After breaking through the double pane glass door, the remaining group entered wearily from the balcony and into the abandoned apartment suite.
Being that they were of more sound mind in that moment, Taylor and John took the liberty of making sure there were no Screamers hiding away in any of the bedrooms or bathroom of the space. When they insured the apartment was clear, they returned back out into the main living space to find Edvin on the ripped, floral patterned sofa with his head in his hands, and Robby on the floor with his back against the wall. Harley stood in the kitchen looking through cupboards and drawers for anything useful.
The group could hear muffled shrieks and light stomping above their heads, but it was of little concern to them right then, given that the Screamers were obviously trapped somewhere on the upper level.
John listened at the door of the apartment out into the hallway to make sure no infected were roaming there. After all was deemed safe, he padded over to Harley in the kitchen, "Doing alright?" He asked quietly.
Harley was crouched down and looking through one of the bottom cupboards. She avoided his gaze, "Yep. You?" She replied stoically.
"Have to be, I suppose," John said as he leaned up against the counter and crossed his arms.
Straightening up, Harley handed John two unopened packs of double A alkaline batteries, "You're starting to get it," she stated with a hardened expression.
"We'd better keep moving, guys," Taylor insisted as he tightened the straps on his backpack.
It was quiet amongst the group for a long moment as they struggled to digest what still needed to be done. It seemed a nearly impossible task to just keep going after losing another member of their group.
Harley was the first to move toward the door of the apartment, followed by John and then Taylor. It was just as Edvin reluctantly stood from the sofa that Robby spoke, breaking the silence.
"You guys are on your own from here"
Everyone turned back to look at Robby still sitting on the floor with his head hung low.
"What do you mean?" Edvin questioned on behalf of himself and everyone.
Without looking up, Robby twisted his left arm outward, exposing a bloody gash on the inside of his wrist. It was clear then that Robby's encounter with the Screamer only moments ago hadn't left him unscathed.
Suddenly it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.
"Robby. . . No," Edvin uttered in disbelief as he placed his hands on his head.
Harley pushed past John and Taylor, walking over to Robby and kneeling down to his level. She grabbed his arm to look at the wound.
Knowing more than she cared to, Harley scanned the flesh around the bite to see how discolored the veins were. This would tell her whether or not they could attempt to amputate before the virus entered Robby's blood stream and moved throughout his extremities.
Seeing long, blackened tendrils under his skin creeping outward and upward from the bitten flesh, Harley lowered Robby's arm and looked him in the eyes.
She tried her best not to feel guilty or responsible for the mounting death toll of her group, but had it not been for her arrival in Wudinna or her immunity, this stupid, pointless mission to Sydney would've never happened and Robby, Perez and Foss would have remained safely enclosed within the tall walls of the town they called home.
"It's okay," Robby began, "We knew this could happen"
Everyone dragged their feet back into the living room, their hearts heavy.
"I don't know what to say, mate. This is so fucked," Edvin muttered as he shook his head and sat on the edge of the sofa.
Pulling his cap from his head, Robby gave Edvin a weak smile, "It is what it is"
"We'll stay with you- until. . " Taylor began but couldn't finish.
Shaking his head adamantly, Robby disagreed, "No. I don't want you to see me that way and . . I don't plan on sticking around long enough to change anyway," he said as he leaned forward and pulled his gun from his back pocket.
"Robby, we can't just let you go through this alone. We can't- we can't leave you here. . After. ." Edvin argued, fighting with the idea that Robby's body would be left alone to rot.
"There's no choice here, Edvin. There's no time, there's no other option. Don't worry about me. Just tell Paula and my dad I love them when you get back home, and tell them I was at peace," Robby insisted.
It was then that Harley stood from the floor beside Robby and walked away, her head down so that the beak of her cap covered her eyes.
"You need to get going. You're wasting daylight," Robby said as he slowly stood from his spot and removed his backpack, handing it to Edvin, "Here, take what you can fit," he added.
Edvin gazed at the backpack in Robby's hand blankly, not wanting to accept the reality of the situation.
"It's gonna be alright," Robby reassured, although everyone present could see that he was scared. Scared of the end, scared of what came next, if anything. Scared about never going home.
