As we raced down the alley, I checked behind me to see that a few of the deranged people managed to shove their way out through the door.
"Shit." I swore out loud. "Come on Lily, we need to run faster! Some of them got through and they're chasing after us."
"What is WRONG with them?!" She shrieked as she ran beside me. "Why are all these people acting so crazy tonight?! Wait, Sasha! STOP! LOOK OUT!"
I was too busy glancing over my shoulder again, counting how many there were until I suddenly ran into two more in front of us that were blocking the parking lot. I tripped backwards over one of them and shivered in disgust when I realized I was touching their cold clammy flesh.
I found myself sprawled on top of the hairy sweaty chest of some grotesque fan who had painted his entire stomach and face in our striped dark band colors as if he was at a football game . He was grinning wildly up at me and I instantly scrambled to get up off him. His pudgy fingers suddenly latched around my wrist and he yanked it towards his bloodstained mouth. A foul odor masked all my senses when he opened his mouth, practically stunning me, and I could see inside that his teeth were horribly jagged and was stained crimson from his previous victim.
"No! Let go of me you sick freak!" I lashed out at him while desperately trying to pull my hand out of his ridiculously strong grip.
I stomped my foot down against the man's face roughly and pulled backwards to try and free myself from him, but he wasn't budging. I could still feel the stench of his rotten hot breath against my fingers and I balled up my fists to keep them away from his mouth. I retracted my foot back and stomped on his face harder this time. I felt the bone in his nose crack when it connected and the huge man growled and released me to shield his face. The minute his grip weakened, I stood up quickly and stepped back away from him.
Lily let out a scream and I turned to find her backing up into a brick wall with a skinny rocker chick standing in her path. "Sasha! Hurry! She keeps trying to bite my face off and her breath smells GOD AWFUL! OW! WHAT THE-HELP! NOW SHE'S TRYING TO EAT MY HAIR!
"I know Lily! Just- give me a minute ok?!" I panicked and ran my fingers through my hair nervously.
I couldn't believe it.
The guy on the ground was already unphased by the blow and blood was gushing down his face as he started getting back up to his feet again. I had to keep backing up just to avoid him and ended up next to Lily who was still screaming.
Okay, how can I stop him?
Maybe...
I could try knocking him out? He'll at least stop crawling after me.
Without giving it any more thought, I punched him hard in the gut hoping it would stun him. He froze for a moment before doubling over and vomiting some weird black gunk. This stuff had to be what was making his mouth smell bad, because that horrid smell from earlier was suddenly in the air around us.
"Oh I think I'm going to be sick..." Lily groaned. My stomach turned unexpectedly, letting me know it had enough. I doubled over on my knees away from the man's face and threw up everything I had eaten today. I tried to climb back up to my feet, but I suddenly felt woozy and my vision was fading in and out. Lily was grunting and screaming my name while trying to fight off the other girl but she sounded so far away. I wiped my mouth and looked over to see that the guy finally stopped moving. His face was flat on the ground, the black ink stuff he spit up still oozing out of him.
"Damn it Sasha! Get this bitch off me!"
I wobbled back up to my feet and stumbled behind the punk rocker harassing Lily. I wrapped my fingers around her colorful dyed ponytail and yanked her back roughly. This one was feisty though and refused to let go no matter how hard I pulled her hair. I glanced over to see it's hands were still latched on Lily's arm and hair. Wait a minute. Her hair? "Lily! Are you kidding me?!!"
"What?!"
"Take the damn wig off already!"
"Are YOU kidding me?! This is my favorite one! Do you know how many hours I spent trying to get it into this style?! YOU make HER let go!"
"Stop being so damn dramatic!" I yelled while still struggling to pull the girl away.
It's not worth getting killed for!"
The teenager suddenly threw up that black stuff all over Lily's face and got it all over her dress.
Lily wailed in despair and hell, I didn't blame her. "FINE! TAKE THE DAMN WIG!" She screamed and tugged it off, letting the zombie have it.
