Chapter Three: Escape

Before Signe could react, Marzia launched herself out of the room and onto her like a ferocious beast, extending out her arms sneering and growling as thick drool foamed out of her girls fell to the ground, making Signe drop her phone faced down on the floor with the flashlight still on.

In a split second, just as the beam of the flashlight shone on them, Signe saw Marzia lunge at her with her mouth wide open exposing her bloody teeth.

"MARZIA!" Signe screamed, catching her friend by the neck pushing away her snapping mouth, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Her friend did not reply, she just screeched.

Fear rose to her throat as she looked into her friend's unblinking eyes: The sclera surrounding her brown irises were crimson, the irises themselves showed no expression; it was then that she realized that Marzia was no longer the person she have always known, and that sweet and innocent girl had been replaced by this monster.

"MARZIA! SNAP OUT OF IT!" She pled, using her foot to push her off of her.

The woman was catapulted away from Signe, landing on her neck a few feet away making a loud snap. The woman stumbled back to her feet, eyes fixated on her friend who was slumped on the floor, motionless.

Her entire being trembled, her breathing hitched upon seeing that Marzia was blocking her only way out.

Signe was clouded with emotions;fear was the most dominant as she stepped to the side, making little noise as possible going around the body. She stuck closely to the wall, her hands feeling her way through the dark corridor with the only source of light was from her upturned phone lying beside Marzia.

Silence filled the air. The growls of the undead people waiting outside had faded away while the terrified woman made her way across.

She stopped when the body flinched.

To her horror, Marzia lifted her head from the floor and glared at her.

Signe jolted back into her place, watching her friend contort her arms and legs in extreme angles while she struggled to get up. The woman squirmed on the floor, rolling over to her belly then planting both of her palms on the floor, using them to push herself up. She slowly and menacingly stood up, pausing for a while staring back into Signe's eyes, taking in deep, rapid breaths.

"Please stop." The woman said, while her eyes searched behind her attacker for a possible way of escaping.

The light from the phone shone on both of them, and Signe was able to see her friend: pale skin, frail body, and bloodshot eyes. Marzia was in a menacing stance; her head was like dangling from her crooked neck tilted to one side, the tip of her dark brown hair almost touching the ground as she stood.

Right on Marzia's left forearm, partially concealed by her pink sleeve, was a makeshift bandage where Signe saw a fresh wound bleeding through the cloth.

"Marzia... no." She sobbed.

"SIGNE!" Seán's voiceyelled as a bright beam of light shone on them, making Marzia turn around to face him.

Seán had appeared in the hallway, barely able to stand as he leaned on the wall, clutching his chest while his other free hand holding a flashlight, "What's going on?!"

It didn't take him long to realize what was happening when he saw Marzia.

"Holy fuck."

The reanimated corpse ran at him, head dangling from her neck, gurgling and screaming. She had her arms extended out, her legs stomping on the floor loudly.

He backed away, not taking his eyes away from the pursuing creature, "Signe, lock yourself in the room! NOW!"

Seán saw the fury in Marzia's eyes, her mouth drooling blood mixed with saliva as she screeched and wailed, quickly gaining on him. Then Marzia threw herself at him, landing on top of Seán. The next thing he knew was that he was struck in various parts of his body as he and Marzia tumbled down the stairs.

Upon landing on the ground floor, Seán had stopped, and he could hear Marzia roll a little further.

Seán was weakened even more; he was trembling and covered in bruises. He laid flat on the ground faced down, his face feeling the coldness of the tiles of his floor. He lifted his head up and was shocked when he was staring into the eyes red as blood.

He was face to face with Marzia.

The man jolted away from her, going as far as he could.

Marzia tried pushing herself up to stand, shrieking in anguish when was unable to do so. She looked down at her feet and saw her knees twisted around and her ankles broken, rendering her unable to walk. However, this did not stop her; she started clawing on the ground to get to Seán, dragging her half paralyzed body along the floor.

