by Smith, I. J
“YOU FUCKING IDIOTS!” he shouted, while he ran down the hall towards the noise. Jack ran from the hall into a foyer, quickly followed by the other three.
He looked towards the main doors of the building, two men stood there ripping down the planks of wood that secured the doors. “STOP!” Jack shouted out, raising his gun. It was too late, the last of the planks came off the door and they broke open, hundreds of zombies piled in.
The two men who opened the door were the first to fall, as they were attacked, one of them screamed out, “SEE YOU IN HELL!” he shouted out, laughing aloud. The laughing quickly turned to screams. They watched as the two men are torn apart.
Zombies approached them, “We need to get back to the others,” Bray told them.
“What about the kids?” Ryan asked in panic.
“We’re no good to them dead, now move,” Jack replied to him.
They ran down the hall, the zombies kept piling through the door. Jack and Bray stopped and turned, they faced the zombies and started shooting, the zombies, they shot went down, but the others just kept coming, they walked over the dead laying out in front of them, one Zombie stepped on another Zombie’s head crushing its skull. “We cannot lead them back to the others,” Bray told the others. The gunshots kept ringing out.
“In the basement, we can lead them down there and get outside and double…” Frank was saying, when Jack shouted out.
“RYAN STOP!” Ryan had run off, straight towards the double doors, he crashed through the doors. Elle looked outside to see Jack, Frank and Bray shooting at the zombies.
“Shit, quickly inside and barricade the doors,” Jack told them. They run inside and shut the door, Jack and Bray leaned against them.They braced themselves and the zombies tried to break down the doors. Jack and Bray struggled to stand their ground because there were just so many of them.
Elle limped to the doors to help and so did Clare who was followed by Joe and they all struggled to hold the doors.Some of the survivors ran to the door to help brace it.
A scream echoed through the room, as panic broke out. Ryan was standing at the back wall shaking in fear. Frank dragged over the table, people moved to allow him to push it closer to the door.
“That’s not going to be enough,” Jack shouted to him. “Look for another way out,” Jack told everyone.
Frank looked around the room, he moved to Ryan. “Ryan, Ryan, look at me.” He told him, but Ryan was shaking and started to cry with fear, Frank grabbed him, “RYAN, WE NEED A WAY OUT!” Frank shouted at him. Ryan shook in fear, “behind the cabinet on the wall” Ryan replied scared. Frank looked round for a cabinet; there it was against the wall. He ran over, he pulled the cabinet out to reveal a door behind it. “JACK!” Frank shouted.
Jack was struggling to hold the doors, he looked to Frank, “GO, GET EVERYONE OUT!” he shouted back. Frank opened the door; behind it was a set of stairs leading up.
“THIS WAY!” Frank shouted.
The survivors started running through the door, Ryan ran over, he tripped over a woman as he tried to get away; he left her on the ground and carried on running. All the survivors were through the door, Jack shouted to Elle, “Go, take the kids.”
“The two of you can’t hold this alone,” Elle replied.
“GO!” Bray shouted.
She looked at Jack, “Please,” he told her. Elle grabbed Clare and Joe and made her way to the door. Elle struggled, but got through. Frank walked to face the door, he raised his gun, “OK, NOW!” he shouted out.Jack and Bray moved away from the door and joined Frank. A moment later, the doors crashed open and they started shooting.
The three men backed up to the escape door while still shooting. “Let’s go,” Frank told them
. Bray ran through the door, “Now you, “Jack told Frank.
“You first, no arguments,” Frank replied.
Jack looked at Frank in a new light of respect, now he was acting like a leader, Jack was thinking. Jack got through the door and stopped just behind, he raised his gun and shouted, “FRANK, STAY LOW,” Frank lowered his head and rushed to the door while Jack gave cover fire.
Frank pulled the door shut. Together they ran up the stairs, they run into a large room. Everyone was still panicking. “Don’t stop moving,” Frank told everyone. They ran towards a set of large, heavy door.
