Virulence Immune

~ Chapter Fifteen ~

The door flung open and Perri and Max burst out. They slammed the door shut behind them.

With only seconds to scan their surroundings to run for their lives, they needed to choose wisely.

Thankfully, the alleyway, in which they stood, had been organized and cleared of debris in the same manner as the apartment building.

But, that might also have been a bad thing.

There was only one way to go and nowhere to hide.

And so, they ran.

~~~

Rounding each bend of the path, zigging and zagging through the city.

Daylight was fading.

They had run for what seemed like forever.

The infected had broken through the rear exit of the grocery store. Even though she couldn't see them, Perri knew the dead weren't far behind.

Shrill cries echoed in the emptiness of the alleyways.

Perri and Max finally reached the end of the path. Their eyes widened, and they panted heavily as they took in the sight before them.

Not a door. Not a gate. Not even an opening.

Hearing the approaching hollering, Perri began to hyperventilate. She clutched her chest and leaned her forehead on the fifteen-foot-high brick wall that blocked their way.

"What. The. Fuck... do we do now!" Max shouted between coughing up blood and struggling to catch his breath.

"There has to be something." Perri replied. She stepped away from the wall to observe it. "There has to be something." She repeated, whispering it to herself as she forced her mind to block out the sounds that were drawing closer and closer every second.

Then, she spotted something.

A gangly looking nail sticking out of the wall.

She ran to it, ever hopeful that it meant something.

"What is it?" Asked Max.

But, Perri ignored him. Etiquette was the least of her worries.

She pressed on the nail. Nothing. Pulled it. Nothing.

It wasn't bent or seeming to point at anything. It just stuck straight outward.

"What ever you're doing. Hurry up!" Max was letting his nerves get the better of him.

Perri patted the wall around the nail, pressing on the bricks anxiously. "There has to be some—"

A portion of the wall shifted slightly. A shaky breath escaped her lips.

Perri slammed her shoulder into the bricks, forcing a segment, the size and shape of a door, to slide into the wall.

"Help me!" She shouted at Max who was immediately at her side.

Dirt and grit scraped as they pushed the heavy slab together.

"Oh fuck!" Max trembled and started to push harder.

Perri dared a glance over her shoulder.

"Oh fuck." She breathed.

The infected had slowed since their prey had been out of their line of sight for so long. But, they had just stepped around that last corner.

One by one, their heads snapped to Perri and Max.

The first let out a shriek as it picked up speed. Bolting towards the pair by the wall. The rest were quick to follow.

They were closing in.

Perri and Max were nearly whimpering from the impending doom as they frantically pushed the slab with all their might.

A ray of light cut between the slab and wall.

They were nearly there.

As soon as the gap between the slab and wall was wide enough, Max was the first to slip out.

Perri squeezed out after him.

There were vehicles everywhere in the street, all bumper to bumper. No infected, luckily.

Max grabbed Perri's sleeve and they went to run around the nearest car, but, Perri stopped to examine the open trunk.

"What the hell are you doing?" Max snarled.

They could hear the infected getting closer, they'd need to act swiftly.

Perri started to climb inside the trunk. It was deep and spacious. "Come on." She beckoned.

Max didn't bother to argue. He slid down beside her and only just shut the trunk in time.

Infected shimmed violently out of the wall and, without knowing which way their prey went, they followed the first hint of life.

Which happened to be gunfire.

Several bursts of gun shots rang out simultaneously in the distance, suggesting more than a few shooters.

The sound attracted the infected like bees to honey.

From inside the trunk of the car, Perri and Max needed only to play the waiting game.

They too had heard the gunfire and knew it was only a matter of time before the coast would be clear.

Several of the infected grazed by the car that they'd taken refuge in.

Shoulder to shoulder, Perri and Max tried not to breath too loudly.

And when one infected even took to climbing over the top of the car, Perri found herself taking Max's hand for comfort.

He squeezed back, and she knew he felt the same. He'd never admit to being afraid. Not out loud. And to be honest, neither would she.