"M-Marzia." A soft, whimpering voice called out from the dark living room, making Marzia and Seán turn their head to that direction.

Footsteps came soon after, as the figure emerged from the darkness, vaguely illuminated by Seán's flashlight on the floor.

"Felix, wait." Seán warned, but it appeared that his friend had not heard him.

Felix stopped a few inches away from the struggling Marzia who was squirming on the floor. He looked into the eyes that once was filled with love and warmth, but was now replaced by bitterness and despair.

She grabbed onto this pant leg and pulled, attempting to bring her mouth close to his leg. Felix gently pushed her away, his affection still there despite no longer reciprocated, letting her roll over and end up lying on her back.

Felix kept a straight face, but Seán could clearly see a single tear running down his cheek as watched him crouch down next to Marzia.

"Shh, it's okay, babe." Felix placed his girlfriend's head on his lap his other hand holding back her arms that struggled to grab him.

"Felix..." Signe showed up and pulled Seán next to her.

"I-I know what to do." Felix's voice cracked, glancing at the two.

He could feel his entire being tremble, both by exhaustion and sadness, his emotions running high almost at its peak. He sniffed, still maintaining eye contact with his girlfriend who was in agony, as he slowly reached for a hunting knife from his pocket.

"I love you, Marzia." Felix raised the knife just above her forehead. "I-I'm sorry."

For a second there, Felix could've sworn that Marzia understood him.

She closed her eyes. . .

. . . and he plunged the knife.

Marziashook for a bit, but soon after moved no more. Her hands lifelessly slumped on the floor, her body pale and shrunken, eyes blankly staring at the ceiling.

Felix wailed, finally letting out the growing sadness in him as he pulled his girlfriend closer to wrap his arms around her, feeling the coldness of her body. He cradled Marzia in his arms, his hand running through her hair.

"I failed, Marzia... I failed to protect you." He whispered to her ear before planting one last kiss on her cheek.

"Felix," Seán crawled by his friend's side and pat his back, feeling Felix's abdomen hitch whenever he whimpered. "I'm sorry, man."

Signe rounded the group, bringing a white bedsheet with her. She carefully draped the cloth over her friend's body and only left her head exposed which was still on Felix's lap. She then embraced both her boyfriend and Felix, placing her head on Seán's shoulder letting the teardrops run down her face.

Then, the front door made a crack.

All three of them looked up at it, seeing a crack appear by the hinges. Right out the window, Signe saw that more of the undead had surrounded the house, their combined forces further weakening the barricades they have made.

"We have to move." Felix mumbled, carefully placing Marzia's head on the floor and covering it with the sheet. He picked up his knife and golf club, "Up the stairs."

Seán and Signe started running upstairs, just as the door flew open, letting in the hordes of the undead inside. Countless vicious people stormed inside, roaring and screaming upon catching sight of the three.

"RUN!" Seán yelled.

Felix snapped out of his senses and went after the couple, narrowly dodging the grasp of one of the infected. He ran up the stairs with the monsters in hot pursuit, rushing in like waves, piling on top of the other just to make it up to the second floor.

His heart raced, he could feel his vision shake while he climbed the stairs, the roars and shrieks of the pursuers echoing in his head as it grew louder. He saw the couple running into their bedroom, with Seán holding the door open.

"FELIX, COME ON!"

The moment Felix had dived inside the bedroom, Seán and Signe slammed the door behind him, temporarily locking out the chasing people and sealing themselves inside.

They pounded on the door, and it was getting louder and louder as more of them crowded by it, attempting to break through the door.

"Signe! Get me something to block this!" Seán said, clicking the available locks the door had.

His girlfriend ran for her dresser and dragged the heavy thing towards the door, eventually blocking it.

But it did not stop the persistent predators, they had also made a crack along the center of the door from their struggle.

"That door won't hold." Signe said.

"It won't." Felix stood up, "I'll hold them off. You two escape through the window."

A look of shock washed over the couple.

"WHAT?! Not without you, man!" Seán shook his head.

