by Scott Lee
Large sets of double doors awaited the fleeing trio as they raced through the magnificent columns of the museum entrance. The inside of the building looked dark and foreboding, but the three didn't have much choice in the matter. Behind them a swarm was forming and there was no other option but to flee into the museum.
They held their breaths as they raced to the doors, praying they didn't see the pale gray faces of the dead awaiting them at the glass. To their relief, the entrance doors were clear. Grabbing the handles, they pulled the doors open and bolted inside. This in itself was a lucky break. Had the doors opened inward, there would have been no way to prevent the pursuing swarm from following.
Stopping inside the doors, they realized they were in a vestibule, the area between entrance doors used to keep the cold or hot air out of the museum as guests arrived. Another set of glass doors ahead of them led into the museum itself. Moving into a corner of the entryway that was out of sight of the zombies outside, they took a moment to catch their breath.
"Are the bandits still following us?" asked Diana.
"Not that I could see," replied Doug.
Connor leaned against the wall, watching the doors to the museum closely.
"We're almost there," he said, a determined tone in his voice. "Syrinx is docked less than a quarter mile away. All we need to do is get to the other side of the museum and make a sprint for the boat. Once we're on board, we should be home free."
"Knock on wood," said Doug quickly. "Can't say a whole lot has gone right for us so far."
"We're still alive, aren't we?" replied Connor.
"I stand corrected. So how do we get to the other side of the museum? Can we just run through?"
"I've been here more than a few times, but I don't remember the exact layout of the place," said Connor. "I can tell you it's not that simple."
"Figures," said Diana dejectedly.
"There is a full entrance on the back side of the museum, which is actually more the main entrance than where we are now. That's where the tour buses and trolleys would have dropped people off. If I remember correctly, there are steps that lead down to that entrance on either side of the Great Stair Hall, which is where those doors lead," he said, pointing to the glass entry doors.
"I don't think there are any windows inside to provide us with light, and we only have one flashlight," he continued.
"Two," said Doug smiling as he held up an LED headlamp flashlight. "I found it on the floor of the pickup. Actually, it flew onto my lap while we were flying up those steps."
"So what’s the plan?" asked Diana.
"We take it slow," said Connor. "We don't know how many undead are inside. Might be a lot. Might be only a few. Since the doors open out, we might be in luck. Hopefully the majority of the zombies inside somehow found their way out, but I'm not holding my breath. The museum was a popular destination here in Philly, so it very possibly could have been packed with people when the apocalypse hit. Judging from the lack of undead at the door, I'm guessing that any zombies inside are relatively spread out."
"Let's hope," replied Diana.
"You two man the flashlights," said Connor. "You know the drill. Keep the light muted so we don't attract more undead than we can handle. When we get in, look for the ticket counter. We might be able to find a map that we can use if we have to wing it and run. From there we'll head straight for the back entrance. If our way gets blocked, head for the exhibit halls. There are more options for evasion in there. We can't afford to get trapped between the zombies in here and the swarm outside. This place is huge and I only remember details about the entrances. If we have to run, there’s no telling where we'll end up, but I'm figuring there are emergency exits around, so we'll search for them if it comes to it."
Doug and Diana nodded.
"Ready?" Asked Connor, looking at the two.
"Ready," they said together.
Leaving their corner hiding spot, they headed for the doors, and the unknown perils that awaited them inside of the museum.
The three stood at the doors, looking through the glass at the dimly lit interior of the museum. Surprisingly, the inside wasn't as dark as they had expected. Light could be seen emanating from a number of doorways to their right, and also from behind the Great Stairs directly ahead.
"I thought you said there weren't any windows in this place," whispered Doug.
"Apparently I was wrong," replied Connor. "I said I didn't remember much of the details outside of the entrances. I knew it had windows, I just didn’t think they were exposed."
"This is one time I'm glad you were wrong," smiled Diana.
Just then, Connor held up his hand as shapes appeared from the corridor to the left of the stairs.
"Let's get inside and assess the zombie count," he whispered. "Hit the ticket counter first. I’m pretty sure it’s on the left. Take out any undead you see, but do it as quietly as possible."
Doug and Diana nodded, and the three opened the doors.
