Thomas emptied an entire magazine of his assault rifle into the horde, yet not a single one of his bullets made a dent. There were a thousand of them. Monsters. Some had half a face. Some were missing limbs. Some were nothing but a torso and an arm pulling it along. They were dead. They were alive. Thomas had never felt this much fear in his life.
"Ousawa!" Will shouted from the other side of the army truck. "Get your ass over here! I got a dozen of 'em on the left side!"
"Yessir!" Usui replied, rushing from Thomas' side of the truck to Will's. The walkers were closing in on all sides. They were three and truck in the middle of an ocean of death. There was another squad of guys in another truck on the other end of the avenue. They were only five. It seemed like every one of them the group downed was two more that stumbled out the horde.
Thomas took a magazine from the barrel in the center of the truck and loaded it within a few seconds. This time, instead of burning off ammo, and fire off one shot at a time. It might be more effective. He set his brow near the bridge of the gun, and pointed it at one of the walkers that was getting too close. He shot a bullet at its heart, but was dismayed to find it didn't kill it. He was sure it had been a direct hit. He had even calmed himself down. He took another go at it, making sure to do everything Will taught him, yet still... The thing didn't hit the ground. One more...nothing...one more...nothing...
"It's not doing anything!" Thomas shouted back to them.
"Mine aren't either!" Usui added. He turned to the squad lead with eyes wide. "Sergeant! What do we do?"
Will took a moment from shooting into the crowd to turn to them. He hid his fear behind a tough face. Thomas could tell it was forced the moment he laid eyes on it. "I...I don't know..." He replied. "Just keep shooting!"
Usui drew his eyes back out into the crowd of the dead. "Damnit..." He muttered. He continued his stream of fire, and so did the others. After a few more bullets, he turned back around again. "Will! They're just not fucking working!"
As Thomas fired a few more bullets into the crowd, he found the setting behind them. They were in a small suburbs in eastern Savannah. Lines of modern houses lined each side of the street. There were bullet holes piercing the siding and knocked in doorways where the lurkers broke in. He almost felt dirty firing his gun on in the middle of a city into a row of houses, but from what they had heard...this section of town was dead. Everyone who was here had either left, or become the things walking in front of them now. None of these feelings kept him from firing.
"It has to work eventually!" Will called back. "I've seen a few of them go down, so there has to be a way!"
Will was the one who was firing a spray of bullets into the the crowd like hail. He kept his trigger held down firmly. Thomas found it amusing how he was the one who taught them how to aim, yet in times of actual crisis, he was the one who fired at random. One of his bullets flew right past the crowd and into a house behind it. It must have pierced some sort of gas tank because it went up in flames and blasted a good chunk of the horde into oblivion. Most of them didn't get back up again. "There we go!" He said proudly. "Guys, put your guns down and use your bombs!"
Thomas pulled a grenade off of the strap around his shoulder and pressed the trigger. When he threw it, he remembered his younger days when he was a pitcher for his high school baseball team. He imagined the grenade was the ball, and threw it as hard as he could, and as accurately as he could towards home plate. It travelled straight into the crowd and exploded in a valiant display of yellow flame. Bits and pieces of bodies flew in every direction.
Will and Usui hurled a few of their own bombs in each direction as well, each doing the same amount of damage. Eventually, the men on the other truck down the way caught on and began throwing their own grenades. They managed to knock back the horde for a while, but grenades were an expendable resource. When they ran out, the dead began to flow back into the streets on every side, but this time, faster. They had been drawn to the sound of the explosions.
Usui took his gun from his shoulder and put it up to his shoulder one more time. "Damnit!" He exclaimed, shooting off what little ammo he had left in the magazine. None of them hit anything.
As the dead moved closer, the squad of riflemen only burned through more and more bullets. The number of bullets that had been riddled throughout their chests was now too large to count. They were still closing in.
Thomas gazed to his left, past the dash of the truck and watched as the lurkers reached the other truck and climbed in. He heard the terrible screams of those men as the life was ripped away from them by the dead. The horde funneled into the trunk and when they completely filled it, he knew that everyone on that vehicle was dead.
On an impulse, Thomas threw his gun back behind his back and jumped into the driver's seat of the truck, turning the key in the ignition and stepping on the throttle. "Shit, Tom! What the hell are you doing?" Usui called up, not pausing his hail of bullets.
"I'm getting us out of here!" He replied. "Those guys over there are dead. There's no way we're getting out of here alive."
Will shot an angry look in his direction. "We don't leave the area! That's what our orders are! We only get out of here victorious or dead!"
"Face it, man!" He screamed. "Savannah is lost! We have to get out of here or we're gonna get lost with it!"
"Garter, get out of that seat right now! That's an order!"
Thomas ignored him. He revved the engine and sped off in the only direction that seemed to be clear of them; the way they came. When the lurkers got too close, he just mowed through them. Their army truck was about twice as large as any normal pickup truck. It was government issued, specifically for moments like this. "Tom! God!" Usui cried as he crawled up into the front of the truck and climbed into the passenger seat.
