Death By Dawn

➽Chapter 2

BOOM!

Its swift departure was concealed by a great flash, its infinite potential for devastation released.

It traversed the distance at a tremendous rate, dead set on its target, splitting even the air in its path.

In less than a blink of an eye, before any reaction could even be made to the loudness of its release, it had already pierced its target, passing through her flesh and lodging itself deep within her.

A loud shriek escaped her mouth, filling the narrow alleyway in which she led him down, as her knees collapsed under her, causing her to fall onto the stairs of the black, metallic fire escape.

Out of reflex, her right hand grabbed hold of the affected area, instantaneously staining it with an intense crimson, her blood gushing out at an alarming pace.

A grimace instantly claimed command of her face as she, even though it would increase the pain far beyond her maximum threshold, applied ample pressure on the wound, almost making her scream a second time, only refusing to because it would attract more of the zombies.

With one deep breath, Olivia forced herself up from her knees as she continued her ascension, slowly yet steadily, up the fire escape, limping, as she gave her best to sustain the pressure.

Upon seeing her determination to continue, Alexander prepared to fire once again, but one of the five zombies she had released into the alleyway lunged towards him, its rotting jaws only mere centimeters away from his outstretched arm, its teeth at the ready to devour it.

She had released them from behind the confines of a locked gray steel door in hopes of buying herself time to escape.

After releasing them, she had made good use of her athletic capabilities by utilizing her momentum to embed all of her speed into the wall of an apartment building, launching herself upwards where she then grabbed a hold of the fire escape ladder which hung above her and pulled herself up.

Olivia, at that time, had been tempted to glance back, but, fearing the fate of Lot's wife, refused to and continued her ascension.

Alexander lurched backward, barely avoiding the flesh-craving monster in time. The five zombies were now too close for comfort, hindering the possibility of taking another shot at the ungrateful woman, whom, despite his heroic gesture of saving her life, decided to steal from him.

He was aware that his ammunition resided near the borders of none, forcing him to holster his gun on his side and evade the zombies once more.

He turned around, facing the entrance to the alleyway and his lurch transformed itself into a sprint, but halfway there, he was met with a terrible sight.

A cold shiver traveled down his spine as he came to an abrupt halt.

His heartbeat quickened causing sweat to accumulate around his face.

Deep within his soul, he could feel their endless craving for his flesh as his eyes met more than three handfuls of the walking dead, attracted to that very location as a result of the gunshot he had fired as a desperate attempt to stop Olivia.

Zombies, all that he had encountered anyways, had been slow and easily avoidable, but they were still a threat, having increased durability and an uncanny amount of physical strength despite their decomposing state.

Within groups, however, they became far more deadly than they already were.

Alexander almost panicked, but a soft calming voice gracefully brushed against the back of his ear.