Survive
2 YEARS AGO
Korra met her father at the hospital. His tie hung lose around his neck, his eyes were red from crying, "Korra!" He called to his teenage daughter. Korra dropped her gym bag at her feet and allowed her father to pull her into a hug.
The hospital bustled with motion as everyone galloped to get one job or another done. Nurses gave out medicine, doctrors practced triage, EMS rushed the halls calling elevator doors to be held.
"We're getting calls requesting beds!" A nurse with a phone in her hand said.
"Tell them to try Westlake, we're full!"
A headline on television caught Korra's attention:
Three Students and Five Faculty Confirmed Dead, Sixteen Injured.
A concerned reporter continued on a mounted television, "…the teacher had been home the last two days with flu like symptoms. Today, just past noon she allegedly entered the school and began attacking students and faculty. Reports say she appeared to be mauling …"
Korra broke away from her father's embrace, "Where's mom?"
Her father's eyes grieved suddenly.
"Is she…" The word felt dry in Korra's mouth.
"No." Relief spread over Korra, "But, she's… Korra, she's not well."
"I want to see her." He restrained her.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"What do you-,"
Korra's words stopped as she noticed a female patient crossing the threshold of her room. IV chords hanging from her arms she stepped into the hallway, shoulders hunched with her head dipped to the floor. The untied hospital gown she wore revealed a bite mark on her outer thigh. Everything about the patient seemed out of place and odd.
A nurse pushed an elderly man in a wheelchair past the irregular patient. The nurse leaned down, "How's my favorite-," That was when the out of sorts patient snatched her by the shoulder blades.
"Hey-," the nurse's words became a gurgling noise as the female patient sunk her teeth into her exposed neck.
Korra stared in disbelief at the woman whose eyes had glazed over and lips had become slick with vibrant blood. Looking closer she could see the familiar betrothal necklace around her neck. Her pulse quickened in her ears as she breathed the word, "Mom?"
Her mom began devouring the nurse, pulling her teeth through her neck, chewing on the thick muscle tissue. Blood spilled across the floor. The man in the wheelchair attempted an escape only to realize his wheels were locked. His eyes widened as his chair toppled over pinning his frail weak body to the floor.
Korra's mother looked up at the noise. She sprung atop the man. He shouted for help attempting to shake her off but her grip had become a vice around his bony limb. Undeterred by the old man's foot slamming into the side of her head she sunk in her teeth and removed a chunk of his flabby flesh. The old man screamed in agony stomping with all he had at the crazed woman.
"Mom, stop!" Korra began shouting just as a doctor reached her mother. His hand landed on her shoulders and he tried to pull her off the elderly man. Her mom grabbed his wrist and chomped down.
The doctor gasped then screamed in pain before wrenching his hand away and stumbling to the floor. He scurried backwards into the arms of his co-workers, "She bit me! Oh, God she bit my hand!"
"Stop!" Korra shouted, not at her mother but at the male nurse who ran towards her mother. He tackled the woman to the ground. Korra's mom sprawled on the floor as the nurse tried to pin her arms behind her back. He was caught off guard when Korra's mom simply allowed her arm to be broken.
Bones ruptured and penetrated the containing skin suddenly exposed to the world. She whipped the broken limb free and shoved the nurse off her with the other. She flipped her weight atop of the male nurse then unhinged, gore and saliva dribbling from her chin before she sunk into the side of his face.
Shoving her father's protective arms from around her the headstrong teen raced up alongside her mother.
Vomit in her throat she looked upon her mother and what she'd done. Chomping and trailing through the nurses stomach contents causing a violent stench to touch the air. Why was she doing this? What had happened to her?
The last time she'd seen her she was leaving the house to take out the trash. They'd been talking about a dinner party with neighbors they mutually disliked, "I thought you liked free food." Her mom had said taking their recycling bin under her arm.
Korra laughed around the cereal in her mouth, "You have me confused with Dad."
"Mom, please," Korra felt tears stinging her eyes. She took one careful step after the other until a squishing sound grabbed her attention. Looking down she observed the pool of blood she now stood in.
