They Walk

Chapter Fifty Six

From the closed doors, you can see out with small windows that it looks like a perfect sunny July morning. That is until you take a look at what is waiting in the courtyard for us. Noah walks out the front of the Library first, and the vast number of the dead waiting doesn’t alarm him, as he lets the first grenade fly as soon as he places his feet on the steps.

Like all the other times, the boom sounds off like fireworks.

It sends all the dead flying outwards in pieces.

Gabe and my dad step up then and follow Noah down the steps firing the machine guns into the mass of the dead still charging. As they get to the bottom of the steps, the other two guys flank them using their hand guns and they all start for the left of the building.

Raising the ax high in my arms, I head for the stairs and pray that the others can keep up with me.

When we reach the bottom and head for the left with guys, it’s comforting to see that more than half of the dead out here has already been eliminated. We round the side of the building and rather than going to the left and to a side street, I lead the others straight out to the main road where Noah’s car is parked. The guys are still shooting as they run, and a path is cleared for us to have a head start, but I don’t pay attention to what they are doing.

Instead, I run as if my life depended on it, and I guess it kind of does.

The others of my group keep up pace, and I make sure to keep my mom in my line of sight, I won’t lose her now that I just got her back. We almost make it the whole way without any problems, but are just breaking out between two small buildings and nearing the main road when we see another mass of at least twenty of the dead approaching us.

My mother and Mason start shooting at them instantly, and they take out about half before they run out of ammo. I call out to my mom, and toss her Noah’s car keys as I prepare to stand my ground to put a bigger dent in the dead in our path. I’m not the only one to think this as Brooke, Rose, and even Eva prepare to help me out thankfully. We take the first rush strikingly fast, and our blades slide through their soft flesh so easily. I’ve already sliced through two heads and am about to go for the third, when I hear a scream that causes me to hesitate, and in that moment I miss the body entirely.

The swing carries me around and causes me to lose my balance, and the dead crashes into me and sends us on the ground. I yell in frustration, and just manage to get the ax between us and hold his snapping jaw from me. It’s bloody and bent fingers claw at me, and I can feel my blood slide down my skin as I struggle to get him off me. My mind feels sluggish for some reason, and I’m having a hard time trying to figure out what to do next.

I know I should probably push or kick it off me, but I can’t get my body to obey my commands like it should.

His body is large and his weight is pushing the ax down and causing it to get its dripping jaw closer to me. I turn my head away and close my eyes as it snaps its teeth, and before I can contemplate my death I hear the others still fighting. This sends a shockwave of courage through me.

My eyes snap open I push the dead up with my now shaking arms.

Once it’s at arm’s length I manage to wedge my feet between us, and with all the strength I can get I kick out at it. The dead guy falls back from me, and I get to my feet before he does, and I rush at him swinging at his head. He was just getting to his feet, so I catch the side of his neck easily and the blade of my ax slides through like butter. I turn away as his head and body falls to the ground, and I see that Eva is now one of the dead already.

Mason is just putting her knife through her chin as I’m moving, and I notice that my mother is sitting in the now running car a couple feet away. Brooke and Rose are climbing into the back, when Mason and I approach at the same time. He gets into the back with the girls, and my mother quickly scoots over so that I can get in the driver’s seat. I’m only just closing the car door, when there is more dead coming for us fast, but I ignore them, as I peel off the curb and spin the car into an illegal U-turn so that we are facing the opposite direction. I push the gas pedal down to the floor so that we are flying down the road, and we leave the dead in our dust trying to catch up.

I’m barely driving the car past the side street where we left the guys, when I see a car pulling out behind us in the rearview mirror. I’m filled with a relief so great; I’m surprised I don’t crash the car from the shock. All I hope though is that my dad and Gabe are both alive in the car.

We are just pulling off of College Street and back to the home stretch to the Collisee, when my mom breaks the stunned silence of the car.

“You were unbelievable back there Maggie. I had no idea you could do all that.” She says in wonder.

I don’t take my eyes off of the crowed road and I grip the steering wheel tight until my fingers hurt. I now she is probably proud of me or something, but it’s not something I want to hear. The ax is at my feet, and I want so bad to clutch it to me like a security blanket. Instead, I lie to my mother for almost the first time ever.

“Neither did I, it must have been the adrenaline.”

My voice comes out a little more coldly than I’d like, but there isn’t anything I can do about it.

For some reason I’m angry and I can’t really explain why, maybe it’s the injustice of this all. Or maybe I’m getting tired of fighting already and not knowing when I’m going to die or someone that I care about dies. It’s too much for one person to handle. My mom turns in the seat and reaches for my arm, and out of reflex, I flinch away from her.

“You’re bleeding.” She tells me, as she sits back in her seat.

Shaking my tense arms, I say, “It’s fine, I’ve been scratched like this before. It won’t trigger the infection or anything.”

“I know Maggie. I was just worried.”

Sighing, I feel bad instantly. I just got her back and already I’m hurting her feelings for no reason.

“I’m sorry mom I’m just a little revved up from the fight.”

I glance towards her and try to give her a normal smile, but she is already watching me and just looks so sad. Not from my hurting her feelings, but like she lost her baby girl or something. I suppose she did though, since I’m pretty certain I’m not the same girl as I was before all this started. The rest of the ride is in silence, except for the occasional shocked gasping from the others as they take in the surrounding homes and business of the street. It’s all old news to me though, and I just drive right by everything and don’t feel bothered by it now.

I keep catching myself checking the car behind us in the rearview mirror and wish I could see inside it.

When we are about a street away from the Collisee, we actually run into traffic, as in there are other moving cars on the road now. Among them are the rushing feet of the dead as they try to catch them, and I have to slow us down so that I can get by. They all seem to be heading in the opposite direction, and when I reach Birch Street that’s when I hear it.

The roaring sounds of constant gunfire.

My first thought is that the stadium was breached, but that soon changes the closer we get to it. And it’s not because the place isn’t in chaos, because it most certainly is. There are hundreds of people pilling out of the doors and running to the vehicles in the lot. Most of them are either tearing out of the parking lot, fighting with one another, or being attacked by the dead. That’s not the only unsettling thing either. In the front of the building, there is a lineup of soldiers firing into the masses of the dead and trying to give the people getting away a chance.

Most of the larger vehicles are already gone, and I easily pull into the lot and park the car to a stop just a couple feet from the entrance and the running bodies. As I quickly take everything in, I wonder what the heck happened in there so suddenly.

We weren’t gone that long were we?

“Maggie what is going on?” My mom asks as she watches out of the car like the rest of us.

I shake my head, and know the only way to find out is to get out and ask.

“You guys stay in here and keep the car running for me. And don’t let anyone inside, got it?” I try to sound commanding, but it just comes out like I’m scared, which I am.

I’m reaching for the ax at my feet, when my mom stops me with a hand on my back, so I turn to her.

“Be careful will you.” She tells me earnestly.

My throat closes up on itself and I just nod to her as I latch onto the ax and grip it in one hand, as I open the car door with the other. The sounds of guns firing are louder now, and taking a deep breath.

I get out of the car and slam the door behind me.