deep seated melancholy fell upon them. As Rick was about to step forward to comfort the mourning man, James reached for his pistol and brought it up to Pete¡¯s temple and pulled the trigger. The single shot rang out in the lot, sharply contrasting with the sounds of screams, groans, and gunfire that had filled it just minutes before. It echoed across the block, undoubtedly attracting more infected that would eventually come upon the parking lot. However, James didn¡¯t care. Pete was one of the few friends that he had known before the outbreak that survived. Losing one of his last friends felt like he was losing a part of himself. He had been going through the past few weeks as if in a dream, his mind clouded by a hazy mist. He simply moved on in a daze, not thinking of the things he¡¯s lost, the people he¡¯s lost, and the life he would never live again. Now, in the wake of Pete¡¯s death, James awoke to face the cruelty of reality. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He wiped the tears from his eyes, a sad but determined expression hanging on his face. He gently put his friend down on the ground and stood up. Rick finally approached him. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked. Swallowing his saliva, James nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s go see who we saved.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Rick said while frowning. In Rick¡¯s eyes, James had changed. He no longer had the jovial and amiable atmosphere around him. His eyes were harder and he seemed so serious that Rick almost could not believe it was the same man. But then again, he understood more than anyone how death could affect and change a man. His wife¡¯s death had ruined him for years, his child being the only thing keeping him anchored. They walked towards the entrance of the restaurant. ------------------------------------------------- ¡°You think they¡¯re friendlies?¡± Tim asked as he kept his aim on Harry, who was currently at the head of the group. ¡°Stay your hand, friend. They had clearly helped us just then. It seems fitting we see what they desire of us, despite the risks.¡± Jim said, placing his hand on the top of Tim¡¯s arm. Eric peered down at the group, his eyes widening. ¡°Those are some big guns.¡± He sighed. ¡°Might as well go down. Eric and I¡¯ll go. You two watch from above and if you see anything about to go do, take the shot.¡± Gary said. He slapped Eric¡¯s back in encouragement, the force so powerful that it caused him to stumble forward. He quickly recovered and climbed down the ladders with Gary, coming up to the front of the restaurant to see the group. They gripped their guns tighter but didn¡¯t raise them as a sign of good faith. ¡°What do you want?¡± Gary shouted hoarsely. ¡°A thanks would be nice!¡± The young girl yelled back. The two looked at each other in confusion. This girl was nothing like the people in the city, who had become cynical and distrustful of everything down to their own shadow. No one talked to people they didn¡¯t know anymore, and even then, they didn¡¯t say much, let alone strike up such a conversation. ¡°Thank you.¡± Eric said tentatively. ¡°Why did you save us? We don¡¯t have anything you could want.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want anything.¡± One of the bigger men in the group said. ¡°I just wanted to see who we sacrificed a friend for.¡± ¡°Hey, we didn¡¯t ask for anyone to save us!¡± Gary yelled back angrily. Who told them to try to help them anyways? This is what they got for not adapting to the new order of things. ¡°You fucking son of-¡± The big man started but was stopped by another smaller man in a brown leather coat, who held him back. ¡°We were wondering if any of you have any medicine on you.¡± the smaller man yelled. ¡°Sorry, mate! Got nothing for you.¡± Gary shouted back. ¡°Do any of you have medical experience?¡± The girl said suddenly, a look of hope in her eyes. They didn¡¯t respond. They knew Eric was a doctor but doctors were hard to come by these days and were highly sought after. If they revealed such information to a random group, it could lead to bigger problems down the road. Seeing the silence, the girl got excited at the possibility of their indeed being someone to help her. ¡°Our friend was injured! He needs someone experienced to fix him!¡± She yelled excitedly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but none of us can help you.¡± Eric said regretfully. As a doctor, it pained him to not help those in need, but in these dark times, it was simply too difficult to uphold his creed. ¡°Oh¡­¡± She sighed in dejection. The smaller man walked up to the two, raising his hands to show his lack of weapons. --------------------------------------------------- Rick had been observing the men and based on their mannerisms and general disposition towards the group, seemed guarded but not dangerous. They gave off the same feeling John had when they first met. He walked up to the men, his arms raised. He saw the two men tense up and saw that one of the men on the roof had his rifle trained on him. Controlling his shaking legs, he walked up, exuding a false sense of confidence and poise he hoped would seem authentic. ¡°My name is Rick.