Where Do We Go From Here
Fluffy142
A/N: Hello everybody, and welcome back to WDWGFH! I'm so excited to be back into this story, and I've got some great ideas for what is to come soon. I've been trying to update the chapters A-S-A-P, but time got away from me, that bastard. I really hope that you enjoy it, and if you could give me comment on how I'm doing, that would be great. When you get to the third break, put All Gone (No Escape) on repeat. Thank you all for the support so far, and bearing with our adventurers through this harsh winter.
Chapter 12: Kiss Me Sweet.
"Uh, guys… we have a problem." Bransin's words were followed by the rapid patter of feet in the snow outside. The clicks and grunts of Infected could be heard through the concrete walls. Jess' screams of terror and all the yelling did the trick… of putting us in the worst position possible.
"Well… let's load up. I'm not going down without a fight." James was on the table, loading his last few rounds into his shotgun. Rebecca checked the rounds in her 9mm, frowning slightly at the lack of ammunition. Picking up the fire axe, and holstering my revolver and Shorty, we open the break room door, and wait for the worst.
The sounds of infected grew louder at the sounds of us inside the building. They had already started to break down the heavy iron door, their pounding only quickened at the thought of a fresh meal. We all took up positions around the ground floor, and waited. We could see the steel cross bar slowly start to give under the merciless pounding of clickers and runners alike. After listening to 2 minutes of their rapid slamming on the door, another sound joined the chorus of Infected. This one was deeper, and the footsteps much heavier. Our luck could've only gotten worse, and it did.
They had finally shattered the door, and it sighed inward on what was left of the strong hinges holding it in place. One more final volley of pounding, and the door swung quickly inward, and 3 runners stumbled forward off balance. They were quickly disposed of at the hands of Rebecca's 300 Winchester. The resounding bangs echoed painfully against the concrete walls of the hydroelectric plant.
They all fell to the ground, and 2 clickers followed them through the open doorway. Everyone slowly shuffled towards the shadows. The clickers were descending the main stairwell, and 4 runners and another clicker pushed through the doorway. Ashlyn skirted off to the side, hoping to get the angle on the first few clickers. Bransin watched her go, waiting anxiously for her return. Rebecca and James sighted up on the runners. The runners descended the steps, and the clickers followed, knowing that they would find them easier.
Sighting up on the first runner, I waited until it was within spitting distance. Putting the small bead at the end of the barrel on the side of its face, I pulled the trigger. Blood and brain tissue the second and third runner, and as they turned James and I made quick work of their pitiful existence. Rebecca and Ashlyn had done away with the first 2 clickers, and the other infected were pouring through the open doorway, trying to get in on the quick meal.
We pounded round after round into the advancing wave of Infected. Nothing slowed them down. Soon we were backed into the small break room where Jess had died. That helped some, though they blocked our only exit point, they only had one way in, and they could only come in one at a time.
"Wait! Where's Ashlyn?" Bransin's panicked voice rang out over the gun fire. Without thinking I throw him the fire axe, and some more ammo for his revolver. Nodding his thanks, he plunged into the swarm of infected, axe swinging.
"Where are you, Ashlyn?" Bransin thought out loud to himself as he plunged through the open doorway. Stumbling over the large piles of bodies that littered the small hallway, he made his way back to the ground floor. The only things left in the horde of Infected were two bloaters hanging around the turbines. Carefully, he sneaked by unnoticed, and stalked up the steps. Listening quietly for any signs of where Ashlyn and Rebecca were, he made his way up to the second floor.
"Ashlyn? Where are you?" Bransin's whisper was the only thing audible over the gunshots below him. Opening the first door on the left, he peered through the crack. Seeing nothing, he checked the door to the right. After he had checked all the doors on the floor, he moved to the third floor, where all the Infected had come through the main door.
"Ashlyn!" Bransin didn't care if he was heard. If they'd hurt her, they'd die. They'd all die if they had laid a hand on his baby girl; he was frantic now. Stealth? Fuck that! Bransin was ready to take on anything that the world would throw at him. Half way along the main corridor, he could hear the disgruntled clicks of stalkers. Let them come. Pulling out the shotgun, he pumped the first of 5 rounds into the chamber. Just as he rounded the corner, he was tackled from behind.
"Bransin! I thought I'd lost you!" A smile touched his lips. She was safe, and that was all that mattered. They embraced each other in the way that no one could ever replicate. The amount of emotion sparking between them only slowed the inevitable. The stalkers had rounded the corner behind them.
"Kiss me sweet… and never let me go." He could see the tears forming in her eyes. He got that terrible feeling, when you see someone you care about in so much pain, but you can't help them. He leaned in, his lips brushing hers. And she was gone. His eyes snapped open, and he wished he had kept them closed. A stalker had her by the neck, and in an instant, was descending on her shoulder.
Time seemed to slow around him, and only he seemed to move. Grabbing the axe, he lunged at the stalker. He could see and hear the steel blade rip through flesh and bone, see the fountain that followed. And he just kept going. He saw himself rip through the remaining 4 stalkers. Blood caked the wall and his torso. Plunging the blade through the last stalker's face, he cleaved it in 2. Leaving the axe embedded in the carpeted floor, he searched for Ashlyn. He found her huddled into a ball along the wall, blood slowly soaking through her turquoise shirt.
"Oh God, Ashlyn!" He ran to her side, and slowly picked her up. "'C'mon, we gotta get out of here." The pounding of his feet, and the sounds of infected behind him, Bransin sprinted back towards the main stairwell. Tears swelled in his eyes, as he took the descending steps two at a time. Passing the bloaters on the ground floor, their spores exploding into a fine mist at his heels, he charged into the break room. Clambering over the now enormous pile of dead Infected, he laid Ashlyn on the table where Jess had sat just hours ago.
"C'mon Baby stay with me now!" Ashlyn's eyes were long and distant, and her entire right shoulder was soaked through with blood. "C'mon! I'm not gonna lose you after all we've been through!" Pulling out the med-kit from earlier, he scrambled through the supplies. "Nothing to help stop bleeding, only half a roll of gauze…" Tears spilled over, then came the sobs.
"Bransin…" Her voice was weak and distant. "I… I love you…" He stared in disbelief as the only person he cared for died in his arms.
"Oh God… No… please No!" His tears flowed openly and didn't stop. His only light in the world… ripped from his arms. The fire that had kept him going for the past 24 years… finally extinguished. We all stepped back to give him some space. No one said anything. We all left the room to take care of the bloaters still hanging around the turbines. Climbing over the pile of Infected in the hallway, we stumbled onto the ground floor.
As we approached the turbines, I couldn't help but think about it. That small pang of guilt, when you feel like you could've done something to help, but didn't. It wasn't just Bransin and Ashlyn on my mind… something else… something that still pains me to think about.
Oh, man… that ending. Sounds a little familiar doesn't it? How will this all end? What will happen to us now? What am I talking about? Find out next week, at WDWGFH.
Fluffy142