And another new chapter! They're leaving the stadium! Finally! Lol! But christ, I really think the boys need a break. I'm a horrible writer.
What am I doing to them here? Shame on me! :D

Retribution

Chapter 10 - Mass Pike

Once they were back outside and standing on the baseball field both twins turned around and pointed their machetes at the dark entrance.
They could hear the loud banging and groaning coming from inside, but it sounded like the walkers hadn't managed to get through yet. Connor and Murphy were still out of
breath because of the fight and all the running, but they didn't want to waste another second on just standing there and catching breath. Connor pointed at the massive
green wall to their right, the north wall of the stadium that was known as "the Green Monster" amongst football players and fans.

"Mass Pike's this way, there's gotta be another entrance" the blonde twin said and started running in that direction.
Murphy followed him reluctantly, and he wouldn't stop turning around so he could see when the walkers managed to get out of their prison. As soon as they reached
the very end of the grandstand Connor changed direction and started running up the stairs. Murphy saw another door at the very end of the stadium, right next to
the Green Monster, which made him stop running for a moment. He watched his brother running up the stairs and shouted his name. He pointed at the door.

"What about that, this gotta be a fuckin way out! We can't stay here!" he yelled and Connor stopped running.

"There's gotta be another exit up here, I see stairs! And I fuckin told ye, we gotta check fer walkers first!
We can't just run outta here without knowing what's on the other side!"

Murphy figured that his brother was pretty much right, but he still hated the idea of staying any second longer inside this stadium. They had no clue how many walkers
were down there, and it sure wouldn't take them long to get out. The banging got louder and louder and it was a constant reminder that their time was running out.
Murphy shifted the weight of his duffel bag from one shoulder to the next and ran after his brother, up the stairs, heading right for the massive Coca Cola sign
on top of the stadium roof.

Once again they could clearly see the Prudential building, 111 Huntington Ave and Hancock Place. There was a massive black cloud of smoke coming from the city center,
and it was even worse further west and south. If it really was as bad over there as Eunice had told them, then they could be pretty sure that there wouldn't be any
firefighters taking care of all that smoke and fire any time soon. They could see a couple of walkers roaming down Lansdowne street in front of the stadium, but it didn't look
as bad as on the other side where they had entered Fenway Park. Murphy remembered all the fences, tents and cars that were blocking Brookline Ave on the other side,
and although it had been hard for them to cross that as well, now he thanked god that there was this sort of barricade preventing that herd they had crossed path with
earlier from getting close to Mass Pike.

The interstate was another problem. They could see it perfectly fine from where they were standing, and once again it looked like their luck had left them.
No matter in which direction they looked, the road was crowded with abandoned cars. Even the left side of the interstate, which was heading away from the city center,
was clogged with vehicles that had been heading east where the safe zone was supposed to be. The dark haired twin looked at his brother and waited for him
to say something, but Connor was busy trying to figure out how they could possibly get away from the stadium. He walked to the very end of the platform until he reached
the flight of stairs that led back down to the road, then he looked up again to stare at the Prudential building and Mass Pike. There was a giant FedEx truck below,
and it would make it easier for them to get down without having to go back down and exit the stadium through one of its gates. Connor's mind was racing once again
as he tried to come up with a plan. They could still hear the loud banging coming from inside the stadium and the constant groaning and moaning everywhere
was slowly driving the older MacManus insane.

"Can't they just shut the fuck up?!" he growled and glared all the walkers on the streets. How much he hated all the inhuman sounds they were making.
He looked at his brother after a moment and sighed.

"Alright. Still think Mass Pike's our best option. I say we jump down on te truck, make our way across the street and down that little passage over there right next to tha bar.
We go down, climb the fence and stay on the rails. I don't think there'll be a train coming any time soon. It's gotta be no more than two or five kilometers til we reach the Pru,
and I bet there's military and police and all that shit on the other side. Right now I don't even care about them arresting us anymore, I just wanna get the fuck outta here."

