Approaching the rusty metal double-doors outside the green flare bunker we ran into a tall, scary looking man. Iâll be the first to admit, if I was guarding a safe house for stranded and weak survivors, seeing a group of five bloody and bandaged people with weapons might ring a few alarm bells.
âWhatâs your business here? Tryna loot the place? Get lost.â His voice booming and demanding, I hesitated.
âUh, we just want to survive until morning.â My voice shook as I spoke.
âYou lot look like you just got done killing innocents.â
âThis is horde blood, sir.â Maybe addressing him as âsirâ would lighten him up.
âYou lot took out a horde by yourselves!? Well god damn!â Pure shock washed over him, as if he couldnât believe what he was hearing.
âSo can we come in?â Aleena said with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.
âIâll be keeping a close eye on you lot. If you leave here tomorrow with anything that isnât yours, Iâll put all of you down with your own weapons.â He was calm, but he meant what he said. Not aggressive, just assertive.
âThanks man.â Jack smiled.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, we were immediately blinded by coloured lights swarming the room. Concrete floors bounced as the music blared from the surrounding speakers. Hardly any space to move through the crowd, this was more like a nightclub than a safe house. Squeezing through partygoers as they jumped and danced put bruises all over our bodies. Aleena was losing patience with the crowd. I caught her fist before it connected with a large manâs stomach. He didnât notice but if he had, we were gone.
âAleena, just a little further and we are out on the other side. Look, we can see the white lights in the hall over there.â
âFine.â She pulled her fist out of my hand and rushed ahead of me. Good catch haha. Well if I didnât stop her we wouldâve been kicked out and probably killed either by hordes or the guard at the front. Standing out the front weaponless at night is usually an awful idea but he doesnât seem to be worried. Heâs either stupid or strong. Anyway, eventually we made it to the hall, the music and lights now seemed distant. Wooden doors lined the long hallway and now that the music was far away, screams could be heard from injured patients behind the doors. Towards the end of the hallway approached a corner. A small lady in white rounded it and stormed towards us in a rush.
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âHey, excuse me, are there any spare rooms?â I asked as she whizzed past.
âYep turn the corner thereâs plenty there.â Her fleeting voice blurted out in a rush. Jeez, someone was in a rush. I thought the same thing. More doors. These doors were open, though. Enough for at least twenty more people, all complete with furniture and queen sized beds. From the hallway, we decided to put our weapons in our rooms and meet back out in five minutes to discuss tomorrowâs plan. This room was big enough to fit another bed, they couldâve crammed two people in there. I suppose if they were infected youâd want isolation; although the security wasnât all that good considering it looked like a hotel room. No restraints, no metal door, no padded walls, it was simply a room to sleep in.
Silence quickly turned to chaos when a gunshot rang out in the party. The door to my room was kicked in.
âYo, Ashley lets fuckinâ go! Thereâs a couplâa maniacs out there shootinâ innocents!â
âShit!â Swiftly picking my weapon up from the bed, I launched up and sprinted out the door where the group was waiting for me to arrive. Screams rang through the hall as we made our way to the corner. Time seemed to slow down as I turned, seeing a gunman at the end of the walkway, his smirk widened. Without thinking, my head shot back and the wind from a flying bullet washed over my face.
âAsh!â Aleena yelled behind me. Shock froze me for a few seconds before anger took over. Glancing at Ark, he handed me his gun and I handed him mine. I took a deep breath as I pictured where I saw him the first time. Turning the corner, I shot before aiming. It cocked back, sending me on my ass as the projectile flew down the hall and through the gunmanâs head. It had only now occurred to me that there was definitely more than one maniac in the room, the sound of bullets were too quick to be one gun, however the screaming had stopped. Either everyone was dead, or the other one had been killed. We cautiously moved ourselves towards the opening to the party room. Music continued to shake the area and the lights were still colourful and bright. The guard stood at the base of the stairs with a man holding a submachine gun unconscious in front of him; bloody with all four of his limbs snapped out of place.
âMan what the fuck happened here?â Aleena asked
âThereâs so much blood!â Crystal exclaimed as she began to cry.
âThanks for your help, Iâll get someone to clean this up.â The guardâs booming voice was calmer this time, grateful.
âJesus, man.â A sickening feeling began to arise in my stomach. Seeing horde blood and flesh is much easier than seeing human gore.
âStay the night if you can handle the smell, itâll be clean by morning.â He reassured us. Although we were uncomfortable with the bodies, he made us feel safe so we decided to sleep