Dante laid down the still panting boy in his armchair and returned to the window. A few tense moments passed. No more infected came. Turning back inside, he eyed the small child. Noah was doubled over, gasping weakly for breaths.
“Are you okay.”
“No... I need... my... inhaler...”
“Shit. The nearest pharmacy is several blocks away. Can you go without it?” “ My mom... has one...” “The...” He gulped again, hungry for breath. “The... prison.”
“Where is she? Do you know?” “ Well, that's only a few blocks from here. We can make it before sunset.” He grabbed Noah and slung him back over his shoulder. The climb back down was even harder than the climb up, but he made it swiftly and hurried off down the street.
The prison loomed ahead in the distance, it's front gate torn down and broken. Dante marched onwards until he reached the entrance and he kicked the door in. No point wasting time. The sun was already beginning to set behind them and the corridors were dark and foreboding.
A body in a military uniform lay in front of them, it's eye blown out by a gunshot. Dante stared at it for a moment, before readjusting Noah over his shoulder, and cocking his pistol.
He whispered into Noah's ear. “This prison is large, so we'll start exploring it wing by wing. Once we find a safe place, I'll leave you there, while I continue looking.”
Noah sighed a weak affirmative, and Dante continued trotting down the corridors, boy slung over his massive shoulder. He moved like an animal stalking its prey and crept forward with his pistol readied.
Exhaustion soon took him, but he forced himself to keep going. It was tiring work, carrying even the small child around and moving as quickly as he did, although he wouldn't allow himself a moment's rest. Every moment he considered stopping, the boy's frantic gasping pushed him on.
They needed to find that inhaler, and soon. Noah seemed to be getting worse, and Dante didn't know what he'd do if the boy died. The only other thought in his mind was of the boy's mother. Such a mother could only be an angel. After all, she gave birth to this young savior that lay over his shoulder, so she must be equally divine. Perhaps he'd finally found someone to marry, a woman worth sitting as his side. That thought alone was enough to keep him going, even as his muscles began to ache.
Chapter Thirty
Bitten
Isaac ran furiously up the steps, grimacing as he heard the pounding feet behind him. He was old and he could feel it. Running like this was a young man's game. Chancing a quick look back, he saw one of the infected already within reach and he summoned a new burst of speed to propel him forward.
It didn't matter, though, for the infected man behind him lunged and Isaac fell to the tiled floor with a hard crash. A burst of fiery pain spread through his leg as sharp teeth ripped into his thigh. With a solid punch, he knocked his assailant off of him and stood back up again on shaky legs. His attacker was out cold and no other pursuers were in sight, but he ran anyway.
When he saw a door labeled “Rooftop Access”, he reached for the knob and turned. Locked. Shit. Finally, he gave up and kicked at the door. A fresh wave of pain shot up his injured leg and he fell to the ground, tears of agony and frustration welling up in his eyes. The rooftop seemed the safest place to go and he didn't know where else to try. Rising again, he looked down both ends of the hallway and saw it was empty. Empty, except for a corpse laying ten feet away, dressed as a janitor.
He paused momentarily, to consider whether or not he really could have been so lucky, before walking over to the body and grabbing the keyring attached by a chain to its belt. A howl in the distance sent a shiver up his spine and he yanked the keyring hard, ripping it from the chain that bound it. Hurrying back to the door, he began inserting the keys one by one, trying each futilely. Eventually he found one that clicked and the door swung open. He rushed inside and locked the door behind him. The staircase was pitch black. He stumbled up the stairs blindly, until he reached another door. This one was unlocked, and he once again thanked his luck.
He opened the door slowly and sunlight flooded in, leaving him temporarily blind. But the sunshine felt good on his face and he stepped through, taking a brief second to enjoy the feeling of fresh air. The pain in his leg reminded him of the bite and he let out a loud sigh. He was done for. Sooner or later, he'd be infected too. He thought he could already feel the infection, like a parasite worming its way through his body, taking over his healthy cells and replacing them with a perversely twisted version of what nature intended.
The only thought remaining on his mind was how long he had left. How many more days would he get to spend with the boys? The boys! In his pain and sorrow, he had almost forgotten them. They had split up in the attack, and for all he knew they were already heading home. He walked on shaky legs to the edge of the roof and surveyed the land below. The wreckage in the streets was piled high and the stench from the many scattered corpses reached all the way up to the roof. But no sign of the boys. Either they were still inside, were dead, or already at home. He prayed for the latter to be true, and decided to head home as quickly as possible.
The descent down the fire escape ladder was painful on his injured, bleeding leg, and he took each step delicately. When he reached the bottom, he noticed a pool of his own blood lying on the ground and he stopped to tie off the wound. He grit his teeth and tied his shirt around his thigh tightly.
Rushing home, he was thankful the way was clear. By the time he reached the roof of the apartments, he was already feeling
lightheaded. He hoped that it was from the bleeding and not the first sign of the infection at work.
Eileen greeted him with great enthusiasm inside, but her smile quickly turned to a frown.
“Where are the others?”
He cocked his head to the side. “They're not back yet?”
“No, I though they were with you.”
