Damned Are We

by Durman, Jason

  eerie and suspenseful music –

  "This place better have some beer," Jacob muttered, breaking her out of her reverie.

  "You've gotta be shittin' me, Jacob," Corvo growled in response.

  They slowly approached the glass door which, strangely enough, was not smashed in like its

  neighbouring windows. Corvo moved forward cautiously and nudged it open with the muzzle of his

  rifle. It swung open, giving access to the dim store behind it. They were immediately met with a

  disturbing sound. Chewing.

  Jacob raised an eyebrow, while Samantha tried to stifle the sickening thoughts of what, or who, was

  being chewed on. This was such a risk. Why did they have to enter a building which very obviously

  had infected people inside?

  'Fol ow me,' Corvo mouthed, putting a finger to his lips.

  He led the survivors inside, his gun trained toward the nauseating crunching that could be heard

  nearby. The sound appeared to be coming from the left side of the shadowy store, near the back.

  Jacob hung back slightly, covering the door with his shotgun. The last thing they needed was

  someone ninja-striking from behind. In a curious turn of events, Corvo slung his assault rifle over his

  shoulder in favour of his combat knife. He noticed Samantha's perplexed expression.

  "We have to keep quiet," he whispered to her, his voice barely audible. "Any noise could attract others."

  With that, he turned and moved down an adjacent aisle in a crouch, still mildly surprising the col ege

  girl with his spryness. She realised that the move down the aisle parallel to the one which was

  compromised was a tactical decision; an approach that would bring them as close as possible to the

  culprit of the noise without being seen. They were surrounded by shelves with a mess of items on

  them, but there was no time for that right now. While Jacob covered the entrance, Samantha and

  Markus followed Corvo's crouched form through the store, staying low, until they were final y right

  next to the source of the noise in the aisle to the left, just around the corner. The wet crunches and

  cracking were making Samantha feel sick.

  'Cover me," Corvo mouthed. 'I've got this.'

  His compatriots nodded in understanding, with Markus turning to cover the way that they came,

  while Samantha turned to the right, guarding the back end of the room. Corvo lurched into action

  with surprising speed, considering how silently he moved. The moment he passed out of sight, there

  was the sound of a brief struggle. However, he emerged from the aisle moments later, wiping the

  bloody knife on his pants.

  "Done deal," he said quietly. "Let's secure the rest of this store."

  Chapter 10

  The convenience store itself was quite small, only five aisles across, and the team had the shop floor

  secured in less than two minutes. The back wall, however, yielded another problem for Corvo and

  Jacob, who both came across the closed door at the same time. Presumably, it led into some

  storage room or employee space.

  The two hard-headed men shot challenging looks at each other. Without a word, they each bal ed a

  fist and engaged in a silent game of rock-paper-scissors. Corvo's rock crushed Jacob' scissors, and

  he smugly trained his M-16 on the closed door while the biker erupted into a livid but quiet tantrum,

  cursing the old man through his breath with every colourful name under the sun. Regaining his

  composure, he squared his shoulders and gripped the doorknob. There had better not be a Leaper

  back there...

  "While we're young, son," Corvo grunted.

  "Your ship has sailed then," he shot back, swinging the door open and raising his shotgun

  immediately.

  Dead silence. A quick sweep of the dark storeroom revealed that it was empty, save for a few empty cardboard boxes, and another closed door. However, the daylight shining in under it gave rise to the

  fact that it was a back entrance. Finally satisfied that they were alone, the four survivors regrouped

  at the front counter of the shop. Corvo briskly walked over to the entrance, looked up at the sky, and

  then closed the door, locking it behind him. Not that it would do much; the Infected would have no

  qualms with coming in through the front windows.

  "Okay, it's about midday, but we need to work fast," Corvo said quickly. "We can't be caught outside after dark." Corvo nodded to Jacob and Samantha's backpacks. "You two pick an aisle and start

  scavenging."

  "Can you fit any more into that med-kit?" she asked, motioning to the red bag on the old man's back.

  He shook his head. "But that's a good thing. Medical supplies are priority. Now, get moving."

  Samantha sighed in annoyance, gazing down the third aisle she had hoped to plunder. So far, the

  only useful things she had been able to find were a hairbrush, a small bottle of antimicrobial hand-

  wash, and a forgotten packet of Doritos. Al other food items had been looted, smashed, or otherwise

  rendered unusable. As she dropped the hairbrush into her alarmingly-empty backpack, she eyed the

  corn chips down hungrily. She knew that she should save the smal packet to share with the others,

  but it was only a snack-size, smal enough as it was...

  Samantha shook her head clear of the temptation and wandered down the aisle, sorely

  disappointed. It appeared that the director of this movie was a cruel one, making them waste time,

  energy and valuable daylight to loot an empty convenience store!

  The former student blew out a breath in frustration, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. At least she

  could now use her new brush to restore some semblance of order to her dark brown hair. Suddenly,

  a smal purple box caught her attention. It was sitting, almost deliberately, on a shelf devoid of

  anything else.