"When can you ever follow a order, soldier?" Will sneered. "I'll tell you... If we get out of this, you're not on my squad anymore."
"Let's worry about that once we actually get out of here, sir." Thomas replied, rounding a corner very quickly.
The car raced out the suburbs at high speeds. The dead were flowing through the streets like koi in a fish pond. Any of them that got close enough to get run over got run over. It made for a bumpy ride, but it didn't decrease the speed one bit.
Once the walkers cleared out of the road, it was smooth all the way down River Street. It was a section of town Thomas didn't know, and Usui had to shout lefts and rights at him for what seemed like five minutes. The last time he was in a section of town he didn't know his way around, he got in the worst car accident of his life.
Downtown faded into plazas, and the plazas faded into parks. Thomas watched as little bits of his life flew by him at seventy miles per hour. His first bike ride at Antler Park. The school where he spent the first half of sixth grade. And then the hospital passed by, and a thought ran through his mind. Parker was still there, asleep while the world went to shit around him.
"Turn left here!" Usui cried. Thomas gazed where he was pointing and saw a gap of road that was completely unobstructed by the dead. Though, two sides of the horde were closing in on both sides. If he didn't hurry up, there would be no way he could get through that mass of walkers. That was the road to the base... Usui had told him to turn to the left, but the hospital was on the right. If they went to save him, there would be no telling if they'd be able to get out.
He was driving the car, and for the first time since he was sixteen, he wished he wasn't.
Chapter 13: Downtown Savannah
Thomas Garter
Thomas emptied an entire magazine of his assault rifle into the horde, yet not a single on… moree of his bullets made a dent. There were a thousand of them. Monsters. Some had half a face. Some were missing limbs. Some were nothing but a torso and an arm pulling it along. They were dead. They were alive. Thomas had never felt this much fear in his life.
"Ousawa!" Will shouted from the other side of the army truck. "Get your ass over here! I got a dozen of 'em on the left side!"
"Yessir!" Usui replied, rushing from Thomas' side of the truck to Will's. The walkers were closing in on all sides. They were three and truck in the middle of an ocean of death. There was another squad of guys in another truck on the other end of the avenue. They were only five. It seemed like every one of them the group downed was two more that stumbled out the horde.
Thomas took a magazine from the barrel in the ce… [view original content]
Chapter 13: Downtown Savannah
Thomas Garter
Thomas emptied an entire magazine of his assault rifle into the horde, yet not a single on… moree of his bullets made a dent. There were a thousand of them. Monsters. Some had half a face. Some were missing limbs. Some were nothing but a torso and an arm pulling it along. They were dead. They were alive. Thomas had never felt this much fear in his life.
"Ousawa!" Will shouted from the other side of the army truck. "Get your ass over here! I got a dozen of 'em on the left side!"
"Yessir!" Usui replied, rushing from Thomas' side of the truck to Will's. The walkers were closing in on all sides. They were three and truck in the middle of an ocean of death. There was another squad of guys in another truck on the other end of the avenue. They were only five. It seemed like every one of them the group downed was two more that stumbled out the horde.
Thomas took a magazine from the barrel in the ce… [view original content]
Chapter 13: Downtown Savannah
Thomas Garter
Thomas emptied an entire magazine of his assault rifle into the horde, yet not a single on… moree of his bullets made a dent. There were a thousand of them. Monsters. Some had half a face. Some were missing limbs. Some were nothing but a torso and an arm pulling it along. They were dead. They were alive. Thomas had never felt this much fear in his life.
"Ousawa!" Will shouted from the other side of the army truck. "Get your ass over here! I got a dozen of 'em on the left side!"
"Yessir!" Usui replied, rushing from Thomas' side of the truck to Will's. The walkers were closing in on all sides. They were three and truck in the middle of an ocean of death. There was another squad of guys in another truck on the other end of the avenue. They were only five. It seemed like every one of them the group downed was two more that stumbled out the horde.
Thomas took a magazine from the barrel in the ce… [view original content]
Chapter 13: Downtown Savannah
Thomas Garter
Thomas emptied an entire magazine of his assault rifle into the horde, yet not a single on… moree of his bullets made a dent. There were a thousand of them. Monsters. Some had half a face. Some were missing limbs. Some were nothing but a torso and an arm pulling it along. They were dead. They were alive. Thomas had never felt this much fear in his life.
"Ousawa!" Will shouted from the other side of the army truck. "Get your ass over here! I got a dozen of 'em on the left side!"
"Yessir!" Usui replied, rushing from Thomas' side of the truck to Will's. The walkers were closing in on all sides. They were three and truck in the middle of an ocean of death. There was another squad of guys in another truck on the other end of the avenue. They were only five. It seemed like every one of them the group downed was two more that stumbled out the horde.
