London Bridge Is Falling

“Dylan. Wake up. We gotta move. They’re coming. Dylan!” Jill is yelling in my ear. I can feel the heat from the flames sizzle the skin on my cheeks. I don’t want to get off the ground; my body aches. I want to lay here and die.

With wobbly arms, I push myself up off the unmown grass. The world is falling around me, helicopters plummet towards the earth and crash in a fiery explosion. Selena helps Jake to his feet; he’s bloody and injured. I can’t wrap my mind around what just happened, the infected attacked us, I know that much. We crashed and the others are crashing too. The infected scream in the distance, they’re closing in on us. Running over to Jake, I toss his arm over me and we begin to run, we have to get distance between the monsters and us. Twigs and branches smack against my skin as we mow through thick bushes. My heart pounds harder with each step I take, I know the infected are gaining on us; I have to get us to safety.
A body falls to the ground, stopping us dead in our tracks. Another falls, then another, and another. The infected leap from the helicopters above us.

“Holy shit.” Selena grabs my hand. “These fuckers are crazy.”

“We have to keep moving and dodge the ones that are falling.”

I’m grabbed and thrown like a ragdoll against a tree. My spine feels like it snaps in half and the wind is stolen from my lungs. I gasp for air on the ground. Lara jumps on the mutated infected, stabbing her knife into its neck over and over but she’s no match for it. He tosses her over his shoulder and stomps on her chest. His bony claws reach out for Jake but he’s stopped short when his hand explodes into a billion little chunks of meat. Standing a few feet away is Alicia; she holds a shotgun firmly in her hands, the barrel steaming from the fresh expelled shell. Her eyes don’t move from him as he screams in pain but that doesn’t stop him from charging at her. She rolls out of the way, quickly grabbing a pistol from her boot holster and fires at his back as he slides to a stop in the dirt. He turns towards her, his teeth showing as he growls. Again, he sprints towards her. She slips a knife out of her pocket and throws it with all her strength. It dives deep into his skull, right between the eyes. He falls to the ground, dead.

“Alicia.” I say, still trying to catch my breath.

“Glad you’re still alive, Dylan.” She digs the knife out of the infected’s head. “I was afraid you had died.”

“Nope, I’m still here...barely though.”

“Good. The infected aren’t far behind.” She helps Lara to her feet first, she’s worse than I am. “They wiped this place out fast, didn’t they?”

“Well once you open the flood gates, there’s no stopping the flood.” Jake says as he grabs my hand and launches me back up. “We need to move before we become a snack.”

“There’s a safe house nearby.” Lara says. “It’ll keep us safe until we can to the Base 2.”

An hour or so passes and there are no sounds of propellers slicing through the air, the roars of infected have even calmed down, maybe they’ve given up on looking for us. We stay quiet as possible, only letting the crunching beneath our feet break the silence. Finally, we’re out of the forest and onto the asphalt. The town is eerily quiet, and dark. It’s crazy to think that once this place was lit up with streetlights and cars. Now it’s succumbed to nature. Lara directs us to a large two-story house, it’s super nice for this area, too nice. It looks out of place. She walks up a few steps that lead to a large white door. She places her thumb on something that’s attached to the wall, then the door clicks open. As we walk in, lights slowly brighten the room.

“Welcome, Lara Almore.” The house says. “Safe House 7B is now active. There is a large number of Infected heading this way. Shall I start the lockdown procedure?”

“Yes, SAM. Start lockdown.” We’re all looking at her, baffled. “Oh, That’s SAM.” She says. “Safety Artificial Machine. He’s an intelligent A.I.” Steel shutters slide over the windows and doors, it’ll keep us safe for the time being. At least the infected won’t know we’re in here. We can finally relax for a moment.

