Up for a new song to accompany the story?
My Song~Angel Beats, Amalee Version
=^.^=
The cracked pavement on the roads made travel difficult with one man down. Austin and Clark had to work together in order to keep Ryan well elevated for the walk, however the added weight slowed them down significantly.
The group was nearly attacked by yet another group of biters. Alex's sharp blade punctured its lower abdomen. The contents of its stomach seeped onto the machete. She made a face of pure disgust as she hacked the enemies rotting head off. It slowly rolled off its shoulders and onto the pavement, vaguely resembling a tomato splatting onto the ground.
"He's only holding us back!" Alex complained for the millionth time.
"If you make one more comment about our friend," Abby raised her weapon, now obscured with zombie blood, away from her fallen target to Alex, "I might just mistake you for one of them."
Everyone's eyes widened at the threat.
"You wouldn't dare." Alex spoke forcefully but uncertainty underlined each word.
"Wanna bet?" She grasped the hilt of her scythe and lifted it back over her shoulder. One swing and the petite nuisance would fall over as easy as wheat on plowing day.
"It's okay, Abby." Lesli spoke for the first time since they left the store. "She is just scared. We all are. But unlike you and everyone else in our group, she doesn't understand why we are risking our lives for someone as good as dead."
She choked out a sob, but regained her composure for Ryan's sake. The boy was beginning to tremble in Clark's and Austin's arms.
"She has forgotten how to be compassionate." She continued, "I think we all have."
Every single person lowered his or her head in shame. Abby idled her scythe, the beauty returning to its portable state, and apologized to Alex for being so hasty in judgments.
"Um, you guys," Savannah piped, "I think we have a problem."
The blonde pointed to the sky. Dark black smoke was lingering in the air not to far from their location. It could only mean one thing: Fire.
A small one was no big deal, but based on the amount of smoke polluting the air, this one would easily burn them all and drive walkers to their location.
Everyone seemed uncertain as to what should be done. They couldn't keep pushing forward, the fire was advancing much too quickly. They couldn't go back, all the noise they had made must have attracted many walkers. They were stranded, trapped by the smoke and hungry zombies.
At least that's what they thought. A small cluster of zombies emerged from an ally between a rather large house and a recreational building. While a horde paced towards the teenagers, Clark instructed them to clear the path to the ally. He and Austin lowered Ryan to the ground, Clark taking initiative as Ryan's guard.
Jobani maneuvered expertly passed a slothful ghoul to surprise them with attacks from behind. Lesli tried to look aggressive when she lifted her hatchet. With effort she remarkably took down three zombies. Abby lacerated a row of zombies as though they were butter. She made sure to remain aware of the others positions so she wouldn't make a fatal error by attacking one of her teammates. In the time it took her to prepare herself for the next swing, one particularly active zombie took advantage of her vulnerability. It was just about to assault her when Austin intervened.
Before the zombie could inflict any harm on the unsuspecting girl, he wielded his weapon of choice, a sickle, as though the foe was nothing but a weed in desperate need of removal. With a nod to represent her gratitude the two fought back to back. It was a bloody battle, but they managed to form a path wide enough to pass without any harm.
"I think we finally lost them! We were so awesome" Savannah joked, "Well, at least I was."
The false superiority Savannah conveyed brought about a ripple of mirth.
"Umm…guys?" Lesli pointed north, indicating they weren't alone.
A band of people, at least two times the size of their own team surrounded them with threatening weapons.
"Just once," Alex whined, "just once can't we get the easy way out?"
"It doesn't seem that way, does it?" chuckled a tall boy with a gun pointed directly at Clark's forehead.
"There's no need to fight, we are just passing through!" Jobani exclaimed.
"Right through our territory!" The boy growled. "Drop your weapons and hand over your supplies.
Dreaded silence flowed over the entire group, only to be broken by Clark. He lowered his head and tackled the boy to the ground. As if on cue everyone responded in unison. Jobani ran to a rather short girl, driving his spear into her stomach. Abby cut down anyone that threatened to injure any of her friends. All the while Lesli was doing her best to drag Ryan to safety behind a car. A slender Mexican girl ran up to Catlin, aiming her knife right at her should. The blade pierced the skin across her shoulder. Complete and utter chaos ensued.
