Sara stood up from her cot and strolled over to the window, which looked down upon the main street below. It looked so peaceful to her with not a single person on the street, but it was difficult to ignore the signs of the events of the last few days. The pavement below, littered with pools of dried blood and body parts, was a clear reminder of what was occurring around them. She felt a presence behind her and turned just in time to see Jameson walk up next to her.
"It looked like a nice town, never been here before. Have you?" he asked.
She shook her head, "No, I have not. I didn't venture very far away from home, mainly just to and from the college."
Jameson stared at her amazed by how beautiful she looked as the bright sunlight caused her hair to glisten and her deep blue eyes to sparkle. He was only a year younger and always had a thing for her as they went through high school but had never had the guts to pursue it. "You know, Sara," he started, figuring this was as good a time as any to tell her how he felt, "I have always had a crush on you," his face turning bright red. "I know this isn't really the time to be telling you this, but with the way things look, I just needed to tell you, just in case...," he paused as he looked back out to the street below.
Sara reached over and placed her hand on his, "I know, Jameson, and to be honest with you, the feeling is and has always been mutual." She stared right into his eyes as he turned his gaze back to her, "Everyone was after your brother, the big football star, but I have never felt that way. It has always been you," she whispered to him.
"Really?" he asked, amazed at what she had just said.
A smile formed on her face, "Yes, you," she whispered as she leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
He reached out, placing his arms around her, pulling her in close. "Now I really want to get out of this mess," letting out a small laugh in the process.
Opening her eyes, she gazed out the window once again as she enjoyed the comforting feeling of the embrace when a vision of horror appeared before her. "Oh my God! There are thousands of them," she announced as she pulled away from Jameson.
Turning his gaze back to the street below, he saw what she was seeing: the same frightening sight. Thousands of dead were filling the street below them, and it appeared as though they were encircling the building. "Connor, Sheriff, you need to see this," he called out as he kept his eyes on the scene before them.
"What is it, brother?" Connor asked. All his brother did was point out the window at which time he saw the problem, and it was not something he had wanted to see. "We have to let the captain know. This is not good; there are so many of them."
The door behind them burst open, and Carter appeared. "Get away from the windows!" he yelled. "The damn things are everywhere, and it may be because they see you standing there."
The trio backed away from the window stopping Hobart who had just started to walk up to see the problem. "What can we do?" Connor asked.
"Grab your weapons; we may need to fight them if the doors don't hold," Carter replied as he turned and sprinted out of the room heading down to the main level.
They grabbed their weaponry and ran out of the room following Carter, wanting to give as much help to the soldiers as they could. Making it to the lower level, Hobart saw the captain standing by the rear door that they had entered through earlier. "Stay here," he told the others, "I need to find out what he wants us to do." Approaching Carter, he patiently waited for him to finish passing out orders to his men.
"What is it, Sheriff?"
"Captain, we are ready to help in any way we can. Where do you need us?"
Carter did not like having civilians fighting next to his own men, but he knew he did not have much of a choice being this badly outnumbered by the dead outside. "Alright, Sheriff, take your people and remain on the second level overlooking this entrance. If anything gets in, you know what to do," he told Hobart.
"Okay, we can do that." Pausing for a moment, he looked around above him and saw the catwalk over his head, which would give them a clear shot at the front entrance, "If you have no objection, I'm going to put two up there so that the front is also covered," he told Carter.
Nodding his head, Carter did not have a problem with his plan as long as they stayed out of the way. "Look, Sheriff, if things go bad in here, there is an escape hatch on the second floor at far end of the building. It will put you out on the roof, which will give you access to the building next door. It may help you get out of here if the need arises."
"Thanks, Captain, I will keep it in mind," he replied before heading back to the others to take up his position.
Once they were back up on the second level, Hobart had Jameson and Sara keep watch on the back door while he and Connor took up a position on the catwalk overlooking the front door. As they made their way around the open second floor to their position, they began to hear a thudding sound coming from the front of the building. Turning to Connor, "I think we have company," trying to lighten the moment with a bit of levity. "Come on, kid, let's get out there and get ready." The pair moved out onto the metal catwalk, quickly crossing the expanse taking their spot, giving them a clear kill zone if the dead made it inside.
Connor looked across the open space at his brother and Sara nodding to them, making sure they were ready. "Jameson, get ready to move if they get in, and start heading your way," he called across.
"We will be," Jameson replied, and he looked over at Sara who smiled and winked back at him.
Hobart had told them of the escape hatch at the far end of the building just in case it got bad, but they all prayed that it would go unused. As the thundering sound of the dead beating on the entrance doors grew, they all began to tense up as the anxiety and fear increased in each of them. They were startled when the gunshots began from the roof above as Captain Carter's men opened up on the throng below.
CHAPTER 9 – THE FIGHT
Everyone inside the building grew more and more tense as deafening sounds from outside grew. Captain Carter was receiving reports from his men on the roof advising him that the masses of dead were increasing in number with every passing minute. Looking at the front entrance to the building, he could see the hinges on the door beginning to buckle under the weight from constant bombardment of the dead.
