Epidemic
By Luca M.
“There’s a walker, just up ahead. I’ll take it,” said Eric, eager to see some sort of action.
“Don’t be impulsive, you’ll give us away!” I replied in a hushed tone. “I spotted a car a few clicks back, we can get out of the city and get our bearings then."
“Right, good thinking,” replied Eric. He slid from the billboard and I followed him down the ladder, careful not to make too much noise. The zombies seemed to have a heightened sense of hearing. Even a single gunshot could draw a dozen our way, at the very least. It was that fact that had caused me and Eric to be separated from our scavenging party in the first place. An argument with a neighboring group over some fuel cans turned into a gunfight, and pretty soon hordes of the undead came stumbling in, scattering the survivors.
“It’s just east of here, looked in good condition too. Stay alert,” I reminded Eric. We began our careful trek between the buildings, avoiding groups of zombies as we went. I picked up a few supplies from the buildings: tape, batteries, even some bullets, not that we could use them though. Firing a gun would seal our fate. We were just approaching the gas station where the car was parked when a pickup truck sped past us, guns blazing. Instinctively, we both dived behind an old dumpster to take cover while the idiots drove off. Luckily, I remained unharmed aside from a bruise on my elbow, but it looked as if Eric was hit in the leg pretty badly. A maroon stain on his pants was widening rapidly.
“Hurts like hell, man,” said Eric, choking out a laugh. I quickly applied bandages to the wound and pulled him back on to his feet.
“We gotta move, those shots will attract more than a few undead,” I said hastily, helping Eric into the passenger seat of the old sedan. I then got into the driver’s seat and buckled the seatbelt.
[This section is out of order!] “Let’s hope this works," I mumbled, hotwiring the car. Stripping and connecting what I hoped was the right pair of wires, all I achieved were a few sparks. The danger of our situation became apparent when I heard the collective moan of the undead slowly approaching. With sweat dripping down my back and somewhat shaky fingers, the engine finally hummed alive.
“Yes!” I shouted in victory. I looked over at Eric, beaming, to share this temporary triumph, but he was pale, and losing consciousness. He would need medical attention soon. “Damn raiders got you pretty bad, eh?” I said, hitting the gas. I estimated that the fastest way out of the city would be to travel east. It had been so long since I had driven this fast. I felt alive. I hit a zombie and sent it rolling over the car, then another, then another. The roaring engine noise must be bringing them on to the street I thought.
As we traveled further away from center city, I could see the buildings become shorter and scattered, and I started to see more vegetation. It was comforting to leave the desolated ruins of Philadelphia behind. Supply runs through one’s former-now devastated-home city can make anyone uneasy.
At last, up ahead, I could see our base. ‘Base’ was definitely a stretch of the term. It was actually just a walled-in collection of tents and other tarp shelters. It was the only place I could call home now. Ever since the collapse of the U.S. Government, our community had grown rapidly. Everyone, from lone wanderers to larger groups of lucky survivors, had joined the base, sarcastically dubbed Pleasantville. There were now about 60 children amongst us, so we did our best to keep it welcoming. We looked for games on our supply runs and told stories to each other at night.
I could see people rushing from their tents, weapon in hand, ready to meet the sound of the old car’s engine. I began to ease on the brakes until I came to a stop at the large, chain-link, gate. There were two men pointing rifles at me. One had dark skin, a stocky build, and short hair. He wore heavy backpacking boots, and his trousers were rolled several times. The other was taller, and exceedingly pale. George and Michael. Both lowered their weapons when they saw me step out of the old sedan.