The girl still had a grip around Lily's wrist, but once I wrapped my arm around its neck and snatched her hand off, Lily was able to escape.
The edgy teenager then turned her attention to me. Before she had a chance to shift her weight, I switched the hand around her neck to the back of her head and tried to keep her steady.
She was fighting back with everything she had to bite me or make me fall. I forgot about everything about knocking her out and just slammed her head against the brick wall. The first time it hit she howled loudly and squirmed against me, became more aggressive and was now throwing her head back forcibly to hit me. I smashed her head against the wall again and again until she finally stopped moving.
I was breathing heavily and released her cold limp body on the ground next to the other guy.
"So what, are you just OK with killing people now?" Lily cried hysterically.
We both looked down at their bodies and I saw blood bubbled from the man's cracked lips.
"What other choice do I have?" I asked and started running towards my truck again. "They're coming at us like a bunch of psychopaths and acting like the others in the auditorium. Do you want to end up like all the others who got eaten?"
She didn't say anything but cleaned her face off with her skirt while running quietly beside me. "Can you just take me home already? I want to be rid of this nightmare." She mumbled.
"Of course, as long as you don't mind me stopping to get my brother first."
She said whatever under her breath but I ignored it, continuing to keep my gaze straight ahead.
When I checked behind me, I couldn't help but feel a sickening relief when I saw that the ones who made it through the door became interested in the two bodies we left behind.
Screams and cries of terror echoed in the night all around us, crowds of people all running frantically to their cars from the exits of the auditorium. What I didn't understand was why the hell did so many people stay behind after the show? It ended over an hour ago!
When we finally approached my red Chevy truck, Lily suddenly grabbed onto my arm. "Hang on, isn't that Shaun's car? I thought you said he left ages ago?"
My gaze followed to where she was pointing and spotted his silver Sudan parked in the same spot it was three hours ago.
"That is his car..." I trailed off suspiciously and stared blankly at the tinted four door. I walked over to the driver side and almost jumped out of my skin when something cracked under my foot.
It was a pair of sunglasses.
They looked like the ones Shaun was wearing tonight. There was also a puddle of that black goo mixed with puke inches away from it.
"Ew sick..."
A dark figure sat slumped over in the driver seat and I stepped over the mess to tap my knuckle against the car window.
"Hey Shaun? Are you ok in there? It's me, Sapphire."
Nothing.
I opened the door and gasped when his body came tumbling out of his seat and hit the concrete with a thud. "Shaun?! Shaun, can you hear me?!" I ran to his side but he suddenly growled and pushed his torso up with his arms. When I took a step back, I saw that his entire shirt and steering wheel was covered in that black bile.
I stood there paralyzed in shock and my heart was pounding hard in my chest seeing him this. I gulped before turning back towards Lily. I didn't know what to say. I was in a trance and couldn't bring myself out of it. I couldn't even begin to believe what I'm seeing.
Shaun turned into one of them.
"Lily, get inside my truck now!" I screamed while heading towards her
"What do you mean? Is he okay?"
"NO!"
I could feel him on my tail. He pulled himself to his feet and was chasing after me faster than the others. I raced for the driver seat that was just a few feet away but from how loud I heard him breathing, I didn't think I would make it. I could see Lily's eyes widen in horror from inside the truck and I wondered if then that was it for me, and I would be devoured like the rest.
A loud horn blasted loudly, shattering the night silence and my screams as a large monster truck came zooming in right past me, barely missing the hairs on my skin. There was a sudden "thud" not even a second later and I fell over on the ground. I sat up flipped my head around to turn to see that the truck had Shaun pinned down right underneath it.
"Shaun." Both Lily and I groaned.
"You ladies need to go on and get the hell out of here quick!" Said the man from the driver seat. All I could see was his beard and the terror in his eyes before he revved his engine, his tires skidding all over Shauns body and practically tearing him to shreds, before the man drove off into the night like the devil was on his heels.
