Chapter 13: Staying Strong
'Sometimes life pushes you to breaking point but they doesn't mean you can just give up... not when there are others under your care that need guidance and security in a world gone wrong... they are your responsibility and now you have to see it through to the job is done... even if it kills you
Bill had not realised at first but he briefly drifted off to slumber for 10 minutes before waking and gasping jumping up and shaking his head... looking at the other end of the train car he could see his three allies looking out the door at the area that lied beyond the safety of the red steel door, "not a fan of creepy old train yards..." Zoey admitted seeing the very dark train yard filled with abandoned trains and infected ahead as Louis and Francis looked with her, "I hate train yards..." Francis admitted Louis sighing and shaking his head as he turned to see Bill stretching and coming over to join them, "hey you ok you drifted off pretty quickly after we sat down?" Louis asked the others also turning back as he shook his head with a weak smile, "hey don't you worry about me kid, I'll rest when we are safely with the military... come on it's time to move out and get our asses to this town" he said pushing past the rest of them and looking out into the darkness beyond pushing the door open he stepped out into the cool air hearing the wind and insects all around him.
The others warily followed him outside looking all around them as thick trees were littered throughout the yard as well as the trains that could provide cover for the infected, dead ahead Bill noticed a watch tower with search lights at the top that were still on, "Zoey let's check up there... you two scout ahead a bit and see if there is a way out of this dump" Bill said quickly marching up the several flights of stairs with the youngster of the group right behind him, reaching the top floor he warily pushed the door open and stepped inside seeing a table with a map on it and the body of a soldier with a handgun in his lap and a AWP sniper rifle by his side, on the wall next to the open window were two sets of tally marks, one with a stick figure with teeth and claws with 24 hash marks and the other with just 4, Bill frowned realising the soldier shot himself in the head with the handgun as Zoey noticed a rather large ammo pile in the corner of the table as well as two made bile bombs. "Lets grab as much of this stuff as we can, we might need it for all we know" Bill said handing Zoey the MP5 with a ton of ammo as he scoped up the AWP testing its weight and size, it was bolt action but powerful, a certain one shot against commons and some of the specials he wagered... a tank not likely, but it would be useful enough and would allow him to give Zoey the machine gun giving her more firepower against the horde.
Bill stuffed as much ammo as he could into his backpack and took the two bile bombs into his holster motioning for Zoey to follow him back down, they reached the bottom and moved up the train yard towards a building dead ahead with an upstairs going along up to a fence that lead them to a road on the other side to their right seeing Louis and Francis in one of the rooms upstairs already, "we can get across up there the main road beyond should take us straight into Riverside" Louis explained as Bill nodded moving along the upper level towards the fence they would have to cross, looking around he could not see any immediate signs of infected on the main street ahead but he knew better then to take that at face value... there was going to be infected they could not just act like they were in the clear not until they had confirmed Riverside had held out, as they walked across the train car and over the fence dropping down onto the main street beyond they froze in terror... someone was crying somewhere further down the road, the haunting sound echoing off the trees and spreading through the darkness of the night chilling them to the bone, "well soo much for your bet Louis..." Bill said quietly as the office manager stamped the ground cursing under his breathe as Francis looked down the street careful not to shine his flashlight too aggressively in case he found the witch, "we need to keep going look for her and walk around her carefully..." Bill said sharply as he began to quietly move down the street with the AWP in hand carefully shinning the flashlight around as the sobbing gradually got louder. To their left was thick trees as ahead of them they could see a burning school bus that had crashed into a small mountain to the right, various bodies hanging in and out of the bus as blood littered the road, they continued to creep forward still not sure if the witch was left or right as the sobbing continued to echo all around them, Zoey shook with fear as the haunting crying got inside her head filling her with images of terror at the sight of the wraith woman she knew was crying waiting for an unsuspecting survivor to stumble upon them only for a grizzly fate to await them... Louis clicked his tongue as Francis shuffled forward both men pausing as a loud groan occurred followed by more gurgling and groaning close by.
