I drove down the crumbling highway as Kellin sat in the passenger seat, the rest of the group in the back.
"So, what was your life like before this all happened?" Kellin asked me. I glanced at his blank stare out the window.
"Well, I was the owner of a factory in town. We constructed Tractor parts and different farming machinery; my wife and I lived on the outskirts of town. I am independent; I do things on my own." I explained.
"Seems like you have a lot of people you saved for doing things alone." Kellin interrupted. I looked through the rearview mirror at the group in the back, eating cans of food. I smiled and looked at him.
"This time is different; they needed my help," I explained. He chuckled and laid his head back.
"You got family?" He asked me.
"Nah, my mom and dad disappeared long ago when I was just a boy; I lived with my grandpa for years until I went to college and met Sarah." I said, "How about you?"
"My dad died in the line of fire." He said.
"Oh, was he a cop?" I asked.
"No... Drug addict who had too many loans and had to "pay" them off... They killed my mom in front of him and me, then my dad... They told me, don't end up like this bastard..." He explained.
"Oh... I'm sorry." I said.
"It's fine, as they say," Kellin said, chuckling. I just stared at him. Just then, the yellow gas light came on.
"Gotta get gas!" I shouted to the group in the back. I pulled off the highway and down a long road that led to a gas station. Blood painted the windows of the gas station as we got closer and parked in the vacant parking lot. I hopped out of the driver's seat and went to the back.
"Wren, Alex, and Chuck go scavenge. I'll get the gas." I demanded.
"On it," Chuck said, locking and loading his pistol. He grabbed his rifle and hopped out along with Alex and Wren. They walked up to the doors and tried to open them. They constricted as Alex pulled harder. Groaning came from inside as the crackling of a chain pulled on the door. Figures slammed into the glass door, and Alex fell backward in fear.
"What the hell?!?" He screamed as the figures scratched at the window.
"It's filled with walkers," Chuck said to me.
"Deal with them. We need food." I said, pouring more gas into the tank. Chuck sighed and started to the back.
"Come on." He said, walking over to the ladder leading to the roof. He climbed up, followed by Alex, then Wren. Chuck pulled the escape door open and peered inside at the walkers, lifelessly slamming their bodies against the glass doors. The smell was wretched as the door stayed open for more extended periods.
"Oh my god... I'm going to puke..." Alex said, holding his nose. Chuck ignored his comment and continued to scout.
"Alright, we can open the doors from the outside and take those walkers on. Not very many, am I right? Only about six." Chuck said to Wren.
"I don't know, man... We have trouble taking them on... And you don't know if they are all dead on the ground. You don't know much about this place... We could get ambushed here and not have time to make it out..." Wren explained.
"He's right... I want to make it out alive..." Alex said, pulling his chew from his pocket. Just then, a gunshot echoed in the distance. The three looked as a flock of birds flew off in the distance.
"Hey guys! That's our sign to leave!" I yelled up at them.
"Yeah! Let's go!" Chuck said, starting down the ladder. He fell as another gunshot echoed, this time close. A bullet flew into his side, as he fell off and onto the cement, screaming. "What the... Agh!"
"Get down!" I screamed, grabbing my rifle from the front seat. Shouting came from the back of the truck. "Stay down!" I aimed my gun at the area where the bullet came from. Another gunshot echoed, and I fell as the shot flew into my arm. Blood splattered onto the side of the truck, and I tried to gain balance before falling and slamming my head on the cement. "Damn it!" I screamed, regaining balance on the front end of the truck. I gained cover behind the front and examined my arm. Blood gushed from the wound.
Looks like a 22. Bullet. Easy fix. I looked up at Alex and Wren as they stayed covered by the wall of the building. I looked over at Chuck, who was still down on the ground. I looked up in the truck at Kellin, who had his gun pointed through the broken window that led to the back. Another gunshot echoed and hit the wall of the station. I looked at my rifle on my left. I reached out to grab it and was shot in the hand. The gunshot echoed after the bullet hit my hand. "Agh! What the hell!" I screamed, falling on the ground in front of a man in a yellow hoodie with a black backpack. His face was scarred, and he had a pistol to my head.
"Hi there. Remember me?" He said. I stared up into his eyes as they looked down at me. The black of his eyes seemed darker than usual. I fell unconscious out of shock. I awoke to the sound of screaming.
"Hold still!" A woman screamed.
"It hurts, God damn it!" Chuck screamed.
"We will get it out if you just stop squirming!" The woman screamed. My hands were bound by rope to a metal chair in a basement.
"Ow!" Chuck screamed again. Just then, the man I saw descended the stairs into the basement. His hands were bloody; he was African American. He was bald, middle-aged, and tall. He looked at me with his deep, dark eyes.
"You know how it felt now? To be handcuffed while we hurt who you love?" He asked me.
"I don't love Chuck... I don't love anyone." I said.
"We will see about that..." He said, walking back upstairs. I sat helpless in the metal chair, waiting for him to come back. I felt the blood dripping down my hand as the bullet dug deeper into my shoulder. Blood soaked my shirt as my vision blurred in and out. Just then, the man came back into the room with Sarah—his arm around her throat.
"How about now?" He asked. I strained the handcuffs on my hands as I tried to stand.
"Don't you touch her..." I said.
"Now you know how it felt." He said. I tensed my muscles trying to escape. "To have someone you love in pain, but not being able to do anything about it."
"What is he talking about Axel?" Sarah asked me, her eyes hurt at the mans words.
"You haven't told your own wife that you held a man hostage and stole all the stuff he needed to feed his family? What a dick move!" The man said.
"Did you do that?" Sarah asked me. I was flabbergasted at how he told her.
"I... I did..." I said after a long pause.
"I don't even know who you are anymore..." She said. I looked into her tear filled eyes as he grabbed her neck tightly and pulled her towards the stairs.
"Alright, alright, enough with the sad moments! Say goodbye!" The man said, going upstairs. I couldn't do anything or say anything. I was constricted. I couldn't do anything. Helpless. I rocked the chair back and forward.
"Hey, stop it." The woman said to me. I looked up at an African American woman with blonde hair and a pistol in her hand.
"What are you going to do about it?" I asked snobbish like. She walked up to me and put the gun to my head.
"You realize I have the gun... You are handcuffed. If I wanted to, I could pull the trigger right now..." She said.
"Do it, I have nothing to live for anyways." I said. She ripped the gun from my head and smacked me with it, knocking the chair on its side.
"Asshole." She said, walking upstairs. I coughed and watched the daylight disappear as unconsciousness hit me hard. Another night of forced sleep.
YOU ARE READING
End Days- A Zombie apocalypse novel- Finished-Featured story (Book-1)
Horror***WATTPAD FEATURED**** #141 in horror Axel Carter is a 32-year-old factory manager who is married to Sarah Carter. He is a responsible person who can keep his cool in tough situations. However, he is forced to lead a group of inexperienced people...