I sat there on the ground a few inches from my truck, wide eyed, staring off where the man disappeared to and then down over to Shaun. I couldn't pry my eyes away from the sight. I could hear Lily sobbing from inside.
I eventually scooted backwards, my eyes still locked on Shaun's corpse, until my back hit the truck. I used it to give me support to climb up to my feet and I finally turned away and let myself inside.
When I didn't say anything, Lily's eyes filled up with tears as she held onto herself. "What the hell is happening tonight? " She whispered, her voice shaking.
I tossed my backpack and bass in the backseat with her. Then I sat there, dazed. "That's something I would like to know too, Lily." I thought and started the engine.
****
"You want to come with me?" I asked Lily once I pulled into the parking lot of the library.
Lily shook her head. "No...I just want to rest, if that's OK with you Sasha." She replied wearily.
I gave her a sympathetic nod. "Alright but keep the doors locked and call me if anything happens. And uh, try not to get any of that gross blood on my seats." I joked, hoping to lighten the mood somehow.
She didn't respond. Instead, she curled her knees to her chest and buried her head between them without even giving me a glance.
I winced in defeat.
Smooth Sasha strikes again, as my brother calls my awkwardness. Wrong moment, wrong time as always. I frowned and closed the door lightly.
As I jogged towards the library, I felt an eerie breeze crawl up my spine and something made me look up at the windows.
Well that's weird.
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The lights were off. My concerts usually ended way before this place closed and when I checked the time on my phone, it was only 9:45, still fifteen minutes before it did. So why does it look like they were already closed?
I started to panic. My ringtone suddenly went off and when I pulled out my phone, it showed the hilarious picture I saved of Ray with his face swollen from the time his peanut allergy acted up. I swiped to answer it.
"Ray, where are you?"
"Sasha?" There was static when he spoke. The reception here was shotty at the least, but even through it I could hear my brother's voice shaking. "Hey, you're not going to believe this, but there was this poor guy outside being chased around by a group of people! He was bleeding badly, I think they really messed him up but then some cops showed up and they...they shot all those people sis! They shot all of them! They killed all of those people in cold blood Sasha!"
"Slow down Ray, I think the same shit was happening at my concert too. Everyone was acting up tonight like it's some sort of mad cow disease. Where are you now?" I asked while running up the flight of stairs to the rear entrance. I froze when I spotted two police officers standing over by the front. They had their guns out and were guarding the area. I ducked down low and snuck over to the single back door.
"Sasha, I don't know if they'll let me out. The police put the whole place on lock down and they said they're not letting anyone out or in until they know what's going on. I hid inside the boys bathroom though, so I could talk to you."
"Good to know," I responded sarcastically, "but can you find a way to sneak out back? I'm here now."
"I don't think so," he whispered. "There's a few cops in here barking orders and saying that they're not letting anyone go. They even held this one girl at gunpoint who kept arguing with them."
"Are you kidding me?"
"No and there's...something else."
I ran my hand down my face and took a breath. Is there going to be any good news tonight?
"What?"
"Don't be mad okay, but....I kind of sort of...lost my glasses." He sighed.
"Are you shitting me!?"
He quickly added "It wasn't my fault! Everyone started freaking out when the lights went out, including me. We all tried to make a run for the exits but someone elbowed me in the head and knocked them off."
I felt a vein in my temple throb. He was always losing those damn things and of course today wouldn't be an exception. "Well do you have another pair at home?"
"Yeah?"
"Then forget those for now, we have bigger things to worry about. Try and find a way to the back exit for now. I'm already here."
There was a pause on the other end and I pressed the phone harder against my ear to listen in closely. "Ray?" Through the static, I heard two loud popping sounds and startled screaming coming from the other end. "Ray? Is that gunshots?"
His voice was completely distorted when he spoke and I shook my phone like it would fix it. "Ray listen to me, come meet me around back just like always, I'll find a way to get you. Don't-." Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, the phone call disconnected.
"Shit, could this night get any worse?" I growled irritably and waited at the exit for him.