Thomas took a magazine from the barrel in the ce… [view original content]
Chapter 13: Downtown Savannah
Thomas Garter
Thomas emptied an entire magazine of his assault rifle into the horde, yet not a single on… moree of his bullets made a dent. There were a thousand of them. Monsters. Some had half a face. Some were missing limbs. Some were nothing but a torso and an arm pulling it along. They were dead. They were alive. Thomas had never felt this much fear in his life.
"Ousawa!" Will shouted from the other side of the army truck. "Get your ass over here! I got a dozen of 'em on the left side!"
"Yessir!" Usui replied, rushing from Thomas' side of the truck to Will's. The walkers were closing in on all sides. They were three and truck in the middle of an ocean of death. There was another squad of guys in another truck on the other end of the avenue. They were only five. It seemed like every one of them the group downed was two more that stumbled out the horde.
Thomas took a magazine from the barrel in the ce… [view original content]
Well hospitals are full of sick and dying people to start with, so there will walkers all over the place. Odds are Parker's already been killed. And if they turn into the hospital their going to lose their only way out.
Well hospitals are full of sick and dying people to start with, so there will walkers all over the place. Odds are Parker's already been killed. And if they turn into the hospital their going to lose their only way out.
57.1% of readers chose to [B. Turn into the hospital.]
Thomas turned sharply to the right. The truck jerked one way and the three of them were thrown off balance. "Damnit, man! I said left!" Usui shouted as he struggled to regain his composure.
"This is the hospital Parker was taken to." Thomas replied, curving the wheel slightly to match the path of the winding road leading to the parking lot. Atop the building there was a giant red heart beside the word "hospital." The builders must have wanted to make sure it was absolutely clear to anyone passing by that there would be help there. With everything that was going on, he wasn't sure how much help the hospital would actually be.
"Tom, that was our only way out!" He turned around and watched as the small gap in the road closed behind them. They weren't getting out of the city that way, at least for a while. "We're trapped in this city now!"
Thomas put his foot down onto the brakes slowly and halted the truck in front of the entrance to the building. It read, "ER patients, enter here." He turned back toward his fellow soldier and frowned at him. "Yeah, Swee, if we had gotten out of here we would be safe, but what about Parker? He's just as trapped as we are right now, if not even more." He took the machine gun at his shoulder and pulled it down in front of his chest. "Now, I'm not gonna stand idly by while the dead pound their way in here. We're gonna pound in first."
"Do you see any walkers around here?" Usui asked, extending his arms around him to show that the parking lot and every piece of property around the hospital was remarkably clear of the dead. "No, you don't. This is the one place that isn't getting attacked."
"It was a good decision, soldier." Will said, ignoring Usui and his protests and stepping down out of the truck. "Never leave a man behind." He began to walk towards the door of the hospital and held his hand above his head in a gesture that meant to follow closely behind. "Now, men, whatever we find in here, we kill it, no questions asked."
"But, sir, what if we find other people alive?" Thomas asked.
"We won't..." He grunted, aiming the nose of his gun at the door. "I doubt we're gonna find anyone here. If Boone is still alive, he's gone back to the base."
"Parker's still alive. I can feel it." Thomas replied, not bothering to offer another word of his confidence.
"Well, while you sit there feeling things, we're trapped in this damn city, and we've only got a couple magazines left." Usui complained. He walked up to the door to the hospital and braced to kick it in. "If there isn't a way out of here by the time we're done with this building, I'm gonna kill you..."
Thomas sighed. "Fair enough."
Usui drove his foot into the door and screamed in anger as he held his gun to whatever was inside. They were surprised to find the hall was completely empty. All the way from this door to the door on the other side of the building, the only things that occupied the hallway were darkness and a few broken out doors and light fixtures. The air in the room reeked of death, but there was no death to be seen.
"Where are all the lurkers?" Thomas asked, striding through the doorway. "The General said the hospitals were packed with these things. That's where they started anyway."
"Yeah, well, the General's dead now." Usui spoke, remembering the horrible screams that had been projecting from Will's radio when they first recieved their mission. Going into town hardly seemed like a mission anymore. It seemed like suicide. "You can tell how good he was with this stuff."
"Don't you talk that way about our General." Will snapped at him. He slid his hand along the wall and felt a large splatter of blood that had been left there. "He was a great man, and he died fighting. That's a better death than most people could hope to have. Now, you guys know, this is only the first floor. Any lurkers that were here just walked out the door."
"That's true..." Usui agreed.
"You know which floor he was put on, Garter?" Will asked.
"Nope. They just took him away in the ambulance."
"Damn..."
Usui was the first one to start walking down the hallway. Every time they came upon a door, he kicked it in. Yet, they never found a single one of them. All they found was empty hospital beds. They were all gone. The moment they reached the other side of the hall, with still nothing found, Usui slammed his fist onto the wall in frustration.
"Careful." Will cautioned him. "You'll bring 'em down on us."
