Breaking Down

by Marie Lanza

  The Colony:

  BREAKING DOWN

  By

  MARIE LANZA

  Copyright © 2014 by Marie Lanza

  http://www.MarieLanza.com

  Cover Design by Dustin Wissmiller

  www.DustinWissmiller.com

  The Colony: Breaking Down is part 3 of The Colony series.

  The Colony – Breaking Down is an original work of fiction by Marie Lanza, who holds the sole rights to all characters and concepts herein.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are productions of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  The Colony: Breaking Down

  Emma and Andy were on the run.

  A small part of Andy regretted his decision to leave the cabin where he had been hiding, but the rest of him was pleased to finally have a companion. For so long, that cabin had been his sanctuary, a security blanket that made him feel relatively safe from the outside world.

  Andy didn’t move as fast as Emma, but she never complained. To her, as long as they kept moving forward, and at a speed fast enough to stay a safe distance from the Carriers, they were making progress.

  The first days were quiet with just a few sightings of lone Carriers. The first few nights were sleepless. They had no shelter, so they hid away in the brush, using string and metal scraps they had found as noise makers in case anything got too close. The quiet didn’t last long. Soon, they were running again from a horde that was relentless in their pursuit. Emma knew the Carriers couldn’t be getting faster; rather, it was Emma and Andy who were moving slower. Andy struggled to keep up, but Emma wouldn’t leave him.

  Brief respite came in the form of a flat stretch of road where they had visibility of several hundred feet in all directions. It was just enough of a buffer that a Carrier couldn’t catch them by surprise.

  Andy stopped abruptly and leaned over, breathing heavily. “There has to be a town or something nearby….”

  “We’ll find something, we just have to keep moving.” Emma tried to be confident but she knew that with the sun already setting, their prospects were dwindling.

  Emma and Andy continuously scanned their surroundings. They took turns looking over their shoulder to make sure the Carriers that followed were still at a safe distance.

  The Carriers shuffled and limped their way forward, pursuing at a slow steady pace just a hundred meters behind them.

  The land slanted downward, bringing a better view of what was ahead of them.

  It wasn’t much; there were a couple of abandoned cars and a structure that looked like it once could have been a small home in the middle of an open field of hay.

  “Look, just ahead. It’s not much but it’ll work for the night.” Emma tried to sound optimistic

  Andy turned to face ahead of them, then turned back again towards the darkening road, he could just make out the movement of the Carriers following in the dwindling light “No way, Emma. We won’t have time to secure it before this group catches up to us.”

  Emma thought for a moment, looked back towards the group of Carriers, then back to the structure. “You’re right. We have to keep moving.”

  The two continued down the road, and the Carriers followed in steady pursuit. Emma and Andy continued down the road for about an hour before they came upon a small town. The buildings that lined the roads were stacked so closely together that it seemed they shared the same roof. Like most buildings these days, the windows were either boarded up from the inside or broken with shattered glass covering the ground. Several of the outlying buildings were burned, most likely from the first days of rioting, cars were left in the middle of the roads, as though they were purposely left to act as barricades between the living and the Carriers. As they moved into the darkening streets of the town, Emma saw the words, “Dead Inside,” spray painted on the boards covering the outside of a building. “Let’s stay clear of that one.”

  “Agreed.” Andy said.

  “There,” Emma pointed to another building down the street that looked surprisingly untouched, “That looks good.”

  Emma and Andy carefully approached the building. There were boards covering the windows from the inside, and the glass door was still intact.

  They cautiously entered. It was a small market place that, like most places, had been completely ransacked. All of the shelves were empty, trash scattered the floor and the produce left was rotten.

  “You make sure we don’t have company. I’ll get these shelves to block the door.” Andy began working on moving the shelves as quietly as possible, but the metal slid and screeched against the floor.

  Emma physically stopped and cringed at every sound Andy made while she searched the rest of the building. If there were any Carriers inside the building, they would have no doubt showed themselves by now with all the noise Andy was making.

  The building wasn’t very big. After Emma cleared the main area, she made her way down a short hallway. She found an office and at the end of the hall, a back door. Emma made sure the door was secure before she headed back to help Andy.

  Andy had just finished bracing the shelves against the door when the first of the Carriers slammed against the windows. He jumped back, startled.

  “That was fast,” Emma said.

  “Hopefully they’ll get bored and move on.” Andy said, staring at the barrier he assembled.

  “Not likely,” Emma said. “There’s only one other door. It’s in the back. Seems secure enough.”

  Andy half smiled, “that’s all we can hope for.” He walked over to the register counter and found a stool. Andy offered by gesture to Emma.

  “You take it.” Emma thought for a moment, “Better yet…” she left the room and reappeared from the office down the hall with a rolling office chair. Emma pushed it over to Andy, “You’ll be more comfortable on this one.”

  “Emma, you take it. There’s no way I can sit in that while you take the uncomfortable stool.”

