CHAPTER 1
NICOLETTE
"Keep running" Sarah yelled running in front of her "Just keep running, Nicki!"
How did that happen?
Just few days back she went to Atlanta with her older sister Sarah for one of Nicki's archery competitions.
"Thrilled? For tomorrow?" Asked Sarah as she was unpacking their bags in the hotel room. The competitors and their companions had a full paid hotel room in the center of Atlanta, so that the next day they could start the competition that lasted two days.
"Not that much" Nicki answered as she was laying on her stomach changing the channels of the TV as she was searching something to watch before going to sleep.
Sarah snorted "Not that much?" and then she shook her head "I get that this is not your first competition, but are you really not a bit thrilled? Agitated? Happy?" She said "I mean, the first threes will compete at the Nationals!"
"Disappointed?" Nicki asked turning her head towards her sister who smiled.
"Just a little bit" Sarah said making her rolled her eyes playfully.
"Alright" Sarah said "What about the fact that we went here alone, not thrilled for that even?"
It was true, usually Nicolette went to her competition with her parents. Sarah was finishing university and the few times she could have gone with Nicki their parents were with them. But this time they were busy working and Sarah had some kind of break at university, so she could accompany her. And she had turned 21, so that made her legally able to take care of Nicki.
"For that I am a bit" Said Nicki nodding her head "You are terrible at orienting that I didn't think we would have found our way out of the airport"
"So funny" Sarah said sarcastically.
"I wasn't trying to be" Nicki answered back turning to look at her case with her bow locked in it.
"I just like archery" she said after a moment of silence "Winning is not something that I care about that much, I just have fun" She liked having the bow in her hands, pulling back the arrow and focusing on the target, just that red target. Nothing existed in that moment. It was peaceful and then she would release the arrow which made that buzzing noise against her ear and then it would fly all across the yard. She liked that, she liked that a lot.
The bed shifted under her as Sarah set down putting a hand on the younger sister's back.
"That's a good way of seeing it" she said making Nicki nod her head, then she heard her sister laugh a bit "But be careful not to smile that much" she said sarcastically.
Sarah always teased her for her being a very silent girl. Nicki wasn't very good at expressing herself, it wasn't that she didn't want to or that she didn't like people, it was just that when she didn't have anything useful to say she rather shut up.
"I do smile" she protested before throwing a pillow at her sister right in the face. Sarah's brown hair were all messed up as she looked at her with wide eyes before grubbing a pillow and hitting Nicki with it with aloud laugh.
Sarah had always loved to smile; she liked to smile and have fun and she was even really goofy. Sometimes she would talk to Nicki for hours at the phone and Nicki liked you listening to her. She was so inventive, it was like Sarah had always something to tell, she was a real storyteller while Nicki preferred to listen.
'The situation is not improving. Many more people had fallen ill inside the hospitals that right now started to have entire departments had been assigned as quarantine to contain the infection"
The two sisters stopped their fight as they heard the news. It has been weeks now. A strange infection started in some hospitals and it was beginning to become a serious matter. But as serious at it sound, it wasn't really clear what was happening.
"What kind of disease is that?" Nicki asked turning to her sister that had a frown on her face.
"No one really knows" Sarah answered deep in thoughts "Apparently is some kind of fever, but many people have been in quarantine for weeks now" Nicki studied her sister's face, she was listening to every word was being said.
"You are dying to know" at her words Sarah looked at her with her big brown eyes.
"Of course, I am" so curious, and she wasn't even studying Medicine, she was simply curious.
"But they will contain it, right?" Nicki asked "I mean, it's 21th century, we can survive a disease"
How wrong she had been…
As Nicki ran through the alleys of Atlanta, she couldn't believe that just a few hours back she had woken up in a bed and starting to get ready to go to the airport. They were stuck in the traffic when it began. The cars hadn't been moving for hours, Nicki was sure she had even slept at some point, while Sarah tried to call their parents.
"Strange" Sarah said looking at the screen "It's not even ringing"
"Maybe they went to aunt Katie" Nicki said rubbing her eyes. Where their aunt lived it was impossible to talk on the phone.
"Have we moved yet?" She asked.
"Not one a bit" Sarah said putting away her phone. They had taken a cub to go to the airport, they were still in Atlanta and they haven't moved in two hours.
"We are never going to make it" Nicki said rubbing her left eye tiredly, looking over her sister who still had the phone in her hand.
Nicki frowned a little "Nothing yet?"
