The Wilderness Within: A Fanfiction (Draft)

Chapter 3

We started weaving around the shelves, our heads ducked. I felt the cold draft from outside, we were so close.

But then it saw me.

It burst out from behind the counter, snarling and knocking candy bar displays from their spots by the register. Before we knew it, it was between us and our way out, and it was getting closer.

"Scatter!" I shrieked, dropping any attempt at stealth. In seconds the others vanished and I was on my own.

It barrelled towards me, its shocking white teeth appearing painfully sharp. I stumbled backwards for a second, then spun around to run to the back of the store as fast as I could. The tiny convenience shop all at once seemed to triple in length, becoming one long corridor lined with beef jerky. It didn't help that my legs felt as if they were forcing their way through gelatin.

I gritted my teeth. I couldn't hear the others, just my own footfalls and the slapping of the zombie's shoes on linoleum. I glanced back for half a second and saw that the zombie seemed to have eyes only for me. It stumbled forward sloppily, reaching out with its long, clawed hands. I squeaked and whipped my head forward, pressing on as much extra speed as possible.

Before skidding into a refrigerator door, I swept my arm over a shelf, knocking several dozen cans onto the floor. Some collided into the zombie's chest, others were trampled underfoot, slowing it down a bit but not enough. I grabbed a can of SPAM and threw it at its head as I drifted around the corner. The can barely glanced its arm and the zombie barely noticed.

I kept running back towards the exit. The sun outside seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel. I had to make it.

I made a ninety degree turn around the shelf and collided into something just a few feet away from the door. I toppled to the ground hard and felt something sharp graze my ankle. It was just a wire umbrella display that got in my way. I looked up in panic, but the zombie was still stomping down the aisle.

I felt around for something, anything to protect myself somehow. My hands brought back a pink umbrella. With the zombie only feet away, I popped open the umbrella in front of me and squeezed my eyes shut. All I could do now was wait, and hope it didn't hurt too much.

A pair of hands grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet, pulling me to the door with a speed my shocked mind didn't know was possible. I let the umbrella fall from my grasp.

Surprised I wasn't there on the floor anymore, the zombie didn't have time to slow down. The momentum caused it to hit the window head-on. Disoriented for only a second, it snarled as it saw us slip out the door.

Once we were outside, Kami let go of me, pushing me to the side. She reached for the door handle and pushed hard, just as the zombie rammed into the glass again. The force jolted her backwards, but she and Alex quickly forced the door closed until Alex wrapped a bike lock on the handle.

The zombie scrambled at nothing, its grotesque face sloppily pressed on the window. Its warbled growls chilled me to the core.

Kami stepped closer despite her trembling, ignoring the crazed eyes and razor sharp teeth. "Check the hours of operation. You're closed," she said fiercely.

I felt another pair of arms around me and gasped, but it was just Alex. I hugged him back, but my gaze stayed on the trapped monster.

Kami kept her eyes on the door. "What should we do?"

I grimaced as whatever red stuff was on its face was smeared across the glass. "Definitely call the authorities."

"Or we could blow it up," Alex said thoughtfully. "We have plenty of propane and gasoline out here." He nodded to the display of tanks and cans that were stacked up outside the store.

I smacked his arm. "Not a chance!"

A car alarm echoed down the street. We all spun towards the sound. Kami's voice turned shrill. "I doubt anyone here would care enough to press charges. Look," she pointed down the street.

We heard some faint screams. Around two dozen of what looked like former local denizens were awkwardly wandering around the street. Some of them were quickly heading in our direction. Even from about a hundred feet away, their stiff movement was too familiar. I knew that if they got too much closer, we would see their dull red eyes.

Kami continued, "Did they know we were here?"

I felt something warm roll down my leg. I looked down briefly. "What if they can smell blood?" In the convenience store fiasco I'd forgotten about my collision with the umbrella display and barely noticed before that it tore through my sock and pierced my lower leg. The cotton was already turning red as it soaked the blood from my pulsing ankle. Alex grabbed us by the arms and made a mad dash across the street back to the car. "Doesn't matter. We need to go."

My toe hit the curb and I stumbled, but we got to the car with the gathering horde a relatively "comfortable" distance away. We hopped into our standard seats, Kami with the backseat, Alex at the wheel, and me taking shotgun. Alex punched the gas and before anyone could think about seatbelts we were well on our way out of town for good.

Kami passed up a few things to me, including some water and an old first aid kit that had been sliding around the backseat.

"Thanks," I mumbled stiffly before I got to work treating my leg.