The Subway Part 3
Onslaughts came from all sides as the machinery began to turn. The sound of twisting metal hid that familiar sound of hunting death for mere seconds before the screams overtook the air around us. I was unable to see anything clearly, and the stench was enough to make my stomach turn. I wiped what I could of the mucus from my eyes but the stinging and blurred vision it had caused stuck around stubbornly. Rather than risk a bullet in the back of one of my friend’s heads, we all chose to slash out wildly with our arms to push off the attacks. Eventually our vision returned but the sound of the distant churning of the creature that had attacked could still be heard above.
The open planned floor space, although filled with attacks from all angles, gave us running space to keep ahead of the chase once we were free to roam. At first our defence was erratic and unplanned, all running in separate directions, taking down anything we could. It wasn’t until a near miss between one of Francis’ bullets and Bill’s right leg that we pulled ourselves together into a unit. We had done it so many times before, why did we let our instincts fail us now?
The effect was instant, two behind, two upfront, blocking off any angle the infected creeps could find. With the aid of the Molotov’s we had made, we were able to take most of them down without even using our bullets.
Eventually the grinding shutter had raised enough for us to escape underneath, taking the opportunity to swiftly move up into the control room on the mezzanine floor.
“Take is easy, Zoey. That thing is still up here” Louis warned as I stormed ahead, but for once my timid approach to taking the lead had been all but left behind. I stormed through the open room, leaving my peers struggling to keep up while not letting down their guard. It didn’t take long to find the bulbous figure of the booming infected, huddled in the corner like a coward. Drained of any attack it could give I looked into its cold stone eyes and saw nothing. I raised my gun to its face.
“Stand back Zo- “
But it was too late. Out of rage and frustration at what my life had become, I shot at point blank range right into its chest. It immediately exploded like a water balloon under impact, covering me alone in yet more of its toxic bile.
“God damn it!” I screamed, as the guys behind stifled their sniggers. I wiped the mucus off of my front as much as I could, but even I had to admit not only was I lucky to come out of the hunt unscathed but, it was also kind of funny. For the first time in two weeks, I let out a genuine laugh.
At the end of the corridor we could feel a refreshing breeze wafting up from an open doorway below. After being trapped underground for so long, especially after the attacks we’d had to overcome it was a relief to feel our feet solidly above ground. Even the sickly dense air felt fresh to our lungs.
We came out into an empty street, littered with cars. We aimed any necessary shots carefully, but the surrounding area was unusually quiet for the chaos we had become accustomed to. At the end of the street one shop stood out, two glowing search lights were strapped to the roof, illuminating the ‘Pawn’ sign above it. I smirked as I stared at Francis, raising an eyebrow.
“Wrong kind for me, honey” he smiled back as we all jogged ahead.
Inside was a reinforced office, easily suitable for a recoup. We assessed a street map on a nearby desk and were relieved to find we were only a few blocks away from the hospital.
“It will take some navigating through an industrial estate but we should be there in no time!” Louis said with eagerness. We all took off our packs to rest our backs, and gladly drank from the water cooler. I even managed to find some paper towels to mop up the leftovers of my sticky attack. Unusually, and despite all that had happened to us over the past few hours, I actually felt like fighting wasn’t just necessary, but that survival just might happen.
Rescue was around the corner, and we were gonna make it happen.
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