Well, shit.
Frantically, Danny pulled himself up from the seats. He opened the other door and fell out, landing on the pavement. From the view, underneath the truck, Danny's heart could have burst. It was much more than just ten of those things. It was dozens, and they were all in a dead sprint running right for him.
"Move it!" Eric yelled at the top of his lungs.
Danny hopped up and started firing. He saw a few bodies drop and disappear behind the crowd, but it wasn't enough. He looked over and saw Eric was already gone. Danny took off after him. Running at a pace he never thought was possible for a man his age. Before he knew it, he was caught up with Eric, and then he started to pass him. When he looked back, he saw that it didn't matter. Those things were on them and gaining ground. Danny guessed they were fifty yards and closing.
Oh shit. Oh shit!
The road met at an intersection, and Danny cut left. He heard Eric pivot as well. They kept on moving down the main street looking for an alley to funnel them in. The buildings opened up and to the left was a school. Eric passed him now and beelined for the entrance. A large gate stood open, which would give them enough time to gain some ground. Eric made it to the gate first and turned quickly, covering Danny with rapid shots.
Heavy footsteps were right behind Danny as he neared the gate. Something cried out that sounded like it was right next to his ear. Eric fired more rapidly now as Danny felt the concussion hit his body. The footsteps behind him fell away, and he made it, wheezing for air, through the gate. Danny slid the gate closed, and Eric slipped through just in time as a wave of screaming crazies hit the steel rods. The wheels were knocked off the hinges slightly as hands reached through the iron bars. The hoarse screams made it impossible to hear one another as they ran. Eric looked up at a two-story concrete structure that was in the shape of an L. There were two staircases at each end and what looked like classrooms that pinched to the middle.
"We have to get them in a column, or we will never have a chance," Eric said as he was gasping for breath.
"Take lead. I'll make sure they go up those stairs," Danny said, still wheezing.
He cut left, heading for the closest staircase. Eric went straight for the furthest set. The gate started to scrape on the concrete as the swarm of crazies pushed against it. Danny reloaded his rifle and stood at the top of the stairs. He positioned himself so he could make accurate shots, but he knew with his rapid breathing it would be tough to make those shots count. Danny grabbed his shotgun off his pack and tossed the bag behind him. With one last bit of hope, Danny looked back and saw Eric sprinting up the stairs on the far end.
This is it. This is where we stand.
A heavy snap pulled Danny's eyes back to the gate. The metal had been bent, and it was now completely separated from its track. The swarm sprinted through, crawling and scraping over each other. Danny exhaled as he started to fire.
They moved so quickly that he had a hard time finding a target. A head appeared in his sight, and he pulled the trigger.
One.
Danny's rifle recoiled again, but his target didn't fall.
Two. No—wait—one.
The screaming grew louder. Shot after shot, Danny fired, finding a rhythm to the chaos.
Eighteen. Nineteen.
The rifle's recoil felt different. He pulled the trigger and nothing happened.
SHIT!
Danny grabbed a fresh magazine and reloaded the rifle. He sent the bolt home and fired faster now. Some of them fell while others seemed unfazed.
One. Two.
Each shot a body fell, but Danny noticed how fast he was firing now. It wasn’t even half a second between shots.
Twenty four. Twenty--.
The weapon ceased and he reloaded letting the mag fall from the second story.
One, two, three. Four.
He squeezed the trigger, but the round didn't fire. Danny's rhythm collapsed as did his immense focus. He looked at the chamber of the rifle, and it was jammed. Two rounds were slammed together unmoved. He pulled the magazine out and racked the bolt, but the round was jammed in the worst malfunction possible. The air felt like all the oxygen had been pulled away from it. There was an ever-expanding pressure now as Danny let the rifle hang from its sling. The swarm had reached the stairs now.
Oh my God! Shit!
