Better off Undead

Chapter 4: The Best Laid Plans

The clunky, white SUV rounded the corner of the parking lot and crept along, steady but wary. Inside, seven pairs of eyes were glued to the windows, on the lookout for the slightest hint of danger.

As Eli expected, this area of the lot was almost entirely clear, as most of the creatures that had been there had followed him earlier, and were probably still trying to push their way through the gate leading to the pool area. At the far end, however, the parking lot curved around a building toward the front entrance, and from around this bend several of the creatures were already stiffly making their way deeper into the complex.

"I don't want to get too close," Mac said nervously, eyes locked on the front-most creatures.

"Yeah, obviously," Eli agreed. "Just pull up to that red car. That'll be fine."

The truck slowed to a stop and Eli quickly launched himself from it. With quick steps, he rounded the side of it and approached his car, the little red one he had mentioned. The dents in its side and along the rear bumper were definitely not good, but it didn't look like the car had been damaged enough to not be drivable. Quickly pulling the keys from his pocket, he found the appropriate one and slipped it into the driver's side slot and unlocked it. The minute 'click' that resounded echoed in his ears like the thundering of a drum. He glanced up to see if any of the creatures had noticed, but they seemed to simply be continuing their aimless staggering.

He let out a long sigh of relief, and only then realized he had been holding his breath. He hadn't wanted them to notice him too early. They might surround Mac's car and try to get in, or he might have found some waiting by his car when he got back to it at the end. It was best to avoid that situation, if at all possible.

As quickly and quietly as he could manage he hurried off in the direction of the entrance, bending over in the hope it would help maintain his stealth. About halfway to his destination, he realized this was probably a stupid notion and he was just making himself look ridiculous, so he gave up on it and straightened up. A few steps later, the nearest creature seemed to notice him, turning in his direction and starting after him. Eli ignored it, dodging away a few steps as he passed it by.

A boxy, dark green car marked his destination. It was near enough to the gate that all the creatures would have to pass it to get in the complex, but also near enough to some of the apartments to provide a means of escape. Most importantly, many of the creatures were already nearing it, and he was hoping if he could grab the attention of enough of the ones in the front the rest would simply follow behind.

Several of the things seemed to already be taking note of him, and in their stumbling, awkward way tried to turn in his direction. However, since he was running past them, they had to keep turning, a task proving too challenging for their stunted movements, and a couple of the creatures even fell over just from the attempt.

He reached the car, and with a couple quick leaps climbed up onto the bumper and then the trunk. Glancing around, he took stock of the nearby creatures and took another step, climbing up onto the top of the car. It buckled slightly under his weight, and he took a few seconds to try and ensure his balance. Looking up, he began to feel very stupid. Less than an hour ago, his biggest concern was what he was going to eat for dinner. Now, he might be dinner, thanks to his idiotically rash plan to throw himself into the greatest danger he'd ever known in his entire life. Who does this? He wondered distantly. Who is this stupid?

Just a couple dozen feet away he could see the front gate. Sure enough, it had been forced open, with the doors hanging loosely on just their bottom hinges. There was just enough space for the cars to all fit through single-file. The space was slowly growing larger due to the intake of creatures, but, both fortunately and unfortunately, their numbers were thinning, and not that many remained outside the gate.