"No..." Sarah muttered before looking out of the window "Maybe this situation is just influencing me… I don't know…" she forced a little smile, but Nicki knew when her sister was worried. It was unspoken but they always could tell when something was wrong with the other.
"Do you want a cookie?" Nicki asked suddenly, after taking a breath.
Sarah smiled truly nodding her head, but in her eyes the worry was still there, it wouldn't go away until they wouldn't have heard something from their parents.
They're fine... for sure… Nicki thought before moving to her bag from her shoulders. But as she had it in her hands a sudden noise rang in her ear before a force made her body move forward almost knocking her head on the glass in front of her, if she didn't have put her hands up, she would surely have a bruise now.
"Oh my God" she could hear Sarah say before she felt hands on her arm "Nicolette, are you ok?" the crushing noise was still in her head, giving her slight headache.
"Why don't you ever put your belt on?" Sarah asked in frustration, making Nicki nod even if she didn't know exactly why she was doing that.
"What happened?" asked Nicki and frowned when she didn't see the driver anymore, but as she looked up, she saw the front of the car destroyed. They had crushed against the one in front of them.
"Even at the back" said Sarah incredulously. But how? They were going so slow. From outside they could hear the driver yelling at a man, screaming that in was not possible that something like that happened.
"Someone got hit by the car, it's still under it" at those words the two girls looked at each other before curiosity get them and both of them opened the doors. She wasn't going to get any closer, but Nicki wanted to know if that person was alright.
"The ambulance will never get here" muttered Nicki looking at all the cars behind them. From a couple of cars ahead to many behind them they all have crushed.
"It's moving" they heard and Nicki could see her sister got on the tip of her toes to get a glimpse of what was happening, but suddenly a scream cut the air, making the girls jump.
"He bit me!" then another painful scream could be heard making Nicki shiver "Help! Please!"
Suddenly people started to run, as the man still cried for help. More and more people were starting to run their way.
"Oh my God! What is that? What is it?!" someone else screamed as someone from the front yelled.
"People are biting everyone!" what did that mean?
"They are coming this way!"
"He killed him!" killed? Who had been killed? Who was killing? They were in the street, in the middle of the day, what was happening?
Screams and cries could be heard and Nicki looked at her Sarah with fear and confusion in her eyes.
"Nicki!" Screamed Sarah as someone run over the younger sister almost making her fall on the ground.
"Run! There are more!" everyone was screaming and Nicki had to do her best to not let someone run over her.
"Stay there" screamed Sarah "I'm coming" as someone bumped into Nicki again making her hit her back on the side of the car. It was like she wasn't even there as people kept running. They were leaving their cars to run away screaming. Someone had shirts dirty, or scratches, by any second every person was hurt more and more.
"Nicki!" the girl turned to her sister who had climbed up the car to get to her sister "Are you ok?" Sarah asked keeping her close to not let people hurt her.
"What's going on?" asked Nicki, looking around.
"It bit me!" a man walked past them, with a giant red bloody bite on his cheek.
Suddenly a growl could be heard and some strange figures started to walk towards their way, they weren't fast, but they were walking strangely. Making strange sounds. Their skin was greyish and their eyes were almost black, it could have been seen even from where Nicki was.
But what made them scream in fear was seeing one of those men assault the taxi driver at the neck. Blood run out from the bite and more the man tried to free himself more that thing clanged on him and soon even other two did the same. They were eating him.
"Let's go!" said Sarah pushing her sister "Come on, Nicki run!" they made a few steps when Nicolette stopped, making Sarah look at her in fear.
"My bow!"
"There's no time" exclaimed Sarah taking her sister hand, looking at those things walking closer and closer "Come on" she repeated pulling her away with her. Nicki followed her sister as more screams could be heard from everywhere.
What was happening? Who were those people? Did they just kill? The screams of the driver still in her head and the vision of his blood printed in her eyes. Did they just saw someone die?
A scream come from in front of them, making them stop. Sarah hold her sister close trying to figure out form where they were coming. People were starting to run back towards them.
"No" muttered Sarah "No! There are more that way" she said as people ran by "Don't!" but nothing, everyone just passed by and more screams could be heard everywhere.
"Sarah" said Nicki pulling at her sister's hand "What do we do?"
Sarah looked around with wide eyes, keeping hearing the screams.
"We… we need to move away" she said finally looking down at Nicki "Get away from the street" then she started to run again pulling Nicki with her. They ran through the cars, doing their best to keep avoiding people.
The screams where everywhere and the only thing Nicolette could think what just what is happening?
