No one had ever touched her like that, or even once offered her comfort before. Everyone who was someone in Crusa always tried to avoid Mina like the plague. Obviously, Ace didn't get the message, nor did her Uncle Vinny.
She gave him a light look, “It’s alright. He’s with Aunt Sharon now. Besides now is not the time for mourning. Mourning would get you killed. Anything at this point can. We must focus on getting to the station. Who knows maybe Lyle is there with Nadine too?” She tried sounding hopeful to take away the pain she was feeling.
They pushed forward, though the stench was still horrible behind the store, like trash and dead people. She climbed the fire escape, as they reached the top the smell of decay was just as bad. They continued around the back of the building, she looked down for just a moment, and she could see a sea of them.
Her heart stopped for just a second, and Ace’s face showed the deep concern. “What…the fuck? How are there so many of them?” He whispered, trying to keep his voice low.
She replied with what she saw earlier, “They’re attracted to noise. The more noise, the more they congregate. That’s what I noticed earlier when that tanker crashed. The noise brought them out of hiding…they’re hunting for fresh meat. They may be slow but they're not stupid. They act out of the pure instinct for food.” The situation they were in was much worse than she had originally thought.
Please be okay Naddie…I need you to be okay. Even if she knew these streets better than anyone, she still felt uneasy traversing through the fire escapes. They were all connected somehow.
“I know how we can get to the station through this way.” She whispered again, pushing on.
He gave her a strange look, “You do? We’re still a solid mile and a half from the station through the back allies.” He then asked, “You’ve lived here for some time, haven’t you?”
She relaxed a little as she gave him a quick nod pushing on. The old green fire escapes were covered in rust, and some were even coming off from the building. The bolts, nearly gone. “I’ve lived here my whole life. I hate it here. Always have.” In the back of her mind, she could almost feel something surface. Something that she kept hidden from herself since she was a child. She bit it back and kept moving. She didn’t want to risk the fire escape breaking and them falling into the hoard below. “Yeah…I hate it here…I’ve wanted to leave for years. But then my parents had my little sister, she was extremely sick when she was born, I didn’t get a chance to actually see her till she was—” She stopped herself. Why was she even telling this to a stranger?
Ace's eyes became soft, he knew how that felt. Though he didn't hate Crusa nearly as much as Mina, he knew the feeling. "I understand. Believe me. There's nothing that feels better then leaving sometimes…but you always come back." He offered her a small smile.
Mina, tried to look away from him and ignore the look he was giving her. She knew better then to fall for something like that, so she shook her head. "Never mind, let's just keep going."
The fire escaped creaked louder than before and wobbled underneath their feet. She paused and waited. The sound and movement didn’t repeat. But ahead of her, she could see how much of it was already pulling away from the building, just below that was the final stairs they had to take to the ground. The hoard had thinned out as much as it could, and there was only a few underneath them. The rest of the way was fenced off, and a large dumpster was pressed against the chain link fence.
Off in the far distance, she could hear the barking of dogs and sharp howls. Mina felt her skin crawl. It was a sound she heard before, right outside of her own home.
“Mutant dogs, I saw them after I found Lyle. They’re near Birmingham court. We just managed to get around them.” Sweat dripped down his face, and some popped up over his upper lip. There were deep circles underneath his eyes as if he had been living this nightmare for a while now.
“Officer, how long have you been here? Fighting this?” She couldn’t stop the question leaving her lips.
Ace only smiled. “About a week when the riots started. People have been getting sick since the end of spring. We were stretched so thin…I’ve seen so many people die. And just before that, we were looking for a serial B&E that was going on.” He scoffed, “Before you ask, yes I’m tired. No, I will not be a liability. Let’s just get to the station, and try to find your family, and Lyle. Alright?”
Her heart had skipped, they knew about her, but didn’t know who she was. Better than nothing. Might as well just keep this a secret for now. Don’t want him not trusting me.
“Hey ace?” She reached into her day bag and produced the survival knife. She handed it out to him, “Take this, I have a crowbar, my uncles’ gun, my own knife and a side arm. Just in case if you get into a sticky situation.”
Ace took the knife without question, she reached into the fanny pack and produced two more full clips of ammo. “Here.” He took that too, with a grateful smile.
“Thanks, I was running low.”
She gave him her best smile, as she watched his face relax just enough for her to see that she was gaining his trust. For now. She knew he was still worried about her bite, but honestly, so was she. It had been a long time…but that didn’t mean a damn thing.
The wind blew, and she crinkled her nose. It was just enough for her to keep going. “Come on we don’t have much more time. I don’t want to get caught up here. They’ve calmed down for now.” The smell was going to drive her insane before the monsters. She held onto the crowbar, the weight giving her comfort.
They reached the stairs, that put them in another back ally. She could feel guilt riding heavy on her head. What if Ace gets bit with me? It would be my fault. She liked having another pair of hands with her, but she was so used to working alone.
Ace broke the silence, “I hope Lyle made it to the station safely.” He paused and made a face she gave him a once over. “The ally way is blocked.” He was mumbling curses underneath his breath.
