LEFT 4 DEAD: HOMEGROWN
Chapter 6: And that makes four.
'Four is rarely the magic number; four blind mice would have been an infestation, a fourth pig who built his house out of depleted uranium would have been ridiculous, and after getting four [X Box] controllers you come to the conclusion that you have too much disposable income.'
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw/ Zero Punctuation.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Narration
Sound effects
INFECTED
Important/Exaggeration
WALL WRITING
Henderson paused a moment before replying. "They… I think they destroyed the car."
"Damn… what will they do now that…?"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The giant crowd now began to approach their direction.
Sadie ended her initial question with a quiet, "Fuck."
"YOU JUST HAD TO FUCKING ASK DIDN'T YOU!?!" John screamed as the survivors resumed their fleeing.
(^(00)^)
It was quiet in the church, except for the light rain outside, but he liked it that way. The silence helped him think. James Hooper sat in one of the few pews not used as barricades.
It had been days since the infected attacked Corsicana. Was it a week ago? James turned his head to the wall on his left and studied the seven lines that he had carved in them. He tried his best to look past everything else the wall had to offer. He had seen them so many times, but they were still hard to read.
Crude obituaries lined nearly every other square foot of the church's wall. The names of those he once knew were screaming at him: 'YOU LET ME DIE!'
How, how was it even possible? In just a few days, how could so many people die? He could still remember it all, no matter how hard he tried to forget.
The first day was hell. The screams began on the west end of town that morning, and quickly spread to the east. The police tried to contain them, but it was too late. By mid–afternoon half of Corsicana's population was either infected or dead. Those trying to escape caused a wreck on the main road, effectively destroying the best escape. James, his wife, and their two children sought shelter in the church where he had preached.
And they waited for help.
On the second day the military arrived. They came dressed in black and carrying large guns, but they were just as afraid as the civilians they were protecting. The troops made base at the church, setting up medical equipment and giving a gun to anybody who could shoot properly. James had been on the roof for hours at a time with five other people with an oversized rifle at their side. 'Guard duty' they called it, and they got to the roof by means of a folding ladder near the Church's main entrance. James tried to convince them to let him use his own gun downstairs, but they wouldn't listen. His wife kept him calm; she stayed positive throughout the entire ordeal.
Days three and four were filled with search and rescue missions. As the survivor count rose, the troops' numbers dwindled, until there were only a few left. The infected started to attack in numbers now, but somehow they were held off. James was put on permanent guard duty, but at least his hunting rifle was back at his side. The gas generator supplied what little electricity they used. James' wife and kids helped in any way they could, but things were slowly getting out of control.
James made friends with a younger survivor on guard duty. His name was Rance Bowers, and his girlfriend, Kayla Ellis was downstairs in the church. He talked about her constantly, not that James took mind; the nineteen year old boy was a good companion. He cracked jokes about what he would do after the infection passed, like it was some sort of war. On the fourth night he pulled out a small black box and said, "When this is over, I'm gonna marry her." In the box was a small silver ring with a little diamond.
Day five…
…a large number of infected, possibly three or four hundred, attacked. James and the other five on guard duty took down most of them. Explosive barrels that housed… something, he never did find out, were used like land mines to take out large numbers of infected at a time. Those six men alone took down three quarters of the hoard, but the troops downstairs were not as prepared.
The infected stormed the church, killing everyone. The monsters' numbers quickly fell, but the same was said about the survivors. James and the other guards tried to help, but by the time they descended from the roof it was too late. Twenty three survivors and twelve military troops lay slaughtered at the feet of a handful of infected.
Two more men died, one ran, and three finished off the last of the infected. Rance collapsed to his knees searched through the remains of the survivors. After a few minutes he found Kayla, her right leg was gone but she was still alive. She vomited blood and bile down the front of his shirt, signifying her infection. Rance pulled out the little black box and showed her the ring.
"Will you?" he asked in a small voice.