"I won't bring them down on us, sir, because there aren't any to bring down." He turned back around and began to walk through the hall while he started to rant. "There's no one here! All this hospital is is a hollow building. Everything here is dead now. Everything in Savannah is dead now. And we're going to be dead soon too if we don't get out of this fucking town!"
"Calm down, soldier." Will tried to calm him down. "None of us are going to die. You remember what I said yesterday? We're survivors. People could be dying all around us. But, us three...We're not going down."
"Us four..." Thomas added, trying to let him know that Parker wasn't forgotten.
"Us four..." Will repeated. "Now let's get up to the second floor. Parker's around here somewhere."
Thomas pushed the door to their right side open and the stairwell revealed itself. It was dark but he could make out six or so stories when he gazed above him. The stairs led in a zig-zag pattern all the way up to the ceiling. He found himself wondering how they were going to find the man when the hospital was so huge.
"Get moving." Will barked, prodding Thomas with the barrel of his gun. This would have worried him, but the Sergeant did things like this all the time. He made himself known for his superior control over his nerves in the face of danger. Thomas had never seen him shivering with fear, and he knew he never would. "There ain't nothin' down here, Garter."
Thomas agreed and slowly stepped up the stairs into the unknown. He fully prepared himself to have to go in shooting when he reached the second floor, but when they reached the door, he was surprised to find it boarded shut. Usui brushed past him and pounded on the door. "Is there anyone in there?" He called.
Behind the door, the silence murmured into deep watery groans. They made the three of them back away from the door in dark hesitation. Thomas knew exactly what was behind that door and why it was sealed up the moment the sound of fists crashing against it echoed through the stairwell.
Usui picked his foot up to kick in the door, but Will put out his arm quickly and caught him by the soldier. "Ousawa! What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting in there!" He frowned. "Parker could be in there with those sons of bitches!"
"Use your damn head, cupcake." He frowned back. "Whoever boarded up this door obviously had enough time to do so. So either Parker is with those guys, or he's in there... They're not doing any harm to us on that side of the wall. And besides... you can't kick in a pull door."
Usui turned back around and found that Will was correct. The word "pull" was clearly inscribed on the handle. "Where to, sir?" He asked, groaning.
"Let's get to the other floors." Will suggested. "If someone boarded up the walls, that means they have something to protect. And it's probably close. Maybe I was wrong about this place..."
They walked up another floor and once again, there were multiple wooden planks lining the door. After climbing all the stairs, they discovered the fourth and fifth stories were the same as the last two. Four entire stories of this hospital were full of the dead...
They climbed the final staircase, not expecting to find anything more than one more floor full of walkers. They were military. It was their job to be thorough. But, when they rounded the corner, there were no more boards on the door. Will walked up next to it and twisted the handle, but when he pulled it back, the door failed to open more than a couple inches. He pulled again, harder, but still the door didn't budge.
Thomas heard the bustling of steps behind the door, but they didn't seem as clunky as the feet of walkers. They seemed more precise. If there weren't boards on the outside of the door, the barrier wasn't there to keep things in...it was to keep things out.
"There are people out here who need in!" Will called to whoever might be inside. "We're the armed forces! We're here to help!" There was no response, but a faint mumbling behind the door. "Ready your weapons..." Will whispered. Thomas and Usui followed his order and raised their guns to the doorway before he began to shout. "Let us in there!" He called, slamming his foot down onto the door. "Are you in trouble? We can help!"
The fifth time Will drove his foot down, the door came open. On the other side were seven people with rifles trained on them. The man who had opened the door looked at them skeptically behind his thin square glasses. He looked very old... As though he shouldn't have been working for at least ten years. Half of the people in the group were wearing white coats along with the white-haired man.
In the middle of the group, one of the men lowered their guns. Thomas recognized his face. It was Parker. Usui's gun fell to the ground. "Son of a bitch..."
57.1% of readers chose to [B. Turn into the hospital.]
Thomas turned sharply to the right. The truck jerked one way and the three of them… more were thrown off balance. "Damnit, man! I said left!" Usui shouted as he struggled to regain his composure.
"This is the hospital Parker was taken to." Thomas replied, curving the wheel slightly to match the path of the winding road leading to the parking lot. Atop the building there was a giant red heart beside the word "hospital." The builders must have wanted to make sure it was absolutely clear to anyone passing by that there would be help there. With everything that was going on, he wasn't sure how much help the hospital would actually be.
"Tom, that was our only way out!" He turned around and watched as the small gap in the road closed behind them. They weren't getting out of the city that way, at least for a while. "We're trapped in this city now!"
Thomas put his foot down onto the brakes … [view original content]
57.1% of readers chose to [B. Turn into the hospital.]
Thomas turned sharply to the right. The truck jerked one way and the three of them… more were thrown off balance. "Damnit, man! I said left!" Usui shouted as he struggled to regain his composure.
