Better off Undead

Chapter 19: Trapped

"Upstairs!" shouted Devin, who immediately began following his own orders, leaping over a small wooden railing and booking it for the stairs.

"No!" shouted Eli back. Everyone turned to look at him, even Devin, who nearly toppled over as he attempted to skid to a surprised halt. 

Eli met everyone's surprised stares with an incredulous one of his own. "Haven't any of you ever watched a horror movie? If we go upstairs, then we have nowhere else to run. At that point, it's just a matter of waiting until enough zombies make their way up the stairs to overwhelm us."

"Yeah, and we can go upstairs and wait them out or we can sit down here and wait them out. Which do you really think stands a better chance?"

Eli ground his teeth but said nothing. He had a bad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach and could not shake the thought that this was a really bad idea. But Devin was right, and he had no better alternatives, so he followed the others up the stairs. On the second floor they moved a few more desks in front of the landing. Undoubtedly it would not stop the creatures for very long, but it might stop them just long enough. With that done they began to search the rooms for another means of escape.

"Here!" came the sound of Marshall's voice, and everyone came running. Marshall was in the largest of the upstairs rooms. It was full of various desks and equipment and was probably meant to be used for meetings. Marshall was standing by one of the windows, and when the others entered he motioned them over. "Here," he said again, and then pointed out the window. Next door was a one story building, and from where they stood they could see its roof. "That next building is only, what? Seven or eight feet away?"

The others eyed the building, then eyed the window, and then lastly gave Marshall unconvinced stares. "And... how do you suggest we get over there?" asked Daniel. "Take a flying leap?"

Marshall smiled wide, a clever light flashing in his eyes. He stepped over to where a bunch of fold-away tables were leaning up against a wall. Turning back to the group he gently patted the outermost one, his smile widening still further. "We build a bridge," he said. The others all exchanged glances of disbelief and said nothing. Marshall sighed with annoyance. He straightened up as much as he could, then with one arm lifted the table away from the wall until it was standing straight up and down. The far end towered a good foot or two over his head. "Seven or eight feet," he said again.

The idea clicked, as was obvious from the point that everyone began nodding their heads slowly in understanding. "Right," Daniel said aloud. He was nodding the most enthusiastically.

Eli, on the other hand, was still doubtful. "Are you sure that thing won't just cave under our weight?" He subconsciously grabbed his somewhat round belly. Without a doubt he had lost some weight since the outbreak began, but years of sitting around playing video games and eating greasy foods had not done him any favors.

"These things are built to hold all kinds of crap," Marshall replied, patting the top of the table. "As long as we go one at a time, they'll be just fine. Now, help me get it out the window."

Devin turned and opened the window while Daniel helped Marshall move the table. They slid it carefully along the ledge, letting it move inch by inch across the chasm until finally there was the faint click of it hitting the far ledge. Everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief, though none of them had realized they had been holding their breath. They still had over a foot left inside the building. They levered down the table on their end so that the far end rose up away from the neighboring building, and slid it along a little further out onto the roof.

From downstairs came the horrific sound of cracking wood and shattering glass, and they knew it would not be long before the zombies were upon them. "Two of us stay here to hold it. The first two across hold the far end," Marshall strategized. "Now go!"