Finally, they managed to get away from the road, running towards an alley not that far.
"What is it? What's going on?" Sarah didn't answer she just looked around "Sarah!"
"I don't know, I don't know" Sarah exclaimed with a trembling voice. Nicki was breathing hard but she wasn't sure it was just for the running. She could still see all that blood; her hands were shaking and she could see that even Sarah's were.
Suddenly a growl was heard and Sarah pushed Nicki at the ground behind a dumpster. Growling, they were much more than before. Strange breathing and sounds. Nicki tried to take a look, doing her best to not been seen and suddenly she could see more and more of those strange people.
"What are they?" she whispered, unable to get her eyes from those sight.
"Oh my God" said Sarah "Are those corps?"
Nicki looked at her sister in disbelief "But they are moving"
Sarah eyed her sister, probably understanding that her words didn't make any sense.
"We have to find a place to hide" said Sarah after a moment "Here we'd be at risk. Those things are attacking everyone" Nicki nodded her head while a shiver ran down her spine every time, she could hear another scream.
"Wherever you want to go" said Nicki "We can't use the road" Sarah bit her lip trying to find the best way to find a shelter. They didn't have a lot of time, by the minute those things became more and more.
Sarah continued to bit her lip, she always did that when she was deep thinking, but her shaking hands gave away that she didn't have figure out the right choice to make. Nicki observed her as she heard more growling from the road, not that far from them.
"Maybe we could call the police" suggested the younger one moving to take her sister' She looked down at herself to take the phone, but at that she growled.
"I forgot it on the taxi" she said closing her eyes. Nicki's eyes looked for Sarah's purse but that wasn't there and Nicki didn't have it in her backpack; it still was in the suitcase, she hadn't even turn it on, since she would have to turn it down once on the plain.
"Ok" said Sarah taking Nicki's shoulders in her hands "We'll use the alleys, we can find another way" she didn't seem sure of her words, but there was nothing else they could have done, so Nicki nodded.
The two sisters got up carefully, trying not to make much noise. Nicki looked behind herself and her eyes widened at how many of those people were walking in the road.
"Come, Nicki" whispered Sarah starting to walk inside the alley, letting Nicki walk ahead of her, probably to make sure none of those things was following them.
Nicolette didn't know where they were going. The both of them never walked in street like those. And the fact that they kept changing way as they heard growling wasn't helping.
"Sarah, you know we are going to get lost" Nicki said as they kept walking.
"Oh, I'm sure of it" Sarah said looking behind them "Now, we just need to keep away from those... those..." what were those things exactly? Were they people? Were they monsters? What was happening?
Sarah turned her head as screams could be heard from behind them. Fast steps echoed in the alleys as the sound was any second closer.
"Are those... things...?" Asked Nicki, not really sure where to look.
"I don't know" said Sarah looking behind them "Just... keep moving" they walked for a few minutes, but screams and steps were closer and closer. What was going to happened? They way those people had attacked the taxi driver, the way everyone was screaming... how would they have protected themselves if they would show up.
"Run!" someone screamed ahead of them. And after a moment a man run in their direction from the front "They are here!" he yelled "Oh God, they are here!" suddenly some of those creatures turned the corner.
They were there, in front of them and they could not go back.
"Sarah..." Nicki said as she saw them approach.
"We have to run!" the man yelled towards Sarah.
"They were coming from the other way too" she argued "You run there, and you will cross path with them"
"We are going to die, girl!" the man yelled in her face and at those words Nicki saw her sister looking at her. She was scared, but there was determination in her eyes.
"We are not" she said strongly, starting to look between the creatures and what was around them "They are slow... there must be something we can use" Nicki nodded at her sister; she didn't want to be eaten by those monsters.
"And what would you do?" the man asked.
"I need to think" Sarah said. She would find a way, Nicki was sure, Sarah had always been good at hide and seek, finding all the right and smart places to hide.
"Ok..." said Nicki as those things moved closer. Sarah had to think, and she had to do something, like throwing stuff.
"Dude, help me" Nicki said nudging the man. She saw some restaurant trash cans, so she first took its cover and throw it like a freebie, hitting one of those things on the chest, making it growl and stumble against a couple behind it. Even the dude had thrown a garbage bag at one of them that fall on the ground. As it fell the one behind him kept walking like nothing happened and they too fall on the ground, growling.
"They just keep walking" Said Sarah "We have to barricade"
"Barricade?" Asked Nicki throwing a trash can at the monsters.
