2022-09-27 21:55:57Francis awkwardly responded, "It's no thang."She was beginning to appear somewhat timid herself.Jake rolled his eyes in disapproval.
He added, "I have my own vehicle."That will do, thank you.After a brief moment of surprise, the big man shrugged.Where is your vehicle?“Back in the direction they had come,” said Jake.In front of the entrance."The girl Francis had referred to as "Skylar" came around the side of one of the SUVs in the vicinity and was followed by the man who laughed.A look that was probably not threatening to anyone appeared as Jake's eyes narrowed.What?”he insisted.Skylar offered her explanation, shaking her head, "They're coming through in large numbers at the front gate."Your vehicle is doomed.Jake said indignantly, "Your mom is a lost cause," and he immediately regretted it.He quickly mumbled, "I-I'm sorry."In LoL, I grew too accustomed to saying that to stupid people."Priorities, people!"Francis said, snapping her fingers in the space between Skylar and Jake, causing everyone present to appear to be brought out of shock for a brief moment.Monsters that eat flesh are arriving.Moving forward!“Right!”Skylar and the big man quickly turned toward their respective cars and climbed in after the big man agreed.Jake was half-dragged across the parking lot to the final vehicle by Francis, who held him by the shirt collar.He climbed up after she pushed him in. He quickly looked around for two seats near each other, but to his dismay, there was only one seat in the middle and one in the back row.Francis demanded, pushing him forward, "Hurry up."He sat down and quickly walked around to the back.In front of him, Francis got up and sat down.The door was shut by someone, and they started to move.Jake suddenly and embarrassingly realized that he must have chosen the caravan's kids section.A young girl, most likely a preteen, was to his right, and a boy, Jake would guess a freshman in high school, was to his left.The girl smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Andrew," appearing to be unaware of the world around them.She smiled broadly as she extended her hand to him.He quickly released her hand again after saying, "Uh...I'm Jake," giving it a light shake.He'd always been most uncomfortable around children.He never could figure out why they were happening.It appeared as though they were only occasionally peeking into the real world and living in their own world.The cars had already come around the corner and approached the exit gate, which, despite their close proximity, stubbornly remained closed.As if his stoLucash had vanished, a feJakeng grew within Jake, widening his eyes.He spoke softly, "The power is out."He turned around and stared at the three people in the seat row in front of him.“What?”While scowling at him, one of them demanded.Jake responded suddenly bolder, "I live here."He leaned slightly forward in his seat.The power outage was the only reason I left my apartment today.And if it went off in my apartment, it must have because it always does.Additionally, the power of the apartment complex is connected to the gate.And so...” his tone changed.Francis said, "The gate won't open without power."She quickly turned around and leaned forward to face the driver.Lucas, did you catch everything?Lucas, it would appear, gave a head nod.He responded, "I heard it," then yelled and slammed the brakes.Come here!He said, and he got out of the car quickly.They quickly had a shouted conversation as they could see him hurrying over to one of the other cars through the windshield.Jake said, "We're going to have to try the entrance."With irritated eyes, Francis turned around to face him once more.Are you stupid?”She yelled, "Have you been paying attention?Everyone is at the entrance.That is not an option for us.Before she finished speaking, Jake was shaking her head.The only way is this.Trust me; I've been there.There are only two options:the entrance and the exit, and we won't be able to use the exit.The gate is impassable for our vehicle.We'd run the risk of causing the cars too much damage.He remained silent for a brief moment as his brain's gears sped up.He had no idea how fast the plan was coming together.He was aware of his obligation.He got up all of a sudden and started walking toward the side door.What are you engaged in?”As he got out of the car and opened the door, Francis demanded,Are you insane?He hurried over to the car where Lucas and Marshall were having their frantic conversation without pause.He growled angrily when he saw Jake approaching.Why in the world are you here?I advised you to wait in the vehicle.Jake said, ignoring