Chapter 2 - Escape

We’re fucked. There’s no other option. We have to get out of this building. There is no feasible way for me to get supplies without leaving, and there’s no feasible way for me to get back into the building without getting devoured. That was when I realized I just had to simply escape. If I can find an abandoned home placed conveniently next to a supermarket, I could easily gather supplies without any worry. However, to escape the building would be near suicide, but it was crucial if Noah and I were to have any chance of survival. My first order of business was to find a way out. A task that I would soon realize be impossible.

The only way out is through the balcony. We were on the lowest floor. The 5th floor. All 4 floors below us were dedicated to parking. Our balcony was placed directly over the parking garage sundeck meaning it was only a 20-foot drop. Not enough to cause any real damage but could probably sprain my ankles allowing any nearby infected to easily catch us. I also had to consider the damage an impact would have on a 2-year-old. Even if I managed to drop down to the 4th floor without any problems, I was still on the 4th floor. Jumping off the 4th floor wouldn’t be possible. I could run down the garage but that was probably where most of the infected would be gathered. If I just had a car...

I was preparing for the escape. Although I didn’t have a concrete plan, I had to be ready to move at a moment’s notice. I packed the essentials. Food, water, and some change of clothes. I stumbled upon a Baby Bjorn which is essentially a front-facing backpack for your baby. During my search for things I thought would be helpful, I struck gold. Last Christmas, my parents had bought me a drone. A drone would allow me to go anywhere any gather live video footage of places that would be too dangerous to facecheck. I could use the drone to scout the building for any infected before actually moving. Being able to have vision of any area from afar is invaluable in a situation like this. I take out the drone and turn it on. It’s dead. “Shouldn’t be a problem” I think with heavy quotation marks. We have batteries. The remote runs on 6 triple-As. The drone itself, however, was charged using a micro-USB. That required an outlet. Something that I no longer had access to. Luckily, I had a secret weapon. A solar-powered portable charger. I had bought it for $20 at a convenience store. Everything seemed perfect. Except solar charging takes extremely long. The instruction manual says it takes 10 hours of direct sunlight in order to fully charge the battery. That in itself wasn’t a big deal. The problem is, I live in an apartment. I only receive a fraction of the sunlight since the building shades all sunlight above and behind me. I only get about 2 hours of weak early morning sunrise and 2 hours of the midday sun. I estimate that it will take 4-5 days to charge.

After I charge the battery for about 3 days, I figure it should be enough time to at least charge the drone to a usable amount. I plug in the USB and the orange light blinks to life. Never had I felt so proud. The drone charges for a little over an hour before the solar-powered charger dies. The indicator shows the drone is at 30%. I switch on the drone and immediately patrol the garage. I have to be fast. I count 2 infected on the 4th floor. As I head deeper in, I notice something. My parent’s car. The car. That’s it. That’s the way out. Before I can scout any deeper, the remote gives me a warning that the drone is heading out of range and that it might lose signal. I should’ve guessed the concrete garage would block the radio waves. For fear I would lose the drone, I quickly recall it. It doesn’t matter. I got what I needed. Our golden ticket out of here. All I need now are the keys to the car.

I know we have 2 keys in total. One for my mom and one for my dad. Since they were driving together, I pray that my mom left hers at home. I quickly search their room, any place where they might have the keys. The thought that I would have to search my parent’s dead bodies in the hallway made me work even faster. As I start to give up, my brother Noah came up from behind me. Giving me a carefree look with the brightest grin on his face. It makes me shed a tear. “You must be starving. Sorry buddy.” Noah is too young to have any meaningful conversations with. He can barely walk without tripping over himself. I head over to the kitchen to grab a pack of Noah’s dinner. That’s when I see the key hanging on the side of the fridge.

Today’s the day. The night before, my heart rate had been a steady 120bpm while I was trying to sleep. I’m scared and exhausted. The plan itself was actually quite simple. I would use something similar to the hanger and ethernet cable contraption I built but better by using bedsheets. Little did I know that bedsheets could actually support a fair amount of weight. I knot the bedsheet with 3 other bedsheets and knot the last one down to a 25-pound weight which I threat through the rail. Even if the bedsheets tear, It should be enough to slow down my fall. With Noah in the Baby Bjorn, I’ll have all my hands free. From there, I’ll beeline to the car. Once I’m in, Noah and I should be safe. Then we’ll simply drive down the garage and we’re free to go wherever we please. Of course, before any of this, I’ll use my drone to check if there’s any infected. Ideally, I want to leave when there aren’t any infected around the 4th floor. I even considered throwing something at a car in order to trigger the alarm, attracting all the infected into one spot so we could escape. Like in every zombie movie ever made. However, that would just rile them up. It’s better to be as quiet as possible and sneak past them.

