by Scott Lee
Abe Morrow headed down the hallway and down the large open staircase to the first floor. Two of his men were waiting there for him and held the door as he stepped outside. Rushing ahead, they held the door to the large SUV and closed it behind him. Jumping into the front seats, the men started the vehicle and headed for the helicopter landing pad.
Five minutes earlier Morrow had received word that the helicopter and crew were returning from their pursuit of the girl. It had been over two hours since the helicopter had left, and during most of that time radio contact had ceased because it flew out of range. That left Morrow in the dark as to the status of the girl, and Abe Morrow didn’t like being left in the dark. Now they were just a few minutes out and he wanted answers. Most of all, he wanted to hear that the girl was dead.
As the SUV pulled up to the landing area, he rolled down his window and waited. Moments later, the sound of the helicopter could be heard in the distance, and soon it appeared above the tree line. Thirty seconds later, it was touching down and cutting it’s engine as the members of his security team exited the craft.
A tall, blonde haired man in his late thirties walked straight for the SUV and got in next to Morrow.
“Well?” asked Morrow, an impatient tone to his voice.
“It’s taken care of, sir,” replied Jamison, a look of annoyance on his face.
“Then I take it she’s dead? Along with those who helped her?” he said, staring straight ahead.
“They’re no longer a problem. Trust me.” said Jamison.
“So they’re not dead?” asked Morrow, a bit of irritation creeping into his voice.
“They’re in the city, in a hospital, surrounded by a swarm, with no ZOMBIE OFF. There’s no way they’re getting out alive,” replied Jamison.
Morrow signaled the driver to take them back, then turned to face his lead henchman.
“You better hope so,” Morrow said softly, looking straight ahead. “Because if you’re wrong, I’ll feed you to the zombies in the lab.”
Neither man spoke another word as the SUV pulled away and headed back to the main building.
Connor, Doug and Diana stood transfixed as they watched the massive swarm advance. Within seconds, the moans reached a sanity breaking level as thousands of undead responded to the call of prey. Looking behind them, the three could see dozens more zombies moving in their direction from the other side of Walnut, drawn to the moans of the swarm.
“Run!” yelled Connor.
The three took off running north on 11th, the only direction that was clear. Racing up the street, they heard the sound of breaking glass as they approached the entrance to Jefferson University Hospital. Moments later, zombies began pouring out onto the street and sidewalk in front of them.
With only seconds to act, the trio sprinted with everything they had as they ran for the quickly closing gap in the street in front of them. Bolting along the edge of the buildings on their left, the three dashed in front of the outstretched arms of the hospital horde as more undead flowed into the street.
Without slowing, the trio raced up 11th. As they ran, the three were seeing ever increasing numbers of zombies as the call of the dead echoed behind them. The swarm was drawing them out from all directions. If they didn’t get off the streets soon, they’d quickly run out of options and be surrounded, but first they had to get well clear of the swarm or they’d just get trapped in whatever building they sought refuge.
Passing Sansom Street, they ran on to Chestnut Street, taking down a handful of zombies as they stopped briefly in the intersection to survey their options. To their left they could see dozens of zombies moving their way. To their right the street was quickly filling with the dead, and behind them was the swarm. Looking ahead on 11th they saw the least number of zombies, so they took off running.
They had to fight as they ran as they headed north, but the numbers were manageable. On a few occasions they were forced to stop and deal with the undead, but soon they were back on the move, desperate to escape the growing numbers of zombies.
Half way up 11th they spied a side street on the right. Ahead of them they could see Market Street, and the numbers didn’t look good. As they reached the side street, Connor stopped, looking back and forth at their two options. Turning to the others, Connor hatched a plan.
“You two, head down that way. Wait for me in the parking garage down on the right. You should be able to stay hidden among the cars.”
With that he took off running up 11th towards Market, flipping the blades of his machetes as he ran. Aiming for the vehicles, he began smashing the windows of every car he could, at the same time avoiding zombies and killing only when needed. With every shattered window, more of the undead on Market took notice. After hitting eight cars, Connor finally struck the gold he was hoping for on number nine.