the other man, "We have to go out the front."It is the only method.""The back?"The big man said in a dry voice, "Are you serious?They are coming from that area.We would never make it there."Jake replied, "Well, we're certainly not getting through here."Although it would probably take too long, we might be able to force the gate.Additionally, if we attempted to break it open with a vehicle, we would probably just damage it.I assume we don't want to run the risk of losing any of the cars.This comment clearly resonated with Jake.Based on how full the cars were, it was likely that they didn't find too many working vehicles, and the ones they did find were just big enough for the group.That group would probably have to continue on foot if they lost one of the cars.He continued, "Skylar, or whatever her name is, said the front gate had been forced."This means that it is already open.That means we can get through it,” he said triumphantly at the end.Francis, who appeared to have followed him, pointed out, "If we go through the front, we will have to drive through the creatures."Furthermore, if we hit or run over one of them, we may also lose a vehicle.“No, see, it's simply a matter of leading the creatures away,” Jake said with a head shake.Three sets of eyes looked at each other in disbelief.Jake rolled his eyes and sighed.Look, I just led a large group of them out of my apartment and went through one of the interior gates and lost them.It isn't hard.They don't move very quickly and just follow.Having them follow someone away from the front door until it is clear enough for everyone else to drive through is all that is required.Richard looked down.And who do you think would be so irrational and suicidal as to engage in the distraction and be left behind?Lucas said abruptly, "I'll do it," before anyone else had a chance to respond.He appeared to be staring into the distance, far beyond the car and people in front of him, with hazy and unfocused gray eyes.“What?No.Don't be dumb, Jake yelled.I'll perform it.“You?”The word almost made the big man laugh.He barked back angrily, "Yes, me."I have a car, as I stated, and it is over by the entrance.I can enter it and follow you guys out through the gate once I lose my posse.Simply drive me over near the entrance is all I need from you.I'll get out and clear the way when we get close enough.The group still had some hesitation, but from their expressions, it was clear that they were impressed by how well-thought-out his plan sounded.The big man said, "Well, I take back the quip about useless survivors," nodding in agreement.Lucas concurred, saying, "It just might work."Jake laughed and waved a hand dismissively, saying, "Of course it will work."Francis said suddenly, "I'll go, too."None of the three men remembered what they had heard when they turned to look at her.She explained, confused, "I have a gun, and I know how to use it."Furthermore, two people are more likely to succeed than one.""It's too risky!"The large man objected.“For once, I agree with Muscles,” Jake said as he patted the big man on the upper arm that was bulky and rested on the vehicle's window sill.You would merely put yourself in danger.She replied, brushing a stray hair from her face, "Please."Like you wouldn't stand a chance without my assistance out there.You could have been killed by any one of them.Jake said, blushing with shame, "It caught me by surprise."It will not occur again.Also, you don't know what my car looks like or how complicated it is like, like I do.I've been here for the past three years.I cannot allow you to wander off to unknown destinations out there.I won't look for you, and I won't sit in my car waiting for you, wondering if you'll show up or not.No, only one of us has a better chance.We can't have one person waiting on another.That only increases danger.She began, "But-," but Lucas interrupted her.He barked, "No, discussion over," and grabbed her by the arm.He is not part of the group; you are.In addition, we are not putting anyone in the group at risk by supporting this child's crazy plan.He turned his back on Jake.How familiar are you with the area?Jake just shrugged.I suppose about as well as anyone else.""Just a block west of here is a strip mall.We will wait for you there for a brief period of time.None more.Have you got it?Jake gave a nod.I know where it is.“Good.”Lucas unfolded a street map that he had taken out of his pocket.Here's where we're going in case you aren't quick enough or that area is also overrun.From the strip mall, he drew a line on the map that led to an area that was almost entirely blank, about 100 miles outside of town.
