Part 6
After a small amount of probing from Jim, Ash remembered seeing a group of survivors trying to break in to the shopping centre earlier in the year. He doubted the very same people were still there after almost a year, but he guessed that it was possible that other people had the same idea and might be there now. For the time being, he just thought that it was a good idea to have a destination in mind before they set off. It was a place that was well known and popular back when things were a bit more populated, and it would only be natural for people to gravitate towards it. Jim and Spock had no reason to disagree, so they left the supermarket and started across the empty parking lot again.
Ash estimated that it would be about a 30 minute walk and they should get there well before darkness sets in. He kept reminding them how unsafe it was to be outside after the sun had set, and Jim could tell from the haunted look in his eyes, that he was talking from experience.
The sun was low, but not dangerously so. They reached the edge of the parking lot again, but instead of turning left and manoeuvring around all the narrow alleyways and such, they carried on going straight. The smaller buildings and houses were not tall enough to block out the setting sun and the rays were blinding Jim of everything to the right of him. No one but him seemed to be having a problem with the sun though. Spock stared ahead making no attempt to shade his eyes; Jim noted that he was probably use to higher temperatures and glaring sun. While Ash was marching in front of them, with the cricket bat positioned so expertly on his shoulder that it formed a shield across his eyes. Jim glanced at the baseball bat in his hands for a second, before he regretfully settled on the bat being too thin to be of any use against the sun.
They had only been walking for a few minutes, the silence becoming too unsettling, before Ash felt the need to speak. Every building, house, intersection or street name seemed to have a story behind it, and Ash felt only too obliged to share them.
Many of the office buildings in the background, he described, had gone bankrupt long before all of this had started, and that explained why some looked more run down than others. Rarely, Ash had stories of families that lived in the homes they passed. Jim didn't know how Ash knew all this, and for all he knew he was making all this up just to have an excuse to fill the silence, but he listened nonetheless. At the first intersection they came across, Ash recalled a horrific accident he had witnessed involving three cars and a bus. This had been a couple of months before the zombie outbreak, so Ash put it down to the driver's negligence and not anything zombie related. A few of the street names also had extravagant tales about how they came about, and even Jim was having a hard time believing them. Ash continued regardless, each story becoming more confusing and hard to follow, until Jim stopped listening and left Ash to his words. They seemed to be aimed mostly at himself now anyway.
All the stories of people, families and general life fell flat as they were being spoken to the empty streets and houses around them. There was no sign of life anywhere around them, although Jim was now adamant about the fact that there really were survivors somewhere, he just didn't know where exactly.
Spock had obviously stopped listening to Ash as well; either that or he hadn't bothered listening in the first place, because he placed a hand on Jim's shoulder and held him back a few paces letting Ash walk a bit further ahead. Ash was so lost in his stories that he didn't notice them hanging back.
"I believe the Enterprise will have figured out that we are unreachable by now. Hopefully they are working hard at finding a way to help us." Spock didn't bother lowering his voice, despite pulling him away from Ash. Jim wasn't sure why Spock had chosen to do that, it wasn't like Ash wouldn't want to know if they were close to being rescued.
"It shouldn't take very long, especially with Bones hovering over their shoulders." Jim smiled.
"The Doctor's constant presence should certainly speed things along."
Spock nodded at him, signalling the end of the impromptu conversation. He then hastened his footsteps, bringing himself near Ash again. Jim was a bit confused as to why Spock had initiated such a pointless conversation, and it wasn't until he hurried back to his side that he realised Spock was attempting to comfort him. He had been trying to assure him of the fact that they wouldn't have to be stuck on this planet for much longer, and Jim appreciated that more than he let either of them know.
Ash had stilled in his reminiscing and had returned the air to its equal stillness. Without the muttering words to focus on again, Jim found his thoughts beginning to return to him. It didn't take long for his head to be filled with thoughts of the Enterprise, his crew and Bones. He had complete faith in his crew. He knew they'd find some way to help them and he knew Bones would be jumping at every chance to help. Though that was what was worrying him. Bones would try anything to help, even if that meant putting himself at risk. Jim could only hope that, whatever their solution was to their predicament, it involved as little danger as possible, but he knew the chances of that happening were slim at best.
"We're here."
Jim snapped back to attention, finally taking in what was in front of him. The shopping centre was huge. From what he could see, it circled around and formed a large doughnut shape. What was in the middle, he didn't know. The closest entrance doors were off in the distance, and Jim could barely see them over the railings surrounding a small lake of water outside them. Ash approached the body of water, clutching the railing in his hand. When Jim joined him and looked out over the surface, he spotted the series of tubes hidden underneath. Jim guessed it had once been a fountain, but now that there was no source of power, the water remained untouched and free of ripples.