"Boomer as well shit its a party out here..." Louis hissed as Francis and Louis looked around for the boomer... if one of them was to get puked on in front of a witch, disaster would surely follow, Zoey yelped jumping as a she caught a bloated figure in her flashlight in the thick trees to their left, to her horror with surprising speed the boomer waddled out of sight... "Jesus that thing moved quick..." she hissed her blood running cold as they warily scanned the trees to their left knowing the fat bastard was waiting for them to get closer to the witch, as the three youngsters advanced forward coming up to the flaming bus the old war vet stood still eyes narrowed as he listened carefully... that son of a bitch smoker was also in the area... he could hear it coughing and spluttering in the distance also wanting to take advantage of the conveniently placed witch... the infected were getting smarter. All of them jumped in horror as a loud bang occurred as Bill had rolled over spun around and fired a shot into the trees behind them to their right, looking back they were shocked as a horrid shriek occurred followed by an explosion of foul green smoke... the old man had blasted the smoker right in the chest and sent it to a grizzly afterlife, "get past the bus and away from those trees, the boomer is trying to get us to shit the witch... she's over there" Bill hissed pulling back the bolt of the rifle and ejecting the spent casing puffing his cigie as the team quickly ran by the bus and into the open area beyond warily watching the trees to their left as the sobbing and groaning continued, Bill frowned seeing a pale wraith on the ground in a fatal position rocking back and fourth as she sobbed... seemingly never hearing the shot or the smoker death in between some trees as a bloated figure was stood right beside her eyeing him down... he could see the crimson omen eyeing him the mouth twisted into a deep scowl of rage as the boomer groaned begging him to take the shot... clever bastard but the old man was no fool. "Nice try fatty" he said quietly sticking his finger up at the fat shit as he ran past the bus and joined his allies... "he's right next to that witch, just leave him alone he can't bother us as long as we keep moving..." he snapped motioning for them to quickly make it down the road as the three men moved off the boomer made a deep low groan of some kind, Zoey shook with fear seeing its one exposed eye staring at her with rage through a thick tree, she quickly moved off to join the men as they quickly moved off down the road wanting to put the monster behind them as the witch carried on sobbing into the chilling night...
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Soon enough as they had progressed down the long dark street with thick trees on either side the sobbing of the wraith had stopped... she was hopefully no longer a problem for them and it seemed at least for now the boomer was not going to try and follow them, they continued down the main street a sign for Riverside to their left, "this is it the entrance to Riverside is just up ahead" Louis said his voice sounding happy and hopeful as Francis led the way towards a small house off the main road to the right as the road ahead had been blocked by an abandoned 18 wheeler, approaching the house they watched warily as some lights were on and the windows were all boarded up, "ah nice a cabin the middle of no where... I know how this movie ends" Zoey said as they pushed for the front door of the house, Francis pushed it open and slipped inside listening out any signs of infected, "check the rooms for supplies" Bill whispered as Zoey and Louis looked in the kitchen seeing a body with a in tact full first aid kit next to it, "well that helps" Louis said nodding as Zoey strapped it to her back leaving her almost empty one behind as Francis emerged from the bedroom and Bill from the bathroom, "nothing else lets keep going" he spoke pushing open the back door which led back out to the main street beyond the lorry. The group pushed past a left behind ambulance looking inside and finding some pain pills and finally beyond that was the entrance to the town they had been seeking for some time, "Riverside is just ahead we've made it!" Louis said as Bill looked at the front gate of Riverside which was completely sealed with barbed wire on the top with two minigun placements on either side of the barricade, however they were empty... Bill frowned, he could not hear any noise coming from Riverside at all, no signs of military or other survivors just dead silence... "seems pretty quite for an evacuation town... we need to get inside quickly into this Graveyard, safe house ahead!" Bill said although he was not optimistic.
"There is lights on in that church!" Francis said pointing to the building at the top of the graveyard dead ahead, they quickly but carefully made their way up to the top of the graveyard looking all around them as the church was well lit up like a beacon of hope, Louis hoped to god it meant the town was occupied by friendlies... they had already been denied soo much after failing to escape in the helicopter... they couldn't fail again surely, Zoey felt anxious while Francis felt mostly indifferent if the town was gone it was gone they would just have to find another way out of town like they always did, as they approached the church Bill paused holding his head, even if the town was a bust he had to keep leading them on... they had come too far to give up now they had to stay strong, stepping inside the church he could see there was three main entrances to the church two of witch were open, inside was a piano in the middle of the room and some gas cans in the corner with a spiral staircase leading up to the attic above. "Its been an hour... I must be immune- must be immune I... no I- I have to be immune..." they could heard, looking behind the piano they could see a safe room door built into the wall... but someone was inside and the door was sealed shut, they looked nervously at each other... the man inside sounded on edge rambling on over and over again as Bill finally plucked up the courage to move near the door, his footsteps were heard by the man inside, "who's there- is someone there... I've got a bell in here" he said his voice filled with anxiety and fear, Francis stepped forward a smug grin on his face, "we're cops open up" he said winking at Zoey only for the man to shout back, "you don't sound like cops!" he yelled causing Francis to jump and Bill to sigh and shake his head.
