Until Dawn

Chapter Eight

The bright afternoon sunlight turned the insides of my eyelids a deep red as I dozed in between sleep and reality. I could hear soft humming, more of a vibration really, and it relaxed me enough to ignore the bright light, though the warm body that I was pressed against for some reason made me tense. My subconscious mind whimpered as it was given a swift kick, reminding me exactly who I was using as a pillow and all the reasons why I should move away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I was tired, my movements sluggish as I attempted to slide away from Alex's side, only to have her arm wrap my firmly around my shoulders and pull me even closer.

My heart cheered as my body gave in, relaxing against her again.

"Relax, kid," Alex's deep voice whispered softly into my ear. "We're almost there, and then you can fight as much as you want."

I mumbled something unintelligible, listening as Alex chuckled, which brought a smile to my own face. I continued to lie there for several more moments, before my sense got the best of me as I slowly pulled away, my eyes fluttering open and looking out the window. The sun was still high in the sky, promising several more hours of light before darkness fell, giving us just enough time to get into the city and out again before it would be overrun with zombies. I leant forward in my seat, resting my hand on the back of the driver seat as Janae turned her head to give me a smile.

"Hey, we're about a half an hour out of the city," Janae spoke quietly due to the other women that were sleeping. "What's the plan?"

"Find a working phone?" I shrugged, looking at the city that was getting larger and larger with every moment that passed. "We'll try the pay phones first and if that doesn't work, we'll send a group into some of the buildings."

"D.C. is a big place, might find some survivors," Janae muttered, her eyes glancing in the rearview mirror for a moment before turning back to the road.

"We don't have any space," I replied softly, to which Janae nodded. "If we could find another car, that might be worth something though."

We fell into silence as the roads to the city became more crowded with abandoned cars, though there was a surprising lack of bodies by the side of the road. I checked my weapons as we started to pass the first few buildings, looking up sharply as Red gasped in shock. My mouth gaped open at the devastation before me, the soft rumble of the car's engine sounding startling loud in the complete silence. Bodies were piled on the sides of the road, hundreds of thousands of them, most missing limbs and surrounded by flies and scavengers. Buildings had been burnt to the ground and I picked out several remains of charred human bodies in the ashes, almost causing my stomach to rebel, wondering whether they had been alive or undead when they'd been burnt to a crisp.

Unlike the cities we had passed through, it was obvious that the army had been stationed here at one point. Many of the bodies wore the uniform of soldiers, and heavy weaponry, including a few massive tanks with machine guns lined the main roads. Janae slowed the car to a halt besides one of them, situated outside a large building, which conveniently had a pay phone located right outside.

"Okay," I said to the now wide awake women that leant forward to listen as I spoke. "Watson, Nichols and Alex, I want you with me. We'll check things out and see if we can find a phone that works, while the rest of you scrounge for anything we might need. If you find any good weapons, take them, and if you find ammunition, even better, as long as you stay near the car. Don't move too far, just in case we need to make a quick getaway, okay?"

I waited as the women nodded before motioning Alex to open the door and exit the vehicle. I followed closely behind, giving her a small smile as I sheathed my loaded shotguns on my back. She grinned back wryly, one hand resting on a black handgun that was strapped to her waist, her fingers brushing against the metal in a uncharacteristically nervous fidget.

"Hey," I almost whispered, keeping my voice low as our friends exited the car, stretching their aching limbs. "You okay, Al?"

"Yeah, of course," the raven haired woman replied as the familiar indifferent mask dropped over her features. "You?"

"Fine," I muttered, holding her gaze for another few moments before I turned to Watson and Nicky who had sidled up besides us. "You ready to go?"

Janae just nodded, gripping her shotgun in her hands while Nicky grinned, almost bouncing with excitement. "I was born ready, Chapman! Let's do this."

Alex chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm and I couldn't resist a small smile as I turned away from my friends and made my way to the phone box. I only got a few steps before I sighed in frustration, taking in the machine that had been peppered with the bullets. Why couldn't anything in my life just be easy?