"Captain, there have to be several thousand of them out here. There is no way we are going to be able to repel this many," Sergeant Miller reported.
Carter could hear the moans and screams of the zombies over the radio, almost drowning out Miller. He began to think whether this fight was a wise one as the throng of dead grew and grew. Looking up at the four on the catwalk and then gazing around at his men, he finally decided it is not worth losing more people. "Everyone, listen up," he yelled trying to be heard over the intense sound of the dead. "Pack it up; we are out of here. That door is not going to hold much longer, so hurry." He watched as his men, trained to a fine edge, leapt into action, each tending to his preassigned job.
Hobart just barely heard him over the deafening sound but did and quickly acknowledged him with a wave. Looking over at the others, he motioned to Jameson and Sara who indicated that they too heard the order to evacuate. The foursome quickly gathered their gear and made their way to the far end of the building where the escape hatch was supposed to be.
"Why aren't they coming?" Sara asked, looking back for Carter and his men. No one had to answer as the sounds of dead breaking through the doors and subsequent roar of gunfire provided her the answer.
Connor started to move back down to the open area of the second floor wanting to help the soldiers but stopped abruptly when several of the soldiers cleared the top step of the stairs and turned in their direction. He could make out Captain Carter, Sergeant Miller and two others as they ran his way, but behind them were several of the faster moving zombies in hot pursuit. Raising his rifle, he peered through the scope and quickly targeted the closest of the dead. Pulling the trigger, he let go of the high powered round, which hit its mark, taking th
e upper portion of the zombies head cleanly off.
"Great shot, kid, now get those others," Hobart told him before raising his assault rifle and opening fire.
Captain Carter was yelling something at them, but the noise and distance kept them from hearing what it was. Turning, he raised his weapon firing several rounds into the horde behind him, hitting the creatures in the chest slowing them enough for him and his men to gain some needed distance. The other soldiers quickly followed the lead of their captain, sending several more rounds back toward their pursuers, taking down the lead pair, causing the others to tumble to the floor.
Looking around her Sara began searching for the hatch hoping to get it open and get through it before the zombies made it to them. After several tense minutes of searching, she finally located it behind some large machinery and began working on prying it open.
"Get it open; get it open!" Carter yelled as he and his remaining men approached.
"Working on it," Sara yelled back still struggling with the lock. Finally, the latch released, and she cautiously pushed the door open praying that there were no dead out there waiting for her. Once she saw it was clear, she called to the others letting them know the hatch was open, and the roof was free of zombies.
Jameson approached the hatch and quickly pushed Sara through, "You first," he told her. Once she was clear, he quickly followed, rolling to the side so the others could file through. As the last of Carter's men came through the hatch, he nodded to them, "Go ahead and close it; they got Benny," the soldier called out between breaths.
Slamming the hatch shut, they realized there was not a way to lock the hatch from the outside; the only lock was on the inside. "We are sitting ducks up here," Hobart said. "We can't lock the damn thing, and they sure as hell are going to follow us." Just as he said this the hatch flew open, and the first of the dead started to push its way through but was quickly dispatched by Hobart with a single shot to the back of its head.
"Maybe if we kill enough of them, the bodies will block the hatchway," Sara said from behind them. Seeing the dismissive looks on their faces, she got angry, "Hell, I'm serious!"
"Best idea I've heard today," Carter said as he knelt down shooting the next of their pursuers as it emerged through the hatchway.
While the men guarded the hatch, Sara walked to the far end of the roof looking around for another way out of this mess. Jameson moved up next to her, "See any way for us to get out of here?"
"Not yet but the captain said there was some way to the next roof from here."
Jameson looked over at the far building, which had to be more than thirty feet away, wondering how they would possibly make that distance. Staring at the gap, he looked toward the back of the building and finally saw the way across, albeit a dangerous way. "Look back there," he told Sara, "the pipes that cross between the buildings. That has to be what Carter has in mind. I just don't see another way."
The pair sprinted down to the far end of the roof and began examining the escape path as the gunshots from the hatch grew more frequent. The row of pipes, only a few inches in diameter but running side by side, gave them a very small path to the next building. "Jameson, this has to be what he was talking about. I just don't see how we can get safely across," Sara said as she examined the pipes.
"We can make it, just have to go slow and be careful."
"I know, but," she looked down at the ground below, "it's a long way down."
Jameson looked back at the others, "Come on; it's this way!" he yelled. Turning back, he stepped up onto the pipes, which measured all of eight inches wide when put together and started out across the expanse. Looking back at Sara, he held out his hand to her, "Come on. I will help you across."
She reached out grasping his hand, hesitating for a moment before stepping up onto the pipes. Nervously she inched her way out following Jameson closely and trying not to look down at the ground thirty feet below. The distance between buildings seemed large before she stepped out onto the pipes, but now that she was out there, it seemed miles longer. "Jameson, I don't know if I can do this. It's so far across, and I just can't do heights," she nervously said squeezing his hand tightly.