When she looked up she found her mother's intent gaze on her. Not with the same blue eyes Korra had inherited from her. No, these eyes were glazed over. The eyes that had regarded her with so much love and care now didn't see her. Desperately, she begged, "Please stop."
Her mother lunged for her.
Korra threw up her arms, flinching away as her mother seized her by the arms and pulled her in.
The pop was deafening and if Korra's eyes hadn't been closed Korra would have seen it coming.
She opened her eyes to see her mother stood mere inches in front of her. With so little distance between them Korra could see the sporadic dilation and inflation of her mom's pupils. She could see the overextended pores beneath her eyes and trace the wide fissures in her skin.
For a moment she thought her mother would go ahead and do to Korra what she had done to all those others. However, to her surprise, her mom discontinued her pursuit of Korra instead at an almost leisurely pace she turned to face whoever had been so bold as to shoot her in the leg. She released Korra's shoulder blades gently as if to say, "I'll be right back. Stay here."
Behind her stood a police officer, his gun still aimed. His inexperienced eyes took in the sight of the woman with disbelief. Then, the woman unhinged her jaw and let out a hissing sound. Her mother began advancing towards the officer. He fired again the bullet struck her chest, a second bullet her shoulder. Her mother bucked back from the bullets purchasing in her body but she kept coming. With each shot his amazement gave way to terror.
"Shit!" The cop panicked.
"No!" Korra reached towards the officer, "Don't-," But the officer aimed higher and pulled the trigger. Her mother's cerebral matter erupted across Korra's front then the rest of her sunk to the ground and lay at her feet.
"Korra," A gentle hand caressed her face. She smiled and nestled her cheek into her mother's soft hand. "Korra, I'm finished." The voice didn't belong to her mother. Her eyes shot open and she was met with overwhelmingly beautiful green eyes.
A smile worked over the stunning face, "I'm finished," Asami's smile became shy and Korra realized she'd been nuzzling into her hand. Hastily Korra released her hand and sat upright.
Breathing deeply she rid herself of the last two haunting years of her life but the ugly memory of her mother two years ago remained suspended behind her eyelids.
"Thanks," Korra said running a hand through her sweaty matted hair. Asami began to wind a cotton tablecloth around Korra's stomach before having it move up across her shoulder.
"You keep saying that," Asami said checking that the homemade bandages were wrapping securely, "But it's really no big deal."
Korra couldn't help but love the way Asami's cold fingers felt against her clammy skin, "Yeah, it kinda is."
They'd survived the attack only to have their jeep break down forty miles later. A day's hike had brought them to this small barren town.
The town looked like something out of a western film complete with tumbling balls of dust and wind chimes clanking obnoxiously against each other. A fence had been erected around the town's edges and lookout posts dotted every hundred feet or so. It must have been a great set up: wells, livestock stables, crops – everything needed to ride out this nightmare. But testimony given by the bullet holes and the occasional burned vehicle littering the town told Korra they had probably been attacked and forced to leave.
Once in town they'd found the modest dining restaurant they now sat in.
Kai had boarded the diner up and was now restringing his bow. Upon Asami's request (and Korra's order), Kuvira had retrieved several gallons of water from a well and was now cleaning her guns. Asami had taken it upon herself to clean Korra's wound. She'd packed the gaping mess with poulticed yarrow and shoveled several cups of cinnamon tea into Korra until she was practically gagging. In the meantime, Korra had sent Mako and Bolin to find them some wheels.
Some time later, Mako and Bolin still hadn't returned. Korra looked over at Kai and Kuvira nodding a silent signal to go find them. They both stood up and exited the diner.
"So what's the story behind the cut?" Asami asked once they were alone.
Korra countered, "What's the story behind you being in the clinic with the undead?"
Asami nodded, seeing Korra's meaning. She had offered Asami the opportunity to leave when their jeep broke down. Asami wouldn't have made it out of that clinic without her crew and the crew wouldn't have gotten away from the undead without Asami's driving. That made them even and Korra had expected to part ways. For some reason Asami had decided to stay and now she wanted to know why.