¡± He said. ¡°These are my friends.¡± He introduced the group by name and turned back at the two. ¡°My I ask for your names?¡± He asked. The men hesitated, but seeing no reason to hide it, they called back. ¡°I¡¯m Gary.¡± The larger, buff man said. The smaller of the two spoke up as well. ¡°Eric.¡± ¡°Are you guys alone? Do one of you happen to be a doctor?¡± Rick asked calmly but Gary¡¯s eyes narrowed in suspicion. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± He said gravely. Rick quickly waved his hands to show he had no bad intentions. Undeterred, Rick continued honestly. ¡°On a supply run, two of our boys were hurt very badly. We need someone to treat them. It seems you¡¯ve survived in the city for this long, you must know of some way we can get help.¡± He became desperate seeing the impassive expressions of the two. Sophia guessed what he was about to do, and walked up behind Rick and whispered. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. We still don¡¯t know anything about these guys.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know anything about me when you let me in.¡± Rick answered back and turned back towards the two. ¡°We have food, water, shelter, and more people. If you join us you-¡± ¡°We have none of the sort.¡± Gary said. ¡°Best be on your way.¡± There was no way someone would give away food and water in times like these. It made them highly suspicious but since Rick had no experience dealing with the new world order and recruiting disillusioned survivors, he had plainly stated what he had to offer. Eric remembered his son when they were talking about the teens, making him remember his mission and original plan. He shook his head, conflicted.. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Rick was dejected. ¡°But there is a place where you can get your medicine. Maybe even a doctor.¡± Eric proposed. This brightened the expressions of everyone in the group and filled them with hope. ¡°If you can tell me where the west military camp is located, I¡¯ll tell you where you can get your medicine.¡± Eric negotiated. Sophia jumped in and told him. But then with a frown, also gave a warning. ¡°The compound was overrun weeks ago. My friends and I were just barely able to make it out alive. I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t think your family¡­¡± Her voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence that would crush the man¡¯s hopes. However, Eric simply shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go see for myself. Thank you for the warning, young lady.¡± ¡°And our end?¡± James asked. ¡°The city is separated into several sections, each maintained by different groups. The one¡¯s that probably have the medicine only number five. The Hounds in the West, the Broods in the East, Rajan and his men in the South, the Covenant in the North, and the Undersiders.¡± He listed all the major powers that had footholds within the city. Rick and the others knew none of these groups and not one seemed to be the type to extend a helping hand. Almost all of them will most likely shoot a bullet through your head the first chance they get, though.¡± Gary added. ¡°Best chances are with the Undersiders. If the price is right, they¡¯ll give you what you need but if you ain¡¯t careful, getting medicine will be the least of your problems.¡± ¡°Where are they?¡± Rick asked. ¡°Underground. Compared to topside, it¡¯s the safest place from the infected but at the same time, one of the most chaotic places in the city. You can get there through the metro.¡± He specified how to get to the Undersiders. The Undersiders weren¡¯t a group per say. Rather, it was the name attached to the collective people that had chosen to escape to the metro system underground. During the outbreak, they had managed to quarantine several sections of the system and create pockets of survivors in which they would communicate and even trade with each other. If they brought food or valuables to trade, they would most likely be able to get what they needed. As there was no central power governing the metro system, they did not need to worry about a unified enemy force. Instead, what concerned them were the actions of each individual Undersider, who upon their own volition, may move to forcibly seize their belongings. The group decided that they needed to prepare first before venturing into the Underside. ¡°If that¡¯s all, you better move on your way.¡± Gary said, still very guarded against this group of strangers. ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± Rick said. There was no way they could know if this information was true or not, but it was the only thing they could rely on at the moment. Eric nodded and watched as the group left. ¡°You sure you can¡¯t help them?