Chapter 2
The dust of the destruction settled, the sounds of gunfire ceased for now, and the raspy coughing of the old war veteran was heard as he was crouched over, resting the butt of his rifle against the concrete beneath them and using it to steady himself as he wiped his face of a fresh splatter of darkened, diseased blood. Besides Bill lay a shadily clothed individual, duct tape wrapped around their arms arms and legs, holding the loose urban clothing to their mutated limbs tightly. Some times the infected underwent grotesque mutations, resulting in even more frightening abominations that were once functioning humans in a civilized world. Zoey rushed over to Bill's side, leaning down with him, "Are you all right?" She asked, no longer whispering. Bill coughed once more, spitting out some of the vile blood that had come from the large gunshot wound that now split through the hooded infected's neck. Bill pulled up his undershirt and wiped his face, a pink stain remaining against his wrinkled face for now as Louis was turned from the group, pointing back down the alley as was Francis, weapons pulled up. Bill brought himself to his feet, but not before picking up the lightly smoking half cigarette that had fallen from his mouth. The only real injury he had sustained was on his exterior olive jacket, four jagged scars ripped side by side down the right breast pocket and exposed his stained undershirt slightly. "We have to go." Zoey said in a caring, yet anxious tone. Nothing more was said, a howl came from the culdesac as running bodies poured into the alleyway in a frothing rage, spitting, scowling and screaming came those of the infected just yards away from the survivors as they began running through the shanty alleyway. The survivors took off in a desperate sprint, but not before getting off a few shots of their respective weapons while waiting for Bill to fully get his wind back. The group curved in and about the alley's many twists and turns, junk from rusted antique vehicles lay in overgrown back yards, torn down club houses and other ruins for them to maneuver around. The infected were closing in, Louis in the back was panting and sweating, his eyes wide with fear as he would look over his shoulder occasionally to the rabid horde that clawed at the air between them.
"In here!" Bill shouted out, motioning to the open back door of a two story home as the group redirected themselves towards it, leaping over discarded children's toys, bicycles, and playground equipment before running up the small flight of steps, Francis and Bill slamming a heavy aluminum door in the path of the rampaging infected, who not soon after the door was shut and pressed against with the weight of the desperate survivors, broke against the house like an angry wave. Zoey fell forwards, knocked away from the door in the initial slamming from the horde as she quickly got up and assisted in the others holding it back, feeling hopeless. Francis remained determined, mouthing out curses at everything he felt responsible while Bill surveyed the house, shoulder and palm pressed into the now denting door. Windows shattered and bodies began to crawl in, Louis sprayed an intruding infected with his submachine gun, the body soon shredded and spilling blood amongst the old hardwood floor of the house. "What do we do?!" Louis cried, "They're getting in!" Zoey's face became ghostly white, her eyes closed and she mumbled out silent prayers laced with fearful gulping. Suddenly Bill sprang back from his planning and shouted over the roar of the infected, "Hurry, follow me!" He said as he left the door, Zoey eager to get away from it as was Louis as Francis was the last one with his back up against it, soon backing up and lifting his shotgun, firing a spray out the window into the crowd before pumping a new shell into the barrel and following the fleeing group. The door didn't hold long, and soon the hinges came bursting free as the door flattened against the ground and infected poured in not far behind the survivors who had fled up a flight of stairs in the dreary home. Bill was the first to reach the second floor, the others right behind him. An infected woman stood in the hallway before them, startled by their intrusion though before she could break into the expected rage that all infected seemed to when confronted by the healthy, Bill brought up and pulled the trigger of his rifle, a sickening slush heard as the infected's chest gushed with its new wounds and her body now lifeless. The survivors, lead by the one who seemed the most calm, now found themselves in the master bedroom of the house, behind them was a wooden framed window overlooking the alley between the house and a neighboring, one story home. "Jump!" Bill demanded, Louis and Zoey taking on a confused expression to couple with their horror as Bill lept through the window, head curled in and back pointed out towards the glass that shattered easily enough, the old man now sailing through the air as he rolled against the fortunately stable and flat roof of the neighboring house. Francis wasn't far behind, and the sound of the horde coming up the steps wasn't either. A large snapping of wood was heard, the infected had broken the staircase with their combined weight but still many had made it to the top as Zoey jumped out behind Francis, who had turned upon landing to help the other two in the case of a slip. She made it well enough, falling forwards onto her knees with a hissing whimper of pain as Louis steadied himself and lept out lastly, landing on his feet with Francis pulling him quickly from the edge.
"Where to now!?" Louis and Zoey asked hastily, winded, and in their differing tones as Bill was hunkered over, hands against his bent knees as he caught his breath. "I haven't thought that far ahead yet." He said grimly, looking up from the roof of the house to survey their surroundings. Zoey pulled up her pant legs to examine the minor abrasion on both of her shaking knees before rolling it back down. Infected soon appeared in the broken window frame, spotting the survivors as they tossed themselves mindlessly from it, all of them in their frenzy toppling into the alley way between the two buildings, and most of them dying in sickening crunches as they landed on their necks and backs, a pile of bodies beginning to form. Louis's terror filled face became relieved at the unexpected mass display of clumsiness, as did the others in their own ways. "Let's take a breather, and let things quiet down." Francis suggested as Bill nodded quietly, hefting his rifle back up into his hands as he sat down, as did the others. Soon the sun, unseen as it was, began to set and where once the streets would have been lit by the replying light of street posts, there came only the buzzing of damaged electronics and the flickering of wires as the only thing that lit the world around them were the fires that littered the town. Things had become docile once more, the four survivors seemingly forgotten about by their aggressors as they enjoyed what little time they were given to rest.