Until the End

Chapter Two: Make it or break it.

With the bag strapped over her shoulder, Kirby cradled Mallorie in her arms as she moved quickly down the stairs of the hospital. The only things that met her ears were Mallorie's breathing and the sound of her own feet hitting each cement step. Kirby's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to fight back the fear of what was going on. Soon, she reached the ground floor.

Out of breath from Mallorie's sleeping form and the weight of the medical bag, Kirby braced herself against the wall beside the steel door that would lead her out into the parking garage. Kirby's mouth parted and she licked her dry lips. Hesitant, Kirby reached out to grasp the door handle in her trembling hand.

"Mhm..." Mallorie's quiet sigh had Kirby's hand pause and she rubbed Mallorie's back, soothing the girl back to sleep.

From above about two floors up from where Kirby had entered the stairwell, the sound of a door hitting the wall echoed through out the stairwell. Shuffling and a muffled groan of pain was heard as the stranger made their way downward. Not taking anymore time to see who that stranger was, Kirby opened the steel door and just stared in horror at the sight before her.

Cars were smashed into hunks of metal from crashing into one another in the haste of leaving the hospital parking. Bodies were everywhere, some barely noticeable as a person. Others had a few people hovering over them, devouring them like some ravenous dog. Keeping to the wall, Kirby slowly left the stairwell, stepping into the parking garage silently. With one hand cupped on the back of Mallorie's head and the other wrapped around the small child, Kirby kept her eyes out for anyone who looked like they posed danger.

Kirby swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise up as she witnessed a man sink his teeth into the large intestines of a young woman. His ear was missing and he had a large portion of his side gone. Organs were sliding out of his side, but he didn't seem to be in any pain. If anything, he was more hungry than worried about what was spilling out of his body. His blood, Kirby noticed, was already a sickly black color.

'This can't be real. No way can a person be alive, let alone moving when in that state' Kirby thought, as she continued moving along the wall.

Just as she reached the curve that would lead up to where her car was parked, the steel door of the stairwell was slammed open. A bloodied man stumbled out, gaining the attention to the feasting dead. Kirby gasped, noticing that the bleeding man was Mr. Bridge. His eyes seemed to scan the area, ignoring the monsters that made their way over to him. Mr. Bridge's eyes landed on Kirby. He sneered.

"Give me back my daughter you no good bitch!" Mr. Bridge shouted, running towards Kirby.

She let out a surprised scream and turned around, running towards her parked black Lexus RX350. Taking her keys from her scrub pants pocket as she ran, she pressed the button for her car to unlock. The beep drew even more attention and now Mr. Bridge wasn't the only one on the menu. Through all the running and Kirby's scream, Mallorie woke up and jumped in Kirby's arms at the sight of her bloodied, deranged father.

It was enough to send the small child into tears. Kirby yanked open the back door and placed a crying Mallorie in the backseat, before throwing the medical bag into the floor of the car.

"Ssh, don't cry. I won't let anything happen to you." Kirby's words were rushed as she went to shut the door.

A force slammed into Kirby, taking her to the ground as a startled scream left her lips. At first she thought it was one of those belonging to the dead, but when her eyes focused she saw that it was just Mr. Bridge. He wrapped his fingers around Kirby's throat and tightened his grip, cutting off her air supply. Kirby's eyes watered as her mouth opened and closed in pain as she tried, but failed to get oxygen.

"You think you can just take my daughter and get away with it?! She belongs to me just like her whore of a mother!" Mr. Bridge shouted.

He pulled Kirby's head up, just to smack it against the hard cement ground. Kirby's vision swirled with black dots as she clawed at Mr. Bridge's hands, trying to get him to release her. She could hear the groans and moving of feet as the dead grew closer to them. One, by some miracle, grabbed Mr. Bridge by his hair and lifted him up off of Kirby, just to sink his yellow stained teeth into Mr. Bridge's cheek.

Kirby scrambled to her feet as Mr. Bridge let out a blood curdling scream as blood poured out from his new wound and out of his mouth. Not giving him another glance, Kirby got into in her car and shut the door, locking them.

"Mallorie, close your eyes. Don't look, sweetheart." Kirby said as she pushed the key in the slot and turned it.

Her car started and she whipped the car into reverse, before speeding out of the parking garage. It was hard not to run over a body or hit one of the dead, but she didn't slow down until her car made it out of the dark garage and into the night. Mallorie's crying died down into tiny sobs as Kirby drove out of the city limits of Charleston, SC.