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With all my preparations in place, I grab my dad’s BB gun. It’s not going to help at all if we actually need to face any infected, but holding it makes me feel more confident. I strap Noah to my chest and step out onto the balcony. I had scouted a single infected on the 4th floor. However, it was all the way in the corner. It wouldn’t be able to see me coming down. With my heart pounding out of my chest, I say my final goodbyes to the apartment and slowly rappel over the railing grabbing onto the bedsheets. The 25-pound dumbbell acts as a hook and prevents the bedsheets from going over. The bedsheets drape down about 12 feet. That should be just enough to fall without any injury. When I get right below the balcony, the bedsheets tear. I should’ve known. All my weight was leaning backwards from when I was rappelling down. As I fall, I slightly shift my weight to the left in order to protect my head from snapping back. I squeeze Noah to absorb all the impact and brace myself. I land directly on my hip. The pain is unbearable. Everything is blurry and I feel disoriented. I let out a sharp cry and immediately realized what I had just done. I try to pick myself up but moving my left leg feels like someone is repeatedly smashing my hip with a hammer. I look down at Noah. He looks scared but otherwise unharmed. I use the wall to pull myself up. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the infected had heard me and started to slowly walk towards us. When I saw the infected, any pain that I had once felt vanished in a heartbeat. The adrenaline allowed me to make a semi jog towards the car. It was about 50 feet away. As I turn the corner, I now see the infected behind me is catching up. At this rate, he’ll catch me before I can make it to the car. I muster every last ounce of strength I have and sprint. The car is 20 feet away. Our ticket out of here is literally in my grasp. Then I see an infected that I hadn’t noticed on the drone. It was resting behind a car, nearly blending in. However, all the commotion had woken him. I didn’t notice him until I reached the car. Any rational thoughts I once had vanished into thin air. As I unlocked the door, I tried pulling the door open. If you didn’t know, you have to wait for the door to unlock before you can open the door. Otherwise, it doesn’t unlock, but I was in too much of a panic. Instead, I ran around back into the passenger side. The door opened. The infected reached for us and I quickly jump into the seat and slam the door, but the infected catches the door with his hand. I pull out the BB gun I was hanging on to and unload the entire clip into his face. Infected don’t feel pain but they still require eyes to see. BB’s can still blind you. Once the infected lost vision, I kicked his chest sending him reeling. I closed the door for real this time and locked the car. I take a look at Noah to see if he was hurt during this minute that felt like an hour. He was unharmed. We did it. We actually did it.

However, we weren’t home free yet. First of all, I can’t drive. I’m 14. I figured that I would just need to press the gas and turn the wheel. What I didn’t account for was the fact that the car was facing the wrong direction. And because we were in a narrow parking garage, trying to turn around would be an even more difficult task. I didn’t even know how to put the car in reverse. As I helplessly gas and brake while the car was parked, more and more infected were starting to gather from the sound of the ignition. Then in a moment of pure luck and desperation, I held down the brakes and shifted the gear. I had accidentally put the car into reverse and slammed the gas. We went flying backwards into wall and into a small group of infected. About 3 of them exploded into bits. Now that we were against the corner, making a turn would be significantly easier. I put the car into drive and cruise my way down the spiraling parking garage. There were a couple infected here and there but nothing crazy. Once we got to the end of the 2nd floor, I encountered the biggest problem yet. All of the infected were gathered on the first floor of the parking garage because of all of the bodies that were there. They were voring on the unfortunates who couldn’t get out of the car. There was also a conveniently placed Honda Civic blocking the entire exit. Driving full force into it wasn’t an option. If the airbags went off, Noah who was still strapped to my chest would surely die. However, if I drive slowly into the car to push it, the infected would swarm around the car. We wouldn’t be able to move and they’ll eventually break the glass and kill us. I pulled out my BB gun and shot one of the cars in the far back triggering the car alarm. As expected, all the infected swarmed. I slowly push the car out of the way. All that’s left is the gate. I hold the button below the rearview mirror. It lights up but the gate doesn’t open. After a couple more attempts, I realize the electricity is out. The gate can’t open if there’s nothing to power it. The infected lose interest in the car I shot and start to head towards us. I put the car into reverse and slowly back up until I reach the wall. Then I put it back into drive and I floor it.

I open my eyes to see the bright blue sky with the sun shining down. The gate was surprisingly weak. It didn’t even slow down the car. I turn around to see the horde of infected chasing after us. My brother Noah laughs. It’s all fun and games for him. I can’t help but smile as the two of us aimlessly drive off into the unknown.