They followed the railings around the edge of the lake, until they eventually reached the doors. It was a surprisingly long walk, and Jim was left wondering how big it actually was inside. The chances of finding someone who didn't want to be found were quickly escalating to near impossible. Unsurprisingly, the doors were boarded up. Normally this would have been a good sign that there was someone hiding inside, but Jim noted how worn they looked and even spotted a few of them shuddering weakly from the strain of holding themselves up, and he relented that they wouldn't do a very good job of protecting someone.
Proving just how right Jim was, Ash barely had his palm on the wood, covering a shattered glass door, when it just fell off and crashed on to the floor. The noise echoed throughout the shopping centre and Ash cringed with his hand held out in front of him. It was easy to get inside through the gap the wood had left and they were soon standing inside the darkened empty shopping centre. Stepping on the board of wood was inevitable when they climbed in and it cracked under Ash's weight, showing how brittle and useless it really was as Ash was thinnest of the group.
"I doubt we'll be able to get back to the supermarket before it gets dark, so we'll have to stay the night here I think. There should be somewhere safe and secure enough." Ash's voice bounced off the ceiling and dusty floors, repeating itself a few times until it disappeared through the building.
Jim felt his head moving in affirmation, but he wasn't really listening, he was too busy scoping out the shopping centre looking for anyplace that someone could hide out in. Something was pulling him to the right, he didn't know what the reason was but he was being inexplicitly carted off in that direction, so he followed it. Spock saw him striding confidently and jogged to catch up, leaving Ash with no decision but to trail after them.
Almost every shop was shut and locked. Metal rails had been lowered in front of the windows and doors making it impossible to see inside them. Jim pressed his face against them, peering through the windows, but the bars obscured everything that was partially visible. They continued walking around, stopping every so often to check a shop that caught their eye, when they reached a set of motionless escalators leading to the upper floor of the shopping centre. Without power, they were made redundant and didn't differ from the set of stairs that was placed in between them. Despite this, Jim still chose the stairs. A part of him didn't trust the escalators to stay dead, considering the track record this place held.
He had just reached the second floor, his foot only hitting the ground a split-second prior, when the sound of something clattering echoed throughout the high-ceilinged room. Ash instantly stopped mid-step, foot hanging uselessly in the air, staring off in to the distance, straining his ears to hear the sound. It sounded again, but was slightly different, this time it sounded like something scraping across the floor.
From his place halfway up the stairs, Spock was at a better vantage point to see parts of both floors at the same time, compared to Jim who was at the top and Ash who had yet to start climbing them. His hand tightened around the hand rail as he leaned over the edge. No one moved. They each stared off in a different direction. Waiting. Listening.
Jim was first to spot a light at the end of a hallway running between two shops on the second floor. It was obviously handheld because it was darting across the walls and floors, shaking in the person's hands. He couldn't see who was holding it, but it was enough of a reason to tear off after them.
The sudden movement from Jim alerted both Spock and Ash. Spock was closer, quicker and matching Jim's speed in a moment. Whereas Ash was further away, loaded down with the lofty cricket bat and was only a few steps up the stairs while Spock and Jim raced down the hallway.
Just like the rest of the place, the hallway was equally as nondescript looking. The tiled floor made up interchangeable patterns that didn't seem to have any order and quickly blurred under Jim's sprinting legs. The walls appeared to be a pale brown, almost orange colour and shined a blinding white when the light passed over them. There was an open door on the left side of the hallway that was steadily drawing closer; the light streaked out around the door frame and cast lined black and white images on the opposite wall. Jim barely paid attention to any of it. His eyes never left the door he was running full pelt towards. He was aware of Spock just behind him only because he knew he would be there, not because he could see or hear him.
When Jim crossed the threshold he was immediately blinded. He brought up a hand to try and block the bright light, but it didn't really help. His steps finally faltered and he skidded to a halt. He heard Spock do the same as his boots squeaked on the tiles. Even through his eyelids, he could see the dazzling light being aimed at him. It was disorientating and, for a second, Jim forgot where he was.
All of a sudden it went dark. Jim could still see rings of light that had burnt into his eyes due to their intensity, but when he opened them he was surrounded in semi-darkness again. The change in lighting drew a hiss from Jim, and he instantly regretted making a noise when he heard a shuffle of footsteps from the back of the room he couldn't properly see. The figure stampeded across the room then Jim heard a door slam. Then there was silence.
