Until Dawn

Chapter Fourteen

The trek from our car to the giant gates barring us from Florida was a long and tension filled walk. As the sun sunk lower and lower in the sky, I felt myself become more and more on edge, until I was ready to explode with nervous energy. I kept my feelings hidden behind a detached mask, listening to Nicky and Morello's soft conversation as my eyes drifted constantly back and forth over the path before us. Alex wasn't faring much better than I was, I could tell; the stiff tension in her shoulders and the nervous twitch in her finger, which was dancing dangerously close to the trigger of her gun, conveyed her own pent up emotions.

Gently, so as not to startle her, I bumped her hip with my own and was rewarded with a confident smirk from the raven haired woman. I instantly felt better once I saw that familiar smile and knew that while it was slowly getting darker, safety was hopefully waiting for us on the other side of that gate.

"Do you think Janae's gotten there yet?" Alex seemed to read my thoughts, her gray eyes fastened on the giant black wall that blocked any possible view of the city and what laid on the other side.

"I hope so," I muttered as I pulled my rucksack from my shoulders and pulled out two torches, handing one to Alex. "She's the best chance that we've got. I just hope that they let her in."

"Well, we're going to find out pretty soon." And it was true, we'd been walking for more than two hours and the sun had finally disappeared from the sky, leaving us in inky black darkness, lit only by light of our torches. Massive flood lights were also shining down from the wall and I figured that we'd reach the gates in just over half an hour.

"How do you think they built the wall so fuckin' quickly?" Nicky voice called to us from a few cars over and I frowned in response as I stared at the great wall. From what I could tell, the wall was about two hundred feet high, but it seemed to drag on for miles, though I couldn't tell what is was made of from this distance.

Her question sparked more than just thoughts of the wall, but honestly, how long had this whole ordeal been going for before we escaped Litchfield? I had heard from Polly on the very morning of my escape, as well as Larry, when he dumped me over the phone and neither of them had said a word about a zombie apocalypse. It had been almost two weeks since we escaped Litchfield, since the threat of zombies had been heard for the for the first time on the radio in prison, but the amount of destruction had been so devastating, it was hard to believe it all happened so quickly.

Once again, Alex seemed to read my thoughts. "Hey Nick, where was the laboratory where this spread from in the first place?"

Nicky's face scrunched in thought, but it was Morello who answered first. "It was in New Mexico, but everyone thought it was just bullshit, some flu, y'know? But people got bit and left the city and it passed it on pretty quick, I guess, from what we heard on the radio."

That made sense, I thought to myself with a solemn nod. Most of the small towns we passed through outside of New York had hardly been touched, just abandoned and looted, but lacking the complete devastation of D.C. and a small city we'd passed when we'd entered Georgia, which had been in ruins, closer to the source of the outbreak than New York was.

I was still studying the wall as I thought and I suddenly stopped when I noticed what seemed to be a shadow outside the gates. The group stopped with me, watching me closely and waiting as I stared into the darkness, as the shadows began to move in and out of the light, forming into fast moving bodies with bloody faces and ripped clothes.

Fuck.

It was the most that I had seen together so far, a hundred times worse than the attack we'd faced in the basement in D.C. or at the motel where we'd lost half of our group. Hundreds upon thousands of the undead crowded outside the gates leading into Florida, more than fifty people deep in some spots, mostly away from the flood lights. I heard Alex inhale sharply from my side as she too saw the zombies, her hand automatically finding mine in the dark.

"Everyone turn off your torches," I whispered softly, flicking the switch on my own torch until we were all drenched in darkness. I could hardly see my companions in the shadows and I prayed that it meant that they zombies couldn't see us either, though I had plenty of doubts.

"Do we run and pray that we get to the doors before they catch us?" Red asked softly, a slight tremor in her voice. "Or do we slink and hide and hope to avoid notice?"

Both choices had their pros and cons, but I wasn't about to take any chances, especially after the losses we'd already taken. I had every confidence that I could make it to the door and keep out of the zombies grasp, but I wasn't about to leave anyone behind if they couldn't keep up. "Definitely slink and hide. From here on out, I do not want to hear a word from anyone. Hide in the shadows of the cars; they almost go straight to the door, and let's all just hope that Janae is waiting for us there, on the other side."

I took point, with everyone in a line behind me, moving cautiously with my head never lifting over the top of the cars that surrounded us. After ten minutes, my back was aching from the awkward angle and I could only imagine how Alex felt, as she had several inches of height on me and anyone else in our group. I didn't have to look behind me to know that she was there, guarding my back, her warm presence comforting me more than any possible weapon as we walked into this life threatening situation. It seemed like forever until we finally reached the last car in the long line leading towards the wall and there was a five hundred foot open space between us and the gates, causing me to curse silently. I could see the large double doors that led into the city, lit up by the flood lights, but the only thing I could hear were the zombies growling and screaming and clawing at the gates, their fingernails scratching at the metal and sending uncomfortable shivers down my spine.