"Felix, please!" Signe tugged on his shirt, "This is madness!"

The pounding became louder, creating more fissures on the door.

"I'll give you two a window to escape. With most of them in here, I presume that there's only a few of them waiting outside." He ignored both Seán's and Signe's plea. "Run as far away from here heading south, it's where you'll find Brighton Pier."

"We're not leaving without you!" The Irishman protested.

"You're running out of time!" His friend yelled back.

"We can get out of this together!" Seán ruffled his hair angrily, "You don't have to do this!"

"We won't make it if no one causes a diversion." He didn't look back at him, he just kept a straight face, staring at the door that was bound to burst open anytime soon.

"GOD!" Seán screamed, nearly bursting into tears, going around in circles.

"Felix, please come with us..." Signe cried, "You don't have to do this, w-we'll think of another way."

"There is no other way, Signe." He turned to face her, "Now go, you need to survive."

"But it doesn't have to be this way!" Seán interrupted.

"You're making it harder than it already is, Seán!" He responded, "Don't do this for me! Do this for the baby."

Seán was caught off guard. He could not utter a single word. Signe gasped, she clutched her belly while her other hand tightly grasped her boyfriend's.

"Seán," Felix grabbed his friend's shoulder, "You have to go."

The green haired man sobbed, then he pulled his friend into a hug, to which Felix reciprocated. Signe then embraced Felix, and left a kiss on his cheek.

There was another loud bang, they saw the door was hanging by a single hinge; one more struggle could cause it to finally collapse.

"Go, now!" Felix yelled.

Seán pushed up the window pane, letting the cold outside air rush in and give him chills. He stuck his head outside and checked the outside. He realized that Felix was right, there were very few of the undead waiting outside, as most of them had gotten inside now.

He saw at the small portion of their roof that could be used as a path to get to the backyard.

"Let's go." Seán assisted his girlfriend, his hand tightly holding hers as she went through the window.

Once he had gotten her out on the roof, he took his knife and handed the baseball bat to his girlfriend. When he had half his body out the window, Seán glanced at Felix, seeing him with a cheerful smirk standing by the door holding his weapon close to him.

Seán's heart sank, he blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"Thank you, Felix. For everything."

"I hope I don't see you soon." Felix bid, cracking one last joke.

The door burst open, and in came the infected.

Felix pushed Seán outside and closed the window. "GO!"

Felix turned around, standing fearless and tall as he charged at them and hitting them with all he's got. Seán watched Felix as he was bottlenecking the entrance, trying his best to not let anyone make it to the window.

"Seán, we have to go." Signe tugged her boyfriend's arm.

He last saw Felix being overpowered, and the undead surrounding him.

The couple ran on the roof and into the backyard where there were less of them there. They could still hear the gurgling and screeching of the people behind them. Seán quickly let himself down first and surveyed the surroundings.

"Signe, come on." Seán extended his hand up.

She dangled her legs over the edge and leapt off the roof, landing into her boyfriend's arms.

"Stay close." He warned, grabbing her hand like a vise.

They silently approached the steel backyard fence, their heads turning side to side, their senses on high alert.

"Climb over, Signe." Seán cupped his hands together.

Signe stepped on his hand and he lifted her up high, letting her grab on the top of the steel chain linked fence. She got a footing and started climbing over it, looking over first before continuing.

"Coast is clear." She had already gotten to the other side. She looked down at Seán when she saw an undead man approaching him from behind. "SEÁN, BEHIND YOU!"

He spun around on his spot, just in time to stop the man from lunging at him. Seán had his hand on his attacker's neck, holding him at bay as he tried chomping down on him.

"SEÁN!"

The man was notably taller and well built than Seán, and using its weight, he pushed down on the Irishman.

Seán trembled, seeing the undead's face draw closer to his own, he could feel his own heart beating rapidly, fear getting the best of him. He reached for his knife and jammed it into the man's chin, and the man stood perfectly still As blood poured out of the wound.

