Run

by Burk, William

  #

  Chapter 18

  "Ash, Jacob! I'm sending the two of you to the cars. If you're able to get two do so. One of you is to lure the zombies away while the second car splits off. Ditching any zombies on their tail and make your way back here to one of the other doorways. Whichever looks clearest. And pick up the rest of us." Owen orders,

  "What about a diversion?" Ashley asks

  "I'll see to it myself. I'll find a window well enough away from here to break a window or find one that opens. I'll make a whole hell of a lot of noise. Just keep an ear out for me and my gunshots" Owen says.

  "And we're going now! While we still have plenty of daylight left. Radios on low and earplugs in. Check-in when you're ready to run" Owen finishes speaking.

  Ash and Jacob nod in unison shouldering their guns. They quickly exit the room. Owen watches them go before turning and heading in the opposite direction. Two guards tail him out of the room. Leaving me and the other nine people in the waiting area with nothing to do but wait and watch from the windows. I don't have an earphone but I turn my radio on anyway. Keeping it as low as possible while still being able to make out the words. I also set up as far from the waiting area doors as possible. to be certain there is no way for the radio to attract the zombies. I get comfortable and wait for the show to begin.

  "We're at a side door and the vehicles are in sight. Ready to move on your command" A whispered voice comes through the radio.

  "Move at will after diversion begins." Owen responds with a quick order.

  I crane my neck trying to get a better angle to see to the side but it's no good. From this vantage, all that's visible is what's directly in front of the building. Which is the parking lot and the street filled with hundreds of zombies. Not the typical view from a hospital waiting area and the others begin to crowd around me for a look and listen to the radio with me. They're watching from the window except for one lone guard at the door covering our backs. Seconds tick by, turning into minutes.

  'Pop, Pop, Pop"

  Gunfire explodes in rapid succession. Followed quickly by glass shattering and thuds from shots hitting parked cars. I notice I'm holding my breath waiting for the zombies to respond. The zombies begin reacting to the shots only a few heartbeats later. The shots come from far to the right. They sound almost as if they're coming from the far corner of the building and from outside to boot. I look at the radio checking if it's still on before looking back through the window as more shots fire off. The zombies on the outskirts of the mob are running towards the gunfire now. While those stuck in the center are stuck in the middle of the crowd while the ones in front take off. Similar to a tidal wave working through the mob. Eventually, all the zombies are moving rapidly towards the gunfire. And out of sight, even more importantly, they move away from the vehicles.

  'Pop, Pop'

  More gunfire as the zombies continue to disappear out of view. There are some stragglers but only a handful. And they are all looking towards the departing others.

  "Now! go go" I whisper to myself looking for any sign of Ash or Jacob.

  The stragglers don't seem to be taking the bait but the vast majority of zombies did. Now is the time to run for it. Movement catches my eye finally.

  "There" I point to the others watching.

  I watch with baited breath as Ash and Jacob move from vehicle to vehicle. Crouching behind each, in turn, ensuring the way is clear before moving again. They are three hundred meters from the closest vehicle and at this rate it'll take them minutes to make it. Should be fine though as long as they stay quiet and out of sight. If nothing draws the zombies to them they should be fine. Running is almost certain to alert the few stragglers.

  'Breath' I remind myself as my lungs start to ache for oxygen.

  I take a deep breath, and try to calm myself and the racing heart occupying my hearing. It doesn't help much but does alleviate the pressure in my chest. They are almost there, one long straight stretch of road. From the end of the parking lot to the cars in the center of the street. I estimate a hundred meters With three zombies in sight, now is the time to run. No chance for stealth anymore on the open road ahead of them. For a minute they're both crouching behind the last car of the parking lot row.

  "What are they doing" A voice to my left whispers

  My eyes are glued to the two figures. Suddenly they both stand up full and take off for the last Humvee in the line of parked vehicles. They don't make it ten steps before the nearest zombie notices and starts chasing them. Jacob notices the pursuit and keeps going. Another ten steps. The two are now fifty meters away. And it's evident at this point. The zombie coming in from a different angle will intercept them before they can make it. Jacob realizes this at the same time I do. He suddenly pulls up short taking a knee and bringing up his rifle. He aims down his sights at the zombies closing in on Ash.

  "No!" I exclaim

  "Ugh" I grunt as an elbow meets my ribs.

  "Quiet" a female voice rings out into my ear.

  I look back out the window towards Jacob in time to watch events unfold.

  'Pop'

  The zombie drops with the shot going straight through its head. The way is clear for ash but every zombie within earshot immediately looks in the direction of Jacob. They all begin to run after him. Ash is to the vehicle and around it out of sight as she moves to the driver's side. Jacob gets up. He starts covering the last fifty meters to the vehicle. When a scream pierces the air coming from the other side of the Humvee. From where Ashley disappeared only the moment before. Nothing more comes into sight or hearing after the scream until. The Humvee roars to life and begins moving away. It's driving up the street with horn blaring. Jacob twenty meters away has no hope of catching the retreating vehicle. He instead makes for the second in line which is the van.