It didn't take long for Jim's eyes to adjust to the dark, and by that time Ash had joined him and Spock in the room. Not knowing whether he should break the silence, Jim pointed wordlessly towards the door off in the back of the room when Ash sent him a questionable stare. Ash understood right away and approached it, making sure to keep his footsteps light until they knew what it was. Jim didn't follow; he stood by the door staying exactly where he had skidded to a stop. Spock marched into the room and dropped into a crouch next to a pile of items in the corner. He prodded them in the dark, trying to work out what they were by feel alone. His hand clasped around cold metal and he guessed they were unlabeled cans, but everything else was impossible to work out.
Through the hazy murkiness, Jim could make out Ash's arms waving, beckoning them closer to the door he had his ear pressed against. The cricket bat in his hand made it easier to see. Jim grabbed Spock's shoulder as he walked past; pulling him towards the door since he hadn't noticed Ash's flailing arms.
"There's definitely someone in there. I can hear someone crying." Ash whispered, turning his head away just for a second.
Sure enough, when Jim sidled up next to Ash, copying his position, he could hear a mumbled voice through the wood. It sounded almost hysterical even though it was so quiet, and every so often there was a quivering intake of breath as though someone was trying desperately to breathe deep and shallow, but not being able to fully control it. By the sound of it, it was a woman.
"What should we do? She's obviously scared and whatever we do will probably only make her worse considering the state she's in."
Jim stepped away from the door and talked a little louder than Ash had. He stood with the hand holding the baseball bat on his hip and the other out in front of him, as if it was clawing for ideas. The shadows made it hard to see each others faces, but Jim was sure that he spotted a look on wonder on Ash's face. Before he could question it, Ash was leaning into the door again, a palm against the surface. The wood was stronger than the ones boarding up the shopping centre and didn't crumble under his hands. When he spoke, it was loud but confident, almost reassuring in its certainty.
"Jill, is that you? It's me Ash. Do you remember me? We met a couple of months ago outside the supermarket."
Ash was only guessing it was the women he had met a few months ago, as he couldn't think of anyone else that might have stopped here. Jill had been the only woman survivor he had seen and it only seemed right that she would have survived and be hiding somewhere close by.
The shuddering breaths stopped. There was silence on both sides of the door, and Jim found himself holding his own breath in anticipation. The woman didn't speak though, and Jim began to worry that Ash had got it wrong and this wasn't the woman he had met. Ash also looked a bit put out and resorted to another technique, one that Jim recognized.
"We're here to help you. We are not zombies, I promise you. We just want to get you to safety." Ash's voice took on a pleading tone, but still managed to remain convincing and thoughtful. The silence returned and the tension built with it.
Finally a small, shaky voice responded through the door. Jim barely heard it even in the silence, but Ash jumped at the voice and grinned nonetheless.
"Ash?"
"Yes! I'm Ash, and there are two guys with me who have come to help us, to rescue us."
"I remember you."
"And I remember you Jill. I asked you to stay with me in the supermarket, I said I could keep us both safe, but you said no. You wanted to find somewhere more secure, somewhere you recognized and knew your way about, remember?"
She didn't say anything in answer, but the door sprung to life under Ash's hands and face. It was pulled open slowly, but it was difficult for any of them to see each other in so little light. The room was instantly brightened at Jim's thought and a white orb lit up their legs and feet. The woman's face was brighter, but held a look of someone telling ghost stories over a camp fire as the lower part of her face was white while the rest was shrouded in shadows. Her hair looked mad and unkempt, which only succeeded in her transformation to a storybook villain. There were dark bruises under eyes and the shadows stretched them too far making it look like she hadn't slept in years. Tear stained tracks also glistened down her cheeks in the light and made her look quite pathetic.
Jim and Spock stood back, letting Ash take charge. It would be better if she saw him first anyway, at least she remember him. The sight of two new people might be too much of a shock for her at the moment.
She raised the light in her hands, which Jim could finally see was a bulky torch with a wide lens and a large white bulb inside. She aimed it directly in Ash's face, forgetting the fact that the torch was blindingly bright in her haste. Ash winced but kept his hands by his sides as he didn't want to make any sudden movements to scare her. After a second, she lowered it to his chest, it still hurt his eyes a little but he forced himself to look at her and make sure he made eye contact. She stared without blinking. Making sure she raked over every detail. Her eyes swept over his dark, desperate in need of a trim, hair and followed the stubble across his face and neck. She stopped and stared at his eyes before eventually letting her shoulders drop. Ash took this as a good sign and approached her, albeit still with caution.
"It's okay. You're going to be safe now." She seemed to believe Ash's words and managed to pull herself back together, wiping at her eyes frantically like she was embarrassed by her tears.