  Samantha gazed at it thoughtful y. Should she grab some... feminine supplies? That was something

  the directors always neglected in horror movies. They were all probably men. Without a second

  thought, she reached out and snatched the purple box up off the shelf, stuffing it into her backpack.

  Her eyes wandered down the aisle and caught something else that made her smile with glee.

  "What's got your skirt so high?" came Jacob' low voice from behind her.

  She jumped in shock, before realising who it was. "Don't do that!" she scowled, to which she was

  answered with a smug grin.

  "Sorry. Won't happen again."

  Deciding not to unload a can of whoop-ass on him, not that it was even possible, given the height

  and strength difference, Samantha took a few quick steps down the aisle and picked the items off

  the shelf. Footsteps could be heard as the other two came around the corner to join them.

  "Look what I found," she said happily, presenting a tube of toothpaste and four packaged

  toothbrushes to the group.

  "Sweet!" Markus exclaimed, grabbing one eagerly.

  Corvo and Jacob were slightly less enthusiastic, but grateful nonetheless.

  "Typical that there's no food in here," the burly biker said sul enly, stashing his new toothbrush in the practical y-empty backpack under his care.

  Markus opened his mouth to speak, but Corvo cut him off. "No use sittin' around moping. Let's keep

  going. The hospital should be only a few blocks away."

  He made to move off but Samantha quickly dashed in front of him. "Hold up," she blurted out. "I've gotta find a bathroom. I don't care if there are a mil ion Infected hiding in it, I've gotta brush my teeth."

  "That can be done later
– " Corvo started, but stopped himself short when the girl shot him a look of daggers.

  "Basic human hygiene, Corvo."

  He sighed in exasperation, but then made to fol ow her. "I suggest you two do the same," he said

  over his shoulder to the others. "I'm tired of nearly gagging every time one of you opens his mouth."

  Jacob did not bother to reply; he was otherwise preoccupied rummaging through a sticky mess of

  smashed sauce bottles on a nearby shelf in a vain search for something to eat.

  "Hey Jacob," Markus piped up cheekily from behind him. "You ready to be cheered up?"

  "Not by you." Without warning, Jacob felt something hard hit him on the back of the head. "Ow! What the fuck!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head as he turned angrily. His eyes nearly popped out of their

  sockets when he was met with the sight of Markus tearing open a packet of beef jerky. "Where...

  Where did you get that?"

  The former business man did not answer; his mouth was already full of the dry, salted meat.

  However, he motioned down at the floor, where a second packet of jerky was lying.

  "You beautiful son of a bitch..." Jacob gushed, scooping up the packet, eagerly ripping it open and popping a whole piece into his mouth in al but a few seconds. He chewed slowly, savouring the

  glorious taste. "I take back everything I said about you. You're not completely useless."

  Markus smiled at the "compliment", although he hoped that Corvo and Samantha had nicer things to

  say when he shared the rest of the jerky with them.

  Corvo left the bathroom and found Samantha waiting near the front counter of the store. "Good find

  with those toothbrushes." He frowned when there was no response. "You okay?"

  He came up to the former student and fol owed her gaze; a couple of disembowel ed teddy bears sat

  on the counter, their stuffed insides spilling out over the wooden surface and onto floor.

  "I'm so glad I haven't had to shoot any children yet," she said tentatively. "I don't think I'd be able to do it."

  "You'l have to do some bad things before this is al over," Corvo replied in a grim tone, keeping a weathered eye on the door and windows. "We'll all have to, if we want to stay alive."

  "Yeah," Jacob boomed suddenly from behind them. "And if all the kids in this city are now fucked-up little monsters, we don't have much of a choice do we?"

  The others stared at him, appalled by his choice of words. Samantha seemed particularly enraged.

  Without thinking, she stepped forward and swung her fist, striking him in the face with all the strength

  she could muster. Though he hardly flinched, he still looked surprised as hel .

  "Those are people you're talking about!" she yelled. "Sick people! Not monsters!"

  "Keep it down!" Corvo hissed, raising his assault rifle to point it at the door.

  A loud, soul ess moan rose up in the street outside, fol owed by a sorrowful chorus that made the

  hairs on the back of Markus' neck stand on end.

  "Get away from the door," he whispered.

  Everyone slowly backed away into the dim store; the thumping and banging started on the door

  moments later. There was no way of knowing how many Infected were out there, but it sounded like

  a lot. The crunching of broken glass could be heard, and Corvo realised that the intruders were

  climbing in through the shattered windows.

  "We'll leave from the back," he hissed urgently.

  "Why? We can take 'em," Jacob protested quietly, to which the older man furiously shook his head.

  "There's no tel in' how many are out there, and we're low on ammo. We're leaving now. "

  With that, the survivors crept down the aisle to the storeroom. Samantha carefully turned the

  doorknob, doing her utmost to make as little noise as possible. She felt extremely guilty; her outburst

  at Jacob had brought this danger down on al of them. Corvo could hear the sound of footsteps and

  shuffling throughout the store as the intruders came closer. Once everyone was through the

  doorway, he quietly closed the door behind them.

