Chapter 11: The Green Zone
Blood were splattering left and right as Aphrodite swung her katana with precision and ease. But no matter how many she killed, more would replace them, creating a wall of death that slowed the survivors' advance.
"I can see the gate!" Anthony pointed ahead. Without taking careful sense of his surroundings, one managed to grab him by the strap of the camera and pulled him toward itself with brute force. He could feel the strap digging into his neck, leaving a mark to remember. Without any moment to grasp the situation, he lit a firecracker and jammed it into its empty eye socket. That didn't help much considering the fact that he had just placed a small bomb into a target that was inches away from himself. If it had been a grenade, then he had just made a big mistake.
Anthony punched at its rotten cheek but the cadaver didn't seem to be affected by it. Its head budged ever so slightly before turning back to face him with its hands still clenching the strap. Seconds later, an ear splitting pop resounded from inside the cadaver's head. The small explosion sent chunks of meat to ooze out from the empty eye socket with much disgust. The grip on the strap loosened before it was finally released. Anthony had to move quick as the others had already jogged ahead, but not too far to leave him completely behind with the dead.
"Hurry Anthony!" Marcus beckoned with a hand.
"If you could have helped, I wouldn't have been left behind!" Anthony protested, wiping sweat off his forehead.
Two blocks had been passed, and it had taken them almost fifteen minutes to get that far. It was going to be hell but they knew Nirvana was waiting for them at the other side of the green zone wall.
Glimmers on the rooftop revealed several snipers on post, aiming at them.
"Snipers! On the rooftop!" Akira pointed above. Everyone looked and dodged to the side. The snipers open fired, but not at them. Akira checked the bullet trail before it disappeared. The line seemed to drive through a spot above the nose of any human face. Dead bodies littered the streets, but it couldn't surmount any of the dead that still walked. The snipers fired again, almost in unison, stopping the dead with the rifle's intense stopping power.
"Keep going!" A voice yelled from the rooftop.
"Let's go!" Marcus ordered, clearing the path ahead after firing his MP7. He threw the empty clip and loaded the last one in. Everyone ran, side by side with. Aphrodite occasionally darted ahead to clear the slow ones with her katana.
"Kyah!" Akira fell hard on her chest as one of Them seized her ankles. It had been crawling under a red Sedan, out of their view. It began to chew at her shoe, desperately trying to get it off. Akira kicked wildly at its face, only managing break a few teeth. It continued to gnaw at her shoe purposefully. Akira pulled out her pistol, a Beretta 92F, and fired a single shot at its head. It seemed to have predicted it and rolled its head to the side, dodging the bullet before it even left the chamber. It grabbed the barrel of the fun and pulled it loose, dismantling it effortlessly.
"Guys! Help!" She screamed for them, who was already running back to get her.
Marcus was the first to reach her, vaulting over the concrete blocks which had been laid out by the security of the green zone. He dove over the last obstacle and laid on his belly. He saw it, the one that held onto Akira without any intention to let go. He aimed down his sight and breathed. Everything around him slowed and the sound of chaos drowned out on its own. He switched the firing mode to 'SINGLE' and squeezed the trigger.
The bullet escaped the barrel and through the suppressor with a soft whiz before driving straight into the cadaver's head. The cadaver jerked violently before falling dead... again. Akira managed to free herself with Marcus's assistant.
"Are you okay?" He asked, panicked and worried.
"I'm fine!" Akira screamed, suddenly unsure why she felt frustrated and annoyed.
"Okay, the gate's just ahead." He said and grabbed her hand as he ran back to the others.
Akira still felt frightened. The disfigured face returned to her thoughts, making her tremble with disgust and fear.
"Don't worry, we're not going to let you die." Marcus said without looking back. All of them were running along the wall of death that merged as they ran past. Aphrodite switched from her katana, to her sniper and fired three successful shots that drove into the face of the cadavers ahead.
"Go left and you'll reach the gate!" A sniper informed, yelling from his position.
"Okay!" Aphrodite acknowledged. But what she did was the complete opposite. She turned right instead of left to an unknown street.
"Hey! Not that way! The other way!" The sniper informed again. "Are you an idiot?" He added a mutter.
"Oi! I heard that last part! I'm not an idiot!" She retorted angrily.
"You seem to be one." Anthony stated as he ran past her, turning the correct way.
"No I'm not!" She stubbornly protested and followed after him.
They were close now as the gate was just by the horizon, getting closer as they continued their run.
Behind them, a loud screech that pierced through the air forced them to stop. An almost alien cry reverberated around them and caused the cars alarm to spring into life. The alarms blared deafeningly and the lights flickered on and off like a heartbeat.
"What the heck was that?" Marcus whispered with fright about the foreign screams. Akira yanked her hand free from his and rubbed them.
