He reached the corner where Jenn turned, finding himself alone. The dead closed in behind as the infected started toward him from the parallel streets. He looked down at his gun and knew what he had to do. He refused to be one of them. Chris refused to give them the satisfaction they so desperately desired.
He moved his hands without hesitation. The barrel was pressed up under his chin as his finger wrapped around the trigger. Chris closed his eyes, and as he gathered the courage to squeeze, his ears picked up someone calling his name. His eyes snapped open, and he instantly found Jenn waving at him from the open doorway of the building across the street.
He started toward her, running directly at the mass of infected rushing at him from the next block. Their frantic faces glared at him, most mouths hanging open and dripping with a desire to get at him. The frantic twitching made the mass appear to be an enormous creature. He pushed himself as they barreled down on him. Jenn backed away as he dashed through the door. The kids were trying to push a large desk in front of the revolving glass entryway.
“Don’t bother, just go.”
They were stomping up one of two wide staircases leading to the second floor when the horde reached the doors. The mass hit the glass with such force that it shattered on contact. The roar of them exploded into the temporary silence of the ground floor. Chris set his sights on a glass stairwell entrance beside a bank of elevator doors on the second floor.
They never looked back. The sound of what was coming told them all they needed to know. Chris pushed into the stairwell as the first of the infected reached the second floor. Jenn and the kids flew in behind him. Chris snatched a fire extinguisher off the wall and wedged it in the space between the bottom step and the door.
He was on the next landing, when the infected reached the doorway. The impact was met with a solid thud. The door didn’t move nor did the glass break. Chris wasn’t sure how long it would hold, but he would take it. He caught up with the others two flights up. They were gassed and barely moving.
“We can’t stop,” he said, but the statement didn’t help. “They’re going to get in here.”
Jake leaned out of the stairwell for a look. “There’s only one more floor. What are we going to do when we get up there?”
Chris looked from him to Jenn. He didn’t have an answer. He wanted to say, hey kid, a minute ago I was about to blow my own face off. Instead, he started up the last set of stairs. “We’ll figure it out when we get up there.”
The constant pounding on the door lightened. No one was willing to go back down and have a look to find out why. They reached the top floor landing, and Alicen collapsed. Jenn tended to her while Chris pulled open the door and peered out at an open foyer. He made sure nothing was moving before trying to gather the others.
“We’re going to have to find a place to hole up,” he said. “We’ll have to wait them out.”
“What if they don’t leave?” Jake asked.
“We need water,” Jenn added.
Chris shook his head. “This is all we got.” He stepped out into the foyer before they could pepper him with any other questions.
The front of the building was lined with windows. The darkening sky filled with a light shade of violet. The roof of the building across the street was in view, but it offered little relief. The floors were dotted with stains of blood, but there was no hint at what or who left them. Trash littered the open space in front of four elevator doors. One set of the elevators was hacked open, revealing the dark shaft behind it. Chris focused on the hallway openings on either side of the elevators. The silence was far more frightening than the constant sounds of the dead chasing him through the street.
He kept his gun at the ready, edging along the wall toward the nearest hallway. Jenn pulled open the stairwell door and then urged the kids ahead of her. Alicen could hardly stand. Her breathing was shallow and her movements jittery. Jake kept her close, holding onto her hand as he walked.
The hallway led to a row of open cubicles set up along the backside of the building. Another wall of windows revealed the endless city real estate they would have to travel across if they ever hoped to make it to their destination. The vision of it was more defeating than Chris imagined. A line of office doors covered the adjacent hall across from the cubical farm. A quick search revealed little more than desks and an endless supply of paperwork.
“We’re stuck,” Jake said as he slid to the floor. “If they get up here, we’re done for.” He pulled his sister down beside him. “She can’t run anymore.”
Chris felt an overwhelming urge to give up. He was mentally and physically exhausted. A renewed echoing sound told him the infected hadn’t given up on getting into the stairwell. His weary eyes fell to the floor in desperation.
“What’s in there?” Jenn was already moving before Chris found what she was looking at. “It’s locked.”
The door at the end of the row was different from the other doors in a number of ways. It was metal and the frame was wider and thicker. Jenn started kicking it before Chris reached her. They went at it together without much result.
“Stand back.”
Chris aimed at the door handle and fired. The shot blew the handle off and took a chunk out of the door with it. A follow-up kick popped it wide open. The remaining light from the windows revealed a maintenance room. Chris’s eyes locked on two features: a ladder leading to a hatch in the ceiling and a spigot in the wall. He looked over at Jenn and then back to the kids.
“Spread out and look for something to hold water.” He focused in on the ladder. “We’re going up one more time.”
23
Jenn was having a breakdown. They made it up to the roof and everyone had their share of water. Chris refilled a bucket and two plastic bottles they found scattered on the floor. He’d forced open the hatch in the ceiling and helped everyone up. It was after he slid a two by four through the handle that he discovered Jenn.