"I'm not sure they can move like a normal person" said Sarah as she started to try and move a dumpster to let a side lean on the wall. It wasn't that far from the wall, but she tried to moved it more on the right.
"Help her" said Nicki as she just kept throwing stuff at the monsters. The man ran to help Sarah move the dumpster.
"You could just push in to the wall" he argued.
"No" she shook her head "I need it here" she said as she finally pushed it where she wanted before running to the other "Come on!" she said as she pushed with the man the other so that they could be shielded by the dumpsters.
The things were getting closer and soon they would have been too close to Nicki so that she could have avoided them.
Now that they were close, Nicki could see them better. They were human... they had a human form, but they really seemed like corpses.
"They can't be zombies..." Nicki breathed out before hearing Sarah yell.
"Nicki come here!" she cried as they had been almost able to get the two dumpsters close. One of those zombies had been that close that almost touched Nicki who jumped back with a yelp before running to her sister who was pulling the corner of the dumpster as the man was on the other side pulling.
Nicki entered the save zone Sarah was creating, and she leaned her back against the brick wall, looking at her sister.
"Hurry up!" Sarah said at the man, that moved to pass between the dumpsters but got taken by the arm by one of those things.
"No!" Sarah yelled as the man started to cry in fear. Nicki rushed to her sister trying to help her as Sarah was trying to grab the man "Take my hand!" she begged, but as Nicki looked one of those things bite the man on the neck. Sarah let out a cry as Nicki could just look at the blood covering the yelling men, who was crying tears of pain and despair. And more time passed more attacked him as he fell on the ground followed by the monsters.
"Sarah..." muttered Nicki as she saw a few tears running down her sister's face, before Sarah started to pull the dumpster closer until just a gap could be left in front of them. The cries of the man could still be heard as the two girls' backs leaned against the wall.
Sarah's hands were shaking and Nicki had to cover her ears to stop the screams to reach her head. They stood like that for none of them knew how long, like that in silence just listening to growling, not able to forget what they had just seen. That man had died and those things were out there, not moving. Some of them have noticed the two girls and started to push against the dumpster. It could go, but not forever. Soon they would have break through.
"Are we going to die?" asked Nicki as she kept looking ahead of her, to the monster whose arm was between the gap. Sarah was taking deep breaths, as her brown hair fall in front of her face. Nicki didn't want for her to answer, she knew what was going to happen. They would have died, and what really bothered Nicki was not the dying itself. It was scary of course, but the pain... the fear...
"I don't want to die like this" she said involuntary out loud.
She could hear Sarah take a breath as the dumpster started to move slightly.
"And you won't" she said getting up, her voice still a bit shaken but she had the courage to move, looking up.
"I wanted these dumpsters here, for that" she said pointing at the wall, not so far from the dumpsters.
"If we could climb there, maybe we can manage to climb those stairs" Above them there were the building fire escape stairs. They were made of iron, but they weren't long enough to touch the ground.
"This is the closest we could be" Sarah said drying the last tear she had on her cheeks.
They could do it. They just had to climb the dumpster, try to jump towards the top of the wall in front of them and try to reach the stairs.
"Maybe they can't climb, they seem like to just walk straight ahead" Sarah said as the dumpsters, started to move a little. Soon they would have been there.
"Watch out!" a voice called from above them as the iron stair fall closer to them. The two girls looked up, to see a boy with a hat keeping the stair steady.
"Come on" he said "Climb up" Nicki looked at her sister who blinked her brown eyes before pushing her to climb the dumpster. Now the stair was so close that from the top of the dumpster they could reach it and climb up.
Nicki went first, and as she was pushed up by Sarah, she could see the group of monsters that were waiting for them so that they could eat them as they had done with that man. She didn't look for long, she turned and helped to pull her sister up the dumpster. Sarah had been right, they couldn't climb. Then they reached the stairs and started to climb up until they arrived to the top.
"I got you, I got you" said the boy as he helped Nicki on the iron balcony "You ok?" he asked, making her nod, before he moved to help Sarah up. He was a young Asian boy, maybe a bit older than Sarah. He was wearing a baseball black t-shirt and a baseball cap; a backpack was on his back.
"Are you ok?" asked to Sarah who nodded her head before looking at him.
"Thank you..." she said breathing in and out to calm herself.
"No problem" he said with a kind voice "Seen you in trouble, had to do something"
"You help us a lot" Sarah said with a little smile.
"I... I am Sarah" she said before turning to her sister "This is Nicki, my little sister" Nicki nodded her head towards the boy.