“We got attacked and split up. Shit. They must still be out there.”
She shook her head. “I think we should – Isaac, you're bleeding. Are you okay?”
“It's just a flesh wound, don't worry about it.”
“Are you sure? It looks bad.”
“I tripped and fell on my knife. It's alright. I have to go. Goodbye, Eileen.”
“Wait, I want to go with you!” “ It's too dangerous out there, and your arm is still healing. Stay safe here. I'm worried enough about the boys, and I don't want to have to worry about you, too.”
She slumped in her chair. “Fine.” “ I'll be back soon, and I'll bring them back safe and sound. Don't worry, sweetie. I'm sure you'll feel better when you see John's smiling face.” He winked at her, and smiled.
“What do you mean?”
“I'm old, not blind. I can see the fire between you two.”
“It's not like that, honestly.” He winked again. “Sure thing. I'll see you soon.” With that, he turned and closed the door behind him, venturing back out into the streets. The pain was getting worse in his leg and he hoped he had longer time left in him than he guessed.
A gunshot sounded faintly in the distance, in the direction of the school. He trotted off at a light jog, as fast as he could go with his injury, and prayed that it wasn't too late. Either way, he figured, he was a dead man, but if he could just save the boys it would make it all worthwhile. It startled him to realize just how fond he had grown of the two young men. They were closer to him than anyone he'd known and they'd only been together for a few weeks. He didn't know if that was a sign that he just had some special connection to them, or whether his past relationships had really been so empty.
With renewed vigor, he charged into the school, holding his knife out in front of him and began to follow the path that they took. Up the stairs he went and he saw a pile of corpses piled outside a classroom door. Cautiously creeping up, he prodded the bodies with the toe of his shoe, to make sure they were dead. One of the bodies twitched and he jumped, startled, before realizing it was dead. Just a random firing of n
erves.
He inspected the door and found it shattered thoroughly. A tangled pile of desks and chairs stood between him and the classroom. Must have been their barricade. He peeked his head inside and saw little. Nobody seemed to be there. As he pulled his head back out from the broken door, he noticed the window was open. He sighed. They must have already left.
Turning back, he debated his next choice to make. Either head home, go off to die, or continue searching for the boys. He wanted to find them, but realized that they could be anywhere. Finally he decided to head back. It was too soon to go off to die, like some sick animal skulking off into the woods to either keel over or get better. Not that he had any chance of getting better. Every passing moment he felt the pull of the infection working its way through him. His forehead was sweating and feverish, and he felt weak and nauseous.
But he still had time left and he had to see the boys and Eileen one last time, so he turned back around and took a slow, meandering route home. He felt strangely at peace with his impending demise and was comforted, even a little proud, to know that he was ready to die. No crying, no pleading with invisible gods for a second chance, he was ready to face it like a man. It was interesting to learn this about himself, and he felt that much stronger for it.
The apartment building came into view. He paused. Eventually he decided to go for a walk, something he hadn't done for a while. He needed the fresh air and the pain in his leg was still tolerable. He walked for a long time, unafraid of potential attacks, and it was a few hours before he finally reached home. The sun hung low in the sky and he admired it, soaking in every last detail of the brilliant shades of purple and red that painted the horizon, and the light, fluffy clouds that drifted lazily overhead. For all he knew, it could be his last sunset, and he was going to enjoy it.
Chapter Thirty One
Chance Meeting
“Paul!” A loud shot echoed throughout the tiny room, amidst the sound of the rapidly falling barricade. John closed his eyes and felt the tears sting his eyes. The sound of the tangled pile of desks and chairs inching inwards with each heave of bodies against it filled the room and he opened his eyes again, watching the crawling infected maneuver through the barricade. One of them was almost through, only its leg remained stuck inside the mound. He raised his gun to fire at it, when a gunshot by his head nearly deafened him and the body slumped down, blood pooling from its skull.
He turned and saw Paul holding out his gun, aiming into the barricade. He squeezed the trigger again and another body stopped moving.
“Paul! I thought you -” “ I just couldn't do it, not yet at least. Besides, you're a terrible shot, and I couldn't leave you to handle these yourself.” He wore a twisted grin and fired another volley of shots into the crowd outside the door, until the last of them fell.
“I think you got the last of them.” “ We're still trapped though, and more may come. We're running low on ammunition, so we need to think this through, and fast.”
“ Well, we can either clear the barricade and take our chances out there, or we can go out the window.”
Paul peered through the glass. “The ground outside the window is crawling with them, and I don't think we have the ammo to take them all out and make it back home.”
“ What if we shimmy across the ledge of the window and go in through another
classroom?”
“That... that may actually work. Let's do it.” The two brothers opened the large window and carefully climbed out, standing on the thin ledge that separated them from the ground below. The infected mob beneath them howled in anger and leaped up with
outstretched arms, grasping wildly for them. With tense nerves, they carefully sidestepped down the way, until they had passed several windows.
