I turned around slowly, dread like a lead ball in my stomach. At the top of the stairs stood Riley. He had a look on his face that I couldn't quite classify as a smile. How had he found me?
"Well, I can't say this isn't a surprise, running into you like this. I thought we had seen the last of you." The pink tip of his tongue ran over the bottom of his teeth.
"Are you following us?" I croaked out.
"Well, well I thought you were a mute," he smirked. "You didn't say a word last time."
"Forced imprisonment does that to a person," I glared back. His grin spread further across his face.
"You left me with quite the souvenir you know." His hand came to rest on the spot where my knife had sunk in. "I can't say I have ever let someone get the better of me before. Took ten stitches and a bottle of Captain Morgan to set me right."
What do I do? What do I do? Should I shoot at him? I was trapped at the bottom of the stairs with the unknown on the other side of the door. He'd more than likely return fire and I was a sitting duck down here. Well, I hoped that whatever was on the other side was an improvement. I turned the knob and dashed inside as I pulled out the keys. I fumbled with the lock on the inside, making sure they couldn't get it. Heavy footfalls sounded down the stairs.
"You're only going to make this harder on yourself. I just want to talk."
I'm sure all killers say that to their victims. It was pitch black down here and foul, damp air clawed at my nostrils. I dragged the flashlight from my backpack and clicked it on. I heard the chains rattle before I saw the bodies. A skeletal infected reared towards me and I stumbled back until I hit the wall. It was yanked to a stop, a few feet from me. With its arms outstretched, it clawed at the air between us.
I blinked a few times, my eyes adjusting to the sight and my heart rate started to return to normal. A metal collar was fastened around the infected's neck, a chain running from it to the wall. Two other infected were chained up, but they didn't seem to have as long chain. One was not moving, lying still in a pool of filth.
Ok, so this wasn't an improvement. I needed to get out of here. I shone my flashlight around, trying to spot an escape route. Muffled voices were on the other side of the door. Riley must not have been alone. Then the banging started. They were ramming the door trying to get in. The two mobile infected now had all their attention focused on the smashing sound.
Using the wall as my guide, I shuffled along getting further out of their reach. The beam of light landed on a small, boarded up window. It was one of those tiny basement windows that basically served no purpose other than to make it feel less like a dungeon. Good thing I had lost weight in the last few months, I could probably squeeze through it now. I shuffled over, the infected still rapt upon the banging. It reminded me of when my brother used to taunt our neighbor's Rottweiler by banging on the fence. I ran into something hard at waste level and shone the light down. A rolling hospital bed laid in my way. The sheets were stained in blood and a pair of handcuffs dangled from the bars.
I gulped audibly as I maneuvered around it, careful not to step into the infected's chain radius. They still weren't paying attention to me. I mean I was being extremely cautious with not making noise or sudden movements, but fresh meat had to be calling to them. I had never be so close to an infected and been so slow. Usually I was running from them. It was like I no longer held their interest once I wasn't making noise or making noticeable movements in their sight range.
Now was not the time to question it. I stuck the end of the flashlight into my mouth and tried to pry away the boards. They weren't nailed on, just placed against the glass. Daylight spilt through the small opening, providing a little bit of vision. I could see the basement more clearly now. There was a heavy, industrial door towards the back that looked like it headed into a small room. It seemed very out of place for a doctor's clinic. The walls were covered in smooth tiles, making it look more like a shower room than a basement. Hospital beds were scattered all over the room, tables with trays of tools beside them.
The gleam of stainless steel scalpels and scissors were reflected back at me. Maybe they had used this as an operation room? Or for something worse? The way the infected were chained up, lead me to lean towards the latter. And what the hell would they need the meat locker looking room for? The shit I get myself into...
The banging increased tenfold, spurring me on to use the butt of the flashlight to smash the glass. Still using the flashlight, I cleared off the rest of the jagged pieces. I shoved my jingling backpack through the opening. I needed something to gain ground with. Whipping my head around, my eyes landed on the patient bad. With a heft, I rolled it towards the window. The wheels squealed from lack of use and one of the infected turned towards me. I stood as still as I could, waiting for it to go back to clawing uselessly in the direction of the door.