"Hi..." he said "I'm Glenn"CHAPTER 1
NICOLETTE
"Keep running" Sarah yelled running in front of her "Just keep running, Nicki!"
How did that happen?
Just few days back she went to Atlanta with her older sister Sarah for one of Nicki's archery competitions.
"Thrilled? For tomorrow?" Asked Sarah as she was unpacking their bags in the hotel room. The competitors and their companions had a full paid hotel room in the center of Atlanta, so that the next day they could start the competition that lasted two days.
"Not that much" Nicki answered as she was laying on her stomach changing the channels of the TV as she was searching something to watch before going to sleep.
Sarah snorted "Not that much?" and then she shook her head "I get that this is not your first competition, but are you really not a bit thrilled? Agitated? Happy?" She said "I mean, the first threes will compete at the Nationals!"
"Disappointed?" Nicki asked turning her head towards her sister who smiled.
"Just a little bit" Sarah said making her rolled her eyes playfully.
"Alright" Sarah said "What about the fact that we went here alone, not thrilled for that even?"
It was true, usually Nicolette went to her competition with her parents. Sarah was finishing university and the few times she could have gone with Nicki their parents were with them. But this time they were busy working and Sarah had some kind of break at university, so she could accompany her. And she had turned 21, so that made her legally able to take care of Nicki.
"For that I am a bit" Said Nicki nodding her head "You are terrible at orienting that I didn't think we would have found our way out of the airport"
"So funny" Sarah said sarcastically.
"I wasn't trying to be" Nicki answered back turning to look at her case with her bow locked in it.
"I just like archery" she said after a moment of silence "Winning is not something that I care about that much, I just have fun" She liked having the bow in her hands, pulling back the arrow and focusing on the target, just that red target. Nothing existed in that moment. It was peaceful and then she would release the arrow which made that buzzing noise against her ear and then it would fly all across the yard. She liked that, she liked that a lot.
The bed shifted under her as Sarah set down putting a hand on the younger sister's back.
"That's a good way of seeing it" she said making Nicki nod her head, then she heard her sister laugh a bit "But be careful not to smile that much" she said sarcastically.
Sarah always teased her for her being a very silent girl. Nicki wasn't very good at expressing herself, it wasn't that she didn't want to or that she didn't like people, it was just that when she didn't have anything useful to say she rather shut up.
"I do smile" she protested before throwing a pillow at her sister right in the face. Sarah's brown hair were all messed up as she looked at her with wide eyes before grubbing a pillow and hitting Nicki with it with aloud laugh.
Sarah had always loved to smile; she liked to smile and have fun and she was even really goofy. Sometimes she would talk to Nicki for hours at the phone and Nicki liked you listening to her. She was so inventive, it was like Sarah had always something to tell, she was a real storyteller while Nicki preferred to listen.
'The situation is not improving. Many more people had fallen ill inside the hospitals that right now started to have entire departments had been assigned as quarantine to contain the infection"
The two sisters stopped their fight as they heard the news. It has been weeks now. A strange infection started in some hospitals and it was beginning to become a serious matter. But as serious at it sound, it wasn't really clear what was happening.
"What kind of disease is that?" Nicki asked turning to her sister that had a frown on her face.
"No one really knows" Sarah answered deep in thoughts "Apparently is some kind of fever, but many people have been in quarantine for weeks now" Nicki studied her sister's face, she was listening to every word was being said.
"You are dying to know" at her words Sarah looked at her with her big brown eyes.
"Of course, I am" so curious, and she wasn't even studying Medicine, she was simply curious.
"But they will contain it, right?" Nicki asked "I mean, it's 21th century, we can survive a disease"
How wrong she had been…
As Nicki ran through the alleys of Atlanta, she couldn't believe that just a few hours back she had woken up in a bed and starting to get ready to go to the airport. They were stuck in the traffic when it began. The cars hadn't been moving for hours, Nicki was sure she had even slept at some point, while Sarah tried to call their parents.
"Strange" Sarah said looking at the screen "It's not even ringing"
"Maybe they went to aunt Katie" Nicki said rubbing her eyes. Where their aunt lived it was impossible to talk on the phone.
"Have we moved yet?" She asked.
"Not one a bit" Sarah said putting away her phone. They had taken a cub to go to the airport, they were still in Atlanta and they haven't moved in two hours.
"We are never going to make it" Nicki said rubbing her left eye tiredly, looking over her sister who still had the phone in her hand.
Nicki frowned a little "Nothing yet?"
