Mistakes Made

10 - Wanted.

The bike skidded to a stop on the dirt road as I arrived at the factory. Surprisingly, I couldn't spot the walking corpses that would practically guard the place—not a single one in sight. Relief and the sense that something was seriously wrong mixed together as I continued to scan the area.

I parked my bike up and slowly approached the entrance, triple checking that my pistol's magazine was fully loaded.

The inside was dark and eerie. There was electricity but the voltage wasn't very high. The lights flickered and buzzed softly with very dim lighting coming from the bulbs. It smelled like metal and rotting flesh. I nearly gagged at the smell.

I walked through the factory, gun in hand, flashlight in the other. I made sure I was on high alert, ready to take down anything if it chose to dare stand in my way.

"Alex?" I called out as my eyes darted around the facility. To no surprise, there was no response. Just the echo of my own voice. I tightened my grip as I stalked further down the endless hallways, my footsteps and laboured breathing filling the silence.

I decided to head further down into the facility, my heart bounding in my chest as I slowly treaded into the basement. It was damp and humid. The sound of water constantly dripping onto the floor. It looked like some kind of abandoned workshop, the wooden workbench chipped and dry with tools and papers scattered across it.

My flashlight shined brightly against the papers as I tried to decipher them. The handwriting was messy and rushed, it was hard for me to decrypt but the sketches next to it made it slightly easier. It was some kind of blueprint on building a incubation tank. What for? I didn't know, but something about it just rubbed me the wrong way.

"Alex!" I called out again with frustration as I folded and stashed the papers into my pocket.

Again, no reply. The silence was driving me mad—putting me on edge. I felt like I was being watched. I clenched my jaw, trying to steady my breathing. Why wasn't she here? Where could she have gone?

I froze on the spot as I heard the sound of shuffling and soft groans behind me. My heart was in my throat as I slowly turned, shinning my flashlight in the direction of the noise. There standing before me was a lurker, hiding in the shadows.

One then turned into two, two to three, three to five, and soon I realized I was surrounded.

"Shit," I muttered.

Without a second thought, I turned on my heel and hauled ass, the lurkers hot on my trail.

I panted heavily as I sprinted, adrenaline coursing through my veins. The footsteps behind me sounded like a stampede, their loud groans behind my shoulder. I winched as my ribs began to protest, pain shooting through my body but I knew if I slowed down for even a second I'd become worm food.

I sharply turned a corner and quickly ducked behind a conveyer belt, positioning my pistol onto it. I fired rapidly, my hands slightly shaky from the amount of pain my ribs were putting me through. The bullets hit their skin but only caused them to slow down momentarily. It took five bullets to the head to kill one of them.

I had managed to put down the other two with an estimated amount of twelve bullet but quickly realized that I emptied my mag and there was still one running towards me. I tried to quickly switch to a safer position to reload but yelped as an intense sharp pain shot through my chest. I clutched my ribs as I struggled to pick myself up off the cold wet floor.

I managed to force myself up but it was futile. The lurker pounced onto me over the conveyer belt, bringing my body back onto the ground. I fell hard onto my back, the weight of the lurker pressing down onto me. I gritted my teeth in extreme pain as I felt my already fractured ribs slide out of place.