¡± Gary asked. He finally relaxed and looked over to his friend. Eric just shrugged. ¡°Everyone needs something these days. We can¡¯t afford to be good Samaritans.¡± Without another word, they met back up with Tim and Jim and made their way to the western military camp. Chapter 22: Six Feet Under Chapter 22: Six Feet Under -------------------------------------------------- David would wake up often covered in sweat, screaming as he remembered the pain and the torture. During his imprisonment, he wished countless times to end his own life, to bite his own tongue off and die by suffocating on his own blood. But he simply couldn¡¯t do it. No matter how bad the world became, he simply couldn¡¯t take the next step to end it all. Was he a coward for trying to run away? Was he brave for staying in such a horrible world? Was he a coward for not being able to take the next step or brave for resisting the urge to take his own life? Questions like these constantly tormented his mind as he struggled against the pain that continued to assault his body and soul long after they had been rescued. As time passed, he slowly was able to open his eyes. Strangely, he could only see out of one. He cracked open his dry lips and his hoarse voice barely was able to leak one word out. ¡°Water.¡± He moaned. It almost made him laugh at how similar he sounded to the moans of the infected. He didn¡¯t though. Laughing hurt him. So did smiling or breathing. So he simply remained still, waiting for the sweet reprieve that came with either a glass of water or death. Whichever came first, really. Soon enough, a hand propped up the back of his head as a bottle was put up against his dry lips. A slow trickle of blissful water poured out and he drank fiercely, almost choking on the water. ¡°Drink slowly, David. The water isn¡¯t going anywhere.¡± He heard a voice call out to him from his left side. He strangely couldn¡¯t see out of that eye and so he tried to turn his head to look in that direction, only to be rewarded by another wave of pain. Grimacing, he laid back down. ¡°Don¡¯t move. You¡¯ve been beat up very badly.¡± Now that the desert in his throat had been quenched, he asked. ¡°How did I make it back?¡± ¡°We¡¯d gone to rescue you and John. They found you guys in the cells and brought you back here to patch you up. You¡¯ve been asleep for the entire day.¡± ¡°John? Where¡¯s John?¡± David couldn¡¯t see anything except the ceiling as it was too hard to move his head. ¡°Right next to you. How do you feel?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see out of my left.¡± David said. A long pause followed. ¡°Why can¡¯t I see?¡± David asked again. The voice stammered. ¡°You-you lost your eye, David.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± David couldn¡¯t understand. He had very little memory of what had happened in the station other than the continuous, heart-stopping pain over every inch of his body. ¡°They took your eye.¡± The voice said again. ¡°Show me.¡± He said. ¡°David. I don¡¯t-¡± ¡°SHOW ME!¡± He yelled, coughing again. He tasted the metallic taste of blood. Without a word, the person rummaged for a reflective surface, before presenting a shard of mirror above his face. He looked at the almost unrecognizable person reflected back before him. ¡°uuggh¡± A pained gurgling sound escaped his mouth, growing into a heart-wrenching wail of pain, sadness and anger. His left eye was missing. His eye socket was covered by a bloodied cloth. His other eye had a large scar going down it all the way to his chin. His teeth were chipped and some were broken off. His right ear was wrapped up in bandages. David saw himself. But he did not recognize himself. The wails resounded out throughout the warehouse, gripping the hearts of all who heard and igniting an angry flame within their eyes. David once again fell unconsciousness. ------------------------------------------- ¡°Is he okay, Ms. Rider?¡± Abby asked the returning woman. She slumped in her seat next to Abby. ¡°Time will heal his wounds.¡± She said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe people would do that to someone, no matter how bad things are now.¡± Abby shook her head. ¡°We¡¯re all still humans inside, Abby. We aren¡¯t perfect. Some of us break under the pressure of it all and do things they never would have done in the world before.¡± She replied. ¡°They all deserved to die.¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°Lucas!¡± Abby said rebukingly. ¡°That¡¯s not something you should say! No one deserves to die.¡± ¡°They hurt John and David. It¡¯s only fair for us to hurt them back.¡± Lucas replied. Abby and Jessica were shocked by the young boy¡¯s twisted logic and cold disposition. They worried for what the cruel world would turn him into. ¡°It isn¡¯t right to hurt people.