Chapter 8 : Far from paradise

Thanks to every reviewer, you are reason why I write. And, if you like my writing style, go check out some of my other stories. Have a good reading...

I kicked in the hall, gun in hand. I head Josie checking her gun behind me. The room was in total disarray. Overturned pieces of furniture, files, bloody weapons, mostly broken or out of ammo and such items where scattered all around the scene. But one very obvious thing was missing. The bodies.

Blood stains marked several places at which bodies had once laid, but there was nothing left of it, except a human shaped cleaner spot on the floor. On the walls, especially near the entrance, bullet marks had dug their way through the metal, and had shattered a few windows.

The battle had ended a while back, and, be the looks of it, the cops had lost it. It was amazing how we, normal teens, had survived so much, and how trained cops had died at their first zombie encounter. We were blessed, but that blessing was some sort of curse, when we came to think of all we had been through, and all we would have to go through. This was anything but over.

I rounded the desk corner, and checked counter. No keys were left on the key stand. I assumed the doors had been unlocked in a last try to run away. I went back for the front door, and shut it solidly. The lock clicked in, meaning one thing. This place was ours.

The main hall was a large room, with a surprisingly appreciable modern decoration. Pushing the double door in front of us, we stepped in a smaller room, with a higher celling. At the end, two staircases separated in two distinct ways. The room was well light by some white bulbs on the side walls. The very pure light made the staircase look much like the access to heaven.

We made it to the stairway, and I made a few steps. The silence was ominous as we climbed the stairs. I rounded another corner, and made it for the only door. I opened it, and we arrived in some sort of large meeting room. Seats were disposed all around the room, in a circular pattern, and a large stage was in the middle. A microphone stood in the middle, but I doubted it was for musical performances.

Apart from a normal litter such as a few empty bottles of water, the room was clean. It did not look like it had been the scene of a battle. On each side, a row of large-sized cabinets maybe filled with plans and files were stretching.

We walked to the middle of the room. It was a lot larger than it first looked like. After a rather long walk, we arrived at the middle desk. Then, a sudden sound coming from the left side of the room made us raise guns.

Josie and I exchanged glance, and made toward the direction from where it had come from. It appeared to come from one of the cabinets. I placed my hand on the handle, and pulled it firmly. A loud thud echoed in the room, but the door stood untouched. I tried once more, and it opened a few inches. I kicked it open, to reveal a women knelt in the very limited space.

Before I could ask myself whether she was human or not, she scream loudly. I rubbed my ears. I had my answer.

''Are you okay?''

The woman shook her head in approval. I lent her my hand and helped her out of her hideout.

''What the hell were you doing in there?'' I asked, half amused, half concerned.

She took her breath a few seconds before answering.

''Those things broke in and took all of the cops out... I ran in here and...''

She started panicking as if she was seeing the scene over and over again. She felt guilty about the cops' death. I was familiar with that sort of feelings. I had loads of deaths on my conscience. In the action, it had not been so important, but now that we were safe and sound, it started to weight heavy on my already troubled mind.

''What are we going to do?''

''Nothing...''

''What?''

''You heard. We just have to stay here and wait for rescue. If this precinct did not stand, there is no reason for any other to have done so.''

I looked at Josie. She looked too exhausted to think. Looking at her in that way reminded me that I was tired as hell too. Fatigue crept in as if it had been waiting for me to open the door of my mind. I felt my strength diminish drastically.

''Okay, ma'am you know if there still is some ammo in the armory?''

''Might be... I don't know...''

I went for the map place onto a wall, and found our location. Then, I easily found the armory.

''Follow us...'' I told the lady.

She nodded once. We made it slowly but surely to the armory. I opened the doors. Silence was taking place in the weapon deposit. The greenish tile floor made the room look somehow like a high school. It was strange that as room built exclusively to store instruments of death would have the same sort of look as a school, but that was far away from our problems. It sort of reminded me of the school that had been our refuge for the first day. That school where all of our friends had died.

I had the cliché feeling that something was not right about this. It was too easy. I rounded the corner and checked the first row of lockers. I found a few clips of 9mm bullets, and a knife, which I tossed in my waistband, between my belt and my pants.

''What you got Josie?''

''A broken flashlight, and a few empty clips...''

''Take these...''

I thew her the ammunition for her gun, and got to the second row.

''Damn, the cops took most of the stuff with them...'' I murmured, half to myself.

I found a box of shotgun shells laying on the floor. I opened it. I was still half full, so I stashed the remaining shells in my pockets.

I went for the last row of lockers. It was larger than the two first, and was somewhat different. In what exactly, I could not tell, but it was different. Something was watching us. I looked up, and my gaze locked on a round object in the far end. A camera.

I slowly walked out of the camera's reach, and turned my head to the woman.

''Where is the security room?''

''Second floor, just here...'' she said, pointing a location on the nearby map.

''Alright... You two stay here, I'll check things out there...''

''No way... I'm coming with you.'' Josie almost yelled, grabbing my hand firmly.

''Okay, so then you come with me too.'' I told the woman.

She nodded once more, and we were on our way.

We soon arrived to the security room. A dark blue metallic door was standing between us and the room. I slipped my hand on the knob, and turned it slowly. Once I had turned it, I pushed the door. It bounced open. Inside the small room, nothing was moving. The screens where all turned on and the chair was turned to the other side as if someone had gotten out of his seat in a real hurry. But, even in the darkness of the windowless room, a hint of somebody's presence had been left. The chair was still slightly moving. Someone had been sitting in there until very recently. A few minutes, perhaps less.

In a totally silent motion, both Josie and I turned around to gaze at the corridor. Some noise was heard in the background, coming from the hallway. We ran out of the security room.

As I stepped out of the room, several detonations where heard, and I felt sharp pain hitting my forearm. I could squeeze a curse before the gunshots continued, louder in intensity. We were pinned down. I ducked behind the open door, pushing Josie back inside the small room, and popped my head out of cover to gaze at the shooter. I was astonished...

Yeah, I know, this one was a little short, but I just wanted you to know that I'm still writing this story, only, I had writer's block, and I'm going to have final exams, so be patient. The next chapter will come...Thanks for reading, and please, leave me a review. Much appreciated...