Walking Bodies

by Durman, Jason

  I shuddered and listened for any sounds underneath me. It was dead silent. I made up my mind. My only chance at survival would be jumping and making a break for the kitchen. I took a deep breath, than slowly stood on the bed. I leaned forward, then lept.

  Stumbling a bit, I hit the ground but I shot straight back up and grabbed my gun. At this point I would have just taken anything that could be used as a weapon. So when I grabbed the gun, I took the can opener too. It may sound stupid, but you never know when you could run out of ammo, and the sharp tip of the can opener was better than nothing.

  I peered around the corner, the bed and everything else just the way it was before. Still, he was hiding. I approached the bed, keeping an eye on all four sides and careful of where my feet went as I circled it. Then, as fast as I could manage, I pulled up the end of the bed, gun out in front of me and observed what was underneath it.

  Nothing. There was nothing but dust bunnies underneath. I sighed in both relief and something else. I really had to debate on whether or not my loss of sanity is going to be problem in my survival. Then again, insane people in the movies are always kick-ass and end up surviving to the sequel. So, that's a plus.

  My stomach growled, as if to remind me of my abandoned can of delight I had left in my state of panic. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and sat on the end the bed, snatching up the half eaten food. The fork I had used earlier was nowhere to be found, but I didn't care.

  I was leaning back, planning to enjoy the rest of my meal in peace. But something moved under the covers, and I lazily thought it my paranoia again and slowly turned to face behind me.

  It wasn't my paranoia, it was that Leaper. The one with the bandage on his leg. He gazed at me boringly, chewing on whatever was in his mouth, which I realized was part of the food I was trying to eat. He looked at me uninterested before swallowing the rest of the salted fish. MY salted fish.

  It was a good full five seconds until I came to my senses and I flung whatever was in my hand in his direction, which happened to be the can. He dodged with ease, just with a simple move of his shoulders and it hit the wall behind him. It rolled out on the bed and he picked it up and started picking at the remains of the food with his razor sharp claws.

  I as halfway across the room when I threw the can opener next, and he didn't even flinch. The handle bopped him on the arm, but that was about it. It was at that moment that I realized that I had a gun. I whipped it out and aimed for his head. He looked up to see the barrel lined up with him.

  Now, it was a showdown. I held the gun, limited ammo, and scared. He was a Leaper with deadly claws, which were still inside the can, poking around trying to scrape out what he could. I thought of our waiting game in the bathroom yesterday. Maybe, if I can lure him outside, I could trap him out there. I trapped him outside the bathroom, I can trap him outside the window, and I would just need to outsmart him.

  I couldn't tell if he was threatened by my weapon or not, but by assuming how he was so scared of it in the woods, it was my best tool to chase him out. Now the real challenge was that I would somehow have to do that without firing a single shot, because I'm not going to have my little hiding place be invaded by a horde when they hear the gun shot.

  Creeping closer and ever so slowly he began to ease backwards. My pistol was help out in front of me and I felt my heart pounding in my ribcage and had a small thought of him suddenly leaping forward to rip it out. I focused on the Leaper so I didn't have to listen to myself think.

  I positioned the gun and moved to the opposite side of the room facing the window, which he was now already crawling over. He growled once, twice. Warnings, I thought. I kept getting closer, clutching my pistol so hard my knuckles went white. I wanted to make it clear that I was not afraid to shoot him if he decided to attack.

  He stopped, at the pane of the window, and I had to think of a way to scare him so he would jump out. I put up a tough guy stance, the kind I've seen Aiden pull whenever Steve was teasing him again or he was trying not to show weakness from a painful wound.

  One hand on the pistol, still pointing at the fish stealing Leaper, I grabbed a pillow behind me with my other hand. I hung it over the barrel of gun and pulled the trigger.