He leaned over the railing to see if there were any walkers behind the truck, and when he looked back up he caught Murphy with a cigarette in his hand.
The younger twin was just about to light it up when Connor grabbed his hand and shook his head.

"Now's not the time Murph, we gotta go, and I bet we need both hands down there, ye gotta focus."

Murphy growled and put his cigarette away. "I just need a fuckin break" he murmured and followed his brother down the stairs.

They climbed over the railing and jumped on top of the truck, and once they were outside their mood changed abruptly.
The hour they had spent inside the stadium had been both exhausting and easier. Exhausting because they had lost Eunice, seen all those bodies and been attacked
by an undead policeman, and easier because there hadn't really been that many walkers and because there had been walls protecting them from their environment.
Now that they were back outside and running around with nothing but a couple of guns, little ammo and two machetes, they felt vulnerable, and it was the uncertainty
that was driving them insane.

Connor was the first to climb down the truck, and once he was back on the road he had to kill another walker that was getting dangerously close.
He could count about 10 to 20 more walkers down the road and thanked god that they had decided not to follow it any longer. He waited for his brother to come down
the truck as well, and once they were both down on the road they started running towards the small passage between the bar that was called "Cask'n Flagon" and
a parking garage. They climbed over the gate and made their way down, and when they reached the very end of the building next to them both twins stopped for a moment.
Connor pointed to his brother's right to make him understand that he was supposed to check whether it was clear whereas he checked their left. No matter how much
they fought these days, when it came down to this, whether it was a mission or running from something, they were always a very good team, and they could most certainly
count on each other. Once they had made sure that there were no walkers on either side of the rails Murphy looked at his brother and whistled to get his attention.
Connor turned his head and looked at his brother questioningly.

"Why don't we just check the parking garage fer a car?" Murphy whispered and Connor frowned.

"Have ye seen the roads? There's traffic jams everywhere, cars are fuckin useless."

The younger MacManus raised his eyebrows, but nodded after a moment. "Sappose yer right" he said and Connor nodded as well.

"Af course I am. Come on, let's go" the older responded and nudged his brother.

They followed the rails right next to the interstate 90 in silence. Connor was walking close to the road and kept an eye on all the abandoned cars and wrecks,
whereas Murphy made sure that no walkers would come out of the warehouses and buildings to their right. They could see the three iconic skyscrapers right in front of them,
getting closer and closer. For the first time since they had left their apartment they could actually take a deep breath and just walk without any walkers attacking them
all the time. Every once in a while Connor would discover a person in one of the cars, but most of the time it were just dead people. Sometimes there were walkers
still sitting inside some of the cars but they were unable to get out and attack since their seatbelts were still attached and locked. It looked like they really were
too stupid to free themselves, and although it looked pathetic and a little bit upsetting neither of the twins would waste a minute on actually killing them. They weren't
dangerous like this, so killing them was just a waste of energy and time. The MacManus twins kept going for quite a bit, and although they had to keep low and hide every
once in a while because of stray walkers roaming down the interstate, there weren't too many dangers on this route. Murphy was getting used to the whole scenario
quite easily, and pretty soon he felt comfortable and confident enough to start talking. Not only because the eerie silence , apart from the moans and groans from
the walkers of course, was driving him insane, but also because whenever he had been talking to his brother during the last couple of hours
they had just been yelling at each other.

"Do ye think they're actually aware of what's happening ta them?" the younger MacManus asked quietly and his twin looked up.

"What?"

Murphy shrugged and hit one of the bushes they were passing with his machete.
"Do ye think they know what they are, who they are and what is happening t'them. The walkers I mean."

Connor snorted and eyed one of the cars where he could see another body. "Why d'ye ask?"

"I don't know. Just trying ta figure out if they're still people or just fuckin monsters we're killin here."

The blonde twin sighed and looked at his brother.
"Whatever the fuck they are, Murph, they're no good people. Good people don't try ta kill you. Good people would never attack their friends."