As he smashed the window of the SUV, the car alarm suddenly went off, its ear piercing siren echoing through the street in both directions. Instantly, every zombie on Market Street turned and headed his way. Just as quickly, Connor was sprinting back to the side street.
Doug and Diana sprinted down Ludlow Street, never questioning Connor’s plan. They didn’t have time. They were in a race for their lives and every second counted. As they ran, they suddenly heard the sounds of shattering glass. Not stopping, they continued down the street just as a small group of zombies emerged from an alleyway to intercept them.
The zombies, dressed in homeless attire, were slow and uncoordinated, staggering forward as they attempted to feed. Doug drove his sword through the mouth of one, while caving in the skull of another with his pry bar. Diana, meanwhile, side kicked the first of two in front of her, clearing the way to split the head of the second. Pulling the M48 free, she lunged forward and buried the spike end of the weapon into the fallen zombie before it could get to its feet.
As the two finished with the homeless zombies, they continued running towards the entrance to the parking garage, cutting down another four zombies along the way. The garage itself started at the alley, but there was a security fence in the openings that prevented access until you got to the drive in entrance. As they neared the entrance, they suddenly heard the shrill sound of a car alarm, and suddenly understood what Connor had planned.
Reaching the entrance, the two ducked inside and tucked themselves between two cars. Weapons at the ready, they waited for their leader.
Connor bolted for Ludlow Street, the car alarm wailing behind him. Ahead of him he could see the swarm less than a block away as it approached Chestnut. Turning down the side street, he prayed that the alarm would do the trick.
Racing for the garage, he noticed the slew of dead homeless people and continued running, jumping over the bodies as he made his way to the garage. More bodies lay dead in the street as he headed for the garage entrance, watching for Doug and Diana. As ran into the garage, he heard a noise.
“Psssstttt. Over here.”
Looking to his left, he saw Doug’s head peek up over a car hood and then duck back down. Running over, he ducked between the cars with his friends.
“Nice of you to leave a trail of bread crumbs,” said Connor.
“Nice of you to create a diversion,” responded Doug.
“I took a gamble that maybe one car had a battery that still had juice in it for the car alarm. I got lucky,” said Connor.
“Now what?” asked Diana.
“Now we wait a few minutes for the zombies on Market Street to swarm to the alarm, and then we make a break for the Gallery at Market East,” answered Connor.
“You mean the mall?” exclaimed Diana. “Is it safe there?”
“Don’t know,” replied Connor, a serious look on his face. “But it’s gotta be better than the shit we’re in now. The swarm that is chasing us is huge, and the bigger it gets, the louder it gets. And the louder it gets, the more zombies respond to it. Eventually we’ll tire, and then we’d be trapped. Our only chance is to get out of sight unti
l it passes, or move to where it can’t see us. Right now, our best chance is that mall. At least in there we have multiple options for escape since it has four floors plus the train tunnels.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Doug. “How much longer do we wait?”
“Another minute. It’s been about two minutes already, and if we wait too long we run the risk of drawing more zombies from a distance. With any luck, when we get there we’ll have a much thinner zombie population to deal with crossing Market. When we leave here, take out as many as you can without slowing down. The fewer that follow us, the less likely it is we have a horde or the swarm following us.”
After a minute, Connor gave the signal and the three moved out. Turning up 10th Street, the trio saw that the majority of the zombies had moved toward the car alarm. A few dozen still milled about, unable to orient where the sound was coming from, and many of those were quickly dispatched. Moving quickly to the intersection of Market Street, they were relieved to see that the coast was relatively clear. The sound of the alarm could be heard clearly in the distance, and the three could see the mass of undead clogging the 11th Street intersection. Connor smiled. The plan had worked perfectly. Looking around, the group saw a fair number of zombies, but most were of the trailing variety, and were limited in their movements by the severity of their condition. Most were missing limbs or eyes, and all were getting nowhere fast.