"No..." Sarah muttered before looking out of the window "Maybe this situation is just influencing me… I don't know…" she forced a little smile, but Nicki knew when her sister was worried. It was unspoken but they always could tell when something was wrong with the other.
"Do you want a cookie?" Nicki asked suddenly, after taking a breath.
Sarah smiled truly nodding her head, but in her eyes the worry was still there, it wouldn't go away until they wouldn't have heard something from their parents.
They're fine... for sure… Nicki thought before moving to her bag from her shoulders. But as she had it in her hands a sudden noise rang in her ear before a force made her body move forward almost knocking her head on the glass in front of her, if she didn't have put her hands up, she would surely have a bruise now.
"Oh my God" she could hear Sarah say before she felt hands on her arm "Nicolette, are you ok?" the crushing noise was still in her head, giving her slight headache.
"Why don't you ever put your belt on?" Sarah asked in frustration, making Nicki nod even if she didn't know exactly why she was doing that.
"What happened?" asked Nicki and frowned when she didn't see the driver anymore, but as she looked up, she saw the front of the car destroyed. They had crushed against the one in front of them.
"Even at the back" said Sarah incredulously. But how? They were going so slow. From outside they could hear the driver yelling at a man, screaming that in was not possible that something like that happened.
"Someone got hit by the car, it's still under it" at those words the two girls looked at each other before curiosity get them and both of them opened the doors. She wasn't going to get any closer, but Nicki wanted to know if that person was alright.
"The ambulance will never get here" muttered Nicki looking at all the cars behind them. From a couple of cars ahead to many behind them they all have crushed.
"It's moving" they heard and Nicki could see her sister got on the tip of her toes to get a glimpse of what was happening, but suddenly a scream cut the air, making the girls jump.
"He bit me!" then another painful scream could be heard making Nicki shiver "Help! Please!"
Suddenly people started to run, as the man still cried for help. More and more people were starting to run their way.
"Oh my God! What is that? What is it?!" someone else screamed as someone from the front yelled.
"People are biting everyone!" what did that mean?
"They are coming this way!"
"He killed him!" killed? Who had been killed? Who was killing? They were in the street, in the middle of the day, what was happening?
Screams and cries could be heard and Nicki looked at her Sarah with fear and confusion in her eyes.
"Nicki!" Screamed Sarah as someone run over the younger sister almost making her fall on the ground.
"Run! There are more!" everyone was screaming and Nicki had to do her best to not let someone run over her.
"Stay there" screamed Sarah "I'm coming" as someone bumped into Nicki again making her hit her back on the side of the car. It was like she wasn't even there as people kept running. They were leaving their cars to run away screaming. Someone had shirts dirty, or scratches, by any second every person was hurt more and more.
"Nicki!" the girl turned to her sister who had climbed up the car to get to her sister "Are you ok?" Sarah asked keeping her close to not let people hurt her.
"What's going on?" asked Nicki, looking around.
"It bit me!" a man walked past them, with a giant red bloody bite on his cheek.
Suddenly a growl could be heard and some strange figures started to walk towards their way, they weren't fast, but they were walking strangely. Making strange sounds. Their skin was greyish and their eyes were almost black, it could have been seen even from where Nicki was.
But what made them scream in fear was seeing one of those men assault the taxi driver at the neck. Blood run out from the bite and more the man tried to free himself more that thing clanged on him and soon even other two did the same. They were eating him.
"Let's go!" said Sarah pushing her sister "Come on, Nicki run!" they made a few steps when Nicolette stopped, making Sarah look at her in fear.
"My bow!"
"There's no time" exclaimed Sarah taking her sister hand, looking at those things walking closer and closer "Come on" she repeated pulling her away with her. Nicki followed her sister as more screams could be heard from everywhere.
What was happening? Who were those people? Did they just kill? The screams of the driver still in her head and the vision of his blood printed in her eyes. Did they just saw someone die?
A scream come from in front of them, making them stop. Sarah hold her sister close trying to figure out form where they were coming. People were starting to run back towards them.
"No" muttered Sarah "No! There are more that way" she said as people ran by "Don't!" but nothing, everyone just passed by and more screams could be heard everywhere.
"Sarah" said Nicki pulling at her sister's hand "What do we do?"
Sarah looked around with wide eyes, keeping hearing the screams.
"We… we need to move away" she said finally looking down at Nicki "Get away from the street" then she started to run again pulling Nicki with her. They ran through the cars, doing their best to keep avoiding people.
The screams where everywhere and the only thing Nicolette could think what just what is happening?
