Sorry for the wait everyone. I felt that it would be good to have a small break in posting in order to catch up on writing some more and formulating the story from here on. Consider it a mid-season break. I'll probably be having one every month with 20 or so chapters a month followed by a short recess to write some more.
Anyways, I decided to go with Among the Dead as the title for reasons unknown. Which was completely out of the blue and not at all a choice on the poll (sorry). The illusion of choice and all that, I suppose.
Without further ado, here's the chapter.
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Chapter 21: Crossing Paths
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“Should we help them?” Sophia asked. The group of people on top of the restaurant were currently stranded on the roof, not daring to shoot the infected below in favor of conserving their ammunition.
James struggled but then shook his head sadly. “There isn’t enough time. We have to get the medicine as soon as possible.” He turned the car back to drive and started driving away.
He was stopped by Rick.
“Hold on. I’m sure we can just give them a helping hand, right?” He offered. Although he knew that he had to give the greatest priority to the safety and health of the boys back home, there was no way that he could simply ignore others when they were in danger.
“We don’t know them.” James said resolutely. “We have to think of the group before anyone else.”
“That’s not us.” Sophia said. "Leaving them is the same as killing them. We don't kill people."
"But we do, Sophia." Pete said. "The police station, remember? We kill people."
"That's not the same!" She yelled out. "Those people attacked us first. They were bad!"
"How do you know this time will be any different?" James asked. He didn't want to leave innocent people either but he also had to think of the welfare of the group, now that he had taken on the temporary position of leading them. "We can't trust anyone or anything these days. We need to think of ourselves before anyone else."
"Then how are we any different from anything out there?" Rick asked. "We fend for ourselves, provide for ourselves, and live for ourselves. But in turn, because of our selfish choices, good people out there have to fight by themselves, starve by themselves, and die by themselves." The others couldn't respond as they thought of how much has changed since the outbreak.
"The only thing that makes us different from the monsters out there is that we look out for others and help each other. John and Sophia helped me-helped all of us when we needed it most. Do we abandon that? Do we really give up our humanity?" He asked.
After a long time, James responded. "If I see so much as a hint of anything going wrong, I'll put a bullet in their heads...before they put bullets in ours."
Pete just nodded in agreement. They got out of the car after the debate and made their way closer to the restaurant. The restaurant was located next to a parking lot and surrounded by other buildings. The only way to get into the front entrance was through the parking lot and currently there were almost a hundred infected crammed into the area.
As the group moved near it, they clearly saw that the infected were acting unusual. Some had begun to climb over each other, trying to claw their way up even a little further towards the men on the roof. Others screamed and yelled while more still simply bumped into each other, creating a waving, massive crowd.
“What’s wrong with them?” Pete asked.
“No idea. But I’m assuming a headshot’ll put them down just the same.” Harry replied.
They began moving towards the parking lot, getting close enough to aim for their heads. As they started to whittle down the infected in the lot, they focused on taking out all the strange ones first. The screaming infected soon found bullets lodged within their brains. However, no matter how vigilant the actions of the group, they could not exterminate the threat quickly enough before one of the screamers finally turned its attention towards the newcomers.
Screaming at the top of his lungs, the infected lurched towards the group, followed by nearly three quarters of the infected. Its guttural screams were so hoarse that blood and bits of flesh ripped from its own throat spewed out of its mouth.
Before it could continue its howl, it’s head was burst open. As the group looked up at the roof, they could see a man in a cowboy hat pulling back the bolt on his gun and continue to fire at the most problematic infected.
“I thought we were supposed to be the one doing the rescuing!” Harry yelled as he shot two incoming infected on his left.
“Behind you!” Sophia yelled back, quickly shooting the infected that had managed to sneak up behind Harry as he was trying to take down his own group of infected.
As they traversed the span of the parking lot, the bodies of the infected started to pile and dark, blackish blood flowed from their wounds, coalescing into a stream that trickled down the slanted parking lot into the nearest drainage hole on the side of the road.
Suddenly, a panicked shout resounded from the right side of the group. As they turned to look, they saw that one of the straggling infected that remained in the lot had rapidly crawled towards Pete. Unaware of the danger underneath his line of sight, he was grabbed by the infected and pulled at the ankles, causing him to fall over.
"Shit! Get it off me!" He shouted as the struggled to use his weapon to put distance between his body and the festering mouth of the infected.
"They got Pete!" Sophia yelled, rallying the attention of others to help their comrade. She had seen what had transpired but was too preoccupied with her own defense that she had not the opportunity to rescue him.
At that moment, another rifle shot rang out in the lot and lodged itself in the jaw of the crawler on top of Pete. The force cleaved off much of the jaw, shattering the bones and teeth and taking away its ability to bite Pete.
The man on the roof with rifle had once again saved them. However, this was all for naught as the infected instead resorted to using its hands, forcing its bloodied and blackened nails to penetrate the skin above Pete's chest.
Pete's yells for help turned to agonized screams. Finally, the others heard and Rick with one quick movement shot the infected in the head, ending its assault.