Bray was first to the doors, he tried opening them, but they were locked. “IT’S LOCKED!” Bray shouted out. Frank and Jack were standing at the top of the stairs; they looked down to see the door starting to break open. “IT’S LOCKED!” echoed over the room again.
Frank shouted out, “FUCKING SHOOT THE DAMN LOCK!” Bray used his sidearm and shot at the door lock, the wood cracked and the lock broke. He pulled the door open, looking inside; it was mostly clear except for tables and a few crates.
“IT’S CLEAR! COME ON!” Bray shouted. Everyone rushed into the room; Frank and Jack were the last ones through the doors.
As they entered, Bray ran over with a length of wood he found on the floor, he pushed the wood through the door handles, helping to keep the doors securely shut. Frank pushed down some locking bolts that were still on the doors. Jack focused his attention to the room, he looked around and could see crates, packaging, and it was obviously a storage room in the museum. Elle slumped to the floor in pain; her foot was getting worse, with Clare and Joe at her side. The survivors were moving around the room looking for another way out.
Jack noticed Ryan standing in the middle of the room. Jack walked up to him, anger was in his eyes, he never said a word Jack swung his arm and punched Ryan in the face.
Ryan hit the ground, “You are a selfish son of a bitch,” Jack shouted at him.
“Sorry, sorry I was afraid, I’m sorry” he cried
. Frank and Bray joined Jack, “sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Jack apologized to Frank.
“No problem, all you did was beat me to it,” Frank replied, looking at Ryan in disgust.
The room was full of panic, only the heavy wooden doors protected them from the swarm of zombies approaching. Bray was checking his guns, “I’m low on ammo,” he told Jack and Frank.
Checking his weapon also, Frank agreed. “Take these,” Jack handed them the spare ammo and gun he had.
“Give me your spare ammo for your sidearm, “Jack told them.
They gave him three clips of ammo, “That’s not going to last you very long,” Frank replied.
“We need to arm everyone,” Jack told them.
“What with?” Bray asked.
Jack pointed to the tables, “Look, there are tools and packaging equipment use that,” He told him, he pointed to the crates at the other side of the room, “Open those up, there may be something inside we can use,” Jack carried on speaking.
Frank and Bray approached the table, they found packing knives and hammers; they took what they could and handed them out to the survivors. Bray also found a crowbar, and after handing out the weapons to everyone, he turned his attention to the crate.
Elle was still on the floor in considerable pain. Jack walked over to her, she tried to hide the pain, but Jack knew she was in a bad way.
Clare and Joe were still by her side. “I’m going to get us out of here,” Jack reassured her. Elle tried to smile, but the pain was too much. “You two, look after her for me,” he asked the kids. Joe responded by saluting, Jack smiled and saluted back.
The sound of breaking wood sounded out around the room and then Bray shouted, “JACK!”
“What now!” Jack sighed as he stood up.
Jack joined Bray, “What is it?” Jack asked.
“I found the kids.” Bray replied.
A look of concern covered Jack’s face, he looked at the crates “No, please,” he whispered in fear of what could be in the crate. He moved to the crate and looked inside. Looking inside, he could see two young girls they could have only been about twelve years old. He leaned into the crate; they looked lifeless, as he reached down one of the girls
moved.
A young blonde child looked up at Jack. She looked dirty and dressed in filthy clothes. They were alive; Jack was relieved, pulled the girls out of the crate. Frank came running over to help. Some of the survivors also came to help. Jack looked to the other crate, “Quick open the rest,” he demanded. Everyone went to work to open the remaining crates, once open they had found six children in total.
They had very little water, but what they had, they give to the kids. Frank spoke to Jack,” What were they doing in there.” Frank was asking Jack.
“I don’t want to imagine,” Jack replied.
As they stood there, the heavy doors started to bang and a cracking noise echoed, the pole holding the door handle closed was starting to move. The groans of the dead behind the doors, started to scare the survivors and the kids, most of them started screaming.
