Outnumbered (Vol. 1)

Act 7: Apprehended

Day 6 - 10:42; Dallas, TX United States:

Almost every skyscraper in the metropolis known as Dallas could be seen several miles down the highway before actually coming into the city, even late at night. The bright lights kept me wide awake, so I wasn't able to get much sleep when we arrived last night. It was tough to sleep in the vehicles anyway with so many of us together in them; it was not the least bit comfortable. After over six hours of driving, we made it to our destination. Just after midnight, we decided to stop at a truck stop to sleep a bit before exploring the city today. It was located just off of an exit on I-35E. Now, with the sun rising to the middle of the canopy sky, we travel throughout the city, admiring the new sights, while searching for my sister and our remaining lost friends.

So where do we start?

High above downtown, there is a tower that looks breathtaking. As I admire it, I spot a sudden, peculiar glint on the tall tower. I shrug it off because I'm probably just seeing things. I wonder what that tower is supposed to be. I didn't know there was something so profound such as this in Texas.

A much closer place that catches my eye is a relatively tall and square brick building. After pulling up closer to examine it, I notice the building has a plaque that marks it as the Dallas County Administration Building. It seems like the right place to start looking.

Lou, Maria, Cheyenne, and I exit the Elantra and wait at the front door of the building for the rest of our group. Ty, Kipp, David, Dwayne, Kassandra, and Kelly leave the sporty Ferdinand and the Cord to join us. When they get about halfway to our position, I proceed on to open the doors in front of me and walk inside cautiously. The rest catch up and follow behind me.

"Hey, David, do you have a flashlight?" I ask in a faint whisper.

"No. What happened to the one you had a couple of days ago?"

"I lost it when we were running from the Brute, I think..."

"Here just use my phone," Ty hands me his cellphone from his pocket.

"It's about to die."

"It's cool. Just use it."

"Alright... Oh, wait. You have to unlock it, first."

"Just shake it."

I shake his cellphone in my hand for a second and the bright light on the back of it comes on. Zombies are crowded in huge numbers, standing in the illumination. In a split second, most of them cock their heads in our direction with the shine reflecting on their evil, red eyes. I quickly turn off the light in a panic. My heart is racing, and I am sure everyone else is just as scared as I am. To my surprise, nothing seems to happen. I try to calm down my beating heart and catch my breath.

"Dude... That was way too close."

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know, but there's probably a lot more than what we just saw," David whispers. Trying to hide the expression of his fear causes him to stutter a bit.

"Try cupping your hand around the light, so it doesn't shine so bright," Kipp makes a great suggestion.

As Kipp instructed, I cup my right hand around the light, to shorten its spread and weaken its intensity, while holding the phone with my left hand. The same zombies in front of me, I can barely see now, but they don't seem to be startled by the light now. Kipp's idea is a success, and just as David had thought, there were zombies all around us. No matter what direction I shine the small bit of light, there is a zombie there. Behind my back, the others are silently debating on traversing the building any further, because of the level of danger it possesses. Ignoring them, I walk further in, searching the walls, until I find a sign that shows what is on each floor of the building. We know my sister, Melody was in Dallas. Without any clues or ideas of any other place she could be, I have to search anywhere I can, no matter what.