Fatal | The Second Life I [COMPLETED]

Chapter 10: Stonks

We walk into the lobby of a building and get a break from running. We'd been jogging through the city for an hour now, trying to get away from the scene at the store we camped in. I sit on a large bench, looking at the place we had arrived at. Something was familiar about it.

"We're almost there." Tori says, wiping her sword against a curtain.

"I've seen this place in pictures." I say. It was a large, high roofed room with circle stations all around. Each one had a ton of screens, and massive televisions hung from the wall opposite of us. Outside, the building was very ornate.

"The Stock Exchange?" Tori answers my question without me asking. That makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it.

"That's it." I say. "Yeah. Only then, it had power."

"Yeah, the power stations across the river must be down." Adam says. "Which sucks."

"True." I say. "So we're not far from Battery?"

"Less than half a mile." Catey says. "Only a little more running."

"Great." I say.

"Can't let our guard down, though." Tori confirms. "We're passing between huge towers, like what happened with the other group."

I shudder. That image is burned into my mind, even if I didn't directly see it. All I could see was pain and horror.

We all get up, having sufficiently caught our breath. I had always had good stamina. That was critical right now, and I was glad I was good at it. I stared at the stock kiosks, imagining how this place worked before this. A bustling, busy building with undoubtedly lengthy history. Now it was empty, dark, and lifeless. It was haunting. Like a-

"Ronnie, Let's go." I hear, snapping me out of my thought. I grab my stuff, and walk briskly towards the group.

We open the doors and walk outside. We were on Broad street, walking what I assumed was south. The streets surrounded with towers served at wind tunnels, and lots of paper and trash was flying around near the sidewalks. The farther I looked down these massive halls, the more daunting this whole situation become.

We neared the intersection of Beaver and Broad Street, weapons out. We're jogging, trying to make the short distance as quickly as possible. Tori pulls out her walkie talkie, and radios someone. I assume it's her place.

"We're closing on the safehouse. Over." She says, with the wind suddenly stopping. I guess that Tori had hit the channel button, because the walkie talkie erupts with static. And it was loud. Her volume must be at max.

As she struggles to lower the volume, I listen in horror as the buildings around me seem to fill the empty noise with rustling and groans. I knew what was about to happen, fearing a repeat of the other group's fate. I break out in sprint, and the other 3 follow. Tori drops the walkie talkie and follows, and I hear the static fade.

But a much worse sound filled the air. Footsteps rushed behind us, at least five Z's. But more show up in front of us, and we find ourselves surrounded. Just like the other group.

No. This wouldn't happen.

I reach for my pistol and knife, resting my arms on top of eachother and aiming a Z down with my sights. We were surrounded by at least 10 of them. Adam and Catey each aimed down Z's with me, and Tori pulled her blade.

The Z's rush us. I let my gun fire, an explosion ringing through my ears. The Z stumbles back, bleeding from the gunshot wound. I turn, swinging my knife instinctively. It swipes a Z that came from my left, and its throat was nicked. It stumbles back, letting me swing the knife at the third Z that approaches.

It lands in its arm, and it screams inhumanly in pain. It was like its vocal cords were breaking. It doesn't stumble though. I tug the knife, but it seemed to be lodged in some bone. It hits me with an uppercut, sending me to the ground, and I regain my strength quickly. The Z pulls the knife out.. and drops it.

An arrow enters its head as I grab my gun. Some fire from Adam's gun could be heard, but I see the Z who I hit in the throat stumbling towards me. It had one arm outstretched to me, and the other holding over its throat. A bullet from my pistol flies into its skull, and it falls to the ground dead.

I get up, grabbing my knife and running with the others. We couldn't wait there any longer. Tori lags behind, still dealing with a Z. She does a martial arts-like roundhouse kick, sending the Z to the ground before her sword punctures its skull.

We all run, each with damage. I had a cut in the chin from its punch. Catey had several scratches on her arm, and Adam had one on his forehead. Tori seemed relatively unaffected, though.

I sigh in relief as we run into a area of grass and trees. We were there! We were at Battery Park. It's confirmed when I see a group of kids guarding a door to a long, narrow building. It looked like a house, but stretched.

A tall girl with a bandana and ripped jeans walks outside. "Come on now, before that attention you got comes here." She says, and we rush inside.