In front of them, huge rectangular openings, twenty feet high and ten feet wide, were spaced evenly around the perimeter of the Great Stair Hall, giving the look of large rectangular pillars holding up the second floor balcony above. These openings helped form a large square observation area at the base of the huge stone stairs directly in front of them, and separated the Great Stairs from the exhibit entryways to the left and the right. Above, on the second floor, beautiful, smooth Ionic columns, 25 feet high, rose from the balcony, and another 25 feet above them was the ceiling.
Shadows could be seen moving through some of the openings to their left, so Connor and Doug quickly walked into the large space in front of the stairs and moved to intercept, while Diana grabbed a map. Immediately the moans started, but they didn't last long. In a flash the two advanced on the undead, dispatching them quickly and silently.
But even that momentary break in silence was enough to alert other zombies nearby. Without hesitating, Connor was on the move, Doug and Diana close behind.
Heading through the openings to the outer walkway to the left of the stairs, they saw numerous benches positioned next to the pillars where guests would stop and rest their feet or check their maps. Ahead of them they could see bright light emanating from behind the stairs.
"There! Those are the stairs to the west entrance," whispered Connor.
As they began to move forward, they saw movement to their left. Out of one of the exhibit halls came a group of zombies, about ten in number, hungry for flesh. Stopping, the trio turned and ran back to the stairs and headed for the halls on the other side. Rounding the corner, they saw four more zombies moving towards them. Instinctively, they split up, Connor taking the two on the left while Doug and Diana targeted the two on the right.
No sooner did the undead hit the floor when two more shapes appeared ahead of them. Dashing forward, the three cut down the approaching zombies and headed for a small set of open stairs in front of them, bright light pouring from a large doorway at the base of the steps.
"In there!" said Connor.
Without breaking stride, the three darted into the room, which turned out to be one of the museum stores. Books were strewn everywhere throughout the long, narrow room, and bloodstains covered the bookcases and counter. To their left, a balcony overlooked the west entrance, which was brightly lit from large, 20-foot tall glass windows that filled the wall above the entry doors.
Looking down, their hopes sank as they looked upon a sea of undead wandering about the large room that housed the information booth and ticket counters. One of the zombies, noticing the movement, looked up and let out a hideous moan that swept through the mass of undead. Immediately the zombies were on the move, many of them heading for the stairs.
"Move!" yelled Connor.
Racing back through the store's entrance, they dashed back up the small set of steps just in time to see the large group of zombies round the corner of the Great Stairs.
Without hesitati
on Connor sprinted for the nearest entrance to the exhibit hall on their left, but the zombies were too close.
"Go. Get through the door!" he yelled, as he moved to cut off the leading edge of the horde.
Blood and brain matter sprayed on Doug and Diana as they raced past him, the Twins slicing through zombie skulls. Safely through the doorway, they turned to see Connor retreating back towards the store, fifteen or more zombies staggering after. A few of the zombies had followed Doug and Diana and were heading their way, but not enough to save Connor.
"He's not going to make it!" yelled Diana.
"Yes he is!" yelled Doug. "No one dies today!"
Turning, he dashed into the exhibit hall, Diana close behind. Reaching the entrance to the first exhibit room on his left, Doug raced inside and threw his weapons down ahead of him as he bolted across the room.
As Diana caught up, she looked through a locked glass door that was blocked by one of the large wooden benches where they had just been. In front of her, she watched in horror as the zombies closed in on Connor from both sides, his machetes continuing to fly in defiance of the overwhelming odds against him.
"Doug!" she yelled.
Suddenly, the sound of smashing glass echoed through the room as Doug tossed aside the protective glass case that covered the beautiful bronze statue of Joan of Arc that was sitting on a pedestal near the locked door.
"Get out of the way," yelled Doug as he grabbed the 3-foot tall statue and threw it through the glass door.
Yanking a framed oil canvas painting from the wall next to the door, he swept the glass from the doorframe and screamed to his friend as Diana turned to face the zombies that were approaching behind her.
Connor stood in the hallway as the undead closed in from both sides. Despite his skills, the numbers were too great. As two more zombies fell, he began to prepare for the worst. Suddenly, the sound of smashing glass echoed through the hall, and moments later a large bronze statue came crashing into the hall in front of him, slamming into the side of a zombie that was closing on his left.
"Connor!" yelled Doug.