"This is the hospital Parker was taken to." Thomas replied, curving the wheel slightly to match the path of the winding road leading to the parking lot. Atop the building there was a giant red heart beside the word "hospital." The builders must have wanted to make sure it was absolutely clear to anyone passing by that there would be help there. With everything that was going on, he wasn't sure how much help the hospital would actually be.
"Tom, that was our only way out!" He turned around and watched as the small gap in the road closed behind them. They weren't getting out of the city that way, at least for a while. "We're trapped in this city now!"
Thomas put his foot down onto the brakes … [view original content]
57.1% of readers chose to [B. Turn into the hospital.]
Thomas turned sharply to the right. The truck jerked one way and the three of them… more were thrown off balance. "Damnit, man! I said left!" Usui shouted as he struggled to regain his composure.
"This is the hospital Parker was taken to." Thomas replied, curving the wheel slightly to match the path of the winding road leading to the parking lot. Atop the building there was a giant red heart beside the word "hospital." The builders must have wanted to make sure it was absolutely clear to anyone passing by that there would be help there. With everything that was going on, he wasn't sure how much help the hospital would actually be.
"Tom, that was our only way out!" He turned around and watched as the small gap in the road closed behind them. They weren't getting out of the city that way, at least for a while. "We're trapped in this city now!"
Thomas put his foot down onto the brakes … [view original content]
Usui was the first one to start walking down the hallway. Every time they came upon a door, he kicked it in.
Don't you thinks is little too much? probably not :P
57.1% of readers chose to [B. Turn into the hospital.]
Thomas turned sharply to the right. The truck jerked one way and the three of them… more were thrown off balance. "Damnit, man! I said left!" Usui shouted as he struggled to regain his composure.
"This is the hospital Parker was taken to." Thomas replied, curving the wheel slightly to match the path of the winding road leading to the parking lot. Atop the building there was a giant red heart beside the word "hospital." The builders must have wanted to make sure it was absolutely clear to anyone passing by that there would be help there. With everything that was going on, he wasn't sure how much help the hospital would actually be.
"Tom, that was our only way out!" He turned around and watched as the small gap in the road closed behind them. They weren't getting out of the city that way, at least for a while. "We're trapped in this city now!"
Thomas put his foot down onto the brakes … [view original content]
Haha yeah. As for this one, everyone who wasn't an immediate threat (The ones who weren't infected) was taken to the top floor, and really all they needed to do was block the doorway to keep the walkers off the top floor.
Haha yeah. As for this one, everyone who wasn't an immediate threat (The ones who weren't infected) was taken to the top floor, and really all they needed to do was block the doorway to keep the walkers off the top floor.
It's easy to say now but I think I would have chose to turn to the hospital
And yeah I might be missing some votes in the future chapters too, I'm reading for entrance exam to university at the moment and trying to keep writing my GoT fanfic the best I can. So sometimes it might take awhile before I get to reading the new chapters. God thanks I'm currently following only this and Liquid's Forum of Thrones.
Comments
Haha Nataleo is good. Sorry I had to change Winston's age and Natalie's back story slightly.
It´s nothing to worry about.
I just didn't really know how to write a 3 year old.
XD
Could you check my fanfic?
http://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/92912/the-hunger-games-interactive-only-one-gets-to-live
Not yet. I'll check it out later.
Chapter 13: Downtown Savannah
Thomas Garter
Thomas emptied an entire magazine of his assault rifle into the horde, yet not a single one of his bullets made a dent. There were a thousand of them. Monsters. Some had half a face. Some were missing limbs. Some were nothing but a torso and an arm pulling it along. They were dead. They were alive. Thomas had never felt this much fear in his life.
"Ousawa!" Will shouted from the other side of the army truck. "Get your ass over here! I got a dozen of 'em on the left side!"
"Yessir!" Usui replied, rushing from Thomas' side of the truck to Will's. The walkers were closing in on all sides. They were three and truck in the middle of an ocean of death. There was another squad of guys in another truck on the other end of the avenue. They were only five. It seemed like every one of them the group downed was two more that stumbled out the horde.
Thomas took a magazine from the barrel in the center of the truck and loaded it within a few seconds. This time, instead of burning off ammo, and fire off one shot at a time. It might be more effective. He set his brow near the bridge of the gun, and pointed it at one of the walkers that was getting too close. He shot a bullet at its heart, but was dismayed to find it didn't kill it. He was sure it had been a direct hit. He had even calmed himself down. He took another go at it, making sure to do everything Will taught him, yet still... The thing didn't hit the ground. One more...nothing...one more...nothing...
"It's not doing anything!" Thomas shouted back to them.
"Mine aren't either!" Usui added. He turned to the squad lead with eyes wide. "Sergeant! What do we do?"
Will took a moment from shooting into the crowd to turn to them. He hid his fear behind a tough face. Thomas could tell it was forced the moment he laid eyes on it. "I...I don't know..." He replied. "Just keep shooting!"