She was lying on the cold rooftop balled up in a fetal position. She had her hand over her face, but the muffled cries pierced any attempts to stop them. Alicen knelt behind her and rubbed her hair. Jake stood away from them, looking over the side of the building. He glanced at Chris through red, teary eyes.
Chris took a look over the front of the building for himself. The view below left a lot to be desired. The mass of the dead was gathered near the entrance. They pressed in on one another trying to get in the undersized doorway. The sound of them was lost on the wind. The sun was going down and with it went the temperature. Chris mentally added freezing to death to his list of things to be concerned about. There didn’t appear to be any other way to get on the roof, but that would have to be verified. He caught Jake’s attention and huddled up close to the boy.
“We need to clear this place out and make sure we know what we’re up against,” he said eyeing an assortment of ventilation shafts and other equipment. “We’ll start here and work around in opposite directions. We’ll have a better idea of where we stand once we’re done.”
The boy nodded and started off. Chris thought about talking to Jenn but then decided against it. She would have to grieve and there was no good way around it. He hoped she hadn’t seen too much of what happened to Tom. The recon took half an hour, and Chris and Jake settled in around the girls to go over what they found. Jenn was sitting up, her knees pulled to her chest, staring out at the city.
“There’s one other way down,” Chris began, “but we were able to block it off with a piece of pipe.” He waited for a response, but he didn’t get one. “I think we should have someone standing near each way up here at all times.”
“What’s the point?” The question crept from Jenn’s lips barely loud enough for the others to hear. “So we just die up here?”
“We wait them out,” Jake said. “They need to feed and if they can’t get to us, maybe they’ll—”
“Maybe?” Jenn interrupted. “Maybe what? Maybe they’ll wander off and we’ll be free to look for a saf
er place?”
Jake shook under the barrage. Jenn had been the biggest supporter of his and Alicen’s search. If she turned on them, Chris wasn’t sure how the kids would respond. He tried to cut to the point.
“That’s exactly what we’ll do,” he said. “When they leave, we’ll work our way down and follow the map. We’ll wait until morning, not that it seems to matter much anymore to the infected. But if it’s all the same, I don’t want to be running for my life in the dark.”
Jenn’s head dropped and her gaze fell between her legs. Chris motioned for Jake to go back to the other entrance they found. Chris settled on top of the hatchway they came up and the roar from his stomach reminded him of another growing problem. He zipped up his jacket and then settled in for what he figured would be a long, cold, and hungry night.
A single thump changed his focus. His eyes slowly slid down to the hatch he was sitting on. A loud clang of metal followed the thump. Chris lifted his head and found the girls’ eyes on him. The dread on their faces said they’d heard it too. A wave of noise followed, and Chris would swear he felt the pressure of it push up against him from underneath.
He got up and pressed his finger to his lips. They moved with quick but quiet steps toward the second hatch, only to find Jake heading toward them from the other direction. The boy nearly slammed into them as he kept his eyes trained in the direction he was coming from.
“I think I hear them,” he said.
Chris answered with a nod. He scanned the roof, searching for anything of use. He ran out to the far side of the building in a panic. He eyed the distance between the edge of the building and the one adjacent to it. Chris guessed the narrow section couldn’t be more than ten feet across.
“We have to get off the roof,” Chris said when he spun around. “That’s the closest choice.” He pointed toward the building across the alleyway.
Jake gaped at the open space and then peered down at the alley. “You’re kidding, right?” he asked loud enough to cause his sister to shake. “You’d be lucky to make it, and there’s no way Alicen or I can do it.”
“What happened to waiting them out?” Alicen asked. “You said we could wait up here and we’d be safe.”
“I never said we’d be safe,” Chris corrected her.
They stood frozen as the sounds increased from the floor below. There was no way to be sure what was happening, but each of them had their own terrible guesses. A moment later, the noise grew beyond measure. Their eyes snapped toward the hatch as something pounded against it from underneath.
“We don’t have many choices here, folks,” Chris said.
“Hold on.”
Jake took off before anyone could stop him. He headed toward the hatchway he was guarding and disappeared for a brief moment. Jake re-emerged with a long plank of wood, rushing forward with it held out front like a lance. He headed straight for the edge of the building as the others gathered around. Another strike on the hatch produced a dent in the metal cover. Chris guessed they didn’t have more than a few minutes before the hatch gave way. Jake laid the plank of wood down on the edge of the building and then slowly slid it out. Once it reached half the distance, he waved Chris over.
“You stand here on the board and Jenn can stand in front of you,” Jake explained. “Alicen will go out first.”
The little girl eyeballed the wood but didn’t move. Chris waved her over once he finally understood the plan.
“All you have to do is walk out,” Chris said. “Then jump the rest of the way.” He tried to reassure her with a fake smile. “There’s nothing to it.”
Alicen shook her head and backed away. She made it three steps before a loud crash into the underside of the hatch caused her to scream. The shriek only encouraged the assault.
“Come on, Alicen,” Jake said as he started after her. “We have to go.”
The girl backed away as she yelled. “I’m not walking the plank.”
“You have to go first,” Chris said as he considered trying to get across with her over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure Jenn and Jake’s combined weight would hold them. “Jake, go.”