Hearing Doug’s voice, he turned and slammed into the zombies in front of him, knocking them to the ground. Two quick steps and he was on the bench as undead hands clawed at his leather jacket. As he jumped through the shattered doorway, he was suddenly thrown to the floor as a large male zombie in gray pants and a navy blue blazer grabbed his ankle. The zombie fell forward with Connors momentum, tumbling into the room with him. Seconds later, it bit down on his calf as Connor screamed with pain and rage. An instant later, the M48 split its skull in two as Diana kicked the creature aside.
"Oh no!" cried Diana, kneeling next to Connor.
"I'm OK. It bit the duct tape," he replied, as climbed to his feet. “Move, move, move!" he yelled as he shoved Diana away from the doorway, which was quickly filling with zombies.
By now Doug had retrieved his weapons and was next to Diana as Connor joined the two of them. Behind him, zombies were falling into the room as they stumbled across the wooden bench blocking their way.
"Run!" yelled Connor.
The three turned and dashed through the tall doorway into the adjacent room beyond. All of the rooms in this wing were lit by tall windows, giving them ample light to see. The room they entered was large, 85' long by 30' wide, but fairly empty aside from three sculptures and three wooden benches. The focus of this room was the artwork on the walls.
As they made their way across the room, two zombies appeared in the doorway at the far end of the room, and another staggered through the doorway to their right.
"You two, take them out," yelled Connor as he stopped at the first bench.
"Got it!" yelled Doug.
Connor grabbed the bench and slid it across the room next to the middle one, which was positioned next to a large, six-foot tall bronze statue. He quickly turned the two sideways, keeping them close to the statue, then raced to the third bench. Pulling it next to the others, he had formed a small but effective obstacle that would slow down the pursuing horde.
By now Doug and Diana had killed the three zombies and the trio regrouped and headed for the far doorway as the first of the horde behind them entered the room.
Racing across the room, they stopped briefly to check for zombies in the next gallery. The room was small, only 30' x 30', and contained an exhibit of chairs. Only two lone zombies wandered about inside and Doug was on them quickly, cutting them down with two swift swings of his sword. Meanwhile, Connor and Diana grabbed the seven chairs on display and tossed them in front of the doorway they had just passed through.
As they ran to the next doorway, they could hear the moans of the zombies echoing out in the main hallway, which had no obstacles to slow them down. Most of the zombies were following the noise they were making in the rooms, but the sheer numbers would force many to advance down the main hall, and this meant they could potentially meet up at the end of the hall if they didn't hurry. Slowing briefly as they reached the next doorway, they looked inside to see a long, 65' x 15' gallery with paintings on the wall and only one sculpture. A single zombie at the far end of the room was already making its way towards them as they made their entrance, anxious for a meal. The trio bolted into the room and cut down the zombie, never breaking stride in the process.
The next room was a small, 15' x 15' corner room and was empty aside from a few paintings on the wall. Light in here was minimal as there were no windows. By now they could hear the undead as they tumbled through the pile of chairs, so they knew that they had to move quickly.
Crossing the small room to the next doorway, they saw ahead of them a long, 50' x 30' gallery that was separated by a tall, 20' high by 30' long wall that created a partial seven-foot wide walkway along the windowed wall. There was no artwork at all in the hidden alcove, and they were completely concealed from the advancing horde as they darted inside. Two zombies were heading their way as they moved forward, but they were easily dispatched as the three continued on.
Stopping briefly behind the wall, Diana pulled out the map she had grabbed when they entered the museum and handed it to Connor.
"We have to find a way out of here, and fast," he said. "If we get caught in this wing, we're as good as dead."
Looking at the map, he spotted a stairway symbol in a bright white square, and it appeared to be just beyond the corner room ahead of them.
"We're in luck," he said. "The stairs are just ahead."
Tucking the map into his pocket, they were on the move again.
As they raced past the edge of the interior wall, they were able to see across the room into the adjoining circular van Gogh room and to the main hallway beyond, where the leading edge of the horde was quickly advancing.
"Hurry," exclaimed Connor.
Reaching the next doorway, they turned right and Connor ran face first into the zombie that was rounding the corner of the adjacent room. Its foul stench burned his nostrils as he pressed his forearm against its chest, holding it back, just inches from his face. All the while its hideous mouth was chomping repeatedly, desperate to chew on flesh. Shoving hard, Connor forced the zombie backwards and lunged forward, driving his machete through its mouth and out the back of its head. Blood sprayed on the wall behind it, covering the canvas of a large oil painting of a dance at the Moulin Rouge.