Usui drew his eyes back out into the crowd of the dead. "Damnit..." He muttered. He continued his stream of fire, and so did the others. After a few more bullets, he turned back around again. "Will! They're just not fucking working!"
As Thomas fired a few more bullets into the crowd, he found the setting behind them. They were in a small suburbs in eastern Savannah. Lines of modern houses lined each side of the street. There were bullet holes piercing the siding and knocked in doorways where the lurkers broke in. He almost felt dirty firing his gun on in the middle of a city into a row of houses, but from what they had heard...this section of town was dead. Everyone who was here had either left, or become the things walking in front of them now. None of these feelings kept him from firing.
"It has to work eventually!" Will called back. "I've seen a few of them go down, so there has to be a way!"
Will was the one who was firing a spray of bullets into the the crowd like hail. He kept his trigger held down firmly. Thomas found it amusing how he was the one who taught them how to aim, yet in times of actual crisis, he was the one who fired at random. One of his bullets flew right past the crowd and into a house behind it. It must have pierced some sort of gas tank because it went up in flames and blasted a good chunk of the horde into oblivion. Most of them didn't get back up again. "There we go!" He said proudly. "Guys, put your guns down and use your bombs!"
Thomas pulled a grenade off of the strap around his shoulder and pressed the trigger. When he threw it, he remembered his younger days when he was a pitcher for his high school baseball team. He imagined the grenade was the ball, and threw it as hard as he could, and as accurately as he could towards home plate. It travelled straight into the crowd and exploded in a valiant display of yellow flame. Bits and pieces of bodies flew in every direction.
Will and Usui hurled a few of their own bombs in each direction as well, each doing the same amount of damage. Eventually, the men on the other truck down the way caught on and began throwing their own grenades. They managed to knock back the horde for a while, but grenades were an expendable resource. When they ran out, the dead began to flow back into the streets on every side, but this time, faster. They had been drawn to the sound of the explosions.
Usui took his gun from his shoulder and put it up to his shoulder one more time. "Damnit!" He exclaimed, shooting off what little ammo he had left in the magazine. None of them hit anything.
As the dead moved closer, the squad of riflemen only burned through more and more bullets. The number of bullets that had been riddled throughout their chests was now too large to count. They were still closing in.
Thomas gazed to his left, past the dash of the truck and watched as the lurkers reached the other truck and climbed in. He heard the terrible screams of those men as the life was ripped away from them by the dead. The horde funneled into the trunk and when they completely filled it, he knew that everyone on that vehicle was dead.
On an impulse, Thomas threw his gun back behind his back and jumped into the driver's seat of the truck, turning the key in the ignition and stepping on the throttle. "Shit, Tom! What the hell are you doing?" Usui called up, not pausing his hail of bullets.
"I'm getting us out of here!" He replied. "Those guys over there are dead. There's no way we're getting out of here alive."
Will shot an angry look in his direction. "We don't leave the area! That's what our orders are! We only get out of here victorious or dead!"
"Face it, man!" He screamed. "Savannah is lost! We have to get out of here or we're gonna get lost with it!"
"Garter, get out of that seat right now! That's an order!"
Thomas ignored him. He revved the engine and sped off in the only direction that seemed to be clear of them; the way they came. When the lurkers got too close, he just mowed through them. Their army truck was about twice as large as any normal pickup truck. It was government issued, specifically for moments like this. "Tom! God!" Usui cried as he crawled up into the front of the truck and climbed into the passenger seat.
"When can you ever follow a order, soldier?" Will sneered. "I'll tell you... If we get out of this, you're not on my squad anymore."
"Let's worry about that once we actually get out of here, sir." Thomas replied, rounding a corner very quickly.
The car raced out the suburbs at high speeds. The dead were flowing through the streets like koi in a fish pond. Any of them that got close enough to get run over got run over. It made for a bumpy ride, but it didn't decrease the speed one bit.
Once the walkers cleared out of the road, it was smooth all the way down River Street. It was a section of town Thomas didn't know, and Usui had to shout lefts and rights at him for what seemed like five minutes. The last time he was in a section of town he didn't know his way around, he got in the worst car accident of his life.
Downtown faded into plazas, and the plazas faded into parks. Thomas watched as little bits of his life flew by him at seventy miles per hour. His first bike ride at Antler Park. The school where he spent the first half of sixth grade. And then the hospital passed by, and a thought ran through his mind. Parker was still there, asleep while the world went to shit around him.
"Turn left here!" Usui cried. Thomas gazed where he was pointing and saw a gap of road that was completely unobstructed by the dead. Though, two sides of the horde were closing in on both sides. If he didn't hurry up, there would be no way he could get through that mass of walkers. That was the road to the base... Usui had told him to turn to the left, but the hospital was on the right. If they went to save him, there would be no telling if they'd be able to get out.
He was driving the car, and for the first time since he was sixteen, he wished he wasn't.
[A. Shoot the gap.]
[B. Turn into the hospital.]