Once it grew tired of staring at me, I wheeled the bed the rest of the way. The door flew open at the same time I planted a foot on the bed. Riley and the man I recognized as Conner burst into the room momentarily caught off guard by the infected waiting to devour them.
"Holy shit!" Conner yelled as he slid to a stop.
Unfortunately for him, he entered the room first in a sprint and was unable to stop in time. The infected with the longest chain latched onto him and took a massive chunk out of his arm. Conner's scream bounced off the walls, encouraging the other infected. Riley whipped out his gun.
"No man, don't!"
The gun flash briefly lit up the dim basement. Conner dropped like a stone, the hole in his head still smoking. The infected fell down with him, tearing into any part it could get to. Riley's head snapped in my direction and I scrambled to get out, having wasted precious time watching the whole scene, hoping Riley would meet his end to. No such luck.
I had my arms and head through the opening, my legs flailing to try and get purchase. I felt a hand wrap around my ankle and yank. My arms scraped along the window frame and I landed face first on the disgusting hospital bed. Then with another forceful pull, my face met the cold, cement ground. I could taste blood in my mouth, my teeth having sliced open my tongue.
"You just cost me another good team member," Riley tsked.
Roughly, he grabbed my upper arms and turned me over.
"You're going to pay for that."
I spit the blood welling in my mouth at him. He made an angry grunt and a hand flew to his face to wipe the blood off. I kicked out my leg and it landed in his side with a thud.
"Bitch!"
Using his brief moment of distraction, I scrambled onto all fours and got up. He was right behind me, on my heels. He recovered fast. Riley tackled me to the ground, my hands flew out instinctively grabbing at anything and a tray of tools clattered to the ground with us. The sound of the stainless steel hitting the cement rained all around us.
I used the tray still gripped in my hand to smash Riley's face. He grabbed my wrist and pried the useless weapon from my hand and threw it away. It rattled like a tin sheet as it sailed away from us. I fought to punch and hit at him, but Riley managed to gather my wrists in his hands.
"Keep fighting me, I like it." He was out of breath from our tussling.
"Fuck you!" I yelled straight into his face, blood and spit mixing with my harsh exclamation.
"You would like that wouldn't you?" His grin didn't reach his eyes, they were dark and dead. He might as well have been an infected for all I saw in there.
"No, that's not what this is about. Revenge. Once I kill you, I will find the rest of your group and kill them too."
To emphasize his point, his hands moved from my wrists to my neck. My oxygen was cut off abruptly and I clawed at the hands now squeezing the life out of me. The pressure on my neck was beyond painful and I kicked out my legs, desperate to get air. Black dots where starting to line my vision and dance before my eyes.
"Fighting only will make it last longer."
The coldness in Riley's eyes was replaced with sick amusement. He liked killing. This world didn't ruin his life, it set him free. He had killed before and would keep doing it. What if he did find my friends? What if he found Chloe? I removed my nails from the hand wrapped around my neck and felt around the floor near me, looking for anything that could be a weapon. I didn't have much time, I was starting to fade; I could feel it.
Death was closer than it had ever been, but I refused to give Riley the satisfaction. My hand wrapped around the hilt of one of the dropped tools and with my last remaining strength I brought my arm up in a wide arc. The sharp edge of whatever tool I had grabbed embedded itself in Riley's neck. His eyes went wide in shock and his hands flew to his neck. Suddenly, I could breathe.
Cool, blessed air reached my starved lungs and I heaved in deep breaths. My eyes were watering and my throat burned like I had never felt before. It was like acid coated the inside of my throat and air was water being poured onto it. Riley was pale and clutching at the handle protruding from his neck. Blood poured from the wound like a faucet turned to max. It looks like I had stabbed him with a scalpel.
He collapsed to the ground, his mouth open and fluttering like a gaping fish on land. I hauled myself to shaky feet and reached into my waist band. I loomed over him, the gun aimed right for his forehead. Once he saw the gun in my hand, he reached up; whether to plead for his life or beg for it to be quick, I will never know. Because I pulled the trigger.
He won in the end. Now I was a monster too.
A/N: So here we are, the last chapter. There will be an epilogue and update posted Friday :)