“Take out the close ones, leave the rest,” said Connor as they crossed the intersection.
“You got it,” said Doug.
Together, the three quickly eliminated any zombie within 5 yards of their path as they headed across the street. As they neared the Gallery on the far side, Connor looked back and stopped.
“You two, scout ahead. There are entrance doors to the mall in the underpass area over there,” he said pointing. “Use those to stay out of the view of the zombies on the street. If you have to break in, make it quick and eliminate as many zombies in the vicinity first. Be careful. If you run into trouble, head back out here. I have a quick errand to run then I’ll meet you inside the entrance.”
Doug and Diana nodded and started to head off.
“Wait. Doug. I need the pry bar.”
Tossing him the pry bar, the two headed off for the mall while Connor turned and headed across the street.
As he crossed Market again, Connor headed straight for a shop with a large red sign above the awning that read GOLD. Pulling on the handle, the door opened easily. Inside there was the sign of a struggle, as evidenced by the smashed display cases and the blood stained walls and floor. Checking the cases, he saw that they were empty. Moving around the counter, he discovered a number of drawers under the cases that were still locked. Taking the pry bar, he broke open the drawers revealing trays of 18k gold necklaces, rings, and bracelets, and a tray of gold coins. Looking around, he found a small bag and quickly emptied the coins and jewelry into it. Tying it off on his belt inside of his jump suit, he turned and headed for the door.
Doug and Diana headed for the Gallery mall entrance that Connor had indicated. A mini tunnel was created where 10th Street passed through the shopping complex. A group of three double glass doors were positioned halfway through the tunnel providing access to the heart of the mall. Heading for the closest doors, Doug checked quickly for any sign of undead on the other side. Nothing. Reaching out, he gave a pull. Much to his surprise, the doors were unlocked and swung open easily.
“Finally something goes right for us,” said Diana, smiling.
Doug just nodded in agreement, tightening his grip on the sword as they stepped through the doors. Walking inside, the place was fairly well lit with sunlight from the massive bank of skylights that ran the length between department stores. Moving quietly forward, Doug walked to the edge of the railing and looked down at the floor below. Nothing moved within the building, and as he stood there listening, not a single sound could be heard.
Diana stood next to him, looking around also.
“Well this is nice. Finally someplace with no . . .” Doug cut her off, holding his hand up.
“Something’s not right,” he said whispering.
“What do you mean?” asked Diana, keeping her voice quiet.
“There are no zombies. Not a single one. Doesn’t that seem a bit strange to you?”
“Now that you mention it,” Diana replied.
Slowly, the two moved along the railing and headed towards the escalators, carefully watching for any sign of movement. They had only walked about ten feet when the familiar sound of a shotgun shell being chambered suddenly shattered the silence, making their blood run cold.
“Well, well, well. What have we here,” came a low voice from behind them.
“Great, just great,” muttered Doug as the two raised their arms.
Doug and Diana stood frozen, hands in the air.
“Take it easy buddy,” said Doug. “We’re not looking for any trouble. We just wanted to find a safe place to take shelter.”
“You might not have been looking for trouble, but you found it pal. And who’s the pretty little thing you brought with you?”
“Don’t even think about it,” responded Doug angrily.
“Shut it, asshole,” snapped the man. “In case you didn’t notice, I’m the one with the loaded shotgun. Now put your weapons on the ground, slowly. Wouldn’t want my finger to slip on this trigger, now would we?”
The two did as they were told, slowly laying their weapons on the floor.
“Trust me. You don’t want to do this,” said Doug.
“I told you to shut up!” yelled the man. “Now step away from the weapons.”
The two slowly moved away as the man kept a safe distance, watching them closely. Once they were clear of the weapons, he instructed them to head for the escalators, leaving the weapons behind to retrieve later.
“Last chance, pal,” said Doug, looking over his shoulder. “You can still let us go and save your ass.”
“Just move, smartass. I’m not the one who should be worried,” said the man, clearly getting irritated.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” replied Doug.