  "It seems like they were just investigating the noises they heard," Markus observed as they crossed the dark storeroom. "I don't think they know we're here."

  "Let's keep it that way," Corvo grunted. "If we broadcast ourselves any more than we already have, they'll be on us like bats outta hel ."

  Jacob reached the back door first and recklessly yanked it open al the way, earning a disapproving

  scowl from Corvo, il uminated on his wrinkled face by the light streaming in through the doorway. The

  biker blatantly ignored this however, the silhouette of his head swaying as he checked the alley

  outside for danger, before motioning the others through. They cautiously moved down the al eyway

  back to the street, where Corvo careful y checked around the corner. Luckily, there were only a few

  infected people shambling along the roadside, and they were quite far away. Most of the others must have entered the convenience store.

  "Let's go," he said urgently. "Take it slow and easy, and let me handle any stragglers with the knife.

  We try not to make any noise, but if you gotta shoot, make Goddamned sure the first burst does it."

  The party made their way through the streets slowly and careful y. There were no incidents, save for

  a couple of times where the others waited out of sight while Corvo crept forward to dispose of a lone

  Common Infected in the road. Fortunately, with the element of surprise on his side, the engagements

  were kept quiet and brief. Jacob was chomping at the bit to put them out of their misery with his

  shotgun, but the glares Corvo had given him had prompted him to yield begrudgingly.

  "You almost seem like you're enjoying this," Samantha hissed at him while Corvo moved to silence

  another infected woman further up ahead.

  Jacob did not say anything to that, his face unreadable.

  "These are sick people we're kil ing, Jacob," she persisted, undeterred. "How would you feel, knowing someone enjoyed kil ing you if you were infected?" She looked to Markus for support, but he merely shrugged his shoulders apologetical y.

  "You're right, I am finding this fun," the biker replied casual y. "Better than any video game I've played."

  This isn't a video game, Samantha thought to herself, quite disturbed by what she had just heard.

  Fun? Really? She looked over to see Corvo ushering them forward, and glanced at Jacob once

  more before resuming the march. Not for the first time, she found herself wondering about one of the

  men in whom she had placed her trust for her survival.

  Chapter 11

  The longer the survivors spent on the ruined streets of the post-apocalyptic city, the further their

  hopes sunk. So far, they had encountered no other survivors. Hopefully, some people had been able

  to escape from Fairfield with their lives.

  The silence over the group was a tense one, and not solely due to the constant and intense fear for

  their lives. The rift that had developed between Jacob and Samantha seemed to have put everyone

  on edge. The last thing they needed was the party tearing itself apart from within. Was it not enough

  to have ravenous monsters trying to tear it apart from without?

  "There it is," Corvo suddenly said in relief, pointing at a tal building directly ahead. "Jameson Hospital."

  "About damn time," Jacob grunted irritably. His feet were kil ing him; the blisters on his soles were testament to the fact that he never did much walking in his past life, before the outbreak that had laid

  waste to the United States.

  The survivors approached the hospital, eager to get off the streets. The hellish journey that had
brought them here had taken its tol on them; they were battered, bruised, exhausted and stressed to

  the raw nerves. The prospect of a rescue within their reach seemed to be the only thing keeping

  them going. However, Samantha could feel her heart sinking even further to her toes as she looked

  beyond the glass entry doors to see total carnage. Brutal y-beaten bodies, shattered furniture and

  countless piles of wreckage and rubble were strewn al over the lobby, while dark stains and bloody

  handprints covered the once-white wal s. It was like looking into an abattoir.

  "Are you sure there's an evacuation going on here, Markus?" she asked careful y, struggling to keep a quaver of anguish out of her voice.

  "That's what the helicopter said," he replied, not doing as good a job of hiding his worry. What if he had not heard the pilot properly? Had he led them al this way for nothing?

  "Either way, we don't have much daylight left. We should get off the streets," Corvo said gruffly,

  urging them into the hospital. They meandered through the destroyed lobby, amid the death and

  destruction.

  As Corvo looked around the hospital, violent memories suddenly flashed through his head.

  The nurse and surgeon stood overhead, their figures silhouetted by the bright lights of the operating

  theatre. "I'm going to count down from ten, okay Corvo...?"

  "Yeah, alright..."

  "Ten... Nine..."

  Vision going blurry...

  "Eight..."

  Hazy vision... Eyelids heavy... Blood...? The nurse doubled over, a hand to her mouth...

  "Sev – Seven...?"

  Blood.

  What?

  "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

  "Mercy was overrun," Samantha said suddenly in a hopeless voice, breaking Corvo out of his

  reverie. He looked around to see his party picking absently through rubble, searching for supplies

  presumably. However, their lack of animation was an indication that they were at the end of their

  emotional tethers. They needed to rest. But they could not do that down here.

  "People were being evacuated from here," Corvo said authoritatively. "My best guess is that the helipad on the roof is the best place to go. We might even find a radio."