Embrace The Madness: Cataclysm

3. Daybreak (part 2)

[Day 1]
"Get away from the windows!" Ordered the young woman.

The windows were being pounded and bombarded by a barrage of hungry and desperate hands. An ugly song of moans and groans filled the air.
The bus started to rock from side to side, and Patrick knew it would soon tip over. He had to think of a plan fast.
He couldn't open the door and run out, those people would devour them in seconds.
Then, a fire lit up inside his brain, a true lightbulb moment. He rushed over to the driver's compartment and sat in the seat. He had never driven a bus before, and never thought he would. Hell, he's never even driven a car.

"What are you doing?" Came a voice from one of the teenagers.

Patrick didn't answer, to be quite honest, he couldn't hear anything other than the voice in his head telling him to get everyone out of there.
He tried his best to reverse, but the sheer amount of the things around the bus made it impossible. He kept on trying, but to no avail, the tires now catching smoke and screeching loudly, attracting even more of them.
Patrick then burst into a fit of rage, slamming his hands on the steering wheel, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

After the fit, he went into a state of calm. He then lifted his head which was thumping in pain, he started to look around at the horror with his teary red eyes.
All hope was lost, for him and for all the people he wanted to protect.
And as he was about to rest his head on the steering wheel, the sound of a motorbike drew nearer and grew louder. Patrick snapped back up to see a man in a red jumpsuit and red bike helmet, driving a bright red motorbike. He was screaming and cheering all kinds of mayhem.
For a moment, Patrick pondered on the idea that somehow this rider was his saving grace. So he watched as the rider got closer to them. A few of the crazy people caught on to the noise and started to approach him.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, one of them lunged at the rider from behind an abandoned car, knocking him off his bike. The bike, however, kept on zooming ahead for a few seconds, then fell on its side, which in turn knocked over a good amount of the sick people.
And Patrick, as well as the other passengers, had to watch on in horror and despair as the horde converged onto him. In a frenzy, the rider pulled out a large knife and started slashing at the oncoming horde. Slash after punch after kick after slash, the rider managed to get a good few of them down, but it wasn't enough, they seemed to be much stronger than him, no matter how ill they may appear. And so they began to bite and tear and scratch, until the rider was writhing in agony on the floor, his helmet covering his anguish. His knife was tossed to one side, near the bus door.

The passengers had a small window of opportunity to sneak off the bus, which Patrick opened. The door somehow didn't radiate much noise, and the horde was still feasting.
One by one, they slowly crept off the bus, starting with Patrick, followed by Hadiza, the young woman, the old man and the teenagers.
Patrick felt cold, and he shivered in fear at the devastation.

"We have to stay low" suggested the old man.

And so they did, they also utilised the cars as a form of cover.
Patrick observed the street and saw a small footpath, then he looked down when his feet had hit something.
It was the knife.
He had no idea what was going on, but something deep within him ordered him to pick it up. He did so and felt its weight. He somehow knew that it would be something that he'd need for defence.

"What's the holdup?" Whispered one of the teens.

They continued, in a single file, towards the footpath. It was a tiny gap in between garden fences, just wide enough for two people. It was out of sight from the main road and seemed like a good place to stop.
The group had to catch their breath and gather their senses. Patrick was leaning against a wall, his hands in his head, trying to make sense of it all. He wanted to believe that it was all fake, he'd only seen this stuff in films. He knew what they looked and sounded like but even he knew that was ridiculous.
He looked at the other survivors and scared and confused. At that moment he realised that, by being the first in line to save all of them, he simultaneously took the responsibility of the group.