  “That’s very nice, Andy but chivalry is a little useless these days and your knees need the rest. Besides, I have no intentions of sitting on that stool.” Emma dropped her bag and backpack on the floor, then laid down on the floor resting her head on her pack. “I prefer a more flat surface.”

  “Very well then.” Andy sat down on the chair and took in a deep breath.

  The sun’s glare was soon overtaken by moonlight that crept through the boarded windows, giving a dim light to the store. Emma and Andy dozed despite the chorus of moans from the Carriers outside. They had grown accustomed to the sound of the Carriers; it was almost hypnotizing, like the sound of a soft fan someone may leave on while they sleep, not for the cool air it blows, but the noise itself.

  The distant sound of glass shattering woke Emma and Andy and brought them to their feet. Emma walked cautiously over to the windows and peeked through a space between the boards.

  “Where’d that come from?” Andy asked.

  “Looks like our friends brought more friends.”

  Another crash from outside.

  Andy walked to the other side of the store and looked out the windows. Carriers snarled and growled as they banged against the glass.

  “There’s more coming. They’re attracted to the others already here,” Emma whispered.

  “Looks like something got their attention across the street as well.” Andy breathed quietly. “Maybe more survivors.”

  The growing mob of Carriers had broken through the
doors of another building across from where Emma and Andy were located.

  “If there are survivors, I hope they’re in a good hiding place or have one hell of an escape plan,” Emma said solemnly.

  Suddenly, the boarded windows behind the store shelves in front of Andy shattered; startling him and sending him stumbling backwards to the ground.

  Emma ran to help him back to his feet.

  The boards creaked and bent as the Carriers pressed against them. The shelves rattled and leaned with every pounding the Carriers made. Their skin shredded from the glass, and blood dripped from deep tears in their flesh as they reached through spaces of the boards.

  “Those boards are done and the shelves won’t hold back a group that size for long.” Emma sharply stated, helping Andy to his feet.

  Andy winced at the pain in his knees. “Let’s not wait around.” He picked up his bags.

  Emma picked up her bags while Andy began toppling more shelves against the breached windows. There was no reason to be quiet. The Carriers knew they were inside and were even more aggressively pushing through the barricade to reach them.

  “Let’s get out of here. With any luck those things will be focused on this area and we can slip out through the back.” Emma was already making her way to the back door.

  “Unless the back is a dead end.” Andy took a long look at the Carriers before turning around to follow Emma.

  The Carriers grew more determined.

  More windows were smashed in, the boards burst open, then the shelves began to slip and fall on the slippery tile floor.

  They were inside.

  Bodies tripped over the shelves, tumbled on top of each other and crashed to the ground.

  Emma and Andy didn’t waste any time and rushed out the back door. Before shutting it behind them, Andy took a look. The Carriers pressed each other around the corner with their eyes dead on him and Emma.

  He slammed the door, but a Carrier’s hands slipped through. Andy braced his body against the door.

  More hands and ragged arms slipped through the door.

  “Shit!” Emma shouted from over his shoulder.

  Andy, shocked by her noise level, looked to see the issue.

  The alley was narrow and their path was blocked by a chain-link fence at least ten feet high with a large group of Carriers waiting for them on the other side.

  Emma went to Andy’s side and helped brace the door.

  “We won’t be able to hold them long,” Andy said.

  “You’re right. We need to get to the fence. There’s a fire escape ladder up there to the second level. Maybe one of us can reach it and pull it down.”

  The Carriers snarled and scratched at the door. Their finger nails broke as they clawed the outside wall.

  Emma pulled out her knife and hacked at the limbs grasping from inside the store. She swung her blade again and again, until the hands were cut away from the bodies, showering the wall with its dark, sticky blood. Finally, Andy was able to push the door shut. Emma walked over to the fence. Andy followed, pulling out a knife.

  Emma began stabbing at the Carriers through the fence, plunging the blade through their brains. Andy did the same.

  The Carriers bumped into each other, one after the other, against the fence. Each new soulless face was met with Emma and Andy’s blade. As they fell to their second deaths, their bodies collapsed against the chain link fence, and created a gruesome wall that the others could not move past.

  Gun shots fired over the snarls and grunts of the Carriers.

  * * *

  Emma and Andy instinctively ducked at the sound of gunfire coming from behind the wall of Carriers. They couldn’t see what was happening over the wall of bodies, but whatever it was drew the Carriers away from the fence.

  As the Carriers fell one by one, Emma and Andy could see through the sea of bodies; three living fighting with various weapons.

  The battle only paused when all the Carriers in the alley were dead.

  “You guys alright?” One of the young men asked.

  “Yeah, thanks to you,” Andy said.

  “We should get moving. Our barriers may not hold the ones inside very long.” Another man said.

  Emma and Andy’s only option was up and over the fence, then down the wall of bodies. They climbed the fence together.

