Woe Is Me
Thank you guys for all of the support. I'm so glad most of you like my OC. I was afraid she wouldn't be likeable and some of you would find her annoying, but now that I know that's not the case I feel a little better. Here's the next installment, enjoy. I OWN NOTHING.
Chapter 3
The anticipation's killing me. What's it like up there? I can't see anything but the night sky; yet, judging by the noise I can tell it's not good. It actually sounds like chaos, what with the screaming and groaning and snarls of the zom zoms, yes I'm calling them zom zoms. Well, at least I'm old enough to understand what's happening this time.
Treading up the steps, my heart beats fast. I'm scared; not going to lie. I mean, yeah, I'm teamed up with two great agents who can kick ass and possibly do anything no normal average human being can, but they're still human. They can die just as easily as I can, well maybe not as easily.
I see Helena glance back in my direction. She gasps, her eyes widening. "Duck!" she cries. Huh? I turn. Son of a fuck! An infected fireman was coming right at me, ax swinging. Shit! I whip around to run. Helena grabs the front of my hoodie and tosses me. Literally, she tosses me. For her to do that to a person my size, damn, she's strong. I hear a gunshot and grunt as I hit asphalt. Ouch. Fuck me that kind of hurt.
At a snarl I look up, since I'm still on my back, and see a zom zom eating a poor soul. Ah that ain't right. I groan in disgust. The zombie snaps its head up, setting its dead sunken gaze on me. Oops. It snarls and rushes forward. I scream.
Its head blows off before it can reach me. Holy dick fucks what just happened? Helena suddenly appears in my line of sight and looks down to me. "Jesus fuck" I breathe out as she pulls me up to my feet. Oh, my back aches, my head hurts, I'm hurting all over.
"Helena! Sofia! Car!" Leon shouts. What? A loud screech sounds. The shock wave from the car crashing into a building sends me to my knees. Got dammit! Ugh, if I was a masochist I'd be thriving at the pain I feel right about now. I hear rapid footsteps, like if someone was running, and from the corner of my eye catch a glimpse of a figure disappearing off into the shadows of the night. Run Forrest Run.
Hands take hold of my arm and pull me up. No… me wants to lie down… so tired… in pain… dying for some food… oy. "Shake it off" a deep voice says. Easy for you to say Leon, you're probably used to pain. I hear him sigh. "Why do I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg…?"
Huh? I take a look around. Wait a second; is this Tall Oaks or hell? Everything was in havoc. Bodies of the dead were everywhere, some being feasted on by the undead that seemed to lurk in every corner. Cars were crashed into walls and buildings; some were overturned and piled as barricades blocking paths. Shit, all that's needed is fire and it'd be just like RC, heh… RC… like the soda that hardly anyone likes… heh heh… I never noticed that until now… Gah, focus! Focus!
"Let's move!" Leon exclaims. He pulls me forward. I glare. Boy, he's lucky my pain has eased up some otherwise I'd be kicking his sexy ass all the way to Cancun. I take the destruction in one last time and sigh. Something tells me the rest of our trek is going to be real fucking macabre.
We rush past the taxi cab that almost crushed me and Helena; I'm only just noticing it's the same car now. I train my eyes on the zombies banging their fists against it. Don't mind me, just passing through. To my left I see two more zom zoms loitering as another one attacks a poor soul. Oh god, were they watching it go down? Ugh. I look away in disgust, catching sight of another banging its fists against a door to a home. Goddamn, they're everywhere.
Screams, I hear pained screams. Well why wouldn't I, right? Oh no. I gasp at the sight of a man pinned underneath a car, his hand extended in the air as he called for help. Holy fuck, how'd he get under there? "Hold on, I'll get you out!" Leon exclaims.
He lets go of my arm and hurries forward, Helena at his heels. They each take a side, grunting as they push. The car didn't seem to budge much. Guess it's a third party task. I move to help, placing my hands on the surface of the trunk. We push on three. The screech of the car on the asphalt practically makes my ears bleed.
A motorcycle engine sounds…. really close. I look up to a blinding light. Oh no…
CRASH!
The force of the impact pushes me back. Shit! Oh poor man… Fuck! We were so close to rescuing him! Why did he have to die?! Fucking twisted design of the universe! Gah! I sigh and turn away from the wreck. It's all just too much.
"Hunnigan was right… everything's gone to hell!"
You can say that again Helena. Hearing several growls, I look up to see several zombies crawling out of the broken windows of a school bus pinned up against a building. Oh, not good. I run away, taking in more destruction and chaos. Well, now it's Raccoon City, everything's on fire. Great… just great…
Flocks of infected roamed the street. Even better, we're going to have to fight our way through. At the sound of rapid gunfire I react on instinct and duck, taking cover behind a car. Fuck me, who the fucks shooting?!
Helena stops before me and pulls me up, shouting, "Hurry! We don't have time to deal with them!" We run past a series of buildings, avoiding undead, and turn down a corner. Is it really a smart idea to go through alleys during a crisis like this? Oh well, we're already in it and oh what a sight. A freaking big truck blocks the way. Son of a bitch man, seriously?! Where are we supposed to go now?
"Over here Sofia."
I turn at Leon's voice to see him standing atop an elevated walkway; must be some sort of fire escape method. I don't know. It's better than nothing though. Once up the ladder and on the walkway, I make the stupid mistake of looking down.
My heart is suddenly in my throat and my stomach sinks. Zom zoms, lots' and lots' of zom zoms; all ravenous and hungry. I gulp. Oh yeah, this is smart. Let's all walk on the rickety platform and hope we don't fall and become dinner. Oh Jesus take the wheel…
Following the path, dread fills me as I reach the end. Fucking hell, there's nothing left to walk on. The walkway's gone; it's just a big ole gap. No way can I make that jump. "Let's go Sofia!" Helena shouts. Still looking at the flock of hungry, hungry zombies, I shake my head, "No way!"
