Zombie Parade

24: Heartbreak

Annabeth POV

The parking garage shuddered before silence washed over the room. The whole building was vibrating, and it seemed like it was about to fall. Somehow, hordes of zombies got to the second floor (more so than the first floor). 

I frantically turned toward the middle sector's entrance. I expected to see more survivors. Instead, five zombies rushed into the northern hallway. 

"ANNABETH," Jason urged while pointing his gun. 

I grabbed my knives before the fight ensued. Jason shot two zombies before they even reached us. I stabbed a female zombie before kicking another one toward Jason. He busted his gun against the zombie's temple. I whirled around roughly and hacked the head off of the final zombie. 

This is bad news. If zombies are coming out of the middle sector, it means that we are running out of time. A terrible sensation wafted into my gut. I couldn't believe that I have to wait like this. 

I hate waiting and not knowing what's going on. 

I just hope that Percy is okay, and he'll come back soon.  

"We're running out of time, Annabeth. I think that we have to start preparing the survivors for departure," Chiron instructed. His gaze lingered on the corpses on the ground. Almost everyone was waiting on the buses. 

No more survivors were coming from within the hospital. the middle sector was now leaking out zombies as well. 

"Chiron, I respect your judgment, but Percy and Thalia are still out there," I said quickly. 'We can't leave without them." 

"Yeah. Many of our friends didn't come back. My sister is still in there somewhere. We are not leaving anytime soon," Jason said. 

Just then, Hazel ran into the northern hallway from the garage. "We can't leave, Chiron. Please. My siblings didn't come back either. I know the odds are against it, but they're still alive. I can somehow feel it in my bones."

Hazel's pleading face was hard to refute, but Chiron is looking at the big picture. There's no way that everyone survived this attack. Moreover, we have about 200 individuals who are still alive waiting to get out of here. 

I shook my head while staring at the middle sector's entrance. 

I couldn't leave Percy behind even if it was the most logical thing to do. Who knows how many more zombies are on their way here? 

"Percy is still out there. We can't leave," I affirmed. 

"Annabeth, you are the rational one. The statistics state that they are most likely taken by zombies. However, our best guards are inside, so I believe they can be alive too," Chiron paused. "But, we have 200 helpless individuals who need us to lead them to safety. We can't wait forever, especially out of uncertainty." 

"I get that, Chiron, but-"

"The building is also crumbling," Piper cut Jaason off. "I want them to be okay, Jason, but we're all going to die if we don't leave soon."

I stomped my foot in frustration. The reason I'm so infuriated is that Chiron and Piper were making sense. At most, there are only a few people still alive. Percy, Thalia, and Luke are amazing fighters. They can survive against the zombies. However, what if something wrong happened? 

What if they were bitten? Or, what if the building collapsed on them? There were so many uncertainties that we can't account for. 

A few more zombies grumbled out of the entrance. 

Piper aand Hazel backed up and protected Chiron in his wheelchair. It was pretty easy for me and Jason to terminal the three zombies. They started stumbling out of the entrance at an increasing frequency.