"I was with a group. We'd gotten it in our heads that there was a safe haven up in these mountains. The only way to get there was getting past a major city. We were more than a hundred miles from the city and thought there was no danger, no more than normal anyways. What we didn't expect was to be caught in the middle of a migration. It was-," Asami broke off into disturbed silence. Korra had heard of migrations. They were massive waves of undead herding toward loud noises. Of course the wave of undead made more noise drawing in more undead. If you happened to find yourself between a migration and the noise you became the object of their interest.
Asami finished with hesitance, "It was a massacre. We didn't see the wave until it was right on top of us. I think-," She paused to swallow the reality, "I think I'm the only one who made it out. I must have run at least ten miles that night. It was uphill and the recent storm had turned the ground below to mush. I just remember hearing them clamoring around me. I remember how every time I stumbled or fell there was one right there to pounce on top of me, ready to end me. The forest was so dark that I didn't see them until they would grab me. About three miles before I found the clinic I lost my weapon and I thought, 'This is it. I'm going to die.'"
Korra's hand found Asami's. She couldn't imagine losing Mako or Bolin or any of her crew. She couldn't imagine being surrounded and alone with no way to defend herself except her fists. Asami had lost all of her group, she'd battled her way out for miles and she had only just now showed her grief. Korra admired her perseverance and resilience.
"I'm so sorry." Korra said softly.
Brushing at the tears slipping down her cheeks, Asami began pouring another cup of lukewarm tea, "I ran into the clinic a few days before you guys arrived. There was a basement and I managed to get inside and chain it shut. I knew it was a bad idea but," She shook her head, "I couldn't run anymore. I didn't have a mile left in me. I thought I'd die in there. I could hear the undead scratching through the wood. I knew it was only a matter of time before they scraped their way in." Asami paused in thought, "I don't know which would have been worse: being eaten alive or dying of dehydration. I just collapsed against the wall wondering which would claim me first." She nibbled at her lip in thought. In a way Korra recognized the damaged expression. It must have been the same one she wore when she thought of her mother that day in the hospital. "When you guys showed up it distracted the undead long enough for me to get out the basement."
A few quiet minutes passed until Asami retrieved Korra a freshly washed and dried shirt. "Here you go." She pawed at lingering tears a moment then forced a smile, "Good as new." As the girl busied herself with adding soap to a pot of hot water Korra watched her. She wanted to ask if she was alright, mentally. But she knew the answer to that. If you managed to survive this long there was no way you weren't fucked up in the head.
Korra groaned and stretched her body. Her stomach had already begun to calm. The throbbing in her shoulder wasn't as painful. The packed in yarrow had stopped the bleeding and the clean shirt no longer reeked of undead and sweat. She resisted the urge to thank Asami again as she pulled the blue fabric over her head.
Where nausea had once called home in her stomach, worry took its place. Where was her crew?
"You really shouldn't-," Asami began but Korra was already on her feet. She moved past the register and serving counter. She could see into the kitchen and the backdoor from here.
"What's the story behind the cut?" Asami asked as Korra began rolling her shoulders.
"Well," Korra winced from the tightness, "We were ambushed a few nights ago by-,"
She heard a faint noise.
Asami had began gently washing her hands in hot soapy water, she now looked up, "Oh common don't leave me-," Korra raised a finger to her own lips cutting Asami off.
A moment of silence followed. Then there was that sound again. Asami stood up quietly behind her.
Listening close she could hear wood creaking.
The small restaurant had been built long ago. The wooden porch creaked with even the softest step. No matter how quiet you tried to be the damned thing would creak.
Which is exactly what it was doing.
Then it stopped. She stood in front of the front door just before it dawned on her-
She bound aside a split second before the door was kicked off its hinges.
A man entered the restaurant with a handgun. Knowing he'd caught them off guard and unarmed he smirked and aimed at Korra. She reached out decisively smacking the barrel upward just as his finger closed on the trigger. The loud sound echoed in the modest space of the diner.
She didn't ask questions - those came later. Instead she snatched his wrist. She spun until they were flush back to chest with her hands holding firmly to his hand and immobilizing his ability to aim the weapon. He squeezed the trigger firing a round into the floorboards.
"They're circling around back!" Asami warned just as crowbars tore apart the boards Kai had installed over the backdoor. A few short seconds later the backdoor was kicked off its hinges.
