The Outbreak

Chapter 3

Stiles POV

"Go, go, go! Run faster!" I shout desperately to the people behind me as I slow down and wait for them to catch up. The snarling and groaning gets louder and louder as the infected chase after us. We were out just doing our daily patrol when a group of the infected caught us off guard. I allow others to overtake me as I quickly aim my gun at the approaching monsters. Their appearance still freaks me out every time. The smell of rotten flesh hits my nose and almost makes me throw up. The closest infected tries to lunge at me, but I quickly shoot her right through the skull, bits of brain matter flying out the back of her head as she crumples to the ground. I wince slightly at the sight, but I don't let that distract me.

The next crazed creature comes rushing at me, but I'm ready for it. I easily shoot the thing in the head and the body lands down next to his counterpart. The other infected are a bit further back, so I decide to make a run for it. Stupid me for only bringing my pistol. I should've brought some more powerful guns, but I guess I didn't expect to get ambushed. I turn around and race after my friends. I easily catch up to them. In the past five years, my fitness levels have increased off the scale. I guess it's because I've been running for my life the whole damn time, which I guess I have. The days I'm not running for my life, I'm training to get faster and stronger. I also learn how to use all sorts of firearms. These skills are vital in this apocalyptic world, especially if I want to keep my group safe.

"Still have the supplies, Josh?" I ask as the four of us continue to run with the infected chasing after us.

"Of course." Josh pants tiredly.

"Good. Okay, first thing is first. We gotta lead these guys off our trail. We can't have them running into camp. That'd be disastrous. We have to keep everyone safe." I say as I try to formulate a plan.

"How?" Mitch asks breathlessly. I look around us, trying to come up with an idea. I see an abandoned gas station with plenty of gas bottles on the side of the road. "Over there!" I call out as I run towards the gas station. Josh, Mitch and Bradley follow behind me, having no clue on what I'm doing. I run over to the bottles of gas and pick one of them up. The guys around me do the same. I roll it as hard as I can towards the horde of infected. I aim my gun at the bottle of gas and fire at it quickly. I watch in satisfaction as the gas bottle explodes, a ball of flames bursting out everywhere, burning a heap of the infected and blasting them backwards. My comrades around me finally get the idea and start rolling bottles of gas towards the hoard. Once the gas bottle are far away enough, we shoot them and watch as they explode into bright hot flames. The four of us continue this process until there are no gas bottles are left. We can hear the pained whining of the infected as they stumble around, disorientated by the wall of fire. "Come on, they won't be distracted for long." I whisper to the others before taking off running. The three other men are right behind me.

We continue running as fast as we can. I hear the sound of heavy breathing in my ears, the loud thudding of my heart and of course the sound of my feet pounding against the pavement. I can also hear the faint sound of the infected behind us, roaring and shrieking with outrage. It won't be long before they start chasing us down again. My friends and I run through the abandoned city and take all the side streets, trying to make it harder for the hoarde to follow us. "How much longer?" Bradley pants tiredly from somewhere behind me.

"Not much longer. Just keep going." I shout encouragingly. I myself am not that tired. I have had to run longer and faster than this many times. Besides, all the training that I've done over the years seems to have paid off. I feel like I could give werewolves a run for their money now. Suddenly, the four of us come to a halt when we reach a dead end. I look around us desperately, trying to find a way out. I spot a rickety old ladder on the side of the building in front of us. "This way!" I hiss to the others before racing over to the ladder. I quickly begin climbing up, trying to ignore the creaks and groans of protest from the ladder. I can hear the rest of my small group follow after me. It doesn't take me long to reach the top. I turn to see that the infected are now rushing through the side street that is leading to this dead end. My eyes widen in horror. "Come on, hurry up!" I shout desperately to my friends. I help Mitch and Josh up onto the building. I glance down to see Bradley struggling. I know he has a fear of heights. I lean down and offer my hand to him.