A minute of frantic fighting passed and the infected had been all but cleared out of the parking lot. James ran over to the fallen Pete, scrambling to stem the blood gushing from his chest with his hands. The Crimson liquid seeped out of the gaps between his fingers and flowed down to mingle with the Black blood of their enemies.
"I-" Pete struggled to say something but was interrupted by a fit of coughing as a line of blood trickled down the side of his mouth.
"Hey. Hey. Stay with me, bud. You're going to be okay. It's going to be okay." He frantically said as he positioned himself to support his fallen friend's head.
"Get something to bandage the wound!" James yelled back at the group who were standing in shock and sadness. They did not move to stem the flow of blood.
"What are you guys doing? Hurry!" James yelled again seeing that no one had moved to save Pete. Struggling, he ripped his own shirt off and pressed it against the wound, trying in vain to stop the blood from leaving his weakened friend. The white t-shirt soon became soaked in red and saturated with the scent of impending death.
Pete raised his hand slowly, and placed it on the arm of his friend who was holding his head up. He struggled to move his head up to look into James' eyes and opened his mouth slowly.
"I-I'm going to have to leave now...Go." He coughed more blood before taking in a shaky and wheezing breath.
"Don't talk. Just-just rest, okay?" James said as he choked on a sob. Pete just shook his head. He looked over at Sophia.
"Spend time with John. Be there for him." He said resolutely. It was his last dying wish for her and she nodded.
He smiled gently at the sight of the girl's resolve. That moment, his eyes started to slowly dim as he shifted his gaze towards the heavens.
"Come on, Pete. Stay with us...please." James cried out, begging for his friend to stay alive against all odds.
"I'll see Kathryn there, James. I'll be able to see her again." James' cries died down and he nodded.
"Yeah, you will. Definitely."
Pete's face broke out into a serene smile.
With his final breath, he said "This time, I'll never let her go."
With that, his body slowly slumped, and his lifeless eyes stared off into the distant skies, as if watching its soul departing to the afterlife.
James sat motionless for a moment and then rocked back in forth, a painful and prolonged wail escaping his mouth.
One does not see a grown man cry often, especially with such profound sorrow. When the group heard his painful cry, their hearts clenched and a deep seated melancholy fell upon them.
As Rick was about to step forward to comfort the mourning man, James reached for his pistol and brought it up to Pete’s temple and pulled the trigger. The single shot rang out in the lot, sharply contrasting with the sounds of screams, groans, and gunfire that had filled it just minutes before.
It echoed across the block, undoubtedly attracting more infected that would eventually come upon the parking lot. However, James didn’t care. Pete was one of the few friends that he had known before the outbreak that survived. Losing one of his last friends felt like he was losing a part of himself. He had been going through the past few weeks as if in a dream, his mind clouded by a hazy mist. He simply moved on in a daze, not thinking of the things he’s lost, the people he’s lost, and the life he would never live again. Now, in the wake of Pete’s death, James awoke to face the cruelty of reality.
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He wiped the tears from his eyes, a sad but determined expression hanging on his face. He gently put his friend down on the ground and stood up.
Rick finally approached him. “Are you okay?” He asked.
Swallowing his saliva, James nodded. “I’m fine. Let’s go see who we saved.”
“Alright…” Rick said while frowning. In Rick’s eyes, James had changed. He no longer had the jovial and amiable atmosphere around him. His eyes were harder and he seemed so serious that Rick almost could not believe it was the same man. But then again, he understood more than anyone how death could affect and change a man. His wife’s death had ruined him for years, his child being the only thing keeping him anchored.
They walked towards the entrance of the restaurant.
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“You think they’re friendlies?” Tim asked as he kept his aim on Harry, who was currently at the head of the group.
“Stay your hand, friend. They had clearly helped us just then. It seems fitting we see what they desire of us, despite the risks.” Jim said, placing his hand on the top of Tim’s arm.
Eric peered down at the group, his eyes widening. “Those are some big guns.” He sighed.
“Might as well go down. Eric and I’ll go. You two watch from above and if you see anything about to go do, take the shot.” Gary said. He slapped Eric’s back in encouragement, the force so powerful that it caused him to stumble forward. He quickly recovered and climbed down the ladders with Gary, coming up to the front of the restaurant to see the group.
They gripped their guns tighter but didn’t raise them as a sign of good faith.
“What do you want?” Gary shouted hoarsely.
“A thanks would be nice!” The young girl yelled back.
The two looked at each other in confusion. This girl was nothing like the people in the city, who had become cynical and distrustful of everything down to their own shadow. No one talked to people they didn’t know anymore, and even then, they didn’t say much, let alone strike up such a conversation.
“Thank you.” Eric said tentatively. “Why did you save us? We don’t have anything you could want.”
“We don’t want anything.” One of the bigger men in the group said. “I just wanted to see who we sacrificed a friend for.”
“Hey, we didn’t ask for anyone to save us!” Gary yelled back angrily. Who told them to try to help them anyways? This is what they got for not adapting to the new order of things.
