Success of the Broken Banner

Chapter 2

Days have passed since the night Frankie left. I found refuge in an old gas station that looked as if it was abandoned long before the new world that stood before me came to be. The earth had overgrown  around the exterior of the building, the dying grass stood waist high and vines scattered across the building like a cocoon. I made my way inside by cutting the strong ivy from the door and opened the entrance with a crowbar I found while scavenging.

    Once inside, I was greeted with the smell of stale gasoline and the sound of my footsteps echoing through the empty space. The shelves were mostly empty, but I managed to find a few cans of food and a bottle of water. I made myself a makeshift bed in the corner of the room using a pile of old  blankets and pillows I found in the back. The days were long and lonely, but I felt safer here than I did out there in the open. I spent most of my time reading old magazines and listening to music on my dying phone. I knew I couldn't stay here forever, I had to get to Frankie; but for now, this was home.

    The sunlight that seeped in through the cracks in the windows started to fade as night settled in. My flashlight was the only source of light as I scanned the same magazine I've read three times now. I closed the magazine and let it fall to the floor, the sound of the air rushed through the pages as it hit the concrete below me.

I sighed and leaned back against the wall, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. It was then that I heard a noise coming from the back room. My heart started racing as I reached for the crowbar, ready to defend myself. As I got closer, I realized that the noise was coming from a small radio that was sitting on a shelf. I picked it up and turned the volume up, hoping to hear some news about the outside world. All I heard was static. Disappointed, I turned off the radio and set it back on the shelf.

I took a look around the room, it looked to be a small office for management when this building was still operating. Papers scattered a small wooden desk in the left corner of the room beside a locked filing cabinet. Pens and highlighters crowded together in a coffee cup beside a lamp that no longer worked. Motivational posters like "You can do it!" and "There's no I in Team!" lined the walls.

As I turned the handle of the door, the frame squeaked and the door swung back open with a creak. In total horror, I froze in my tracks as the terrifying sounds grew louder and glass shattered.

"Hello?" A voice I didn't recognize echoed through the empty building, causing me to gasp for air and my heart to race. Gurgling sounds filled the atmosphere, drowning out my every move, as I leaned against the wall and tried to shift closer to the edge of the wall. Peeking around the corner, I tried to catch a glimpse of the intruder.

"I know you're here..." The man declared as he wandered to the far corner of the room, examining my belongings. His back was turned, and the moonlight shone on the broad shoulders of his bloodstained shirt, which was full of holes at the bottom. His muscular chest moved up and down at a quick, regular pace.

The man shifted slightly, revealing his face, which was ravaged by scars around his mouth and under his eyes, pouring a white, frothy substance from his mouth like he had been poisoned. However, what piqued my curiosity the most was the man's unusual eyes.

With veins that appeared to crawl out from the sclera and spread across the white of his eyes, the man's strikingly white irises lacked any color or pigment, rendering them even more visible. Instead of pupils, his eyes were white spheres staring straight ahead, looking almost otherworldly in their appearance. The mystery and intrigue in the guy's eyes were captivating as well as unsettling, making it impossible to look away.

As the man stumbled towards me, completely unaware of my presence, I took a few steps back towards the door of the office, my heart pounding in my chest. I quickly grasped the handle of the door and swung it back into line with the frame, staring out the window in the middle of the door as I waited for him to pass. My mind raced as I slowly realized the knife I had packed was in my bag in the main area, leaving me defenseless in this terrifying situation.

The man appeared like a shadow in the middle of the hallway, his heavy footsteps growing closer with each passing second. In a split second decision, I quickly retreated to the safety of my room, the door shutting with a loud click. But the tense silence was soon broken as the man lunged towards the door, pounding his body against the barrier that separated us. My fear only grew as I watched him try desperately to break down the door.

I scrambled to find something to protect myself with and my hand eventually grasped a pair of sharp scissors in a nearby drawer. The door creaked and groaned under the man's relentless blows until finally, it splintered and flew off its hinges with a loud crash. All while my heart raced with fear and adrenaline.

He lunged at me, slamming me into the wall and trapping me with his muscular arms as he tried to sink his teeth into my vulnerable neck. Desperate, I angled the knife and drove it into his ribs, making him recoil in surprise and giving me a chance to escape the room. I dashed into the gas station's main area, snatched my bag off the floor and frantically searched for the knife.

As I finally seized the weapon, a sudden strike on my back knocked me to the ground, leaving me gasping for breath. The menacing man loomed above me while I tried to squirm free from his shadow. He seized my ankles, yanking me towards him. Flashbacks of a man assaulting a woman on that fateful night Frankie disappeared rushed through my mind. I struggled to break free from his grasp, his razor-like nails digging into my flesh, dragging me away from anything I could use against him.

He yanked me towards the entrance, my desperate screams echoing in the air, hoping that someone, anyone, would hear my pleas. His chilling laughter filled the room as he tossed me onto the cold, hard tile floor and loomed over me. His face came inches from mine, his intense gaze locking onto my eyes.

"Do you really think anyone's coming to rescue you?" He snarled. "You're all alone, and soon you'll vanish from this world without a trace."

His hands clasped around my neck, constricting my breath with a brutal force. I stared into his emotionless eyes while struggling to loosen his iron grip. My hands clawed at his arms, tearing through skin and drawing blood before moving to assault his face when his hold didn't relent. My surroundings dimmed as he tightened the chokehold, and despair washed over me as I started to accept my doomed fate.

A faded, high pitched ring filled the room, the man's grasp loosened as he sat up straight and stared at the pooling blood drenching his shirt. Another shot rang out, this time hitting him between the eyes as his body flew to the ground beside me.

As the footsteps approached, my heart raced in anticipation. Two shadowy figures emerged, and I struggled to catch my breath. I could feel myself slipping away, but one of the figures knelt down beside me. "She's alive," a man's voice announced, checking my pulse. "Barely hanging on, but alive."

The second figure spoke up, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "What do you want us to do, Noah? Take her to a hospital? Oh wait, they're all overrun with Lurkers. There's nothing we can do."

Noah scoffed and leaned towards me, taking my hand. "Can you hear me?" he asked urgently. "Squeeze my hand if you can hear me." I summoned all my strength and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, my vision fading rapidly.

"Don't worry, we're going to help you," Noah promised, determination ringing in his voice. "We're not leaving you here."

With my body now lifeless, he scooped me up and his companion gathered my belongings as they carried me out of the gas station and into the unknown danger that awaited us.