"We need to keep going!" Anthony screamed over the roar of the alarms. "Runners!" He added and ran ahead. Aphrodite caught up, followed by Akira then Marcus. They could see the runners sprinting toward them with inhuman speed. They came from the road which Aphrodite had mistakenly turned. They were jumping over the cars, others stepped on the metallic roofs, denting them and breaking the wind shields in the process.
"We got to hurry!"
"They're running faster than us!"
"Don't let up!"
Aphrodite turned to look at the runners. A few of them climbed the pipes and ledges of the building where the sniper was located. He panicked and swung his rifle like a bat. He was finally seized by the vest and tossed over the edge of the building where he fell into the pool of other runners. His cry could not be heard over the scream of the runners.
"Oh my god." Aphrodite uttered with disbelief. "We can't outrun them!" Aphrodite exclaimed.
The green zone was nothing more than a huge stadium with huge gates that covered the entire perimeter. At the top of the stadium, where the people sat, were mounted machine guns. The gate to the stadium opened with a loud creak and the soldiers beckoned for them to hurry, so they did.
The mounted machine guns began to fire, killing off the runners that was closest to them. The soldiers raised their M16 and fired with accurate bursts and the coming wave.
"Hurry hurry!" The squad leader pressed.
Everyone entered the stadium entrance, letting the gate shut slowly behind them. The soldiers backed away, entering the stadium as well. They fired a few more rounds at the runners, killing them efficiently, but there was always more. Once the gate was shut, all that was left was to kill the rest of the runners that pounded on the metal gate.
"Back up, back up!" He told the survivors and pushed them back with his arm. "Fire team proceed through." The squad leader ordered through his walkie talkie that hung on his shoulder. Men in environment suits appeared from one of the rooms to the side, holding what seemed to be a flamethrower in their hands. Three of them pointed the end of their weapon at the restless dead and pulled the trigger, forcing a blast of gas out through its barrel and into a small lit fire ahead of it.
The heat could be felt even meters away from the scene, biting and stinging their skin like a bad hot summer. The runners shrieked in what seemed to be pain and flailed around wildly, spreading the fire outwards and into more of Them behind.
"You guys, proceed to the tent that's ahead of you. Tell them who you are and where'd you come from."
The survivors couldn't say anything. They simply responded with a light nod.
"What are you waiting for, GO!" He pressed, pointing a hand to a military green tent that was on the running tracks. He turned back and pulled a pistol out, pointing it to the last runner that was still in flames. Its hands were locked to the bars and it continued to shove its face through the gap of the gate, stretching and ripping its own skin.
Bang!
XxX
One by one, everyone had their turn to tell their story. In the shaded tent was an officer with his partner sitting beside him. It was spacious enough to fit all four of the main survivors. Akira was the last to tell her story.
"So tell me what's your story?" The officer asked with interest. Though he knew the end result would be the same as the others, he still had to know the beginning of her story.
"There's not much to tell." She scratched her head, wondering where to start. She didn't want to tell him about the time her mother was bitten, nor the time she was about to be raped. It was all bad memories that she wanted to leave behind. "I ran here and there, avoiding Them as I go. There you have it."
"I see." The officer ran his hand through his flattop hair. "I need all of you to head to the tent with the red cross. A doctor will examine you there.
"But we're not infected." Said Anthony.
"We can't tell for sure. We're still unsure on how the virus spreads. The doctor will give you a thorough examination. That is all." The partner countered and scribbled some notes on his clipboard. Everyone stood up and left the tent, feeling the warm sun on their skin.
There were other tents in the field and they were places for people to sleep in. Other's had to sleep on the benches but they'll do anything for a safe night rest. A huge stage was located near the other end of the field with lights, speakers and amplifiers.
"From what I can tell, there was suppose to be a concert here the day after tomorrow." Marcus explained while he cracked his knuckles idly.
"Looks like there's been a change of plan." Anthony took a picture of the stage, filling the LCD screen with it and its decorations. He took a few specific parts of the stage before heading to the tent with the red cross.
He entered with the others, seeing a lot of wounded soldiers and survivors. The already dead were carried in white make-shift body bags and taken to the back of the tent, never to be seen again. Several survivors sobbed and grieved for the loss of their friends and family. Others were in too much shock to even reply to the nurse.
"Have you just arrived?" The doctor asked behind a white mask that covered his mouth. "Do you feel sick?"
"No we're fine, but the officer in the main tent asked us to stop by here and get a check up."
"Okay, please take a seat." The doctor mentioned to an empty bed. Akira was the first to sit down. The doctor took out a flash light and shone it in her eyes. They constricted and dilated normally, no sign of any problems with her nerves or brain reaction.
"Hmm, you seem to be colour blind." He said suddenly, forcing the boys to turn to her.
Akira looked away, embarrassed...
High School of The Dead. Surviving Z Day 2.
Dun dun dunn! Akira's colour blind! Though in reality, you can't really tell just by looking into someone's eyes. I'm just doing this for simplicity. I do hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! See ya!
Next time on SZD 2!
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