He could hear their heavy feet as they charged his position. Danny unslung his shotgun and racked it. He ran away from the entrance of the stairs and stood in the middle of the second-floor catwalk. For a small moment, the mouth of the stairs was empty, and then the first three heads emerged. Danny had maybe ten feet as he raised the barrel flush with their faces. He pulled the trigger, and the three fell to the ground only to be replaced with five more screaming crazies. Danny racked the shotgun. He noticed a few were sprinting for the stairs that Eric had gone for.
Hold them, Eric.
Danny fired again, and two fell. A third crazy stumbled but kept on coming with an endless wave of infected behind him. Danny needed more space, so he had to turn and run. He saw Eric firing in his direction and hoped he was giving Danny some space. He fed a shell into his shotgun and quickly pivoted as he shot. Some fell, but the swarm was ten yards away. Two or three were shoulder to shoulder at a full sprint. Danny held his ground and fired. The shotgun ripped the front two apart. He kept working the action on the gun, praying the rounds left would last. With each shot, they kept falling, but the ones in the rear kept pushing. When they got to the front, they started to trip over the bodies. The smell began to engulf Danny as he knew his last shot was approaching. He tried to grab for a shell, but he dropped it on the floor. The smoke had built up around him, and it started to disperse. Danny saw a crazy sprinting at him, screaming. He pulled the trigger, but it just clicked.
No! NO! Not like this!
In desperation, Danny grabbed the shotgun like a club and swung it. The duct tape grip slammed into the torn face caving in the side of its temple as it fell to the ground. Danny felt the grip of the shotgun splinter. He dropped the weapon and unholstered his 1911. Danny’s eyes adjusted and what he saw made him nearly turn the gun on himself. There was still a wall of them coming for him.
How?
He fired rapidly over and over. A horrifying scream came from him. His limbs would be torn from his body, and he would be a mush of nothing. The 1911's slide locked to the rear, and that was it. He tried to reload, but his adrenaline was so spiked that he struggled to seat the fresh magazine.
NO!
Suddenly, Danny was looking at the overhang above the catwalk. The back of his helmet slammed on the concrete floor, and he closed his eyes. He thrashed as hard as he could.
This is it! This can’t be! I’m not done. I can’t be done!
A loud buzzing resonated in his ears, and he opened his eyes, prepared to face the monsters that were there to pull him apart. Instead, a bearded man with blue eyes was looking down at him. Eric was dragging Danny away. When he looked at the mob, he saw rounds impacting them. Their legs were being torn apart, making them crawl towards them. He felt a blast overhead and looked up. Eric was firing above him. Danny could feel the ejected casings as they fell onto him. A casing fell into his collar making his neck burn as he flailed to get it out. The burning sensation made him roll to the side. He stood up and watched in awe as the remainder of the swarm was cut to shreds in front of his eyes.
The firing stopped, and what was left was malignant sobs and pieces of bone and tissue on the ground. Danny's hands shook as he attempted to reload his 1911 and get back into the fight, but it was over. He felt a rushing urge in his throat, and he bent over puking over the railing.
"Dan, you alright?" Eric screamed, still trying to shake Danny into consciousness.
"What the fuck do you think?" Danny wretched as he pulled his rifle to the front and started to unjam his weapon. He looked up at the building across from the courtyard. "Who the hell is that?" Danny asked as he wiped his face.
A man stood on the rooftop waving back at the two of them.
"Jesus Christ, for all I know," Eric replied as he waved back awkwardly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ERIC LOOKED OUT at the soldier who kept the machine gun aimed at them. Danny slammed the buttstock of his rifle on the ground popping out the round that had caused the malfunction in his weapon.
"I don’t know about this," Eric said from the side of his mouth. He gripped his rifle a little tighter as he clenched his teeth.
Screams erupted in the distance. The soldier looked out in the direction from where it came from and then back at Danny and Eric. A sense of urgency erupted from the soldier as he pointed to the two brown doors that were facing the courtyard.
"Run!" the soldier yelled at the top of his lungs.
He then picked up the machine gun and took off running, disappearing behind a service entrance.