Finally, they managed to get away from the road, running towards an alley not that far.
"What is it? What's going on?" Sarah didn't answer she just looked around "Sarah!"
"I don't know, I don't know" Sarah exclaimed with a trembling voice. Nicki was breathing hard but she wasn't sure it was just for the running. She could still see all that blood; her hands were shaking and she could see that even Sarah's were.
Suddenly a growl was heard and Sarah pushed Nicki at the ground behind a dumpster. Growling, they were much more than before. Strange breathing and sounds. Nicki tried to take a look, doing her best to not been seen and suddenly she could see more and more of those strange people.
"What are they?" she whispered, unable to get her eyes from those sight.
"Oh my God" said Sarah "Are those corps?"
Nicki looked at her sister in disbelief "But they are moving"
Sarah eyed her sister, probably understanding that her words didn't make any sense.
"We have to find a place to hide" said Sarah after a moment "Here we'd be at risk. Those things are attacking everyone" Nicki nodded her head while a shiver ran down her spine every time, she could hear another scream.
"Wherever you want to go" said Nicki "We can't use the road" Sarah bit her lip trying to find the best way to find a shelter. They didn't have a lot of time, by the minute those things became more and more.
Sarah continued to bit her lip, she always did that when she was deep thinking, but her shaking hands gave away that she didn't have figure out the right choice to make. Nicki observed her as she heard more growling from the road, not that far from them.
"Maybe we could call the police" suggested the younger one moving to take her sister' She looked down at herself to take the phone, but at that she growled.
"I forgot it on the taxi" she said closing her eyes. Nicki's eyes looked for Sarah's purse but that wasn't there and Nicki didn't have it in her backpack; it still was in the suitcase, she hadn't even turn it on, since she would have to turn it down once on the plain.
"Ok" said Sarah taking Nicki's shoulders in her hands "We'll use the alleys, we can find another way" she didn't seem sure of her words, but there was nothing else they could have done, so Nicki nodded.
The two sisters got up carefully, trying not to make much noise. Nicki looked behind herself and her eyes widened at how many of those people were walking in the road.
"Come, Nicki" whispered Sarah starting to walk inside the alley, letting Nicki walk ahead of her, probably to make sure none of those things was following them.
Nicolette didn't know where they were going. The both of them never walked in street like those. And the fact that they kept changing way as they heard growling wasn't helping.
"Sarah, you know we are going to get lost" Nicki said as they kept walking.
"Oh, I'm sure of it" Sarah said looking behind them "Now, we just need to keep away from those... those..." what were those things exactly? Were they people? Were they monsters? What was happening?
Sarah turned her head as screams could be heard from behind them. Fast steps echoed in the alleys as the sound was any second closer.
"Are those... things...?" Asked Nicki, not really sure where to look.
"I don't know" said Sarah looking behind them "Just... keep moving" they walked for a few minutes, but screams and steps were closer and closer. What was going to happened? They way those people had attacked the taxi driver, the way everyone was screaming... how would they have protected themselves if they would show up.
"Run!" someone screamed ahead of them. And after a moment a man run in their direction from the front "They are here!" he yelled "Oh God, they are here!" suddenly some of those creatures turned the corner.
They were there, in front of them and they could not go back.
"Sarah..." Nicki said as she saw them approach.
"We have to run!" the man yelled towards Sarah.
"They were coming from the other way too" she argued "You run there, and you will cross path with them"
"We are going to die, girl!" the man yelled in her face and at those words Nicki saw her sister looking at her. She was scared, but there was determination in her eyes.
"We are not" she said strongly, starting to look between the creatures and what was around them "They are slow... there must be something we can use" Nicki nodded at her sister; she didn't want to be eaten by those monsters.
"And what would you do?" the man asked.
"I need to think" Sarah said. She would find a way, Nicki was sure, Sarah had always been good at hide and seek, finding all the right and smart places to hide.
"Ok..." said Nicki as those things moved closer. Sarah had to think, and she had to do something, like throwing stuff.
"Dude, help me" Nicki said nudging the man. She saw some restaurant trash cans, so she first took its cover and throw it like a freebie, hitting one of those things on the chest, making it growl and stumble against a couple behind it. Even the dude had thrown a garbage bag at one of them that fall on the ground. As it fell the one behind him kept walking like nothing happened and they too fall on the ground, growling.
"They just keep walking" Said Sarah "We have to barricade"
"Barricade?" Asked Nicki throwing a trash can at the monsters.
