Apocalyptic Diaries - Tough Luck

Chapter 4 - Coincidence

*Samantha*

As I turned the corner, I couldn't help myself. I picked up my phone, and dialled the hospital for the fifth time today. "Kristina Central Hospital. Please hold." This was followed with Christmas music. You do know it's the middle of October, right? After a few moments, the music stopped, and an automated voice said "Thank you for your patience. Unfortunately, all operators are currently unavailable. Please wait for one to answer your call." The Christmas music returned. I groaned inwardly. What if they don't pick up? How will I know he's ok? My thoughts were interrupted by a screeching sound, followed by a smash. What the hell was that?! I dashed around the corner, to find a car crash scene. A blue Honda Civic was smashed against a pole, and a black Subaru SUV was flipped on its side. Through the window of the Honda, I could make out a figure trying to reach at something on the other side of their window. I looked over, to see a woman, maybe mid-thirties, lying in the middle of the road. She looked badly beaten up, with part of the flesh on her left arm missing, exposing the bone underneath. A pool of blood was steadily growing around her, though I couldn't see where from. Other people had started gathering at this point, looking in awe at the scene before them. From behind, I heard a faint banging. It was slow, almost rhythmic, like someone was banging a slow beat. Someone else heard it too, and started heading towards the back of the upside-down SUV. He slowly opened the door, and time seemed to slow down. A man dashed out of the back, tackling the guy who opened the door, and started ripping into him with his teeth, tearing through his flesh. People started running, but more people just like the man from the SUV started showing up, joining in the feast. I jumped up just as one lunged at me, and boosted off its back, slamming it to the ground. On my phone, someone finally picked up. "Kristina Central, how may I help you?" I sprinted around a corner, leading into an alleyway. "I'm call... calling about... an Eri... Eric Samson?" I panted, trying to catch my breath. Behind me, the air was filled with screams. One of those... things ran into the alleyway after me, and was catching up. Ahead, a wall stood between me, and safety. As I ran, the operator said "He's doing well. He's recovering nicely, and should be out in a couple weeks, but he's still unconscious." A shriek sounded on the other side,  followed by the operator screaming as she presumably ran from the receptionist's desk. Then the line went dead. I looked, seeing only a couple feet of space between me and the wall. Crap! I ran past a dumpster bin, which gave me an idea. There were two buildings on either side of me. I jumped at one, and used the wall to boost myself towards the dumpster. The person stopped in their tracks, and tried to grab me, narrowly missing my leather jacket as I landed on the dumpster. It began to roll towards the wall, with me in tow. Just before it hit the wall, I jumped, allowing me to land on top. On the other side, a large group were waiting for me. I grabbed the top of the wall as momentum made me lose balance, and I gracefully swung myself back on top of it. This time, I made sure to keep my balance centred, so I didn't accidentally fall into the growing horde below. I can't keep my balance forever, and what if they begin to climb up here? I had to get to safety. After accessing my options, I concluded that the high ground would work best, then jumped onto a neighbouring flat. I stayed there for the night, as it was getting dark, thinking about my next move.

* * * * *

     I turned to see Eric, wide-eyed as he took in what I just said. Andrew and Micheal were sitting across from us, and Jeremy was on the other side of me. I still have his jacket wrapped around me. It was a nice gesture, considering we only met a couple hours ago. "It seems yours was actually better than ours," Carter noted, "not worse." I couldn't help but grin. "Who said I was done?"

* * * * *

     At dawn, things seemed to quiet down. Most of the screaming had stopped, and the gunshots seemed to have ceased. I took the first couple hours of daylight to do some recon. Access the situation, find safe places, note important buildings in the area, etc.