"I thought you were them. I thought they'd finally broken in and that I was as good as dead."
Jim didn't even have to ask who 'them' was. He knew only too well who she was so frightened of. He would be lying if he said he didn't share her fears.
"We're alone, don't worry. The zombies won't be out until the sun sets."
Ash had moved himself so that he was standing directly in front of Jill. He made sure he was the only thing she could see, hoping that it would help her feel more secure. Jim and Spock stayed back; they thought it would be better if they waited until Ash deemed it safe for them to be introduced.
"Rescued? You said we were being rescued. What did you mean?"
Grinning, Ash stepped to the side, allowing Jill's gaze to land on Jim who was standing just behind him.
"They're here to help us and any other survivors we can find." He gestured towards both Jim and Spock. Jim lifted a hand sheepishly in greeting. Jill felt a smile stretching onto her lips; she couldn't remember the last time she had done it as there never seemed to be anything worthy of a smile happening, it felt foreign on her face.
The fact that no one was attacking or eating one another seemed to put Jill at ease. After the somewhat awkward introductions, she led them all into the room she had barricaded herself in just moments before.
The room looked lived in, even though it was obviously some sort of staff room. The sofa in the corner had a thin blanket draped over the back, and settled on the cushions was a pile of cans and packaged food. There was a small kitchenette in the corner next to the sofa that looked pleasantly clean compared the kitchen in the ransacked house they had visited, there were cupboards hanging above the counters that must have held a small amount of perishables in the past, such as biscuits, crisps, coffee and teabags. A desk sat against the wall opposite the sofa, a couple of drawers lined the side and there was an array of books, magazines and sheets of paper lying on the surface.
Ash walked close behind Jill, who was stumbling into the room making her way towards the sofa. She dropped on the seat with a sigh and hunched forward with her hand clasped between her knees. Ash sat unsurely next to her. Jim went and stood beside Spock near the desk after he had ducked back into the other room and carried the left over cans into the staff room. She had most likely been in the middle of moving them when they had ran up and scared her. Helping her was the least he could do.
After that, they just talked. Everyone adopted a soft tone of voice because anything louder echoed and made Jill tense uncomfortably. She explained in a shaky voice how she had boarded up the entrance as best she could. The main problem she found was that every piece of wood she came across was weathered and brittle, not something that would help made her feel safe. Jim sent Spock a significant look when he opened his mouth at this point. Spock silenced but still looked confused as to why he shouldn't tell her that they broke inside relatively easily and that her barricade wouldn't keep them safe for long. Why she wouldn't want to know the truth, he didn't know.
Jim then explained the situation to her. He assured her they were here to help, but were actually not in contact with their ship at the moment. A look of panic flitted across her face and Ash was quick to jump in and promise that it wouldn't be for long. She listened to Ash and seemed to trust him; Jim took note of that. They talked for quite a while about anything thing that appeared important or vital to their survival, and because there were no windows in the room they weren't aware of the setting sun outside. The moon quickly became visible in the darkened red and orange sky, it shined just as brightly as it always did but there was scarcely anybody to see it.
---
McCoy squinted in the dark, trying to make out the figure walking a few yards in front of him. He could hear their padding feet, but was finding it difficult placing where it came from. The moment he had tore his eyes away from the eerie hospital; Sulu had taken charge, leading them down the main streets as if he knew exactly where he was going. McCoy had been forced to follow his footsteps all day, despite the fact that he was the one that had been here before.
McCoy steeled himself from speaking up, he didn't want to get lost and end up wandering somewhere Jim had never have set foot, but he also felt that Sulu's excitement could be used to their advantage. Sulu hadn't once made a move to rest and McCoy was grateful for that. At least he thought he was, but now that the sun had set and the only light they had was coming from the moon, he was beginning to change his mind. His legs hurt and he was feeling lightheaded; the harder he tried to discern the objects around him the worse his head began to feel, though if Sulu was experiencing any of these symptoms he was hiding them pretty well.
With a grunt of effort, McCoy jogged the few feet of distance between himself and Sulu until they were level with each other. Sulu tensed and turned his head in McCoy's direction, but relaxed when he realized who it was. He didn't slow and kept marching down the road as though he already had a destination in mind.
"I think we should stop and rest for the night. There's no point searching in the dark." McCoy reasoned. "Plus, I don't like the idea of wandering around out here without being able to see where we are." He chose not to voice his concerns about what else might be ambling around outside with them, for his own sake not just Sulu's.