“One more word out of you and we’ll be dragging your ass upstairs unconscious,” snapped the man. “Now move!”
“Your funeral,” muttered Doug as they headed up the escalator stairs.
Walking quickly across Walnut Street, Connor headed for the entrance to the mall. As he reached the far side of the street, he saw a small group of zombies heading for the entrance where Doug and Diana had just entered. Moving to the sidewalk, he hugged the building as he made his way to towards the doors, hoping to not draw any further attention. As he entered the tunnel area, he looked inside just in time to see Doug and Diana being led away down the hallway at gunpoint.
“Dammit,” muttered Connor. “Can’t we have just one thing go right today?”
Crouching low below the windows, he watched as the two were ushered up the escalator and out of sight by a young white man in his mid twenties, wearing a black hoodie sweatshirt and baggie pants.
Crawling low back towards Walnut, he headed for the alternate entrance and peered inside. He saw no sign of any more men, so he tried the doors. As with the others, they were unlocked and pulled open easily. Ducking inside before any zombies noticed him, he quietly moved forward, dashing into a nearby corner store as he watched for any sign of more bandits.
As Connor hid inside the store looking for any sign of movement, he suddenly heard the sounds of footsteps in the hallway. Watching through the glass windows, he saw three more young men run quickly to the escalator and head up, taking the steps two at a time. As with the first, these three were armed with guns, but he also saw they were carrying walkie talkies.
Watching as the men disappeared out of sight, Connor realized that there were probably more men than what he just saw, and judging from the way the men raced upstairs, they hadn’t se
en a pretty girl in awhile. With the radios, it was likely that every man in the group would be heading upstairs to check out Diana, and that wasn’t good. He didn’t have much time before Diana became their new play toy, and Doug was eliminated.
Taking a moment, he formulated a plan. And a desperate one at that. As he turned to leave, he noticed Doug’s sword and Diana’s M48 lying on the tiled floor near the railing, along with Doug’s bowie knife. Sheathing the Twins, he dashed out, grabbed the three weapons, and bolted for the exit. Heading out the doors, he looked around for the closest undead. Racing to a nearby zombie in a business suit, he chopped the head off and stripped the corpse of its belt, then cut off part of the suit fabric. Returning to the doors, he wrapped the pry bar in the suit fabric to dampen the sound, then quickly snapped the auto closing mechanisms of the four doors that led to Walnut Street. Closing the doors again, he ran and grabbed two nearby garbage cans and placed them near the two end doors. Taking the belt, he set it on the ground in front of the doors and sprinted for Walnut Street.
Taking a deep breath he steeled his resolve and stepped into the street, looking both ways. In the direction of 9th Street the zombie count was thin, with the undead spread out sparsely on the wide thoroughfare. Looking toward 11th, he saw hundreds of undead gathered at the intersection, trying to reach the sound of the alarm on the packed street in front of them. As he stood in the roadway, the sound of the alarm began to warble, and suddenly it stopped, having either drained the battery or succumbed to the undead. Either way, it worked to his advantage.
Taking one final look around, he took a deep breath, placed his fingers in his mouth, and whistled as loud as he could.
Within seconds the swarm was heading his way.
As the two walked up the escalator, Doug whispered to Diana.
“We have to stall them. We need to give Connor some time.”
Reaching the top of the escalators, the two were told to turn left and head into the Lane Bryant store a short distance away. Just inside the entrance they saw a half dozen couches spread out in a ‘U’ shape, with another dozen chairs scatter around them. A few coffee tables sat in the middle with piles of magazines and food wrappers littering the tops.
A dozen young men armed with guns, and in similar outfits to their captor, lounged on the furniture reading magazines and munching on candy bars. Seeing the two in the doorway, the men immediately jumped up, smiling and whistling as they got a look at Diana. One of the men picked up a walkie talkie and talked into it excitedly.
“Where the hell did these two come from?” said one of the men, a dirty grin on his face.
“They came in from outside,” replied their captor. “No idea what the hell they were doing out there, but they look like they did some fighting to get here.”
