Apocalyptic Diaries - Tough Luck

Chapter 2 - Rooftops

*Samantha*

        Eric was slumped against an exhaust pipe sticking out haphazardly from the roof. His knees had buckled from underneath his body. A man dashed past me as I stood there in shock. He quickly leaned over to check his pulse. "Alive, just unconscious." That would make sense. He hadn't eaten for the last three months. How is he even alive? Behind me, I could hear the Walkers trying to reach us from the other side of the door. "He injured his arm," the man who checked his pulse informed us, "You know how that happened?" I was taken by surprise by the question. I thought back for a second. "He slipped on a pool of blood while we were running from the Walkers." I said, remembering the scene. "He went flying over the edge and grabbed for the railing. His inertia probably caused that." He didn't seem to buy it. After further inspection, we found a puncture wound. "You sure about that?" He glared at me. It felt like he could see right through me. How had he injured his arm? Then it hit me. "Is there an exit wound?" The man went to check again. "Yup." I smiled Why didn't I think of that before? "He was in the hospital because he got shot. It broke a vein on its way out." The man nodded, satisfied with my answer, then reached into what looked like a medical bag. "So long as he wasn't bit," one of the other guys who were lounging around piped up. Suddenly, everyone went on high alert. The man next to Eric said something under his breath and reached for his gun. For a second, I thought he was gonna shoot Eric, but he got up and raised his gun towards the door. I took one look, and whipped my shotgun over my shoulder. A couple of the Walkers' hands made it through a gap they had made.

     One of the guys turned to me. "How long d'you think we got before they break out?" Why would they ask ME of all people?  "A minute, maybe two if we're lucky..." He nodded, then thought for a sec. "Let's hope luck is on our side then." He motioned to the guy who was guarding Eric. "Take him, and jump to the next roof over to the south. I'll toss you the medical bag." He then turned to me. "Watch my back." I loaded and primed my shotgun. "Got it." From behind the door, a head appeared. It was the same one Eric had seen. Could it be a coincidence?  I shook the thought from my head, and readied myself for what was to come. Behind me, I heard a thud, followed by a screech. A gunshot soon followed, and the Walker's body landed next to me. Seconds later, it was as if everything was going in slow motion. The door blasted off its hinges, slamming into me. I skid along the rooftop, and went flying off the edge. Is this how I die? Flung off a hospital roof because of a door? Below me, the Walkers already started gather, seeing me as their next meal. If this is how I go out, my last wish is that Eric is fine. The tip of a grappling hook flies past me. I'm only about halfway down the hospital. Then I feel a pain in my leg, and see the world start swinging. I look up, to see Walkers raining from the sky, and a rope attached to me. Second time's the charm, I guess. The distance between me and the street below gradually increases, and I feel myself being lifted into the air. Above me, the screams and screeches of the falling Walkers grow louder. How am I gonna dodge them? Then I realise the building next to me has a ladder going up to the roof. Maybe if I can just... I try to swing over. I miss the first grab by a few feet. Come on! Just a little more... I miss again, but only by a couple centimetres. Almost... there. A walker flies by me. Its now or never... I grab the ladder this time, just as a Walker slams into me. I lose my grip, and swing once again into the space between the ladder and the hospital. 

     Then I notice I'm falling again. The tip of the grappling hook dislodged itself from my leg! Welp... sweet sweet death, here I come. The Walker that slammed into me tries to bite me, but its head explodes before it could even raise it's head up. The Walkers below start reaching up to grab me. I'm about as high as the second floor now. From here, I can see Eric's room. I suddenly jerk to a stop, just out of reach of the Walkers. The pain in my leg is back, and just in time. I swing over to the ladder, and pull the tip out of my leg. Then I start the slow ascent towards the roof. The Walkers below wail, annoyed they couldn't get me. I stick my tongue out at them. I ain't dead yet!  The guys were faced away from me, almost crestfallen. Their heads were down, and a couple guys had their hat off. At first, I thought that Eric died, but he was with them. Was I hallucinating? Did he actually wake up? As I sat there, my name floated over to me. Realisation hit me. They think I died? One of the guys was talking about how resilient they thought I'd been. It was the same guy who told me to watch their back. "She seemed strong enough to face the Walkers. Most people I'd seen just gave up." I couldn't help myself. I just had to say something. "And I'm still not giving up. I ain't gonna let no Walkers get to me unless it's in a fair fight." They turned around, stunned. One of the guys pulled a gun on me, then lowered it in shock. They stood there for a few seconds, not sure what to do. Eric was the first to move. He ran over and tackled me in a bear hug, almost sending me off the edge again. I picked him up, him still hugging me, and moved us away from the edge. "Careful now. You almost sent me off the edge again." He chuckled a little and said, "You would've found a way up here again." By now, the other guys started waking up out of their trance. "When I saw the tip come up again for the second time, I thought..." He didn't finish the sentence. Then again, he didn't have to. We all know what he was thinking. Eric released his grasp, and looked at me, tears running down his cheeks . "Don't do that again, ok?" I couldn't help but smile. "That depends if the next door that flies into me likes me or not." The guys behind chuckled. "For someone who nearly died, you seem to be in a pretty good mood." The other guys agreed, nodding or affirming it with words or laughter. The medic in the group suddenly walked up to me. "Mind if I check that wound?" He pointed to my leg. "Knock yourself out." Eric seemed to be concerned now. "What did you see when you fell?" The doc perked up while inspecting the wound, as if he was interested as well. The other guys got comfortable. They weren't gonna miss this. 

     I sighed. "Well before I saw the grappling hook fly by me, all I saw was Walkers, and not just a few. A lot of Walkers. They were just sitting there, watching me fall. Not just the ones on the ground either. There were Walkers in the hospital and in the building we're on right now. They didn't move, or try to get at me. They just stood there, watching, knowing I was about to die. Then the grappling hook shot by me, and everything changed." I turned to Eric. He had a big bruise on the side of his face, and a bloody nose, both of which were probably from slamming into that wall earlier. He nodded, as if for me to go on. The doc had finished inspecting my wound, and was just sitting there, listening to me talk.  I relayed the rest of my story, including the part about just being out of the Walkers reach. I turned to the guy with the grappling hook. "By the way, when did you learn to shoot like that? I was a good hundred feet away from you." Everyone turned to him. He shrugged. "I just shot and hoped that I hit my target. I guess Lady Luck was shining down on me." I could tell that wasn't the full story, but let it slide. He was a teenager, 16 maybe? He was tall, wearing a plaid jacket, jeans, and a pair of sneakers. He had a grappling hook attached to his belt, and a wooden baseball bat slung on his back. "By the way, I'm Jeremy."

                      ____________________________________________________________

Well wasn't that a close call. Did you really think  I'd kill off one of the main characters in the second chapter? Anyway, sorry for taking so long to write the second chapter. I've had wor coming out of my ears, and have been renovating my kitchen for the past month or so, but hope to work more on this story. Feel free to comment any ideas for chapters, character names, encounters or even feedback on spelling or grammar you have. Also, if you've enjoyed the book so far, feel free to vote or suggest the book to friends. Finally, if you're feeling artistic, any cover art, character art, or even scenes from chapters are welcome (if you draw any scenes from the book, I'll give you a shoutout, and maybe add them in the chapter header). Just email them to Thanks for reading!

- ThatGamer

*Note you can send the art to my discord (ThatGamer#5546). You can also send feedback to me as well, just please no spamming.*