[B. Turn into the hospital.] PARKERRRRRRRRRR
Awesome Chapter!!
[B. Turn into the hospital.]
I really don't want to leave Parker to die
[A. Shoot the gap.]
Never go into a hospital during an apocalypse. Never.
[B. Turn into the hospital.]
Reverse character? Thomas is average man and Usui become little baby?
[B. Turn into the hospital.]
Good point haha.
Why do you think that?
Yeah. I wasn't just going to leave him open-ended.
Two offscreen for [A. Shoot the gap.] and one for [B. Turn into the hospital.]
Well hospitals are full of sick and dying people to start with, so there will walkers all over the place. Odds are Parker's already been killed. And if they turn into the hospital their going to lose their only way out.
Well it could open again, but it's a risk.
57.1% of readers chose to [B. Turn into the hospital.]
Thomas turned sharply to the right. The truck jerked one way and the three of them were thrown off balance. "Damnit, man! I said left!" Usui shouted as he struggled to regain his composure.
"This is the hospital Parker was taken to." Thomas replied, curving the wheel slightly to match the path of the winding road leading to the parking lot. Atop the building there was a giant red heart beside the word "hospital." The builders must have wanted to make sure it was absolutely clear to anyone passing by that there would be help there. With everything that was going on, he wasn't sure how much help the hospital would actually be.
"Tom, that was our only way out!" He turned around and watched as the small gap in the road closed behind them. They weren't getting out of the city that way, at least for a while. "We're trapped in this city now!"
Thomas put his foot down onto the brakes slowly and halted the truck in front of the entrance to the building. It read, "ER patients, enter here." He turned back toward his fellow soldier and frowned at him. "Yeah, Swee, if we had gotten out of here we would be safe, but what about Parker? He's just as trapped as we are right now, if not even more." He took the machine gun at his shoulder and pulled it down in front of his chest. "Now, I'm not gonna stand idly by while the dead pound their way in here. We're gonna pound in first."
"Do you see any walkers around here?" Usui asked, extending his arms around him to show that the parking lot and every piece of property around the hospital was remarkably clear of the dead. "No, you don't. This is the one place that isn't getting attacked."
"It was a good decision, soldier." Will said, ignoring Usui and his protests and stepping down out of the truck. "Never leave a man behind." He began to walk towards the door of the hospital and held his hand above his head in a gesture that meant to follow closely behind. "Now, men, whatever we find in here, we kill it, no questions asked."
"But, sir, what if we find other people alive?" Thomas asked.
"We won't..." He grunted, aiming the nose of his gun at the door. "I doubt we're gonna find anyone here. If Boone is still alive, he's gone back to the base."
"Parker's still alive. I can feel it." Thomas replied, not bothering to offer another word of his confidence.
"Well, while you sit there feeling things, we're trapped in this damn city, and we've only got a couple magazines left." Usui complained. He walked up to the door to the hospital and braced to kick it in. "If there isn't a way out of here by the time we're done with this building, I'm gonna kill you..."
Thomas sighed. "Fair enough."
Usui drove his foot into the door and screamed in anger as he held his gun to whatever was inside. They were surprised to find the hall was completely empty. All the way from this door to the door on the other side of the building, the only things that occupied the hallway were darkness and a few broken out doors and light fixtures. The air in the room reeked of death, but there was no death to be seen.
"Where are all the lurkers?" Thomas asked, striding through the doorway. "The General said the hospitals were packed with these things. That's where they started anyway."
"Yeah, well, the General's dead now." Usui spoke, remembering the horrible screams that had been projecting from Will's radio when they first recieved their mission. Going into town hardly seemed like a mission anymore. It seemed like suicide. "You can tell how good he was with this stuff."
"Don't you talk that way about our General." Will snapped at him. He slid his hand along the wall and felt a large splatter of blood that had been left there. "He was a great man, and he died fighting. That's a better death than most people could hope to have. Now, you guys know, this is only the first floor. Any lurkers that were here just walked out the door."
"That's true..." Usui agreed.
"You know which floor he was put on, Garter?" Will asked.
"Nope. They just took him away in the ambulance."
"Damn..."
Usui was the first one to start walking down the hallway. Every time they came upon a door, he kicked it in. Yet, they never found a single one of them. All they found was empty hospital beds. They were all gone. The moment they reached the other side of the hall, with still nothing found, Usui slammed his fist onto the wall in frustration.
"Careful." Will cautioned him. "You'll bring 'em down on us."
"I won't bring them down on us, sir, because there aren't any to bring down." He turned back around and began to walk through the hall while he started to rant. "There's no one here! All this hospital is is a hollow building. Everything here is dead now. Everything in Savannah is dead now. And we're going to be dead soon too if we don't get out of this fucking town!"
"Calm down, soldier." Will tried to calm him down. "None of us are going to die. You remember what I said yesterday? We're survivors. People could be dying all around us. But, us three...We're not going down."
