paralyzed with fear and moved with slow confusion toward the office. That door wouldn’t hold either, but it might buy the children enough time to hide while the adults spent their lives delaying the undead onslaught.
“It’s breaking!”
“I can’t hold it!”
“They’re coming through!”
The deafening roar of an explosion drowned the commotion. The entire DDC shook, and sounds of breaking glass rang through the ground floor. Another chorus of screams erupted from everyone. The children wailed. Some stood paralyzed with terror, others hid beneath blankets or cots, and a few crouched down and wet themselves.
The pressure against the door subsided ever so slightly.
“Come here, you rotten motherfuckers!” Kelly heard a voice from downstairs yell. The sound of gunfire followed the taunt.
The force she struggled against weakened further. Kelly imagined mindless dead turning one-by-one from their frenzy to pursue the source of this new commotion.
A man and a woman took their weight off the door, rushed into the living area, and returned a moment later with cots that they propped up as a barricade.
“I wanted to help you!” the voice screamed again. More gunfire echoed through the clinic.
The undead limbs that had wormed their way through breaches in the door withdrew, and people worked as a team to pile everything they could find against it. Boxes, cots, chairs, shelves…every object that wasn’t nailed down was piled up as barricade.
Kelly was confused for a second. As dread filled her, she got to her feet, rushed to the roof where Dr. Thomson had gone, and looked around frantically. A white sheet hung over a ledge tied to a metal bracket. She looked down to see the tail of the improvised rope gently dangling low enough to allow someone to drop easily to the pavement below and enter the DDC through the hole in the wall of the music store.
“You don’t remember me, you ungrateful pieces of shit!” the voice came back again.
Kelly had never heard Dr. Thomson in the throes of rage. She barely recognized his voice. She gripped her hair with both hands and pulled as a sense of helplessness washed over her. Dr. Thomson was sacrificing himself, luring the ghouls away from the stairwell, to give everyone a chance to survive.
“You took my wife!” sounds of gunfire followed his scream.
“You took my children!” more gunfire echoed from the store into the streets. The small bands of undead that roamed the area began to take notice and wandered over.
“Come and get ME!” Dr. Thomson screamed. His voice was filled with anguish and anger.
A few quiet seconds passed, filled only with the moans and growls of the undead, and Kelly wondered if they had gotten Dr. Thomson.
Another explosion from inside the store knocked Kelly off her feet and sent a plume of debris and dust rocketing into the air. Kelly’s ears rung from the blast, and she rolled over and began crawling on her hands and knees toward the door. Exhaustion overcame her about twenty feet from her goal, causing her to collapse in a heap on the gravel roof. There she lay, staring into the purple dawn sky.
A million thoughts raced through her head. She thought of all the people she had cared for these past few months that were now dead, her friend, Dr. Thomson, who was also now dead, the hopelessness of the situation they were now in, and the face of her husband, Henry, that she had not seen in far, far too long. She lay there in silence, overwhelmed by the burden Dr. Thomson had placed on her shoulders. She hadn’t slept in weeks, but in this moment, she could sleep for a year.
“Dr. D?” A voice called out. A blonde woman stood not far from where Kelly lay. Her hair hung in ragged strands, her arm pits were soaked with sweat, and she braced herself against the wall in exhaustion.
Kelly turned her head to acknowledge the woman, but said nothing.
The woman stumbled over to Kelly and plopped down next to her. “I’m Nicole. You probably
“It’s breaking!”
“I can’t hold it!”
“They’re coming through!”
The deafening roar of an explosion drowned the commotion. The entire DDC shook, and sounds of breaking glass rang through the ground floor. Another chorus of screams erupted from everyone. The children wailed. Some stood paralyzed with terror, others hid beneath blankets or cots, and a few crouched down and wet themselves.
The pressure against the door subsided ever so slightly.
“Come here, you rotten motherfuckers!” Kelly heard a voice from downstairs yell. The sound of gunfire followed the taunt.
The force she struggled against weakened further. Kelly imagined mindless dead turning one-by-one from their frenzy to pursue the source of this new commotion.
A man and a woman took their weight off the door, rushed into the living area, and returned a moment later with cots that they propped up as a barricade.
“I wanted to help you!” the voice screamed again. More gunfire echoed through the clinic.
The undead limbs that had wormed their way through breaches in the door withdrew, and people worked as a team to pile everything they could find against it. Boxes, cots, chairs, shelves…every object that wasn’t nailed down was piled up as barricade.
Kelly was confused for a second. As dread filled her, she got to her feet, rushed to the roof where Dr. Thomson had gone, and looked around frantically. A white sheet hung over a ledge tied to a metal bracket. She looked down to see the tail of the improvised rope gently dangling low enough to allow someone to drop easily to the pavement below and enter the DDC through the hole in the wall of the music store.
“You don’t remember me, you ungrateful pieces of shit!” the voice came back again.
Kelly had never heard Dr. Thomson in the throes of rage. She barely recognized his voice. She gripped her hair with both hands and pulled as a sense of helplessness washed over her. Dr. Thomson was sacrificing himself, luring the ghouls away from the stairwell, to give everyone a chance to survive.
“You took my wife!” sounds of gunfire followed his scream.
“You took my children!” more gunfire echoed from the store into the streets. The small bands of undead that roamed the area began to take notice and wandered over.
“Come and get ME!” Dr. Thomson screamed. His voice was filled with anguish and anger.
A few quiet seconds passed, filled only with the moans and growls of the undead, and Kelly wondered if they had gotten Dr. Thomson.
Another explosion from inside the store knocked Kelly off her feet and sent a plume of debris and dust rocketing into the air. Kelly’s ears rung from the blast, and she rolled over and began crawling on her hands and knees toward the door. Exhaustion overcame her about twenty feet from her goal, causing her to collapse in a heap on the gravel roof. There she lay, staring into the purple dawn sky.
A million thoughts raced through her head. She thought of all the people she had cared for these past few months that were now dead, her friend, Dr. Thomson, who was also now dead, the hopelessness of the situation they were now in, and the face of her husband, Henry, that she had not seen in far, far too long. She lay there in silence, overwhelmed by the burden Dr. Thomson had placed on her shoulders. She hadn’t slept in weeks, but in this moment, she could sleep for a year.
“Dr. D?” A voice called out. A blonde woman stood not far from where Kelly lay. Her hair hung in ragged strands, her arm pits were soaked with sweat, and she braced herself against the wall in exhaustion.
Kelly turned her head to acknowledge the woman, but said nothing.
The woman stumbled over to Kelly and plopped down next to her. “I’m Nicole. You probably
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