"If we do that then we'll never catch up with them. If we rest when they rest then we'll just keep missing them." Sulu failed to even glance at McCoy as he spoke; his eyes were glued to the road in front of him. "They already have a half-day-head-start on us, so we have got to keep moving."
McCoy felt his calm exterior chipping away. He was tired, hungry and worried, he was definitely not in the mood to argue, but he couldn't stop himself. McCoy cringed at how harsh his voice sounded, and he knew Jim would have a field day with the knowledge of how McCoy was dealing with the situation.
"This is ridiculous! We can't just walk through the night; we'll be no use to them if we're collapsing from exhaustion during the day." McCoy darted in front of Sulu, causing him to stop in his path. He held up his hands like he was trying to soften his words with a supposedly calm gesture, though it wasn't helped by the way his hands flapped to get Sulu's attention. "We need a place to stop for the night, a place that is off the main road and out of the way."
He wasn't sure what, but something was telling him to stop. The thought of searching in the dark sent such a chill through him that it filled him with dread. Sulu obviously didn't feel it; otherwise he would have stopped long ago. The only reason McCoy hadn't demanded they find somewhere to sleep earlier was because every time he thought about it he was reminded of Jim, and then he suddenly felt a surge of energy that spurred his feet on for a couple more minutes. Though, now, his feet were raw and he had had enough.
Sulu took a breath, he looked as though he was readying himself for a long winded speech, but before he could start he was interrupted by the sound of shuffling feet. Moans and groans echoed down the street towards where McCoy and Sulu were standing, and whoever was making them were getting closer every second.
It was the first time that Sulu seemed to understand the danger they were in; his eyes widened at the noise and McCoy took that opportunity to grab his elbow and pull him towards a narrow alleyway between two small, rundown buildings. As soon as they disappeared into the gap, McCoy spotted movement at the end of the street they had just been standing on. He hoped they were more inconspicuous than he felt, as the alleyway wasn't very big and they were forced to stand one behind the other. McCoy could feel Sulu's breath on the back of his neck as they stood squished together.
The slight movement he had spotted very quickly turned into something more noticeable. Sulu gasped when he saw what McCoy was staring at, but he quieted down when McCoy dug his elbow into his stomach. Moving along the middle of the road was a large group of around thirty or forty figures. They moved without picking up their feet, groaning under their breath, and stumbling into one another. McCoy knew he had made the right decision of hiding when the figures traveled in their direction. The one closest to the alleyway was drenched in dried blood; the bottom half of his leg was missing the skin and the thing's arm had been clean ripped off from elbow downwards. The smell of rotting flesh and the bitter tang of blood was unmistakable.
McCoy's heart pounded in his chest, he remembered the feeling of having his heart trying to rip itself out of his body from the hospital, but this time it was worse. Instead of one thing, there were forty things to worry about. Instinctively, McCoy stepped back, not thinking that Sulu was standing so close behind him, all he thought about was getting as far away as possible from the things in the middle of the road. Sulu backed up a couple of steps, allowing McCoy to hide himself better in the darkness.
Both McCoy and Sulu watched the group move past them, all the while trying to stem their rapid breathing and pulsing hearts. They staggered along in the same direction, heading the way Sulu had been leading them. It didn't look if any communication passed between them, yet they all seemed to know where to go. They had a destination in mind, McCoy was sure of it.
He risked a glance at Sulu, who was still watching the things with interest. Though, it was no longer with excitement, it was more of a morbid curiosity now. McCoy was glad that Sulu had returned to reality, it was about time.
A strange thought crossed McCoy's mind. Did these things really have any sense of direction? Or were they following something? They were obviously the reason why this planet was so devoid of life, but how did they do it? Could they somehow sense the living? Were they being drawn to survivors right now? If so, then why were they being ignored? McCoy thought of Jim. Were they the ones who were being hunted by this group dead set of a certain direction?
As soon as the group was out of sight over the horizon of the street, McCoy scrambled out of the hiding place. When he turned back to Sulu, he was surprised by how well the spur of the moment idea had worked; he could barely made out the shape of a person in the alleyway, even Sulu's gold colored shirt blended in enough to be virtually invisible.
"We should follow them." McCoy whispered loudly.
"What? Are you crazy? We should backtrack the other way." Sulu whispered back, still not leaving the confines of the alleyway where he felt safe.
"I think they're going to lead us straight to Jim if we follow them."
"What makes you think that?" Sulu poked his head out, letting the moon light hit his face and allowing McCoy to see expression of confusion. In truth, McCoy wasn't sure why he thought that. Maybe it was the desperation, maybe it was nothing more than a fleeting feeling, but he just knew it was what they needed to do. He just needed to convince Sulu.