I sighed in relief when he came running out from the darkness. His face lit up when he saw me and we met in front of the sliding glass door. There was a caution sign on it saying that it was automatic but even with both of us standing right in front of it, it stayed firmly shut.
"Is there a lock you can turn or an emergency button you can push to open it?" I asked.
"Huh?" His voice was heavily muted by the door and he raised a hand up to his ear with a confused look on his face.
He tried to say something back but it was so faint I could barely understand him.
"TRY. TO. UNLOCK.THE. DOOR!" I mouthed while using my hands to charade it for him.
He shrugged helplessly at me and I shook my head before taking out my cell phone to call him.
As he stared dumbfounded at me, he jumped in surprise and pulled out his phone to answer it.
"Smart idea." He commented.
"Thanks. Now, do you see anything to trigger the door open? Any locks or buttons?"
I placed the phone on speaker so I could toy with a handicap switch to see if it would make the door open but it didn't.
My phone beeped abruptly, notifying that it had a low battery. Of course I would forget to charge my phone tonight too. It also explains the shitty reception I was having.
"No I don't see anything," Ray sighed, "there's not much here. Just a bunch of flyers and pamphlets."
"Okay just keep looking around for anything useful. I don't have much battery life left on my phone but-"
I saw a quick flash behind Ray and we both froze. I could hear a loud bang and a burst of white light flicker behind him each time, illuminating the room he was in for a second.
"Uh Sasha? Can you get me out of here now?" He stammered, his eyes wide with fear and started banging his fist against the door frantically. "Come on, this is serious! Those are gunshots!"
"Tell me how to get to you?!" I cried out as worry washed over me.
"I don't know! Just please do something!"
Out of nowhere a kid about Ray's age appeared. His body was hunched over and his arms were almost long enough to reach the floor. His eyes were focused solely on my brother and he started walking closer towards him.
"Sasha! Why is he growling at me?!" Ray's fist banging on the door grew louder but I was somehow glued to the spot, unable to act.
"Stop! Get away from him!" I screamed when the kid suddenly lunged at my brother like a wild animal. Ray's head slammed against the glass door when they hit the floor and I watched in horror as he started ripping apart Ray's shirt, turning it into shreds in front of me.
"Hang on Ray!" I cried. "I'll get you out of there, don't worry!" I glanced around for something, anything I could use to break the glass but there was nothing. Ray's terrified screams grew louder as he tried to fight the kid off. "Hang on Ray! I'm coming just-" I screamed, my mind racing as I dashed back to my truck for any ideas. I didn't see the cops when I raced back down the stairs.
When I got to my truck, I forced open the back door which caused Lily to jump in her seat.
"What?! What's going on?" She shrieked wide eyed.
"Ray needs help!" I spat out quickly.
"Why can't you get inside? Is it closed?" She asked.
"No, but there's a kid in there who turned into one of those things and Ray is locked in there with it."
"What?! Don't tell me it's spreading here too? Wait a minute." She stopped and turned around in her seat and pulled my guitar case over her lap. "Why don't you use this to break in?"
What the hell?
I really despised that she was even considering using my beauty against the door. But I wasn't finding anything else useful in my truck. I stared at it hesitantly debating it, searching my mind for other options. I was in love with my instrument but..I knew it wasn't worth losing my brother over. I sighed and unzipped it open before tossing the case over Lily.
"Ah! Jeez Sapphire, how about a thank you?" She scoffed.
"Thank you!" I shouted over my shoulder as I ran back to Ray. But by the time I got to the door both my brother and the kid who attacked him were gone. My heart plummeted when I saw a spot of blood and a small crack where Ray hit his head.
"Shit." That thing is going to pay for this.