Shit. Korra grit her teeth struggling with the first man a little longer before she released the gun with one hand and jammed her elbow into his nose. He stumbled backwards with a steady stream of blood already gushing beneath his hands.
Another man arrived and was met with Asami throwing the pot of hot soapy water on him before doubling it around and thrashing it against his skull. She quickly dropped the pot before she completely seared her own fingers off.
Korra grabbed the bloodied nosed man around the neck and shoulders then rammed his head through a wall.
Asami and Korra met in the center of the small dining area their backs pressing against one another with Asami ready to take whoever came through the back and Korra the front. The design of the restaurant made attackers have to come in bottle neck fashion, one at a time.
"You shouldn't be on your feet," Asami worried. Korra almost laughed at Asami's timing.
"Believe me; I'd rather have your fingers on my skin right now." That was not what Korra had meant to say. She'd remember to blush about that later…
Right now, footsteps rushed up the stairs and onto the creaking porch. The assailant led with a kick. Korra managed to deflect it only to be met by a fist colliding against the side of her face the force of which knocked her to the floor.
Her injured shoulder hit the ground first and hardest. She screamed clutching her shoulder wishing she could just will the pain away. The assailants foot powered upward preparing to stomp her. In spite of her pain, Korra reacted sweeping out her leg and hooking it around the only thing keeping the attacker's body upright. The force brought him tumbling down. By time he hit the floor she'd already gotten back on her feet and was bouncing him between her foot and the floorboard.
Meanwhile Asami was rushed by a girl with a razor. Thinking fast Asami snagged a nearby chair. She countered two swift motions with the chair, grunting when a jab made it through and sliced her cheek. Taking a firmer stance she charged forward jamming the leg of the chair into the assailants wind pipe. As the attacker doubled over gasping Asami spun the chair in her hands. Holding the chair by its feet she brought the chair down on the attackers back. The force caused the chair to erupt in Asami's hands. Becoming genuinely pissed with this random attack, she thrust the crumbled chair aside.
Korra licked her bloody lips raising her one good arm into a fist and readying a handicapped stance. When the next attacker arrived Korra didn't hesitate to land a decisive blow from her foot to the side of his head. The force sent him fumbling backwards against the door frame and onto the porch where he dropped unconscious.
A ballpark whistle pierced the air, "Everyone, stand down!"
Everyone? Korra wondered. Just how badly were they outnumbered?
"We have your friends, so if you would please come out here we can negotiate terms."
Korra briefly checked around with Asami. She first noticed the blood running from large wooden splinters in Asami's fists then the puzzled expression they both shared. A second thought struck her as she turned back around, the girl could hold her own in a fight. Then again, how else had she survived a night in the forest of undead?
"How do we know they're not dead?" Korra hollered.
A few seconds passed and then came a squeamish voice from Bolin, "Oh, god Korra it was terrible! They shoved a dirty sock in my – mmmph!"
Dammit. She'd sent Kai and Kuvira right into their hands.
"Please come outside with your hands up." The female's voice asked so politely you would think she was inviting them to a dinner party not holding her crew hostage.
"Alright!" Korra responded after a long moment, "We're coming out."
Her heart was pounding and her body was aching all over. The only reason she could stand upright was the adrenaline pumping throughout her body.
When she stepped outside the sun hit her in the face. Asami's steps creaked behind her on the weak wooden porch.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust but when they did what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. Her mouth fell slightly agape. Her brain misfired looking for the right words to say but only one legible word could be formed:
"Damn."
The "damn" came from the forty guns pointed directly at them and the fact Korra hadn't heard them assemble there. The "damn" came from the four "visible" snipers lining the rooftops. The "damn" came from when she looked down to see two red dots pointed directly at her heart. The "damn" came from the two small children each pointing handguns at the gagged and bound heads of her crew.
But mostly, the "damn" came from the fact that the person standing forth front, the person in charge of this covert ambush and sizable group, held a revolver in one hand and was rocking a sleeping child in the other. The put-upon mom furrowed her eyebrows, "Korra?"
Korra recovered, but not really, "Pema?"