¡± Jacob retorted to Lucas. Jacob still remained innocent, still believing and hoping for the best in people. Lucas just stood up and walked away, apparently struggling with an internal battle. Jessica followed after giving Abby a concerned look ¡°Hey.¡± She said as she leaned down next to the boy looking out at the clearing outside. ¡°Hi.¡± He said back, not looking at her. ¡°Did you mean what you said back there?¡± Lucas nodded after a while. Jessica thought about what to say for a while before continuing. ¡°They were bad men, I¡¯ll give you that. But sometimes, you¡¯ve got to believe the best in people and when that doesn¡¯t work out, you have to forgive. Could you try that for me?¡± She asked. Lucas nodded again. Jessica sighed, leaving the child to his thoughts. ---------------------------------------------------- ¡°They said it¡¯s around here.¡± Rick said as they made their way through the city. The buildings were all destroyed, causing rubble to cover most of the road and the sidewalks, making it difficult for them to find the metro entrance. ¡°Over here!¡± Harry called out. He was standing next to a large pile of rubble. They moved towards his position and found that beneath the pile was a small hole barely large enough for a man to fit through. As they peered inside, they could see the faint outline of escalators leading down underground. ¡°Let¡¯s open up a bigger hole first.¡± Harry said. He started picking up rubble and moving them away from the hole. Everyone started to help out, picking up pieces until there was more wiggle room. They went into the hole. Inside, they found that it was more spacious. Looking up, they saw that a metal ceiling that probably covered the entrance remained barely standing, supporting the added weight of the rubble. The escalators were, for obvious reasons, not moving so they walked down, often having to climb over some rubble that had fallen through the cracks. As they entered the subway, they noticed an utter lack of sound. Each footstep echoed off the walls and bounced far into the depths of the system, but no other sounds could be heard. It put them on edge. They had brought a box of food in the car to bargain with the Undersiders. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡± Rick urged them on. ¡°Stay sharp.¡± James added, getting out his gun. There was no telling what lied in store in the depths of the metro, and he wasn¡¯t going in unprepared. There was a flashlight attached to its end which he turned on. The others did the same and soon they could clearly see their surroundings. The dust caused the light to refract and create beams of light that penetrated through the darkness. ¡°Come on. Try to stay quiet.¡± Harry whispered as they made their way into the metro. Harry took point and pushed the turnstile, causing a slight creaking noise. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Stopping a moment to see if it had stirred anything up, Harry slowly went through, closely followed by the others. They took an escalator down to the tracks. Sprawled across the floor were mats, boxes, shopping carts, and other trash that had been brought along by the many people that escaped below. ¡°Where is everybody?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°They said to take to the tracks heading north.¡± Rick said, about to jump down on the rails. ¡°Hold it!¡± James called out, grabbing Rick¡¯s pack and pulling him back. Just then, they could hear the noise of screeching metal. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s¡­?¡± Rick said. ¡°Impossible. There¡¯s no way they could be running now.¡± Sophia exclaimed. ¡°Maybe they turned them back on somehow. Look, here it comes.¡± Harry said. Sure enough, the flickering lights on the train could be seen coming closer. As it screeched past the station, they saw that it was packed with infected, slamming against the windows. ¡°Shit.¡± James said, stepping back slowly as the train continued to move through the station. Gradually, the train started to slow down. ¡°Fuck. Let¡¯s go.¡± He turned around frantically looking for an exit. He ran to the turnstiles and tried to use them but the exit turnstiles seemed to be inoperable. ¡°Over here!¡± Harry yelled out, pointing to a service door. He started smashing against it, trying to open the locked door. The train finally came to a stop and a light ding could be heard. With a hiss the doors started opening. ¡°Hurry!¡± Sophia yelled behind Harry, urging him on. ¡°The goddamn thing won¡¯t open!¡± He yelled back. ¡°Move!¡± Rick roared. Pushing Harry aside, he pulled out his pistol and repeatedly shot the lock until it broke. The infected started pouring out of the train doors and rushed towards them. ¡°Inside!¡± He yelled, pushing the door open. They piled inside and James as the last one in, shut the door behind him. Just as he did, the door jumped as a strong force on the other side slammed against it. It continued to slam, threatening to break down the door. ¡°Go! I¡¯ll hold them!