"I'm not sure they can move like a normal person" said Sarah as she started to try and move a dumpster to let a side lean on the wall. It wasn't that far from the wall, but she tried to moved it more on the right.
"Help her" said Nicki as she just kept throwing stuff at the monsters. The man ran to help Sarah move the dumpster.
"You could just push in to the wall" he argued.
"No" she shook her head "I need it here" she said as she finally pushed it where she wanted before running to the other "Come on!" she said as she pushed with the man the other so that they could be shielded by the dumpsters.
The things were getting closer and soon they would have been too close to Nicki so that she could have avoided them.
Now that they were close, Nicki could see them better. They were human... they had a human form, but they really seemed like corpses.
"They can't be zombies..." Nicki breathed out before hearing Sarah yell.
"Nicki come here!" she cried as they had been almost able to get the two dumpsters close. One of those zombies had been that close that almost touched Nicki who jumped back with a yelp before running to her sister who was pulling the corner of the dumpster as the man was on the other side pulling.
Nicki entered the save zone Sarah was creating, and she leaned her back against the brick wall, looking at her sister.
"Hurry up!" Sarah said at the man, that moved to pass between the dumpsters but got taken by the arm by one of those things.
"No!" Sarah yelled as the man started to cry in fear. Nicki rushed to her sister trying to help her as Sarah was trying to grab the man "Take my hand!" she begged, but as Nicki looked one of those things bite the man on the neck. Sarah let out a cry as Nicki could just look at the blood covering the yelling men, who was crying tears of pain and despair. And more time passed more attacked him as he fell on the ground followed by the monsters.
"Sarah..." muttered Nicki as she saw a few tears running down her sister's face, before Sarah started to pull the dumpster closer until just a gap could be left in front of them. The cries of the man could still be heard as the two girls' backs leaned against the wall.
Sarah's hands were shaking and Nicki had to cover her ears to stop the screams to reach her head. They stood like that for none of them knew how long, like that in silence just listening to growling, not able to forget what they had just seen. That man had died and those things were out there, not moving. Some of them have noticed the two girls and started to push against the dumpster. It could go, but not forever. Soon they would have break through.
"Are we going to die?" asked Nicki as she kept looking ahead of her, to the monster whose arm was between the gap. Sarah was taking deep breaths, as her brown hair fall in front of her face. Nicki didn't want for her to answer, she knew what was going to happen. They would have died, and what really bothered Nicki was not the dying itself. It was scary of course, but the pain... the fear...
"I don't want to die like this" she said involuntary out loud.
She could hear Sarah take a breath as the dumpster started to move slightly.
"And you won't" she said getting up, her voice still a bit shaken but she had the courage to move, looking up.
"I wanted these dumpsters here, for that" she said pointing at the wall, not so far from the dumpsters.
"If we could climb there, maybe we can manage to climb those stairs" Above them there were the building fire escape stairs. They were made of iron, but they weren't long enough to touch the ground.
"This is the closest we could be" Sarah said drying the last tear she had on her cheeks.
They could do it. They just had to climb the dumpster, try to jump towards the top of the wall in front of them and try to reach the stairs.
"Maybe they can't climb, they seem like to just walk straight ahead" Sarah said as the dumpsters, started to move a little. Soon they would have been there.
"Watch out!" a voice called from above them as the iron stair fall closer to them. The two girls looked up, to see a boy with a hat keeping the stair steady.
"Come on" he said "Climb up" Nicki looked at her sister who blinked her brown eyes before pushing her to climb the dumpster. Now the stair was so close that from the top of the dumpster they could reach it and climb up.
Nicki went first, and as she was pushed up by Sarah, she could see the group of monsters that were waiting for them so that they could eat them as they had done with that man. She didn't look for long, she turned and helped to pull her sister up the dumpster. Sarah had been right, they couldn't climb. Then they reached the stairs and started to climb up until they arrived to the top.
"I got you, I got you" said the boy as he helped Nicki on the iron balcony "You ok?" he asked, making her nod, before he moved to help Sarah up. He was a young Asian boy, maybe a bit older than Sarah. He was wearing a baseball black t-shirt and a baseball cap; a backpack was on his back.
"Are you ok?" asked to Sarah who nodded her head before looking at him.
"Thank you..." she said breathing in and out to calm herself.
"No problem" he said with a kind voice "Seen you in trouble, had to do something"
"You help us a lot" Sarah said with a little smile.
"I... I am Sarah" she said before turning to her sister "This is Nicki, my little sister" Nicki nodded her head towards the boy.
"Hi..." he said "I'm Glenn"