I crouched down on the ground, with my small group surrounding me in a small semi-circle, watching me for instructions. We'd taken the safe and easy way for the first part of our journey, and now there was nothing we could do but run and hope for the best. "We have to run."

The group nodded and I looked at Alex, who I knew was the second fastest in our group, after myself. "Run to the gate, as fast as you can and don't look back, I'll cover you and the girls until they open the doors."

It was a conscious decision, to make sure that she got to safety, even if no one else did, and it was selfish but I didn't care. I watched as Alex opened her mouth to protest, understanding what I was saying but a firm shake of my head stopped the words in her throat. I watched as the emotions played over her normally stoic face, from anger and worry to fear and then lastly frustrated acceptance as she finally nodded with reluctance, reaching out to grab my hand and give it a squeeze. I forced a smile onto my face before pushing myself onto my feet once more, with the rest of the women following my lead.

"Everyone, run as fast as you can, straight to the door. Do not fire your guns until you hear my first shot go off and even then, don't fire unless you have to. Just focus on running."

I watched as they silently lined up beside the abandoned car, while I unsheathed my twin shot guns from my back and prepared myself for a fight, possibly to the death. I almost dropped the double barrels when Alex suddenly spun around from her half crouched position to face me, grabbing my face almost roughly with both of her hands before kissing me soundly on the lips. The passion and desperation in the kiss sent a shock throughout my entire body, as if I'd been struck by lightning, but as quickly as it started, it was over when Alex just as suddenly pulled away.

"You better be right fucking behind me," Alex whispered fiercely, her gray eyes fiery and full of emotion as she stared straight into my eyes, her warm hands still cupping my cheeks. "Because I plan on continuing this, as soon as we're through those doors. I made a promise."

All I could do was nod, a stupid, goofy smile on my face which Alex returned briefly before facing back toward the gate. My smile soon disappeared though when I took in the scene that I was sending Alex into, with only a small hand gun and me to guard her back. Through all the years that I'd been with her, it had always been Alex watching out for me and keeping me out of any serious trouble, at least when she wasn't the one throwing me head first into it, but even then, she helped me as much as she could. And now it was just me, a woman who could barely take care of herself these days, with the lives of four women in my hands, one of which could possibly be the greatest love of my life.

"Okay," I kept my voice low as I watched the zombies clambering at the wall, thanking God that the entrance to the gates was flooded with light and devoid of most of the undead. "On three, everyone start running as fast as you can. One,

Two,

Three."

Despite her well known hate for anything athletic, other than fucking, I watched as Alex bolted off like a shot, her long legs covering the ground in quick, quiet strides as her black hair whipped out behind her like a cape. Morello was not far behind, her eyes desperate and full of fear as she ran with Nicky practically dragging Red along behind her. They were almost half way along the empty space they needed to cover, with Alex only two hundred or so feet away from the door, when they were noticed; and that's when I started moving, keeping at a fast paced jog and firing my double barrel shotguns at the zombies that immediately started lunging towards the sprinting group. It was barely seconds before they were all on us, thousands of hungry and screaming monsters, and I was exceptionally glad when I saw that Alex was almost at the door, shooting at the undead that blocked her way, as I fired round after round into any zombie that got close to the women running in front of me.

I caught up to Nicky and Red, still a hundred feet away from the door and turned to run backwards, wishing for a machine gun as the zombies circled around us and came from every direction. The moment when my ammunition ran out came all too quickly, and I dropped my shotguns as I ran, pulling out the two black handguns that were strapped to my thighs and instantly firing into the face of a undead woman wearing a nurse uniform that was reaching for Nicky. I heard it when Alex finally reached the door, immediately slamming on the black metal and yelling at the top of her lungs for help.

And then I prayed.

"Oh God, please let us in."

And prayed.

"Mr Christ, please, open the doors, just open the fucking doors and save us."

And prayed.

"Save her, please, save Alex."

The undead had closed in on us, and I was cut off from Nicky and Red who were pushing and fighting their way to the door, where Alex and Morello had already turned around to fight. I was surrounded in a circle of undead, with hands grasping at my clothes and fingernails biting into my exposed skin and I almost panicked at the sudden overwhelming feeling of doom. My guns were basically useless in such cramped quarters, so I discarded them and pulled out the two long daggers that were sticking out from the tops of my boots and started slashing at anything that got close. I could vaguely hear Alex yelling for me, and the sounds of my friend's weapons firing, occasionally hitting one of the zombies around me, but I knew that I was lost. The doors hadn't opened, and I was in the very middle of thousands upon thousands of zombies and I only hoped that Alex could at least get inside to safety, even if I couldn't.

