I could hear the voices of four Survivors just around the corner. Shuffling back into the shadows, I pressed myself against the cold brick wall. I heard the burly voice of a man argue with the voice of a woman.
"No, no, no! Videogames are not stupid, Francis. You're just pissed 'cause you can't play them." The voice of another man laughed, and I heard the slap of a high-five.
"Listen here, Zoey. Videogames are a waste of time. Just plain stupid. Hate 'em." I heard a gruff grunt of approval from another man, and I could smell the smoke from a cigarette.
"Whatever." The girl sighed. The four continued to shuffle down the street, and I started to get nervous. They were getting closer… Should I make a run for it? If they spotted me, I'd be dead in a heartbeat. As I was scooting along the wall, I felt my back connect with a metal doorknob. An escape! I opened the door and quickly rushed inside, thankful for the alternate route. I breathed a small sigh of relief when I heard the group of gun-toting Survivors pass the door, apparently unaware of my being there.
Until I let out a cough.
I couldn't seem to control my coughing, and it hadn't failed to get me into some tight places before. A voice inside of my head yelped in fear as I heard the four stop in their tracks. One of them let out a long whistle.
"That sound like a Smoker to you, Francis?" I heard the hiss of a Zippo lighter as one of them lit another cigarette. I tried to run deeper into the room I had stumbled into, but ended up colliding with a kitchen grill and a set of hanging pans. In return, I heard the sound of four different guns cock.
"Sure does." The girl muttered, walking slowly towards the metal door. I turned around and tried to squint through the dark. An escape, there had to be an escape! I was in a kitchen, and after a few seconds of desperate searching, I found a hiding place: a large metal pantry, stuck deep into the corners of the other side of the room. Rushing over, I slipped into the metal box just as the door to the kitchen swung open and the silhouettes of four Survivors crowded doorway. They stood silent for a minute, then the girl took a small step forward.
"Shit. The nasty tongue-thing must've escaped." She slung her gun over her shoulder and turned around, facing the others. "We might as well leave it be and keep walking. The military isn't going to wait forever." The three others looked at each other, then nodded. They walked outside, back into the alleyway, but the girl stayed behind. She took a long look around a kitchen, and I almost coughed- almost –out of sheer nervousness. She turned her back to me and undid her ponytail, tying in back up into a neater one.
Suddenly, I felt myself push the door to the pantry open and step out. My tongue slid out of my mouth and I whipped it around the girl, tying her up. What are you doing? A part of me screamed inside my head. You're getting yourself killed! The girl screamed, and I pulled my tongue back towards me. You need to kill, another voice said. You're an Infected now, you need to kill! I heard the three other Survivors run back towards the kitchen. The burly, tattooed man aimed his shotgun and fired, severing my tongue. I ran into the shadows and stumbled into a hidden doorway, leading me back into another alley. I climbed up the gutter of a building and ran towards the middle of the roof. They couldn't see me now… I was safe. I sighed in relief. My days were numbered.