It was a dumpster. Something they could easily climb over. He must be tired…she held out her crowbar, “Here, hold this.” Ace was confused but took the weapon.
She rubbed her hands together to dry the sweat. Grabbing the lip of the dumpster, she hoisted herself up with ease. The dumpster itself was tall, but easy enough to climb over. She reached down, and he gave her the crowbar back. She put it next to her before reaching back down to him “Take my hand.” She kept her voice calm, but low. The last thing she wanted to do was get the undead attention.
He grabbed it and she easily pulled him up on top of the dumpster. “Are you sure this is safe?” He pondered.
That made her grin, “Ace, is anywhere safe right now?”
“Point.” He chuckled.
Nowhere was safe. Absolutely, nowhere. His face changed immediately; it went from a slight grin to serious. He pulled out his gun and took aim. She looked over her shoulder, there were three, and a half of them. All in various stages of decay.
The creature nearest to her, reached out, grabbing at the air. It’s broken nails swiping. She grabbed his hand and lowered the gun, “Noise will attract them.” Mina reached out and took her crowbar. “Stay up here. I’ll take care of them.”
Sweat popped across his upper lip, she can tell he was about to fight her on it. But she was already down on the other side. Her feet landing solidly on the concreate. She could see the exit not even a hundred feet ahead of them.
The creature stared at her with large, hungry, yellowed eyes. It came closer, she waited—
“Mina!” Ace called, worry lacing his voice.
She couldn’t let him distract her.
There were still two and a half behind this one, leaned over munching…
She ducked the oncoming arm, came up around the creature and brought the crowbar down hard on its mushy head. The things body fell with a hard thud to the concreate. Its blood splattered against her face.
It was cold, not hot.
She flinched, before bringing the
crowbar back up and striking it one more time. Making sure it was down for the count. The creature spasmed for a moment, before a large puddle of black surrounded its head. Mina looked up at Ace and gave a curt nod. Keeping her voice low, she started to give him orders. “When you get down here, we will take off at a sprint to that gate.” She pointed to the end of the ally, “That gate will take us to the back way to the bus depo. From there, we’re a couple of blocks away from the station. Are you ready?”
Ace nodded, “Yeah.”
She gave him a look, “Let’s go.”
The moment his feet touched the ground, they were off at a sprint. The walls around them were nothing but a blur. The smell of death was quick as they went by the creatures eating—
Mina was only able to take a quick look.
It was a young boy, about her sisters age. Staring up at the sky, his face in anguish—
Don’t think about it Mina! Just keep moving!
She struck the gate first, her shoulder hitting the frigid metal as it swung open striking the wall behind it. Ace was quick behind her, closing it and locking it with the frail padlock. He was breathing hard, his face showing his fatigue. You don’t know how long he’s been on these streets by himself Mina. It could’ve been hours, or days.
She did a quick look around, before pulling out a bottle of water from her day pack. She still had plenty left. “Here, take a few quick drinks and then we have to get going.”
The relief on Ace’s face was there, as he gave her a grateful look. He cracked it open and nearly downed half the bottle in three big swallows. He handed it back to her, and she took a good gulp herself. She didn’t realize how thirsty she had gotten. Her tongue was dry, and her throat started to stick together.
Even before she had a chance to put the bottle away, her eyes grew wide at the carnage that surrounded them. All strength left her legs and she collapsed. Ace tried to catch her.
Buses.
So many buses were piled up together, blocking their way into the back courtyard of the station. Fire raged, reaching taller than the apartment complex, and library. Her heart dropped and she could feel the need to scream bubble up at the base of her throat.
Naddie…her sister was out there, with her father. Her hopes of catching up to them dwindled the more she stared at the wreck. Whatever did this, wasn’t human.
These buses were thrown together haphazardly. Like a tornado came through and picked them up. One crashed into the library, catching the day room on fire. A memory bubbled to the surface.
During that past winter, she took her little sister to the library for the first time and the sheer joy on her face made everything alright. The light in her eyes made her look much younger than what she was—
“Mina? Come on, get up. We have to go! We can get to the station through the apartment complex. Come on.” His hands were on her arms, trying to get her up.
But her eyes stayed on the massive crash in front of her. No human, no accident could’ve caused this. The fear that trickled up her spine. There’s something else out here. Something that’s going to kill us. The panic had already settled deep in her stomach.
A long hissing screech to the left of them, coming out of the burning wreckage. It was a large dark-skinned man, half of his lower jaw clearly gone. His flesh a sickly pale with very pronounced forwarded necrosis settling in around the missing muscles. His entire body was engulfed in flames. His clothes and flesh sliding off the bones and plopping at his feet with each step.
Ace grabbed her hands pulling her up to her feet. “Come on!” He shouted to be heard over the roaring fire. She was about to run when hands grabbed her short hair from behind. A sudden shrill scream came from her mouth.
One of the dead from the ally way had made its way to the gate, reached in between the bars, and grabbed her hair. Suddenly terrified she grabbed at Ace, her eyes begging him to do something—
The sudden bang next to her head, made her flinch and her ears ring. He shot right next to her; the dead man fell letting her hair go. The bigger darker man was already closer to them than before. More of them were coming out of the wreckage, crawling out of the windows, and falling to the ground below.
