Ch. 2
We arrived on the highway that leads into the city. In the distance, Atlanta is gray and lifeless. Makes one wonder what could be in there? Rick moves our horse on toward the gray city and a sense of dread over comes me, causing my horse to stop and fidget. The sense of something horrible and death cloak the gray site before us. It stops me in my tracks.
"Hey, are you okay?" I look to Rick and Raven and see they are stopped a few feet in front of me. Worry clouds their faces. Worry for me. When was the last time anyone ever worried about me? I nod my head. "Then hurry up! I have to pay you back for the lessons don't I?!" Raven says. That girl is a pain in my ass.
"Yeah, Yeah. But until you can shoot a can in air and keep it in the air longer than me, you won't stand a chance." Kicking my horse, we head into Atlanta. The roads were deserted. Nothing. No living. No dead. Weeds have grown between the cracks in the road; some are almost two feet high. Trash litters the ground: paper, plastic, tires, orange barrels. Buildings appear to be empty and I do not want to find out if they are or not, but if one of my sisters is here, they would be hiding in one of these buildings. I will look in every last one if I have to.
We move farther into the city, things keep looking worse and worse. Abandoned cars, tanks, and other vehicles are everywhere. The streets are empty even from the dead. Maybe I was wrong, but this feeling on dread has not left me. We round the corner and I stop my horse.
"Guys" Rick and Raven turn to face me while slowing down. "This is where we separate. I have to look for my sisters and if I know them, they will be hiding in one of these buildings."
"But….." Rick stops Raven before she can say anything.
"Okay. I hope you have luck in finding them."
"The same goes to you Rick. Watch over short-stuff here. Even though she can somewhat shoot now, does not mean that she is some pro sniper. Take care." With that, I move my horse to the left and head down the street.
"DEA! Don't die okay! I expect a rematch sometime soon." Yells Raven while waving her arms in the air like a crazy person.
I smirk over my shoulder. "Like you could ever bet me."
Raven sticks out her tongue at me with closed eyes. "WHAT EVER! BITCH!"
My horse continues as does theirs. All along the road, more trash is seen. Time goes by and I cannot sense any of my sisters in this neighborhood. They are either not here or masking themselves. I can still sense Rick and Raven about 3 blocks to the right of my current location. Suddenly my horse starts to panic. Looking up I can see a few dead are heading in the direction of Rick and Raven. Not two seconds later, gunshots and Raven screaming is heard throughout the city. My horse panics, rears up and drops me on the ground then runs off.
"That stupid short-stuff. I am going to flay her alive when I find her." The main streets are filling with the dead and are no longer safe, so I take the alleys to get there in time to see Rick and Raven crawl into a tank. A minute later, a gunshot echoes from the tank as Rick opens the top hatch.
Dead are everywhere.
They are feasting mostly on the horse, but also trying to get at the tank. Two stumble towards me and I quickly dispose of them with my knife. What can I do? I can't take out this many dead. They need a distraction, but what? Then it hits me.
One single shot reverberates throughout the air. Black blood splatters on the ground. Every dead stops and turn towards there new dinner.
Me.
Let the chase begin.
Run. Run. Run. This was all I was thinking as I ran down the streets of Atlanta. Moans and groans of the hungry dead follows me. I know that I did not distract all of them, but hopefully enough to allow Rick and Raven to run. One foot connected with the floor then another. I could not keep this up. If I were running just a straight shot down the road, there would not be much problem of me tiring, but because of all the trash, debris and dead, my stamina is quickly fading. Ahead, the Dead block the whole street. An alley to my left is my only hope. Running down it, I take a quick look behind me to see hundreds of dead chasing after me.
SMACK.
I ran in to a wall. It's a dead end.
If Short-stuff saw this, she would be laughing her ass off.
Landing on my ass, I look above me and see my only hope of surviving this…a fire escape. But, I have to get to it before the herd comes any closer and without having the ladder drop low enough for the dead to reach it. To my right is another saving grace. A dumpster. Quickly I shove the dumpster in the path of the horde, climb on then kick off only to barely miss the first rug and almost come face-to-face with the wall. At the last second, I kick off the wall back to the ladder and grab it with both hands. Luckily, the metal is so rusted that it does not even move an inch. All my strength is used to pull me up and over. A moment is all it takes to catch my breath before I am running to roof to see what has become of Rick and Raven.
Once at the top, I see that I have travelled a good 6 or so blocks away from them. I can see in the distance figures running around on the roof. They look to be in some sort of fight. My pupils expand and the irises change to gold. Everything become enhanced and I can see that a man is beating the crap out of Rick before grabbing Raven and shoving a gun at her head while molesting her with his other hand. No one and I mean NO ONE does that to any women, especially Short-stuff, with me around. Quickly, I secure the building. Dropping my things to the ground, my sniper rifle is loaded up and aiming for that man's right hand with the gun. Normally, one would not be able to shoot from this distance, but I am not normal.
One shot is all it takes for this man to be on the floor cussing is mouth off.
Rick and some black guy tackle him. Both look in my direction to see me waving like a crazy person. I know that even with shouting we would not be able to hear each other. Clanking, moans, and scratching turns my attention to the roof door. It looks like it is time for me to go. Grabbing my stuff, I can see on the ground that the alley is still loaded with dead. There is only one way off this roof. Taking a running start, my boots crunch against the gravel of the roof. Halfway to the edge, the door bursts open and dozens of dead begin to fill the roof and chase after me. One comes close enough to touch my bag before I reach the edge and push off. For two seconds, but feels like hours, I am flying. The wind is in my hair. There is nothing to worry or care about. Then reality comes crashing back as I land on the next roof. Now I am jumping roof to roof getting closer to the others.
During one flight, a heavy rain begins. Looking at the street below, I can see Rick and some guy covered in black goo in the middle of a horde. They are trying to get to a fenced off area. Unfortunately, the dead smell them before they can make it. Taking out my rifle, I shot one dead at a time. If anyone got close enough, their brains were quickly placed on the floor. They got to a truck safely and barely made it. I had to save the other guy when a dead got to close for comfort. I thought they would be driving back to the store, but instead they are driving away. Was I wrong for trusting Rick? Is he really going to leave Raven and the others here by themselves? I don't care about me. I can take care of myself, but the others don't look like they can.
Because I used this spot as stop to shoot up some dead, it is no longer safe. My rifle is shouldered and I am off running again. The roof where the others are located is only five buildings away. The next roof is about 6 feet away from the edge of my current roof's edge. This one will be a little more tricky because of the downpour that just occurred and that the roof in made out of concrete.
I move to the opposite side and take a running start. Already, I know that something bad is going to happen, but it is too late. I reach the edge and push off as I have done before. My foot slips on the edge and I am falling. The ground is rushing towards me. Getting closer and closer, when I see what seems to be my saving grace today….fire escape. As I fall towards the fire escape, all I can think is damn this is going to hurt. At the last second, my hand shoots out and latches onto the rail of the fire escape, but I slip and land stomach first on the rail beneath me. Struggling over the rail, I make my way up to the roof. I can hear a car alarm going off and coming really close. At the top, I can see everyone making their escape from the city and leaving me behind.
"FUCKING ASS!" After almost dying this is how they repay me. Well let's see if I try to save their asses ever again. I heard a bang and then the moans of the Dead coming onto the roof I was just on. Time to go. I continue to jump roofs and have a few narrow escapes. It's not till I reach the outskirts downtown that I climb down from the roof to an open window. I do not smell any Dead so this place must be saf…..WACK. The world goes dark.