"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
In the dead of night, with nothing around me, the sound of the car screeching down the road quickly woke me up. I hadn't heard a car running in weeks. Quickly, I got up and climbed the nearby ladder. Above me, I lifted the hatch and pulled myself up to the roof. The car had come to a stop about a hundred feet to my north, and the driver's door had been left wide open. Whoever they were, they had been in quite a hurry.
They had parked into a driveway, and a light suddenly flicked on inside. Inwardly, I groaned. "Thanks," I whispered to myself. The sound of the car wasn't a big enough give-away, they had to pinpoint their location for the undead. As I made my way down the ladder, closing the hatch overhead, I heard the first shotgun blast ring out, cutting the silence of the night. With the hatch secured, I climbed down and walked into the small sitting room.
It had been months since the plague hit; we weren't sure what exactly was occuring, but we found out in a hurry that our dead were coming back to life. No one was ready for that first week, when all hell broke loose. People didn't care for one another; it was all about getting yourself the fuck out of there. Some of the smarter people banded up and formed groups to help fend off the attacks. I had been in one of those groups. Ours had been only ten people, but we had been fortunate enough to come across the abandoned hospital. We had secured one of the upper floors and had made that our base of operations for a few weeks. However, that didn't last and we were scattered.
I'm not sure what happened to the other four that had gone south. Of the six of us that went eastwards, only I had made it. The others, one by one, were cornered and killed off. I had come across a small grocery store and holed up in there. It had showed signs of once being inhabited, but whoever had been there was long since gone.
The sound of a shotgun going off pulled me away from my reverie. Four shots went off, then nothing. There was silence.
I had fixed up the base at the grocery store when I first came to it, putting up boards and moving shelves against the larger openings. The backroom had an escape to the roof via a ladder and hatch, which is where I stayed now. There had been ammunition and various weapons, not to mention a lot of non-perishable foods that would keep me alive for some time.
Over the last few weeks, I had been able to keep in shape by jogging around the roof and doing various exercises, whatever it took to keep my mind busy and body limber. I heard the car door suddenly slam shut and the car turn on before I heard that dreaded noise.
"HRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNN..."
The moan. That awful fucking noise I have come to detest, that I had prayed I'd never hear again. With a sigh, I grabbed the scoped rifle nearby and a box of bullets. Slipping the strap across my shoulder, I climbed the ladder and lifted the hatch once again. Making my way towards the ledge, I noticed the car hadn't moved; the door was ajar again, with someone standing on the hood. A few zombies were dragging themselves from the west towards... her?
HER?
I wasn't sure what to do. She had only a few minutes before they would be on her, but I could tell she was already panicking. Her sight wasn't on the zombies; instead, she was looking around for a quick escape. I wondered why she wasn't using the car, but something must have been wrong with it. Setting the rifle down, I grabbed the rope-ladder that I had made earlier. Tossing it down the side of the wall, I prayed that I could give her enough of a chance to make it here.
Picking up the rifle, I aimed down the sights and fired. One of their heads popped off, exploding in a cloudy mist of blood. The echo of the gunshot rung out across the valley, alerting everything towards me. I turned to her and waved the gun, hoping she'd notice me. Thankfully, she was quicker than I was; already, she was sprinting towards the wall, her eyes on the rope ladder.
"HURRY UP!" I yelled, before kneeling down and aiming through the sights. Another shot fired; another zombie's head popped off. I looked over the ledge and she was climbing up, her shotgun tucked between her bag and her back. When she climbed over the ledge, I grabbed the ladder and pulled it up over and led her to the hatch. "Go ahead and climb down," I whispered. She nodded and quickly made her way to the room. I followed after, closing the hatch behind me.
"Thank you," she whispered, hugging me tightly as soon as my feet were on the ground. I wrapped my free arm around her shoulders.
"You're welcome," I said, pulling away and smiling to her. She had shoulder-length brown hair and dark eyes, with a light skin-tone. Her clothes looked disheveled, as did she; I could tell she hadn't slept in awhile, and probably not eaten properly. "Go ahead and sit down, rest up."
She nodded, looking around. "Where?" she asked.
