The Divine Infection

Chapter Twenty-Six: Break Down The Walls

"How are we going to get in? Surely the bloats have blocked the way in, and if anyone inside has got any brains, they'll have sealed off any entrances, right?" I ask nervously.

"How we're going to get past these undead bastards would be a better question." PJ frowns. "Jim! Crilly! Wake up, we've got a problem."

Jim and Crilly bounce awake, shaking their heads to try to wake themselves up.

"Huh? Problem? Wha...?" Crilly mumbles, rubbing his eyes. Then, looking out the side of the van, the pair gape in chocked silence at the scene around us.

"Figured you'd be shocked." PJ grimaces. "Any plans?"

"Dive in, kill the fuckers, bash into the wall, and hope to a fucking non-existent god that we go through?" I suggest. Although I'm merely joking (or, joking as much as I can in this situation, which isn't exactly much), PJ nods, changing gears and slamming his foot down on the accelerator pedal.

"Better than no plan at all." He growls, speeding towards the wall.

"PJ, are you nuts?! I was joking! Don't actually speed at the wall!" I gasp. PJ shrugs. "Don't just shrug, do something!" Like slowing down, for a start!

"If we slow down then any one of those monsters could just rip into this van, and that would be the end of us lot." Barrone tells me. PJ nods in agreement.

"Exactly. See, my tranquilisers aren't all that bad, right?" He forces a grin onto his face, but Barrone ignores him. "So, any other plans? Better plans?"

"Well, how's about we-" I hear a loud boom, then, and my eyes dart straight over to the windshield, my gaze locking onto the wall and turning to a sour, horrified stare as I see dust lifting into the air. "What the fuck was that?!" I exclaim, eyes darting around the van to look at everyone else gaping out the window, too.

"Did they just break the fucking goddamn wall down?!" Crilly gasps out. PJ squints a little in concentration, and then nods slowly, blue-yellow eyes wide with shock.

"Appears so." The man then grits his teeth. "I don't know how, thought! That wall is fifteen metres thick, made of frickin' iron, nothing should be getting past that! Not bloody zombies! Even explosives have a hard time cutting through metal that thick!"

I can see that the figures that were shooting from atop the wall are gone now, having most likely fleed in a blind panic as soon as the wall went down. PJ speeds up the van again, aiming straight for the hole in the wall, and I hold my breath, suddenly fearful. I feel fingers thread with mine, and look down to see Barrone has taken my hand in his, smiling reassuringly at me.

"It'll be okay. We'll get in here, do what we have to do, and then get right back out again." Barrone reassures me, pushing with his other hand into a more stable sitting position. "We'll grab Alex and the others first, yeah?"

PJ nods. "'Course. Lead the way." And so Crilly and Jim give PJ directions towards the block of tenement houses we've been living in (or would have been if Jim, Crilly and Barrone hadn't been sent on a bloody suicide mission). I look at Barrone, fear pounding through me as my gaze meets his.

"Barrone, what if we don't survive here? There's too many bloats, we'll never make it through here alive, never mine making it out of here. We-"

"Sh. We'll make it out of here alive." I'm not convinced at all. "I promise you, we'll get out of here. I'll make sure of it, whatever it takes." The hardened look in his eyes tells me he literally will do whatever it takes to get me out of here. I don't want that - whatever it takes means I'll give my life, and I don't want anyone to give their life for my safety. I'm not worth someone sacrificing their life for me.