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untitled - chapter one
As I stand on the steps, I wish for the ump-teenth time that I didn't have to use the girl in this capacity. But, she was the only one out of our group that could pull this off. With my bad back, I am no longer as nimble as I once was. Gary is a tad overweight and a bit asthmatic; any prolonged rigorous activity is out of the question for him. Tatyana, or Tanya for short, is in her mid-forties and her eyesight is failing her. That left her daughter, Jill, the only one capable.
At 14 years old, she is the fastest runner of our little group. She holds state records in the 400 and 1000 meter. She is also the state champion in cross-country, so she can keep up the pace over long distances and over any terrain. Or, at least, she would still have these records, had this shit storm not started.
She was one of the few to survive the slaughter at her school because she was able to out run the zombies. No, "zombie" isn't the right word. These things are not human, and never were. They are simply humanoid; a failed experiment at cloning adult humans. Yes, I know it sounds a bit cliche, but something went wrong and they started killing everyone at the facility. They were ruthless killers, tearing people limb from limb with their bare hands. However, they did not "infect" like the mythos they were nicknamed after, nor did they use any kind or weaponry.
"I see them." Jill's voice came over the radio, snapping my attention back to the present. Whatever her past, whatever our pasts, she is now out rabbit, my rabbit. She needs to lead the group of Clones out of the grocery store two blocks down into the clearing in the street we made. There, the jerry-rigged fougasses would cut down most of them, allowing us to pick off the survivors. we need the store since we are low on supplies.
I hear two reports from her rifle, an AK-74u we procured at an abandoned military outpost sometime last week, from down the street. "Get ready!" I shout to Tanya and Gary, although it is technically unnecessary as they heard the shots as well.
"Shit, there's a lot of them," a pause, "There's more than we expected!" Jill screams, followed by more gunshots. Damn, a snag already. "Prepare to retreat," I order my squad. Gary and Tanya duck behind the makeshift cover we made next to the outer doors of the building we picked as a fallback point as I prime the fougasses and set the trip wires. Jill runs into view, picks her way past our booby-traps, and bolts up the steps, taking cover beside me. As the Clones come into view, mother and daughter open fire, Jill with her AK-74u and Tanya with her AR-15. Gary and I would have to wait for the Clones to come closer for our shotguns to be effective.
A quick note on my shotty. It is some kind of cross between a pump-action and a double-barrel. Each barrel can be fired separately or simultaneously, and a safety mechanism allows an unfired shell to remain in the chamber while the spent shell is ejected and replaced. But, it only holds four shells to a barrel. The gun itself is inlaid with gold and silver. I took it off a priest who was trying to kill us for being "unclean." I threw a dagger into his left eye.
Whoom! The trip wires work beautifully, the fougasses detonating a few yards behind, angled to blast the homemade napalm and shrapnel back into the ranks. The foremost Clones had reached the bottom of the steps to our position, so Gary and I unload shell after shell while the girls reloaded with their last clip each. As they pop up to resume fire, Gary and I duck to reload. As I load my last shell, I pop up and order the retreat. As the girls fling open the doors and enter, I notice that there are so many Clones, they are smothering the fire with their dead bodies.
"Clear!' Jill's voice comes over the radio. Gary and I enter and close the doors. I find the bolts easily enough and lock the door. I turn and cover the girls and take in the room while they barricade the doors. We are in a small antechamber of sorts, with another set of double doors across from the ones we enter. As soon as Tanya taps me on the shoulder and takes a knee slightly ahead and to the left of me, the signal the doors have been properly barricaded, I notice a symbol above each of the two small water bowls on either side of the inner doors. We were in a church.
(I do not know when I will be able to do the next chapter, so stay tuned!)
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