I tapped my axe shaped guitar against the door once, not too hard, just a pity tap . Doing this to my baby was still damaging to me. It was the first electric guitar I ever bought myself and I've been performing with it for so many years.Though the thought of losing my brother over something trivial, I ignored the pleading cries of despair in my head and hit the door again, this time creating a noticeable dink in my instrument and a small crack on the door. One more swing into the glass and it shattered, allowing me a way inside. I refused to see the damage on my guitar but a side glance showed me that the top half was practically broken off. I sighed and carefully stepped over the glass.
"Ray?! Where are you?" I called out to him.
It was pitch black and all the screaming I had heard earlier had died out.
It was silent.
"Come on Ray! Let's get the hell out of here already!"
Nothing.
My breathing staggered as I wandered in, listening for any sounds. Grey smoke from the gunshots clouded my sight and I dug inside my pocket for my cell phone flashlight. All I got was a blank white screen for a few seconds before the phone shut off entirely, leaving me back in the darkness.
It died.
Okay, deep breaths, I reassured myself even though the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on ends. I went on full alert mode, taking a few steps at a time and frequently checking my surroundings. Someone coughed beneath me and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
I stood there listening for any other noises. I went to take another step forward but ended up stumbling over something large and heavy that I almost fell to the floor. My eyes went wide when I saw that it was one of the officers that I saw guarding outside. She was barely breathing and she belched out a gurgled cough that jerked her whole body.
"Oh my God! Ma'am? Ma'am are you okay?" I asked.
She turned her head slowly and her eyes rolled up to see me. A heavy stench of blood was coming from her ruptured neck and she let out one last final breath before going still.
"Holy shi-" I backed away instantly while covering my mouth to stop from screaming. She's...she's dead! What the hell is in here that is strong enough to kill a cop?
"Hey Ray! Say something already!" I cried out, feeling desperate already.
As I headed further in the smoke, I heard a stack of books fall from a shelf in front of me. I followed the noise, grateful to hear anything else other than this eerie silence. "J-Ray? Is that you? It's me, Sasha. Come on! We can go home now."
Almost in a straight line, more cops and civilians lay dead on the floor in front of me and I backed up into a wall near a bathroom and closed my eyes. I was breathing hard trying to pull myself back together. This was all starting to become too much to bear at once. Hell, in just one day! What the hell is going on here?
"Help! Is anyone still alive here!? Sasha?! Can you hear me?! Damn it! Get away from me you asshole!"
"Ray?!"
That has to be him!
I went to follow his voice but then stopped short and hid behind a bookcase the second I saw what was up ahead. Ray was sitting on top of a bookshelf and defending himself from the kid from before by throwing books at him. Ray's pants were torn to shreds and you could see his boney legs through them.
"Get away from my brother!" I yelled.
The kid turned and froze right as it grabbed onto Ray's shoe.
I walked out towards them but Ray held his hand up and hollered, "Sasha! Wait!"
"Wait? Why?!"
"Because there's two of them!"
Two?! My heart dropped. Then, where was the other one?
From inside the bathroom, an older woman lunged out at me and with a vicious growl she pinned me down on my back. I could barely hold her off with the neck of the guitar and some of her nasty black drool dripped onto my forehead. Her knee was digging into the pit of my stomach and I tried to shove her off using my feet. I could hear her nails scratching into the wood of my instrument and snapping the strings off one by one. Her eyes were glowing an ominous yellow as she grinned menacingly at me and like the rest of them, her breath smelled horrific if not worse. The stench dulled my senses again and in that moment of weakness, her nails made contact and clawed at my face, leaving me howling in pain. My cheek burned and I felt warm liquid trickle from the scratch to my neck. I was suddenly feeling light headed and exhausted.
A book unexpectedly landed on top of her head and she instantly shrieked and jerked up, searching for what caused it. We both sat there in silence, looking in the darkness while my heart was beating a mile a minute. Another book hit her in the face this time and she leaped off me with a furious screech and took off into Ray's direction.
"Oh no you don't!" I hissed. The guitar felt so light in my hand when the burst of adrenaline hit me that I was able to get back up on my feet quick enough to catch up to her. Without a moment of hesitation, I brought the guitar up over my head and then down abruptly on top of hers.