Grabbing the backpack quickly, Edvin dropped it onto the couch cushion and pulled Robby into a tight hug, "Gonna miss you, mate," he admitted, his eyes shut tight and his voice muffled by Robby's shoulder.
"You too, bud," Robby agreed, holding back what must have been an overwhelming frenzy of emotion.
After Edvin pulled away from Robby, he hastily grabbed the backpack and walked back toward the door, his eyes cast down in despair.
Taylor stepped forward to give Robby a quick hug, "Sorry this happened, Robby. We'll make sure Ben and Paula get your message"
"And take care of him. He's gonna need someone to take care of him," Robby requested.
Taylor agreed, "No problem," before patting Robby on the shoulder and moving away.
It was at this time that Robby's complexion had begun to change. His eyes were becoming blood shot and his skin was pale and clammy. He wiped his brow with his unwounded forearm and looked to John, who stepped foward and grasped Robby's hand in a firm shake.
"Thanks for getting us here," John began, "I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done for this mission. You're a good man, Robby"
Robby smiled as warmly as he could muster, "You take this all the way, John. Never stop," he added seriously.
"I won't," John agreed before stepping away.
"Harley," Robby named as he looked to his left, seeing Harley standing near the far wall, arms crossed and head down.
Everyone could see as she took a heavy breath but she stayed where she was and refused to look up.
"I'm sorry for what I'm about to ask of you and I'm sure you'll hate me for it, but Harley, If our lives meant anything to you than I ask- I beg, that you continue our mission freely and relentlessly, if not for yourself than for us, who have sacrificed ourselves for this cause. Call it a dying man's last wish"
Harley gazed up at Robby for a moment before dropping her head once more and shrugging one shoulder passively.
Taking that as a reserved yes, Robby pulled Harley into his arms and gave her a gentle hug, "You're a miracle Harley. Don't ever forget that. I'm so grateful to have met you"
Harley accepted the hug, but couldn't will herself to reciprocate and simply kept her arms limp at her sides.
"Okay, go. It won't be long now," Robby ordered, his body beginning to tremble and his features growing more and more to match those of a rabid, hideous Screamer.
What remained of the group moved toward the door of the apartment and John was the first to exit carefully, glancing back to Robby one last time to give him a nod.
Edvin was the last to leave, and looked back, "Goodbye, Robby," he said painfully.
"Bye, mate," Robby replied from where he stood in the center of the living room, arms draped at his sides and a gun in one hand.
Reluctantly closing the heavy door, Edvin exited the apartment, burdened at the knowledge that that would be the last time he would ever see his friend.
John, Harley, Taylor and Edvin paced down the hallway, quietly and slowly and weighted down by their heavy hearts. They couldn't decide whether it was worse to lose someone suddenly, or to have to watch them endure the torture of coming to terms with their own imminent death.
As they reached the end of the long hall, one, piercing, heart-shattering gunshot echoed throughout the entire level of the apartment complex.
In a clouded state, the remaining four quickly discovered that the push bar on the heavy, steel door leading to the stairwell was locked.
Edvin slammed his palms into the bar repeatedly in frustration, "Fuck!" He growled, the despair of the day manifesting itself as rage.
"We just need an Allen Wrench, yeah?" John assured as he peeled the straps of his backpack off his shoulders and knelt to look through the compartments. Taylor followed suit and did the same and while Harley joined them, it wasn't before she had pulled her sleepy pup out of his nest, gave him a kiss and placed him gently on the floor.
Brushing his hands through his hair and taking a deep breath, Edvin did his best to calm his nerves before kneeling down with the others to hunt through his own backpack, and Robby's.
"What good is an Allen Wrench anyway?" Harley questioned without looking up from her task.
John glanced behind him at the steel door and pointed to the push bar, "See that small hole in the bar? We can unlock the door there with an Allen Wrench"
"Well, I don't have one. Why would any of us have packed something like that?" Harley added pessimistically as she watched Rebel woddle down the hall.
"Got it," Taylor announced as he pulled the small L shaped wrench from the smallest compartment of his backpack.
Taylor seemed to have a little of everything in that pack of his.
Taking the key, John went to the door and inserted the Allen Wrench, turning it easily and releasing the lock, "Good to go"
After packing everything back up, including a pudgy, little pup, the group entered cautiously into the shaded stairwell. The floor and steps were carpeted and dirty, and the paint on the walls bore streaks of yellow and grey from wear. But other than the signs of early decay, the stairwell seemed void of life and threat.
