Chapter 54

"Well, looks like I'm not going this way," I muttered as I looked at the small foot bridge that led across the river before looking down at the water. "Might be safer just to swim it."

I looked around and spotted a car, the passenger door opening with a quick tug.

"Should've locked your doors buddy," I said as I opened the glove box, hoping that what I needed was in there. Grabbing the box of condoms, I opened one and put it over the barrel of my M4, sighing as I tied it off before exiting the car and looking down at the river.

"Fuck I hate this shit," I muttered as I looked across the moderately long river. "Probably best to just take the plunge now."

Making sure that all of my gear was secured as tightly as it could be, I took a deep breath and then dove into the river.

Grunting, I began swimming, the current pushing me past the bridge as I tried to maintain a straight line, and eventually gave up, just focusing on reaching the other side of the river. As I swam, I felt like something was watching or following me, so when I reached the other side and climbed out onto the shore I tore the condom off of my rifle and pointed it at the water, anticipating something to jump out at me. After a few minutes of nothing happening, I sighed and turned around, my body still prepared for something to happen.

And I was right, as soon as my back was turned, I heard a large splash as a creature similar to the ones we had fought in the mansion landed on the bank, instead of a mouthful of teeth, a long tongue shot out and tried to grab me and bring me into its claws, the webbed feet seemingly the way it moved through the water.

Squeezing the trigger on my M4, I fired a burst into the chest of the creature, the skin easily giving way to the armor-piercing rounds that I had loaded into the rifle earlier.

The monster screamed, the noise drawing in some other creatures of the same type as it collapse in a pool of its own blood.

Turning to sprint further up the bank, I ran until I reached a concrete barrier that I could use as cover, these things' tongues weren't the only long-range weapon they seemed to possess. I noted as a glob of some sort of slime hit the ground behind me.

Darting out from behind the concrete barrier, I repeated what I had done to the earlier creature with a few short pulls of my trigger before pulling the magazine out of my rifle as the bolt locked itself back.

"Changing mags," I called out to the air out of habit as I tucked my empty magazine into an empty pouch while grabbing another full one and slamming it into the magazine well, slapping the bolt release as I pulled back out from cover and killed the last of the monsters.

"Four magazines left," I said as I did a quick count of how much ammunition I had left for my primary weapon. "And that was my only magazine of AP rounds," I sighed as I began the trek back to the precinct on this side of the city.

Annette Birkin slowly opened her eyes, he head pounding as if she had been out drinking all night.

"Mom," a voice was heard through her muddied senses as she tried to piece together what was happening.

"Mom, wake up!" the voice got a bit louder, triggering something in her instincts as her brain seemed to pull itself together, her vision snapping back into focus at the same time her hearing seemed to do the same.

"Sherry," Annette said as she realized exactly who was trying to wake her up. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She asked as she hung upside down while suspended by the seatbelt.

"I'm okay mom," Sherry replied, the elementary student looking at her mother. "But you're bleeding," she pointed at the trickle of blood that came from somewhere in her hair.

"I'm okay," Annette replied as she fiddled with the seatbelt's latch, fumbling around until it released her. "Come here," Annette brought her daughter into her arms and hugged her, allowing the younger blond to shed her tears into her shoulder.

After Sherry was done crying the two of them pulled themselves out of the car, the shattered glass tearing into Annette's tailored suit until they were out of the upside-down vehicle.

"Sherry, I'm going to get whatever the Security guard had that might be useful," Annette crouched down and pulled out the Beretta Cougar, and handed it to her daughter. "I need you to keep an eye out for anything."

Moving around the car with Sherry following close behind, Annette began going through her bodyguard's gear, pulling out a handgun and several magazines before tucking them into the waistband of her pants

"I'll hold on to this," Annette smiled at her daughter as she took her handgun back. "Now, we've got to get to the Police HQ."

The duo quietly crept away from the car, leaving the dead and dying to their fates, ignoring the screams and sounds of zombies as they avoided anything that would be in their path.

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"Get in," A police officer opened the gates to the compound. "Before any of those things follow you. There's a tent set up outside of the main HQ, you'll go in there to get cleared before you can enter the main building. We don't want anyone who's been infected to get inside."

"Perfectly understandable," Annette replied. "I would just ask that I not be separated from my daughter."

"I'm sure they won't ask you to split up from each other," the officer replied with a kind smile. "In fact, I've got something that should cheer her up a bit."

The older man pulled out a pack of Werther's originals and grabbing a small handful gave them to Sherry. "You remind me of my granddaughter, remember to not eat them all at once, you'll get cavities."

The older police officer ruffled Sherry's hair with a small smile on his face before turning back to watching the gates, allowing Sherry and Annette to move on to the medical tent to be checked on.