Wither With Me

CHAPTER 1 - BAD CHOICES

That had been a bad choice after all. They shouldn't have left on their own. They shouldn't have wandered blindly into the city, following a glimmer of hope they didn't even know if they could trust in the first place. Did they have any other choice though? It didn't matter, it was all over now.

The loud banging on the car windows kept going for several minutes, along with a cacophony of growls and gurgles that seeped into the vehicle from every direction. The endless crowd of shamblers piled up all around and on top of the car, focused only on the tempting treats hiding inside.

"Damn it...!" Nora squeezed the steering wheel in frustration, before turning around to face the other two girls in the backseats. "Please, Claire, you have to stop crying! They'll never leave us alone like this!"

Claire wasn't even listening. She was clinging to Lilian with both hands, frantically looking around with tears in her eyes, yelping and screaming at every blow on the windows. Lilian curled up into a ball on her seat even further, mumbling to herself while spacing out.

Nora turned her attention back to the windshield. As much as she berated Claire for her panicked state, she knew it would be futile nonetheless. They were staring at them through the cracked glass. They knew they were in there, and they wouldn't stop until they had their fill. Every new blow cracked the glass further, made it inch inwards a little bit more. It was a miracle it was still holding out. She fumbled with the car keys once again, her hands slippery with cold sweat. Getting the car running again, and somehow pushing through the crowd, that was their only ticket out.

"Come on, come on, come on..."

The engine made a rattling sound for a couple of seconds. Nothing. Was there really not a single drop of fuel left? Did it really have to run dry in that exact spot? Just when they were so close to making it to their destination? It looked like fate was just laughing at their misfortune.

Again.

...

Nothing. Nora slumped down on her seat. At this point, even the growls, the banging sounds, or Claire's bawling stopped bothering her.

'So, this is it... Not the way I was expecting to go...'

She looked up, as the windshield finally started to give in. Their hands started to creep their way into the vehicle, along with an absolutely revolting smell.

'I'm sorry...' tears streamed down her face.

*Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!*

A loud ringing sound could suddenly be heard over the screams and the gurgles. Nora's eyes widened up in disbelief, as the horde of shamblers, equally as confused, turned their attention to the source of the sound. Like a miracle, the crowd slowly creeped away from the car, stumbling and tripping across the street into a nearby building. As she was still trying to understand what was going on, one of the back doors swung open, and Claire rushed out.

"Wait, Claire! It's not safe out there, get back—!"

"Nora, look!"

Claire was standing right outside the car, pointing to something in front of them. Nora looked forth, squinting her eyes because of the sunlight. About a hundred meters away, was the building they meant to reach before getting surrounded: what looked like a huge apartment building, with clear signs of makeshift fortifications. At street level, a large metal gate was being pulled up, revealing an ominous darkness inside. From one of the windows on the upper floors, a white blanket was hanging out, with two big, sloppy words written on it.

[GET INSIDE]

She wasn't going to waste that chance. It was do or die. Without a moment of hesitation, Nora bolted out of the vehicle and rushed to get Lilian outside as well.