"You can make it!" Leon says. I give a mock laugh, "Yeah right!" My gaze remains on the herd of undead, watching as they reach their hands up, hissing and snarling. Seeing them down there struggling to get a piece of meat, I can't help but think… would it be painful? Falling in, would it hurt to be bitten into and ripped to shreds, eaten alive? Pfft, what am I thinking? Of course it would be painful. A single tiny paper cut hurts like a motherfucker, being torn to pieces wouldn't compare.
"Don't even think about it!" Leon yells. I look at him, "I wasn't!" Sheesh. How the hell could he have possibly known what I was thinking? "We're running out of time, just jump!" Helena shouts. "Alright, fine!" I yell, "Gosh!" Geez man, what a person has to do just to survive…
Gulping, I back up. My heartbeat echoes in my ears, the heart itself beats wildly against my chest it almost hurts. I'm not going to make it, my fatness won't allow it. I'm going to die and I'll blame my fatness. Oh well here goes nothing. Taking a breath I run and jump. CURSE YOU FATNESS!
The thud of my land sounds heavy. Damn, I'm surprised the platform didn't give out underneath me. Hell I'm surprised I made it at all. "See? You made it. All that drama for nothing" Leon says as he walks past me. I glare, "That was not drama." He says nothing else. Douche. He's lucky he's a pretty boy.
Jumping down from the walkway, we now stand before a gate. Leon and Helena kick the door down and almost immediately a car caught on fire flies by, literally, before crashing against a building. Hot damn…
"Having a bad cause of Déjà vu…"
I say nothing toward Leon's comment. My attention's mostly on the goddamn zombie brigade heading our way. Aw fuck, these fuckers are armed and have armor on; soldiers. Damn, so much for the cavalry. I hear shots fired followed by a, "Sofia, freeze!" from Leon. I do, freezing several bullets inches in front of us, literally. I reach up and touch a bullet, shit, that's cutting it real close. I really need to work on my timing.
Leon and Helena rush forward, killing any undead in sight. I follow behind picking up anything I can find of use. If there's one thing I learned from video games it's to always scavenge for things, any things of use. Unfortunately, all I can find in the streets is broken glass, empty bullet shells, rubble from buildings and car remnants… ugh, what a load of crap… oh! A brick…. No, no good…. Hello!
Lying a few feet away from where I stand was a machine gun. I grin like a mad motherfucker. Oh yeah. I run to it, picking it up with a grunt. Goddamn, this is heavier than I thought it would be. Just imagine how strong the recoil on this thing would be, damn.
Gun in hand; I make way down the street finding another dark alley. Leon and Helena must've gone down- oh; there they are, finishing off a couple of zom zoms. "Hey" I pant as I approach. They both look in my direction. "Where did you get that?" Helena asks eyes on the gun. I shrug, "Found it."
Leon steps close to me and takes the gun away, handing it to Helena, "You don't need a gun." I scoff, "Why the fuck not?" He looks me over, "You with a gun?" and shakes his head, "There's no way."
I growl, "Oh come on, it's not fair." He continues to shake his head, gaze still on me, "No." I sigh and cross my arms over my chest, "Fine." Leon's eyes suddenly narrow, "You're hurt."
"Huh?" I follow his scrutinizing gaze to my shoulder. "Oh, "I say, "That's not mine. I took out some zombies back in the university so it's-"
I gasp as Leon takes my sleeve and rips it all the way up. What the fuck?! Why would he-whoa wait! A red substance runs down my arm. That's… that's fresh blood! Sweet Sassie Molassie, it's coming from me! B-but how? I look back at my shoulder to the best of my ability. Is it bad?
Leon moves to stand behind me. "Looks like the bullet just grazed you. You might need to stitch it up but you should be fine. We just need to stop the bleeding. I think I have some first aid spray."
I blink. Bullet? How did I not feel it? Seriously? I've heard that when adrenaline rushes through your veins you're insusceptible to pain but, really? How long was I running around bleeding out?
I wipe the blood off to see. Shit, that's quite a gash. Flesh wound my ass. Whoa, wait. What's going on? My skin… it's… closing up on its own, reattaching itself… whoa… I look up as Helena talks.
"Leon… she's…"
"Healing" he says.
What? I look again and sure enough, nothing's there. It's just smooth skin, no sign of any wound or scar anywhere. I feel a grin coming on and chuckle, "Oh no way! Holy shit, I can heal!" This is freaking awesome! Does this mean what I think it means?
"Didn't you know?" Helena questions. I stop my cheering, feeling my grin fade. "Uh… well… no…" How was I supposed to know? I've always been careful not to injure myself too severely; cuts and scrapes are something else, and I never noticed when they went away. Ha, this is so schway! I'm like a superhero or something!
Groans sound and I'm suddenly reminded of the present. Oh right, yeah. I'm in the middle of a zombie apocalypse headed for Tall Oaks Cathedral for reasons still unknown. "We'll discuss this later" Leon says as he moves, "Let's go."
"Right" Helena and I say in unison. I slip my sweatshirt back on, blood or no blood it's still good, and follow after them. We head up the nearest fire escape where again our path is blocked, except this time is a large waste disposal bin. It takes the three of us to push it off. I flinch from the loud crash the bin makes as it crushes a car, setting off the alarm. Oh damn.
"They're gonna be all over us with that alarm going off."
"Only if we wait here. Come on!"
I follow after them, jumping in fear as a fucking car suddenly starts and speeds off unexpectedly. Geez. Shaking my head, I jump down from the school bus. I hiss and shake off the pain shooting up my legs; never jumped off a bus before. In fact, I've been doing a lot of things I've never done before. What a day.
I look around. This part of town looks okay, kind of calm, I mean, it's dark and I don't see any zombies… maybe they haven't reached this part. Actually, this place looks kind of familiar… oh wait! I remember now! I used to work here as a bartender back when I was a freshman in college. I was what… 18? Anyway, my ass was fired when my real age was discovered since it's illegal for minors to work in a bar, plus I didn't have my license, so yeah… that didn't help any.