  “Here…” A young woman got as close to the fence as she could, keeping a comfortable distance from the bodies of Carriers. She reached her arms up, “toss me your bags.”

  Andy didn’t even hesitate at the assistance and tossed his bag to the woman from the top of the fence. Emma, on the other hand, smirked at the notion. Emma thought the idea of trusting just anyone was naive and she wasn’t one bit interested in getting robbed.

  “I’ll hold on to mine, thanks,” Emma said.

  Emma and Andy began the climb down.

  A few more Carriers were drawn to the commotion and made their way around the corner and began down the alley. The two men held them off while the young woman stayed at the fence waiting for Emma and Andy.

  The bodies of the dead Carriers lined the fence, piled one on top of another. As Emma took her first step down, she could only hope that they were really dead and that one wasn’t just being held down by another, waiting to sink its teeth into her ankle.

  As her weight pressed on the bodies, she tried to stabilize herself on the soft ground of rotting corpses.

  Andy was right behind her, placing his feet carefully down, holding his breath with every step and exhaling slowly.

  The young woman watched, looking squeamish and clinching Andy’s bags.

  “I’ll never get used to this smell,” Emma grimaced. With those words, Emma lost her footing, falling down on to the pile of bodies.

  “Emma!” Andy shouted.

  It was the last place anyone wanted to be, staring at a handful of dead faces. It took everything in her not to vomit in that moment. Emma quickly worked to pull herself back up to her feet, blindly reaching for any resistance – that wasn’t a corpse – with which to regain her footing. She stumbled again on the soft remains, falling to her knees. Emma crawled over the last few bodies and on to solid ground before she found her feet again.

  Emma groaned in disgust as she wiped at the Carriers blood from her hands and arms.

  Andy was right behind her.

  “Are you alright?” Andy asked.

  “Yeah I’m fine,” Emma said.

  The young woman handed Andy back his things. “I’m Tracy.”

  “Andy.”

  “Emma.”

  One of the men approached. “This is Mike and that’s my brother Shawn,” Tracy said, gesturing to each of the men.

  Emma and Andy were finally given a better look at their rescuers. All three were very young, maybe in their early twenties, and none of them looked like they had spent a day outside fighting Carriers.

  “Thanks for your help.” Andy wrapped his bags over his body.

  “Not a problem,” Shawn said.

  Mike nervously kept watch at the end of the alley. “Enough with the introductions, let’s go!” He struggled between the level of a whisper and shout, trying to avoid unwanted attention from the Carriers.

  Emma, Andy and the others ran through the town, killing any Carrier that got within arm’s reach, ignoring the others; they needed to conserve their energy.

  Being on the run in the dark was far from ideal. No one ever wanted to be out after the sun went down. The goal was always to find shelter if you could, to hide away from the Carriers.

  Now, here they were, in the dark, running through unfamiliar terrain from what seemed like an entire town of Carriers.

  Mike, Shawn and Tracy were, like Emma, all in good physical shape. As they ran they didn’t seem to get winded easily. Andy, however, was still struggling with his knees. But with the Carriers close behind, he didn’t complain about the pain.

  It wasn’t ideal to be traveling with this group. Emma found most people became pro
blems more than assets. In the beginning, the first survivors she came into contact with were dead within a few days. There was no leadership, and little trust between survivors due to the uncertainty of how the virus was spread.

  Emma thought back to the time she had spent with Jim before his death. He had been her companion for what seemed like ages, but despite the moments of security he provided her, she had always harbored some degree of uncertainty. In the end, his selfish act of wanting to stay with her, even though he knew he was infected, put her at greater risk. He could have simply walked away into the night, and not put his suicide on her conscience.

  Emma wasn’t going to fuss too much given the three had just saved their asses from a hoard of Carriers. Emma figured she and Andy would stay with them while they were on the run, but once they were able to slow down, they could go their separate ways.

  The moon shined its light on an empty field, revealing an abandoned structure with an attached carport style cover that at one point in time may have housed farming equipment so someone could work under the shade.

  “That looks like a good place to stop. We could use the rest.” Emma pointed out the shelter ahead.

  “Let’s do it.” Mike said.

  The group walked through the field, the dead grass crunching beneath their feet. Emma was relieved it was a cleared field. The last thing they needed in the cover of darkness was to be wading through tall grass with the worry a Carrier may be waiting to take a bite out of them.

  As they got closer to the building, they slowed their pace. Emma took the lead and readied her knife in case any residents would be greeting them.

  They cautiously stepped up onto the old porch, moving slowly over the dilapidated, creaking boards. Emma placed her free hand on the door and swung it open.

  They waited.

  Andy began to make his way around the small building. Gaping holes riddled the structure. Wooden paneling was rotted and falling off of the frame, but he didn’t encounter any threats.

  Andy made his way back to the front.

  Emma and the others had already disappeared inside.