Before You

We all started to walk further into the city, leaving Elexus behind us. She held her ground, keeping her stare icy cold as we put the distance between us, and eventually started walking the opposite direction. The skyscrapers seemed to only get bigger the longer we walked. Soon, the edge of the road split off into a T and beyond were a thick expanse of wood.

“So what was that all about?” I asked, referring to the trap we were lured into.

Aiden cocked an eyebrow, gauging what he could tell me no doubt. After a moment he said, “these guys in black like to come in every now and then, dressed quite like you guys. They have superior weapons and ammo. We ambush them, take their weapons and leave them to the dogs. I’ve seen them corral up some survivors. Not sure what they do with them though, and I don’t want to find out. Something tells me its no rescue mission. You two were the first that actually got a jump on us.”

At the mention of guys in black, I immediately thought they may have been members of the organization but kept it to myself. We walked further into the city in silence except for Bree, who continued to groan in pain. Her leg was still trickling blood, leaving a trail behind us that Aiden kept eyeing warily. I was about to ask another question when the sound of breaking glass caused us all to look up. Glass rained down as something large came tumbling out of a window about thirty feet up. It was so close that I had to shield my eyes and face from the falling shards with my arm before I stepped away. When the body hit the earth it sounded like a sack of eggs hitting concrete as the bones broke. Ande made a gagging noise and I took a few steps toward the unmoving person. The first thing that hit me was the smell. I swallowed hard as the odor filled my nostrils, and as I made my way closer I no longer expected to find a body. I saw two arms, a leg, a torso and a head full of matted hair. I didn’t find a body, I found a corpse. I saw appendages bent in odd ways, the flesh was deathly white, and sick looking. Most of it was hanging off the bone, and smelled like it was rotting from the inside out. Whoever they were, they had been dead for a while.

I turned towards Aiden, who had his shotgun poised at me and ready to fire. Confusion filtered in my eyes but my fingers were already reaching for my gun. I pointed it at him, prepared to pull the trigger before he did when something grabbed my ankle. I spun around, gun pointed at whatever had snagged me. I shot once, kicking the hand away as I did. Fingers broke off but no matter how many shots I fired, the corpse kept coming after me. Its face was half torn off, an empty eye socket stared back at me as maggots marked the trail from whence it came. Yellowed teeth sneered out of its mouth, drool escaping its corners. I moved just an inch to my left when a shot rang out and the thing fell into a pile on the asphalt. Its brains splattered the ground behind it, a few pieces catching on the front of my boots.

“About time you gave me a clear shot."

I turned toward Aiden, smoke still coming out of the barrels of the gun he just fired. My fingers loosened on my own weapon and after another moment, I put it away. “What the hell was that?"

“That is what we are hoping you don’t turn into later," Aiden answered casually.

“Do you have special ammo in that thing?” I asked, nodding towards the shotgun responsible for killing the rabid human.

Aiden shook his head, “have to aim between the eyes. Only way to kill them is to destroy the brain. Even if you sever their heads, they’ll keep trying to take a chunk out of you.”

I wanted to laugh. Suddenly the ‘see it to believe it’ statement seemed illogical. Before the laugh could bubble up from my stomach to my throat and escape in exaggerated hysterics, I suppressed it by asking, “so you are telling me that this is some city that was overcome with disease and is now crawling with the undead?”

The question sounded more like an irrational suggestion. Aiden, and the gang just stared at me like it was a rhetorical one. Apparently I answered it with alarming accuracy. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing my eyes on the release. When I opened them, Ian and Bree were already hobbling away, Ande close behind them.

“Okay, I’ll play along.” I was hoping with time my ability to absorb the information and actually believe it would sink in. Until then I was just floating through the motions. If you told me the president was seen having tea with a yeti I’d nod my head and casually go on with my day.

Aiden turned and started walking towards the outside of the wooded area. The others had already entered through its thick brush. As we walked further into the forest, it seemed to get darker and darker with every step. Before long, a fog shrouded the ground and it was hard not to trip on the foliage. After a while, Aiden started walking away from the group in a different direction. Before I could ask where he was going he said, “I’ll be right back, keep following them.”

I did as he said and kept a short distance behind. I tried to make a mental map of my route and surroundings, noting the pine tree’s, maples and oaks. A shot rang out, causing a few blackbirds to flee from their perches. A couple of more shots followed, and from the sounds of it, Aiden wasn’t the only one responsible for the noise. Everyone stopped, listening for more gunfire. When none came, Ian and the others started to pick up their pace. I was a little more reluctant to just forget and leave. Before I took a step a twig snapped. The rustling of leaves grew louder and more frequent. I poised my gun in the direction of the sound, finger tight on the trigger. I relaxed and lowered my weapon the minute I saw two faces emerge from the thick trees and fog.

Aiden glanced at me before walking passed in the direction the others went. Elexus was right behind him. It was the first time I’d noticed the bullet hole in her arm, the blood trickling down over her slender fingers. She pushed by me with out looking up. I never did ask what happened.

A long trek later we arrived in front of what looked like a mall. Typical. But it made sense. A mall, a good one anyway, carried all necessary supplies for living. There was food, shelter, guns, amusement. What better way to be trapped? We quickly crossed the parking lot and entered the glass front doors. Aiden locked it and pulled to see if it was secure then caught up to the rest of us. We followed him up an escalator and walked straight to a place where they sold mattresses. Ian gently laid Bree down on one of the beds. She bled all over it and had a good bit of it soaked by the time everyone settled in.

A pair of hands came out of nowhere and grabbed my shirt, slamming me into the wall. It was Ian and he was pissed.

“This is your fucking fault,” he spat, “both of you.” He looked behind him at Elexus, who was in the middle of extracting the bullet from her arm. She didn’t bother looking up.

“Ian.” Aiden was kneeling next to Bree, examining her wound. His hands were bloody, and he wiped them off on his jeans before standing. “She needs stitches. I need forceps, morphine, and other supplies that we don’t have. Someone needs to run to Lakeview and bring back what I need or else she’s going to bleed out.”

“Ande already left. She took Taylor,” Ian said through gritted teeth. I realized that the duo wasn’t here and that explained why I hadn’t seen them since arriving.

I finally felt his grip loosen, and he released me with some reluctance. I was well aware of his arm tensing and knew what would happen before it did. Ian’s fist tightened and swung towards my face with reckless abandon, all rage and no thought. My own reflexes kicked in, grabbing his fist before it ever connected and I bent it sideways at an awkward angle causing him to groan in pain. My fingers tightened as I twisted his arm around his back, forcing him to his knees. I held him there in that position for a moment, listening to his cries of pain and enjoying it before the grim look Aiden gave me made me finally decided to release him. He fell forward and barely saved himself from face planting into the concrete. Aiden’s brows creased after watching my quick reflexes being put to use. His eyes seemed to ask, “who are you?”