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Jake sneered as he snatched Lucas' arm and knelt down to check his time.They still needed to clear the path and get on the road, even though it was midday.Dark storm clouds rose in the sky above them, covering them in a dull grey mist and dimming the light.This indicated that night would arrive earlier than usual.“With a deeper scowl, Jake responded, "That's a little too far."Can you make that before it gets dark, are you positive?Muscles and Lucas exchanged uneasy glances.Lucas responded, "Well, we have to."Jake's eyes lit up with excitement, and he smiled.He had just had a thought that probably would not have been appreciated on any typical day.However, on this particular day, this crazy day, it was a thrilling thought.He pointed to a location on the map that was close to town.This location has a hotel.About two weeks ago, it had just shut down.He stopped and waved his hand in a circle, "I would venture a guess that they found themselves with more important matters to worry about
Rise of zombies Chapter 8
He was aware that he would need to ensure that the vast majority followed him in order for that to occur.He increased his stomping and shouting, jumping up and waving his hands as high as he could to get their full attention.He continued his display while beginning to take a step backwards as the creatures got very close.He was aware that his efforts would be pointless if he lost too many going down this hallway.However, he was also aware that he would die if he tripped and fell while walking backwards.He made an effort to ignore that aspect.Strangely dim was the hallway.The late-night feJakeng was brought on by the cloudy sky, and the hallway was dimly lit due to the lack of ambient light.Normally, a few small lights along the hallway walls dealt with this problem; however, when the power went out, those lights went out, leaving a portion of the path almost completely dark.Jake thought to himself that it was almost the perfect atmosphere for a horror movie.All that was required was
Rise of zombies Chapter 9
"It appears that we are free to leave,"Lucas looked out the window as he turned to the left.Richard Cotton, a massive man with a lot of muscle, had come up and parked his vehicle next to Lucas's.His eyes were still fixed on the faraway hallway and the creatures trying to force their way down it as he nodded in response to what he had just said.He smiled as he turned to face Lucas.What are your thoughts?Lucas concurred, "Well, I see no reason why we should wait around here."Which of us ought to wait for the child?Elaine inquired.She was sitting in Cotton's SUV's passenger seat, close enough to Lucas that he could touch her.He wanted to grab her by the neck when he heard the comment.Comments like that only served to increase the risk rather than reduce it.The kid had wanted to put his neck in danger.What ought to concern them?Richard agreed, "Elaine is correct."What if his vehicle isn't working?We shouldn't just abandon him here.Not after the way he assisted us.Lucas clenched his te
Rise of zombies Chapter 10
With a deep growl in her throat, she demanded, "Help the Others," as if to warn him against manipulating her.I won't bother you.Jake desired to express himself.He wanted to inform her that he was only concerned about her.He wanted to say that all of his efforts would have been pointless if she didn't survive.He was aware of how ridiculous he was being and wanted to say a lot of things.Instead, he shifted his position so that he could peer through the window on the passenger side and fought back the growing fear by biting his lip.Ryan's head was dangling and turned away.It bobbed up and down in response to the vehicle's smallest movements.As Lucas made a series of frantic movements, he bumped Lucas as his arms hung similarly loosely across the car.In an effort to see more clearly what Ryan was doing, Jake squinted, but Ryan's motionless body and cracked glass made it nearly impossible to see.Jake lifted the door to the open position by pulling on the handle, realizing that time was r
Rise of zombies Chapter 11
Francis got into his seat and shut the car door.She gave Jake a sad smile and said, weakly, "Well, let's go."Jake did not challenge.Lucas remained stationary as the vehicle drove off.Rob would need a long time to grieve before he would be willing to go anywhere, so there was little chance that they would survive. He was aware that Ryan had passed away.Which, for some reason, Lucas found to be of no concern at all.He calmly knelt, picked up his aviators, and put them back on his forehead where they belonged.He ignored the thought that this was the end as he raised his shotgun and pointed it at the creature that was closest to him.Jake had already reached fifty miles per hour when he reached Main Street, which was only a few dozen or so feet from his apartment complex's exit.He barely slowed as he turned and moved into the farthest left lane because there was really no need to worry about traffic.Even when he would go out at two or three in the morning, he had never seen the world so e
Rise of zombies Chapter 12
Jake gave a jerky nod, clearly shaken and disoriented.He didn't like what reality was telling him, and it was clear that the world as it was now was settling on him.Not that he had ever found reality to be particularly appealing.He had initially been hiding in his room for that reason.He had been playing video games and listening to music throughout the end of the world.He asked, hoping his voice was not clearly shaken by his fear, "So, how are we going to do this?"Should we separate or...?He gave the colossal room another quick glance as his voice trailed off in uncertainty.“If you get more than ten feet from me, I’ll rip your nuts off,” Francis said with a wicked smile.Jake looked at her with a narrowed eye.Have you ever been told that you are a sweet, lovable person?”Her smile only got bigger.Everyone,” she replied plainly.After giving each aisle a quick glance, she motioned for him to follow her.“Come,” she commanded.They quickly left, first heading to the camping area.They cou