I love you; I said the words silently as I slashed deeply through the neck of a man reaching for me, spurting thick blood over my face and clothes and smiling grimly as he dropped to the floor with a strangled gurgle. The bodies were piling up around me and while there were many of them, they were uncoordinated in the bright light and slow compared to my silver quick movements. I growled as I felt cold fingers wrap around my arm and I quickly slammed my blade into the thin wrist of the woman that had managed to get a hold on me, ripping off her hand with a hard yank. More hands grabbed me and I could feel my knees begin to buckle underneath the weight of their holds on my body, but I continued to fight, waiting for the moment that I felt teeth sink into my skin...

It was then that I heard a familiar voice, and I felt as if my heart would explode from relief because I knew then that Alex was going to be okay.

"For fuck sake, open the doors, you son of a bitch!" Janae's voice sounded loud through the thick gates, frustrated and angry. "They're gonna die out there! Open the doors! Help them!"

Seconds past but it felt like a lifetime until the doors finally opened with a groan, only wide enough for six men in army uniforms to slip out with automatic rifles, which they immediately started firing at the zombies around the gates. A shot of adrenaline raced through my body and with a yell, I pushed off the hands that were grabbing me and slashed the face of the zombie closest before craning my neck to watch as hands pulled Alex through the door way, along with Morello, Nicky and Red before returning to the fight of my life. It was complete chaos and my chances were slim, but Alex had made a promise and I'd be damned if I made her break it.

I would meet her past those gates, even if I had to kill every fucking zombie in the world with my bare fucking hands.

Over the din, I could just barely hear Alex yelling at the men to be careful with their shots, but I was more grateful than worried when the masses of undead surrounding me slowly began to dwindle. I felt a bullet whiz past my head, painfully taking a few strands of my hair with it, before nailing the man grappling with me right between his bloodshot blue eyes. I didn't even blink before turning to the next zombie, driving my knife straight into his throat and letting him fall to the ground with an unheard thud when I suddenly noticed the way before me was empty. I barely paid attention to the hands grabbing at my body as I raced towards the door, or the bodies that I climbed over in my haste; all I knew was the familiar voice that was calling my name and finally, the hands that pulled me through the gap in the doorway.

"Fuck," Alex's entire body was shaking with adrenaline and fear as she pulled me close, her arms wrapped so tightly around me that I could barely breathe. "Fuck, Piper. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

My body ached from head to toe, from new wounds and old ones, but it felt so good to be in Alex's arms, in relative safety for the first times in weeks that I didn't even care. I turned my head as the last of the soldiers slipped back inside the gates, pulling the huge metal doors closed and shutting out the zombies that were once again banging on the wall, their angry screams echoing in my ears. When Alex finally pulled away, her eyes were bright with tears of relief and I quickly wiped them away before they could fall.

"We made it," Alex whispered, her voice full of wonder and surprise, and I knew in that moment exactly how she felt. "We fucking made it, Pipes."

I moved back into her embrace, reveling in the feeling of her arms around me and just savoring this moment, when I could finally just stand still. I hadn't realized how completely exhausted I was until I was finally standing motionless, and my knees began to shake with the need to sit down on the closest flat surface. I turned my head to look at our surroundings, and found what seemed to be a giant army base/refugee camp that had been hidden behind the wall. Soldiers were everywhere, loaded with weapons and ammunition, some standing guard by the wall, while others talked between themselves or watched us curiously with what I assumed were other survivors. Army trucks were parked on the side of the road, and further down, I could see tents and buildings crowded with people.

"Look," Alex's soft and husky voice whispered in my ear and I followed her line of sight, squinting into the distance. "Ships."

But I didn't see the ships, because my eyes caught a flash of a familiar face turned in our direction, brown eyes wide and jaw hanging open in shock. A flood of memories flowed through me, of college bars and debutant balls, and that one person that had been there for me through everything; the same person who was now staring back at me in disbelief. I gently pulled away from Alex and took a step forwards, feeling as if I was in a dream, until that familiar voice called my name and an incredulous grin spread across my face.

"Piper? Oh my God, Piper!"

Polly started running towards me as fast as her little legs could carry her, and with the last of my strength, I met her half way and pulled her into a giant hug. I held her tightly, reveling in the familiar feel and smell of home and closed my eyes as I felt her small body begin to shudder with giant relieved sobs.

And then I opened my eyes and looked over my bestfriend's shoulder and my whole world stopped; because behind Polly was a man, walking towards me with tears in his eyes and a lopsided smile on his face.

Larry was alive.