Murphy remembered the look on Eunice's face and how she had tried to kill them without ever stopping or listening to them. "Aye" he murmured and looked to their right
when they passed an old brick building. There was a massive billboard on top of it, with a poster advertising beer. The younger MacManus sighed.

"Christ, what I'd do fer a pint or a shot."

Connor chuckled and grinned at his brother.
"We could make a detour, go to McGinty's say hello to Doc."

Murphy smirked. "Aye, good idea brother."

Both twins chuckled and shared their favourite Doc stories for a bit, but when they came across another bunch of bodies on the road their mood changed again.

"Do ye think Doc's still alive?" Murphy asked as they stopped walking and looked at the bodies.

Connor just looked at the bodies and pressed his lips together. He frowned and shook his head. "I don't know Murph" he said and decided to get a closer look.
Of course he knew that their old friend stood little chance of surviving something like this. All their other friends had died as well. Smecker. Eunice. Duffy. Dolly.
They were all dead. So why should Doc survive this? Why should anyone survive this? He had never been a pessimist, but it was so hard to stay positive these days.
He knew one thing for sure though, there was no way he would pull his brother down with him. And maybe lying made it easier. Speaking the truth, that their
beloved friend could be dead as well, would make it final and he didn't want to lose that last spark of hope, that maybe someone was still alive, that maybe it
was going to be ok. Connor approached the bodies on the road and stopped when he saw a woman lying there on the ground with a baby in her arms.
When he took a closer look he saw that the woman had been shot in the head.

"Christ" Connor said and knelt down next to them. Murphy came closer as well so he could stand right to his brother and look at the dead family.
The blonde MacManus carefully placed a hand on the small bundle that was still lying in the woman's arms and pulled the blanket down. It wasn't the first time they both saw
a baby up close. Back in Ireland they had known a woman with a baby from church. They both had always loved kids, how happy and loud they were. The child they were
looking at now was nothing but a small bundle of rotting flesh, its face nothing but a terrifying grimace. It looked like the baby had died screaming, but no one had answered
its calls for help. Connor let go of the blanket and got up with an angry growl.

"Dead?" Murphy asked and his brother nodded.

"Aye."

The younger MacManus growled as well.
"Fuck."

"'m gettin fuckin sick af this shit man" Connor murmured and started walking again. Murphy just stood there for a little longer and looked at the bodies,
then he closed his eyes and murmured a quick prayer. Connor noticed that his brother wasn't following him and stopped to see where he was. When he saw
Murphy standing there head down, with his hands clutching to his rosary and mumbling a prayer for the family, Connor just waited. Right now he didn't feel like praying,
and he knew that it would be too dangerous to just stand there with eyes closed and not watching their enviroment. He had to watch his brother's back anyway,
so he just waited for him to finish. When Murphy was done and looked back up he crossed himself and so did Connor. Now that he had time to think about it,
it actually made him wonder if they would ever be able to go to church again. Christ, he really wanted to go to church. They needed to go to church.
36 years and the only ever had missed church when they had been in prison. How was this supposed to work now?
Murphy sighed and turned his back on the dead family to catch up with his brother.

The Prudential was about half a mile away so they didn't want to stay on this side of the barricades for too long.
They didn't speak after everything they had just seen and now that the cover to their right was gone and another street, Ipswich Street, was right next to them,
they did not dare making any noise anyway. They were dangerously close to the spot were Connor had attracted that herd to them a couple of hours ago, right where
the barricade that had cut them off from where Richardson bridge was. They were now approaching Bowker Overpass and when they got closer they had to realize
that there was another barricade.

"Shit" Connor said when they were about 100 yards away from the overpass and saw the police cars and fences that reached up to the very top of the bridge.

"You've gotta be fuckin kidding me" Murphy said and looked at the barricade, trying to find a hole, a door or some sort of way through.
Both twins stopped walking for a moment and just looked at the construction that was keeping them out of the safe zone.
Out and locked up with all those things surrounding them.

