Two Alive, стр. 103

The figure dropped and it was a wide-eyed freak with gray skin and barely any clothes. Two more slow moving creeps started stumbling out and Castle aimed at them. He took another breath in. Held it. Then fired and took out one of the lurkers with a shot to the forehead. Then he aimed at the last one and fired before lining up his shot. The lumbering creature shook and bounced with each step and the bullet whizzed by and clipped its ear. The once man-thing in a t-shirt and jeans started to jog a bit and Castle fired again, only chipping the thing’s shoulder.

The monster snarled and ran faster, leading with its teeth. Castle tried to jump to his feet but dropped from the pain of the trap still around his right ankle. He aimed again and screamed while the freak screamed back at him. Bang. Bang. Both shots to the torso but the creature kept coming. Then Miles came from behind a tree and swung up his Dragunov, aiming at the back of the creature’s head. One shot. Bang. And the infected person dropped to the ground right in front of Castle. The army man looked at Miles, standing in front of him, and aimed his handgun.

“You’re out.” Miles said.

Castle pulled the trigger and the gun clicked. He pulled the trigger again and it clicked again. He screamed and winced when he tried to stand, only to fall back down.

“You should’ve left. You should’ve went back to your people. You should’ve left. Now you don’t have any bullets.” Miles scolded the man as he rolled around in pain.

Then they both froze when they heard a scream, piercing through the trees. It was loud. It could be heard for miles. It was a siren. Miles felt his heart starting to race. He thought to where the scream could be coming from and knew it wasn’t anywhere near the treehouse. Any infected in the woods would be going in the opposite direction. But that was also the direction of Ms. Julia and the others. And Alana. Miles took off running in the direction of the screaming.

“Hey! Hey! Don’t leave me out here!” Castle called after him but before long the boy was gone.

Then he heard more footsteps coming through the trees and saw groups of infected starting to run towards the sound. Then some saw Castle, sprawled on the ground and went sprinting to where he was. The military man grabbed his assault rifle and pulled the trigger. Click, click, click. Then he aimed his handgun. Click, click. The monsters were on him before he had time to scream.

In the deep woods, Burrows howled with a scream that went from deep moans to loud shrieking while his body twisted and contorted to press the wailing out of him. He was a puppet to his agony with no understanding of what was causing him to scream and what was keeping him going. Julia and the others watched in a terror as Burrows’ face turned red and his eyes rolled back in his head. Alana screamed at the sight and tried to run away, but Tommy wouldn’t let her go.

Torrez called to Burrows, over and over but he was too distracted by the hordes of infected people who were coming straight for him. He was managing to hold them off with the spray from his shotgun but every time he pumped his Remington, he prayed that it would keep the demons from getting him. Lance collapsed and pissed himself from fear. It had been so long since he’d seen the infected and now he was reminded why they were so fearsome.

The infected barely looked human. Some had gashes and giant wounds, gaping with hanging skin and flesh. But the virus propelled their bodies until it couldn’t move anymore. Manson watched the parade of freaks, strikers, and lurkers, become what could only be described as a hive. Not in the conventional sense but the collective moans and growling did sound similar to buzzing. The doctor then looked to where everyone was directed. His siren. His creation. He had injected Burrows and after what seemed like an eternity, there was finally a reaction. The sample Manson took was special and he could use it to identify the difference between strains of the virus. It was an accident at first, but the ends justified the means in the doctor’s mind.

“Incredible.” Manson whispered under his breath.

“Everyone run to the van!” Julia shrieked, trying to scream over the howling man, Burrows.

“Burrows damn it! What’s wrong with you?” Torrez called to the screaming man but Burrows didn’t respond. He did however pull the trigger on his gun and randomly shot Torrez in the gut. “Aye!” Torrez aimed his shotgun at Burrows and shot him in the chest, dropping the screaming man to his knees.

“No!” Manson called out involuntarily. Burrows continued screaming through gargling blood and fits of coughing, but the shotgun blast left his chest ruined.

“Cmon!” Julia went running, not waiting for anyone any longer and hoping they got the message.

Alana snatched away from Tommy and tried to urge him to his feet, “C’mon Tommy! You gotta run! I’ll help you!”

Tommy just screamed and begged for someone to save him. “Grandpa Clint! Grandpa Clint!” The boy cried out but his grandpa was nowhere to be seen. “What are we going to do Alana? Nobody can save us! Nobody can!”

Torrez came running towards them and pushed Alana, “Go girl!” He held his side and looked down at Tommy. The boy was panic stricken and glued on the infected headed their way. Torrez shook his head and started running again, before seeing the scientist still watching Burrows. “Manson, move your ass or get left!”

Manson snapped out of it and saw the hive was