"Did you not see them? They were heading somewhere, and I'd recognize the look of determination anywhere. Only Jim can instill that look. My guess is that he did something to piss them off and they're on their way to find him." Sulu stepped into the faint light and his body went from black and white to black and gold.
"What? No…that's…it's not…," Sulu started with an air of disbelief. "Actually, that sort of makes sense," he finished reluctantly.
"Exactly. Now quickly, before we lose them."
They didn't run as they knew that the sound of their feet hitting the pavement would carry in the near silent night. They jogged down the road, but really they might have well of walked because they met the group again after a few seconds. They hadn't made it very far on their shuffling feet. McCoy, who had been jogged slightly faster than Sulu, flung out his arm, hitting Sulu square in the chest to stop him from unwittingly bumping right into him. They stayed like this for quite a while, just far enough away so that the things hadn't noticed their presence, but still able to see which way they went. McCoy knew then that it would be slow and boring work following these things that advanced at a crawl, but hopefully in the end it would be worth it.
---
After talking for what felt like day, though was in reality only an hour or two, they decided that they should get some rest. They would need to up at sunrise the next day in order to procure as much time as possible to search for more survivors, which Jim was now certain existed.
Jill got up and locked the staff room door from the inside. Jim wondered for a second why a staff room would need a lock, but quickly gave up on it; it didn't really matter, he should just thank the good fortune. Ash then became a gentleman, and convinced Jill to take the sofa while they would take the floor. She refused for a good five minutes until Ash made a show of curling up on the floor in front of the sofa. Jim watched as she smiled softly and reached for the blanket hung over the back. It was bigger than it looked. She held the edges and flapped her arms in the air, the blanket tripled in size and she threw it over her legs. It was so big that not only did it cover her, but it also trailed off the cushions and covered most of Ash's body on the floor. Ash laughed but didn't remove the blanket.
"Captain, I am not in dire need of a rest, and I think it would be best if someone stayed awake to keep watch, just in case." Spock's voice made Jim turn his head from the scene on the sofa, which he was glad for because he was having trouble looking away by himself for some reason.
"That's not necessary Spock. I think we're quite safe; she's been here for a while. Just get some rest."
"I do not think I will be able to, Captain."
"Well try."
Spock nodded and retreated back to the wall behind him. He sat with his back flush against it and his knees pulled up to his chest. He didn't look vulnerable just simply bored, like he knew he would be sitting in the dark for many hours. Jim did the same, but kept his back against the wall next to the door. If anyone came in, hopefully he would here it first. The baseball bat he had brought from the supermarket lay at his side, just within reach. Spock was in a similar position on the other side of the room. Ash had left his cricket bat leaning near the kitchen when he had investigated the shelves and cupboards, he wouldn't be able to reach from where he rested even if he stretched.
Jill was hugging the torch as she lay on the sofa, Jim guessed it was something she regularly did judging by the practiced way she folded her body around it, and with one final look around the room she pushed the button on the handle.
The image was burned in Jim's eyes and he was sure he could still see everything perfectly, but the entire room was now pitch-black. He held his hand in front of his face and could see nothing but black, even though he knew it was mere centimeters from his nose. The movement also failed to register in his eyes and that worried Jim the most. The idea of sitting in the dark with no way of knowing what was moving around him frightened him. He dropped his hand onto the cool metal of the baseball bat to help him feel more in control.
He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, with his head resting back on the wall and his eyes closed. It might have only been a few minutes, or he might have dozed off and slept for a couple of hours, he had no idea. Sitting in this dark meant that closing his eyes made no difference as it was just as dark with his eyes open. He was finding it difficult interpreting between the two. All that he could hear was slow rhythmic breathing and he couldn't tell where it was coming from.
In his rendition of the night, he jumped at every little sound he heard, but really everything was quiet. Besides the breathing, he didn't hear a single noise.
Jim started counting in his head. When a second passed he counted it. It was like a version of counting sheep, but it didn't seem to be putting him to sleep. He got to four minutes and thirty-two seconds when he heard a noise. It sounded like glass breaking. He was on his feet, bat in hand, with his ear pressed against the door in four seconds. Another noise sounded, and though it was muffled through the door, he recognized it as glass cracking under weight.
Jim turned back to the room, but it was still dark and empty. For a moment, he began to think that maybe he had imagined the noises, until he heard a shrill screech that could not have been imagined. The room suddenly filled with light. Jim thought the electricity had come back on, but then he noticed the torch in Jill's trembling hands. She was sitting up on the sofa, with the blanket pooling around her legs. The light and her movement had stirred Ash as well and he was in the midst of climbing to his feet already. Jim turned back to the door, and was surprised to see Spock standing right next to him; Jim hadn't even seen him move. They both had their baseball bats in their hands, and looked as ready as they'd ever be.
