John IV:

John had never seen so many deaths in one day, the sheer scale of it gave him pause. But he knew he couldn’t stop now, his team needed him. He was a commanding officer now, his job came first.

He, Chris, Ada and Benjamin crouched behind a dumpster. The breaths hoarse from the constant running, and fighting. Somehow in the past hour his gloves were soaked in blood and grime.

Emma’s voice echoed through the comms.

“The number of infected are remaining at a steady pace, the next block or so is cut off from the rest of the city.”

There was hope, a small amount but there was hope for the city’s survival.

“What do we do?” John asked.

“Hold out, take out as much as possible.” Chris ordered, reloading his gun.

“Then what, we can’t put them all down before they overwhelm us!” John argued, peeking out of cover to see the infested streets.

“Give me time. I’m working on it!” Emma said, her voice seemed to be getting farther.

“Working on what?” Ada chimed in, shooting at an incoming infected. It collapsed to the ground, its cheek deformed where the bullet landed.

“I can’t make a vaccine. Not now there’s not enough time. But I can send out an Antibody Bomb.”

“A what!?” John asked incredulously.

“It’ll erase the virus in their body, but it’ll shut down their bodily functions. No one infected will survive.” Emma clarified, he could hear the keyboards being furiously tapped on.

“Won’t that hurt us?” Benjamin asked.

“It’s only deadly to those infected. You should be fine.” Her voice grew agitated with each question.

“Should be?” John regretted that, before he could hear Emma’s admonishment, the dumpster began getting pushed back.

They jumped out of the cover, seeing a crowd coming toward them.

“Run!” John yelled.

The group of four ran, their very lives on a thread. Ada reaching a warehouse door, opened it yelling for them to get inside. Each of them did, however Chris stopped before the entrance.

He took a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin and threw it above the horde. The explosion caused a sign and fire escape to collapse, blocking off the warehouse door.

They stopped to catch their breaths, these infected were fast. They didn’t tire and were surprisingly strong. If swarmed no one would survive.

“Ballsy move.” John commented, glancing to the panting Chris.

“They won’t be able to follow us.” Chris stood, continuing on. They began to exit the warehouse, noticing it lead to another alley.

“This damned city is maze. Where’s the Main Street!?” Benjamin yelled, being immediately shushed by Ada.

“You want them on us again!?” Her whisper was sharp.

Their bickering was interrupted by a metal clang.

John turned to the direction of the sound, he walked closely to a dark corner of the alley. The metal trash cans were violently moved, as an infected charged at him. Before he put his gun up, it pushed him to the wall, making the weapon useless. John used the gun as way to safely push the infected back without the risk of being bitten.

It staggered back violently coming back for more. A few bullets came from the side, thankfully missing him. John with a quick draw, unsheathed his combat knife, the blade entered the infected’s skull. Its growls and attempts to bite him halted.

Removing his knife, he turned to his team they each had their guns raised.

“You almost shot me.” He said plainly as he wiped the blood off the blade.

They allowed themselves a nervous laugh. A moment of levity in this terrible situation. Their joy turned to dust when Emma’s voice sounded again with bad news.

“The infected have breached another blockade, they’re entering springwood creek! You have to get back on the street and deal with any stragglers. Their numbers can’t get any higher.”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“Copy that, let’s move.” Chris said, his stoic expression returning as they made to leave. Benjamin didn’t move, his eyes closed as if he was contemplating.

“Ben. What are you doing?” John called to the man.

“I’m not going to the street.” He said simply before taking off in a different direction. Toward Springwood Creek. Chris turned in confusion, Ada called after him.

“Ben!”

He was too far to hear them.

“Damn it!” Chris kicked a trash can over.

Their captain let out a frustrated sigh.

“Change of plans. John, you and Ada rendezvous with the other squads, take out as many infected. I’m going after Ben, we’re gonna deal with any we find in Springwood Creek.” His orders were quick and firm. They left no room for argument.

That didn’t mean John wouldn’t try.

“Sir we need you with the other captains what are we supposed to say!?” John argued.