Frank shouted out, “STAY CALM, WE ARE GETTING OUT OF THIS!” The doors cracked open slightly, a crack appeared and fingers of the dead started appearing.
“Frank! We need to get out of here,” Jack told him.
Bray joined them, “You have a plan,” Bray asked.
“We need to split up,” Jack replied.
“You serious,” Frank asked.
“There are too many of us, we’re too much of a target together. We split up the survivors into groups and move fast,” Jack told them both.
“Jack, Elle can’t move that fast,” Frank told him quietly. Jack looked over to Elle, “I will take care of Elle,” he told them.
“You two, split up the survivors and go separate routes, I will make sure Elle gets there,” he told them.
“Where?” asked Bray.
“The MI6 building, it’s secure and we have an evacuation point, if we get there, we can save these people, “Jack told them.
“That’s brilliant,” Frank told him.
The door started to crack under the pressure of the zombies. “We need to move now,” Bray told his friends. “We need to get out of this room first,” Frank replied.
“The windows, we are on the first floor. We drop out the windows and split up,” Jack told them. Jack continued to talk, “I will get Elle out of here,” Frank put his hand on Jack’s shoulder and then walked away to speak to the survivors.
Frank started to speak to the survivors, “We need to move, we will be going out the window and splitting up,” everyone in the room began to grumble, Frank continued, “Half of you will be with me the other half with Private Bray Murray.
We move in a few minutes, stay close and we will make it,” Frank finished. Jack was by the windows, he pulled the planks of wood from the windows. Looking out the window the sun had risen. The windows were stiff, so he broke the glass because the time was running out. The zombies were now pushing the doors so hard the brackets were beginning to move.
Once cleared, he shouted out, “OK, GO!”
Bray was the first out, he climbed on the ledge and was surprised it was only a few feet to the ground. He jumped down, raising his gun, “ITS CLEAR!” he shouted up to the window, and Jack started helping the people out. Several adults were out when Jack called for the kids; Clare had taken charge of all the kids.
She approached Jack, “We’re ready” Clare told him.
“You’re in charge,” Jack told her as he pulled a knife from his vest and gave it to her.
“For protection,” Jack smiled.
Clare threw her arms around him, “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear, as she pulled away, she kissed him on the cheek.
He then helped them down, Elle was talking to Frank. “I know what you have to do, I can’t keep up,” she told him.
Frank took her hand and pulled her up to her feet. “It never crossed my mind to leave you behind,” Frank replied.
“Jack will be helping you,” he told her. “NO, he will get himself killed trying to help me,” she replied.
Frank smiled and looked her straight in the eyes, “We both know, Jack would fight the devil himself to save you, and my moneys always going to be on Jack,” he reassured her. She smiled and with his help walked towards the window.
Jack now had everyone out, “Frank, your turn,” Jack told him. The heavy doors started to crack even more; they only had moments until the swarm made it into the room.
Frank started to climb out of the window, he turned back to Jack, “Good luck,” Frank told him, knowing he had the toughest task again, he continued to talk, “Look, I may not get a chance later, but thanks. You’re the reason we’re still alive,” Jack touched Franks chest, “Give me a kiss later,” Jack smiled as he replied.
Frank jumped down, “Bray, take your group and move,” he told him. Bray looked up to Jack; he gave a thumb up to him, a sign of respect for his friend who he did not think he would see again. Bray took his group and moved away. “Elle, your turn,” he told her.
He took her hand and helped her out the window, “You should leave me,” she told him.
“Never,” he replied. He then helped her down, as he let go of her the door started to crack open. “Shit,” Jack whispered, he knew the zombies would follow them. “WAIT THERE,” he shouted down to Elle and Frank. Jack looked around the room, a fire extinguisher hung on the wall, “My old friend,” he spoke to himself. He ran to the extinguisher and placed it in front of the doors, being close made the zombies go crazy, the zombies banged against the door and groaned louder and louder.
He ran back to the window, he took out his side arm, as he aimed his gun one of the doors smashed open. Jack fired at the extinguisher and an explosion echoed and the force pushed Jack out of the window, he hit the ground. “That hurt,” he spoke.
