Deliquesce
Chapter 3: Gate
Warnings: Violence, language
Disclaimer: nah
A/N: Hey guys! So sorry for the super late update.. yeah I got lazy and busy. But yeah. Here we go. Next chapter shouldn't be too long away.
Turrislucidus: Thank you! :3
SNAPE IS SNAPE: I wonder that too.
Chocolategirlie: Thank you so much :) Here ya go
The car slowly came to a halt. We peered out the windows, staring at the towering structure that loomed over over the city, still visible from our position on the very outskirts of it. Even from here, you could see the rows of identical, grey buildings. It was too risky to drive in there. It's pretty much a given that you should never fucking drive a car right through a city. It's basically ringing a dinner bell. We'd have to go stealth mode from here.
"We're here." Briley whispered.
Veronica turned the car off. We all got out of the car quietly. We distributed the weapons amongst us. Veronica got a large knife thing. Jackson got a crossbow. Daniel was slightly disgruntled he was assigned the pocket knife instead of something cooler, but knew better than to argue. Briley got the baseball bat. Spencer got the crowbar, which he had trouble holding right with his skinny frame. I got.. a stick.
"A stick?" I asked.
"Yes." Veronica said.
"Fuck you too." I mumbled under my breath.
"I'm sorry?" Veronica asked. Or hissed.
"Fun to use. Sticks. They're fun to use." I smiled at her.
She shook her head. "Alright. So here's the plan. We go in quietly. These buildings have small alleyways behind them. We'll be taking them instead of the main roads. Any zombies we see, we can take easily. There will be more on the main roads. More of an open space too, which is dangerous. The two guns are only for emergencies. Otherwise, we are going to be damn silent or else we're fucked. I'm at the front. I can take a lot. Daniel, you're behind me, getting anything I miss. Jackson, you're at the back, keeping an eye and shooting at anything that comes our way. Briley and Spencer, you guys alternate between protecting the back and helping us at the front. Ember, you keep out of the way and in the middle at all times. Don't fall over. Don't scream. Please do not try to help. Just do not fuck us over. Are we all good?"
We all nodded.
"Let's go." She said. We moved quietly, keeping low behind cars. There weren't a lot of infected around the outskirts, but we needed to be as subtle as possible. We made it to the first alleyway. It smelt like death. There was a corpse, and actual, dead corpse out the front. Veronica peered around the corner.
"Two of them, we can take them. Quiet." She whispered, and motioned for us to go. I followed behind Briley and Spencer was behind me. The zombie saw us coming, and began to shuffle towards us. Veronica ran forward and kicked it down with those muscular legs, and in one smooth motion brought the knife down into it's skull before bouncing back up to avoid the thick black sludge that oozed out of its head.
The next one began to shamble towards us and Veronica took it down with ease. I looked behind us. Jackson had the crossbow drawn, back towards us, looking for danger.
We walked through the first alleyway and ran across the road quickly, before going into another alleyway a bit to the left. We didn't want to get too far away from the factory gates.
"Four." Veronica whispered, and beckoned us forwards. She ran up to the first one quickly, but the second one was too close behind it. Veronica tackled the first, but the second one went for her too. Daniel tried to stick the pocket knife into it's skull, but it was too small and his hands were too big and it clattered to the floor. Veronica lashed out with a kick to the second zombie before impaling the first zombie's head. Briley swung the bat wide and it came into contact with the second zombie's head with a satisfying, wet crunch and it fell to the ground, lifeless.
Veronica shot a glare at Daniel as he picked up the knife, and motioned Briley to come forward. Daniel fell back without a word and Briley moved in front of him. The two took down the third one quickly, and moved onto the fourth without much trouble. Still no trouble from the back. I just kept in my place.
We crossed another road quietly.
"One."
We went through this one quickly. Two of them followed from the street we crossed, but Jackson and Spencer took them down with the crossbow and crowbar with ease. Veronica cleared the way, then we ran through. We got to the next one and I heard Veronica curse.
"A lot. There's seven. Fuck."
Jackson looked out onto the street. There were no zombies that could follow us in. That road was clear within for about a hundred meter radius.
"I'll help you guys up the front. Spencer can take the back." Jackson said, falling into step beside Veronica. She nodded, and they moved forward quickly and quietly.
They took two first. Veronica surprised the first one with a swift knife to the back of the head and Briley swung the bat into the second one, while Daniel stuck the pocket knife into it's eye.
The rest were moving towards us. Jackson made a shot at the one who was closest. I watched, feeling small and helpless as Briley, Daniel, Jackson and Veronica destroyed those zombie brains. One of them grabbed onto Briley and went to take a bite out of her neck. The rest were busy with their own, and before I could cry out, Spencer ran forward and impaled the crowbar into its head. It fell onto Briley, and she scrambled up quickly, looking shaken for a moment, before returning to action.
