Tales from the Apocalypse

CHAPTER VI

Stella, Kristie and Scott walked through the empty overgrown streets once again. This time alone, with only themselves, their weapons and an old map, they began their trip to the warehouse far from the place they just called home for a night. Hopefully this was the last time they would have to travel miles to find each other. They had no choice but to constantly pass through swarms of infected. They would hide under cars every time a group of them passed by.

After walking miles, they came across a boarded up tunnel with a human sized hole in between the barricades.

"We have to pass through there, there's no way around this. We'd have to walk more miles."

Spoke Scott as he walked through all the abandoned cars, having to climb through some to get to the tunnel. His two friends walked right behind him, copying his movements through the cars. Before they made their way inside the tunnel, the group rummaged through their bags for flashlights.

"Fuck, I didn't pack a flashlight."

"Did none of us pack one?!" Kristie asked while rummaging through her bag more aggressively.

Scott sighed and pulled out the only flashlight they had from his backpack. The group exchanged looks.

"Great." said Stella, slapping her leg and turning around to face the darkness of the tunnel.

Then, Scott lit up the area with the light; the group put on their masks, and hesitantly, they began to walk deep into the tunnel. They walked for what felt like hours, the darkness never ending. The tunnel was wet and freezing, drops of water falling from the roof onto the ground. There were also cars inside, some piled up on top of each other. The sounds of stillness and nothing were unsettling and eerie. The group kept walking, only getting more scared as they kept going. They could hear their own hearts due to the loud silence, and the sounds of their own footsteps spooked them from time to time.

Carefully and taking their own time, the group continued deeper into the tunnel, looking forward and never behind them. They watched out for zombie noises and other potential dangers inside the tunnel. But after a while, they let their guard down, since nothing was heard or seen for the past few minutes. Kristie walked next to Scott, holding onto his jacket, and Stella was behind them, looking around the tunnel reading the graffiti left on the walls.

They could then see the light at the end of the tunnel, and began walking faster in order to get out of the terrible place. They were almost out, until suddenly, a zombie fell from the top of the tunnel right in front of the group. Kristie let out a scream which alerted it, and it began crawling fast towards the sound. The three backed up and quickly reached for their guns and began shooting at its head until it died forever. For a moment, the silence was louder than before. Their hearts were racing even faster, they were sweating, shaking; they held their breaths through the entire thing. Scott and Stella looked at Kristie, waiting for her to give them a sign she was alright. When she nodded her head slowly, they walked out of the tunnel, finally making it to the other side.

"That was something." Whispered Scott, putting away his mask once again.

The girls followed behind him, doing the same. They weaved through the abandoned cars, until they were on a cleaner road. They walked a couple more minutes before reaching a gas station.

"We should check that out."

Said Scott, walking towards the opened doors. Kristie and Stella followed behind, entering the building. Everything was a mess, and already rummaged through. Some things were left on the shelves, some of those things were useless but others were necessary. The three of them split for a moment to walk through the station and look through the shelves. Kristie managed to get her hands on some period pads and a few small alcohol bottles. Scott went to the front of the store, grabbing a few of the display lighters with funky artwork on them. Stella, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky with her findings. She couldn't get her hands on anything, everything was either expired or destroyed.