“Don’t really care what they were up too,” said another man. “But this hottie is a sight for sore eyes.”
“We’re going to have some fun with you, pretty lady,” said another.
“All of you, put ‘em back in your pants.”
A tall, dark haired man, maybe 30 years old, got up off the couch and pushed his way forward. It was quickly evident that this man was the leader of this gang as he stepped forward and addressed the two.
“So, what brings you into our mall?” asked the man, a suspicious look on his face.
Doug and Diana just looked at the man, saying nothing.
“What? Cat got your tongue?” he said.
The man stared at the two as they stood in silence.
“I asked you a question,” he said, glaring at the two. “What are you doing in our mall?”
“Your mall?” Doug said, breaking their silence.
“Yes, our mall. We cleared it of zombies. I’d say that makes it ours.”
“Did you clear it of people too?” asked Doug.
The leader gave a wry smile.
“Maybe,” he said.
Doug just stared at the man as silence took over again.
Finally, Diana spoke.
“Look, we just wanted shelter,” she pleaded. “Just let us go and you’ll never see us again.”
The man suddenly burst out laughing, the other men around him laughing as well. Shaking his head side to side, he looked at them and smiled. It was a smile that made Diana’s skin crawl.
“Honey, you’re not going anywhere. You see, we don’t come across many living people anymore, especially not as pretty as you. No, we’re going to keep you. Now, your boyfriend here . . . we don’t have any use for him,” he said staring at Doug.
Doug just stared back at the man, a smile crossing his face.
“Nice setup you got here,” Doug said.
“I wouldn’t be smiling if I were you,” growled the leader. “You do realize we’re going to kill you, don’t you?”
Diana looked at Doug, fear in her eyes. She could hear footsteps behind her as more of the gang came running in. Word about Diana had spread quickly.
“Thanks, but I’ll pass on the dying part,” said Doug.
“What?” the leader said, a surprised look on his face. “You on drugs or something?”
“Nope,” smiled Doug. “Don’t do drugs.”
Looking intently at Doug, the man paused, trying to figure him out.
“I tried to warn your friend,” smiled Doug. “You really should just let us go.”
Looking at the man who captured them, the leader had a questioning look on his face as he spoke.
“What the hell is up with this guy?” he asked.
“I have no idea. He kept telling me that if we didn’t let them go, we’d be sorry. Just blowing smoke if you ask me. Trying to talk his way out of a bad situation.”
“And why the hell should we let you go?” asked the leader, a somewhat curious look on his face.
Doug continued to make long pauses before answering as he continued to stall for Connor. He had faith in his friend, but he knew he needed time, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep them talking.
“You all look like smart men,” said Doug. “You gotta figure that if we made it this far in the city, we know how to survive. Trust me, it would be in your best interest if you just let us go and forget you ever saw us.”
“I can’t get over this guy,” laughed the leader. “I’ll give you this, you got some serious balls, buddy.”
“Thanks,” smiled Doug. “So, can we go now?”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” the man said in an incredulous tone.
“Yep,” answered Doug, his smile never leaving his face.
The leader looked around at his men and began to chuckle.
“Buddy, you have no idea how much trouble you’re in right now.”
Doug continued to smile as he looked the leader in the eyes.
“I’m not the one in trouble,” replied Doug. “You are.”
The man just looked at Doug, disbelief on his face.
“I don’t care what you say, Smiley, you have to be on drugs,” he said as he looked at him, laughing.
The men around him began to laugh also.
Doug just kept grinning at the man as he continued to draw out the conversation.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said.
Shaking his head, the leader walked forward and stopped a few feet away. Staring down at Doug, he locked eyes with him, the smile disappearing from his face. The men around him stopped laughing and raised their weapons, keeping them trained on Doug.
Suddenly, with lightning quickness the man cracked Doug across the face with the back of his fist.
“And what exactly are you going to do to us, hotshot. In case you didn’t notice, you’re slightly outnumbered.”