"I want Mommy." Mallorie cried out, clutching onto the front of her hospital gown.

Her white cast was glowing in the moonlight and Kirby could see that Mallorie was shaking.

"I know, baby. Do you want to come and sit up front with me?" Kirby asked, going around an abandoned car as she hit the interstate.

Mallorie nodded and moved up from between the two front seats. Instead of getting in the passenger seat like Kirby thought, Mallorie climbed into Kirby's lap and nestled her head in between her breast as she closed her eyes. Dumbfounded, Kirby slowly took one hand off the wheel and rubbed Mallorie's back.

'I'll need to stop somewhere and get us a change of clothes. Food and gas are needed as well.' Kirby thought as she looked at her gas needle.

It showed that she had a little over half a tank. Once her gas got low, she would get off of the interstate and find a place to get all three things they'll need. Not seeing the harm in it, Kirby turned on her radio. She flipped through the stations, but all she received was static. Sighing, Kirby turned the radio back off and kept her eyes on the road.

After being on I-26W for almost two hours, Kirby slowly drove her car down an exit ramp. She scanned her eyes over the area, taking in all the damage. Small fires were burning along the road and inside some buildings. Cars were either abandoned while trying to leave the town or they were wreaked with blood splatted on the inside. Kirby swallowed the lump in her throat as she pressed lightly on the gas.

There were people walking around the area, but Kirby could see that they weren't actually alive. Seeing that her gas needle now read less than a quarter of a tank, Kirby knew that she would have to get some more gas if she planned on making it out of the state. Having no other choice, she parked her car at one of the few pumps and just sat there for a moment, not wanting to get out of the safety of her car.

Kirby wrapped her arms tightly around Mallorie, nuzzling her faced in the soft blond curls of the sleeping child. If she didn't make it, Mallorie would be alone and she would surely die. Taking a deep breath, Kirby picked Mallorie up and set her in the passenger seat. She then climbed into the back to check her trunk area. Finding a crowbar in the side compartment of her trunk where she kept the jack, Kirby gripped it tightly as she climbed back into the front seat.

Looking around, Kirby took notice that what dead that roamed the streets were not on their immediate way to attack her. With her heart pounding in her chest, Kirby opened her car door and stepped out into the dawning morning glow. Her eyes searched around her, not ever staying on one place for no longer then a few seconds as she watched over her back to make sure nothing would sneak up on her.

With one hand on the crowbar and the other on the gas pump, Kirby pressed her back up against her car. The wind blew, making Kirby's shoulder length blond hair fly in her face. She pushed her hair out of her eyes, only to widen them as two of the dead nearest to her seemed to stop and turn in her direction. Her jaw dropped as they let out the most horrifying screech Kirby has ever heard, right before they ran in her direction.

Gasping in fear, Kirby faltered.

'If I leave now, we'll never make it far without gas.' Kirby thought, panicking.

Sparing a glance at Mallorie, Kirby saw that she was still asleep. Chancing it, Kirby ran away from her car, leading the two dead that chased her, away from Mallorie. Kirby's sneakers dug into the pavement as she easily outran the two. She ran behind the small store that housed the gas she was currently getting. She skidded to a stop when she saw another one of the dead. It was distracted from her as it ate away at what once was the store clerk.

Fear etched itself over Kirby's face as she turned back around. Five steps away from her was one of the dead that was chasing her. It came up fast and had Kirby screaming. With everything she had, Kirby lifted the crowbar and using it as a bat, slammed it into the side of its head. The dead hit the ground and stayed down. She avoided the mangled fingers of the second one and ran back to her car. The gas pump dinged as her gas tank was filled to capacity. With shaky fingers, Kirby fumbled with her gas cap, before getting back into her car.

Mallorie sat up in the front seat, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. From what Kirby saw, Mallorie had just woken up and hadn't witnessed what just happened.

"Hey sleepy head. How was your nap?" Kirby asked, hoping that Mallorie didn't notice the break in her voice.

"It was okay. I'm hungry."

At Mallorie's statement, Kirby immediately started to look for the next exit as she got back on the interstate.

"I know. Me too. I'll tell you what, if you go back to sleep, I'll wake you up as soon as I find us a safe place to eat. Deal?" Kirby suggested, smiling gently at Mallorie.

Mallorie nodded and settled back into the seat, before closing her eyes.