Apocalyptic Diaries - Tough Luck

Chapter 3 - Basketball

*Andrew*

     Three-point shot from deep. Bounce off the rim. The ball gets grabbed, passed, end of the play. As the six of us sit on the bench after an intense 3 v 3 game, I glance up at the sky. The royal blue, paired with pink and orange clouds rolling across the sky give way to a bright red sunset on the horizon. The breeze is crisp, but we don't mind. "Who's up for another game?" I look over at the owner of the voice. Jeremy spins the ball on one finger as he wears a questioning, almost daring look. "Don't you ever run out of energy?" The other guys chuckle. Micheal tries to snatch the ball away from Jeremy, who just leaps back, taunting in the process. "Gotta be faster than that!" He sticks his tongue out. Micheal takes the bait. Some of the other guys join in, trying to team up on him. I take the opportunity to look around. The once green trees have now shed their leaves. Only a few are able to withstand the blowing wind. The Parks Management Department have finished up cutting the grass, and now stand huddled together just on the other side of the fence, drinks in hand. One of the guys seems to be annoyed about something, based off of his hand gestures. I try to listen to him speak, but realise he's too far away to make out words. A rattle against the fence catches my attention. David tosses me the ball. "You done resting yet, or can we continue what we started?" I hop out of the seat, full of energy. "Eh, why not?" Hours later, we start heading home. Carter's joking with Jeremy about a couple shots he made. "How could you miss that? You had the perfect setup!" I leaned back, smirking. "Yeah, until Micheal showed up. He basically a wall." Frank interjects, trying not to laugh. "If only he knew how to pass. Then he would truly be unbeatable." This continues for a while. Then we shift the subject. 

     As we turn a corner, heading towards Carter's house, something doesn't feel right. There's a pool of liquid in the middle of the street, and a body slumped against a light post. The light has long been burnt out, making life harder. I slow down to a halt, not sure of what to do. Jeremy appears next to me. "What's wrong?" It's a fair question. Normally, I'd think it's a homeless person and keep walking, but something feels... different. "I don't know... just got a weird feeling is all." Micheal picks a rock up. "What are you up to?" I step back, ready for something bad to happen. I see the stone fly past me, hitting the light post. Miraculously, the light turns on. I put my hand up to block the sudden light that appeared, and try to focus on the person who's sitting against the post. When my eyes adjust, I notice they're gone. "See? Nothing to wor-" A deafening screech fills the air. It sounded close. Really close. I turn to look at the guys, just as I see a blur go by. The next second, Micheal screams, and the other guys back away, horrified at what they're seeing. As Micheal tries to fight this thing, another screech is heard, followed by a chorus of screeches, shrieks and wails. At the other end of the street, I see a group of people racing towards us. At first I think they're running to help, but when one of them steps into the light of another light post, i know we're screwed. I feel a tug on my jacket, and hear Frank yell "RUN!" Well no shit Sherlock. We run to the one place we know we'll be safe. The court. As we run, more of... whatever they are, join the chase. As we round the corner and enter the park, some odd twenty to thirty of them are hot on our tail. We dash onto the court, and slam the gate behind us, locking it from the inside. Yells, gunfire and screeches fill the night. On the other side of the fence, most seemed to be focused on something other than ourselves. I look  around. What could they be preoccupied with? As I peer through the park, I notice a large group of them piling up, trying to get at something... right around where we came from. There's no way... "Wait, where's Frank?!" My fears were confirmed. Through all the running, we hadn't noticed Frank trip on the way. The rest are trying to get at us through the fence. "Guys... that fence isn't gonna hold forever." It was no use. The warning fell on deaf ears. I couldn't blame them. One minute, we were playing basketball, the next, we were being hunted by those.. things. We stood there, panting. Next to me, Jeremy threw up. Think, dammit. THINK! What are you gonna do? I look around the court, taking count of what we have. What could I use as a weapon? My gaze falls on one of the benches. Perfect! I walk over, plan in mind. A hand reaches and grabs my jacket. I try to shake it off, but it pulls me towards the fence. My face slams against it. As I stand there dazed and unable to resist the hold, I hear the fence creak. So this is it, huh? Pinned against a fence with god-knows-what on the other side trying to kill me? Not how I expected going out, but then again, no one knows when or how it'll all end.