Element Z

Chapter 3: Escape

That night is one I will never forget, because it was the night everything changed. "Hey Jake, heard you got the job! I am looking forward to working with you again, man." Zach had such a big smile, he seemed more excited than me over being accepted to work for Element's newest facility. Although I guess it is because all I could think about was the person they turned down to accept me for the job, his glare was so menacing. There is no doubt in my mind he would kill me if he had the chance. "Jake? Helloooooooo, earth to Jake." I shook my head as I looked over at Zach feeling confused. "Yes?" He laughed as he kept driving. "I asked you a question, but you just blanked out I guess. Is everything alright?" I rubbed my eyes as I looked at my watch. "I don't know, there was a guy that they turned down when they accepted me for the job." Zach put his hand on my shoulder. "Well yes, that is how jobs work Jake. Only one person gets the position when it comes to the higher level ones, why are you still bummed out about this? You didn't eat when we went out and now you are down about it on the way home?"

"Stop the car, Zach." He looked at me concerned. "What, why?" Everything slowed down as my heart beat felt heavy, I looked over at him before noticing something ahead of us as my eyes widened. Zach looked forward as he slammed on the breaks, swerving off the side of the road and crashing into a tree. I looked over at him, and thankfully he wasn't bleeding as much. But he was unconscious. Everything was fading to black as I looked to the side at someone approaching the car. "Maybe next time you will think twice before taking my job, you're going to pay." Before everything went to black, the person left as I could hear an ambulance in the background. They were coming for us? But I didn't see anyone around who could call them. Before I could think on it, everything went black.

"So you're the person who he got the job, instead?" The person stared us down as he stood over the boss's body. "That's right, and you know I got to admit this outbreak just made my goal easier." Ben stood up as he smiled softly. "I wanna help you take him out." My eyes widened at hearing him say that as I looked at him in disbelief. "Ben, no. He saved you, you guys can't do this..." I didn't even have to look, I just felt the most ungodly chill knowing he was eyeing me down as I turned to face the guy who knocked the boss out. "Please don't do this, Ben.." A tear rolled down my face as he laughed shaking hands with the guy. "Let's feed him to the infected." The guy nodded as they started to reach for his body. "Stop it, you guys are sick. Don't do this.." As Ben reached to help carry the boss's body, I knew I had to do it. Without hesitation, I pulled out my gun and shot the guy in the head and pointed my gun at Ben with tears flowing down my face.

"W-wait Ethan, don't do this. Let's talk this out.." I could see what he was doing from a mile away, he was trying to lower my guard but I saw him reaching for the pipe on the ground. "I...I'm sorry Ben." I pulled the trigger and it felt so heavy, the bullet flying through the air and piercing Ben's heart as the blood splattered onto the wall behind him. Putting the gun down I cried my eyes out, I had no other choice but to kill my last friend left alive. Losing the others had pushed him over the edge, I couldn't let him kill another human. This new world that the infected created was kill or be killed. If I didn't stain my hands with their blood, then they would have killed the boss and then me.

The ringing was just like from the night of the crash, what the hell was that noise. Was it a gun, it had to have been two shots. My eyes slowly opened as my vision was blurry, I sat up confused and scared at if I would be shot next before my vision became normal and I could see Ethan crying. "E..Ethan what happened?" He looked at me in the eyes as he wiped his tears standing up. "I had to kill them, because they were going to feed you to the infected. My friend and the guy who you took the job from." Ethan offered a hand and I took it as I slowly stood up, he put his gun in his pocket as he slowly got himself together. "Is there a way to escape or are we trapped here until the military shows up?"

Opening the trapdoor under the carpet on the floor, we climbed into a tunnel and made our way towards the light at the end. After a few minutes of walking we heard the bunker be broken into and the growls of the infected charging at us. Sprinting towards the end and making it out, we came up to the parking lot where we quickly got into my car. Not sparing a single second, I sped out of the parking lot with the infected chasing us, I followed the signs and swerved around crashed cars. "Wait, you're heading in the direction of the hospital? We should head for the military base if we want to be safe, sir." I shook my head as I kept going faster. "I have to get my friend out of the hospital, and the military base will be the focus of everyone. They will be targeted by the infected, it's not safe there either."

As we arrived at the hospital, people were running in and out but none had looked infected. "It's as I expected, the virus hasn't gotten this far just yet but we do not have much time. Are you staying out here or coming in with me?" Ethan looked around at the people. "I will stay and make sure no one steals the car." Dashing into the hospital and past the people, I roamed looking for his room. Where was Zach being kept, I couldn't remember the number. All of a sudden I felt arms embrace me from behind as I felt a sigh of relief. "I am so happy to see you, everyone here is going crazy talking about how zombies are taking over. Can we go to another hospital?" I turned around and hugged him for a second before grabbing his arm and pulling him along towards the exit.

"They are not crazy, there was an outbreak and I actually just escaped a few of the infected at the facility." Zach sighed as we made it to the front of the building and I looked everywhere but couldn't find the car. "Damn it, did that intern really take off with my car?" Zach sighed as he pulled me along towards the exit of the parking lot. "Well you shouldn't have brought someone you didn't trust with you, but we can't stay here. Get a gri-" Zach stopped in place as a car pulled in front of him. "Sorry about that boss, the crowd is going crazy and someone was trying to take the car from me. A horde of infected are coming down the road though, let's go!" We got in the back of the car as Ethan got us out of there and drove away from the hospital.

"Well we can't go to the military base and Zach was all I need, I have nothing back at my apartment. So are we going to pick up anyone you know, Ethan?" Ethan sighed. "We are not, we have to get out of the city. They plan to nuke it." I felt a chill down my spine at those words, it didn't feel real. It felt like a joke, but this wasn't a time to joke. "I.....is it really that bad?" Ethan nodded. "Unfortunately so, before the radio went out there was another EAS like back at the facility. They failed to contain the outbreak and the Secretary of Defense authorized some drone strikes, but they said if that fails they are going to nuke the area. I am assuming that it will fail, and I am sure they are too. Because they told everyone who isn't infected to evacuate the city as soon as possible." I sighed, as I began to speculate the fastest route out of the city. Zach put his hand on my shoulder trying to calm me down as Ethan shouted out. "What the fuck is that?!"