Where Do We Go from Here
Fluffy142
A/N: What can I say… I'm human. I've made mistakes, and now it's time to correct them. I know that it's been the better part of ½ a year since I've even THOUGHT about writing this story, and I apologize for my procrastinating behavior. I really hope that you all understand, and enjoy the newest chapter of this story. I know that it's a little short, but I've said all that needs to be said. Enjoy…
Chapter 16: Struggle
"There it is!" Rebecca called down from the tree she had climbed to get a better view of the countryside. It had been about a week and a half since James had turned, I had already tried to commit suicide twice in my grief, but the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger was the fact that we had gone through all of this to be stopped by my selfish acts.
"Well let's get going then!" The excitement on my face was concealed only by the slight beard that had accumulated over the last couple of days. Stroking the foreign hairs with disgust was a constant, but I had never liked the thought of facial hair, but sometimes we have to evolve.
Helping her down from the tree, we struck down the hill into the heart of our quarry. Wyoming had been a big obstacle for the past few years, but thanks to a few stray Fireflies along the way, lots of notes, and plenty of infected, we had pinpointed its location to St. Mary's. Knowing the end of an adventure is near is a weird feeling. You feel a sense of relief, yet at the same time you lust for more. I couldn't sleep, so I sat with my back to the fire, and watched over my friend through the warming nights. The night passed by quickly with nothing to disturb us. That will change in due time, but hopefully not now.
Rebecca woke from her dreams to the smell of cooking meat. At first, she thought she was still dreaming, who wouldn't want to dream about meat in the post-apocalyptic world. Humming softly to herself, she let the smoky aroma pull her from the last few moments of sleep. Sitting up quietly, she looked in awe at the sizzling meat in the pan over the fire.
"G'mornin' star shine, the earth says hello!" I smile warmly over my make-shift wooden plate of meat.
"Shit, what is that?"
"Bacon..." Her mouth drops.
"Where the fuck, did you find bacon?" I chuckle to myself as I reminisce over the surprise on night watch: a couple of wild hogs had chanced upon me in the night, and thus we have breakfast. I chuckled slightly at the memory.
After breakfast, we strike out for our destination. There wasn't much in the city, but it seemed to get narrower and narrower, the closer we got to St. Mary's. The only thing we could find was more and more bodies. Some were civilians, many infected. The thing that surprised me the most was the complete and obvious signs that fireflies were near.
Around noon, the sun peeked through the tall buildings, and started to burn my uncovered arms and neck. Spring is in full swing, and what's left of the birds, and some bees fly around the town. Smiling to myself, and taking a deep breath, I pick up a large rock.
"Hey Rebecca… ever feel like destroying everything in your path maliciously?"
She pauses for a moment, and tentatively replies, "No… why do you ask?"
Walking to the side of the road, I rear back, and smash in the windshield of the Volvo in front of me. A smile spreads across my face, as I break in every piece of glass on the vehicle. By the time I slash the 2nd tire with a shiv, I'm laughing maniacally, just for the fun of it.
Shrugging to herself, Rebecca joins in, and the only sign of infected came after the 4th car being destroyed. We both sprint down the street laughing, with runners on our tails. After dodging the infected, we keep moving towards our destination, chuckling silently.
"It should be just around this corner!" Rebecca calls ahead with excitement all over her face. She stops at the corner, and takes a few breaths. We step into the street.
"God fucking dammit…" The entire road is blocked off by rubble, cars, barbwire, and everything but the kitchen sink. And to my own personal humor, I DID see a sink poking out from behind a large pile or razor-wire.
"Well, let's find a way around it." Rebecca shrugged at her own suggestion as I slowly walked behind her as we searched for another way around. Find it we did, but it took a while for us to notice the makeshift sally port across the street. The hole in the side of the building was the perfect disguise. People come through, and they're looking for a building that's intact and usable for shelter. Although most people wouldn't want to hang around a house like this at night where Infected could easily waltz on in while you're dreaming. There were also very obvious signs that it had been used as an external passage way due to the emptied cans of food littering the floor in the kitchen, and the impressions on the hallway carpet leading to the basement doesn't catch the untrained eye.
"Rebecca, there's a tunnel in the basement here. It looks like it heads under the roadblock across the street." She came sprinting down the stairs and practically tackles me to get inside first. I only managed to grab the last can of food in the cellar pantry before I'm dragged away down the tunnel.
The tunnel wasn't pretty, but the faint glow of light on the other side kept us going. After all of these years we're finally within reach of creating a new age for the world! I'm sure it's a something quick, like taking some blood… but there's something gnawing at the back of my head that I'm forgetting something. I try to ponder it some more, but by the time I comprehend the basic concept, we're climbing up a ladder.
It had to do with something back in Colorado, but the details were fuzzy. I was reading a report whenever the clicker jumped on Jess. The x-ray was lost after that, and I spent an afternoon searching that room and couldn't find it. Although most of the papers were covered in blood and the writing was illegible, the point of the autopsy report was something about the cordycepts. And bam… it all came together. A brief flash of images crossed over my vision and it all made horrible sense. Quickly, I make up my mind, and catch up with Rebecca at the top of the ladder.
I still don't understand what we saw at the top of the trapdoor that we opened and crawled out of. There was infected everywhere in the house, and the deeper and more sinister moans of a bloater came from the basement. Slowly sneaking out the front door, and only taking out one clicker in the doorway, we left the Infected behind, and walked out onto the other side of the blockade.
Walking along the road, and seeing the hospital 10 blocks away, we start to pick up the pace a little. 9 blocks to go… jogging; 7 blocks to go… we've picked up an easy run; 4 blocks… we're running quickly; 2 blocks to go… a military truck pulls out of the alley and runs us off the road. The 50 caliber mounted on the back pounding round after round in to the ground at our feet. Seeing nowhere to go but into the opposite alley, we break out into a dead sprint. The truck gives chase along the road, and turning the corner to catch us as we come up to a crossroad. Quickly turning back towards the main road, we dodge the truck completely, and only see the tripwire explosives quickly enough to clumsily go under the deadly trigger, before an armored man sweeps around the corner of the porch.
Instinctively, Rebecca pulls out her 9mm, and the man falls with a grunt of surprise as the fountain flows from his neck and shoulders. Nodding thanks, we round the corner of the house, only to see that the truck is turning around. Quickly, I pluck a chunk of the road from beneath me and hurl into the oncoming vehicle. The combined forces of the speeding objects forces the asphalt through the thick windshield and the driver swerves to the right and into the opposing house. The resounding wreck that followed was enough to set your teeth on edge. Panting heavily, I set my hands on my knees from exhaustion. Uttering a slight sigh of relief, I turn to see Rebecca in a choke hold from another soldier. I start to reach for the revolver when something disturbs the gravel behind me.
"Say goodnight, bitch!" Lights out
End of Chapter 16
Fluffy142