"Us four..." Thomas added, trying to let him know that Parker wasn't forgotten.
"Us four..." Will repeated. "Now let's get up to the second floor. Parker's around here somewhere."
Thomas pushed the door to their right side open and the stairwell revealed itself. It was dark but he could make out six or so stories when he gazed above him. The stairs led in a zig-zag pattern all the way up to the ceiling. He found himself wondering how they were going to find the man when the hospital was so huge.
"Get moving." Will barked, prodding Thomas with the barrel of his gun. This would have worried him, but the Sergeant did things like this all the time. He made himself known for his superior control over his nerves in the face of danger. Thomas had never seen him shivering with fear, and he knew he never would. "There ain't nothin' down here, Garter."
Thomas agreed and slowly stepped up the stairs into the unknown. He fully prepared himself to have to go in shooting when he reached the second floor, but when they reached the door, he was surprised to find it boarded shut. Usui brushed past him and pounded on the door. "Is there anyone in there?" He called.
Behind the door, the silence murmured into deep watery groans. They made the three of them back away from the door in dark hesitation. Thomas knew exactly what was behind that door and why it was sealed up the moment the sound of fists crashing against it echoed through the stairwell.
Usui picked his foot up to kick in the door, but Will put out his arm quickly and caught him by the soldier. "Ousawa! What do you think you're doing?"
"Getting in there!" He frowned. "Parker could be in there with those sons of bitches!"
"Use your damn head, cupcake." He frowned back. "Whoever boarded up this door obviously had enough time to do so. So either Parker is with those guys, or he's in there... They're not doing any harm to us on that side of the wall. And besides... you can't kick in a pull door."
Usui turned back around and found that Will was correct. The word "pull" was clearly inscribed on the handle. "Where to, sir?" He asked, groaning.
"Let's get to the other floors." Will suggested. "If someone boarded up the walls, that means they have something to protect. And it's probably close. Maybe I was wrong about this place..."
They walked up another floor and once again, there were multiple wooden planks lining the door. After climbing all the stairs, they discovered the fourth and fifth stories were the same as the last two. Four entire stories of this hospital were full of the dead...
They climbed the final staircase, not expecting to find anything more than one more floor full of walkers. They were military. It was their job to be thorough. But, when they rounded the corner, there were no more boards on the door. Will walked up next to it and twisted the handle, but when he pulled it back, the door failed to open more than a couple inches. He pulled again, harder, but still the door didn't budge.
Thomas heard the bustling of steps behind the door, but they didn't seem as clunky as the feet of walkers. They seemed more precise. If there weren't boards on the outside of the door, the barrier wasn't there to keep things in...it was to keep things out.
"There are people out here who need in!" Will called to whoever might be inside. "We're the armed forces! We're here to help!" There was no response, but a faint mumbling behind the door. "Ready your weapons..." Will whispered. Thomas and Usui followed his order and raised their guns to the doorway before he began to shout. "Let us in there!" He called, slamming his foot down onto the door. "Are you in trouble? We can help!"
The fifth time Will drove his foot down, the door came open. On the other side were seven people with rifles trained on them. The man who had opened the door looked at them skeptically behind his thin square glasses. He looked very old... As though he shouldn't have been working for at least ten years. Half of the people in the group were wearing white coats along with the white-haired man.
In the middle of the group, one of the men lowered their guns. Thomas recognized his face. It was Parker. Usui's gun fell to the ground. "Son of a bitch..."
End of Chapter 13
OVER FURY EXTENDED
I think I know what come next, maybe... You did a great job but you may exaggerate a bit.
Awesome Chapter!!
YAY PARKER
Great chapter!
What do you mean exaggerate?
If he had shot the gap, it would have been a long time before he showed up again.
I noticed you didn't vote. Just for fun what would you have picked?
Don't you thinks is little too much? probably not :P
Parker's still alive!!! YES
I suppose.
Haha yep.
I guess my speculation on hospitals was wrong... For now...
Great chapter!!
Haha yeah. As for this one, everyone who wasn't an immediate threat (The ones who weren't infected) was taken to the top floor, and really all they needed to do was block the doorway to keep the walkers off the top floor.
Yeah. If you didn't get the hint, that hospital is the one Lee cut his arm off in.
I still have a feeling something going to go wrong... It always does...
O.0 did not realize this.
Soooooooo , they would make the sign in the roof? FUCK
Yep haha.
Yeah there's been a couple references to the game in it so far.
I'm really bad at catching on to things...
I mentioned the Marsh House in chapter 1, and I mean Oberson is there. That one's fairly obvious though.
It's easy to say now but I think I would have chose to turn to the hospital
And yeah I might be missing some votes in the future chapters too, I'm reading for entrance exam to university at the moment and trying to keep writing my GoT fanfic the best I can. So sometimes it might take awhile before I get to reading the new chapters. God thanks I'm currently following only this and Liquid's Forum of Thrones.