Chapter Twelve

Back to Ground Zero and Back to Present Day

I had to stop thinking about Nathan and when this all started. When all of our lives fell apart.

"Do not fire that gun again." I shook my head, regaining my senses. "We're in some serious shit now."

Tears welled up and I glanced back at the hospital as we retreated down the hill. Once there was enough distance between us and the horde that was coming after us, I stopped and looked around.

There has to be some place that we can go. Somewhere we can get in.

"There! To the right! That building connects with the hospital," I shouted.

"The doors are blocked," Liz said.

"We have to get inside."

"Yeah, that'll be a piece of cake, Em," Meaghan grumbled.

"It would have been easier if you weren't an idiot," Taz snapped at her.

I stepped between the two of them as Meaghan ran at Taz. "Knock it off. This is not the place nor the time. We have to find Nathan and get back to the fort."

"How are we going to do that? How do we get in?" Liz asked.

"I'll figure that out." I looked around for something that would help unblock the door.

A statue had fallen in front of the door. The kitten that had been tucked safely in my jacket squirmed around and popped its little head out of the top, under my chin. I scratched his head and smiled as he purred against my chest. Muffin would love having a playmate and his purr really soothed me. The vibrations rumbling from his chest to mine created a sense of relaxation, which was miraculous considering where we were.

"Stop playing with the kitten and let's figure something out!"

"I am, Meaghan. Shut up before one of those things notices us."

I stood there looking around desperately. The zombies were closing in on us, ambling slowly but surely toward us.

"We have to find leverage."

"What?" Liz asked.

"A pipe or bar or something that we can use to move that statue from in front of the doors. If we move it, we can get in."

"Where the hell are we going to find a pipe strong enough?" Taz questioned.

"We're in an apocalypse. I don't think anyone will care if we break something to get a big pipe." I rolled my eyes and tucked the kitten back into my jacket, securing the top button.

"Before get pipes and stuff, maybe we should worry about them." Meaghan pointed at the mass of Undead shuffling toward us.

"I think you're right."

Think, Emma. Think. What can get rid of Undead?

I looked around trying to wrack my brain for anything that could help.

The cars!

I dug through the pockets of my jacket until my fingers brushed against a small lighter. I walked toward Meaghan and Liz, and snatched the bandana off Meaghan's head. She protested a bit, but let it go when she realized I had a plan. I squatted near one of the abandoned police cruisers and opened the gas tank. The fumes that had been trapped for four years wafted out and smacked me in the face. I slid one end of the bandana into the tank.

"Alright you light this and I release the brake. Or I light it and you release." I stood back up, and looked at Taz.

"I'll light." He quickly took the lighter off of me.

"Okay. As soon as you do, run and get down."

He nodded and waited until I was able to pop the brake. The car squealed as it lurched forward. It was almost as though it had to remember how to move. The bottom had rusted and the tires had gone flat, but gravity was doing its thing. I hopped out and began to run in the opposite direction hoping Taz had been successful at lighting the makeshift wick. I darted behind a concrete pillar and turned to watch. The flame burned through half of the bandana as it slammed into other emergency vehicles. Taz, Meaghan, and Liz were nowhere in sight.

The massive zombie horde gathering in the emergency entrance way seemed drawn to the commotion caused by the crunching metal and shattering glass. They began to stagger in a zombie run toward the wrecked cars. The apparent urge to feed sent them into a hungered frenzy. Who knows when the last time they had flesh was. I crept around the pillar and kept as far back as I could; side-stepping over a few skeletons that lay in the middle of the street. The bones were weather worn, but there was no mistaking the tell-tale bullet hole in the forehead. They had been undead at one point; put down during the first wave.

How many people did the two of them eat? How long had they been undead?

Four years ago I would have freaked out seeing a body just lying around. Not now. Now they were quite common. Especially out in the wild. An uneasy feeling crept into the pit of my stomach. Things were going much too easy. It was never easy. I pulled the hunting knife out of the sheath on my ankle, ready to take down anything that got in my way. I looked around for Meaghan again, but she was still nowhere to be seen. I gripped the handle of the knife until my knuckles turned white. Aside from a few stragglers near the main entrance, the horde had converged on the burning wreckage. The side door was clear though. I saw no signs of movement around the small smoking area, and the door looked to still be in one piece.

"Where are you going?" a voice asked from somewhere near my feet. I stumbled backward and fell hard onto my butt, watching Meaghan climb out from beneath an ambulance.

"You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry." She grinned.

"I was beginning to think you were dead."

"You can't kill the unkillable." She winked.

"Not funny, Meaghan."

"Sorry." She raised her hands in the air defensively. "So where are you going?"

"The side entrance. There are still a few stragglers near the front. It looks pretty clear up there."

"Knifing it?" Taz asked.

"Yes. It's riskier, but at least we won't have to worry about drawing attention with loud weapons and we don't have to clear the doors now."

"Alright." Liz reached under her jacket pulling out a very large knife.

"What the hell is that?"

"Like that, eh?"

"It's a mini sword."

"I know. I found it when I was out scavenging a few weeks ago." She smiled.

I shook my head and lead her toward the door. The thick glass was still intact, and the small area inside clear. Pushing the door open, I crept in toward the second door. It was made of the same thick glass like material. Unfortunately, that door led to a bend. I couldn't see more than a foot in front of it.

"Shit," I muttered.

"Shit what?"

"I can't see around that bend."

"Then we go around front." Meaghan turned around heading back to the door.

"No." I shook my head.

"Why?"

"Too dangerous. That area is bigger there might be more inside."

"And what if the hallway is filled and we can't see anything?" she asked.

"Just stay here for a minute. I'll go look." I pushed the door slowly, trying to make as little sound as possible.

My heart pounded hard in my chest.

What if Nathan isn't even here? How do you plan on even finding him? What if he's dead?

I sighed with relief when I saw the hallway was empty. I turned to get Meaghan, but the look of terror on her face made me stop. Then I heard it. A low growl behind me. I closed my eyes and waited. That was when it happened.

A zombie fucking bit me.