  "I was bitten." The shaky voice of Ashley comes through the radio I forgot I was holding. Hand gripping the radio with white knuckles and indentations of the buttons in my skin. "I don't know how long I have but I got the car and I'm going to lure them as far away as I can."

  A moment of silence before a response comes through. "Thank you Ashley"

  Owen's voice coming through the radio and from behind me as he walks back to the waiting room we've made our base. The horn of the vehicle begins blaring again as it fades into the distance. Looking back at the scene playing out with Jacob. He's cut off from the van and the rest of the vehicles and is forced to turn back to the hospital. He turns and sees that way is cut off as well. He spins taking stock of every potential direction. He's surrounded and has nowhere to go. And with only seconds to go before the zombies reach him he decides his own fate. He unholsters his pistol, dropping the rifle to the ground at the same time. He looks up at the zombies and his impending death. When the zombies are only a few feet away he quickly takes aim and.

  'Pop' The sound so loud and quiet at the same time is one that I can never forget.

  A spray of red mist flies into the air from Jacob's head as his body tumbles to the asphalt. I avert my eyes walking away from the window struggling to keep my breakfast in. Trying not to think about the fact that the zombies outside are having their own breakfast.

  #

  Chapter 19

  The air in the room is thick with despair as everyone is lost in their own ruminations. The only sounds in the room are the hushed whispers coming from Owen's group of three in the corner. Presumably trying to decide what our next steps are. Outside a couple of dozen zombies remain. The vast majority of the swarm has been successfully lured away by Ashley. There has been no further radio contact from her which is exactly what we expected. I watch the zombies for a minute longer before heading to the escalator. The two men guarding it stop me with an upraised hand. Pushing aside the hand I lean in and whisper into the nearest guards' ear.

  "Just want to get a peek downstairs and see if the zombies inside got lured away"

  The guard nods and whispers back to me. "Some but most are still down ther
e. no way we're getting through this way."

  I grimace in the face of hopelessness. I return to the waiting room where Owen is calling the last of the folks together into a tight circle around him.

  "Thanks to Ashley's heroics the swarm of them is gone. However, there are still too many for us to try and fight our way through. The way I see it we have two options. We try again with another distraction and making it to the cars. With fewer zombies it may prove more effective. Or we wait for sundown and try to sneak our way to the vehicles. Except the darkness probably favors them more than it does us. I'm open to suggestions" I catch Owen saying as I walk into the room and into earshot.

  "I ain't going out there after dark. W could run right into one of em" a voice responds to Owen.

  A general murmur of agreement passes through the eight people around Owen. I see where he is getting at with the idea but I don't like it any more than the rest. And whether we like to admit or not. The first plan did work out well enough. The majority of the zombies are gone, a distraction seems even better of an idea now than the first time around.

  "If we try a distraction again who is going to stay behind and how do we get them out?" I ask

  "I'll make the distraction the same as the first time. and when you all make it to the cars you can loop around the hospital to the other side where I'll be waiting." He answers.

  "By yourself?" a voice asks.

  "If need be yes, but I wouldn't turn away a volunteer to watch my back"

  Immediately the entire group speaks up offering up themselves. Owen gestures with his hands to settle down.

  "Only taking one with me. I need to move quickly. Eve, you're with me on this" he states quickly picking a face from the volunteers.

  "OK, so that's the distraction plan which is arguably the safer role in this plan. What do the rest of us do?" I ask.

  "This time everyone is going for the vehicles. Try and avoid gunfire but do what you must to make it." Owen answers. "We make it out or we die. Waiting around longer isn't going to improve our odds. And we have no food or water in here so we have to act now while we have the strength to do so."

  Too shocked to respond I glance around the room. Noticing the despair, terror, and resignation on the faces of the final eight of the guard. Myself and the two guarding the steps bringing the total to eleven, Twelve if you count Owen himself. This excursion began with twenty altogether. Owen quickly sends a man out to collect the two guarding the broken escalator and filling them in on the plan. The next several minutes are spent in silence as everyone moves about the room packing up. We grab whatever sacks of medicine we managed to bring with us to the waiting room.

  Owen and Eve stand near the doors leading left of the waiting room. Catching the attention of the room. He taps his radio and says be ready before turning his back to us and stepping through the swinging doors. The remaining ten form up in a single file heading to the right. To find the exit Ashley and Jacob used. No one is saying it but everyone hoping this time turns out better than it did for the two of them.

  Minutes pass as we follow the main hallway and the exit signs. Moving in silence the whole way we end up at a door at the end of the hallway. The door with an exit sign on it, we find leads into the stairwell. It may or, may not be the exact door used earlier but it leads outside and that's good enough for us. The group of us take the steps leading down slowly and quietly. Being in the middle of the formation I'm stuck on the final flight of stairs. The landing is not large enough to fit ten people, only the five in lead fit comfortably leaving me and the tail end on the stairs. Alan the man in point opens the door. Filling the stairwell with sunlight and checking the path to the cars for zombies. He closes it quickly and quietly, turning to us.

  "Three zombies in our way and more near our route"

  He reaches down to his radio clicking the button and brings it closer to his mouth.

  "We're in position, " he whispers.