A large truck suddenly rams into a car I was inches from. Son of a holy fuck! God in heaven! That fucking truck nearly crushed me! How am I still alive?! "Guess we're not going that way" Leon says. I glare at him. Shut your cankerous whore mouth Leon, you weren't the one who was almost crushed! Fucker.
After my heart stills and I check myself over, I miraculously still have clean jeans and underwear; I follow after the agents as we approach a building; Modern Red. Hey, this is where I used to work. It looks the same on the outside. Wonder if Joel is still alive.
We enter the lounge cautiously. The place was dark and empty. Oh man I'm getting the willies. Its super quiet and the place was a mess; tables and chairs overturned, scattered papers and flyers littered the floor, just like the university. Zombies had been here.
I jump from Leon's sudden voice, "Maybe we can even catch our breath."
Oh goddammit, this man…
"Didn't you hear me say we have to hurry?"
Deciding to ignore them, I look around as we approach the bar. My heart sinks as I see Joel sitting in a slouched position right in front of the open refrigerator. I approach slowly. His skin was sickly dark, almost rotted. Ah Joel. Damn. I'm sorry.
Heavy footsteps sound behind me. "Did you know him?" Leon asks. I nod, "Yeah. He was my boss when I worked here a couple years ago. He was nice, always had Twinkies for me." The realization of what I just said hits me and I gasp. Twinkies!
I move to the back of the bar and start searching cabinets. Oh please, please. I open a top cabinet and smile big. Yes! Yes! Oh Joel, I'd kiss you if you weren't dead! Thank you! I grow giddy like a kid on Christmas morning.
"Sofia?" Leon and Helena both have puzzled looks on their faces. "Twinkies!" I exclaim hugging the box close. This night just got a little better. "You must really like those things" Leon comments. "You bet your sweet sexy ass I do" I say. He blinks, brow rising. I don't even care that I said that, I have Twinkies.
"Can we go now?" Helena says suddenly. She sounds so frustrated and… desperate? What's her deal? Leon looks at her and nods, "Yeah." I point to the door in front of them, the back exit. Leon leads the way out.
I stay behind, looking at the box in my hands. I can't just run around with this… need something to carry them. Time to scavenge! If I remember correctly, Joel used to keep satchels in the backroom. Not sure why but he did.
The room is small, mostly used for storage space. I pull the switch on, flooding the room with light. Hmm, nothing but empty boxes; guess the supply truck hasn't come yet, or won't be, anymore.
Fortunately, I spot two large satchels lying around the floor in the corner. Awesome, but do I really need two? Well, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Hmm, my dad used to say that all that time. I miss my parents, there's never a day I don't. I hate that their faces are a blur, that I can barely remember them. I hate that I lost them, have no memory of how or even why. I hate that I'm alone.
I hold my breath to hold back the tears, forcing them back down. I don't cry. Crying shows weakness and I don't want to be weak. I may be annoying, a handful, and a nuisance, as I've been told, but I refuse to be weak.
Deciding to take both bags, I stuff the other inside one and leave the room. Hopefully Joel's office has some supplies. The room is also small and holds nothing fancy, just a locker and a desk. Searching through the desk, I find nothing. Maybe I'll have better luck in the locker.
Approaching the locker, I sigh. Crap, it has a lock. There's no time to search for the key. Fuck it. Focusing on the lock, I blast it, watching it fall with a clink. "Let's see what you got in here Joel."
I chuckle. "Oh yes." Inside was a shot gun, I don't know what type of gun it was and I don't care. It's a gun. Smiling, I take it and stuff it in the bag, I'm sure it'll come in handy. At the bottom of the locker are several boxes of ammo, sweet. I count twenty boxes as I stuff those in the bag too. Damn, Joel, thank god for your paranoia.
Now that that's done, time to head back. I leave the office and enter the bar, might as well search around here. A quick yet thorough hunt through the cabinets again leads me to find several rags and a lighter. It wasn't much unless… my gaze lands on several bottles of liquor resting on the stand behind the bar. Oh yeah, this can definitely work. I take all ten bottles and place them in the bag. Ugh… heavy….
Alright, here's hoping countless hours of video games, when I should have been doing homework, taught me something. Heading out, I hurry through the back lot; catching up to Leon and Helena who wait by the door to what looks like an apartment.
"What's in the bag?" Leon questions as I approach. I pant, "Uh… stuff." He says nothing more and pushes the door open, entering with Helena hot on his trail. Uh, I'm pretty sure this is breaking and entering. "Sofia" Helena calls.
There's a faint glow as I enter and I hear a voice talking about a missing submarine. Newscast I figure. We head into the living room. Wow, spacy. Nice flat screen. I turn my head. Oh geez, there's a family sitting, facing the television, facing us since we're standing in front of the TV. They look dead.
Leon quietly leads the way past them. I gulp. Please don't move. Pretty please don't move. I glance out the window and see the town set on fire, a few zom zoms lurking about. Damn, still not quite used to the sight. We reach the hall in one peace. Whew!
Wait a sec, ah crap, I take my 'whew' back. Right by the door, our only way out is a damn body, quite the familiar sight. Gosh, it's like the universe wants to make it hard for us. I bet the damn door is locked too.
Leon tries the door, "It's locked." Damn it, I knew it! Why can't things ever be easy?! Just once I wish something would go in our favor! I sigh deeply. Keep calm Sofia. No need to get apoplectic.
"Let's find the key" Leon says. "Alright" Helena replies. By the tone of her voice I can tell she's reluctant about the idea. Shit, me too; looking for the key sounds like an ordeal, the hell with that.