He pushed the man off of him and started climbing the fence.

"Come on, Seán, climb!"

He pulled himself up and over, and joined her on the other side.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Come on." Seán took her hand and led her through the small alley between the fences.

The sky was lit red by the countless burning buildings, overshadowing the once calm and moonlit clouds. There were distant wails of sirens along with the screams of help, a sound they'd never imagine hearing in their entire lifetime.

The couple got into open road, where they saw overturned cars and fresh human remains scattered on the road. Seán spotted a few of the creatures hobbling on the lawn across the street, going from burning vehicle to burning vehicle as they walked.

"They use the light as their guide." Seán whispered.

In the corner of his eye, there was a bright flash of light coming from the sky. He turned towards it and saw the dark outline of the Ferris Wheel a few houses away, with all its colorful lights extinguished, only sending sequentially timed flashes of light as beacons.

"There's the pier. It's not that far." Signe said.

"We stay in the dark." Seán pressed his back against the fences as he led the way, taking momentary glances at the people across the street who were still distracted by the fire. "Watch your back, Signe."

She had also been darting her eyes at the people, clutching her bat tightly while they approached the corner of the street.

They stopped dead in their tracks when Seán heard footsteps from around the corner, he saw a silhouette of a moaning woman groggily coming their way.

Seán held his breath, he had his arm extended behind him and around Signe. He looked up front, across the crossroad where it was dark and less populated. "We have to get across."

"Follow me." Signe started moving, going away from the sidewalk and hiding behind the car on the road. She stuck closely to the car which was partially illuminated by the other burning vehicle a few feet away from them.

Seán tailed his girlfriend, still having his eyes on the shape of the woman standing there. The woman finally appeared on side sidewalk, and with her were five more people mindlessly wandering the street.

He observed the woman, who appeared to be leading the pack, sniffing the air, she was turning her head side to side, before she stopped.

Seán's entire being trembled when he saw the woman staring at the car they were hiding behind.

"Shit, we gotta move." He pushed his girl forward, "She can smell us."

Signe took his hand and led him across the street, avoiding the streetlights and sticking into the shadows, reaching the opposite side just as the pack had reached the car.

"They're not done yet." He warned, "We have to keep moving."

The two of them walked hand in hand, keeping their heads down as they made it to the street that had the entirety of it dedicated to various stores and salons. It was the road before the one that led to the pier.

"We're almost there." Seán said, this time taking the lead in crossing.

But then a man leapt from one of the cars and tackled Seán to the ground.

The man weighed down on him and roared. Seán raised his knife but it was swatted away by the man who in turn lunged at him, only to be held back by Seán.

He groaned, trying to push away the head of the man, extending his arm as far as he could and enough for Signe to get a clear hit.

Signe swung her bat as hard as she could, the impact making a crack on the undead man's skull and knocking him away from him.

Seán picked up his knife and buried it into the man's temple for good measure.

He looked up and saw an undead pregnant woman sneaking up behind Signe.

"SIGNE, BEHIND YOU!" He jumped up and pushed his girlfriend away, just as the woman went for her.

Seán felt excruciating pain. . .

The woman had sunk her teeth into his forearm.

"NO!" Signe screamed, picking up the knife from the other corpse and stabbing the woman's head. "OH MY GOD, SEÁN!"

Signe cried, cupping her face with her hands, "NO!"

He clutched his bleeding arm, seeing the rows of teeth buried into his skin. Seán bit his lip, taking his scarf and wrapping his it around the skin just above the bite.

"We have to go, now!" He quickly stood up, and grabbed her, pulling her across upon seeing that their struggle had alerted the pack that was led by the woman.

The group started sprinting after them, and so did they.

"RUN!" Seán yelled, spotting an alleyway that had chain linked fence with a gate.

They took the chance, heading for it as the howling crowd gained on them. Upon getting inside, Seán immediately went for the gate and slammed it close.

But then one of them jammed their arm between the gate and the fence, rendering Seán unable to fully close it.