"Which way?" Taylor asked as everyone stood on the landing with a choice of up or down.
Harley replied, "Up"
"No. The next building over is too far a jump. I made a mental note while we were running," Edvin disputed, "If we wanna use the roofs, we'll have to go down and find another building to scale up"
"Let's go then," John agreed and led the way.
Until the group reached the main level, none of them spoke a word. They were distracted by the incessant buzzing of their thoughts and it prevented any sort of focus or clarity. Luckily for them the stairwell was closed off and safe which gave them the briefest of opportunities to face their own bewilderment without threat of danger.
Once they had reached the main level, John methodically unlocked the push bar and opened the heavy door. The small lobby was quiet and empty but the glass doors to exit the building had been shattered at some point in time. Everyone considered themselves lucky that none of the Screamers outside had seeped into the open space.
With guns drawn and eyes focused, the group paced over to the entrance and carefully scanned the world outside. They could no longer hear any tortured squeals, or see any diseased bodies. It seemed the horde of Screamers had already moved on.
The group moved carefully, staying close to the building for cover. They slid stealthily around the side of the complex and emerged into a narrow alleyway where they would hopefully find a ladder or fire escape stairwell attached to the brickwork of a nearby building.
Amongst the dusty gravel of the alley there lay large, tipped garbage bins and the decayed remains of their contents. The place was a mess and it was anyone's guess as to what exactly had happened there.
John led the group further and further down the alley, unable to find buildings clustered together closely enough to allow for clean jumps. Not only was that an issue, but most of them lacked ladders or stairs to climb up in the first place.
As they paced forward, Harley suddenly veered off course and turned down an adjacent alley, thinking she had seen just what they were looking for and feeling excited about finally getting off the ground.
Having been behind her, Edvin followed, "Harley," he whispered loudly to get her attention.
Before looking back, Harley took a few more steps forward, discovering that the ladder she'd seen was barely attached to the wall anymore.
"Harley, let's go," Edvin insisted.
Defeated, she turned around and walked back to where Edvin waited.
"You can't just wander off like that," he scolded as they walked.
Harley frowned, "Thought I saw a way up"
Just as the pair were about to round the corner and meet up with John and Taylor, the two men came hurtling out into view like marathon runners, speeding right by a confused Harley and Edvin.
It was quickly apparent that the guys were being chased when from behind them burst forward a massive group of Screamers, their sudden shrieks and squeals echoing off of the stone buildings that surrounded.
Edvin instinctively grabbed Harley and pulled her out of the line of sight of the creatures as they dashed by, but she fought him viciously, "Let go! We gotta help them!!"
Reluctantly, Edvin let go and Harley burst out of the alleyway with her gun, trailing behind the rabid creatures that followed John and Taylor.
She ran as fast was her feet would take her, shooting wildly into the crowd of infected bodies and feeling a panic unlike anything she'd ever experienced.
Up ahead Harley watched as John and Taylor rounded a corner, trying feverishly to lose the violent pack of Screamers. Harley followed and continued to shoot, but only managed to take down two as they moved.
At last she veered around the corner to where the guys had run and was mortified to see that John and Taylor had been cornered. The alley was a dead end with a high, wrought-iron gate. They fired their guns into the crowd as the Screamers closed in and Harley did the same from the other side.
Suddenly John yelled over the mob of infected, "GET HARLEY OUT OF HERE!"
Harley was taken aback for a moment, but then she felt a large hand grasp her arm and begin to pull. She turned to see Edvin and wrenched her arm from his grasp, determined to stay and save John.
Edvin grabbed her again with both hands, "We gotta go!" But Harley fought, "No!! Don't touch me!" And tore herself free.
She dashed away from Edvin toward where John fought and raised her gun but before she could shoot, Harley was hoisted up into the air from behind.
Edvin held her tight and pried the gun from her hand, dropping it to the ground. Kicking and hitting, Harley shrieked, "Let me go!!!"
But Edvin refused and swiftly threw Harley over his shoulder.
"John!!" Harley yelled in a panic as Edvin turned heel and sprinted away from the scene.
Harley looked up once more just in time to see Taylor and John be enveloped by the vicious crowd of infected.
"JOHN!!!!"