I move past them, guiding Leon aside. Damn his biceps are hard. If he wasn't into Helena, I'd be all over him. "What are you doing?" he questions. I quickly retract my hand from his arm. Wow. How embarrassing. Good thing I didn't squeeze his bicep. Looking at the door, I clear my throat, "What I do best."
Again, focusing on the lock, I blast it and the door opens. "Ha, see." I move to pass through and gasp as I feel something trip me. A pair of strong arms catches me and a gunshot sounds. Oh shit, I forgot about the zom zom by the door. I look up at Leon then look at Helena as she lowers her gun. "Thanks guys" I say as I settle myself on my feet, forcing back a blush. Whew… shake it off Sofia. He's not yours. Not yours.
Stepping outside I'm greeted with the sight of a deceased body, one of a soldier, leaning up against a brick wall. Yeesh… poor guy. Footsteps pass me as I take in the sight for a while longer. To have a job, knowing full well any day can be your last and you can just die at any second… that takes a lot of bravery and courage. Something I don't think I have.
Exhaling, I continue on, walking up as Leon and Helena kick a door down, both aiming their guns soon after. My breath hitches at a most gruesome sight I have my hopes on never seeing again, a man being snacked upon.
Something was different about this zom zom though. It had the same type of dead grey flesh but, it was larger in size, sort of. It stops eating suddenly, turning around to face us and gives a groan as it starts to quiver with its neckline stretching out resulting in a large gaping hole. And from that hole, a large bright red orange growth spurts out resembling a tumor, almost looking like a really bad lesion.
What the hell? I gag at the sight. "What is that?" I hear Helena say. She sounds just as disgusted. The tumor growth pulsates as the creature arches back; releasing the loudest ear piercing shriek I've ever heard in my life. Fucking hell… I cover my ears. The growth deflates suddenly, losing its glowing color. The creature gives raspy breaths as it runs off. Okay…. Weird…
To my right I hear a clanging sound and turn to see a number of zombies climbing the fence attached to the building. Ah, shit. That fucking shrieking thing must've called them. Leon and Helena open fire, Helena switching her handgun for the machine gun.
"Ugh" Leon groans, "That scream…. It's like nails on a chalkboard." Yes, exactly. That's a good way of interpreting it. Fucking nails on a chalkboard. The two move forward, killing continuously, yet more and more keep coming. Talk about a bad time to be inside an enclosed space. Shit, what do we do?
Wait… the shotgun, duh! I unzip the bag, only to be pulled back through the lot and dragged into the building. Alright then, shotgun's going to have to wait. Looking around, this place could've easily been some type of prison. I see nothing but steel doors lining down the way. Dread fills me as they swing open. Oh no…
Oh what a nightmare. More zombies step out to join the party. I catch sight of one of them holding an extinguisher. Huh. Go figure. I rush up to it and yank the container away, "Gimme!" It groans as I kick it back into the cell and slam the door shut. A distant shriek sounds then.
Uh oh… shrieker's coming back. Gotta do something quick! But what? Argh, come on Sofia. Think… think… think…
"Sofia, watch out!"
What? I look back just as a zom zom melts away. "Pay attention!" Leon yells. He turns away from me and kicks a zombie in the head. From around the corner, the shrieker steps out, back arched. I don't think so dick fucker!
I freeze the room; agents included, and cross on down the hall stopping before the monster. It's even uglier up close. The growth is just soft tissue. Now I never paid much attention in anatomy but it looks like the trachea and bronchi. Yuck! I shudder, nausea rising.
This thing has got to die. I only hope this works. Taking the extinguisher, I ram it into the growth, my stomach churning at the wet squelching sound, and then run back to Leon and Helena's side, unfreezing them.
They both look around, confused until their eyes land on me. "Did you-, " Leon starts. "No time, shoot the extinguisher!" I interject, pointing. He looks and shoots the can dead on. The explosion causes the growth to burst open and deflate, dripping cartilage, muscle, and tissue as it melts away.
Ugh, I'm going to be sick. It's a miracle I haven't puked. Guess my stomach is stronger than I thought. The shrieker, as it unfreezes, releases a shriek only this one wasn't piercing to the ears. Around us, though, was another story. The zom zoms were melting away as well. Huh, interesting.
I look around then, hey, no more zombies. It worked. It actually worked! Whoo! Yeah! I'm smart! Yeah! I'd do a victory dance if I knew how to dance. "Good thinking Sofia" Leon says. I grin, "Thanks." With that done, it's time to move on. So, onward!
Reaching the outside it looks calm and quiet, not a good sign. All around is a big fence and I'm pretty sure the gate leading out is locked. The grass beneath us crunches as we walk. Helena sighs as we reach the doors, "Locked."
Yup just as I thought…sigh… so what now? There's no other way to go through, unless we go back which doesn't make much sense. "Okay" Leon says suddenly. Huh? He turns to me and says, "Stay here."
What? Where am I going to go? He alongside Helena, turn and walk off. Where the hell are they going? Are they just going to leave me here? I watch them trek up the flight of stairs and step onto the platform connected to the building.
What are they doing? I look across and see another platform on the other side of the fence. Wait, no… they can't be serious. That's like a ten foot gap, twenty at the most. I'd buy it if they went up there to make out, but that, the whole throwing her across thing, no, no, there's no way they can-
"Up and over!" Leon's voice echoes. The next thing I see is Helena flying through the air, doing a quick somersault in midair, before landing perfectly on the other platform. Well I'll be damned…
I hear a sudden crash, the sound of glass breaking, and Leon groaning, Uh oh. I rush up the stairs where a zom zom struggle with Leon, having gained the upper hand. Without much thought I drop the satchel and run, throwing myself and kicking the zombie off. The impact of my back hitting the metal grate has me groaning. Fuck me… why didn't I just blow the fucker up? Seriously…
"Sofia!" Leon shouts in what sounds like alarm. I look and scream as a zombie runs at me, an ax raised over its head. Shit! The ax comes down as I'm dragged away, leaving me just inches from the blade. Oh sweet sassie molassie!