  The shot was muffled, but I bet his keen ears still heard it and it drove his own survival instincts into drive and he was gone out the window with a surprised screech before I clear away most of the feather floating in the air. Hesitating, I ran for the window, slamming it shut and pulling the torn curtains over it. The curtains won't really keep me hidden, but I still felt better with them covering.

  I breathed in deeply, and then out. My lungs appreciated the air. My eyes wandered to the abused tin can of salted fish lying on the floor. Although most of it as gone, there was still a good bit amount of goodies left at the bottom, but I wouldn't even think of eating it now.

  God only knows where those Leaper's claws have been and I wasn't about to eat something that he's been touching. It was such a shame too; they weren't even that bad tasting.

  Sighing, I plopped on the bed. My eyes felt heavy and I agreed with my sore body that I needed some rest. Just as I was about to doze off, a small annoying tapping sound made me sit up in alarm.

  The window I thought. It was closed. I pulled back the curtains slowly, then all the way. It was just that ridiculous Leaper again. I rolled my eyes. I was starting to not even see him as a threat anymore.

  He was crouching again, but was resting on his heels. One of his claws was tapping on the glass and it was driving me crazy. There was no way in hell that I was going to get any sleep with him tapping on my window. I thought of options to make him leave.

  I could try the pillow trick again, but that would just be wasting another bullet, and wasn't worth it, since he isn't in the same room as me.

  Out of pure curiosity, I started tapping in the same rhythm that he was doing, hoping he would he as annoyed as I was and leap frog off. Instead, he stopped tapped. I was relieved, until he started again, but this time harder, like the glass was about to crack.

  Glass cracking was not good. I scanned the room for options and my vision landed on the can of fish. A plan hatched itself inside my mind and I grabbed it and held it behind my back so the Leaper wouldn't see.

  I raised a fist, banged on the window once. The Leaper jumped back in surprise and watched me carefully. Opening the window as little as I could manage, I slipped the can out, and shut it again. All while he watched. He eyed the can, then glared at me, then the can again before digging through whatever was left.

  After watching him eat for a good minute, and I officially declared him harmless and pulled the curtains back over the dark sky. I stumbled back to the bed, and dug myself a barrow in the covers and waited for sleep to overtake me. This was way better than sleeping in a tree, or on hard tile.

  It started raining, I could hear the pitter patter of the water on the patio. It was relaxing and I enjoyed the sounds as it was a refreshing change from the noises of moans and puking from infected.

  I thought I heard a tap on the window for a second, but I drifted off before I could think about it.

  Chapter 6

  The first thing I did when I woke up was crack open a can of sliced pineapples. The fish from last night left a bad taste in my mouth, and I realize how unhealthy it was to eat them straight from the can. It didn't matter, it was the first kind of 'meat' I've had in a long time.

  I didn't see that Leaper again, not after distracting him with the leftover fish. I supposed he just ran off, probably searching to go find some other survivor to hunt down. I half expected him to still be at the window when the sun came up.

  My joy of the Leaper leaving and the semi-fresh food in my mouth was putting me in a really good mood. For once I had gotten a good night's rest, and my back felt as it did before the infection. In fact, I feel as if I could just take on the world today!

  Better not jinx it though.

  Gulping down the r
emains of the pineapples, I reached for another. I wondered why this place wasn't sacked like it should have been. if there was any other survivor lucky enough to come across this stuff, they wouldn't just leave it here. Unless that certain survivor got killed, then that would be a better explanation.

  I threw my second can in the sink, that was already starting to collect cans thanks to my overeating, and I stretched my back and legs. I'm going to take the food with me, I decided. I didn't plan on being that survivor in my 'theory', so I need to take as much as I could carry.

  My best bet was to find something to help me carry the goodies with. There's the boxes underneath the bed, but that would just slow me down. Shooting would be near impossible while trying to lug a heavy box around. No, I needed something with straps, like a purse, or something of the sort. My attention turned to the room's storage closet. I hope my luck hasn't ran out yet.