Rise of zombies Chapter 13
Jake put all of his focus back on the road.Buildings that were unoccupied and lifeless parking lots rushed by to their left and right.The view didn't seem right to me.This simply cannot be the world in which he grew up;not in the absence of bustling crowds everywhere;not without life, which is omnipresent and overwhelming, barging in from all directions, making him want to hide in his room."How did the world end up in the hellish pit?"He mostly spoke to himself, and he didn't really care who heard him.No one responded.He had no response from anyone.By the time they reached the abandoned hotel, Nancy was beginning to look much better, with new bandages covering her wound and painkillers in her system.She was able to speak coherently and her head had cleared enough that color had returned to her face.Not that there were a lot of words spoken among the group members.They were all exhausted, beaten, and possibly even scared or terrified.Just a few weeks ago, they would have only been in
Rise of zombies Chapter 14
He yelled, "Fine," removing Francis's hand from his shoulder.He struggled to shake the bubbling rage that had developed within him.He turned and stomped off to the opposite side of the lobby, grinning.He collapsed into a chair he found.He looked up and saw Francis comforting Marshall, which turned his stomach to Lucash.He got up, threw himself back on his chair, angled it in a new direction away from the couple.A young couple sat next to him in two identical armchairs, holding hands and staring at him with amused expressions.What?”When Jake saw them, he snapped.Leaning forward, the male chuckled.Poor day?He asked, his amusement reflected in his own voice.After clenching his jaw, Jake gave a sluggish head nod.He couldn't deny it:This was a truly awful day.There isn't a bad day like this one.He heard the growl of his StoLucash and realized he was starving.Despite the fact that on a typical day, he would have eaten at least three meals and perhaps a few snacks, he had eaten virtually
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Chapter 37
After some time, Daniel asked, with a look of complete ignominy on his face, "You mean to tell us that you’re keeping us alive only so that you can put us in pens with other humans?"As slaves? As what?“Slaves?”The creature's eyebrows raised in surprise as it echoed.No way, God.Why on earth would we require your assistance?Once more, silence as this most recent revelation was taken in.What do you mean, we won't have to do anything but eat, screw, and be slaughtered for lunch?"Ah, yes.Except for the slaughter, of course.He paused and waved his hand in the air as he searched for the right word, "...fresh." "We like our meat..." he said.Despite Daniel's wide eyes, he did not appear to be afraid or even disgusted; rather, he appeared simply irate.He made a sudden lurch forward and strained and pulled at his bindings, but they refused to move even an inch, and all he got out of it was exhaustion.He was worn out and slumped back against the chair, his rage still visible on his features.
Chapter 36
There were explosions of light and pain, dismal but blinding flashes of color in what seemed like an eternity of blackness. Everything seemed to be spinning, even though it seemed as if there was nothing there to be spinning. It was sickening, and it made him want to vomit, but he could not be sure for even a split second that he actually had a stomach with contents to lose. Then suddenly the spinning stopped, the flashes stopped, everything stopped.It seemed like another lifetime came and went, and a dull ache began to settle inside his head and amhum one long, unbroken note without end. Slowly, he began to grow aware that he could open his eyes. This he managed, but not without great effort. Even once he had done it, all that could be seen was a blur, a shapeless void of colors and light that did not seem to make any sense. With a fortitude that would shame even Hercules, he managed to blink a few times, and in doing so cleared away some of the blurriness.When formless blobs final
chapter 35
Moving along his hands and knees, he was surprised to find the table a lot steadier than he had expected. Most likely this was the benefit of going in the middle, when there was someone holding each of the four corners. Even still, the gap between the buildings seemed like an endless one as he crawled inch by inch across the table top. He tried to not look anywhere but at the board beneath him, but no matter what he tried, out of the very corners of his eyes he could see the alleyway below. It was filled shoulder to shoulder with zombies. Their inhuman groans and the rancid stench of their decay filled the air around him, threatening to overwhelm him and knock him from his perch.Then suddenly the far roof came into view, and Jake leaped the remaining distance and crashed down gratefully onto the unyielding rooftop. He rolled a few feet and then came to a stop on his back. He wanted to just lie there forever, never moving again, but as Richard was already making his way down the table