I blow the son of a bitch up before it could try anything again. "Get up!" Leon calls, his grip tight on my ankles. I feel him lift my legs up and roll me over on my back and onto my knees. Whoa, did I just do a somersault?
"Shit! I'm out!" Leon exclaims. Shaking off my surprise, I move to the bag. "I got it!" I yell as I reach in and retrieve the shotgun. Thanks again Joel. I look at Leon, "Here!" I toss him the gun. After catching it he pumps it and starts shooting the oncoming zombies. Damn, hurry your ass up Helena…
"Leon, it's open!" Helena's voice sounds. "Let's go!" Leon says as he pulls me along just as I get the satchel on. I blow up the zombies in our way as we rush down the stairs and run past the door, Helena closing it behind us. We hurry to the next building which happens to be another lounge. I stop to take a breather. Woo… that was close.
"You got any ammo in that satchel?" Leon questions after a minute of panting. I shake my head, "Not for the handgun. Sorry." He nods. "I'm going to keep this" he says raising the shotgun a little.
I nod. He might as well. I don't know how to use a freaking gun. Hell I'm lucky I even know how to tell the standard name of one. "What else do you have in the bag" Helena asks.
"My Twinkies, shotgun shells, and alcohol."
Both agents raise an eyebrow at that. I sigh, "For Molotov's, duh." They each give a soft chuckle. "You're something else Sofia" Helena comments. I shrug, "Well, I don't want to be totally useless. I'm already a burden."
The two share a look. Wonder what that's about. Ah well, I'm not getting in the business. I walk to the exit, "Let's go." We burst through the doors, well they do… I just follow. Man, I really need to step it up a notch if I want to be as equally bad ass and awesome as these two, for real.
Stepping outside I see nothing but destruction and fire, lots' of it too. Great… just great… Gunshots and a woman's screams catch my attention.
"Why is this happening? No! I don't wanna die!"
Well would you look at that, a whole group of people. They must've thought of the whole safety in numbers fiasco. Huh. I was really beginning to think we were the only ones left. "Survivors, come on! We have to help 'em" Leon says.
Helena gives the biggest annoyed sigh I've heard from her since meeting her, "Alright." Wow… just… wow. The two hurry to the group, shooting away. Wait… wouldn't it be better to help from all the way over here?
"Die you cannibal freaks!"
Zombies… zombies everywhere, more than we've encountered all night I'd say. Gah, this is a very bad idea… I hurry down to the group, blasting shit away.
"Where the hell are they coming from?!"
I duck as a zom zom jumps in my direction and blast it. Yeah. Gunfire fills the hot suffocating air. Damn fire. I don't know where Helena or Leon are, they're kind of lost in this massive crowd of undead.
"My first day as a cop and already I'm in a shootout!"
A woman wearing jean shorts and a yellow top becomes surrounded. Quickly, I take out a liquor bottle from the satchel. The light and rag come next. I hear zombies around me but someone keeps shooting them, keeping them away from me. Thanks a lot whoever you are; Leon, maybe Helena.
"I'll die before I become a zombie!"
After stuffing the rag inside the bottle, I light the bit sticking out on fire. "Heads up!" I yell and throw it in her direction. She moves in time. It's a direct hit. Ha, yes! Something catches my attention suddenly. Rasping, why do I hear rasping? I turn back. Uh oh…
Standing on the roof of a car was a freaking Shrieker, back arched and arms waving about like if it was doing the chicken dance or something. Shit, it's going to scream. I wince and cover my ears at the piercing noise. Fuck!
Once the shrieking stops, the Shrieker jumps off the car and runs off, passing the flames. Damn scampering screaming bastard. It's too bad I don't have another extinguisher. But I do have Molotov's. I quickly prepare another one.
"Move away people!"
I grunt as I'm suddenly grabbed from behind by a zom zom. It tugs on me and struggle against it. Again, I hear the rasping. Shit, not again. The zom zom snarls. "Argh, get the fuck off me!" I yell and head butt the monster, blasting it as it stumbles back. The Shrieker reappears from behind an overturned truck. I throw the Molotov and, setting it on fire, and blast three times to finish the job. Go to sleep bitch.
"Peter, don't leave me!"
Peter? I look to the crowd of fighting survivors. Wonder if this happens to be the same Peter from the subway. Ole two timing son of a bitch.
"Are you kidding me? I don't need you slowing me down!"
Ah, what a douchebag.
"Stay calm, people! Choose a target before shooting!"
Leon, you live!
"Who made you the leader?!"
And that right there is why I strongly dislike people; their damn ignorance and arrogance when it comes to authority… ugh. Like seriously, shut the fuck up and just do what you're told.
"Sofia!"
"What?" I say on instinct, crying out as I'm pulled back by my hood just as an armored truck speeds past me and rams into a garage.
"Holy shit!"
My thoughts exactly! Son of a fucking dick fucker! How am I still alive!? I look to my savior. Oh Helena, you mean little angel. Oh, I'm going to give you a Twinkie... sometime… someday…
"Someone shoot the gas! We can blow these things to kingdom come!"
Wait, what?! The sudden explosion sends a shockwave that has both me and Helena blown to the floor. Oh… the pain… Moments go by and I just lie there, not wanting to move. It feels good to take a minute. There's a groan not my own.
"You alright?"
"I'll be fine. Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
I sigh. Come on man. When are those two going to get past the awkward politeness? Just lying here on the road, listening to those two speak to each other like they're afraid of what they feel is so… infuriating.
I'm not one to butt in and meddle in people's relationships and love lives, but I'll make an exception just this once. Alright, here we go. I open my eyes and look up. Well, well, well, what's this? They're holding hands and gazing longingly at each other. Aww, maybe I won't have to step in after all.
"Hey, c'mon! It's safer here!"