“You fucking son of-” The big man started but was stopped by another smaller man in a brown leather coat, who held him back.
“We were wondering if any of you have any medicine on you.” the smaller man yelled.
“Sorry, mate! Got nothing for you.” Gary shouted back.
“Do any of you have medical experience?” The girl said suddenly, a look of hope in her eyes.
They didn’t respond. They knew Eric was a doctor but doctors were hard to come by these days and were highly sought after. If they revealed such information to a random group, it could lead to bigger problems down the road.
Seeing the silence, the girl got excited at the possibility of their indeed being someone to help her. “Our friend was injured! He needs someone experienced to fix him!” She yelled excitedly.
“I’m sorry, but none of us can help you.” Eric said regretfully. As a doctor, it pained him to not help those in need, but in these dark times, it was simply too difficult to uphold his creed.
“Oh…” She sighed in dejection. The smaller man walked up to the two, raising his hands to show his lack of weapons.
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Rick had been observing the men and based on their mannerisms and general disposition towards the group, seemed guarded but not dangerous. They gave off the same feeling John had when they first met.
He walked up to the men, his arms raised. He saw the two men tense up and saw that one of the men on the roof had his rifle trained on him. Controlling his shaking legs, he walked up, exuding a false sense of confidence and poise he hoped would seem authentic.
“My name is Rick.” He said. “These are my friends.” He introduced the group by name and turned back at the two.
“My I ask for your names?” He asked.
The men hesitated, but seeing no reason to hide it, they called back.
“I’m Gary.” The larger, buff man said.
The smaller of the two spoke up as well. “Eric.”
“Are you guys alone? Do one of you happen to be a doctor?” Rick asked calmly but Gary’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Why do you ask?” He said gravely. Rick quickly waved his hands to show he had no bad intentions.
Undeterred, Rick continued honestly. “On a supply run, two of our boys were hurt very badly. We need someone to treat them. It seems you’ve survived in the city for this long, you must know of some way we can get help.” He became desperate seeing the impassive expressions of the two.
Sophia guessed what he was about to do, and walked up behind Rick and whispered.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We still don’t know anything about these guys.”
“You didn’t know anything about me when you let me in.” Rick answered back and turned back towards the two.
“We have food, water, shelter, and more people. If you join us you-”
“We have none of the sort.” Gary said. “Best be on your way.”
There was no way someone would give away food and water in times like these. It made them highly suspicious but since Rick had no experience dealing with the new world order and recruiting disillusioned survivors, he had plainly stated what he had to offer.
Eric remembered his son when they were talking about the teens, making him remember his mission and original plan. He shook his head, conflicted..
“Oh…” Rick was dejected.
“But there is a place where you can get your medicine. Maybe even a doctor.” Eric proposed.
This brightened the expressions of everyone in the group and filled them with hope.
“If you can tell me where the west military camp is located, I’ll tell you where you can get your medicine.” Eric negotiated.
Sophia jumped in and told him. But then with a frown, also gave a warning.
“The compound was overrun weeks ago. My friends and I were just barely able to make it out alive. I’m sorry but I don’t think your family…” Her voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence that would crush the man’s hopes.
However, Eric simply shook his head.
“I’ve got to go see for myself. Thank you for the warning, young lady.”
“And our end?” James asked.
“The city is separated into several sections, each maintained by different groups. The one’s that probably have the medicine only number five. The Hounds in the West, the Broods in the East, Rajan and his men in the South, the Covenant in the North, and the Undersiders.”
He listed all the major powers that had footholds within the city. Rick and the others knew none of these groups and not one seemed to be the type to extend a helping hand.
Almost all of them will most likely shoot a bullet through your head the first chance they get, though.” Gary added. “Best chances are with the Undersiders. If the price is right, they’ll give you what you need but if you ain’t careful, getting medicine will be the least of your problems.”
“Where are they?” Rick asked.
“Underground. Compared to topside, it’s the safest place from the infected but at the same time, one of the most chaotic places in the city. You can get there through the metro.” He specified how to get to the Undersiders.
The Undersiders weren’t a group per say. Rather, it was the name attached to the collective people that had chosen to escape to the metro system underground. During the outbreak, they had managed to quarantine several sections of the system and create pockets of survivors in which they would communicate and even trade with each other.
If they brought food or valuables to trade, they would most likely be able to get what they needed. As there was no central power governing the metro system, they did not need to worry about a unified enemy force. Instead, what concerned them were the actions of each individual Undersider, who upon their own volition, may move to forcibly seize their belongings.
The group decided that they needed to prepare first before venturing into the Underside.
“If that’s all, you better move on your way.” Gary said, still very guarded against this group of strangers.
“Thank you for your help.” Rick said. There was no way they could know if this information was true or not, but it was the only thing they could rely on at the moment.
Eric nodded and watched as the group left.
“You sure you can’t help them?” Gary asked. He finally relaxed and looked over to his friend.
Eric just shrugged. “Everyone needs something these days. We can’t afford to be good Samaritans.”
Without another word, they met back up with Tim and Jim and made their way to the western military camp.