¡± He yelled, struggling against the door with his large frame. The others only spared a glance before running down the hall. As they turned the corner, James remained, almost sliding back due to the pressure on the opposite side of the door. He reached out with one of his arms and grabbed a metal shelf next to him. He tried pulling it to barricade the door but it was bolted to the ground. ¡°Fucking hell¡­¡± He cursed as he turned to lean on the door with his back, his legs ramrod straight acting as supports. He started hyperventilating and tensed up in preparation. With one burst of strength and speed he pushed off from the door and sprint down the hallway. The door burst open on the other side and an ocean of infected tumbled towards him. Sliding around the turn, he nearly tripped before scrambling back up. Approximately 20 meters down the hall, a light could be seen from an open door. ¡°Hurry!¡± Sophia yelled, holding open the thick metal door. Rick and Harry stood on either side, their guns at the ready. James sprinted down the hall, desperately trying to outpace the several infected that seemed to be able to run in a stumbling manner. Rick and Harry started to shoot the infected closest to James and at the last moment, James ran past the trio and Sophia slammed the door behind him. The door clicked into place and only the muffled banging on the other side could be heard. There was a shrill scream from the other side before it became silent on the other side of the door. James panted, trying to catch his breath. ¡°I think they¡¯re gone.¡± Rick slid down against the wall, sitting down on the floor in exhaustion. ¡°That was too close.¡± ¡°I knew we shouldn¡¯t have trusted those bastards. They just set us up to get killed!¡± Harry fumed. He looked around for a moment before lifting his arms up in exasperation. ¡°And we dropped the fucking food too.¡± He grumbled. Indeed, during the chase they had forgotten to carry the food with them. The added weight would have slowed them down and killed them. ¡°What now?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°Try to make our way back to the surface.¡± James responded. ¡°How? We¡¯re stuck here.¡± The room was barely 10 square feet. They all looked around for any way to get out before Rick called out. ¡°There.¡± He pointed at the vent. ¡°We can use the ventilation system.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t going in there.¡± James said decisively. ¡°I have claustrophobia.¡± The others gave him a curious look. ¡°Suck it up unless you have a better idea.¡± Sophia said irritably. Now was not the time to enable him simply because he was discomforted by small spaces. ¡°Fine. But I¡¯m going last.¡± And such, they managed to pry the vent open and start crawling inside. They weren¡¯t trying to go outside, but rather simply relocate to a less infected area to reorient themselves. ¡°Take a left. There¡¯s a drop the other way.¡± Harry called to the others behind him. Harry was the first to enter, followed by Rick, Sophia, and then James. As they turned the corner, Harry suddenly stopped. ¡°What is it?¡± Rick whispered. ¡°Shh!¡± Harry hushed them. They all fell silent and listened closely. They could hear voices through one of the vent openings. ¡°What do you mean you lost them?¡± A voice said through what sounded like a speaker or walkie talkie. ¡°We followed them down here, but a group of infected got in the way. They¡¯re probably already ripped to pieces¡± Another male voice responded. ¡°Bring me whatever¡¯s left of them. We can¡¯t leave here until we find them dead, turned, or alive.¡± The voice through the radio said. ¡°Alright.¡± They could hear the click as the communicator was turned off. ¡°Is that asshole seriously going to make us look through the tunnels all day?¡± A third voice called out. ¡°Apparently. I heard these guys killed almost all the jailers. Only the captain¡¯s brother survived.¡± ¡°Still not enough reason to mobilize three units to get back at them¡± The third man scoffed. ¡°Mr. Rajan approved it. You have a problem with the way I run things?.¡± A gruff voice called out. ¡°Captain!¡± The second and third voices called out in surprise. ¡°Stop wasting time and keep looking.¡± Afterwards, the men no longer talked and the group could hear the receding footsteps of the men. ¡°One of them survived?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°How? We saw them all get eaten, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even know how they knew where we were heading..¡± Rick replied. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, those people at the restaurant were bad news.¡± Harry shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s just get out of here and figure it out later. If they found out about us, that means everyone back home aren¡¯t safe either.¡± James added. He was hyperventilating, trying to calm himself down. Rick tensed at the idea of Rajan¡¯s men coming for his child and with renewed vigor, also started crawling faster through the vents.