Mankind devoured - BOOK 1

Part 3: survival of the fittest

The same day
Perspective of Alfie

"Get that door open, now!" Mark ordered as Malik and Alex held onto Jamie who was unable to walk properly because of his fall. 

Elise and Alfie were behind the group, picking off any infected that got too close for comfort.  It was a crazy, mad race to get to temporary safety.  Elise was violently hacking away at the infected, Alfie slightly more reluctant, only throwing killing blows once in a while between kicking the infected back into the crowd that seemed to never truly end. 

"Go on, get the door open!" Elise yelled as she cracked an infected man across the jaw with her knuckle dusters.

"Got it!" Alfie replied, glad to fall back for a bit. 

Alfie rushed forward and bashed the door in with his shoulder, the adrenaline keeping nothing from him now.

"Get in, go on!" Alfie yelled, holding the door open. 

Jamie, Alex and Malik got in first, followed closely by Corey and Mark, only finishing with Elise close behind, only a few paces from the infected.  Alfie panicked to get in, drastically leaning forward to escape what would have been a Ayala grab from one of the crazed hands that reached for him. 

He got into the house with his heart in his mouth as he contemplated how he had just only narrowly escaped being torn apart and eaten alive.  That was why did it, Alfie knelt over and threw up bile all over the floor, no food in his stomach to be sick properly. 

"That's it, lad.  Let it all out." Mark came over and put a hand on his back. 

"Sorry, I haven't eaten at all." Alfie pointed out as he wiped his mouth. 

"I've been told."

They all sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the relentless thumping on the door. 

"That won't hold for long, guys.  You should have seen how quickly they got through our door." Jamie said through gritted teeth.

Alfie looked over at him, he had veins stretching across his forehead, clearly in great pain.  His face had gone red and he was panting heavily. 

"How long lad?" Mark asked. 

"A minute, probably less." Alfie added, earning worried looks from around the room. 

"I'll go to the university." Elise piped up.  "It will take me ten minutes to get there if I run."

"You're not going on your own, I'll go with you." Alfie suggested.

"I can make it on my own." Elise retorted.

"I insist, it's dangerous out there." Alfie persisted.

"Let him go, El.  Take care of each other." Mark spoke quietly.

As Alfie and Elise left, the rest of the group were left stood in the house as the front door began to crack open and give way.

About 10 minutes later
Perspective of Freddie

Freddie was a man in his early thirties, he'd never had a good life.  Never did well at school, always been on minimum wage with multiple failed marriages.  For Freddie the end of the world as he knew it could have been a fresh new start, for him to become less of a failure.  It wasn't that he didn't try, he was the hardest worker that anyone had ever met, his physical jobs resulting in him have arms of monstrous proportion with a toned, fit body.  But things just never worked out. 

He stroked his light stubble, thinking of what he wanted this to become.  He thought he'd be the kingpin of the new world, the organiser of law and order, but instead he was stuck inside the walls of some shit university stuck in yet another, shit job of guarding the walls.  At least he could say that he didn't really lose anything when the world ended.