By now there were over twenty men standing around the pair.
Doug chuckled as he looked at the ground, blood dripping from the large cut on his lip. As the blood began to pool on the floor in front of him, his giggles slowly faded until he finally raised
his head again, a string of red spit hanging from his mouth. Looking around at the gang, his gaze settled on the leader. His smile was gone as he spoke, his words harsh and focused.
“You’re all going to die today.”
Moments later the sound of smashing glass echoed through the empty mall.
Connor stood in the road and watched as the swarm moved quickly towards him.
“Come on, you dead bastards! Faster!” he yelled.
The dead were closing in quickly as he stood in the center of the street, like a gunfighter in the old west waiting to make his move.
“COME ON!” he screamed, as they closed to within 100 feet.
Now only 50 feet way, thousands of undead closed on the spot where Connor stood. He could see their twisted faces and gray eyes as the mass of undead moved toward him like an unstoppable wave.
“Come and get me, you miserable pieces of shit!” he yelled.
And then he took off running for the mall.
Reaching the entrance, he quickly propped open the two end doors with the trash cans and tied the middle two open by looping the belt through the handles. As he finished with the belt, he turned as the leading edge of the swarm rounded the corner.
Running inside, he raced down the hall, smashing store windows as he went. On his right, the hall widened and he took the opportunity to smash more large panels of glass that ran along the sidewalk of 10th Street, giving even more access for the zombies.
Reaching the 10th Street entrance doors, he turned and raced through them, crossing 10th and running into the mall entrance on the other side. Taking a moment to look back, he could see the swarm as it flooded into the mall. Without hesitating, he sprinted through the department store in search of the escalators that would take him to the second floor.
The gang members looked at each other as the sound of smashing glass continued to echo through the mall.
“You two, stay with me,” the leader said, pointing to two of his men. “The rest of you, go find out what’s going on. Fast!”
The other men took off running for the escalator as Doug and Diana stood quietly, watching the men in front of them.
“You two, take the girl into the back and tie her up. I’ll deal with Smiley here.”
The two gang members ran forward and grabbed Diana by the arms, pulling her towards the back of the store. They had only gone about ten feet when the first of the gunshots rang out, followed by the screams of dying men. In a matter of seconds, the mall sounded like a war zone.
The men holding Diana turned at the sound of the screams and gunfire, and that was the break she was looking for. In a flash Diana turned on her captors and let loose her black belt skills. Spinning, she wrapped the arm of the man on her right, pressing his elbow to the point of snapping and causing him to drop his gun. At the same time, she kicked the side of the knee of the other man, snapping his leg and dropping him to the floor, screaming in pain. Turning to the man still standing, she drove the palm of her hand into his nose, sending him staggering backwards, blood flowing down his face. She followed with a kick to his groin, which dropped the man to his knees and finished him off with a sidekick to the head that knocked him unconscious.
In a flash, she spun on the other man with the broken leg as he scrambled to reach his gun. Jumping forward Diana slammed her foot down on his wrist, the bone making an audible crack as the man screamed in agony. Kicking the gun away, she leaned down and whispered in his ear.
“You should have listened to Smiley, you dumb son-of-a-bitch.”
Then she slammed his head into the floor, knocking him out.
The moment the gunfire went off, Doug watched as Diana sprang into action. The leader, stunned by her attacks, was momentarily distracted and Doug seized the opportunity, striking out and kicking the man in the groin. As he doubled over in pain, Doug grabbed his hair and drove his knee into his head, sending the man tumbling backwards. Running forward, he dove at the man just as the leader brought his leg up in defense, his foot striking Doug in the chest. Tumbling backwards, Doug landed hard on his back as the larger man scrambled to his feet and rushed toward him.
The man was on top of him before he could react, his hands around his neck, squeezing hard. Doug could feel himself beginning to lose consciousness when he felt his pocketknife press into his side. Reaching into his pocket, he flipped open the blade and drove it into the neck of his attacker in a final desperate act of survival. The man released his grip and fell to the side, blood spraying from the wound.
