"Bless the person who decided to make a chimney in a deep freezer ", I thought, happily.
Dylan smiled at us inspite of himself.
" It's pure hell out there", he recounted, while Damien furiously nodded along ,"They're everywhere."
Just how many people did Ryan invite ?
Leah calmly reloaded her gun, as the shrieks sounded closer than ever.
"We've got about two minutes, probably " she said, seriously .
Axel snorted. " Two minutes until what? "
"It's alright. Don't punch him, yet " I told myself.
" Until this freezer turns into a damn buffet" Damien said, cool as ice, snapping a bullet in his gun. "With us as the main course."
Quite a comforting thought.
I looked around myself and realized that I was the least useful one in the room. All three of my fellow co agents had a gun. Leah was a sharpshooter, Dylan too, Damien especially. Axel had a body of a demigod, and despite his useless handsome face, he could protect himself well. Even Amaya carried herself like she knew how to fight. Me? I was the twin with computer knowledge instead of human one . Absolutely useless in a zombie apocalypse.
Dylan tipped his chin up. "Vent. Chimney shaft. There."
I followed his finger. A square hole in the corner, about three feet wide. High up, with metal gleaming in dark.
"You've got to be kidding me," I whispered.
"Lucky you who doesn't have to climb up with a gun up there," Damien muttered.
The door gave a loud creak. One of the hinges had snapped. My stomach dropped.
"Lucy , you come in last," Leah said quickly, looking at me, her expressions hardening.
"What? Why ?"
"Because you're light and you'll slow us down if you're first," Dylan said. "Wait here."
I wanted to argue, but they had a point. It would take me time to even ready myself let alone climb. So, I steadied myself and let Leah go up. Dylan and Damien followed quickly, their agile body completely supporting their weight. Amaya went next, Axel hoisting her up before following himself.
I grabbed one of the hinge. The metal was so cold it burned. My knees kept slipping against the slick wall. I scrambled, heart thundering.
The door burst open.
The sound increased in intensity as a hundred zombies scrambled inside—wet and hungry, resembling bones snapping under weight. Groans spilled in with the stench of rot and blood.
I risked a look down.
Bad idea.
Gray arms. Greenish faces. A body staggered toward me, and then one arm shot up. Fingers curled around my shoe.
For a second, I froze. Couldn't scream. Couldn't breathe. Just the feeling of nails scraping my ankle.
"LUCY, MOVE!" Leah's voice cracked through the metal.
I heaved myself upward, skin tearing on the rim. The hand clawed for me again, nails scratching my shoe sole, but I rolled into the shaft just in time. My chest slammed the floor so hard I saw stars.
We spread onto a lower service floor, panting. My elbows ached, my lungs burned, but at least there weren't teeth in my neck.
" I was extremely lucky", I thought crawling slowly through the vent...
I realised that we must have reached the end as everyone stood still, almost transfixed looking down.
Why weren't they jumping?
I trembled crawling forward andlooked down from the ledge.
And froze again for the umpteenth time that night.
The parking lot was a sea of zombies. Hundreds. Maybe thousands. They pressed together in a writhing , squirming , squeaking, heads jerking up at the noise of our arrival.
"Perfect," Axel muttered. "At least we'll break our bones first so that we don't realise them biting into us."
Dylan drew a long breath, clearly afraid before jumping right in the sea of zombies and then started firing into the crowd.
"ARE YOU STUPID ?", I yelled, seeing Dylan nearly dissolved into the sea.
Damien immediately took guard , dropping with bullets already flying from his gun. Together, they had created a small temporary crater from which repelled the zombies.
One by one, they leapt. Leah dropped like a cat, rolling as she fell down. Axel dropped with Amaya , shielding her head as they hit the ground.
My legs shook so badly I thought I might collapse. "Leah—"
She looked up at me, eyes sharp but steady. "Jump. Now !" She repeated for the second time that night.
I obeyed, closing my eyes.
My knees nearly gave way, pain shooting up my torso but Leah grabbed my arm and steadied me.
There was no time.
A zombie lunged at us from behind.
BAM
Leah shot it point-blank in the head. Blood sprayed warm on my cheek. I gagged. She didn't even blink.
I ran again, behind Leah, my background blurred into noise and movement of gunshots, screams and he wet crack of skulls splitting. Dylan yelled something I couldn't hear over the roar of Damien's gun. Amaya swung a broken pipe at another one who crossed over from the right. Axel tripped over a body, swore, then tried to look heroic as he pulled Amaya back by kicking it.
I just ran. Stumbled after Leah, ducking every time she raised her weapon. The air stank of rot and gunpowder, thick enough to choke. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was trying to claw its way out of my chest.
We fought our way to Damien's purple SUV. He yanked the door open, firing with one hand while his other jammed the key under the wheel. The engine roared, zombies slammed against the glass, and Dylan shoved me inside.
The car spiralled, crushing two bodies under the tires, then sped out of the lot. I leaned against the seat, shaking, while Axel muttered furiously under his breath in the backseat.
The car sped on .
I exchanged glances with Leah. We knew that Dylan would drive us straight to the department. But Amaya and Axel could not go there. Not even under exceptional circumstances. Dylan was already in trouble because of Amber's news. This would get him kicked out.
But would that matter in a few days when we would be in a fully fledged zombie apocalypse.
The car stopped in a dark street, quite far from the original location. The place was deserted.
"Get out ", Dylan growled.
Amaya and Axel both looked at each other, thinking it was a joke.
"What? You want us to babysit you ?", Damien said, raising his eyebrows.
"That's not fair", Amaya crossed her arms, relenting seconds after seeing the look on Dylan's face.
"Now is the time to call your father ", I said, as they finally got out, stumbling under Dylan's piercing gaze.
Leah rolled the window down just enough to shout, "You can go for a romantic stroll before the apocalypse. You can thank me later."
I laughed, half hysterical. The first real laugh thay night. Maybe the laughter was just the shock. Maybe it was relief. Maybe it was both.
And it felt so good to laugh, to have made it out alive.
I couldn't believe that barely two hours ago, I was worried about scoring low on a chemistry exam. It sounded so stupid and silly.
Finally, my eyes lit up as we spotted the old ruin of a school. I'd never felt happier to see it or realised how lucky I was to be able to do my work sitting inside a cramped room while the others went out to face the real danger.
And there was Hannah ,waiting for us near the entrance - arms crossed, eyes like steel. She looked at us, covered in blood and soot, clothes torn looking like we had survived a war ( which we had ) and hesitated.
Dylan urged her to speak.
"Andrew finally tracked her..... He found Amber." She said, slowly.