The undead stuck their arms through the fence in a desperate attempt to get them, tugging on Seán's shirt while he pushed against the gate.

"SIGNE! RUN! GET AWAY FROM HERE!" Seán panted, feeling his arms grow weaker each passing second.

"NO! NOT WITHOUT YOU!" She ran back and started hitting the man stuck between the gates with her bat, forcing him to retreat and enable Seán to lock the gate.

But this did not stop the pursuers, they started to violently wobble the fence.

Seán struggled to stay on his feet as his vision started to become cloudy and he was beginning to feel lightheaded.

Signe carried him out of the alley and into the road that led to the pier.

"We're almost there, Seán!" She encouraged, now starting to feel the weight of him bearing down on her.

The infection quickly took effect, Seán had looked more pale than before and he was wheezing, he could feel his lungs tightening.

"Signe... I..." Seán weakly spoke, "I... need to lie down."

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

"You... won't make... it... I'm just... slowing you down."

Signe cried, "STOP! Don't you dare say that! I'm getting you help."

"Y-you have to... go." Seán felt his leg twitch involuntarily, "Leave me..."

"NO!" She sobbed, tears uncontrollably flowing down her cheeks, "I won't leave you!"

"You have to..." His knees buckled and he collapsed on the wooden pier.

"I can't leave you!" Signe dragged him.

"You're almost there." He said, his vision now hazy, "You can make it."

"Not without you!" She sniffed, unable to control her cries. She knelt beside him, "Not without you!"

"You... must survive." He placed his cold hand on her cheek, "Y-you're... running... out of time..."

Seán's entire body surged with pain. His stomach churned, his lungs tightened, and his heart's beating started to decrease. He trembled, still grasping into the human world. He could only see his girlfriend, the woman he had sworn to protect with all his life.

"H-here..." he shakily reached into his pocket, pulling out a small velvet pouch and flipping it open, "I... was supposed... to give you this tomorrow... here on the pier."

He brought up the small diamond encrusted ring between them.

Signe's heart leapt to her neck and she burst into tears, "Oh God..."

"Will you...?" He wheezed, placing a hand on her belly.

She took the ring and slipped it on.

"I do."

She wept and pulled him closer, locking lips with him.

For one last kiss.

Seán suddenly pushed her away, "Go... now!"

"Seán..." she backed away.

"GO! I... I can't hold it... much longer!" Seán stumbled to his feet, pulling on his hair trying to ease the immense pain in his head. "Just keep running, don't look back!"

She had no choice.

Signe ran further the pier crying, while Seán ran away from it, going to the edge of the railing.

He willed himself to climb over, eventually finding himself standing in front of the railing overlooking the waves crashing into the rocks below.

Each passing moment had him gradually losing his grip of sanity. His mouth had begun to drool, craving the taste of human flesh.

Seán felt the cold breeze of the wind blow into his face and took in in the fresh ocean air, looking at the beautiful sun as it revealed itself in the horizon. He weakly looked over his shoulder, and through his blurred vision, he saw the outline of his girlfriend now far away from him, already halfway into the pier.

He cracked a smile.

Before letting gravity do the rest.

With the last of his humanity fading away as he fell, his head flashed images of his most cherished memories: being a breakout YouTube star, making friends all around the world, living the dream. He closed his eyes, a tear slipping out from them, still having that smile on his face.

But the last image he had was the love of his life.

Signe.

Then there was nothing.

Signe ran, still racked with sadness, wiping her face with her sleeve. She stopped by a small store and leaned against its wall, catching her breath and crying out the tears she still had.

She slid down to the floor whimpering, placing her face between her knees, letting it pour onto the wooden floorboards below.

But then there was a shimmer, it was the ring on her finger.

This gave her a spark, somewhat a glimmer of hope, the strength to carry on.

She stood up and pushed forward, heading deeper into the pier.

In the pier, near the foot of the Ferris Wheel, she saw people walking around.

She ran for it.