Gasping for air, Doug got to his knees and looked over at the leader as the life began to drain from his eyes.
Regaining his feet, he stood over the man as blood pooled around him.
“I warned you,” he said as he grabbed the man’s gun and turned away.
Diana was up now and ran over to Doug, grabbing him in a hug.
Suddenly, more screams began to mix with the gunshots, prompting the two into action.
“We gotta get out of here!” said Doug.
Running to the hallway railing outside of the store, they looked down upon a scene of horror. Hundreds of undead poured into view as gang members retreated down the hall. Some of the men had already been overrun, surprised by the sheer number of zombies that swarmed the building, their screams quickly fading as the undead tore them apart.
Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice as Connor came sprinting out of the department store to their left.
“Run!” he yelled.
Flipping the safety on and shoving the gun into his belt, Doug started to run, heading for the Burlington Coat Factory store ahead of them with Diana at his side. As Connor caught up, he handed off the sword, knife and M48, never breaking stride.
“We have to get down to ground level before the swarm fills this building!” he said.
“The swarm!” exclaimed Doug. “That was the plan you came up with?”
“Give me a break, butt munch, I didn’t have a lot of time,” replied Connor as they neared the store, gunshots still ringing loudly in the halls below them.
Looking over the railing, they could see the gang members also running towards the Burlington Coat Factory store as they fired wildly over their shoulders at the pursuing swarm. Pausing briefly, Diana watched as the flood of zombies filled the hallways, moving quickly after the fleeing bandits.
“Oh my God,” she muttered.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her arm, a voice shouting in her ear.
“Move!” yelled Connor.
Snapping out of it, Diana took off through the stores entrance, racing past overturned racks of coats and other clothes. As they headed for the middle of the store, Doug, running ahead of them, suddenly slid to a stop in front of a large coat rack that was still standing.
“What the hell are you doing?” yelled Connor as they raced to catch up.
“Leather!” yelled Doug as he grabbed a jacket off the rack.
Reaching the rack, Connor and Diana quickly grabbed a leather coat, hoping that the size rings on the rack were accurate. Throwing the coats on as they ran, they reached the escalators and started down just as the first of the gang members ran past them below. As they continued down, two more bandits ran past, their guns apparently empty. Reaching the bottom, they looked to their left as hundreds of zombies poured into the store. More gang members could be seen scrambling through the racks of clothing as they sought to escape.
“Go!” yelled Connor. “I’ll meet you at the doors. The exit is in the far corner over there,” he said, pointing.
Doug and Diana sprinted for the exit as Connor ran towards the fleeing men. Targeting two of them, he ran to cut them off. The men, their attention on the zombies chasing them, didn’t see Connor until it was too late. The first man took the pry bar to the side of his head and hit the floor like a sack of concrete. The second dove to his right, the pry bar glancing off his shoulder blade as he slid to the floor. Jumping up, the gang member pulled a knife and s
quared off, hysterical fear in his eyes.
Lunging forward, he made a desperate attempt to stab Connor and escape the horrors that were closing in behind him. But Connor was calm and collected, and easily dodged the attack, slamming the pry bar’s handle on the back of his head as he staggered past. The man hit the floor in a heap, unconscious.
“No one messes with my friends,” said Connor. Then he took off running for the doors.
As he sprinted down the isle, he looked over his shoulder as the leading edge of the swarm reached the unconscious men. Soon, a mass of undead were mounding in the area, desperate to feed on the meals that were left for them.
Reaching the doors, he saw Doug and Diana anxiously waiting for him in entryway between the two sets of glass doors.
“Let’s go,” he said as he walked through the doors. “We need to get well clear of this building before they’re done.”
The feeding frenzy had momentarily slowed the swarm, giving the three precious minutes to distance themselves from the building. As they looked outside, they could see the back half of the swarm as it moved off of 11th Street onto Market, like the tail of a giant undead snake. Some of the zombies were now peeling off and heading their way, apparently following the fleeing gang members who had exited the building before them.
