The room was cold and damp. The floorboards creaked uneasily beneath my feet as I paced back and forth in the small, dark, third floor room we were in. She was huddled in a corner now, her knees clutched tightly against her chest. I kept pacing. The door was barricaded as best we could do. Beds, bookshelves, tables, they all were crammed up against the door, wedging it tightly shut. I had to focus, I had to do my best and think. There wasn’t anything I could do though. Maybe there was something I hadn’t tried, maybe there was a trick we hadn’t thought of yet. I looked around the room.
It was old and worn. The floors were probably buffed to a shine years ago. Now they were a cold dull brown that spread out under my feet like a vast desert. The walls were torn and stained. There were a few holes here and there, through which I could see the pipes running through the walls. That wasn’t helping us one bit. The window maybe? The glass was cracked and a dull cream color it had acquired form age spread through it obscuring the outside. I dared not open it, not unless it was an emergency. Then my eyes were drawn to her.
She looked young, younger then me at least. Her long hair was covering her face now, but I could tell she was crying. Her uniform was torn, cut, no, it was ripped. She had less luck with them then I did. The shambling horrors that were stalking us, they got to her before I did. There was nothing I could do, I found her as fast as I could, and they were upon her. How many rounds did I waste? Seven or eight maybe, I couldn’t tell right now. I fingered my gun in its holster at my chest. We had run from them this far, but we still couldn’t find a way out. They had herded us up here to the third floor, chased us, cut us off at every turn. We had no choice.
Now she looked up at me, her face stained slightly with blood and the dark dust that covered the place. Her eyes were red from her tears and her mouth was closed tightly. I looked away. I couldn’t stand to see her like that, but what could I do. I reached into my belt and pulled out the remainder of my ammo. Two full clips. That and what was left in my gun was all I had. Not enough to take on what was coming.
I could already hear them below us; their thrashing more desperate now, their moans more desperate. I leaned back against a nearby wall letting our situation wash over us. What had I missed! There had to be something, anything. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. She leaned her head back, and stared out the window. Was she it? Was that what I was missing? It couldn’t be, she was just the field medic for her squad. Her squad… a grim realization had hit me, what about my team? Gone by now I’m sure, or perhaps they had already made it out alive. That was unlikely, they tore her team to pieces in no time. They just couldn’t be stopped.
“Are you alright?” I kneeled down in front of her, resting my hand on her shoulder. She was trembling.
“I…I guess.” She wiped a few tears that were streaming down her face.
“Do you have any weapons?”
“N…no… I am a specialized healer… I… I… usually don’t fight.” DAMN! No guns, and her whole team died with her watching. Some medic.
“It is going to be okay, Ill make sure we get out of this, a backup team will be here as soon as they don’t hear from us, we just have to ride things out okay?” The words I wanted to believe, but I know we both knew the truth. There was probably going to be no back up team. Who would risk their lives to come out here and save people who are probably already dead? There really wasn’t a lot of hope for us. I should have brought a bigger gun. I shouldn’t have dropped my radio. I shouldn’t have broken off from my team. So many mistakes had been made; this was my worst operation ever. I had to rely on my wits now. They didn’t seem to be helping.
There was a crash down the hall, like glass being broken. I pulled my gun, letting rest loosely in my right hand. They would find us soon enough. She started crying again, louder this time. She was too young to be sent out on a mission like this, she needed a lot more training from the looks of it. Anyone taking a rookie medic with no guns into a situation like this was insane. Even I wouldn’t do something like that. Overspecialization is what leads to situations like this! How many times had I told HQ about things like this!
There was another crash, louder this time, closer. She jumped, and pushed herself further into the corner by the window. The window. I looked at it again. Maybe that was the only way we were going to get out of here. It was a long drop though, and into what kind of trouble I couldn’t imagine. I walked over to it. I pushed on it as hard as I could, but it wouldn’t budge. I squinted and tried to see what was outside, if there was anything out there waiting for us, waiting for us like we were waiting for it, the terror.
I tried not to think about that. I had been in worse situations then this, and gotten out of all of them before. Sure I had lost a teammate here or there, but it was a combat situation, not a walk to the supermarket. There were footsteps now, the dull thud of foot on aged carpet. They were dragging themselves slowly, but purposefully. I could feel the slight tremble of each footfall through the floor. The dust was stirring in the air. At least it was just the walking damned that were after us.
I laughed out loud a little bit. She looked up at me; I could see nothing but sheer terror in her glance. Maybe she wasn’t in a laughing mood. I didn’t know about her, but I was going to do something more then sit here and wait to die. I flipped the safety off on my pistol. She got up slowly, pressing herself against the wall. I turned to the door, readying myself for what was soon to come. Conserve your ammo, make every shot count, aim high, and keep moving. As long as I kept on my toes I would be fine.
