— Beca —
We abandoned the vehicles a few miles out from the Fontana Dam, leaving them by the entrance to a dirt track that led South. I hoped this would convince anyone who might come across them that we'd taken that trail in the direction of Yellow Creek. Then, we continued on foot, heading into the forest off the side of the highway in the direction of the Dam. The only issue with this brilliant plan was my new wound, which made it hard for me to keep pace with everyone. Chloe was at my side, of course, helping me along, but it was slow progress, and anxiety and frustration gnawed at my insides. Finally, however, the great Dam loomed up ahead, and we breathed a collective sigh of relief. We stopped briefly for a rest, but the afternoon was getting on and I was keen to cross the Dam before nightfall. I would feel safer on the other side. So, setting off again, we carefully approached the Dam itself, looking in wonder at the river way down below on the opposite side. The lake, to our right, was enormous, and I was glad of an easy way to cross it. Once on the other side, we could take any number of ways further into the wilderness. It was eerily quiet, but I was relieved that we'd see no sign of any infected in the area. We'd been remarkably lucky since starting on our journey out of Georgia in fact, which bode well for our long-term plan. As the sun began to sink down over the river, we began to cross the Dam. It wasn't too far across, and I guessed at our pace we could be on the other side in about 15 minutes. We were so close. It was then that I heard a sound from behind us that made my heart sink and my pulse jump frantically. Engines, roaring up to meet us. I wasted no time, realising there was no time to think, only to act.
"RUN! GET TO THE OTHER SIDE!" I screamed, drawing my gun from my belt. I felt panicked. We all had guns now, sure, but I'd had no time yet to teach anybody how to use them. Chloe had picked up a little in our time together, and I knew that Aubrey had been hunting before with family, but that wasn't really enough to comfort me right now. I forced myself to allow my full weight to shift onto my injured leg, gritting my teeth against the pain and starting a limping run. Chloe, at my side, tried her best to speed up and keep supporting me, but it was slow progress. We were about halfway across before I glanced back, just in time to duck as a shot was fired towards me. Almost instinctively, I fired back, relieved to hear a cry of pain as my bullet found its mark.
"Beca, I'm sorry but it's no good!" Chloe panted, finally letting go of my arm. I opened my mouth to question what she meant when all of a sudden I was in the air and over her shoulder, and she was taking off at a laboured run. I was gobsmacked, but quickly recovered now I could see the threat piling up behind us. I counted five dark vans, each spilling several soldiers out onto the concrete behind us. I noticed one soldier retreating into one of these vehicles, clutching his arm, and I took a second to enjoy the small victory. Still, there were a lot more of them, and at their head, a man I recognised all too well, his mouth wide in an awful grin. He was instructing them to lower their guns and instead mount a pursuit on foot. It was clear that he wanted to have the pleasure of killing us himself. I steeled myself, and began firing from my precarious position over Chloe's shoulder. It was almost impossible to keep myself upright and steady enough to aim, never mind that the targets were moving as I did. I gave up, deciding to save the ammunition, and then suddenly we were falling. We had just reached the end of the dam, and spilled out onto a dirt track, tumbling across the rocks painfully. The others ahead of us had reached the cover of the trees, and turned back now in dismay. I could see our enemies were closing in now, bearing down on us. I scrambled upright, firing another shot. I looked on as it grazed the flesh of my torturer's upper arm, finding it's way into the chest of the man closest behind him, who dropped instantly. The soldiers skidded to a stop as the rest of our group began firing haphazardly from the trees, Jesse and Donald suddenly next to Chloe and I and dragging us up and backwards through the dirt. The soldiers were passing something forward now, and I realised they had an array of riot shields., some patched heavily with corrugated metal. They each grabbed hold of a shield and began to move forward again, feeling confident in their defence. I swore, reloading my gun and taking aim at any weak spots I could find. Shooting into gaps and at the edges, I felt a modicum of relief as four or five more soldiers dropped, crying out in pain and incapacitated. The man I truly feared kept advancing however, and I fought down my rising terror. Suddenly, from behind me I heard an all-too familiar cry as Amy stepped out from behind a tree, brandishing one of the machine guns we'd picked up from our last encounter. We'd ended up only keeping one, as I'd assessed they would be worth very little to us. But now, in the hands of this veritable madwoman, it became our saving grace as she unloaded it wildly into the cluster of soldiers still approaching. They dropped like flies, the heavy bullets stripping straight through their shields. Suddenly, I spotted another familiar figure towards the back, looking fearful. Bumper? I couldn't believe my eyes. He noticed me seconds later, and his expression changed, fixing into a mask of hatred and contempt. He pushed forwards, grabbing a pistol from the hand of a dead soldier. What in the hell was he doing here?