She smiled at him through her tears and held out her hand, "Yes…"
As he placed the ring on her finger, Rance retrieved a revolver from the hands of a deceased survivor. He checked the rounds and found two bullets, just enough. As he kissed her one last time and then brought the gun to her forehead. She closed her eyes and nodded her head, letting him know she was ready. Rance held her hand as he cried.
He fired.
As her limp body collapsed to the floor he raised the gun to himself now. He put the barrel in his mouth this time and fired again.
James never knew the other man that survived. Without word, the man helped James dispose of the bodies. After praying for the dead, the man turned and left, leaving James alone to write the obituaries on the walls. James never searched for his family, he didn't know what he would do if he found them.
The sixth day was passed in silence. James replaced the used barrels for new ones, the barricades were rebuilt, and he gathered what ammo and guns he could and organized them incase he had to leave quickly.
The rest of the day he cleaned his new revolver.
This morning… he did nothing. There were no infected that were dangerously near the church, leaving him with nothing to worry about.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
'What the hell!?!'
Even through the church's walls, James could hear the cries of a horde of infected. It sounded close, maybe near the college. He grabbed hunting rifle and ran outside into the light shower of rain. As he ascended the ladder, James could see a dark grey mass nearly half a mile away. The horde was closing in on the perimeter quickly. They were sprinting across the park that separated the church and the college nearly a mile away.
He saw three small figures ahead of the horde by about a hundred yards. As James observed the figures through the scope of this rifle, only one thought came to mind…
'…not good…'
(^(00)^)
His lungs were on fire…
…his feet were heavy…
…his muscles ached…
…every fiber of his being screamed for him to stop…
…but he kept running.
The horde of undead chasing him was all that kept him from collapsing. After half a mile of running, the undead hoard behind them was beginning to gain ground. There was no way the three survivors could stand against the creatures' sheer numbers, so they kept running.
"DON'T STOP!" Henderson screamed ahead of him. The older man was on his last leg too and if they didn't find safety soon, there was no way they would survive.
Sadie was behind Henderson but still in front of John. "Like I didn't FUCKING KNOW THAT!" The feisty survivor began to run faster, if only just to hit the older survivor.
The trio passed a small playground in the middle of the city park. The church was in the distance, bordering the edge of the park. As the survivors passed the last of the recreational equipment, they were met with a strange sight. Barrels littered the field between them and the Church. Every twenty or so feet there was a bright red barrel. The survivors did not know or care what was in them. The gap between themselves and the infected was rapidly shrinking.
"To the church!" Henderson yelled to the younger two survivors, "Maybe it will be a safe room!"
"Hah!" Sadie scoffed at his plan as she turned and fired at a few infected while running backwards, "with your luck? I bet there's another hundred waiting for us!"
As they passed the first barrel, John called to the older girl. "Like you've got a better plan?"
"…Shut I-"
Ka-BOOM
As Sadie was about to retort, a barrel that they had recently passed spontaneously exploded.
"OH SHIT!" startled by the explosion, John nearly leapt into the air.
The resulting explosion obliterated the infected at the front of the pack that had been closing in.
"KEEP RUNNING!" Henderson called.
"IF YOU SAY SOMETHING SO FUCKING OBVIOUS ONE… MORE… TIME…"
KA-BOOM!
Sadie was once again cut off by a deafening explosion. It seemed to be raining bits of what were previously zombie parts. From this distance, Henderson could now see a figure atop the church. He waved to the man, hoping to get a response.
(^(00)^)
The man in front of the boy and the girl waved to him. James was surprised that he could see him. He waved back to the man to relieve his worries. The man turned his head back to the other survivors, obviously telling him about their savior. James focused his attention back to the horde of infected chasing the three survivors.
As the creatures passed another explosive barred, James fired at it through the crowd.
Ka-BOOM!
He could hear the distant explosion as at least thirty infected were incinerated by the flames. James had reduced their numbers by half now, but they were beginning to get too close to the Church. If he didn't hurry up, James and the survivors would have a quite a fight on their hands.