As the zombie slumped to the floor, Connor felt another pair of dead hands as they gripped his shoulders and pulled him backwards. A second later, he felt the hands release. Turning, he saw the blade of Doug sword as he pulled it from the zombie’s skull, the creature falling to the floor.
Meanwhile, Diana had advanced and was battling yet another one of the undead, with four more moving through the dimly lit room. Spreading out, the three took a side-by-side assault position as the zombies advanced across the long, narrow 50' x 15' corner gallery. Working together, they were able to kill the remaining undead, a group of older women still wearing their
museum issued headsets.
Racing forward, they could see bright light shining through the doorway at the end of the room on the left. Directly ahead of them was another entryway, and they watched in horror as part of the pursuing horde came into view.
"Go, go, go!" yelled Connor as they bolted for the brightly lit doorway.
Dashing through, they made a hard left into the sun lit stairwell. Two tall, double glass doors were propped open as they entered, and Doug and Diana quickly pushed them closed before heading to the stairs. Anything to slow the horde helped.
The trio ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. There were four flights of stairs leading to the lower level, and Connor suddenly stopped as he reached the first of two landings that provided a view out of the large windows in the stairwell.
"Shit," he said aloud.
Doug and Diana turned and looked through the window, wondering what he saw.
"Shit," they both muttered.
Out the window, they could see nearby Kelly Drive, and it was filled with undead.
"We need to try and exit off the opposite side of the museum," said Connor. “Head for the second floor!”
Turning, the three dashed back up the stairs, racing past the glass doors just as the horde came into view. Taking the steps two at a time, they ran for the upper floor. Reaching the top of the stairs, the three were greeted with darkened rooms as the sounds of the undead bursting through the glass doors below echoed in the stairwell. This part of the museum obviously had a different layout than the first floor, and it looked as though the windows were going to be of less help to them. Pulling out his map, Connor studied it closely.
"This floor has far more rooms, so we have to be careful. It also looks like we won't have as much benefit from the windows, if any, so we may need the flashlights."
Doug and Diana quickly pulled out their flashlights and turned them on, with Doug slipping his onto his head.
"Don't worry about keeping them muted," he said. "Light up the path ahead as much as possible and we'll deal with what we see. I'm hoping that the second floor has fewer undead than the first."
Doug and Diana nodded in understanding. Below them, they could hear the moans of the dead as they began their slow ascent of the stairs.
"We stay close and guard each others flank. Make two quick rights, go through that next room, then make a left. It should be a straight shot back to the main entrance area. Got it?"
The two nodded again.
Doug and Diana took the lead as they stepped out of the stairwell. Connor quickly closed the small wooden door behind them, taking away most of the available daylight. The door would stop the horde temporarily, but its construction was too thin to hold them off for long. The force of the sheer numbers pushing on the wooden door would eventually splinter it, and the zombies would pour through into the second floor.
No zombies were visible as they advanced, but the moans of the undead could be heard echoing about them, they just couldn’t tell exactly where they were. The multiple rooms and numerous doorways made it nearly impossible to determine their locations.
Moving quickly but cautiously, Doug and Diana followed Connor’s instructions, making two consecutive right turns, taking them into a narrow, 20-foot long room with numerous pedestals lining the walls. Ahead of them, dull sunlight could be seen shining through the drapes of a distant room, providing a small measure of light into the larger galleries they were heading for.
No zombies were present in the pedestal room, and they quickly moved forward, entering a larger, square gallery, about 30' x 20' in size. The sunlight from the adjacent room had provided enough illumination for them to see the three zombies milling about inside before they arrived, and they quickly went about the task of killing them. Turning left, the three headed for the Great Stairs.
Passing through a smaller, 20' x 20' room, the three continued to hear the haunting moans of the undead echo about them. Not knowing where they were made it especially difficult as they continued on. With so many rooms and so many doorways, they had to be extra careful, especially since the layout positioned many of the doorways in close proximity to each other.
Seeing no zombies, they headed for the next gallery. This room was considerably larger, measuring 50' x 25' in size. A long, narrow wooden table with a large glass display case on top occupied the middle of the room, which had a total of six doorways leading into it.