"Relax; we don't have much further to go, and we will be safely across." The building on the other end of the makeshift bridge was clear of zombies, so safety was close. Looking down, he was thankful that none of the dead were below them, so for now, they did not know that they were crossing to the new building, which might help them all in getting away from the hordes of dead. A few minutes later, the other roof was finally under foot, so Jameson jumped down onto it. Spinning around, he helped Sara down off the pipes. Reaching down to his holster, he drew his sidearm and quickly scanned the roof searching for any signs of trouble before waving to the others to follow them.
Connor watched as Jameson and Sara ventured across the expanse, wanting to be sure that they made it to safety before following behind them. Seeing the wave from his brother and with the hatchway now blocked with bodies, the remaining members of Captain Carter's squad moved across the roof to where the pipes crossed and began the long dangerous trip across the space between buildings. Connor, Hobart and Carter waited until they all made it across before venturing out.
"Come on, kid, let's get moving. I want to be out of sight of those things before they make it through the hatch," Hobart said as he stepped out onto the pipes.
Looking back at the hatch, Connor could see the dead pushing the bodies blocking their way, so he quickly hopped up onto the pipe-bridge and followed. The trio moved carefully across the expanse and onto the far roof without incident. Once safely across, they all gathered at the door which they hoped led to a stairwell down into the building.
As they prepared to open the door, Sara noticed blood dripping on the ground and quickly looked up at the man next to her. She could see the flowing red liquid oozing from a gaping wound on the man's right arm. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked as she looked up at the face of the soldier.
"Yeah, I'm fine–just got nipped by one of those damn things," he replied as he grimaced in pain.
Sara looked at Captain Carter, and she could tell by the look on his face that he knew what was in store for this man. Nodding his head to her, "He was bitten. The change is coming for him, so we will have to keep an eye on him."
"What do you mean keep an eye on him?" Hobart asked. "You know damn well he is going to change into one of those things, and we sure as hell don't want him with us when he does change."
"Listen, Sheriff, he is one of my men, and I don't leave anyone behind. Understand?"
"Hell, Captain, you're not leaving him behind; he's as good as dead already, and you know it."
"There is no way I am leaving him, got it!" Carter yelled. "He is one of my men, and I am responsible for them all."
Hobart had an idea how he felt, especially after he lost so many people he knew early on, but bringing this man with them was a risk, and with all they were facing, it was an unneeded risk. He looked over at the soldier and could tell he did not have much longer. The color had already drained from his face, and the blood continued to flow from the bite. "Captain, I can sympathize with you. Losing soldiers under your command is tough, but you know there is nothing we can do for him so bringing him with us just puts us all in danger."
As much as Carter wanted to disagree with him, he knew he was right, and as much as it hurt to lose another of his men, he had to do it. Looking over to the soldier he could see the blank look on his gray colored face, "Everyone, back away." Raising his weapon he whispered, "I'm sorry," and fired.
The shot rang out, echoing throughout the town catching the attention of the dead that were in search of their prey. Turning in unison toward the source of the shot, they all started moving toward the building that housed their food and began their assault.
CHAPTER TEN – ESCAPE
As soon as Carter pulled the trigger, he knew he had made a mistake. The loud shot, heard for miles around them, attracte
d the dead to their new hiding spot. "Everyone inside," he said as he spun around and yanked open the door. As the door opened, it revealed a dark staircase heading down into the building. As they all piled inside, they could hear the sounds from outside as the dead started to mass around the building.
Running down the steps, everyone kept their weapons at the ready not knowing who or what they might encounter inside the building. Once at the bottom of the stairwell, they spread out, quickly searching the floor for any unwanted guests. Once they had cleared the area, the dwindling group gathered back at the base of the stairs to try to figure out their next step. The thudding began to vibrate through the building as the dead searched for a way inside, which only enhanced their desire to find a means of escape.
"Any idea what is housed in this building?" Connor asked looking directly at Carter.
Shaking his head he looked down at the carpeted floor, "Unfortunately, no. We did not have enough time to get in here and find out what was inside."
"In that case, maybe we should give it a once over and see if there is anything we can use to protect ourselves, along with making sure we are alone."
"I agree," Carter replied. "Why don't you four head that direction, and I will take my men this way," pointing down a long hallway.
Nodding back at the captain, Connor looked at his friends, "You guys ready?"
"Hey, kid, let's be careful. Try not to show yourselves at any windows; they may not know for sure that we are in here."
"You got it. Meet back here in an hour or so, and if you hear any shooting, feel free to come and give us a hand," he said with a half-hearted laugh.
Heading down the hallway, Connor and Hobart led the way with Sara and Jameson following closely behind while Carter and his men went in the opposite direction. The long carpeted hallway led to another descending stairwell, but this one led into a large open area below. As they started down, the group stopped as soon as they saw the large windows to the outside.
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