The boy’s head spun around. “I’m not leaving her.”
“Go,” Chris ordered.
The hatch took another strike and the hand behind it pushed through. Gnarled fingers covered in bloody cuts flailed about, searching for something to grab hold of. Jake’s stare pierced Chris’s heart. He knew the boy thought he was forcing him to choose, but he didn’t have time to explain.
“Go now.”
Jake considered it for another second. Then he started for the edge of the roof. He was trembling as he stepped out on the plank and moved to the end. “I’m going to jump,” he said, looking back for his sister. She took a step toward him, and as she did, Jake bent his knees and then pushed off.
The boy made the distance with plenty of room to spare. His jump was good, but his landing left a lot to be desired. He tried to roll out of the impact but, instead, managed to smack his head as he came to a sliding stop. Chris looked back for Alicen and found her already on the move. She punched him in the hip, as she tentatively stepped out onto the board.
Another clang from the hatch produced two arms, both trying to bend back the thin metal sheet. The sounds of the infected poured out in waves and washed over the rooftop. Alicen reached the edge of the board and looked down at the alleyway far below before Chris could warn against it. She started back toward him, and he couldn’t take it any longer.
“Get the hell over there,” he shouted.
The words smacked her in the face. Her cheeks turned cherry red before she spun back toward her brother. Jake was up with a line of blood running down from his forehead. He was near the edge of the building trying to wave his sister over.
“You have to go now,” he said. “You can do this.”
Chris risked a look at the hatch and saw the first of the infected pushing itself through an opening.
“Jump.”
“Don’t rush me,” Alicen screamed. “I can’t do—”
“You have to do it now,” Jake said, his eyes sliding over to the hatchway.
Alicen bent down and readied herself. Her legs shook so badly that the end of the board vibrated up and down. Chris was about to yell again when she leaned out in a diving form. At the last second, she pushed off and flung herself forward. Jake rushed toward her and the two collided over the edge of the adjacent building. The result was a well-timed catch, leaving the siblings lying safely on the rooftop.
“Step off,” Chris said, backing away. Jenn had her arms around his waist. They walked off together and the board fell. “You jump first.”
Jenn looked at him and then over at a naked man pulling himself up through the hatch. The view was enough to spur her forward. She took off running toward the edge of the building as the first of the infected got to his feet. She was midair between the buildings when Chris started running. He couldn’t see the infected, but he could hear them sprinting up behind him.
His boot hit the edge of the building, and he pushed off with all his strength. He was airborne and the sight of the adjacent roof and the kids filled his view. He watched Jenn come down hard before he landed. Chris felt the impact in his knees, and the shock radiated through his entire body. He came to a sudden stop and fell forward as the pain caught up with his brain.
He rolled out of the way, got to his feet, and wobbled as he tried to steady himself. The landing had done some damage to his knees and hips, but there wasn’t time to think about it. He started moving before the full effect set in. A look over his shoulder revealed a mass of gnarly figures pouring out onto the rooftop behind them. He helped Jenn up and started yelling out orders.
“Look for a way down. We have to get to the street before we get trapped again.”
Jake was already running, pulling his sister with him. He found an entrance on the far side of the roof. Alicen was yelling about something, but she wasn’t making sense. The little girl s
tumbled as her brother drug her along. Her focus was on the building behind them.
Chris spun around, expecting the worst. He was stunned to find the infected leaping out after them. They wailed in fury as they fell to their deaths in the alleyway. One after the other, they jumped, some slamming into one another midair in a desperate attempt to get at the living blood racing away from them.
Jake reached the door first and grabbed the handle. He thought the better of it and waited until Chris and Jenn caught up. Chris came to a stop and trained his weapon on their escape route. Jenn produced a handgun from her pocket and firmly clasped her fingers around the grip.
“Open it.”
Jake turned and pulled. The dark platform beyond was motionless. Chris poked his head through and looked over the banister. A moment of silence was enough clearance to move. Everyone pushed in around him and he let the door close. Jake had enough presence of mind to turn the lock before he started down.
Light from small windows on each floor provided enough illumination to see where they were going, but little else could be seen. It was near dark and the shadows beyond the windows were long and deep. Chris stopped at each landing. Everyone held their breath as they listened for signs of danger. They reached the bottom floor, and they were left considering the emergency exit that pushed out onto the street or a door leading back into the building.
“It will be dark soon,” Jenn said, as Chris stood frozen with indecision. “You said yourself that we didn’t want to be out on the streets at night.”
“We can’t stay here,” Alicen pleaded. “They know we’re here.”
Chris wasn’t so sure. The display of the infected leaping to their deaths off the adjacent building gave him doubts. “I think we might be giving them too much credit.” He looked back and forth between the choices of doors. In truth, he had no idea. Perhaps it was the sight of fresh meat that drove them to try the jump. He couldn’t be sure some of them wouldn’t eventually make the leap.
The Decaying World Saga Box Set [Prequel #1-#2 & Books #1-#2] Page 41
