Chapter 4 – Haley
As second in command, I had to take charge. I regrouped with the group in the RV and we layed out a plan. Zach and Ryan would search the alleyways around the complex, while Wilson, Weir and I would take the inside of the complex. We would search until we found a body, that was the plan. Zach and I had walkie-talkies to keep contact in case we found something. Wilson, Weir and I then took to the complex. My brain kept telling me that we had to find him, we had to find Jeremy safe and sound, but something in my gut told me we wouldn’t. It told me that we were either going to find a lifeless corpse, or nothing at all. I didn’t like that at all.
“We’ll find him Haley, don’t worry.” Andrew tried to reassure me, but it wasn’t much help.
“He’s Jeremy, he’s alive.” Weir added.
“He may be Jeremy guys, but he’s only one man. He can only fight for so long and take so much before his body destroys itself. There’s no denying he’s going to die eventually, I just hope today is not that day.” I responded. No one was immortal, not even Jeremy as much as I hated to admit it. We approached a room on the first floor, the room Jeremy was supposed to be in when he vanished. We opened the door and entered the room. Books were scattered around the floor, but some were in a neat stack on the coffee table. The one on top read ‘sure-shot, the legendary assassin’. That was something I knew Jeremy would like, so I knew he’d been here. I looked at the bookshelf and only one book remained on the shelf. I looked over to what appeared to be an air conditioning vent, but below it, there was an open hatch that appeared to stretch only into darkness. I gazed into the abyss and figured that this was the only lead we had. I radioed Zach and told him we had a lead and to go back to the RV to get some rope. He obeyed and told us he would be here as soon as he could. But the clock was ticking, and I had to do something fast. Without a second thought, I jumped down into the abyss. I felt myself plummeting to the ground, and braced myself for harsh impact. I hit the ground with a loud thud, and steadied myself. The fall hurt my legs a bit, as to be expected, but at least the injuries weren’t unbearable. I looked up to assess the room. It was so dark I could barely see. The only light I could make out was a faint glow from the other side of the room. I made my way over and saw something shimmering in the light. I quickened my pace and got to the far end of the room. A big puddle of seat and blood greeted me. In the middle of this sickly pile was a battered body. The blood appeared to be coming from it’s mouth, the sweat came from all over. It wasn’t long before I realized the body laying beneath my feet were what used to be my friend, Jeremy. I quickly checked him for vital signs, and found them weak but present. I talked to Zach with my walkie-talkie and scolded
“I need that rope right now Zach! Jeremy’s passed out and bleeding badly! He’s probably got some internal injuries as well as the injuries I can see.” I tried not to sound too hopeless, but it was hard considering I saw my brother beneath me dripping blood from the mouth and passed out down here for god knows how long.
“We’re almost to the room Haley, just hang on”. He replied with panic present in his voice. I knelt down to Jeremy to try to wake him up, but to no avail. He was dangerously close to stopping his breathing, I needed Zach to get here right now. Jeremy needed desperate medical attention and in a zombie apocalypse, that is very hard to come by. Finally, after about a minute that felt as if it were an eternity, I heard a small thud on the ground behind me, followed by Zach calling
“There’s the rope Haley, get out of there!” I then lugged Jeremy over my shoulder to the rope. I then tied the rope around his waist and tugged to signal Zach to pull him up. The guys pulled him up and lowered the rope again. I then went up and returned to the surface. When I climbed out of the hatch, I saw Zach and Ryan taking Jeremy out of the room, Wilson and Weir were planning out supplies to get for Jeremy’s recovery, but I didn’t see Caitlin anywhere. One thing is certain, due to Jeremy’s incapacitation; I was the group’s new leader, even if temporary. I went over the list of supplies to get for Jeremy with Weir and Wilson, and I assigned them roles of what to get. Weir would get bandages and anti-bacterial wraps if there were any left, and Wilson would get cotton swabs, painkillers, plastic bags, plastic tubes, and water. I would get rags and fresh clothes and report back to the RV to prepare Jeremy. I scoured the rest of the apartment complex for some kind of medical equipment, but only found few, none of which were what I was looking for. I then found the manager’s office, which looked pretty much ransacked from what I could see from the outside. I slammed my entire body into the wooden door blocking me from the inside, and left a huge crack down the middle. I few more hits from my body going full force and it was down. Unfortunately, the impact of the blow left me sprawled across the floor with an injured left shoulder, and I heard a zombie-like hiss from somewhere in the room. I glanced up to find the source, but couldn’t make out where it had come from. I did, however, see a first aid kit on the other side of the room. I half-crawled, half-limped to the kit and opened it. Bandages, Rags, A Blood Bag, Anti-Bacterial stuff, and other miscellaneous items were in there, which was the first convenient thing that has happened in a while. I closed the kit and tucked it under my right arm snugly. I turned around and was slammed into the wall by the zombie that made the noise earlier. I kicked it’s legs, luckily, one broke away and the zombie went down. I curb-stomped his head like a 3-month old Halloween pumpkin, and I no longer had a threat. I checked myself for bites, but luckily, had none. I started to take off, but something told me to check the closet. I opened the closet door in the back of the room and found casual clothes, a plain white-T, blue jeans, red sneakers, and black socks. The manager for this building must have been a ‘casual joe’ to have kept these in the manager’s closet. I also found a Colt .45 on the floor next to the sneakers. I picked it up and examined it, it appeared to be brand new, but only had one bullet inside. I instantly knew what these items were for, these must’ve been the manager’s favorite clothes and these were here in case he wanted to commit suicide. However, the zombies must have got him before he got the chance. I took the clothes, the gun, and the first aid kit and walked out and headed toward the RV. When I got there, I had discovered Weir had gathered his supplies, increasing our medical supply count greatly, and Wilson was still in the building trying to find more supplies. I checked on Jeremy, who was in the master bedroom of the RV, still passed out. Ryan had doctored him up pretty good, that’s why I loved him. He was part doctor, part teddy bear, and part badass. He told me that Jeremy’s pulse had increased and, given he got the medical supplies he needed, he would make it through this ordeal. This was the best news I had received in a long time. Jeremy wasn’t only my friend, he wasn’t only my leader, he was my big bubby, and I loved him.
Kinemortophobia (The Fear Of The Undead) Book 1 Page 4