"Just ummm, you can lie down on the bed. I'll get you some new clothes and something to eat and drink," I replied, before giving her a quick smile and making my way towards the other room. I had gathered some clothes from a few houses nearby every now and then, simply because I liked the thought of a "fresh" set of clothes. When I walked back to the other room, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, which was just two mattresses stacked atop one another, quietly crying. I sat beside her and set the clothes behind her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning to me and crying on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her and comforted her the best I could.
"Nothing to be sorry for," I said, rubbing her back. "I know it's been rough, but you're still alive."
She nodded and pulled away. "But I put you in danger. I--"
"Hey, let's not worry about that." As if on cue, the loud, guttural groan of the damned seemed to turn up a notch. I rolled my eyes. "They know we're around here, so we'll have to stay holed up for a bit. We can go to the roof and walk around the store, but we have to be careful."
"Is the store safe?"
"Yeah," I said. "I've been here for a few weeks now. It got overrun once, but I think they just didn't work together. We'll do better than they did." I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a soft squeeze. She smiled; despite her weariness, she was beautiful. "Anyways, go ahead and change and eat. There's food in the other room, help yourself. I'll be back in a few minutes." I stood up and grabbed the rifle again and walked back to the ladder.
"Be careful," she said.
"Of course," I replied. I looped the strap over my shoulder and climbed back up. When I got to the roof and looked over the ledge, my heart caught in my throat. Thousands of the undead had lined the streets, wandering around aimlessly. A few were at the wall, scratching and pounding on it. I walked around the roof, looking at the streets, seeing if they were surrounding us. Thankfully, they weren't; they had congregated on the western wall, with a few stragglers on the northern and southern walls. I removed the scope from the rifle and scanned the east, to see how I could create a distraction further away from us.
"The gas station..." I murmured. I was certain it was empty of any gasoline, but there was a chance it could create a very large explosion. I reattached the scope to the rifle and aimed down the sights, ensuring I could get a perfect shot.
"Hey." Her voice behind me startled me. I pulled the trigger.
The silence that followed surprised me more. When I looked at the rifle, I was surprised to see I had put on the safety. I had no recollection of ever doing that. Slowly, I turned to her and smiled. "Hey, you surprised me."
She had changed into some jeans that hugged her legs tightly. She wore her boots still but had tossed on a hoodie. "Sorry," she said, making her way to me. I turned and pointed to the gas station. "You think there's gas?" she asked.
I shrugged. "I think so, but if there's not, it's ok. It's a distraction."
"We could fill my car up and get out of here, though."
"And go where?" She had no reply. "No offense, but your car isn't a good escape vehicle. It's too small."
"It was just an idea," she said, suddenly sounding very defensive. I sighed and turned to her.
"I--" I stopped. It hit me suddenly. "What's your name?"
"Aja," she said.
"Aja, I'm Chris." I gave her a smile. "I have a vehicle hidden, that is my escape should this place get overrun or I need to relocate." She nodded. "Did you eat?"
"Yeah, a little bit. I don't have much of an appetite," she whispered. "I just keep hearing their moans, and the--" she stopped and bit her lower lip. I placed my hand on her arm, gave her a soft squeeze.
"Let's not think about that. You let them get into your head, you're as good as dead." I withdrew my hand. "I know you're tired and scared and your confidence is shot. Things are bleak, yes, but you cannot give up hope." I turned back to the east, to the gas station. "Tomorrow, we'll help build your confidence the only way I can think of."
"How's that?" she asked, giving me a quizzical look.
"Simple." I took her hand in mine and led her to the ladder. "We build a bomb."
She gasped. "A bomb?" I pointed to the ladder and she made her way down. I followed her, shutting the hatch and setting the gun aside.
"Yeah, a bomb. We have plenty of supplies here in the store. It has to be light, though. I'll have to travel fast and--"
"I'm coming with you," she interrupted. Before I could reply, she continued. "You saved me today from certain death. You've been kind and sweet, you've been helpful. Let me help. Please?"
"Aja, I can't. I need you here." She seemed defeated, so I took her hands in mine. "I don't know if this will work or not. If it doesn't, you'll need to shoot the gas tank, wait a few hours, then escape."