A stray bullet flew into a car's window, causing the alarm to reverberate above the devastating outbreak. Walkers began to pour out of every corner, attracted by the noise. A walker bit an unsuspecting blonde girl's neck. She collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony. Others soon encased her, feeding off of her emaciated body.
"We need to get away from here!" Abby yelled for everyone to hear.
She was assisting Lesli in transporting Ryan to the confines of an extremely neglected building. Jobani, Catlin, and Austin ran in the opposite direction. Savannah and Alex branched out down the street, yet Clark was nowhere to be seen.
"How could we have lost them?!" Austin pounded his fist against the wall of the building he, Jobani, and Catlin had sought refuge in.
"Everything'll be fine. Lesli might not be one of the best fighters, but Abby seems to know what she's doing." Catlin's attempts to calm her brother seemed all but effective.
"But Ryan could change at any minute, now! What if-"
Jobani interrupted him, "Instead of worrying so much, why don't we just try to find them?"
Catlin and Austin looked at him as though he had sprouted another head.
"Have you seen all those walkers? No way we'd survive that!" Catlin replied.
"Not if we go offensive style, but defense would be our best bet."
Jobani proceeded to inform them how walkers weren't the brightest type of villain around, so as long as they remained quiet during the search, everything should run over smoothly.
All of their weapons were soundless in action, so if they played their cards right they could slip by unnoticed.
"So it's settled?" Jobani asked.
"We got this!" Catlin agreed.
"We are going to get them back," Austin concluded. "But first, let's have a look at that arm."
Catlin looked at the wound impassively.
"It's fine." She insisted.
"I'm not going to take the chance of you getting it infected." He reached into his pack and grabbed a cotton ball and peroxide.
"No!" She squealed, frantically moving away from the disinfectant that would burn away any bacteria at her expense.
"Hold still!" He ordered, chasing his younger sister around.
"You guys are weird…" Jobani muttered though it went unnoticed by the pair.
He observed the others' childish acts a moment longer, vaguely reminded of the concealed innocence remaining in the world.
Alex and Savannah continued running in endless bounds.
"In there!" Alex panted, pointing to what seemed to be an uninhibited warehouse.
They ran up to they staggered up the steps. Savannah pulled the doors open and Alex watched for walkers. They were still everywhere. As one came closer she shot it in the head. There was no need to worry about the noise. As they ran through the door they encountered three more walkers inside. When they finally had a chance to breath, Savannah confided in Alex.
"We should find the others!" She panted, "We'll be safe in here for a while, but only for a while."
The truth was that they could be anywhere and there was no way to know if anyone was still alive.
"We have to head back to the camp," Alex claimed. "We can't waste time fretting over the others. They have to get back on their own."
Savannah started to quarrel with her when a section of the building collapsed around them. Flames were slowly lapping at the cracked walls. In the smoke she had lost track of Alex amongst the falling debris. She stumbled along choking on dust and smoke. A frightened yell escaped her lips as a burning piece of wood caught onto her sleeve. She clutched her blistering forearm and continued running.
"Alex!" She cried as she saw movement just ahead.
The figure came closer and closer. When it was only two feet in front of her she realized it wasn't her colleague, but a walker. Its shirt was in flames, yet it paid to mind. It had found its next meal, and that's all that mattered to it.
Catlin enlightened Austin and Jobani by telling them she had just seen Savannah and Alex running down the road in the direction of the campsite.
"Then we should try finding Lesli and Abby first. They will need the most help since they have Ryan to look after," Austin stated.
"What about Clark?" Jobani inquired.
Austin and Catlin looked crestfallen. How could they be sure that it wasn't too late for him? They pushed away the thought, each unable to voice their biggest fears. They shook off the desperation, deciding it would be best if they moved out.