Fuck.

"Come on," Janae gently nudged my shoulder with her own as she passed me, heading for the building we'd parked across from. It was an office building, at least twenty stories high, with reflective glass windows and a set of doubles doors that were cracked open, inviting us inside. I followed behind Janae, with Alex so close behind me, I could feel her warm breath on the back of my neck, sending shivers up and down my spine.

The building was surprisingly dark, despite the many windows and eerily quiet as we made our way through the lobby towards the desk on the far end. I watched as Janae leant over the counter, picking up the phone on the other side and holding it to her ear before shaking her head. "I got nothing."

"What's the chance of any other rooms having a phone that actually works if this one is cut off?" Nicky asked reasonably as she stuck her head into one of the rooms. I sighed softly, trading glances with Janae who shrugged in return.

"Well, actually, there doesn't seem to be power at all in this building," Alex mused as she flicked one of the light switches. "We could find the power board and try switching it on and if it still doesn't work, there's always the White House."

"Why didn't we go there first?" Nicky questioned.

"The roads are full of wreckage, and it's only going to get worse closer to the White House," I replied quietly, watching Janae who was reading a sign behind the desk, which looked like a map of the building. "Watson?"

"There's a room, down in the kind of basement," Janae replied distractedly and she studied the piece of paper. "It has all the power boards and shit down there and honestly, I'd rather try that before heading to the White House. We only have a few hours of sunlight left, and I don't want to get caught trying to race out of this death trap of a city if we stay too long."

The rest of us nodded in agreement, checking our weapons before following Janae who led us down a hallway, leading towards the back of the building. We walked for several minutes before Janae came to a stop, glancing between the paper in her hands and a door on our left side. She tested the handle, finding it thankfully unlocked before pushing it open. A rickety set of stairs greeted us, leading into darkness so thick that I couldn't see anything past the fifth step. With a grunt, Nicky rummaged in the backpack strapped to her back, pulling out a flashlight before handing it to me. I grimaced, knowing that it meant I was going first, leading the way into the creepy quiet darkness.

Fucking fuck.

"Whose idea was this?" I grumbled to myself, gripping my hand gun tightly in one hand, with the flashlight in the other. I heard soft laughter in my ear, and barely resisted a smile at Alex's deep voice.

"I think we cast a vote," she replied as I slowly started down the stairs. "So it's equally as much your fault as anyone else's."

"Ah," I muttered, cringing as the stairs creaked beneath my feet. I leant over the banister, shining the flashlight into the darkness in an attempt to see what was beneath us, but the ground was too far away. I took a deep breath, gathering my courage as I continued carefully down the steps, wincing with each creak and groan of the wood.

"This is crazy," I heard Nicky mutter from somewhere behind me. "This is just like the fucking movies."

"What movies?" Janae spoke in a hushed voice.

"You know, the ones where the stupid, big boobed blonde walks into the dark room and ends up getting stabbed in the gut, because she's so fucking stupid."

"Well, no chance of that happening," I replied dryly, my eyes rooted to the decaying steps beneath my feet. "I'm as flat as a fucking board, and I went to college, so we should be okay."

I heard the muffled snorts of laughter from my companions and allowed myself a self-deprecating smile, which grew as I felt Alex gently rest her hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. My smile froze, along with the rest of my body as we finally reached the bottom of the stairs and I flashed the torch light around the large room. Eyes stared back at me, from bloodstained faces and my heart leapt into my throat as Alex managed a strangled curse from somewhere behind me. At least thirty zombies stood between us and the power boards on the other side of the room, and just as I thought things couldn't get any worse, I heard the door to the basement slam closed.

"Fuck," Nicky breathed. "I jinxed it."

"Should we-" Janae started to speak, her voice cracking with fear.

"Run," I said, feeling my heart hammering in my chest as I started to back up the stairs. "Run!"