  There was a small back pack, hidden in the closet. A cookie monster back pack at that. My eyes teared up looking at it; thinking of the poor child who probably turned infected and left behind their cute little back pack. I pulled it out, ignoring my thoughts of infected children running around attacking people.

  Being in an apocalypse and all, an image of body parts or bones stuffed inside the pack imbedded itself in my head. Getting a little nervous, I took a deep breath and unzipped the zipper.

  Nothing was inside but a couple of gum wrappers and a single chewed up pencil. I sighed. Poor kid must have been a 3rd grader or something like that. At least I could make use of the pack. Thankfully, the straps on the pack had adjustable lengths, so while it was small, it could fit around my back no problem.

  I sat the pack on one of the kitchen counters and started loading it with food. It held more than I thought it would of, for a small size. Only two or three cans were left when it was full. I could't really stuff them in my pockets; I knew this, still tried though.

  Having no other choice, I would have to leave the left over supplies. I just didn't have any room to put it, and I can't risk losing anything while fighting a horde or something, so maybe some other survivor will come across them. Though unlikely, I'm just going to believe that does gonna happen. It makes me feel better about leaving them.

  As I left, I tried scrapping off some dried blood off my shoes as I crept down the stairs. I gave up; my shoes are pretty much beyond saving at this point. I'll have to make note to try and scavenge for new ones next time I see a clothes store. It would be unfortunate if my shoe bottoms fell out while outrunning a Heavy. Very unfortunate.

  Peeking out side, I checked my surroundings, in case of any nasty surprises. Nothing but bodies and bullet shells, just like before. I wondered if the whole city was like this. A rotting wasteland. It wouldn't be that hard to get through then. Still, I should keep my guard up.

  Remembering that my ammunition count was low, I glared at my dirty palms. I can't fist fight every infected I see, and I never got the chance to do my regular cracking of my fingers. If I was to last much longer, I would have to find a melee weapon, or better yet, bullets.

  Surely there wasn't much ammo around the city, having already gone through it before, but I've been lucky so far with the food and the backpack, so maybe I'll find something heavy to bash some heads in at least.

  It was only until I was halfway down the street before I noticed a shadow on the ground soar across view. My thoughts went to 'Leaper' and I immediately pointed my weapon towards where the shadow went. Trappers wouldn't be able to jump across buildings as fast as that.

  The thought about running back inside crossed my mind, but I needed to keep moving. The food I had found in the apartment would only last me so long.

  Although I couldn't see him, it was obvious he was near. Being a Leaper and all, I was sure he was very good at being sneaky, unluckily for me.

  Wiping the sweat off my forehead with my other hand, I watched for any sign of him. It was the middle of the afternoon and if I couldn't find him in the daylight, then it was going to be extremely difficult for me when the night came.

  I groaned. Night would be a completely new problem now that my friends weren't here with me. Usually none of us would be sleeping at the same time; there would always be someone awake to take watch for a while, then trade shifts throughout the night.

  Sleeping alone in a infected city was dangerous, but then again it was even more so in the woods, so I might just make it if I can find a place that can be locked up tight.

  A saferoom, I thought. Nothing can infiltrate a saferoom, except maybe a Heavy. But there were only so many of those in the city, most of them dead by now. While I'm sure most of the saferooms were completely raided out, it would still provide me with a safe place to get some shut eye.

  Saferoom it is then. I was sure I could spend the night hiding in another tree, or lock myself away in a building, but I'm not going to take a chance. I've come way too far to be killed in my sleep.

  I spotted him: perched up on a fire escape, not too far away, but far enough where my pistol wouldn't reach him. I eyed him closely. Why didn't he jump me yet? Maybe his leg was still healing and he was waiting for it to recover before he chased me. Or maybe he just liked playing with his prey….

  Carefully, I watched him. He looked almost like every other Leaper I've seen, from the outside at least, since his face was halfway concealed.

