Chapter – New York Part IV

A lone man ran down the street, sprinting as fast as he could. Behind him, a dark shape bounds off the walls, and seems to move silently. He rounds a corner and keeps running. Finally, he sees his safe haven. A door leading into a grocery store. The red sign said Bob's Market. He runs inside, and ducks behind one of the counters. His breath is quick, and he tries to breathe as quietly as possible. He listens, straining his ears to try to hear something – anything.

The silence around him is numbing, and as his fear slowly ebbs away, he decides to take a chance. The brown haired man carefully rose up, looking all around himself. He is alone. He takes a deep breath, then hears something. Laughing. Loud, obnoxious laughing.

"Who… Who's there?"

He looks around again, yet he is alone. The laughing is getting louder. His ears begin to hurt from the echo. He runs forward, then turns around a corner leading to the warehouse at the back of the store. He runs inside. The laughing is still getting louder. He sprints through the dimly lit room, and reaches the back wall. There is little light here. He ducks into a dark corner, and the laughing stops.

He waits, searching every corner of the room. Then, the laughing starts again. Even louder than before. He puts his hands over his ears, and a light flickers above him. Hanging from the swinging light pole is some sort of creature. Its body is all muscle, it does not have eyes, and its mouth opens and closes, almost cartoon-like, as it laughs at him. The creature's teeth are large, and sharpened to a point. It drops in front of him.

"No… Please!"

The creature lets out one more laugh. The man's eardrums burst, and blood begins to pour out. His head hurts. Then, the creature lunges in for its prey.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

David drives his fist down onto the table in front of Jesse, who was reaching for the hot dog that sat in the middle of the table.

"Hey, a man's gotta eat."

"Yeah, well you put some lead into anything, let me know."

"How 'bout I put some lead in you? Sound like a plan?"

"Fuck you."

Devin laughs, leans back in the bed of the partially ripped apart truck, and takes a bite of his sandwich.

"Jesse, Dave is real sensitive around his food. You know how long it took us to find a hot dog package that wasn't spoiled?

"Four fuckin' weeks, that's how long."

Jesse turns away, and pulls out a can from his bag.

"Well, guess more canned shit for me."

"I guess so."

After the trio finished their quick meal, they set off through the streets of the city. They were almost out, and most of them would be glad to see the military perimeter. It was all smooth sailing from here. Dave, however, missed the daily monotony of shooting countless undead. Most of these bastards deserved it anyway. Dave stayed in the front, cradling his M4 in his arms, with Devin in the middle, his rifle checking the rooftops. Jesse, however, still hung back fairly far, with his pistol raised at all times.

"What do you think happened to the rest of his squad?"

"Not sure. Most of them are probably face down in some gutter. We've lost a lot of people out here."

After another few hours, the group was almost to the edge of the city. Dave looked at the bright red sign before them.

"Bob's Market, eh? I've seen worse."

"Really? Enlighten me."

"A porn shop entitled, Wet Dreams."

"Forget I asked."

"Devin, find a way onto the roof. Keep an eye out. Jesse, let's clear the place."

"Why do I always get watch duty?"

"You've got the rifle dumbass."

"Oh… Yeah."

Devin smiled and hopped up on a dumpster, and began making his way to the roof. Dave and Jesse walked inside, weapons raised. Dave pulled his shotgun off his back and handed it to Jesse.

"Here, this might be a little more appropriate."

"Thanks."

Row by row, Dave and Jesse cleared the store. It was empty, except for some spoiled produce and meat.

"Clear."

"Clear."

"I got nothing."

"Hold on. Looks likes there's a storage area in the back. Let's check it out."

Dave and Jesse walked inside. They had already wasted twenty minutes. It would be dark in a few hours.

Devin sat on the roof, scanning for any sign of life. He saw a small group of zombies ambling down the road, but away from them. Devin moved his scope towards the military perimeter. Maybe he could see it from here.

"What the…"

Devin checked his scope again. He wasn't hallucinating, but he hoped he was.

"God damnit."

He reached for his radio.

"Dave, we got a problem."

Back in the warehouse, Dave's radio crackled to life, but was slightly fuzzy.

"Come again? Missed that."

"I said, we-"

Dave couldn't hear what he said after that, because a loud, high pitched laugh filled the room. Dave instantly dropped the radio and raised his gun.