He fired at three more barrels that were nestled within the hoard's numbers, taking out around another thirty. The survivors, now having more distance from their pursuers, would occasionally fire back at the few infected that survived the explosions. James was amazed how they worked together, but he kept his focus on protecting them from his position.
The horde began to descend upon the survivors once again, so James tracked their path to a barrel that the trio had just passed. He waited for a few moments and fired as the first infected crossed his view.
Ka-BOOM
James looked away from the explosion to see the other infected running through the lingering flames, causing them too to catch fire. He looked away from the burning infected and back to the survivors…
.. and his stomach fell.
The one that had been lingering behind was on the ground.
(^(00)^)
John couldn't understand what happened.
One moment he was running, the next he was being hurled through the air. His skin was hot and his ears were ringing. The boy's vision was swimming between darkness and odd colors that had once been the world around him. John felt wet mud covering his face while the rain overhead helped cool his blistered skin.
'I can't catch a break…'
Suddenly he felt something grab his arm. The image of the barricaded classroom along the rotten arm and face tearing at his arm appeared in his mind. John tried to twist out of the arm's grasp, but he was unsuccessful.
"…John….op… alm d… elp…"
A distant voice tried was calling out to him, but John's ears were still ringing. He felt himself being lifted up and carried over someone's shoulder. He continued to squirm, not ever realizing that carrying their meal was not something that a zombie would do.
Eventually, John's senses finally returned and the ringing in his ears stopped long enough for him to understand what was happening. The youngest survivor was being carried on Henderson's shoulders while a few dozen flaming zombies were chasing them.
"I'm Fin-"
Ka-BOOM
He tried to call out to the older man, but John was cut off by yet another explosion as the heat irritated his skin. He was grateful for the gunner helping then, but did he have to cut it so close? He looked over his shoulder to Sadie, who was jogging backwards while disposing of any zombies that survived their incineration.
The church was now close enough for the survivors to notice the bright red metal doors adorning the front of the building. The loud howling from before was now a disembodied growl as the last few infected creatures were killed. Henderson slowed to a more relaxed pace as he and approached the safe haven.
"Umm… thanks, but you can put me down now man." John was finally able to get his message across to Henderson. The older man lowered himself so John could climb off.
"Are you going to be ok?" Henderson looked him over for any signs of injuries.
"Yeah, I just got a bit… fucked up back there." The world finally stopped spinning once John finally set his feet on the ground.
"Hello there." A man, probably even older than Henderson, descended from the roof via ladder. He was a tall man, he had to be at least five-eleven, and he was dressed in casual clothes. His hair was a fading brown that was beginning to show signs of balding. In his hands was what looked like a hunting rifle with a sniper's scope attached to the top, and a revolver was tucked into the side of his pants. "My name is James Hooper, pleased to meet you." He showed no signs of actually being pleased to see the survivors, but his tone suggested he wanted their names.
Henderson stepped forward, reaching his hand out to James. "My name is Stacy Henderson," when he realized James was not going to shake his hand, Henderson made a gesture to the younger survivors. "This is John Baker and Sadie Graham." The man continued to stare at them.
"May we come in?" John was the one to speak now. The older man obviously owned the church now, so it seemed the right thing to ask.
James made a short annoyed grunting, but turned to open the safe doors. He gestured his hand toward the open doors, "Come in."
(^(00)^)
And I am done!
Say hello to the last survivor, James Hooper. The man was my church's pastor for many years in real life, but the attitudes are totally different. It's a thing I do; I lay awake at night and imagine what the zombie apocalypse would do to certain people!
That's completely normal… right?
Another thing…if you didn't know… I GOTS A BETA PERSONS!
This chapter and the last were originally going to be told together, but at the time I felt that I was rushing the survivors into another safe zone, so I made them into two separate chapters.
Lastly I will thank my reviewers: The Golden Echo, Sanima, Biteme4eturn-t, Happy Forever, Cyber Trauma 1123, and Rem Ri. Thank you all, you alone are keeping this story going.
(^(00)^) Typed John Baker (Guardian Shotgun)
=) Beta-asized by Adrienne Donaldson.