"You got any better ideas?" Danny said.
"Fresh out of ideas," Eric said. "But I think going with that guy is our best option."
The screaming grew louder as both men moved.
"My pack!" Danny ran off where he left it.
Eric was already running. "You better hurry!"
Danny dashed left where the stack of bodies were still, lifeless. He accidentally kicked a severed foot that fell from the catwalk onto the concrete floor. When he looked out, he saw Eric was nearing the other side of the stairs.
Just as he was within arms reach of his pack, something caught Danny's ankle causing him to face plant onto a corpse. He kicked and pulled, trying to free his foot, but a hand was grasping his boot laces. Danny unsheathed his knife and stabbed at the hand until the tendons could no longer hold. He thrashed and pulled himself up. His pack was a few feet from a fat man whose eyes still moved rapidly. Danny shot the man in the head before he could move.
The screaming was closer now.
Move it!
Danny grabbed his pack and made for the stairs in a panic. As he rounded the handrail, something shifted. It was a woman who was grimy and pale; she was wearing yoga pants that were frayed at the ankles. Without hesitation, he sent three rounds into her back. A light whine came from her as all movement ceased.
The screams soon were accompanied with feet running on asphalt.
Danny’s panic sent him sprinting towards the building. Eric reached the door and was banging on it. The left door opened, making Eric swing his rifle to the door. The soldier emerged with his face covered. He held an M4 that was aimed at Eric.
The roar of another swarm was louder now, and Danny felt that another swarm was about to enter the gate.
"I don't think we have fucking time for this!" Danny yelled as he ran past the two and into the darkness.
The masked soldier lowered his rifle and disappeared inside, leaving Eric to chase after him as the doors swung closed. The room fell into complete darkness. Danny figured they were in some auditorium, but it was hard to tell with almost no ambient light. A door opened in the corner. The masked soldier stood in the light ushering them forward.
"Still think he is our best option?" Danny whispered to Eric.
Eric took off in a trot. "It’s our only option."
They ran out of the darkroom and into a bright hallway that was lined with lockers. The masked soldier was halfway down the hallway and moving quickly. Both Danny and Eric followed with their rifles up. They could hear a large number of footsteps running on the concrete outside. The sobbing and laughter echoed off the high walls as a few creaks came from behind them. Danny guessed the crazies were tugging on the handleless steel doors, but if they thought someone was in there, they would have no problem getting in.
I hope they lose interest.
The hallway opened up to a winding staircase that had an open sunroof in the middle. A loud crash erupted downstairs making them all sink to the ground. The man held his hand out in a low position, indicating to stay in place. Both Danny and Eric complied. Another crash made the man signal them to move more quickly now. He took off in a light trot up the square turning stairs to the second floor. Danny could hear a few footfalls on the first floor as they moved quickly down another hallway. They passed through two more steel brown doors. The man stopped and shut both behind them, ramming a steel pipe in between the handles.
"Is this it?" Danny looked around at the darkroom.
The man shook his head and disappeared around a corner, making Danny stop in his tracks. Eric pushed past him and went around the corner. A door was swinging closed as Danny kept up behind Eric. He ran to hold the door, and he let Eric walk past.
"After you," Danny whispered.
Eric laughed. "Age before beauty," he replied.
Danny could hear the man's boots as he climbed metal stairs carefully. A door opened above illuminating the dusty staircase. Danny shielded his eyes as he walked up to the steps slowly. His finger flicked the safety off his rifle.
Here we go.
Both he and Eric reached the top of the staircase only to find a small room. It was dark, but a little sunlight cascaded through a high window in the corner. In that same corner was the masked soldier aiming an M4 at Danny.
"You two sure know how to cut things close," a voice said from the darkness.
The voice perked Danny's ears as he raised his hands slowly. "We don't exactly make a habit of it."
Eric bit his lip as he took a step forward. "You're a woman."
He started to lower his hands, but the woman shifted her rifle to Eric, making his hands move up again.