“You’ll represent me until I get back. You’re my commander now, I’m trusting this with you.”

John swallowed his words, nodding his head in defeat. Chris ran off after Benjamin. John turned to Ada.

“Let’s go.”

“Whatever you say Commander.” She tapped his shoulder playfully, heading to the Main Street.

----------------------------------------

Jaene IX:

When Jaene got on that bus to Spring City, it wasn’t what she expected. There were fires now, people scattering and attacking each other. When she saw a man in the distance, his behavior erratic and his violence on full display, she knew what this was.

Her doing.

It made her sick.

It seemed her father had leaked more of the virus while she was gone.

Jaene shook her head. Now wasn’t the time for that. She had to find a way to get to the P.A.L base. They were most likely here dealing with the mess she and her father had caused.

Jaene eyed the street she was on.

“Springwood Creek.”

It was start, maybe she’d find some soldiers here. As for how she’d approach without causing immediate suspicion and conflict, she had no idea.

Upon reflection, this plan wasn’t well thought out on her part.

She carefully navigated the streets, hiding behind the picket fences whenever an infected made itself known. Reaching into her bag, she cursed under her breath. Her gun was confiscated when she was captured. She was unarmed in a place where a firearm would be most ideal.

She was going to continue onward, when a scream echoed from the house whose fence she used as a hiding spot. Jaene looked at the mailbox.

“The Burtons. Family of Three.” Three handprints were on it with different colored paint. The one that caught her attention most was the tiny pink hand.

A little girl.

Jaene grit her teeth, standing from her hiding spot and barging into the home. There were papers riddled everywhere, chairs knocked over. Another scream sounded from the kitchen. Rushing in she saw an infected stalking toward a mother and daughter. Quickly trying to gain its attention she shouted.

“Hey! Over here!”

It turned, its pupils dilating when it saw her. Its body turned with a sickening crunch, the bloody teeth bared as it now stalked closer to her.

Jaene began second guessing her decision.

It charged, its hands forward with the intent to hold her whilst it feasted. Jaene moved to the side watching it land head first into the fridge. It didn’t stagger long, already it turned to chase her.

Jaene ran to the dining room, and picked up a chair. She grunted picking it up, holding it front of herself like a barrier. The infected pushed against the chair, it tried to reach her through the tiny gaps.

Using her body weight, Jaene pushed forward pinning the thing to the floor with the chair now lodged onto it. Still it writhed and wiggled, trying to get its hands on her. Quickly she grabbed a kitchen knife off the counter, bringing it down to its skull. The blade didn’t very deep, the infected still moved and reached for her. So she brought it down again. And again. Over and over.

She didn’t know how many times she stabbed it. But even after it stopped moving she brought the blade down a few more times. Her hand ached when she finally stopped.

Blood was everywhere. Her hands, clothes and the floor. She turned to the mother and daughter.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

They were shaken still, but the mother stood nodding her head. She was taller than Jaene expectantly, her brown skin was also bloody. But she didn’t seemed injured.

“We’re fine…thank you so much.”

Jaene let herself smile, it dropped when footsteps echoed from the front door.

“Ophelia! Katie!” A older man’s voice called, getting closer to the kitchen until he arrived.

Time froze for Jaene.

She’s seen him only once. He was P.A.L, and he worked with Chris. She saw him when they transferred her to Interrogation. He spoke with a short haired woman, he said her name was well.

Emily? No Emma! It was Emma.

He recognized her as well. His gun instantly raised and pointed at her.

“The fuck are you doing in my house with my family!? How the hell did you escape?” His words came out like a growl, she could tell he didn’t actually care about her answers. He wanted any excuse to put a bullet in her head.

He hesitated as if he was hearing something she couldn’t. That’s when Jaene noted the earpiece. Someone was communicating to him.

“Ben! Stop it she saved us!” Ophelia said, approaching her husband. She slowly made him lower the gun. His gaze went past Jaene.

Jaene followed, seeing the man’s daughter looking at him with fear. He dropped the gun to the ground, the sight breaking his will.

Jaene took that opportunity to run.