"Son we are immune we are tired and there is infected in the damn woods now cut out the shit and let us in" Bill said after that hoping to get somewhere with the guy however it soon became apparent that was not going to be the case, "NOOO my safe house stay away- no come in- no slide your guns under the door- no go away better safe then sorry- better safe then sorry" he rambled as Francis banged his fist against the door, "just open up the good damn door" he yelled, "only when you can prove your immune- and I- I know just how to do it..." he continued as Louis stepped forward, "we are as human as they come son I promise you" Bill tried again, "NO- NO- NO- NO you said that last time- you said that last time and I trusted you last time!" he yelled breaking something inside the safe room as he sound like he threw himself against the wall, "this guy is nuttier then candy bar shit..." Bill sighed as Francis shrugged his shoulders and tried something else. "Have a heart we have a helpless old man with us" he said laughing as Bill shook his head choosing not to respond, "you think I care how old you are... better safe then sorry- better safe then sorry" the man continued to defy them, "sir please we are not infected we just wanna get into Riverside..." Louis tried, "not infected... NOT INFECTED PROOVE IT!" he suddenly yelled although it sounded like he was wincing in pain behind the door, "I'm gonna tear that bell down and shove it up your ass!" Francis yelled losing his patience as he kicked and wacked the door multiple times the man inside laughing maniacally before screaming, "trying to intimidate me... not going to help you fucker!" he yelled his voice wavering from calm to panic stricken and full of pain, "hey jerk ass why don't you just open the god damn door?" Zoey finally spoke as the man paused for sometime, several loud coughs left the safe room followed by more talk, "nobody rides for free... I trusted you before- I opened the door and let you in- you bit me- I trusted you before you bit me... better safe then sorry!" he rambled on his voice high pitch and filled with fear.
"You know we can make you open that god damn door" Zoey said trying to sound intimidating, "can you really... my safe house go away no one gets in!" he yelled angrily, "we ain't going no where jack ass..." Francis said and soon wished he had not, "I can make you leave don't believe me... HOW ABOUT NOW... DING DONG, DING DONG DINNERS SERVED COME AND GET IT!" he screamed before the church bell began to chime over and over again, "oh shit" Francis jumped back they all looked around them as angry screaming and shouting began to echo all around them coming from the thick trees and beyond, "shit get yourselves ready use those cans and work together I'm gonna go into the attic and pick them off... stay together we don't know how long we are gonna need to hold them off!" Bill yelled rushing up the spiral staircase as the others placed the gas cans by the entrances. He wasted no time setting the rifle down and scoping in towards the entrance of the graveyard looking for the approaching swarm, "if we live through this I'm gonna frigging kill that guy!" Francis growled taking up a position ahead of Louis and Zoey shotgun held at the ready as they both held their automatic weapons tightly waiting for the approaching horde to advance on them, inside the safe room the man was laughing maniacally as he thrashed around throwing himself into the wall and onto the floor as the bite mark on his left arm began to turn black his veins pulsating as slowly black boils took over his arm... meanwhile above Bill noticed a small shed to the right of the graveyard with several gas cans outside it with some inside as well, squeezing the trigger of his AWP he blew up several gas cans creating a large healthy fire that covered the right side of the graveyard and some of the entrance as well. Bill cursed squeezing the trigger as the head of the pack entered the graveyard, some getting engulfed in flames while others had the sense to keep to their right as he began to take shot after shot downing them at the far end of the graveyard as the horde began to make its way up to the church, he fired over and over, dropping attackers as frowned in concentration bang after bang going off as he fired again and again... "shit there's too many!" he yelled continuing to fire as the infected below had reached the church and began to claw and bang on the doors and windows.