There was a large thud at the door. Then another. The wood started to splinter and break under the pounding. How many? I couldn’t count, four, five, sounded like five. Five pairs of hands were crashing against the door, breaking it down with inhuman purpose. I slipped my finger onto the trigger. She looked terrified. I couldn’t tell what she was going through; I had been through similar things back when I was a rookie. It was getting to her bad though. I couldn’t tell. She started screaming, her voice cut the air, and it was shrill and deafening. She started throwing herself around the room, clawing at the walls, pounding her fists on them.
I just watched. What could I do? The door splintered again, the fists falling on it were finally breaking through. The barricade we had fashioned wouldn’t be enough it seemed. Maybe if there were less of them, but from the sounds of it more were hurrying up the stairs to aid their comrades. From the looks of things I probably wasn’t going to make it out of this one.
“NOOOOOOO NOOOOOOO! I WONT LET THEM! I WON’T! I HAVE TO GET AWAY! I HAVE TO GET AWAY!” her voice cut right through me. Then she flung herself right out the window.
I ran over to it looking down. Her body was lying there on the front steps to the run down mansion. I looked outside, nothing. Maybe it was safe? The door creaked again, splinters rained down on the floor around me. Safer then it would be in here in a few minutes. I checked the distance to the old stone staircase that was now adorned with the body of my once companion. Three stories is a long way to just let yourself fall. That’s when I spotted it, a drainage pipe, about three or four feet to my right. Goddamn, was I that stupid? Of course there had to be a way down.
I slowly slid myself out onto the ledge, pressing my back against the wall behind me, it was narrow, and maybe only a couple of inches, it was hard to tell. My vertigo was kicking in; the ground was making me dizzy. I tried my best not to look down. I inched my way along the ledge slowly, barley moving at all. I heard the door shatter, and the dull scrapes of furniture being pushed across a wood floor. They were already in the room. Shit. I had to move, and move fast. The pressure wasn’t helping the panic that was welling up inside me quickly.
I stopped for a second, and took in a long deep breath. No point in pushing myself, not if I would just fall to my death. From the window not more than a foot to my left, the screams were getting much louder. Ok, just keep moving, no problem, just keep moving. I started inching away from the window as a pair of rotting arms shot out to grab me. I tried to stay as calm as I could. It was getting pretty hard. Only a little bit more to go. I reached out, my fingers just scraping along the dull metal pipe that was going to be my only salvation.
I wrapped my right hand around it, using it to help my balance. A wave of relief hit me, my heart slowed slightly. The tortured screams were growing louder and more desperate. I glanced back; they were trying to scramble out onto the ledge. None seemed too inclined to go first; maybe they weren’t all completely devoid of intelligence. Then one pitched over the side of the window. He hung in the air for a second or two before he landed headfirst on a stone handrail. His head exploded like a ripe cantaloupe, dull red pieces showering the steps around his body. It made a shiver run down my spine.
The dull moans receded slowly. They were probably on their way to meet me at the bottom. I had to hurry. I grabbed onto the pipe with both my hands. It seemed sturdy enough. I started to slowly let myself down, bracing my legs against the wall. The pipe squeaked and moved slightly in my hands. I didn’t have much time now. I started sliding down a little faster closing the gap between the ground and me. The pipe shifted in my hands again. The girl and I couldn’t have made it down this together anyway. Suddenly I thought of her again, oh well. My feet hit the ground with a dull thud. I looked back up and the rusted pipe again. That probably wasn’t a great idea after all. I stepped back just as it fell to the ground next to me, showering me in cement dust from the wall.
I dusted the white powder out of my hair and off of my shoulders before looking around. I stepped out to walk to the steps to check on the girl. I was pretty sure she was dead. When I got past the huge stone handrails that ran along either side of the main entrance I saw her. She was covered in her own blood. It looked like her arm was broken too, her eyes were a little glazed over. I didn’t know much outside of basic emergency first aid. There wasn’t anything I could do for her. I reached down to check her pulse. Nothing. I reached down slowly to close her eyes. She suddenly let out another death scream. This time it wasn’t fear that filled the air though. It was something more sinister.
I leapt back reaching for my sidearm, it was out of the holster and at her head before her limbs could stiffen and draw her to her feet. I pulled the trigger hesitantly. Waste of ammo. Her face shattered under the blow and she fell back, lifeless again, onto the dark staircase. I pushed my pistol back into the holster at my side. I turned around to leave the house, trying my best not to look back at the scene on the steps. It seemed like I wouldn’t have much of a choice in the matter though. The shambling, scraping steps started up again. This time much closer.