The sudden voice snaps them out of it, both regaining composure. Ah, damn it! Stupid cop! You ruined their moment! He runs past them. "There's a gun shop up ahead, we can re-arm there. We'll probably find more people there too."
Whaddya think?" Leon questions. I hear Helena give a small sigh. "I don't see any other options…"
They start to walk in my direction. I slowly get up onto my knees, groaning. Oh the agony. Their hands grab either of my arms. "You're alright" Leon says. "Come on" Helena adds. We three grunt as they help me up. Looking them over, they don't seem to have a scratch on them, but I know better. They're probably in just as much pain as I am. Such good poker faces they have.
We head past the destruction, down the alley, and enter the back lot of a building.
"Hey! Is anyone here?"
I open up the door where a man with a buzz cut wearing a stripped wife beater and blue shorts pushes me with a hard shove. Dick. I bet that's Peter. What an asshole. I watch him run up a flight of stairs as a voice is heard.
"Yeah, me! I'm hold up on the second floor! Beat it!"
It's official; everyone's an asshole in a time of crisis. Shaking my head, I head deeper inside. The place looks pretty roomy, holding two sections; where most of the inventory was held where cases full of guns and ammo covered the walls, and the pay area.
The woman in the yellow shirt stands in the corner of the other room, looking out of the boarded windows. The cop stands in front of the barred door and a Japanese man, who I'm just noticing, stands in the same room as the woman. I move to stand behind the counter. Helena and Leon stand by a display case in the center of this smaller room.
"C'mon, man! Open up! You gotta let us in!"
"Forget it! Those things are crawling all over my shop! So unless you wanna get rid of 'em, this door stays closed!"
I scoff. Yeah, we'll see about that. No door is safe from me! Mwahaha!
"Who does he think we are exterminators?"
No, Leon… just no…
The Japanese man shouts something in his language suddenly. Helena and Leon move into the next room. That's smart; I guess… more space to fight. The gunfire starts then. Oh shit, here we go.
I duck down behind the counter. Crap… crap… what do I do? Should I throw a Molotov? Looking around the shop I see it's all wood. Hm. I'd better not, don't want to set the place on fire with us still in it, so then maybe… I look up at a groan to see a zom zom atop the counter. Ah! It blows up. Heh caught me off guard there, sneaky bastard.
"I'm almost out!" a voice exclaims.
Shit, that's right, Leon and Helena. Taking another quick look around I see weapons and ammo inside the counters. Gun shop, duh Sofia. Spinning around, I back up to the wall and kick the glass.
Alright, ammo… ammo… There are so many selections to choose from, which is the right one? I hear a loud groan. Fuck it. I take all thirty boxes of 9mm ammo and a few more of the 12 gauge shotgun shells. Please let me be right.
A shotgun catches my eye, the sign underneath it reading; Hydra Shotgun, 10 gauge shells. Cool… Helena could use one. And so it all gets looted. Alright, quickly, next counter. I break the glass and- hello! What have we here… incendiary grenade?
Sweet, don't mind if I do. I take all ten. Oh, what's this? First aid spray… the hell is that? Ah who cares, I'll take it too. I grab four canisters.
"Aaarg! Peter, help me!"
"Take my hand! Are you ok?"
I make my way toward Helena, shotgun in hand.
"What're you crazy?! Spare the heroics; she's just slowing us down anyway!"
Ah douche… for reals man. Helena takes the gun from me. "What's the matter with you? She's your girlfriend, isn't she?"
I scoff as I hand the 9mm ammo to Leon. "You're wasting your breath Helena. That guy's an asshole."
"Shut the hell up fatty. No one asked your fat ass!"
I roll my eyes at his retort. Really? I mean, come on. That's really the best he can do? "At least try to be original motherfucker" I come back. He says nothing else. Yeah, I shut your bitch ass up. A zombie comes at me from the right, having jumped in from the window I'm guessing. Somehow, I spin and kick it back, throwing my forgotten dagger and killing it. Yeah boy!
"Shit, my gun's jammed!"
I turn back to see Peter move toward the girl in the yellow shirt. "Gimme your gun!" he growls as he snatches it away after a brief game of tug of war, a single bullet firing off accidentally. He scoffs, pushing past me again.
"Yeah, you idiots can fight it out if you want!" he jumps out the window, "I'm getting the hell outta here!"
Good riddance you dick. I grunt and stumble forward from a sudden push, "The fuck Helena?!" She shoots a leaping zombie. Oh. Oops, never mind.
"No! Stay back! Get the hell away from me! No!"
That sounded like Peter. I head to the window, looking out and gasp at the sight of the poor stupid fool being eaten by a strange bright red creature. Ugh… what the fuck kind of enhanced zombie is that?
Its head lifts suddenly. Aw, man is it ugly! The face significantly more deformed and mutated from a zom zom's. Its teeth were jagged and twisted, sticking out directly from its mouth. It growls as it stands. Uh oh. I freeze it as it lunges at me. Motherfucker, you were at least ten feet away! What the hell?!
Looking it over, I notice this thing was pretty big and it didn't have the grey decaying flesh like a zombie. Instead it was exposed, like I could see the muscle tissue and meat, even the rib cage, and it was glowing brightly.
I scrunch my face in disgust as I see the bodily fluid it apparently spewed. And what's with the spikes protruding along its spine? Yuck. I think I'll call you… bloodshot. I cry out as I'm suddenly knocked over.
The bloodshot unfreezes and lands on the floor. The zombie on top of me tries to bite me. I struggle with it but my sight is on the bloodshot. Oh no… it's going for Helena. She and Leon have their backs turned; they're not going to see it. Fuck it!
I blow the zom zom up and rush forward, shoving Helena away just as the creature jumps. It latches onto my shoulder, digging its teeth into my skin. Shit! Fuck! That hurts! I hear the bloodshot shriek as it explodes. That's what happens fucker… dick… whoa, the floor's moving.