  "Be ready to move when distractions begin," Owen responds immediately.

  The stairwell fills with the sounds of hearts beating. And rapid terrified breathing as everyone stands by waiting for the distraction to begin. I quickly check my clothes. Making sure everything is zipped and secured, confirming my shoes are laced. Mostly I'm trying to occupy what little time is left before the action begins.

  "pop, pop, pop"

  Gunfire erupts in the distance. It sounds far away through all the walls between us and Owen. Alan waits for the span of two breaths. Before he opens the door again. He pokes his head through with one hand in the air towards the rest of us indicating to hold our position. One breath goes by, then two, on the third breathe Alan moves back looking over his shoulder says

  "Move quickly and quietly. Don't stop!"

  Throwing the door open in full he runs out in a half-crouch, half-run straight for the cars. The rest of us follow fashion down the stairs and through the doorway. Due to waiting in the near black of the stairwell my eyes are blinded momentarily by the light of the sun. I can only move forward focusing on the person directly in front of me while my eyes adjust. Finally being able to look around. All the zombies in sight are running away from us towards Owen and Eve's distraction leaving us a clear path to the cars.

  We don't stop or try to sneak pass other than run crouch we are all doing following Alan's lead. We have a straight shot to the car. Until about halfway there when the line takes a sharp turn to the left then again to the right shortly after. Clearly the group is going around something, I only have a second to ponder before reaching the detour and finding out first hand. When I get up the pivot point I see why everyone is making the detour. On the ground lies the half-eaten remains of Jacob. I avert my eyes as soon as I realize what I'm looking at. The zombies ate enough of the corpse that it couldn't be recognized as Jacob if not for the clothing. Ahead of me, the line of people continues to move quickly. The lead of it being only fifty meters away from the vehicles now. Being so close to the vehicles and the supposed safety they offer. Everyone starts standing straighter and moving more quickly. Alan reaches the van the nearest of the three remaining vehicles. He motions the next in line to take the van he moves on to the next car in the line. Motioning for the third in line to take the Humvee. He moves on to the final vehicle getting into the driver seat himself. The other seven of us pile into the van and the second Humvee. I however run for the lead Humvee with Alan wanting to help get Owen out of here.

  "We made it to the cars," Alan speaks into his radio.

  "Ten-four I'll be waiting for my taxi," Owen responds quickly and breathlessly as if he's been running.

  "I"ll circle around and get Owen. The rest of you get out of here. Start engines on the count of three. one. two. Start!" Alan continues on to say.

  The engines rev to life in unison with a roar. It doesn't take long for several zombies we didn't see before appear from nowhere. Coming from between cars in the lot, around corners and wherever else they were hiding. Doesn't matter much at this point where they came from. they are all making their way toward the now moving vehicles. The car lurches forward as Alan steps hard onto the gas. The two vehicles behind wasting no time following . At the first intersection, the two following make a left turn to double back and heading home. Alan continues forward another three streets before making a right. Then down another two streets. Finally another right to turn back towards the hospital.

  "Hospital is in sight, where am I picking you up?"

  "Got trapped on the second floor. Near the west corner on the north face of the building. look for the broken window and a person hanging out. We're going to have to jump for it when you get here." Owen answers.

  As we drive up to the north side of the building I begin scanning for a broken window. It seems impossible with the hundreds of windows until I find a trick to spot the correct one. The sun is causing a glare on all the north-facing windows. All except for one due to the lack of glass with it being broken and all. I point the window out to Alan. He quickly man
euvers the Humvee onto the walkway and directly under the window.

  "We're under th.." Alan begins.

  'Thud, Thud'

  The thuds coming from the roof as Owen and Eve jump onto the vehicle. Shaking it with their landings before Alan could finish reporting in. Only a moment later a voice yelling right above us shouts.

  "Go! Get us clear"

  Alan with wide eyes drops the radio and gingerly steps on the gas. I climb into the back seat opening first one window than the other. Before I can climb back into the front seat both Owen and Eve's feet are already through the windows. The rest of them following shortly after.

  "Took you long enough to get back," Owen says.

  "Yeah well I didn't see you trying to run through a crowd of zombies" Alan responds sharply.

  "Yeah, well let's get home. We still have medicine to deliver. and funerals to plan." Owen says before dropping into a contemplative silence.

  #

  Chapter 20

  A large group of people has already gathered by the time Alan drives the Humvee into town. The crown is circling around the vehicles and surviving guard members. As Alan turns the vehicle into the neighborhood and pulls it into line with the rest of the parked cars. All eyes turn and fall onto us as Alan brings the vehicle to a stop. Owen sighs long and deep from behind me just before opening the door and stepping out. He addresses the gathered people.

  "Gather the rest of the town. I only want to tell this story once" he says aloud.

  Getting out of the car and not knowing what else to do. I walk around to the back of the Humvee and begin pulling out the bags of supplies. I grab a bag in each hand and begin carrying them to the doctor's impromptu clinic. It's a large house with an open layout filled with a bunch of beds and cots squeezed into every cranny. Jeff answers the door almost before I finish knocking. I hand him the two bags and turn away.