Running in Hell

Chapter 4 - Attack

Written by tikobiko333

Nathan's P.O.V.

The banging noises on the walls progressed, as though an orchestra was playing wholeheartedly during a concert. Glancing at the people around me, they all reacted the same as I: stunned. Grabbing the closest thing near me--a chair--I raced towards the door where the others stood.

"What do we do?!" I rose my voice to compete with the groans of the things outside.

There was a silence, only the sounds of heavy breathing and thumping feet filling the dismal atmosphere.

Finally Emily replied back. "We need to keep them out!"

Serena, the only member not blocking the door, trembled slightly as Emily commanded the rest of us. She then proceeded to the door. Pushing my chair against the door, we frantically held back these creatures. 

"Tanner, Lexi! Get the van ready! We can't hold back these things forever!"

Lexi and Tanner, hand in hand, nodded and raced out of a side door. After shoving the chair several times back at the door, I froze.

Where is he? 

I slowly set down the chair.

"Nathan!" Mike snapped aggressively as he slammed his body weight into the door.

Taking no notice of his protests, I glanced around the room.

Nothing.

"Nathan! Get back here! We can't hold this door-"

At that moment several things happened: First off, Beue popped out from under a table. Without my support, however, the door caved, flooding the room with lifeless things. Almost in slow motion, I picked up Beue, looking back again at the door.

"Come on!" Serena shouted, pulling several group members out of the way of the monsters. We began jogging down the corridor, passing by several demolished rooms. As we neared the end, Mike shoved open the door, leading us outside. To our surprise, the van was gone.

"Where is it . . .?"

The area surrounding us only contained slight skid marks and puddles of leaked oil.

"Did they . . .?"

There was another miserable silence. As we stood, however, we heard a high-pitch scream.

"GAH!" 

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

We sat motionless, staring at the body in front of us. 

Dead.

I heard Emily growl slightly behind me, eyeing the body with another look than the rest of us. Seeing the body struck home for most of us:

Lexi was dead.

After we had found the lot empty, we heard the scream. Rushing towards it, I remember the scene quite clearly still:

Our feet pounded heavily against the rough concrete, echoing throughout the small plot of land. I ran, along with Emily and Mike, getting closer to the shriek we recognized the minute we had heard it. As we neared the corner, I noticed several more walkers (that was the term we had given to the monsters) crawling along the pavement.

"Arrow me!" Mike shouted to Emily, who was already in the process of drawing a bolt. Loading it, Mike locked it in place and fired his crossbow, shooting a walker in the head. Blood oozed slightly from the wound, although this blood looked different: hints of green and black flowed throughout the maroon substance. 

Gulping, I continued down the path. We finally found the location of the scream, and the van. In front of us was Tanner, standing on top of the van, while Lexi stood atop as well, doing some odd crouching move.

"Guys? Why are you even here?" I shouted, not knowing the two that well, but taking charge.

Tanner looked at me blankly, still fending off the walkers.

"Quick, get them off!" Emily replied.

We nodded, racing towards the van. Using the true human nature inside of me, I leaped towards a walker, crushing its skull under the boots I wore. Wincing, I threw another into the side of the van.

"Lexi! Give me your hand!" Tanner shouted, now on the safe ground. She looked at him, wide-eyed, and accepted the help. She slid off the side, landing with a humph on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Mike knelt down to the pair, looking at their worn faces.

Tanner nodded, while Lexi sat silently.

"Lexi? Are you okay?" he asked again, pity drowning his tone.

No reply.

"Lexi . . .?" he used his hand to lift up her chin. Tears brimmed her eyes.

I crouched down with Mike.

"What's wrong?"

She stared at both of us, a crazy expression beginning to grow upon her face.

"You all are insane? You know that?" she giggled slightly at her gruesome humor.

I glanced at Mike with a worried expression.

"This world . . .it's not real. This isn't real. It can't be," she gestured to the surrounding trees. "Why would life be worth it, if we couldn't thrive? Couldn't feel . . . couldn't love," she glanced at Tanner, "This place, it isn't Earth. It's hell."

As she mouthed her last words, Mike and I slowly backed up, as she drew something from her pocket.

A gun.

"This isn't what life should be: running for our lives, living in isolation and fear. Why should we suffer, when we could be free . . ." her last word triggered her hand to move the gun towards her head.

Emily, now well alert, held up her hand.

"Lexi, please! This isn't-"

"I don't care what you have to say, Emily," Lexi spat, interrupting her. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I . . . I want to live free."

There was a gunshot, with the sound of a lifeless body slamming into the floor. 

So now, this brings us back to where we were now, mourning the loss of our friend. Beside me, Tanner began to sob, holding the hand of his dead lover.

"She's gone . . ." Serena sadly held her other hand, as though supporting her where she was now.

But the most surprising thing that happened that day, was not the death of our friend. 

It was the car that had pulled up.

Hey! Sorry, this book hasn't been updated in two weeks, that's all my fault, so if you want to blame someone, blame me! xD Anyways, on a side note, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and...ya! Make sure to check out our own accounts: tikobiko333, preachdapeach, and CharlieDog10115. Byeee!