Survival Inc.

Chapter Three

I stay a rooftop ahead of the rest of my small group, hopping until my legs get tired and I know that I can't jump any more. The hospital is still about three blocks away and the roofs are getting further apart. After this next one, we'll have to climb down and hope for the best.

After my group gets to me, we all take turns jumping to the next roof, then look down the ladder placed on the side of the house. It's rusty and doesn't look too sturdy, but it's our only option and I don't want to give up yet. We only have a few more hours until sunrise, and then we'll be too noticeable and have to head back.

Sighing, I tug at it carefully and look at my three companions. It has enough strength for two of us to go down. I wave Nova down and she nods, going down silently. Then Freddie. I look at Tyson and he looks at me.

"Can I go down? Will it hold?" he whispers to me.

"Be quiet when you go down and, please, be careful. Okay?" I whisper back, giving him the best answer I can.

He takes a deep breath and nods, then goes down. The ladder breaks off in his hands the moment he pushes off onto the ground. He looks up at me and I give a reassuring nod then grab the pipe on the side and scale down.

"I could've done that," he says and I roll my eyes.

"I wanted to save your energy for the Morts at the hospital, now let's go," I order and we sneak along the buildings until we're just one block away from the hospital... and the street is full of Morts. Ones with that nasty blood-like stuff seeping from random places in their bodies.

"Will you be okay with this, or do you-" Nova starts but I cut her off.

"I'll be fine, you and Tyson go ahead, Freddie and I'll take care of them," I say and she shoots me a glare, but nods and slips into the darkest parts of the streets, Tyson following suit.

Raising my gun, I look down, whisper, "I'm so, so sorry," and then aim, take the safety lock off, and pull the trigger at one of their heads. It hits its target and the Mort falls down, but the gunshot attracts the rest of them. At least thirty. Shaking my head, I shoot shot after shot, as well as Freddie, and we get most of them, but about five are left and we need to reload, but the Morts are fast at their shuffling, and we're slow at reloading, so when one of them knocks the gun out of my hands and throws itself at me.

I take both hands and try to push it away, so I can't grab my knife, and Freddie is trying to take care of the other four. The Mort is overpowering me, but I can't let go to let it slip past me for it's holding on, too. Suddenly, a string of five or six gunshots ring out and the zombie gripping me lets go, falling over, and I realize my face and hair is splattered with its disgusting blood.

Looking over, I see that Freddie is covered in it, looking over himself for any bite marks, and upon finding none looks over at me in shock. 'That you?' he mouths and I shake my head. We go back-to-back and review our surroundings, but no one is around us, and Nova and Tyson are already clearing out the hospital.

"Uh, you're welcome. Geez, people these days," says a sarcastic voice from the drugstore on the other side of the street.

Freddie and I spin towards the sound to find a smug-looking teenage boy standing there, gun in hand, smirking at us.

"We don't have time for this, we have to go check on Nova and Tyson," I say to Freddie.

"You don't have time for me? Oh well, guess I'll just treat you like I did your little zombie friends there and-" the guys starts, raising his gun.

"No! What do you want?" Freddie exclaims and the guy smirks again.

"I want your help getting into that hospital, but it's filled with zombies, so... I just need your help," he says, lowering his defenses for a moment.

"And what makes you think we'll help you?" I growl.

"Your friends are in there and in danger, you're going there anyways, might as well take me with you. And since I just saved your life, I feel like you owe me," he says and I shake my head.

I hesitate, but know he's right. Shaking my head in disbelief with myself, I look at him and say, "Fine, but you owe us your name if we're going to help you."

"Tucker Jackson," he says with a weird look on his face.

Wait... that name sounds familiar...

"Is this the hospital that..." I say, trailing off.

"None of your business, now let's get to it, before your friends are dead," he says and runs to the hospital, us following after gaining a confused look from Freddie.

Suddenly, we're inside, but all I can see is Nova clutching a bleeding arm, surrounded by dead Morts. She looks up at me with a sick look, skin paler than it was, and face a bit green with nausea. I run over to her and pick her up. Looking over at Tucker, I say, "Where are the emergency rooms?"