“Let's go in here. I'm scared out of my wits doing this. I fucking hate heights.” John nodded in agreement and bashed the window with the butt of his gun. The glass shattered inwards and the pair used their guns to clear away the jagged edges. Stepping inside, Paul breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Let's get going now, and fast.” They opened the classroom door and peered out. The hallway was clear, except for a mound of bodies that lay outside the other classroom three doors to the left. Advancing together, they headed down the stairs side by side. John slipped on a puddle of blood and nearly fell down the steps before Paul caught him by the arm.
“Careful.” He whispered. They reached the entrance to the school uneventfully and started heading for home. Halfway there, they stopped dead in their tracks and moaned. A surging mob came pulsing towards them, and they turned to run as fast as their legs would carry them.
Storefronts whizzed by and they both felt exhaustion creep up on them. With lungs bursting for air, they continued to pump their legs furiously as the mob slowly gained on them.
John stopped and yanked on the door to a store with metal shutters over the windows.
“Wait, let's get in through here!” Paul stopped running and pivoted back, and together they kicked at the locked door. It refused to budge and the mob was only two blocks away.
“Fuck this, I'll shoot the lock.”
“Then we won't be secure!”
“Too bad, John. Here we go -” The lock clicked and the door swung open. A police officer in a dirty uniform stood inside, motioning them in. “Hurry!”
The brothers wasted no time rushing through the door and the officer slammed it shut behind them, locking it firmly. A moment later, the door shuddered, as body after body piled against it, pounding furiously with bloodied fists.
John and Paul pointed their pistols at the door, before the officer gestured for them to lower their guns. “Don't worry. We're safe in here. They can't break through that door.”
“Are you sure? It doesn't look that sturdy.” “ This isn't the first assault we've faced. We're in the clear. They'll eventually give up, once they catch the scent of fresh meat.”
“ Thank you, I don't know what to say.” Paul extended his hand and the man shook it firmly.
“I'm Clive, and my friends here are Alice and Amir.” The two turned to look behind them and saw the man and woman behind the counter, staring at them over a game of cards. Paul gave a weak wave and John walked forward.
“ I'm John, and this is my brother Paul. On behalf of both of us, I want to thank you all for saving us. I hope that soon we can repay the favor.”
Amir got off his stool and shook both of their hands. “Praise Allah, every survivor is a great boon. I am glad to know there are more of you out there.”
Alice stayed quiet, glancing at the two newcomers. Clive walked down the aisle and grabbed a bag of chips, passing them to the brothers. “You two must be hungry. Eat up, we have plenty.”
John nodded with gratitude and Paul ripped open the bag.
Alice finally spoke up. “Where have you two been holding up?”
“ In the apartment complex on the corner of Washington and Barstow. The one with the blue front.”
“ I know it. How have you been doing for food? I'm curious to see how other people have been managing.”
“ We just came from a food run at the school, when we got attacked. We barely escaped, only to run into that mob out there.” John pointed towards the pounding doors.
“Well, I'm glad you're here, we could use more hands around.” “ Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful and all, but we can't stay. We have friends left behind and we'll need to return once the coast is clear.” “Sorry.”
“Oh.”
“No, it's fine, you need to find your friends.” John paused and thought for a moment. “You are right about one thing. We could use more hands around. Why don't you three come with us? Our place is well-protected, and if we carry off as much food as we can we could be set for weeks. We could make a great team.”
“I don't know -”
“Yes.” Clive interrupted. “That sounds like a solid plan. When do you want to leave?”
“As soon as possible.” Amir walked
behind the counter and grabbed a handful of plastic grocery bags. “Let's start preparing now.”
In silence, the group began to load up bag after bag of food, until soon they had a substantial pile. Then they turned to the matter at hand, and began planning their escape.
Chapter Thirty Two
New Comrades
Vincent held up his hands. “Don't shoot!”
The man towering over him hesitated, before lowering his gun. “You're not infected?”
“No, I'm a prison guard from up the way. I just barely survived, before I ran out of gas here.” “ Well, we could use another man who can fire a gun. Come on in.” The man stooped over and extended his hand to Vincent. He took the hand offered to him and the man helped him to his feet. “Sorry about the blow to the face. Didn't know if you were infected or not.”
Vincent rubbed his broken nose tenderly. “Don't worry about it.” Together, they walked into the cabin. A man lay on the couch inside, his left leg elevated by several cushions. He watched in curiosity as Vincent entered and nodded his head politely.
The man by his side spoke up. “I'm Jim, and this is Tom. We were part of a unit of the National Guard that was called in to evacuate the school in town, before we got split up from our squad by a swarm of infected. We're the only two left and Tom has a broken leg, so we've been extra careful about security. Don't get me wrong, Tom's a deadly shot, but he can't do much on that leg of his. So what's your name?”
“Vincent. So have you run into many infected out here?”
“Just a couple. It's pretty quiet out in this neck of the woods.” “ How's your food supply?” more soon, but the problem is, we figure most of the stores in town will have been emptied by now, so we're not sure where to go.”
“Dangerously low. We'll need to leave for
“The prison I worked at is still loaded with food, and is secure, for the most part.”
“Sounds good. We'll head up that way. Once daylight hits. Too risky in the dark.”
The Outbreak Page 14