Jake holds his hand under the shower water, waiting for it to heat up. Looking into his eyes, I realize just how much I missed him. He removes his shirt; his back sliced up by the helicopter crash. He turns back and smiles at me, looking me up and down. I slide off my shirt and toss it onto the floor. His hands firmly grasp my waist and he pulls me close, our faces inches away. His breath is intoxicating, my lips beg for his. He goes in for a kiss but pulls away at the last moment, teasing me. He laughs slightly. Jake pulls back the curtain and brings me into the shower with him. The hot water washes away the pain and despair. He winces as it trickles down his back, into the fresh wounds. My fingers run through his wet shaggy hair, pushing it away from his eyes. I press my lips against his and my body tingles. It’s been so long since I’ve touched him like this, it’s bittersweet. He pushes me against the wall, his eyes wild. Jake turns me around, pressing against me; he grabs my hair and jerks my head to the side, his teeth sinking into my neck.

“Don’t leave me.” I say, letting out a soft moan.

He flips me back around and looks deep into my eyes, cupping my cheek with his hand. “Never.”

We end the night lying together in bed. I can’t keep my eyes off him; he’s changed so much. Selena is right, I shouldn’t worry about losing him, he’s here to stay. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep him safe and I know he’ll do the same. When morning comes, he’s gone. I grab my clothes and press them against my nose; they smell fresh. Someone must’ve washed them. I get dressed and head downstairs, the smell of food cooking on the stove fills my nose. I haven’t experienced that aroma in a very long time.

“Morning.” Lara says as I walk into the kitchen.

“What’s on the stove?” I ask.

“Eggs, Bacon, toast.” She smiles.

“Where did that come from?”

“The safe houses have food restocked every so often.” She flips the bacon.

“That’s good. I haven’t had a decent meal for a while.” My eyes catch Jake; he’s on the couch conversing with Alicia. She’s probably catching him up on current events in my life. He laughs at something then looks over at me and gives a crooked smile.

“Come over here.” He says, waving at me.

“It’s been a long time since it’s felt this normal.” Alicia says as I take a seat next to Jake.

“Yeah. I’m not even sure how to act in a normal situation.” I laugh awkwardly.

“Breakfast is ready!” Lara yells from the kitchen.

We all take a seat around the table and dig in. The taste is so strong, I almost puke. It’s so good to have something other than beans, I’m sick of eating those. Our forks clank against the plates, everyone is silent. They’re enjoying their delicious meal. I look over at Alicia; she’s stuffing her face. It’s nice to see her eat, she definitely needs it.

“So what’s the plan?” I ask, breaking the silence.

“Well.” Lara says between bites. “We should leave tonight. The base isn’t extremely far from here. We’ll get there in a few hours.”

“And then what? Wait to die?”

“No, Dylan. We prep for London.” She finishes her food and tosses her dish in the sink.

“I guess I just have a hard time picturing going back there.” I stop eating and swallow hard at the thought.

“I think we’re all feeling that way.” Selena says, taking my hand. “But we have to do this.” I’m so glad I have her here now; she’s always been like a mother figure to me.

“Yeah. You’re right.” I give her a reassuring smile.

“We’ll be okay. We’ll going in heavily armed and with a shit ton of B.T.A.R. backup.” Jake grabs my other hand and squeezes hard, letting me know I’m not the only one feeling this way.

The sun has officially set and our bags are packed near the front door. Once SAM unlocks the house, we’ll be making a sprint for anywhere but here. The infected didn’t pass by like we thought; they stayed and decided to wait until we made our move. Once we leave, SAM will self-destruct the safe house, meaning we won't be able to take refuge until we make it to Base 2. Prepped and ready to go, Lara shuts off the lockdown and the timer starts. We run out the door and onto the road, the infected quickly responding to our movements. Alicia is tackled to the ground, the monster pinning her to the asphalt. She throws it off of her and jumps back to her feet, sweat pouring from her forehead. My legs feel like they’re about to give out, they burn with each step I take. We’re not too far from the house when it explodes into a million broken pieces of wood. We go flying into the air, hitting the ground hard. The infected are not as fortunate as we are. They’re on fire, body parts missing. We lie on the ground, watching them stumble around, burning.