The Battle of Ladder-Bridge
Riza shot quickly, falling three Walkers with her rifle. From her vantage point on the skyscraper roof, she could see them gathering more quickly. The undead.
“How are our chances looking?” Shaan asked, his hand resting warmly on her shoulder. With a quick smile, she shook her head.
“They’re all fired up,” she said, jerking her chin toward where they pooled in through allies. She took a pistol from her belt and handed it to him. “I don’t know if they can climb, so you secure the ladder. I’ve got it over here.”
“God willing, they won’t make it up the stairs,” Nat said, looking with anxiety on her dwindling supply of arrows. They all made the sign of the cross.
“We’re packed up just in case we need to go,” Melody said, her hands on her hips. Riza still noted how they shook.
“I don’t know where we’d go,” Nat said. Melody nodded.
“Still…” was her response. “It’s not over until it is.”
“Here, here!” Morgana said, inspecting a roof top nearby. “Suppose we stop wasting our ammo and somehow get over to those roof tops…” Riza followed her gaze. The next building wasn’t too far, but still.
“How would we manage that?” Nat asked, touching her index finger to her lips. Melody wandered near the edge slowly, considering possibilities. Suddenly, Shaan looked down and with a cry of delight, pointed down. The girls ran over, and looked down. Some decaying bodies, and old dumpster, smashed trash cans, and… the ladder.
“If we can just get this thing undone, we could use it as a bridge!” He said. Riza looked back at the ledge, so painfully close, and then planted a kiss on his cheek.
“And that’s why I love you!” Despite the moment of horrible terror, the two smiled at each other.
“Okay, love birds, one problem. That thing’s attached. How are we going to get it off?” Morgana said, cautiously optimistic. Melody gasped a little gasp of excitement before practically diving into her bag and pulling out an assortment of screwdrivers.
“One of these is bound to work!” she said.
Nat peered over the edge and called back “we’re gonna need a Phillips!”
“That, I’ve got,” Melody held one out.
“Here,” Shaan handed the pistol to Nat, “I’ve got it.” He leaned precariously over the edge.
“I’m gonna go watch over there,” Riza said. “But, Melody, would you make sure that he doesn’t fall to his death?” She shot over her shoulder. The small girl made a salute and turned, going to cling to the boy. Riza smiled at her friends before turning back to the building’s edge. The undead threw their weight about, bellicose in their moaning and attempts to get into the department store. There was a time when she would have pitied them. Reminded herself that they were human. But, now, all she could see when she saw them was her friend. The fear in his eyes as he died and the hunger when he woke. The thought smothered all human compassion in the girl. All that it left was a rage and a determination to survive.
“Riza!” she turned to find them pulling the ladder up, unto the roof top. She glanced one, last time over the roof’s edge at the abominations below before jogging over to her friends. Shaan could immediately tell that something was off. She had regained some sense of humanity in the past few days, but he could see it had drained away in her short time alone. The grin that usually quirked at the corners of her lips, no matter what, was gone. Her eyes had gone cold and the gleam there was sharp with ruthlessness.
“Right,” he said, turning away from her, and nervously biting his lip. “I’m going to extend it across, and the one of you go across to hold it on that side. The last one over here needs to be the lightest.”
“I’ll go,” Morgana said and they agreed. She could secure it on the other side well enough. They all held their breath a she slunk across, low against the ladder. She stepped carefully onto the other building, legs shaking. When she was sure that she was safe, she threw her fists in the air, and they all let out a sigh of relief.
Everyone looked to the last person on the other building- Melody. She took a deep breath before carefully stepping unto the ladder. Everything was fine at first. Then, she tripped. She let out a squeal a she fell against the rungs of the ladder, the other end coming fearfully close to the edge. She took a moment to catch her breath. Morgana watched her sister, hands clenched white. Nat put a hand on her shoulder and the two began praying. Riza and Shaan looked at each other as Melody began to slowly slink forward. The ladder shook, and Shaan’s arms shook from holding the thing.
“Almost there, Mel, come on!” Riza encouraged, swallowing her apathy and rage with every shaky step that her friend took. She was almost there when, below, a moan rang out, and she stopped, shocked, and looked down to find that a zombie had stumbled into the alley, falling over a trash can, and slowly rising up again. She let out the tiniest of whimpers before starting to go again, but no sooner had she begun to walk did she trip, knocking the ladder loose. Riza scrambled for her gun, but Nat was already there, firing into the head of the zombie. Shaan sat up slowly, tears into corners of his eyes and teeth gritted as he clutched his upper arm. It was dislocated, he knew it, but he didn’t say anything. They looked down into the alley where the girl lay, bleeding out unto the asphalt, eyes looking but not seeing, despite the slight twitch in her limbs that suggested that she might still be alive.
“MELODY! MELODY!” Morgana screamed, launching herself to the roof’s edge, but Riza caught her, she and Nat hauling her back.
“Nat, put one in her head. I don’t want her to come back,” Riza said, forcing Morgana to the ground where she clung to Riza, sobbing.
“You were so close, Mel. So close…” She heaved out, but suddenly she threw Riza back. “This is your fault! If you’d gone last, she’d still be here! You said that you could help us, well, a fine job you did because now she’s de-“ a crack rang out and Riza struck the girl across the face. Morgana held a palm up to her stinging face, staring dubiously at Riza.
“We don’t have time for your finger-pointing antics,” Riza said coldly, the rage and apathy returning to smother her. She crouched beside Shaan, glancing up to see Nat still pointing the gun at the shell of their friend. She hadn’t fired. Standing, Riza snatched the gun from her, aimed quickly, and fired, putting the gun into safety mode and slipping in into her belt. Nat stared after her, eyes wide and full of fear. Riza. Her friend Riza would never have been able to do that as easily as she did. Nat stepped down, wrapping her arms around Morgana who cried silently, curled on the roof top. Riza sat beside Shaan.
“You okay?” he asked her, and she looked up to him, tears gathering in her eyes despite the cold there. Despite her attempts to smother them. Relief spread through him, releasing a knot in his chest. She was still there. He thought of her firing the pistol and realized that that brought her no pleasure. That was an act of mercy for a dear friend. As she grabbed his arm and popped it back into place as her mother, a nurse, had taught her.
The other two looked upon her with fear and rising disgust.