"How the fuck are people sapposed ta get to the fuckin boats if there's no one here telling them were ta go and letting them in?!" Murphy complained.
He started shaking the fence when they finally reached it. Connor started walking up and down the fence to see if he could see an entrance. There weren't any cars
on the other side of the fence. They couldn't see any walkers either.

"Well, people must've gotten in or else there wouldn't be so many abandoned cars here, aye?" the older MacManus concluded and turned around to look at all the cars.
He could see a couple of walkers who had followed them but other than that there was absolutely nothing. No police. No military. No survivors.

"Where the fuck is everyone?" he murmured and turned around again to look at the fence. It was shaking violently because Murphy wouldn't stop kicking and shaking it.

"Hello? Anybody? We're still over here, let us the fuck in!" he yelled and got more and more angry. It was pissing him off how they were getting so close to the safe zone
all the time, but whenever it looked like they could almost touch the Prudential or any of the other buildings there were fences in their way.

"Eh yah fuckers, where the fuck are ye, let us in!"

"Murphy!" Connor shouted and grabbed his twin by his shoulders to get him away from the fence.

"There's walkers everywhere, do ye wanna attract another one af those herds?! Get a fuckin hold af yerself!"
As if to emphasize this they could hear a very dangerous sounding growl coming from the bushes to their right.

"I fuckin know! But if they can hear us, then ye can bet yer ass that the military can hear us as well! Just look at this fuckin place over there, there's no walkers, no cars.."

"No nothing!" Connor interrupted his brother and pointed at the safe zone.

"They're not here anymore, maybe they took everyone to the cruise terminal, maybe they abandoned this section, maybe there's checkpoints further east, I don't fuckin know!
As fer now we gotta concentrate and see how we're gonna get over this fuckin bridge without attracting another shitload af walkers to this place.
And yer screamin ain't helpin any!"

Murphy growled and shook his brother off. He hated how right his twin was, and he hated how he could do absolutely nothing about it.
And now he was supposed to keep quiet and keep all the shit to himself? Keep it together? He just wanted to do what he could do best: fight his way out of it.
Kick and yell at the fences until they gave in and fell down. He turned his back on his brother and headed back to the rails and the road right next to the interstate
to see if there was a way out over there. When he got closer to the fence that was seperating Mass Pike from Ipswich Street a strange humming sound made him slow down.
A moment later the bushes and trees on top of the southern wall started shaking. Murphy turned around to see where Connor was. His twin was busy checking
the situation on the other side of the interstate, so the younger turned around again to look up at where he could see the trees shaking and heard that strange noise.
He tried to get closer and frowned. For a moment he just stood there and watched. Just when he wanted to blame the wind and his paranoia a pair of bloody hands grabbed
the fence on top of the wall and started shaking it. More and more hands came into view and did the same thing, and now that they came closer Murphy finally realised what
he was hearing. It wasn't just a strange humming sound, but another loud murmuring and groaning of a herd of walkers that was getting closer and closer. He could hear
all sorts of footsteps. Clumsy, fast, dragging, but determined nevertheless. Soon all sorts of figures pressed their bodies and faces against the fence and started snapping
at the younger MacManus, which made him walk backwards. He watched them in horror as they kept shaking and fighting the fence, trying to get their newest prey.

"Connor?" Murphy finally managed to say but his voice lacked strength and volume since he was absolutely terrified. He turned around to see where his brother was,
but Connor was still fiddling about with something on the opposite wall and didn't seem to have noticed any of this. The darkhaired twin growled and turned around once more
to look at that massive herd that was piling up on the fence that was shaking violently now. He could watch it giving in under the enormous weight.

"Connor!" he yelled at the top of his lungs and finally got his brothers attention. The older twin looked up to see why his other half was screaming down
the neighbourhood again, and when he saw what was going on he widened his eyes in shock. "Murph! Run!" he responded, but his screams were drowned out
when the fence gave in with a loud metallic shriek and the herd rained down the wall like tin soldiers a kid was carelessly wiping off a table.