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The three below looked around frightened as banging went off over and over above them as banging and knocking began on the doors and windows of the church, looking to their left Zoey and Louis saw a swarm racing up to the open window, "shit..." Louis hissed firing a shot at the gas can in that area which exploded and engulfed them all in flames blocking off that area as Francis began to fire shots at the chapel window to their right as the infected smashed it open and began to try and climb inside, blood spraying everywhere as bodies began to pile up over the window as infected frantically climbed over the bodies trying to get in as Francis made a pile up on the window, Louis yelled out as the window to his right shattered and cold clammy grey hands began reaching through looking for a throat to tear out... he began to unload splattering blood all over the window as he blew arms off of bodies sending attackers to the afterlife as the bell continued to ring over and over. Francis now having to aim left as well as attackers made their way in through the door and side room, blowing them back through the doorway and spraying blood all over the walls as Bill fired from above, dropping attackers in the graveyard Zoey firing bursts between Francis and Louis at infected coming through the large window and small ones to her right as the fought to defend the church as the church guy began coughing and hissing over and over, "what the hell is happening to him in there?" Louis called out over the gun fire as Francis turned his head, "he said he got bit and hour ago right so what do you think?" he snapped turning back round to light and toss a Molotov through the big window right in front of him as Zoey winced at the horrific noises of pain coming from the safe room... the church guy was turning right in front of them... thankfully they could not see it for how disgustingly horrifying it must have been.
The first fire died down meaning they were open to attack once more as the second fire engulfed the chapel window of the church blocking off an entry point for the infected as the team continued to hold their position, up above Bill had gone through a sizeable amount of his ammunition supply as he fired round after round without fail, not wanting to give the infected any breathing room as still the horde was pouring in through the entrance to the graveyard and didn't show any signs of slowing up anytime soon... he was forced to jump back as an ear piercing scream broke out and something had come crashing through the window landing where he was standing moments earlier jumping back as it stood sharply growling aggressively at him, he drew his combat knife swinging it around for a few times before bringing it level with the hunters chest, "you think you are gonna be the one to take me down... huh keep telling yourself that mother humper!" he growled as the hunter lunged forward and swiped aggressively at the air several times jumping after Bill as he made dodging the hunter seem effortless. After several more attempts Bill swiped the hunters legs causing it to collapse to the ground with a yelp as he dove forward and buried the knife in the middle of its head killing it straight away, smiling smugly he pulled the knife out and placed it back in his pocket and retrieved the AWP thinking for a moment before he tossed one of the bile bombs through the window allowing it to shatter out the side of the church causing all the infected to turn and immediately go after it screaming with rage as they clawed at one another trying to get the closest, he lit a Molotov with his cigarette and threw it into the horde, he watched satisfied as every infected that had previously attacked the church was now engulfed in flames, he laughed watching them all burn to a crisp before slinging the sniper over his shoulder and making his way back down the staircase.
He reached the bottom seeing his friends hunched over and panting checking their weapons as he had directed his attention to the safe room, "BETTER SAFE THEN... BETTER SAFE... BETTER..." they all jumped around in shock as the door slammed open revealing a smoker on the other side that screamed at them lashing its tongue out at Louis and knocking him back into the piano, they looked ahead in shock as its one visible eye narrowed at them, "B-better... safe... then... sorry" the creature managed to say one last time before a shot from Bill caused it to explode and fling back against the wall spraying green smoke everywhere, "shit... I know he was kind of a dick to us but... that is sad, poor bastard..." Louis said quietly as they quickly moved through the thick green smoke holding their mouths shut as they passed through and slammed the safe room door shut behind them placing the bar back in place. Zoey collapsed to her knees as Louis climbed up the ladder to the second floor of the safe room, "Jesus that was some shit... we have to alerted the locals in Riverside with all that noise surely" Zoey said trying to be hopeful, Francis looked away and Bill looked down at the ground both of them trying to avoid looking at the young woman as Louis could be heard cursing above, he slid back down the ladder punching the wall next to him as he collapsed to his knees frustrated, "Louis what's the matter what is it like up there can you see anyone..." Zoey tried as he put his hand out to silence her turning around to face them with a disappointed look on his face, "the town... it's gone Zoey, they are all dead or infected... there is no one left... we came all this way and Riverside's a bust... its a fucking bust..." he managed losing control as he collapsed to the floor burying his head in his knees.
The other two men continued to look away as Zoey took in his words, collapsing to the ground where she remained for some time her eyes glassy as she quietly sobbed... they had come all the way to Riverside only to find it was gone... that the military could not hold the line... that the people all died or turned infected, they tried to escape by helicopter and it had failed they had tried to escape via Riverside and once again they had failed... Riverside had fallen and they were alone all over again...
End Chapter
Authors notes: Trying to add some more drama and a more cinematic feeling to these rather then just going straight for the game, I hope that is not off putting for any of you but anyways I will see you all in the next one.
Have a great day