Moving quickly across the room, they suddenly discovered where some of the zombies were hiding. From three of the four side doorways emerged a half dozen undead, four from the left and two from the right. Immediately, the three spread out, and singled out targets. Doug lured the lead zombie on the left to the center of the room where he quickly decapitated it, kicking its head into a corner. Diana, meanwhile, backed up slowly, drawing the remaining three zombies towards her along the left edge of the room. Once they were all moving her direction, she stepped forward and buried the spike of the M48 into the closest one, while Doug moved in and took down the other two with his sword and pry bar. On the other side of the room, Connor quickly eliminated the other two with two swift swings of his machetes.
The battle had created a fair amount of noise, and this was sure to attract more zombies. Moving more quickly, they headed out the far right doorway and ran through a marble archway into the next room. This 35' x 35' room contained only one other exit, which was directly across from them. Two more undead were entering through the large, ornate stone entryway, and the room was otherwise empty except for six small stools laying on their sides. The displays in this room were of large wooden doors mounted to the walls.
One final room stood between them and the balcony area of the main entrance. Only a single zombie stood in their way, and it lay in pieces as the three ran out of the room.
Out on the balcony hall, they made a quick right and headed for the brightly lit arms and armor exhibit. They considered taking the shorter route down the side stairs of the large main staircase, but the presence of undead on the far side nixed that idea. Instead, they stood at the stairs until the zombies saw them, and waited as they attempted to reach them. A few quick steps and the zombies were tumbling down to the landing at the top of the main stairs. Having at least partially cleared the way on the far side, they entered the arms and armor exhibit. Racing past beautiful, shining armor, long pole arms, and massive halberds, the three took out another six zombies before they reached the other side.
Taking a moment, Connor consulted the map again.
"Dimmit," he muttered.
"What," asked Diana.
"We'd get to the far wing much quicker if we were on the first floor."
"Then let's go," she said.
Looking across the steps again, they saw that the fallen zombies had managed to get up and were making their way to the top of the steps on the other side, where they three had just been.
Dashing down the steps, the zombies turned and proceeded to take yet another tumble as the trio sprinted down the Great Stairs. Diana just shook her head as Doug giggled at the zombies.
"Ha! Gotcha twice," he laughed.
“Seriously?” she asked. “You’re laughing at zombies?”
“If they’re doing something funny, why not?” he asked, smiling.
Even Connor cracked a smile at that statement.
Reaching the bottom of the steps, they headed for the exhibit hall ahead and to their right, near the ticket counter where they’d grabbed the maps less than 30 minutes earlier.
“If only we had known, we could have gone straight down here,” said Diana as they reached the corridor entrance.
“Hindsight is always 20/20,” replied Doug.
Looking ahead, the hallway was dark, except for a very faint light at the far end. Although it was actually multiple exhibit rooms, it appeared more like a really long gallery that widened in the middle. Diana pulled out her flashlight again, and Doug flipped on his headlamp,
lighting the passage. The hallway was nearly 150 feet long, and they could see the shambling forms of a handful of undead at the far end. They were probably from the far wing, as any that had been in here earlier would have joined the horde that had pursued them in the beginning.
Moving quickly but cautiously down the long hallway, they stayed to the left to avoid any surprises in the hidden portions of the wider middle sections. Reaching the slow moving undead, they wasted no time as they took them out and continued on.
When they reached the end of the exhibit rooms, they turned left into a narrow, seven-foot wide hallway that turned back to the right a short distance ahead. Stopping to listen, they heard only distant moans.
Reaching the turn in the hall, they saw bathroom doors and ahead of them, a large room with daylight streaming in from a draped window. Connor stopped briefly and spoke.
“The stairs to the ground floor are to the right of that room,” he said, pointing towards the light. “When we get to the ground floor, we turn right and head down the hall to the end of the wing. There has to be an exit down there somewhere. No way they could get away without one. Cafeteria will be on the right, so watch out. If we’re going to see any more undead between here and the outside, that’s where they’ll be.”
“Got it,” said Doug.