"Sofia!"
I slink down to the floor. Whew, my shoulder… it's on fucking fire… like a searing stinging pain… oh, getting lightheaded. Shake it off Sofia… Helena's suddenly in front of me, "Sofia!" A zombie comes at us from behind her. No! I blow the son of a bitch up.
I feel small hands on my face. "Sofia! Can you hear me?!" It's Helena, right… yeah… I blink, taking in the look of concern of her face. Ah, is she worried about me? Leon suddenly comes up beside her. "Sofia, talk to me. Say something."
"You owe me a sweater" I say, grunting as I feel my wound close up. Gah… it feels so weird, like getting stitches but more… intensified. Leon gives a sigh, it sounds relieved, and straightens out. "I'll get you two." The pain and dizziness suddenly goes away and now it's as if nothing happened.
I look at the two agents, "I'm alright." Helena lets her hands drop to my shoulders and I flinch from the sudden electric jolt. Ouch, that was weird. "You sure?" she questions. I nod, "Yeah, I'm okay." The sudden voice catches my attention.
"Hey! Pretty quiet down there… you guys still breathing?"
I flex my shoulder since it feels stiff. Oh, so now he cares?
"For the time being," Leon says, "Store's clear! You wanna let us in now?"
"Alright. Get your asses up here, before I change my mind."
Shutters slide down suddenly, covering and boarding up the windows. Why the fuck didn't he do that before? Son of a bitch….
I hear the sound of a door opening, followed by a, "Come on!" Leon kneels before me again, "You sure you're alright? You're not going to turn on us?" I chuckle, "Yeah. My shoulder's just sore. Really, I'm fine."
He straightens out and pulls me up with Helena's help. Woo… damn, my body aches. This is the most exercise I've gotten in years. Been doing a lot of things today I've never done before. "Come on" Leon says as he heads off. I nod and head to my bag, picking it up after zipping it closed. Think I got everything from here…
"Sofia."
I turn my attention back to Helena. "Why did you do that? You didn't have to" she says. I shrug the strap of the satchel over my shoulder. "I know I didn't have to. I just thought… better me than you." I offer a small smile. "Besides, think how much first aid it'll save you both, now that we know I can heal."
She nods and walks off. I follow and head upstairs where I see an old white man armed with a shotgun waiting by the door, must be the shop's owner. Hope he doesn't realize I looted him. He doesn't say anything as I pass him. Good. I look around, not a shabby place; couch, television, looks like we're in the living room. Sure is roomy.
"Nice work down there. Good news is, I've got some folks commin' for me in a bus, any minute now. If we can make it, it's a straight shot to Tall Oaks Cathedral. People are evacuating there, heard it on the radio. But that's a big if."
Really? What a coincidence.
"It's a shit storm out there. We ain't waiting for any stragglers."
I look to Helena to see her comforting the woman in the yellow shirt. Aw, how nice of her. Leon stands across the room. He's 'discreetly' watching Helena. Obviously I mean discreetly in a sarcastic manner since I caught him. This is going to be fun.
I walk to stand next to him, "What'cha looking at?" He clears his throat and looks away from Helena, shifting, uncomfortably no doubt. "Nothing" he says, "I was just scouting the room." Right. Sure you were. I humor him, "Strengthening your sensual awareness." He nods, "Exactly." I chuckle.
"I'm glad you're alright" he says. He stands rigid, as if this was hard for him to say. "You had us both worried." The sound of glass shattering fills my ears. Aw, man.
"Yo, Japanese dude! Get the shutters!"
Aw fuck. Here we go. Each window is suddenly covered by an armed person. Helena holds be back and stands beside me. I drop the bag, ready for battle. Come on you undead fucks… Gunfire starts up again.
Looking past those who are covering the windows I can see the zombies pouring out of the building next door. Well then. At a snarl I look left and see a zom zom crawling in through an unwatched window. I reach for my knife. What the hell? Where is it? I think back, aw shit. It's downstairs. Crap!
The zombie lunges. My first instinct is to kick it away. He goes bye bye when I blow him up. Helena's pained cry catches my attention suddenly. I turn. She lies on her back holding off a bloodshot. Another one?
More windows shatter, and the room is suddenly overrun by the undead. Whoa, wait a minute, what the hell just happened? "I need some help!" Helena cries. Shit, right. I rush to her side, kicking the bloodshot off.
It lets out a cry of pain. Good. Feel the pain you fuck. There's more where that came from. I flick my hands, making sure to add a little pop to it, and he goes ka-boom. I help Helena to her feet. She gives a nod of thanks and rushes to help Leon.
All right now, time to deal with all these zombies. I look around; taking in that the gunfire's not letting up yet the undead keep coming. I need to do something, but what? What can I do?
Reaching the bag, I take out the first thing my hand touches, "Incendiary grenade." I hope that means fire, but, would it be safe to throw it? What if I set the place on fire? The room seems big enough to not catch fire… ah fuck it. Let's hope these things work the same as in videogames and movies. I pull out the pin and yell, "Grenade!"
I feel like I'm in freaking Call of Duty as I toss the thing into a horde of zom zoms. They catch fire rather quickly, it was a beautiful sight. "Help!" a voice cries. It was the cop, fighting off a zombie. He looks confused when it blows up.
"Throw another grenade!" another voice shouts. Okay then. I take another one and pull the pin, "Comin' at ya!" More zombies become engulfed in flame. A whirring sounds suddenly and the shutters come down. Oh, finally.
"We can't hold out here! Get in to the next room! Come on people!"
Geez can't even catch my breath. Slipping the satchel on, I follow the group into the next room. Yeesh what a tiny space. On account of the filing cabinet and desk, I'm assuming it's an office of some sort. I take a seat on the desk and exhale deeply; never been so damn tired in my life, ugh.