He unlocked and pulled open the door in one smooth motion. The room on the other side was just as they had left it. The door to the corridor was wide open and the little light from it poured into the room. They stepped swiftly and surely, Jim wasn't sure whether Ash was following them or not, but he didn't let the thought slow him down. Jim went first with the bat held by his side. He moved into the corridor and followed it down until he reached the shops and the dead escalators. The noises were louder now. He could hear the groans and screams of the zombies and realized that there must be more than one in the building.
Jim approached the railing that overlooked the lower floor. He had to lean over the edge and angle his head to the side to see the area where they had broke in. He spotted the shoddily boarded up door straight away, but it wasn't just them that had used the structures weak point to their advantage. There were a handful of zombies already in the building and there were several more trying to squeeze through the narrow doorway at the same time. As Jim watched they poured through the one door, slowly beginning to fill up the room, the stream didn't appear to be slowing and more and more kept spilling through.
Ash emerged into his view and followed his gaze down to the situation at the doors. They all turned to each other, and then Ash broke out in to a run, retreating back to the staff room where he must have left Jill. It might have looked like he was running back to get the cricket bat he had left with her, but Jim knew better. Jim felt the same instinctual feeling to run, but he didn't. He started out over at the zombies slowly making their way towards them and muttered under his breath.
"Oh shit."
---
Sulu ducked into another alleyway, hastily tugging McCoy in after him. Their predictions had been right and following the group was uneventful and tedious. They would have to hide and wait for the group to reach the next road before they could catch up and hide once more. The mindless walking meant that they often, without much thought, wandered too close and had to dive quickly into hiding lest they give themselves away.
It wasn't long until McCoy started to doubt himself. They didn't seem to be getting anywhere, and he was sure they had passed the same building several times now. Sulu was about to agree, when they stepped around the corner of the street and came into an area they had never seen before. Both men froze as they stared out over at the sea of bodies in front of them. They didn't bother to back away and hide like they were so use to, because it was obvious that they were the least of the group's worries now.
McCoy gripped the communicator on his belt so fiercely that he thought he heard it crack in his hand. The fear he had felt when he first witnessed the group earlier was nothing compared to how he felt at this moment in time. He tried counting the heads he could see, but they were shifting and twitching so much that it was difficult to tell. One thing he knew for sure though was that there were definitely more than forty figures in front of them.
Past the sea, over the heads and off in the distance, McCoy could make out a large building with covered windows and doors. Jim had to be in there, it was the only explanation. McCoy was certain. All he needed to do was figure out a way to get in there and find him. McCoy paled when his gaze swapped from the doors to the crowd surrounding them. He didn't have a clue where to start.
The group they had followed behind had seamlessly morphed into the larger one and neither McCoy nor Sulu recognized any of the rotting bodies. They stood only a handful of meters away from them, but McCoy knew they would need to get closer in order to find a way inside; it would just be difficult to set a path that wasn't blocked by these monsters.
McCoy circled anti-clockwise around the group as it was the least crowded path he could see. Nevertheless, it wasn't empty, so he still had to pass relatively close to flesh eating beings. Sulu hobbled after him, regrettably moving closer to the things he wanted nothing more than to run from; and he would have if he had not wanted to be left alone.
Fortunately, everything seemed to be going well. Whatever was in the building, whether it was Jim or not he didn't know, but it had thoroughly captivated the attention of the group. The bodies pulsed and writhed in eager anticipation and apparent excitement, eyes fixed solely on the smashed door they were trying to squeeze through. At the speed they were going, it would take a long time for them all to get in, especially considering how often they pushed and turned on each other in the process. McCoy grimaced when he stepped over a prone, twice lifeless body. Most of its head and face had been ripped off and although there was no blood, it was still covered in red stuff which could only have been muscle poking through. McCoy patted Sulu's arm, directing his attention to it in case he hadn't noticed. He didn't need Sulu's shrieks to grab the attention of their passing audience.
McCoy's arms actually flailed when a shrill chirping noise shattered the silence they were trying to achieve. He knew what it was straight away and cursed himself for own stupidity. Several glassy-eyed stares turned to face them and the noise continued to act as an alarm that was the equivalent of a giant flashing neon arrow announcing 'Fresh meat, for all those who want it'. Even with two pairs of hands smothering it, the communicator beeped and whistled loud enough to draw a crowd, and McCoy and Sulu found themselves surrounded.
