Misery County

Chapter 12 - Part 4

Hopping out of it, she did the only think she could think to do – she ran toward the rides, where the horde of zombies was at its thinnest.

Her lungs were burning, but she kept on running. It was her only real weapon. The dead could only move at a snail's pace, so as long as she was running, she was safe. Her problems were not minor, though. Not only was she getting tired, but the corpses seemed to be learning. She'd run in a big circle one too many times, and now the dead were no longer moving in the direction that she was in at any given moment, but instead in the direction where it looked like she was going. Could she use this to her advantage? Could she lure them away from the gap in the fence and then run for it at the last minute? Did she have the stamina to do all of that without slowing down?

She was out of options and increasingly running out of energy, so she made a 180-degree turn and ran to the far end of the grounds, underneath the roller coasters. The dead followed. The pathways between the rides there were a lot narrower, leaving more chances of getting cornered or cut off. The alleyway she was in seemed clear at the end, but the dead were flush up behind her, and even a few of them in front would be the end of her story. Summoning up what little fortitude Cassie had left, she sprinted for the end of the narrow stretch. As she approached it, a figure shambled out toward the middle. There was no stopping now. Holding her arms out in front of her, she barreled right into the corpse, knocking him over, and running on through.

This was it. Most of the dead were clamoring to get through the cramped passageway behind her. If she could make it back to the other end of the grounds and to the gap in the fence, she could get into her car and fuck off away from this cursed place until she was better prepared and preferably with backup.

The run to the fence couldn't have taken longer than a minute, but it felt like an eternity. Through the corner of her eye, she watched as the dead turned back toward her. It didn't matter. She would get to the fence long before they would. It was all but done, and in good time too. Her leg muscles were all crying out in pain, and her lungs were about on the verge of giving up. When I make it out of here alive, Cassie thought, I'm going to sit my ass on a nice, wide couch and not do any physical activity for a week.

Turning the last corner before the entrance to the grounds, a cold shiver ran up her spine as she looked on at the scene. A small herd of the dead were standing around the gap in the fence.

Cassie slowed down to a full stop, doubled over, hands on her knees, and took in some well-deserved deep breaths. There was no point in running anymore. They were ahead of the game. Whether the corpses retained some sort of human intelligence or whether it was the influence of the necromancer, she didn't know, but whatever the case may be, it was over. She pulled a bottle of water out of her handbag and took a swig. The sound from behind her was growing louder. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the vanguard of the horde closing in on her.