When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

14. To love and lose

Clint ran up the steps of the City Hall building the moment he heard Marie and Zack screaming. He rushed inside before the decontamination unit could begin to spray him down.

The first thing that he saw inside was his wife and son trying to fight off an entire horde of infected surrounding them. Marie had a long table lamp in her hand. Zack was holding a box cutter.

"Those are your weapons?!" Clint cried out.

Marie glared at him. "You have a gun, don't you? Use it, dumbass!"

Clint pulled out the pistol and shot one of the infected who was approaching Marie from behind. He didn't get the creature in the head but managed to cap a bullet into its shoulder.

"Get away from them!" Clint yelled.

"What do you think we are trying to do?!" Marie yelled back, whacking an infected lady in the head with the table lamp.

Clint groaned. "I wasn't talking to you, idiot!" He shot another mumbling dummy who was stalking closer to his son. Bang!

"Don't call me an idiot, Clint! Or I swear--"

"Well then stop acting like one!" Bang! "I'd told you stay out of this building!"

"You just said that cuz you didn't want to sleep in a government building. And that's because you hate the government as a general thing!" Whack!

"Look what your love for the government landed you in!" Bang!

"I don't love the government, Clint. Shut up!" Whack!

"If you don't then why did you come here?!"

"Because the doors and windows were intact!"

"Would you two stop fighting for once!" Zack yelled. "We all might die right now! Is this the last thing you wanna be saying to each other?!"

Marie's eyes went wide under her mask. "Who said we are gonna die, Zack? Stop having such a negative outlook on life!"

"That still doesn't mean you two gotta argue in a dangerous situation like this!" Zack stabbed one of the infected in the crotch. "Like read the room, ya'll!"

Clint groaned but didn't drag the argument any further. He shot another infected in the leg, punched two other infected that were shuffling closer to him.

Marie and Zack were slowly inching along by the wall, trying to make their way towards Clint.

"Clint, watch out. The gunshots are drawing more of them near to you."

"Don't worry about me, just get here fast before I run out of bullets." Clint said, gritting his teeth, trying to shoot the infected that could blindside Marie and Zack and trying to kick away the ones that were too close to him for comfort.

Clint fired five more bullets. The magazine had twelve. He had used up seven already. On his eighth bullet the trigger went stiff. Clint squeezed it harder. But gun didn't fire. "Uh-oh." His face lost its color. "The damn thing is jammed!"

Marie slammed the heel of her boot into one of the infected and shoved him away. Zack cut another one in the kneecap elbowed him away. His eyes went wide. "Dad, the door!" He cried out.

Clint saw what his son was pointing at. "Oh god, why now?!" Another horde was stalking up the steps of the City Hall porch. The gunshots had probably attracted them. Clint pulled his survival knife strapped to his belt and slashed one of the infected in the throat. A dark blue jelly oozed out of the wound. "Ugh, gross!"

That's when the mindless chattering grew more frantic, the infected pushed the huge doors shut, slid the bolt home. Clint heard Marie's shriek for help among the meaningless droning voices.