She couldn’t catch her breath before he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. She held his hand tighter than before. Finally realizing she couldn’t do this alone. There was no way she could—
What were you thinking? He's going to get killed because of you Mina. He could've gotten bit, scratched, or torn to shreds! Do you really think it's a good idea to keep him around with you? You're bad luck. Everyone you come across ends up—
They slammed into the apartment complex’s door. He grabbed the crowbar from her hand and slid it in the two large handles. They backed up a step, watching through the glass. Several undead started to surround the front door, their dead fists banging against it. Her brain kept firing a million things at once. None of them good. They were basically surrounded now, there was no way out.
Mina backed up a step, watching the crowbar hold the doors in place. Her heart kept skipping—
“Hey, what’s this?” Ace’s voice brought her back to reality. In his hand, was a piece of paper, with a drawing on it.
She turned to him and took the paper. Her heart jumped. It was three figures standing over another one in a bed with lines attached to it. The paper was black with a few streaks of white going down to the figure on the bed.
“Nadine…” The name came out of her lips like a ghost.
Ace placed his hand on her shoulder, “That was your sister, right? That means she came this way.”
Her eyes stayed on the drawing longer than it should’ve, “Nadine what did they do to you?”
Ace narrowed his eyes, his brows coming together. “What are you talking about Mina?”
“My sister…” She folded up the piece of paper, changing the subject. “It’s nothing. Come on. Lets' get out of here…”
He gave her shoulder a light squeeze, “Mina talk to me. Please. As an officer I need to know every little detail if we’re going to find your sister.”
Emotions flowed through her, she was tired, achy…and her arm hurt. She just wanted everything to go back the way it was. She pulled herself away from him, Mina took a minute and leaned up against the welcome desk. Her muscles were ready to give in, she was so tired. Running a dirty hand through her hair, she sighed heavily. “I just want to get out of here with my sister…Nadine…” She didn’t even know where to start. There was a point in time where she believed almost everything her parents told her. Because they were ‘good’ people making things to help save humanity.
A cure for cancer.
A cure for sickle cell.
A cure for this.
A cure for that.
New antibiotics.
New antiviral drugs.
Things that were supposed to help.
Were they though? She pinched the bridge of her nose, listening to the moans, and hissing of the dead beyond the entry door. Her head was starting to hurt from the stress. I did everything…I went through a life of crime for my sister. A sister I didn’t even meet till she was four.
“Mina?” Ace reached out, his gentle touch on her arm sent her through another rollercoaster. Her skin prickled with goosebumps; it was difficult for her to tell what it meant.
She tried biting back the tears, she tried keeping them hidden. It had been literal years since she had cried. Thievery is my nature, is my job…I had to stay calm, and collected through it all. But now?
“Mina…come back to me. I need you to talk to me.” He rubbed her arm, trying to keep her calm.
But she cried anyway. The stress of everything collapsed in on her, and she felt the hot tears tumble down her face. She made no noise as she looked up at him, “My sister…my sister is twelve. I didn’t have a relationship with her till she was four. I hated her. I hated her for so long because she took up all my parents time and attention.” She tried wiping away her tears, bu
t more kept coming. She reached into her back pocket, producing her wallet. She pulled out a photo of Nadine. The only one she was able to take before…before the world went to shit. “This is her, taken last summer at the beach. Mom and dad never wanted me to take her there, because of her white pallor. They were terrified she would get sunburn. She never did.”
Ace took the photo from her and looked at Nadine. Bright red hair, stunning blue eyes, the color of robin eggs. She was pretty for a twelve-year-old. Wearing a flowing white dress, with no shoes. She had a large floppy hat on even underneath the umbrella. Her smile could light up any room.
“Why didn’t you have a relationship with her till she was four?” Ace handed the photo back.
Mina stared at it, before rubbing the photo with her thumb. She put it back in her wallet and put that back in her pocket. “Because they had her at the lab. She was born sick. At least, that’s what my parents told me. I don’t know how much I believe in them anymore.” She wiped at her face again, “I’m sorry. We should get going if we’re going to get to the station.” She stood upright.
She could see he was fighting something inside him, to help calm her down, or to get her to trust him more. He let out a breath, his own eyes lingering on her face longer than it should. "You have to trust me, Myrna. The more I know the easier things will be. What if we have to split up? I need to know you won't stab me in the back." He made a move that surprised her, he continued to speak. "I passed through the academy with flying colors because my mother was in the Army for years, and my father is a retired cop. I wanted to be just like them."
He took a step back from her, and went to the mailboxes, looking at each one, "For years, they took me to the shooting range. Making sure I learned self-defense. How to calm down a hostage situation…there are many things they taught me, and it's helped me succeed."
She made no face, but secretly she was impressed. "All of that for what?"
He gave her a side grin that made her cock a brow, "To protect pretty girls like you." He changed the subject by pointing through the double doors behind them.
Myrna Page 5