— Bumper —
We hurried out of the vans, and I could see up ahead that the group was about halfway across the Dam. Was that Beca at the back? It had to be, I could see Chloe was at her side, her fiery red hair a dead giveaway. I was elated. We'd found them. After finding their vehicles a little way down the road, I'd known immediately it was a fake-out. I relayed that to the officer in my van, who conveyed it over to the General via walkie talkie. I'd spotted a sign for Fontana Dam a little way back and knew it was our best bet, and here I was being proven right for a second time. It felt good. Beca took a shot towards us, and I saw a soldier just ahead of me fall back, clutching at his arm. Was she limping? She looked injured. I was glad. I stuck to the back of the group as we pressed forwards, beginning the chase along the Dam. I wasn't armoured like the rest of the soldiers, and I hadn't been given a weapon. It stung a little that they still weren't trusting me fully, but I was also glad of the excuse to keep out of immediate danger. It wasn't until one of the group brought out a machine gun and started tearing through the wall of bodies in front of me that I saw her, Beca, stood just a little way off now on the dirt track on the other side of the dam. Something snapped back into focus within me, and my fear vanished. Stepping over the fallen soldiers at my feet, I grabbed the nearest pistol and raised it, copying her stance. I wasn't familiar with guns, but this was my best chance at exacting the revenge I so dearly craved. The one thing I hadn't counted on was the extent to which the General shared this exact desire. I pushed forward, and squeezed the trigger, grunting as the gun recoiled in my hand. The shot went wide, burying itself in a tree and I cursed, readying myself to shoot again. All of a sudden, my weight was swept from under me as the General spun and tackled me to the ground. The pistol went clattering across the concrete, just out of reach. His hands were already at my throat, throttling me. He was furious.
"She's MINE you sack of shit, MINE!" My vision was spotting. Was I really about to die like this, when I was so close to accomplishing my goal? I clawed weakly at his hands, unable to break his grip. Around us, shots pinged off of the shields held up by the remaining soldiers, who were watching on in shock. I had been so close. Just as the ringing in my ears grew deafening, I heard a dull thud, and something warm splattered across my face. The General's hands loosened as he fell sideways, grimacing, and I choked in sweet air once more. A bullet had found its way into his back as he'd strangled me, and now he turned back to the group, his right arm hanging useless by his side. He raised his pistol awkwardly in his left hand, and fired, missing by an inch. I began to shuffle slowly towards my fallen gun, a new plan forming in my mind. If the General insisted on it being me or him to take out our shared enemy, then I would have to take him out first. Soldiers continued to fall behind me, some even turning and running back to the safety of the vans. I stretched further and further, my fingers finally closing around the grip of the pistol. I swept it up, pushing myself to my feet and taking aim, this time at the back of the General's head. One of the remaining officers cried out, and I watched in frustration as he spun round again, his eyes registering my weapon pointed at him with fury.
"I knew you were nothing but a weasel." He spat, lunging towards me, his good arm extended outwards. I yelled, firing wildly, as he ploughed into me, and we staggered backwards towards the edge of the Dam. Hundreds of feet below, a tiny river wended its way west. I struggled to regain my balance, but suddenly the large body of the General became pure dead weight, falling full-force against me, and I realised in horror that my shots done their job, hitting him point blank in his chest and stomach. As his body collapsed against me, I made one last effort to free myself from behind his great weight, but it was no good. With a rush of final adrenaline, we tipped steadily backwards, and over the edge.