AM13 Outbreak Shorts

Crackdown - Sixteen

I glance forwards, then back behind me again, my heart racing rapidly. My thoughts dart carelessly around as I try to work out what my next move should be. I can't go back, not with this news and no solution to offer. Panic is the last thing we need right now! But I can't go forwards either. Not with them everywhere.

The undead beasts shuffle like their limbs refuse to move properly, they growl like their vocal chords are strangled, they move aimlessly, just waiting for their next meal to accidently stumble across their path...it's a horrible sight, and one that I don't think I'll ever be used to. Especially as these ones look even worse than any I've come across before. Some of them have body parts literally hanging from them, stuck by a mere thread of flesh. Others are leaving a trail of blackened blood behind them. None of them look like they should still be up and walking around, it's a scene from a horror movie and I'm stuck right in the middle of it.

"What do I do?" I whisper to myself, trying to keep out of sight. I don't think I'm in smelling distance at the moment, luckily, and I don't want them to spy me either. I'm not exactly filled with desire to run headfirst into the crowd, to feel that agonizing sensation of flesh being ripped from my skin until there's nothing left. I know it's heroic to race into the pack to save everyone else, but I don't think that's the necessary move here. I need to do something else.

I try and scout the area as far away as I can to see if maybe the teenage boys escaped. I suppose there's a chance that them running away drew the crowds here and maybe at least some of them are shuffling along with the rest of the mindless drones, but maybe they didn't.

Maybe they're the ones who led the zombies here...

I don't want to think like that, but we're in a terrible state now, and situations like this can really bring the worst out in people. Maybe Jordan and the others going is all part of a bigger plan that I simply can't see yet. If so, I need to think quick, to protect them all, to save Katie.

Even if Katie doesn't want me anymore, even if she does decide to pick the man who's always been in her life, I don't want her harmed. It'll hurt, but I'll accept it. I'll let her go to be happy.

I suppose it really is love after all.

I made so many mistakes with Marie, errors that I refuse to make again, and with that thought in mind I know that I need to do whatever it takes.

I leap up into a standing position and I race down towards the ground. At the moment, there's a large metal fence separating me from the monsters, but it's still a terrifying sight. It encases my whole body in large blocks of ice, making it very challenging to take the next step.

All I need to do is clear them away from the prison, I remind myself. After that...well, I'll work it out.

Maybe I'll survive it, perhaps not, but I can't just sit back and do nothing.

"H...hey," I stammer out, waving my hands to get as much attention as possible. "Hey, look!" Some of their white irises bore into my soul, which means it's working. "Hey!" I yell, with more confidence this time. "Food, look. Over here. That's right, look this way."

I move along the fence and the one's who have seen me push past the others to follow along. Just like I've seen before, they act like a pack of animals, moving with each other to catch me. I point my gun in the air and shoot to make more noise, I bang it along the fence, and soon it seems like they're all coming.

Once they're shuffling, moving towards me and away from the prison, I let out a little yell with relief. I can't one hundred percent guarantee that they'll follow me but survival instinct kicks in anyway and I bolt off. I run as fast as I can without looking backwards, yelling the whole time. My feet pound against the concrete, I don't stop going, until eventually I feel a small sense of victory. I might not have achieved what I came out here to do, but I've hopefully cleared the prison which is something.

"Yes!" I cry out, about to scream with glee. "Thank G..."

Suddenly I'm silenced by a gun pressing into my back.