"That a fucking problem?" The safety on her rifle clicked off as she aimed in on Eric's chest.
Danny waved his hands slightly to get her attention. "No, no. That ain't a problem." He looked back at Eric, with flared nostrils. Danny reached for the clip on his rifle sling.
The woman moved the weapon to Danny quickly. "What the fuck are you doing?"
Danny froze his right hand, clasping the tan buckle on his rifle. "I'm just going to take this off and set it on the ground." He waited for the woman to give him the go-ahead when she did he unbuckled it slowly and continued talking in a low voice. "I must apologize. My bearded friend here is a little on the cautious side." Danny smiled gently. "Young men can be a little hot-headed at times."
Danny grabbed the buttstock with his left hand and slowly squatted to the floor, resting the gun on the ground. The woman's rifle followed Danny as he stood up. Eric looked back at him in disbelief, but his eyes quickly jumped back to the woman.
"What do you want?" Eric called out.
The woman cocked her head to the side. "I don't think you are in the position to make demands there, sweetie. Plus, I don't want to talk to you." She swung the rifle to Danny. "I want to talk to him." The woman aimed it at Danny's head. "So boys, this is how this is going to go. The scraggly-bearded fellow behind you is going to go back down the stairs."
Eric took a step forward. "Blow me. Not gonna happen there, missy." He moved his hand to the pistol on his hip. The rifle in the masked woman's hands swung to Eric.
"Call me missy again, and I will blow you." She aimed down at Eric's groin. "I'll blow your little missy right off. See, you still have to draw that weapon and raise it. Since all I have to do is pull the trigger, I'd say you’re at a loss." She cocked her head, making a ticking sound. "Hmm. Sad, I know. But if you think you are that fast, then by all means, try me. You'll be dead, and your friend here will be right behind you."
A disturbing smile came across Eric's face. "You wouldn’t do that. It would be a death sentence."
"We are dead anyway," she said behind a covered face.
Eric’s smile faded as he moved his hand away from his pistol. He went to unsling his rifle.
"Keep your rifle on," the woman commanded. She looked over at Danny, "I need him to guard the stairs."
Eric looked over at Danny this time with a livid expression across his face. "Dan, think about this."
Danny met Eric's gaze. "I've got this. Just do
as she says."
Eric grunted and slowly backed up to the door with his hands up. His boots made light footsteps on the metal stairs as he disappeared into the darkness.
The woman pointed at Danny. "You shut that door and slide that steel pipe across."
Danny turned around and picked up the pipe that was resting on the door frame. He felt a tug in his right leg. He looked down and saw that his 1911 was missing from its holster.
The woman stepped back until she was against the wall. "Alright, first slide that pack over to me. Then I want you to take that plate carrier off and that knife on your right side."
Danny did as she asked, trying to keep his movements slow and methodical. He tossed his pack at her feet. The tearing of velcro drowned out Danny's sigh as he slid the body armor off. He set it on the floor next to him and then pulled the Ka-bar from his sheath, setting it down. The metal clinked on the floor.
"Now what?" Danny asked. He felt relieved taking off all that weight, but he also felt naked oddly enough.
"Take two steps back and lay face down on the floor. While you're at it, cross your arms behind your back when you get down."
Danny did as she asked. He heard her boots come closer, and he felt her grab his two index fingers with a fierce grip. It hurt him a little, but he kept the sighing to himself. She handled all his pockets pulling everything from them. Danny could feel her warm breath on his neck as she transferred his fingers to her left hand, and she began searching his right side. She made him roll to the side as she tapped his waistline.
"Easy, easy," Danny stammered.
"Oh, pipe down."
Danny could feel a hand pull something from his left side.
The woman laughed. "Grown man with a teddy bear. Not creepy at all."
Danny watched the bear get thrown on the rest of his gear. Jazzy Bear stared back at him with a blank expression.
I’m so sorry, Susan.
The search went on for another minute. The woman's grasp on his fingers released and Danny heard her step away from him.
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