I glanced back. They had spotted me already. I had to hurry. A large ivy covered wall that ran the entire perimeter enclosed the grounds. There was only one-way in and out I knew of, and that was a good quarter of a mile away, the front gate. I had no choice. I had to run. I started in at headlong sprint. They weren’t fast, but the were determined. Going any slower could give them the one opportunity they needed to surround me, or catch me off guard. I kept moving down the main driveway. It was hard to see what was ahead of me in the dark, and I dared not turn on my flashlight now.
I stumbled further down the main road before finally reaching the wall in front of me. I was in its shadow, not even moonlight was granting me any kind of vision. It should be right here damn it! Where is it? I ran my hands over the wall, but there was nothing but stone. I was sure it was here. It had to be. Where the hell was it? My hands connected with a metal bar. Finally! I wrapped my hand around it. Closed? When was it closed?
I stepped back looking at the huge metal web that stretched out above me. I was in serious trouble. I ran my hands along it until I found the small gap that told me I had found the middle of the gate. Then my hands collided with the huge metal bolts that had it locked shut. I don’t remember it being this way when we came in earlier. I tried to remember.
Our group was sent in on a rescue mission. A group of trainees and a few instructors was going in to check out the old mansion. A completely routine mission, not expecting more than two or three targets, not the fifty or sixty I had counted just offhand at least. They put my team in, all five of us, when had I lost my shotgun? When had I wasted all of my other ammo? I couldn’t remember. I knew the others would look out for themselves, they knew what they were doing. Damn. I still couldn’t find a way through. The dull guttural sobbing of the frustrated dead was starting to get closer, and it sounded like there were a lot more then I remembered.
I turned around. I flicked on my flashlight. There they were. Looked like twenty of them were slowly hauling themselves through the overgrown grass toward me. More were slowly picking their way out of the house and down the steps awkwardly. I was in some serious trouble. I pulled my weapon, aiming it at the nearest one. I let a bullet fly, it caught the eyeless face just above the right ear, it stumbled slightly, and then continued its death march toward me. The crack of my gun echoed off the walls of the house, and was met by the angry cries of many more corpses.
They were surrounding me now, pushing their way past one another, closing in on me. I aimed and fired again, this time dropping one to its knees. It struggled momentarily to get up, and then collapsed suddenly. I turned again. I had to buy myself some time! I fired again and again. Finally my gun emitted a dull click. I was out. I let the clip slide out; it hit the ground with a high-pitched sound. I slid another full magazine into the gun, letting the action slide shut. I fired one or two more rounds at the closer ones. That had bought me only a few moments. I turned back to the gate. I lowered my gun and fired at the huge lock. The bullets were cast aside by the dark metal with barley any effect.
I turned again just in time to catch another one only a few feet away from me. I pushed the barrel of my gun against its forehead before squeezing the trigger. It staggered backward, its muscles jerking as it fell on the ground. I turned again, firing two rounds into another’s head. This was getting me nowhere; I had barley enough to keep the next few off of me. I looked up at the gate again. I had no chance of climbing up it; the bars were thin and tightly grouped. One of them grabbed at my ankles, its face was torn. It was one of the ones I had brought down earlier. I pulled my leg back and kicked it repeatedly in the head as hard as I could several times. With the last dull thud the body stopped moving.
They were on me now; I didn’t have much of a choice. I turned looking at the advancing wall of death. I could spot a few familiar uniforms out of the bunch as well. I pushed the barrel of my gun against my head. They weren’t going to take me like this. I wasn’t the type to let myself become one of them. Something about the idea of eating my own friends made my stomach turn. Especially since I knew a few of them didn’t bathe as frequently as I would like. I stood there looking at them, they were moving a little faster now.
I just let out a huge laugh. It was kind of ironic, the situation itself. I figured I would be the last person to be cornered like this. Well that’s just the way things work I suppose. I squeezed the last round into my own skull. The world fell out from around me and I was cloaked in darkness.
The room came back into focus around me. I had a killer headache. Konpyuuta Chan was sitting over on the couch reading something. She pulled her glasses up on top of her head and looked over at me.
“Done already?” She closed her book. It vanished into nothingness.
“Yeah, It didn’t work out well for me.” I pulled off my glasses rubbing my eyes.
“Oh well, you can’t win them all right?” She stood up and walked over to me.
“Yeah I guess not.” She smiled softly
“Now what?”
“I dunno, I’m bored.” She just closed her eyes and shook her head.
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