"What the FUCK was that?"

Jesse was silent, and began to sweep every corner of the room with his weapon. The laughing was getting louder, almost intolerable. Dave shook his head, and kept searching the room. He made sure to check the walls and roof too. Lickers loved those. Jesse, however, was having trouble. His vision began to become blurry as the laughing grew louder, and his head hurt.

"Ah… Shit."

"What's wrong?"

"My head… Fuckin' hurts."

Out of nowhere, something flew from across the room and slammed into Jesse, sending him flying into a set of boxes. He didn't get up. Dave opened fire at the fleshy thing pouncing from wall to wall, and saw splashes of blood as a few rounds connected. The laughing had stopped, and all was quiet again. Dave moved quickly towards Jesse, but was knocked over by the thing he had been shooting at. It hit his legs, sending him really. His rifle slid underneath a shelf.

"Damnit!"

Jesse still wasn't moving, and the creature had vanished again. The laughing had started again. High pitched. Coming from… where?

"Where the fuck are you?"

Dave pulled out his Smith and Wesson, and continued to search the room. Jesse groaned, but stayed still. Suddenly, Devin ran inside the room, rifle raised.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know. Something's in here with us."

Devin looked around, trying to find the source of the laughter. Then they saw it. The thing was walking towards them down one of the passages. The lights above flickered on and off. Its mouth was open; its muscle covered body moving one step at a time. Its face seemed unreal, like a hallucination or a cartoon. Something right out of a nightmare. It was laughing at them. Dave was the first to fire.

"I'll teach you to taunt us you cocky SOB."

The blasts of fire from his Model 29 prompted Devin to do the same, and they both fired. Rounds poured down the passage, but each time the light flickered, it seemed to have moved. They couldn't spot it long enough to hit it. Finally, it pounced. Its large claws slashed Devin, sending him into a wall. Dave was charged head on, while reloading. It hit him in the chest. Dave flew back and finally stopped across the room, leaning against a shelf. His hand slid underneath it.

The creature stood for a second, examining its handiwork, then moved towards Dave. It took long, silent steps. Almost like a cat. It stopped, and hovered over Dave's body for a second, then opened its mouth.

"HA-"

The creature's laugh was cut short as Dave pulled his M4 out from under the shelf and opened fire. The creature took several rounds before knocking the weapon away. Dave reached for his knife, but the creature pinned him down. Dave took a deep breath, and stared at the creature's eyeless face.

"Ooh-Rah, motherfucker."

The thing turned, and received two barrels from Dave's shotgun, courtesy of Jesse. It fell over, the hole in its head large enough to fit a car tire. Jesse reached over and helped Dave up.

"Thanks."

"Eh, thought you could use some help."

"Being useless most of the time isn't very helpful."

"Fuck- "

He was cut off by a cough on the other side of the room. They both looked to see Devin lying there. There was a pool around him.

"Shit. Devin!"

They ran over. Dave helped him sit up. The creature's claws had slashed deep, and went straight through his armor.

"Hey guys, what took you so long?"

"You need a doctor. Now."

"Gonna be kinda hard…"

"What do you mean?"

"Have a look –cough–"

Devin held up his camera. The picture was of the military blockade. Abandoned. There was undead everywhere.

"No…"

"Damnit."

"Well we still need to move. At least find some medical supplies. We past a hospital a few miles back. We need to go back."

"Are you fucking insane? There's undead everywhere! We won't make it before nightfall, especially as bruised up as we are now!"

"Then I'll go alone. Stay here with Devin."

"That's an even more stupid idea."

"Well I don't see anyone else volunteering. Oh how about Bob? Oh wait, he's probably DEAD!"

"Guys… Both of you go. I'll be fine. I got my guns. You just go find me some fuckin' morphine…"

"You sure?"

"Yeah… but hurry back."

Dave and Jesse walked out of the store, and moved quickly. Dave was hesitant. Even after he saved his life, he still didn't fully trust Jesse.

"If you don't mind me asking, who'd you serve with?"

"First Recon. Been with 'em for several years."

"Yeah. Possibly best decision I ever made. Honor, Perseverance, and Spirit. Three things they taught us that I've used even in this hell."

Dave stopped, and swung his rifle around, aiming it directly at Jesse's face.

"Who the FUCK are you?"

Continued in Jesse