Chapter 3: Chapter 03: On the Run

Our ride was nearly cut short when all the infected noticed us and started to move toward the vehicle.

Luckily, I managed to evade them before they could surround us. They followed us into the city at first, but stopped as soon as they couldn't see us anymore.

But that doesn't mean we're safe. Many of them roamed the streets and because there were also cars blocking the roads, it was challenging to evade them.

However, we were able to get through by using the sidewalk and alleys.

It seems like the world changed in only one hour since the streets were empty of living people and only the infected could be seen everywhere...

We also had no idea where to drive next because our options were limited.

Driving around until the military creates a safe zone? Or move to a remote area and hope that no infected people show up?

Neither option is optimal. Remote locations have fewer infected people, but they also have fewer resources to live on.

The military is difficult too. Can you trust them to keep people safe if the chain of command breaks? I'm not so sure about it...

I look to the side to see Shana clinging to my arm while looking in horror at the world outside the car.

When she noticed my gaze, she looked at me and waited for me to say something.

"Can you please look for a drugstore on the GPS? We need to treat my wound.

My sight is already starting to get blurry from the bleeding." I say and open the GPS app in the car.

Shana suddenly springs up as if she forgot something critical and looks at my left arm. The bandages were already drenched in blood.

Then she frantically begins to search for a drugstore in the app.

"Relax you won't find anything like that." I say and place a hand on her shoulder and she takes a deep breath and begins to search at a normal pace.

After a few seconds, she says, "There is one a few streets away. Maybe there are no infected there."

I shrug and say, "Who knows, but let's check it out."

"My children also need something to drink, the running made them very thirsty." says the mother after listening to us.

I look at her through the back mirror and say, "Yeah I know, we need resources anyway, so we get water too. My name is Jake by the way and this is my girlfriend Shana. What is your name?"

"I'm Maria and this is Markus and Lena" she says and points at her small children.

The old couple listened to us too and then the man said with a heavy accent, "I'm Peter and this is Franziska. Thank you for helping us."

I nod at them and say with a smile, "You are welcome."

When I looked at Franziska, who hadn't said a word yet, she looked very pale. "Is your wife alright?" I asked him.

But he replies, "Ah yes yes. She simply hadn't taken her medicine yet." and waves it off.

This raised a few red flags, but since I was also a driving time bomb right now, I didn't dig deeper.

But keep an eye on her just to be sure.

 

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When we finally arrived at the drugstore, we saw a small building with huge windows and a bunch of infected outside.

I couldn't see inside from here, but the automatic door seemed to open every time one of them walked past it. Therefore, there more of them inside.

Over fifty of them were there, but after a little disturbance, things should be fine.

I smiled as I thought of a clever idea to disturb them.

My good mood was shattered again when I took out my phone and saw that I had no service.

The plan was to place some phones somewhere and then call them to attract all the infected, but this operation failed before it even began.

Why the fuck is the service already down... is everyone trying to call somebody, or is the military to blame?

I sigh and say to the group, "You guys stay in the car and Shana, you take over the wheel. I will distract them and you will drive the car in front of the entrance, when they are all gone.

Then wait for me and don't go inside."

"Wait is that really necessary? Maybe we will find another one that is safer to enter?" said Shana with a worried look.

I caress her cheek and say, "Don't worry, you know me I will be fine." and try to leave the car.

But before I could even get outside, an infection was already trying to pounce on me. So I kicked him away, stepped out of the car and stumped him on his head for good measure.

This made the people inside look at me in shock. However, I did not want to use the gun because I was afraid that other infected might get drawn to the sound.

After confirming it was dead I turn around to them and say, "If you notice other infected appearing, don't wait for me and drive away. I will find you then."

Then I close the door without letting them respond and jog to the drugstore.

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When I was near it, I screamed to the infected, "Your mamas are so ugly even you wouldn't eat them!" and then took my feet in my hands and ran like I had never run before.

Due to my taunt, or perhaps it was only my scream, the infected became angry and started running after me.

Even some infected that were inside the store chased after me, after seeing their companions run.

I took out my phone again and chose a random metal song while some fast infected were already hot on my tail.

My plan was to run around the block and place my phone somewhere to draw the infected to it while I returned to the store safely.

You usually use more people for something like that to confuse the infected and separate them into smaller groups, but that wasn't an option for us right now.

Then I start the song, throw my phone on the roof of a nearby fruit stand and continue running.

Only four of the fastest and most intelligent followed me, while the rest tried to get the phone.

I needed a blunt weapon to deal with them silently, so I looked around but found nothing lying in my way.

So I decided to enter the next closest store to get something to defend there.

But when I found one with an open door and entered it, it was a freaking bookstore...

Because the infected had stormed inside already, I couldn't flee so I hid behind a bookshelf to catch my breath.

I was very athletic but running like that while having a wound brought me to my limits.

When I looked around the corner, an infected was directly next to me and attacked me immediately.

Out of shock, I took the next best book and pressed it into its mouth to block the bite.

Then grab its head and twist it around, breaking its neck in the process.

The other three saw this and charged at me.

I run between two bookshelves where only one of them can come at me and grab a yellow telephone directory.

As soon as the first one reached me, I hit him with it and then kicked him at the feet of the second one behind him, which caused it to trip and fall to the ground.

While it tried to stand up, the third one used it as a launching pad and jumped at me. But, I moved to the side and he was only able to bite the air before flying past me and hitting the ground afterwards.

After stepping on the two that tried to stand up again, I pushed the bookshelves on top of them to trap them.

Then I ran outside still with the book in hand and move towards the drugstore while evading other infected that were roaming around.

 

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Arriving a half hour later after sneaking around some infected, I could see the car in front of the drugstore.

The problem was, the car was empty and bloody from inside... while Peter and Franziska were banging on the now closed automatic door.

When I came closer, they turned around and I could see their red eyes.

Peter also had a deep wound on his neck and I knew where the injury came from, thanks to Franziska's bloody mouth.

They started to walk towards me, but they were so slow that I could easily evade them.

I threw the book at Peter, who fell to the ground after getting hit in the head with it. Afterwards, I evaded Franziska who tried to grab me and hit her left calf.

This dropped her to her knees and then I grabbed her head and snapped her neck like a twig.

Following that, I walked over to Peter, who was trying to stand up and kicked his arms away, knocking him back to the ground. His infected life ended with a stomp...

Once I was done with them, I inspected Franziska's body, but there were no bite marks, so what the hell was going on?

Wasn't this disease only transmitted by bites? How did she turn?

Since I couldn't find answers right now, I picked up the book and walked to the door to peer inside. The salesroom was a mess, but I couldn't see anyone inside.

Until a head suddenly popped up behind the counter... it was Shana.

She was unmistakable with her brown shoulder-length hair and radiant green eyes.

After breathing out in relief, she opened the door for me from behind the counter.

I guess she learned where the control was, when I closed the door at the tobacco store the same way.

While I was walking inside, Shana closed the door again and nearly tackled me to the ground while Maria and her kids were walking out of their hiding spots too.

 

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