I look up to the group. Leon and Helena stand by the door we came in through. What's the game plan? We just sit here and wait for the bus? Nah man, Nah. I can't do that. I got to get out of here, I gots to go. No way am I sitting around a zombie infested town any longer.
I hop down from the desk. The floor shakes. Da fuck? Was that me? The floor shakes again, causing us all to stumble out of balance. What the hell's doing this? I know that's not me. The shaking grows immensely as a loud rumble sounds. Suddenly the wall bursts open, literally. I feel my eyes widen. Oh hell no! A fucking gargantuan creature with dead grey flesh comes charging in like goddamn bulldozer. Holy crap that's one swollen fat fuck! And that's coming from me!
"Dammit, any more weight and the floor's gonna collapse!"
Everyone with a gun starts shooting at the, I think I'm going to call it a whopper, mostly because I hate those burgers, and the enlarged fuck waddles around. "They come in extra-large now?" Leon says as he shoots the monsters swollen legs a couple times with the shotgun.
"Come on, you big tub of shit!"
"Hey!" I yell, "Easy on the fat comments! You're treading on a touchy subject!" I know the comments aren't directed at me but it still strikes a nerve. "I seriously hope you're joking Sofia!" Leon remarks. The whoppers legs give out suddenly resulting in it dropping to its knees.
It was then the Japanese guy took his shotgun and ran up the whoppers body, shooting it in the head. How the fuck did he do that? The whopper doesn't seem to be fazed. More firepower is needed to take it down. I flick my hands, adding that extra kick, and with that the whopper dropped dead. Whoa… that was awesome.
"This way! C'mon, move it! Move it!"
Coming down from the rush of excitement, my body shaking like crazy, I follow the group up a flight of stairs; seems like we're headed to the roof. Is that really a good idea? What if we get ambushed? Where the hell are we going to go from there? I hear the door swing open with a bang. Well, I guess logic doesn't matter right now.
Stepping onto the rooftop, I stop and pant, leaning forward with my hands on my knees. Fuck…. Break…. Need… want… A loud shriek has me shuddering, oh not good. I look around at the vicinity and see zombies, everywhere, on the rooftops and fire escapes of the surrounding buildings, all of them swaying their way to us. Ah, shit, see man, I knew it!
I jump from a sudden gunshot and turn instinctively. The old man dangles from the edge. What the hell? How'd that happen?
"Christ on a crutch!"
I move to help him but stop at the snarls. Uh oh… zombies coming, fast.
"Help him up! I'll cover you!" That was Leon's voice. "Helena-"
"Yeah!" Helena cuts him off and starts shooting. The cop joins her, leaving the Japanese guy and the woman in the yellow shirt to help the old man.
"Hold on! I'm gonna pull you up!"
"Forget about me! Just look after yourselves!"
"No, we're all gonna make it through this!"
Why does it take an apocalypse for people to start being compassionate and caring? Honestly. "Sofia! Stop standing around and do something!" I jump from Helena's voice, "Uh… right!" Really got to stop doing that, I can't just stand around.
I blow up some zombies quickly and then put the bag down and open it up. Molotov's would help. Taking the bottle out, I stuff the cloth inside and light it up. "Watch out!" I yell as I throw the bottle. It breaks at a bloodshot's feet and sets it on fire. Yeah! I fist pump. Too bad my triumph was short lived. A goddamn whopper had to stomp into the picture. Shit…
"Bus is here people! We have to get down to the street!"
Oh thank g- I cry out as I'm suddenly swooped up into the air. The whopper's grip is tight. Damn! It got me! I groan as he squeezes and my bones tighten in protest. The pressure of it hurts like a bitch! It's starting to get hard to breathe.
Fuck this! Glaring, at least I hope that's what my face is doing; I blow the whopper's face as best as I can. It groans but doesn't let up. Shit! Not enough spark. I think I pissed it because now it's squeezing harder. Oh god, the pain! Are those black dots I see?
"The emergency exit's open! Come on!"
"Sofia!"
Oh, I can't give up now. More power, I need more power! I need to feel the power. Wait, why am I still hearing gunshots? I hear a groan and suddenly I'm on the ground. I take a deep breath and suck in a big ole wad of that sweet oxygen and cough. So much fire in the lungs and ache in the bones. I close my eyes.
"Sofia!"
Whoever it was, their voice was jumbled and distorted. I feel light all of a sudden. Huh? Forcing my eyes open, I find myself surrounded by seats. Wait, what? How did I get on the bus?
"Get us outta here!"
Hey, whoa, why is the bus rocking?
"That tub a' lard's in our way!"
Say what? "I am not!" I yell and turn around, seeing a whopper from the front window. Oh… wait a minute… I look around. Girl in yellow shirt, old man, cop, Leon, Japanese dude, and Helena, they're all shooting out of the window… oh shit, we're under attack!
"Aw, dammit! Get off me, ya rat bastard!"
Oh hell, there goes the old man. And it looks like the Japanese dude is going after him. I have to help. Grunting, I scramble to get up, finding it a little hard. Shit, I feel like jelly; can't even get up from the damn seat. Screw it. Slowly, I force myself up. Alright Mr. Named after a Burger I Will Never eat again, it's you and me. Popping my neck, I raise my hands.
"You coming with me, son? Fine, I'll buy you a drink in hell, boy!"
The explosion outside of the bus rattles me. There go the old man and Japanese dude. Damn.
"Damn, he was so close to making it!"
Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. Grunting, I put all of my will into this one final blast I feel I have left in me and blow up the whoppers face. Argh, so damn tired. I watch as the monster stumbles back evidently releasing the bus.
"Go now!" Leon exclaims. The screeching of the tires was deafening as the bus jerked forward. I stumble back into Leon and breathe a sigh of relief as the bus drives off. Finally, I can rest. And so I take a seat and reach into the bag, retrieving a Twinkie; at last, ye golden cake of goodness.
Talk about a rough night, eh? Lemme know your thoughts and comments.