Being at a loss of what to do, McCoy unclipped the communicator from his belt and answered it. The piercing noise stopped instantly and Scotty's voice took over. McCoy maneuvered himself so that he was back-to-back with Sulu, this way they could see everything that was advancing towards them.
"I should warn you two that the scans have picked up a large group standing near where you are. I'd try to avoid them if I was you."
"Well, you're a bit late and I think they have already noticed us."
McCoy laughed humorlessly into the communicator before snapping it shut and shoving it back onto his belt. As soon as he did that and returned his attention to the things surrounding them, one of them lunged. It grabbed onto Sulu's sleeve and dragged itself forward with the momentum, separating itself from the others in the crowd. Sulu justifiably panicked and ripped his arm away from the snarling thing, tearing his shirt as he did so. Another weight landed on his other arm and he was ready to punch whatever it was when he turned his head to see it was only McCoy. He was pointing towards a gap in the crowd and was gesturing wildly towards it. With little consideration he nodded and pushed his way through it, stopping only once to punch something in the face for catching the tattered remains of his sleeve.
They ran towards an area behind the huge row of buildings that made up the shopping centre. There was one small window, high up on the wall furthest from them, that wasn't boarded up. The glass was patterned and impossible to see through; McCoy guessed it was a bathroom. If they could get high enough to smash the glass, then it would be feasible for them to climb inside. It would be a tight squeeze but doable, nonetheless.
Their feet thundered across the pavement, neither one caring about the noise they made. McCoy didn't dare check to see if they were being followed as he set about wheeling a large dumpster closer to the window. Sulu helped once he realized what was happening. He had been watching the path they had made, counting the figures that were now stumbling down it towards the dead end they were now in.
Once the dumpster was in position they climbed up on top of it; the window was now level with McCoy's chest. He pushed the glass, testing its strength, but unsurprisingly it didn't budge.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up!" Sulu watched as the bodies started spilled into the alcove they had pushed the dumpster into. Panic flooded his body and pumped through his veins.
"Punching a window isn't as easy as it looks, okay." McCoy tore a strip off the bottom of his shirt, while glancing between the window and their steadily approaching enemies. He wound the strip around his hand and formed a fist, nodding at how the material stretched tighter over his knuckles. "I'm not getting this far, only to slit my wrist on a stray bit of glass."
Sulu kicked at the arms and faces peering over the top of the dumpster, luckily they had the advantage of height. McCoy spared him a look before shielding his face with his arm and punching the window with his bound hand. He felt it shatter more than he heard it, and when he looked he grinned to see he had knocked most of the glass out of the pane. His hand stung and he was sure a shard had ricocheted and hit him in the face as there was a patch on his cheek which felt wet. He didn't care about that though and he shouted to Sulu tell him it was done; he was a bit preoccupied at the moment by keeping the grasping hands at bay.
McCoy turned back to the window, noticing that it was smaller than he had realized at a distance. He should be able to fit, but it would be difficult. Plus, he didn't know where he would be landing or what he would be landing on. He had guessed it was bathroom, but he didn't know for sure, it was too dark inside to make any real assumptions.
Stomping down on his worries, McCoy lifted a leg over into the window and tried to sit on the thin ledge outside it. He couldn't feel the floor, but he didn't really expect to, he just hoped it was there somewhere. While Sulu kicked extra hard at a face that had bared its teeth at him, McCoy swung his other leg over into the room, so that he was fully perched on the ledge and he was holding himself up by the top pane of the window. With one last deep breath, McCoy dropped himself through the window. He winced when a leftover shard caught his back on the way down, but he hit the ground on surprisingly steady feet.
"Sulu, come on!"
McCoy cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered at Sulu, hoping that he could hear him over the groaning and snarling. His eyes were drawn to the strip still wrapped around his hand. There was a red gouge in the blue material that was seeping blood, so he thought it would be best to leave the homemade bandage on. He also wiped his hand across his cheek which confirmed his suspicions when it came back bloody as well. He managed to wipe most of it away before Sulu dropped to floor next to him, landing less steadily than McCoy, but was also less covered in scratches.
They both sighed in relief and hoped that the things were less skilled at climbing now that their limbs were deadened and weak. McCoy eventually looked around the room they had landed in, noticing he had been right and that it was a bathroom, the woman's bathroom judging by the softer colors
A chilling scream from outside the window reminded them that it was no time to rest. McCoy raced towards the door and pulled it open. The area on the other side was larger but much darker and slightly overwhelming. McCoy shook his head and told himself that Jim was here, somewhere. His bleeding, bandaged hand found the communicator on his belt and he stepped into the darkness, praying that he would find Jim before something else did.