Curls (10K fanfic) Z Nation

Chapter Ten: Part One

In a way, I sort of think that the storm clouds that were sweeping in over the coast were symbolic of this neverending cycle of eternal fuckery that we are engulfed in. My anxiety was off the charts. I hadn't anticipated this many Z's to be in California, and now it was beginning to be hard to drive down the road without hitting a Z and slowing the cars down. They were everywhere, from the beach view neighborhoods to the abandoned corner stores.

"We're not gonna be able to hold them off if we stop." I said quietly. There was really no point in saying it, though, considering 10K was probably already thinking the same thing.

We drove on though, and as we approached the harbor, we were pelted with sudden sheets of rain. The cars were hydroplaning all over the street. 10K was trying not to swerve so crazily but it was to no avail. Just minutes ago it was still sunny out, but now the sky was infected with a dark plague cover.

"10K, we're not gonna make it like this." He didn't respond to me. "10K! Answer me!" I then yelled.

"We have ten miles. We have to make it to the harbor."

"That dock is probably gonna get swept away. It's been rotting for three years with no maintenance- no work, nothing."

"We have to try." he answered.

"10K, I-"

"Shut up." he snapped. "We can't afford to think that way. Shut up about it."

And I did.
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Our cars pulled to a hault in the harbor's parking lot. We quickly hopped out, assessed our plan and grabbed the supplies from the trunks. Brighton and I took care of any straying Z's while the others loaded up.

There was a steep dune of grass and sand that we had to get down before we reached the docks. The original pathway was gated off and locked.

It took all of ten minutes to get everyone (and everything, for that matter) down safely. The rain was intense and the sand was packed with moisture in some places and swirling with landslides in others. The only entrance to the docks was through a thick chain link fence (which was locked, unsurprisingly).

"We have to go around!" Frances shouted over the storm.

"We will slip and fall!" Tina retorted.

"There isn't any other way besides swimming!" Sean pointed out.

The Z's were falling over themselves and tumbling down the hill towards us. There wasn't any time to debate what we had to do- only time to act on it.

I took a bag from Tina and threw it over the fence. Without another word, I carefully grasped the side of the fence with each hand, securing my feet on the small three inches of dock that stuck out on the side. I carefully inched my way along, gripping for dear life in te midst of the storm.

10K was the first one to follow suit. He tossed two bags over and began to climb along beside me. Tina went next, then Sean and then Frances. Brighton was last, lugging the final duffel bag over the fence and then taking the flank.

Maybe it was because I was in absolute fear, or maybe it was because of the adrenaline of just that, but the dock seemed to go on forever. Finally the fence ended, and I quickly moved around the pole and stepped to the safety of the interior of the fence. By now we had a large audience of Z's gathering at the front gate, desperately clawing and snarling at us.

The dock was rocking like mad while I rushed down to retrieve the bags from the inside. I slipped in the rain, squealing as I slid down and landed on my hip. I heard 10K screaming my name, but I was so confused that I couldn't bother to make out the rest of his sentences. I grabbed two duffel bags, both of which were much too heavy for me, and then used my foot to kick the other one along the dock as I approached him.

Tina was now beside 10K, clutching to Sean for dear life as the storm rattled the seas and, in their rage, they shook us around.

10K took two bags from me and then handed one to Sean. The wind was picking up now, blowing us around and whipping my hair in my face almost painfully.

A shrill scream pierced my ears from the left. I turned and looked, only to see that Brighton had slipped and was in the water. Frances reached down and tried to pull her up, but the waves started crashing against the boats and dock and one particularly nasty one hit us all like a brick wall. Frances was under the current within seconds while 10K and I were knocked down. He gripped the fence while te waves washed down corridor to the dock's entrance. I, however, wasn't so lucky.

I cried out as the water rushed me towards the failing entrance in a matter of seconds. I desperately gripped for the metal floor and the cold unforgiving twists of the fence- finding only mouthfuls of saltwater in its place.

Every time I worked to pull myself up, I'd be knocked down again. My body slammed against the gate and the flailing Z's outside. Sean was crawling on the ground beside Tina, both of whom were working their way to the small cement office that lay twenty feet ahead. The building was a godsent- a concrete base settling directly down to the bottom of the water and out of the reach of the cursed swaying. It was deep enough to keep Z's away and the dock could be unattached from it if the hinges and hooks were dismantled/rusted out.

By now I was delirious from the head banging and repetitive gulps of ice cold water and pounding rain. I'd long given up trying to get to my knees and I think I honestly had accepted my long awaited death. 10K's voice echoed in my ears but I chose to drift away from it. I was awaiting that oh so infamous white light to welcome me into its warmth.

The aching and pain was slowly being drained from my body. I felt another large wave crash against me, and another after that. How am I even alive? I thought to myself in my haze. It was unreal. Here I was, this pathetic little suicidal girl who was so physically weak from self starvation and exhausted with my own existence, ready to give up for months and months, surviving. I was involuntarily holding on for dear life- one I had let waste away and become sad and hopeless.

But even with this newfound determination, I was not strong enough by any physical means to fight against this superstorm. I heard things in the distance, like screaming and the rattling of metal. I knew that my body was still being washed around, but I was essentially limp. Any fundamental motor functionality was gone. All I could do was wait.

But I didn't even know what I was waiting for.
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Hello my Birdies! so this is the first half of the action-iest part of the story this far. thanks so much for reading and please, I LOVE SEEING YOUR COMMENTS!!!