Hell on Ice

Chapter 8: Tick Tock!

What does it mean to survive death? Is it exciting? Is it terrifying? Or is it eye opening?The answer is simple really, it's unnerving!

The Zombie that rested on the surgery bed leaped in my direction with its claws ready to tear me to shreds!

I quickly ducked under the Zombie and crushed into its friends that lurked behind me. Before it could react any further, I shot it in the head. I shot it with the same gun that Yu'Ming asked me to shoot her with.

The sound of rumbling from down the hall made me regret my decision instantly! I grabbed my phone from the desk and immediately dashed down the hall.

Rushing for the stairs, I spotted more Zombies waiting for me. I had no other choice but to keep moving forward! Multiple zombies ran behind me, each trying to get a bite out of me!

Ahead of me was what anyone could call a window. What I saw, was my only chance at survival. I picked up the pace and rushed for it! My legs were crumping and my lungs were burning like a raging inferno.

My stamina was steadily dropping but my will to live kept me pushing! Once I was close enough, I leaped into the air and crushed through the window.

Time seemed to slow down as I descended towards the ground. Through muscle memory from my training, I landed almost perfectly. I landed and hit my back against the ruins of one of the cars that seemed to have crushed through the fence.

I quickly picked myself up and watched as multiple helicopters raced through the sky towards the bunkers.

I quickly checked my watch and realized that I only had twenty five minutes to get to the bunker! I ran to my motorcycle and forced it to roar back to life.

I raced through the city as quickly as I could pushing the locomotive to its absolute limit!

I by passed the cafe where I met Yu'Ming's late husband, their home and finally mine. I refrained from flashing through my experiences and focused on escaping my demise!

Meanwhile, Mr. Evans and the rest of the group had arrived at the nearest bunker in the outskirts of Lanzhou and were welcomed by a long line of cars, giant army trucks carrying tanks, jets and all kinds of other stuff.

"Keep it moving!" The soldiers commanded but in Chinese. Tanah looked out the window and noticed multiple people who struggled to enter the facility but were held back by the army.

"All this suffering!" Veronica hissed at the fact that the world had fallen in less than a day. "Where is big brother, does he still have time left?" Mei innocently asked.

"Barely, he only has about 15minutes left." Xiu Li sighed with worry written all over her face. "Don't worry, knowing Harry, I bet he will be here before we know it!" Yao Ling beamed and Mei smiled.

"He might be a meanie, but he is resilient!" Belle added and smiled which further encouraged the little girl.

"Hey, one of the soldiers is coming this way." Steve warned and we all fell silent. "Identification please." The soldier asked and they all winced at their past experience with identification cards.

Veronica handed hers over, he didn't bother to check it and immediately gave us the green card to go ahead. Judging by the look on his face, he didn't want to hold people back from surviving.

Driving forward, they witnessed something horrific. "Please I swear I am fine!" A lady with her baby in hand begged. "You have a bite mark on your arm ma'am, I am going to have to ask you to step back!" The soldier commanded and she complied.

The soldier then started communicating through his communicator. "I have a mother out here... she appears to be compromised... are you sure sir!? ... I-I understand sir." He said and immediately aimed the gun at the lady.

"No wait!" She screamed and a loud bang followed. The lady gasped and dropped to the ground with a thud! They all stared in disbelief and finally looked away in agony as the soldier stepped on her to finish the job with a final bullet.

Hardly had they entered through the 60 foot bunker doors when they appreciated how highly advanced the facility was. More trucks carrying livestock, crops and many more agricultural necessities drove into the facility.

There were about 5 minutes late and all the army personnel had retreated  into the bunker ready to shut it down.

They all stared with hope that I would make it. When almost all seemed lost, Mei pointed at the horizon noticing something approaching the bunker.

"Big brother!" Mei exclaimed happily. Everyone's smiles returned along with the color on their faces.

"It really is him!" Steve exclaimed in awe. "What is that!?" A soldier asked and pulled out his binoculars. "It's a kid!"

"Come on come on!" I roared as I watched the bunker does slowly start to shut! I picked up speed and the soldiers quickly caught on. "All of you clear the way!" One of the female soldiers commanded and the people immediately followed suit!

The entrance was narrowing with every second! Time was running out and as if on cue, several rockets were launched into the atmosphere!

"Fuck!" I exclaimed and kept pushing. The pathway was starting to get narrow and I knew I only had one option.

I leaned to the right and forced the bike to slide under the door before it closed! Hardly had I entered when suddenly the bike crushed into one of the heavy trucks and sent me flying off of it!

"Harry!" Tanah screamed and ran to attend to me. Huang followed close behind me with a first aid kit in hand. "Are you okay?" Tanah asked and I nodded in silence and noticed a red liquid slowly trickle down my forehead.

"Damn!" I whispered showing my frustration. Huang quickly treated the wound and bandaged it. One of the soldiers stretched his arm out to me and helped me back on my feet.

"You alright?" He asked and I nodded silently. "Well at least you are in better shape than your bike over there." He gestured towards the mangled up piece of metal that laid on the ground.

"No no no!" I exclaimed and knelt next to it. Mei walked next to me and embraced my shaking frame. "It's alright, I don't think mummy would get so mad." She tried to soothe my aching heart for the loss of one of the best bikes I ever had the pleasure of riding.

"Hey don't worry kid, my friend here is good with mechanics, he could probably fix it up for you." A female soldier said which alerted us of her presence.

"Isn't that right Bingwen?" The lady asked and the soldier looked back at me and sighed. "We are gonna be stuck underground for a while, I might as well do something to keep me busy." He said with a stern expression but I was able to notice his sincerity.

"Thank you Bingwen and..." I paused trying to remember the female's name. "Jiao, call me Jiao!" She said excitedly and shook my hand.

Without warning, the earth started quaking. The sirens in the bunker blared loudly! "We have reached critical impact! Everyone evacuate to the lower floors!" A man announced through the speakers.

We ran through the polished white halls to the lower bunkers as instructed with Mei in my arms. The bunker shook violently looking like it was at the verge of collapse!

Hundreds of small nukes rained down from the sky scorching everything in site! It was a terrifying experience to say the least knowing everything you knew about the world before is gone.