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Without another word they changed direction and headed for the station. The front doors were unlocked, and so they burst through them, slamming them shut behind them.“The desks!” Richard said, indicating the nearest two work stations.Devin and Jake grabbed either side of one, while Daniel and Matthew did the same to the other, and they moved the desks in front of the doors. Richard was hunting for the keys before they even finished. Near the back door on the wall was a plaque covered in key rings. Richard frantically looked over the labels above each ring.“This must be it!” he called to the others. They hurried over as Richard pulled down three keys. He kept one and tossed the others to Daniel and Jake. “Probably gonna need to take three cars, since we don’t want anybody locked into the back.”“Hey, check this out!”They all turned to see Devin pulling open a door and reaching inside a room. He pulled out a shot gun, and held it up in the air triumphantly. “Weaponry,” he said, smil
chapter 33
Both men had never seen anything like it before.The organized readiness of an approaching army was completely different from this.Even more so, it was not the chaotic wave of a protest march.The undead were stumbling and collapsing, only to be overrun by the next uncaring zombie in line, making it more like a river that boiled and boiled with the tide.Side streets were filled with vast undead tributaries that somehow made their way into the main current without halting it in any way.Overall, they were still the stumbling, slow-moving wrecks they were accustomed to seeing, but the sheer number of them and the unstoppable force of their movement made them particularly horrifying to see."We are gone."Jake didn't intend to say the words.They were not representative of what he was thinking because, aside from the image of the incoming horde, his mind was completely blank.It seemed more like someone had taken control of his body and said those two words through it.It would appear that Ma
chapter 32
When they got to the main road, they went south.They were on their way to the base without a zombie in sight, as they had been for days.Even when driving cautiously and with a high level of alertness, 25 miles was not a lot of distance to cover in a car.In this region of the country, almost no cars were on the road.This might have been suspicious if they were going to a bigger town, but cars had never been as important here in the middle of nowhere.Tractors instead of cars would have been seen driving down the highway in this area frequently.In point of fact, they did pass one tractor that had veered off the road in the wrong direction and had its engine casing open, indicating that someone had been working on it.Everyone in the car tightened their muscles and prepared their weapons as the first houses and small businesses crawled past the windows.The passing world was being watched intently, waiting for any movement to appear.Every storefront was dark, and every vehicle was either s
chapter 31
She gave him a long, passionate kiss without stopping or letting go.They fell to the ground and let the night consume them.The room was flooded with pure, white light as the early morning sun broke through the window panes.The room became increasingly illuminated as the sun rose higher and higher.In time, even Jake's sleeping spot just below the windows had been freed from shadow.He finally got up, opening one eye and quickly closing the other.He had a look of annoyance on his face.He rolled over in an effort to move away from the light and reached out to wrap Skyler in his arms, but all he found was an empty floor.He sat up as he opened both eyes now.He turned and looked around the room, but there was still no sign of her. She was not there.He wondered when she had left during the night.It could have happened at any time because he must have fallen asleep almost immediately following their encounter.He noticed that he was mostly naked when he looked down at himself.His pants were s
Chapter 30
He thought to himself that this was insane.I've thrown myself at huge hordes of zombies numerous times, but I'm afraid to face a petite blonde woman in this world of zombies.He stopped pacing, only realizing once he did so that he had still been doing it, and took a deep breath. If he procrastinated any longer, he would probably just spend the rest of the night procrastinating. It was now or never, he decided. Time to cowboy up or wuss out, and he sure as Hell was not going to wuss out. With quick, determined steps he crossed the room and entered through the doorway into Francis ’s room. She was standing at the window, staring out at the fading twilight. In the dim, purple pink glow of the late evening, she seemed even more beautiful. She seemed radiant, refulgent even, as though she was the one glowing and not the sun and moon outside. He opened his mouth to greet her, but no sounds came out, and after several seconds he realized that he was, in fact, going to wuss out.He turned
Chapter 29
He was silent for quite some time."My family is dead," he finally declared."He saw that she was worried when he turned to look at Francis.He was holding his phone in his hands and absently twirling it, which she first noticed.Obviously, I don't have any proof.However, I'm confident that someone I knew would have checked on me once it became clear what was going on.After pressing a button, he lightly waved the phone, and the screen lit up.However, there is nothing.Absolutely no message.a phone call, not an SMS.As a result, it's likely that they were all too young to worry about me when they passed away.This suggests that I am the only person alive who is connected to our small group of survivors.If there weren't zombies and we weren't fighting for our lives, I wouldn't be friends with any of you if I had the choice.I probably would have tried to avoid each and every one of you as much as possible.Still, I'm here.All of us are here.He stopped, put his head in his hands, and Francis gave