Frank helped him up, “You’re crazy,” Frank told him.
“You need to go,” Jack told him.
He looked to Elle and then back to Jack, “I want to see you both at MI6” Frank told them. He gathered his group and moved away in an opposite direction than Bray.
Jack and Elle stood alone, “Just you and me” Elle told him. He walked over and helped Elle by taking her arm and placing it around his shoulder. They started to move. As they walked away, zombies started to appear and followed them.
CHAPTER SEVEN
SEPARATE JOURNEYS
An explosion echoed throughout the streets, Bray turned to look towards the sound, it was obvious to him it came from the museum they had just escaped. Bray wanted to go back and check on his friends, but he had the responsibility of a group of survivors and the kids to think about first. Bray was leading the group down a long street, cars were abandoned, shops had been looted and bloodstains decorated the ground. Walking with his gun held high, Clare caught up to him, “Where are we going?” she asked.
Bray replied, “Somewhere safe, we will be meeting the others there.”
Clare looked at the group following, seven kids and four survivors followed them both. As they walked along the street, Bray looked at a body lay in the street, its body had been torn apart, the flesh eaten away, as he looked the body raised its head, he looked to see no flesh on its face, the skull could be clearly seen. Bray stopped, looking at the body attempting to drag itself towards him and the group.
Clare started to back up in fear, “We need to go, please I want to go,” she told Bray.
He looked at Clare and could see how scared she was. “Let’s go,” he replied. Before they could move a survivor ran over to the Zombie on the ground, a woman started hitting the Zombie with a crowbar; she screamed and cried as blood flowed. Bray ran over to her, he grabbed her round the waist and carried her away.
She struggled the entire way. “Calm down, please” Bray asked her. She started to cry uncontrollably, Bray let her go. “What’s your name?” he asked. “Zo... Zo...Zoe” she stuttered. Bray looked at her, red hair, pale complexion and in need of a good meal, Bray knew the survivors had been abused by their captors, but had no idea what had happened to her. He noticed a scar on her hand. “Zoe, I cannot imagine what they did to you, but they cannot hurt you now,
but we need to keep moving,” Bray told her, as he touched her arm.
Zoe pushed his hand away in anger, “I don’t trust you,” she told him abruptly.
Bray stepped back, “Fair enough, but we do need to move,” he replied
. Clare spoke out, “Hey, they saved us. We would still be in the place if not for them,” Clare told her in anger.
Zoe turned to Clare, “They work for the government that left us here!” Clare told her, while growing angrier.
Clare was getting more and angrier also, “You bitch!” she shouted at Zoe.
Before Zoe could respond the kids in the group started screaming. A group of zombies had appeared from an alleyway and were walking towards them. Bray shouted, “This way” As the group ran past him, Bray moved towards the Zombie raising his gun, he was about to shoot when a car rushed past him and drove into the zombies.
one zombie was pulled under the car and dragged under the wheels.
The Zombie was crushed under the weight of the car. The zombies that just hit the car started to get back to their feet, Bray opened fire, and he finished off the zombies. The car door opened, getting out the car was a familiar face.
Zoe walked towards Bray, as she walked past him she spoke, “I am never a victim that needs to be saved.” Bray sighed and turned to re-join the others. Zoe walked ahead by herself; Clare was back taking care of the kids. The survivors looked more scared than ever.
“This is going to be a long trip,” Bray whispered under his breath as he walked.
Frank was leading his half of the group towards the Thames, he planned to follow the waterfront and travel straight to the MI6 building. Ryan was very quiet; he had not spoken since Jack hit him. Frank was surprised by how quiet it was around them, he was expecting much more Zombie activity than what he had seen.
He decided to try to make peace with Ryan, he moved towards him, “Ryan, how you holding up?” Frank asked him.
Ryan looked in surprise, “What rank is Jack?” he demanded to know instead of answering the question.
Frank had a look of surprise on his face, “Why?” Frank replied.