Just then, a loud bang sounded as something hit the men’s room door on their left. A second later, two more bangs sounded, accompanied with the pounding of undead fists. Moments later, more banging could be heard from the women’s room door next to it. Ignoring the zombies on the other side, the three rushed to the stairwell and headed for the first floor, closing the stairwell door behind them. The banging could easily alert any undead in the lower rooms and hallway, so they had to act fast.
With Doug and Diana leading the way with the lights, they reached the first floor in about 10 seconds. Listening first, they heard only the banging from above, so they peeked around the corner to check out the hallway.
To their left, the corridor went about 25 feet before making a right. According to the map, the main museum shop was down that hallway, which was evidenced by the light emanating from it. Connor remembered the store and how brightly lit it was from the multiple windows. For now, no zombies occupied the hall in that direction.
To their right, the hallway was well lit for the first 50 feet from the numerous windows of the cafeteria a short distance down the hall on the right. The dining room had glass windows off the hallway that allowed all of the outside window light to escape the room. A few zombies were wandering the hall, but nothing they couldn’t handle. What really worried them was the width of the hallway and the number of zombies potentially in the cafeteria, which, according to the map, had two entrances. The first entrances to the lunchroom was about 25 feet away, with the second entrance about 20 feet beyond that. The hallway itself was only 10 feet wide at best.
The dull thump of the trapped zombies above reverberated through the ceiling, causing the zombies in the hall to turn in their direction.
“We have to go. Now,” whispered Connor. “Before what’s in the cafeteria comes out.”
Dashing from the doorway, they noticed movement on their left as more zombies rounded the corner in their direction.
“Stay left!” he whispered loudly as he took off down the hall.
Diana was hot on his heals, with Doug bringing up the rear. As Connor passed the first of the cafeteria windows, his eyes widened. At least thirty zombies had congregated inside the eatery, and were now heading for the exits. Judging the distance, it was going to be close.
The two zombies in the hallway, former cafeteria workers wearing gore covered aprons, were dead before they had a chance to moan as Connor and Diana raced past the entrances. But as Doug ran from the stairwell, he slipped on a pool of blood that had dripped from Connor’s machete, which left him five or six steps behind the others. And that small delay was costly. As he passed the second doorway, he was violently knocked from his feet as a large male zombie in a sport coat slammed into him. The two hit the ground hard and went sliding across the floor as more zombies reached the doorway, Doug’s weapons skidding down the hall out of his reach.
Holding the hideous face away from his neck, Doug struggled with the abomination as precious seconds ticked away. His strength waning from the hours of running and fighting, he felt the zombie’s teeth getting closer as he struggled for one of his knives. But his arm was pinned beneath the horrid creature and he wasn’t able to free it. Disgusting, black drool dripped onto Doug’s shirt as the zombie’s face pressed down, his arm giving way.
“So close,” he thought as more undead descended upon him. “I was so close.”
Suddenly there was a brilliant flash and the zombie’s head exploded as a bullet ripped through its skull, the sound of the shot nearly deafening the three living souls in the hall.
Doug managed to toss aside the limp body as seven more shots rang out and zombie bodies began hitting the floor around him. Seconds later, he felt Diana’s arms grab his as she began pulling him to safety.
“Get up!” she screamed.
Four more shots rocked the hallway as Doug staggered to his feet, still shaken from the violent impact moments before. As Diana helped him to his feet and handed him his weapons, he saw Connor standing a just a few feet away holding the 9mm Beretta that had been in his belt just a minute before, smoke wafting from the barrel.
“Get to the end of the hall! Go!” he yelled.
Helping Doug along, the two staggered towards the end of the hall as two more shots were fired. Seconds later, Connor was at their side assisting with Doug.
“I’m fine,” said Doug. “I just had the wind knocked out of me.”
Looking behind him, Doug saw a pile of zombie bodies littering the hall as more undead staggered over them in pursuit.
“Where’s the exit?” asked Diana worriedly.
‘Keep moving, it has to be here somewhere,” said Connor.
After moving another 20 feet down the darkening corridor, the hall turned to the right, with office doors in front of them and to their left. As Doug flipped on his headlamp, the three let out muffled cheers.
“YES!”
Ahead of them were two glass sliding doors, and beyond that, an emergency exit. Words printed above the glass doors gave instructions for opening them if the auto-open failed, and the three quickly pushed the doors aside. Racing forward, they burst through the final door and out into the blinding sunshine.
Their excitement was short lived.