The last one fell to the ground and they took a moment to catch their breath. Spencer put his arm around Briley's shoulders, bent down so he was eye level with her, asking her if she was okay. She nodded, giving a small smile.
We moved on in no time. The next alleyway was clear. We went right through it, only taking two that came in from the road behind us.
"One more to go." Veronica said, wiping some black, coagulated blood mixed with a bit of flesh and hair off her sleeve.
The next one only had a few, and we got through easily. We reached the end of the alleyway, and saw the factory across the main road, littered with bodies, abandoned cars and wreckage. We could see some wandering around.
"We're almost there." Jackson whispered with a smile. "Boss? What's the orders?"
"We keep low. Stick behind the cars and just go slow. Sudden movements are going to draw attention. There's about… ten or so around. I can spot a pretty clear path if we just keep low. The ladder is over there." She pointed. "You remember the plan. Put the ladder up. One person goes up, another one, gives them a boost, then pulls the other up. You chuck down the ladder, climb down, slide it through the bars and let the next two people go next. We have to move quickly. Ember, you're with Briley. She's light enough for you to lift with your arm. You're going to have to go quickly. You two are first. Spencer, you're with me. Daniel, you're with Jackson. You guys are last, and you're gonna have to defend against the horde of zombies that are going to come to us when they see."
"Wait wait wait. I don't mean to be the plan killer here. But how the hell am I supposed to boost or lift someone with one arm."
"Briley is one strong, tough, tiny motherfucker." Jackson laughed. "You're pretty tiny too. You can jump on her back, get up, then lift her up with one arm. That's the easiest way. You're gonna have to try."
"I'll try." I said.
"Let's go." Veronica said in a low voice. We followed her, keeping low and silent and hiding behind cars. Only one road. It's no big deal. It was dark. We made it to the gate almost too easily. There was one standing by the gate, right in front of the ladder, facing away.
"Jackson." She gestured to it. Jackson took a shot and it fell to the ground. It made a small thump, but nothing too loud.
"You guys ready?" She asked Briley and I. We nodded.
She got up and sprinted to the ladder, and we followed quickly. She had it up against the gate in no time. Briley went up first, and I followed after her as quickly as I could, ignoring the shooting pain in my arm as I grabbed each rung of the ladder with both hands. She helped me on top of her shoulders as I grasped onto the gate so I wouldn't fall. I rested the elbow of my broken arm on the top of the gate, and tried to hoist myself up with the other, getting my leg over. Briley helped me. I sat with a leg on each side and reached down to grab onto her arm. She was on her tiptoes. She used my arm to support herself up far enough to grasp at the top of the gate, then managed to get herself over too. We were both at the top.
"Guys! They're coming! Keep them away." Veronica yelled. I looked over and saw the zombies turning and looking our way before beginning to stumble over themselves to get to us. Veronica slipped the ladder through the gate and maneuvered it so it was resting on the other side.
Briley went down first, and I heard the quiet whistle of an arrow through the air and a small thump as something fell to the ground. I climbed down too, managed to get my feet onto her shoulders and then awkwardly got down on the rung below her and climbed down quickly while Veronica held onto the ladder through the gate so it wouldn't topple over. Briley pretty much jumped down from there and the ladder was pulled through the gates yet again.
"Briley hold the ladder." Veronica said, before climbing up herself. Daniel ran over to one of the zombies that were getting a bit too close and successfully buried his pocket knife into its skull. Jackson took another one down and Spencer climbed up after Veronica, getting onto her shoulders. Damn, she was strong. Spencer easily got up on top, and hoisted Veronica after her. Briley got the ladder through the bars, and set it on the other side. Spencer got down on it, And Veronica went down onto his shoulders. They got down from the ladder and Briley pushed it through to the other side. Jackson and Daniel finished off the zombies that were getting near, and Jackson slid the bow underneath the gate. Veronica grabbed it and shot at the one coming up behind them. Jackson got up, Daniel got on his shoulders and onto the gate, and pulled Jackson up after him and got down when the ladder was on the other side.
There was a small moment of silence. Veronica shot at the two who were grasping through the gate.
"Fuck." Briley said. "It's done."
"So uh.. Ember. What's the verdict."
"Well I mean. I guess this is okay. I'll stay." I said.
Briley grinned.
"Veronica, you okay?" Spencer asked. Veronica was sitting on the ground, resting her head on her knees.
"Yeah." She said. "Yeah. I'm fine." She got up. "Let's go."