June 7, 2011 by Mark Lidstone

Zombies I – Chapter 2

This is the second chapter in my Vote Your Own Adventure series. Your vote will determine the next step and could end up winning you a prize. To read more about the series, click here. To read the previous chapter, click here.

VOTING FOR THIS CHAPTER IS NOW CLOSED

 Through the Window

Your heart is pounding in your chest and your back is firmly pressed against the door behind you. You know you can’t go back into that room; it would be suicide. The window is your only option.

Every thump against the door behind you echoes in your head. You sister’s outstretched hand inches closer to you. Whatever was going to happen, it had to happen fast. You swallow your fear and get ready to move but stop when you notice a heavy, wooden dresser to your left. You catch a glimpse of the Porcelain clowns sitting on top. They were gifts from your uncle. He’d given her one every year for her birthday. If you could slide the dresser closer, you may be able to use it to block the door. You stretch your hand towards it but it’s just out of reach.

A hand grabs your sneaker. You look down to see your sister pulling her mouth towards you, attempting to bite through the thick rubber. You pull your leg back and kick her hard. Your foot hits her directly in the nose with a sickening crunch. Her head jerks back but it doesn’t slow her down. You kick at her again; this time your foot connects with her left shoulder. You watch what’s left of her small body roll away from you into a wall. Her arms flail as she reaches desperately for you, before dragging herself once again.

Keeping your back pressed against the door, you slide your body closer to the dresser. You stretch your hand as far as you can and pain shoots through your shoulder as you over-extend your arm. You try to grip the dresser but your fingers slide off of the polished surface. You lean a little closer and tightly grab one of the wooden legs, trying to pull it towards to you. You manage to drag the heavy dresser a few inches before the carpet bunches, bringing it to a halt.

You reach over with your other hand and try to push the carpet flat but you’re thrown off balance as a heavy slam hits the door, throwing you forward . The door is pushed open and pale hands reach in through the crack. You regain your position against the door but the hands prevent you from closing it. You slam yourself against the wood but the hands refuse to move and long fingers reach for you.

Your sister has, once again, pulled herself close to you. Her mouth hangs open with a low moan and her nose is pressed into her head. She wraps her fingers around your ankle. You know you can’t sit there any longer. You shake her loose before taking a deep breath. After filling your lungs with air, you say a silent prayer before pushing yourself to your feet.

The door immediately swings open and bodies tumble into the room. A hand reaches towards you and grabs at your shirt as you trip over a stuffed lion and stumble away. You frantically grab the blood-caked fingers, prying them back and pulling your shirt free. You grab the dresser and struggle to tip it over, the drawers sliding open in the process. The clowns clang together as they slide along the top and fall to the floor. It hits the carpet with a loud thud. Your pursuers fumble awkwardly against the dresser, falling over each other as they try desperately to climb over the heap. You sprint towards the window.

The window ledge comes to your chest. It’s higher than you’d imagined but you’re sure you can get through. You quickly slide the glass to the left, opening the window wide. You poke your head out. The elderly couple near the other window catches sight of you and slowly shuffles towards you. You struggle onto the ledge. Your arms strain and your legs kick wildly. You press your feet against the wall to try to push yourself through.

You get your head and shoulders through the frame as your sneakers slide against the smooth wall. You groan loudly as you push your arms against the outside walls, trying to pull the rest of your body up. Out of the corner of your eye you see the two figures slowly moving towards you, low moans escaping their lips.

Fear clenches your stomach as you feel several hands grab your legs, struggling to pull you back in. You squeeze your eyes shut as you hear your jeans rip. You feel something tear into the back of your calf and pain shoots through you as the flesh is torn. You kick wildly until your foot connects with a firm body, giving you enough leverage to push yourself through the window.

Air is forced out of your lungs as you hit the ground hard. Without hesitating, you roll to the side escaping the hands of the elderly couple. They reach for you as you push yourself to your feet, wincing at the pain that shoots through your wounded leg. You hobble out of their reach.

You quickly look around and assess your new surroundings. You are standing in an alleyway. Garbage litters the ground and a strong smell of urine fills your nose. You’re surprised to find the area to be empty, aside from the slow-moving elderly couple. Hands reach through the nearby apartment window towards you but they don’t seem to be able to get through.

As you head towards the main streets, you keep your weight off of your injured leg. Blood drips from your tattered jeans onto the pavement. The elderly couple slowly follows the trail of blood but you easily get away from them. You can see through the windows into the abandoned apartments. Your stomach turns as horrific scenes unfold in front of your eyes: parents tearing their children’s flesh from the bone and blood-drenched corpses pushing themselves up from the floor. Amidst the screams, the sound of your favourite band, Lamb, plays their hit single, “Seed”, through a toppled radio. Jack Winter sings about losing his daughter and your heart wrenches.

You leave the alleyway and enter the sunlit street. The block is eerily quiet, without a single person in sight except for a few swaying figures in the distance. The streets are filled with garbage and cars sit abandoned in the streets, stripped of anything valuable. What was once a crowded street is now an abandoned ghost town, like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie.

You walk along the centre of the road until you reach a two-way intersection. The road in front of you runs east to west parallel to a chain-linked fence. You cross the road and drop to the ground, resting your back against the fence. As you look into the darkening sky above you, thoughts of the last 40 minutes creep to the surface. Tears stream down your cheeks as vivid memories of your family pour into your head. You pull your knees tight to your chest and bury your face into your dirtied jeans. What was happening?

You wipe your face in your sleeve and slowly roll up the left leg of your pants. Your calf is sore and dark blood oozes from the wound. The flesh is mangled. You can’t tell whether it was scratched, scraped or bitten. You shudder at the thought of being infected – becoming what your family had become.

The sun sits low in the sky. It will be dark soon. You look up at the street signs in front of you. The road you had just come from was Findlay Street and the one that ran east to west in front of you was 16th avenue. You know the eastern side of 16th quite well. There is a small shopping district a few blocks in that direction. It wasn’t big but you distinctly remember an old hunting store there years ago. Without your bat, it may be a good idea to arm yourself.

You rip off the bottom part of your jeans and wrap the denim tightly around your leg wound. A small yelp of pain escapes your lips as you slowly push yourself to your feet. You turn east and begin to walk. A loud bang echoes through the air from behind you, grabbing your attention. The gunshot is quickly followed by several more overlapping each other. There are multiple shooters. In the distance you hear a man shouting. You’re unsure of what he’s saying but he appears to be giving orders. A barrage of gunshots follow his shouts. The sounds get quieter as they move further away.

VOTING FOR THIS CHAPTER IS NOW CLOSED

Do You

A: Continue east and attempt to arm yourself.
B: Head west towards the gunshots in hopes of finding someone who could help you.

Be sure to check out Jen Kirchner’s Vote Your Own Adventure story: The Relic