     The streets were littered with dead, and some of those things were strolling about. As I watched, one of the dead people started moving erratically. I recognised him as the one who opened the door of the SUV. He was shaking uncontrollably, tossing and turning as if he was having a nightmare. Then suddenly, it stopped. I was just about to look away, when I saw something that I can never forget. He started to stand up! It took him a couple tries, as he got used to his stiff limbs, but he eventually join the "Walkers," as I now call them. So all these... Walkers are undead? This was hard for me to wrap around my head. Then a thought flashed through my head. I have to get Eric. I couldn't bear the thought of him becoming one of these things. I quickly scouted the skyline for the hospital. I was a couple blocks away, and there was a hole in one of the rooms. Next to it was an apartment building. That's where I'll go. Just gotta figure out how to get there... I procured a route, and started my way across the rooftops. I got about halfway, when something caught my eye. A gun store! I stopped, and looked around. The street was empty of Walkers. My lucky day! I cautiously got down to the street level, and double checked. There were a couple of Walkers at the end of the street, far enough away that they wouldn't notice me. The cost seemed clear, so I made a dash for it. I reached the door, and opened it. An alarm sounded. Shit! I had to be quick. I grabbed all the ammo and guns I could get my hands on. I turned to leave, when I looked out the window. There were Walkers everywhere. There was no way I was going out that way. I slowly backed up until I hit a door. I pressed my ear against it, and didn't hear anything on the other side. I opened it, and it led to a set of stairs. I heard the sound of glass breaking behind me as I closed the door. I ran up the stairs onto the roof. I ran to the edge as Walkers burst from the door behind me. I took a leap of faith, and landed on a rooftop next to the gun store. The Walkers ran off the gun store roof, wailing as they hit the pavement, one splat after another. I threw up, then continued on my way. I eventually reached the apartment building, and jumped into the hospital room, landing on a Walker preparing to make the poor hospital patient its snack. I pushed it off the edge, then closed the door while I caught my breath. I glanced over at the patient. If their vibrant red hair wasn't a clear giveaway, the gunshot wound in the arm was enough. It was Eric.

* * * * *

     Tears rolled down my cheeks. If I hadn't been there... More tears rolled down my cheeks. It took Eric AND Jeremy to calm me down. After I finished crying, I turned to Eric. "You woke up not long afterwards, and you know the rest." Eric looked down at his lap. A half-eaten banana rested there. Apparently, the guys picked up food from a local superstore before they came here. He stayed like that for a while. Carter shifted uncomfortably in his spot, and Andrew looked elsewhere. Only Jeremy and Micheal kept their gaze on me. I heard a sniffle, and turned to Eric, but he wasn't the one who was crying. It was Carter. Andrew turned to him. "What's wrong?" Carter wiped a tear off his cheek. "My dad died in a car crash the day everything went to hell." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Wait... didn't he drive a Black SUV?" Carter was now shaking uncontrollably, and I thought he would get dehydrated because of the amount of tears that were falling onto the rooftop. Was that man in the back his dad? It's possible that it was just a coincidence that a black SUV was involved in the crash, but I couldn't over look that detail. Through the crying, Carter asked if I caught the license plate. I told him no, but I know where it happened. "I can take you there tomorrow if you want." He nodded, then slumped against a heating vent behind him. The moon was at its peak at this point. I let a yawn escape from my lips. I haven't slept in a couple days. I wonder if it shows... "We should be safe up here," Eric pointed out, "the don't seem to possess the ability to climb. We should all probably get some sleep, then formulate a plan in the morning." He then shoved the remainder of his banana in his mouth, and threw the banana peel off the roof. Below, a Walker slipped on the banana peel, letting out a started screech, before crashing to the ground. Everyone above couldn't help laughing, even Carter. "All right. Off to bed guys. We got a big day ahead of us."

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Sorry... I just had to take the opportunity. I'm also sorry for taking so long to publish this chapter. Exam season ended, and a new Semester started, but I should be good now. If you've been enjoying the book so far, lemme know in the comments. The comment section's kinda dead, so let's try and make it more... undead. 

I was thinking of announcing the next chapter's name at the end here, so here you go

Chapter 5 - Accidents

- ThatGamer