“Shit,” said Connor, looking out at the street. “The swarm is bigger than I thought. We need to find another way out of the building.”
The three ran back into the store and sprinted down the aisle that paralleled 11th Street. Seeing light in the distance, they knew another entrance was near. Reaching the glass doors, they slowly exited out onto the sidewalk. They were now halfway up the block from where the swarm was moving, and looking toward Market they could see more and more zombies flowing up 11th as they followed each other like sheep.
Quickly, the three moved along the building, avoiding any undead milling about the street. Reaching Filbert Street, they turned left and headed towards Broad Street.
Filbert had more abandoned cars than some of the other streets as there was a good deal of street parking for the restaurants in the convention center. Ahead of them, rows of cars lined both sides of the street well into the distance beyond the tunnel.
They had run less than half the block when more gunshots rang out ahead of them. Clearly some of the gang members still had a few rounds left.
Hearing the shots, they quickly stopped, having just reached the tunnel that went under the convention center. Looking up, they could see dozens of zombies plastered to the windows, blood and gore staining the glass as they pounded to get out and reach the three humans below them.
“We can’t stay on this street,” said Doug. “Those shots will definitely draw more zombies.”
“We can’t go back,” replied Connor. “Too many undead behind us. We need to get to 12th Street and head back to Market. It should still be clear from the car alarm diversion. Those gang members will be drawing zombies onto these streets, so we have to get away from here as quickly as possible.”
Looking ahead, the tunnel had the ghostly silhouettes of about fifteen zombies, fairly spread out over the half block darkness. But the gunfire had drawn their attention, and they were beginning to form a small horde. Wasting no time, the three started to run.
“Avoid them if you can,” said Connor as they dashed into the shadows.
But that plan soon went to pot as zombies began to poor out of the restaurant doorways on either side of the street, drawn to the gunfire. Tossing the pry bar to Doug, Connor pulled the Twins, preparing for battle. Doug, in turn, pulled his large hunting knife and handed it to Diana so each had two weapons to wield. Looking at their situation, they quickly realized that there were more zombies than they could handle. Looking behind them, they could see smaller hordes of zombies rounding the corner, preventing any escape in that direction.
“Now would be a great time for one of your brilliant escape plans,” said Doug, looking at Connor.
But it was Diana that took the lead this time. Racing for the nearest car, she jumped onto the hood and bounded onto the roof.
“Let’s go guys! Move it!”
The two men exchanged a quick glance and then took off after her. Before they hit the first car, she was already jumping to the next. The zombies moved forward in an attempt to intercept them, but their reflexes were too slow and by the time they made their way to the movement and sound, the trio were already on the next car. Those that were able to intercept them were cut down by sword, machete or tomahawk.
“I always wanted to do this!” yelled Doug as they ran from car to car.
“How am I not surprised?” yelled Diana over her shoulder.
In a matter of minutes the three were nearly to 12th street, but as Diana made another jump to one of the last vehicles, the car’s alarm suddenly went off. Never breaking stride, she continued on, leaping off the final car and stopping in the intersection of 12th Street. Doug and Connor arrived at her side seconds later, the three of them surveying the number of zombies around them.
Ahead of them, Filbert Street was a quickly developing horde, following the gunshots they had heard earlier. But now many of those zombies were turning in their direction, attracted by the sound of the car alarm. To their right on 12th was another horde, but it was further away and of no immediate threat. Behind them the numbers were bordering on a swarm as the zombies from the mall joined with those of the restaurants. The final direction was south on 12th, and the numbers there were minimal. Checking the options took all of about five seconds, and moments later the three were racing down 12th toward Market Street again.
Taking out only the zombies they needed, they arrived at the intersection of 12th and Market in under a minute. Looking to their left, they could still see the massive numbers of the Walnut Street swarm surrounding the mall they had just escaped.
“This way,” said Connor, turning to his right.
Seconds later the three were jogging toward the lonely statue of William Penn, perched high atop City Hall in the distance.