Jobani had taken the lead, signaling them when the path was safe, or retracing his steps when a route failed. There was three possible buildings Abby, Lesli, and Ryan could have entered. One was an apartment building, falling apart every which way. They quickly deemed that one unsuitable for their allies to go even in panic mode. That only left a rather shady weaponry factory or the abandoned children's daycare as potential choices.
"Daycare or Weapons? The ghost of children seeking revenge or the possibility of exploding with one wrong move?" Jobani asked himself this questions before coming to the obvious conclusion. "Abby would have picked impending doom over daunting spirits."
"I don't blame her! Kids are scary before they are demonic entities ready to haunt!" Catlin shivered.
She got Jobani's warning glace too late. Before they knew it a group of hungry walkers stumbled their way.
Jobani drilled his weapon into another zombie's head. It fell to the ground and another took its place. There were way too many to fight anymore.
"We need to get into a building!" Jobani instructed.
Now that they had limited their choices, mostly due to the flames engulfing the majority of them, they only had to clear a path to the structure of choice. There was a gas station a block away. They could get to it, get rid of the walkers, and then get to that weapons factory.
"The gas station! Hurry!" Jobani rounded his ragtag team up.
"There!" a voice called out. "I see them!"
Jobani turned around to see a group of four teens swaddled in soot. They must be apart of the group that had separated them. Yes, he could see the boy Clark had tackled. But where was Clark? The group ran towards them and the walkers.
Suddenly there was a loud explosion. Fire had reached one of the gas pumps, causing it to erupt, creating a fiery shower about the area.
In the darkness of the rundown factory, a shivering figure rested, cloaked in shadows and enveloped in a black leather jacket. Torn blankets had been tossed over him in hopes of trapping what little heat was left in his body. Two girls paced back and forth, anxiously awaiting a recovery they both new would never come.
Ryan groaned and shifted his position to look at his friends.
"It's okay, guys. Really." He murmured.
By the looks of things, it definitely was not okay.
Lesli took a seat by his side, despite Abby's warnings.
"I won't have him being alone when now is when he needs me the most." She said with a sigh.
"Very well…" Abby joined her on the opposite side of Ryan.
She examined his wounds closely, taking this chance to see the disease at work. She had been working as an intern at a veterinary clinic before all hell broke loose, so she new basic things such as stitches, broken bones, and how to prevent bacterial infections. Naturally she would be curious about the zombie-fying disease. If only she new how to stop it…
"Abby?" Lesli asked for the fifth time since her friend zoned out.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you, for…you know, being there." Lesli said meekly.
"No problem. I know you'd do the same for me."
A sudden blast busted the glass windows, causing smoke to flood into the factory. Breathing became near impossible for all of them.
"We have to get out of here!" Abby choked through a thick screen of smog.
"But we can't leave him!" Lesli cried.
"We don't have a choice!"
"But we-"
"Lesli!" Ryan cut her off. "You guys get out of here now. I would rather you get out alive than risk your life to save me. We both know I won't make it out alive anyway." His voice was surprisingly stern. He was determined to get them out of there before the flames caught up to the smoke.
Lesli struggled with the decision, but ultimately knew what had to be done. With her hand over her mouth she reluctantly left his side and began racing to the stairs. Ryan grabbed Abby's arm before she fully stood up.
"How much ammo do you have?"
"Enough." She replied, understanding what he was implying.
Through tearful eyes she pulled out her rifle. Careful to keep her trembling hands steady, she pointed the gun straight at Ryan's head.
"Promise me," he closed his eyes, "Promise me you will take care of Lesli."
As she blinked the tears drifted down her ashen cheeks, leaving behind pure remnants of her face.
Halfway down the stairs, Lesli heard the deafening sound that shattered her heart more than her hearing. She stood still for a breathless moment before starting down the stairs again.
"I promise." Abby whispered.
Abby pulled the blankets over Ryan's face, empty of pain, cleared of any emotion at all.
Aw, man...I cried writing that. Only because all these people are based on my friends (and possible frenemies).
Hope you are liking the story :3 and even if you didn't, 'My Song' is definitely worth listening to, so at least give that one a try!
Goodbye until next time!