  I wasn't close enough to see exact detail, and I never really paid much attention to his appearance before. But I wondered what he would look like underneath the hood. Probably like a Trapper, with tumors and deformations on his face. I shuddered at the thought.

  He sat down on the railing, his feet hanging off the edge. He didn't make any more movements after that, like he was a statue. Just waiting for me to start running huh? It's all about the chase, isn't it?

  Turning on my heel I started walking again. The plan was to pretend that I was ignoring him, or that I just didn't care. My thoughts were: either he'll lose interest or he'll become inpatient, so he'll leave me or I'll kill him.

  There were a couple of stragglers up ahead. More than ten, but they haven't noticed me yet. I could sneak around them, risky, but better than facing them head on. Getting low, I stayed close to the bricks of the buildings, and almost didn't notice the car I was about to bump into. As careful as I could be, I narrowly avoided it by squishing myself against the wall.

  There was an ally around the corner, and if I could get to it, I could walk a different route away from the infected. I started to feel a little relieved. As I inched closer and closer, I thought I could hear crying.

  My suspensions were right. Rounding the corner, only a couple feet away was a sobbing, but ever so petrifying Siren.

  The common infected were wandering closer to my position, and I had to think fast. Being as discreet as I could, I glanced at the Siren. I've snuck by Sirenes before, and seeing as how I haven't lost my touch just yet, I might as well try it now.

  Slowly, I crept against the brick of the building, moving around a dumpster and almost stepping in a puddle. I didn't want even the smallest of sound to be made. My very life depended on it. I took a deep breath and let it out as softly as I could.

  But not soft enough.

  The Siren started rising, and I felt my heartbeat do the same. Her tear filled eyes left her hands and turned towards me and I could feel the sadness and hatred radiating from her. Her clawed hands opened and closed as she turned her whole body to face me. My breathing uncontrollably fast and I knew I was done for.

  She was at full height already and sprung in my direction, ready to kill. However, someone beat her to me.

  Leapers are a special infected who's greatest skills were stealth and rapid motion. So I shouldn't have been surprised when one landed down directly in front of me. However, I did not expect him to have his back be facing me, and lunging out for the Siren instead.

  I wasn't crouching anymore. Standing at full height, I was getting an excellent
view of the scene that's happening in front of me. His claws dug into her ribcage, while she used her arms to defend herself. Sirenes only attack those who startle them, so she wouldn't hurt the Leaper, who was infected just like her, right?

  Wrong. Her clawed hand pierced his abdomen, and the Leaper paused for a second. The sharp points were buried deep in the front of his hoodie. But instead of leaping off of her like I thought he would, he raised his hand high and brought it down, completely severing the Sirenes arm from the shoulder. I heard a sick ripping, tearing sound as it was removed from her person.

  The Siren screeched in pain as her blood pooled out onto the sidewalk, her other hand trying to push her attacker off of her. Her severed arm spazzed on the ground, as if it still had the owner attached to it. It bounced closer to my legs and in panic; I yelped and kicked it away from me, startled.

  Covering my mouth, I realized my mistake. The common infected from before had now been alerted to my presence, and were now headed in my direction. They ignored any sounds made from other infected, but my little outburst was all they needed to go into a rage.

  Bringing the gun up, I focused on the commons. The Siren and the Leaper still fighting distracted the m enough to where I could aim correctly. I shot 4 in the head, no problem. Until my gun went click.

  Screaming at that moment was tempting, but that would just bring a horde, and that was the last thing I would need right now.

  Running was also an option, but they would just follow me until I had plenty of infected after me. I would have to take care of them now, so they wouldn't attract anymore.

  Searching the area for a weapon, nothing caught my eye. There was nothing useful in sight and they were getting closer by the second. The Siren's screams were changing into chokes and coughs of blood, but the Leaper was still clawing at her, splattering blood all over himself, and the common infected as they passed by them.

  I was panicking, and panicking is never good. I began backing up when something hard and cylinder popped out of my over filled back pack and onto the ground. This gave me an idea.