The impact made an odd sound when it connected and the old woman let an inhuman yelp before falling face first into the carpet.
Ray and the kid attacking him were staring at me stunned. The kid shook it off quickly and was already growling low and preparing to come at me.
Give me a break already!
"Ray! Run to the door!" I barked.
"But what about him?"
"Don't worry! I'll figure it out somehow." I didn't know yet but as long as he was safe and out of the way, it was one less problem to worry about.
As he climbed back down the shelves, me and the kid circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. His blazing haunting eyes darted towards Ray for a brief second but I slammed the guitar loudly on the floor in front of him to get back his attention.
"Eyes on me buddy." I challenged him.
Right as Ray rushed past me, the kid leapt for him instead anyway. I hopped in his way as he charged and I held my stance in front of him. When he got close, I gripped onto the neck of my bass and took a batting swing upwards between his legs, hitting him square in the boys with the heavy end of the guitar. The entire star shaped design broke into pieces leaving me with just the strings and fingerboard.
"Aw, that's not cool." Ray winced.
I opened my mouth ready to scold him about getting to the exit, but the kid started standing back up as if the heavy swing didn't have any effect on him.
"What the hell?" Ray and I said in unison.
The teenager grabbed the broken end of my guitar and tugged me towards him. I could smell his skunk breath as his free hand tried to swipe at my face but I turned the stick upwards to knock him away.
"Holy shit!" Ray cried out.
"Damn it, just get in the fucking car already! I'll meet you there!"
"Alright! Promise to be careful?" He whispered and finally ran out.
The kid I was struggling with looked as if he wasn't sure who to go for, to either keep fighting with me or chase after him. His face suddenly lost all it's color and I heard a disturbing rumble coming from inside his stomach.
"Oh shit, you're not going to do what I think you're gonna...!" I panicked and dove out the way as he projectile vomited a glob of what looked like hot tar. He stumbled forward before dropping to his knees and face planting into his own mess.
I stood there, freaked out, disgusted, and down right exhausted. I shook my head and pulled myself up to my feet and then walked towards the exit to find my brother.
"Hey.." He started when I met him at the door.
"Hey. Are you alright?"I asked him.
"Yeah. I did bang my head pretty badly but aside from my clothes being torn to shreds and a few scratches, I guess I'm okay. So...uh, what happened back there? How did you get rid of him?"
"He threw up some really nasty black gunk and then fainted into it." I answered wearily.
I headed back down the stairway towards the truck to meet up with Lily.
I heard him grunting as he struggled to keep up behind me while trying to hold up his pants.
"Crazy ass night."
"You don't even know the half of it."
"What do you suppose is going on? Why is everyone acting up like this?" He asked.
"Seems like the same thing that was happening at the concert. We're not too far from it so I guess a lot of them all came running through here."
"I can't believe all those...dead people in there. Whatever is happening, is making people go out for blood. They've killed every cop in there." He shook his head, lost in thought and wide eyed.
"I know...I saw plenty of others too."
"What about the librarian though?" He asked.
"Huh?"
"The lady who attacked you first. Do you think she's...you know."
"To be honest I'm not sure Ray and it's something I really don't want to think or talk about right now."
"She has to be. She stopped moving when you hit her. What if they find out and you get in a lot of trouble for it? What are we gonna do then?"
"I just said, I don't want to talk about it now, Ray." I snapped. "Let's go home first and we can figure it out then."
"....okay."
As he opened the back door to dump his backpack he froze when he spotted Lily. She was using the tail of her dress to wipe her face, still trying to wipe all the dried black gunk off. She gawked back at him at his torn shirt and pant legs.
"What happened to you?!" They asked at the same time.
"Come on, let's go home already." I told them while climbing into the front seat. I glanced into the rear view mirror and saw the three long slashes across my cheek. After wiping off the wound a bit with a napkin, I tossed my head and turned on the ignition. "I think we all could use a hot bath and a long good night's sleep right about now."
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