Undead Rising

The air reeked of a rotting smell. The sky was a sickly greenish color. The wind blew papers and garbage through the air, and the silence. What was once probably a bustling area, was now completely abandoned. About 10 cars sat in the street. Some busted up and some dirty. All were empty.

"Are you sure that there'll be a working one?" Max asked with a skeptical tone of voice with an eyebrow raised.

"There has to be. If not, we're screwed." Scott replied, determined to succeed.

Max nodded and continued. Looking at these vehicles made him continuously become discouraged. They tried one which still had the keys in it. No dice. They kept trying. No, no, and no.

"I think we're shit outta luck…" Max sighed and scratched his neck.

"Come on you damn thing!" Scott boomed and slammed his foot against one of the cars.

The roar of the engine made them jump.

"Holy shit! Yes!" Max cheered and gave his pal a mighty slap on the back.

"Oww…"

They laughed and laughed, but the laughter faded. Their victory was short lived. A car stood sideways in the middle of the road, blocking the way. On the other side, were three dozen creatures.

"You've got to be kidding. OK! I'll get the car ready, you handle them. Once I'm ready, we push the car out of the way and haul ass!" Scott said and hopped in the car.

"Here!" He held out the gun to Max.

He took it and started shooting.

BLAM! BLAM!

Bullets tore through their bodies and heads as the gun recoiled with each shot. Max clenched his teeth and kept one eye closed as he picked them off. Some collapsing to the ground while others took the hits like champs and kept on. The gun clicked. No bullets.

"Got it! Come help me move this thing!" Scott called.

Max was there in a flash, he slammed into the vehicle blocking the way and pushed with all his might. Scott stretched his legs out and pushed. The car shifted. More and more until the road was clear.

"Car! NOW!"

They hopped in, Scott in the front seat. He shifted gears and was about to slam on the gas when -

"GAH!!!" Max shrieked and struggled to fight off a monster attacking him through the window.

He tried to get it off, pushing and shoving, but it held on tight. He was inches away from the thing sinking its teeth into his arm.

"Hold still!!" Scott shouted, pulling out Max's bat and aiming.

Max flinched as the bat struck the monsters head. Blood splattered but it kept on. Scott swung again, its head caved in and it collapsed.

"GO GO GO!!!"

Scott didn't hesitate. He hit the gas and they sped off.

"Well, that could've been worse." Scott sighed.

They screamed as one crawled off the roof and started banging against the windshield.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Scott swerved in an attempt to send the thing flying, but it held on. The glass finally shattered and it reached in, searching for food with a loud gurgling growl. It grabbed Scott's hand, causing him to lose control. If this kept on they'd skid off the road. Max dove for the bat, swung downward over the monster's head, and the bat cracked in half. To finish it off, Max roared and drove the spiky end into its face.

"RRAH!!"

Its eyes punctured and sprayed blood all over the car's innards. Max lifted his foot and kicked the dead monster off. It fell off the side and tumbled on the road behind them. Silence.

"OK. That was a lot worse.

"F.u.c.k."

They drove in silence for most of the way, sitting in the mushy, blood covered seats. The wind howled through the broken window, making their hair sway and their eyes squint.

"Its uh...almost been 20 minutes." Scott broke the silence.

"Ah...we'll be safe soon.." Max sighed in relief and relaxed in his seat.

"Yeah, they got everything. I can't wait to eat."

"I can't wait to get my leg fixed." Finally, they arrived. Marietta looked terrible. Empty cars littered the streets, patches of fire burning here and there.

"Jesus….it's even worse over here…" Scott gasped.

"I'm starting to get concerned about the safe zone's condition…"

"It's fine! It'll be here! I know it will!"

"I don't see it…"

"Well duh, we gotta go looking!"

Max rolled his eyes but nodded.

The car wouldn't move.

"Oh nooooo….no more gas."

"Well, at least we had enough to get here. Let's continue on foot." Max said and got out, hobbling down the road.

Scott followed. The place was just as quiet as Atlanta. Max didn't even want to breathe, he felt it would be too loud. They turned a corner and met a road full of monsters.

"Shit!" Max whispered and pushed Scott back around the corner.

"Now what?" Scott asked.

" I don -"

One came around the corner. Max panicked and looked around, beside them was a door.

"GO!"

They both dashed in and slammed the door behind them.

"Lock it!" Max whispered.

Scott obeyed and sighed in relief.

"Man….too many close calls today."

That was good for a laugh.

"So where are we now?" Max asked and turned.

They were in a store. Rows of shelves awaited them, but all were ransacked. No food, no water. Nothing but some garbage on the floor. A light near the back kept flickering and bugs scuttled around on the floor. The place didn't take this disaster too well.

"It's not the best, but we can wait here till those things leave.." Max shrugged.

Scott nodded and leaned against the stained wall, sliding down and sitting. He was exhausted. Max was too. It had been a long couple of days, so who could blame them? They were both startled as they heard a door creaking near the back of the store. At first, they ignored it, but it creaked again. Someone or something was in there with them. Scott silently motioned for Max to get down. He crouched and picked up a bottle as a weapon, for that was the closest thing. Scott picked up a can of beans.

"Seriously?" Max whispered.

"There's nothing in here that's a good weapon! It's a store!" Scott replied quietly, in anger.

Max nodded for them to approach the noise. The tension built as they imagined what awaited them. A monster? A human? Max peeked around the shelf and heard rustling behind the counter. Slowly, and as quiet as a mouse, he approached and held the bottle tight and close, as a child would to a teddy bear. He lifted the bottle like a baseball bat, and just as he was going to peek over, the figure lept out and tackled him. They tussled on the ground, wrestling to get a hold on one another.

"Max!! Hit em' with the beans!! THE BEANS!!"

"F.U.C.K!" Scott cried out and watched, "But I can't hit a woman!!"

"Wait what?!"

The girl punched him and pinned him down with one hand, and held a knife to his neck with the other.

"Don't you dare move." She growled.

"OK. OK. I'm not moving." Max nodded and stayed completely still.

"You too blondy. Drop the beans."

Scott whimpered and let the bean can clatter to the floor.

"What are you two doing in my hideout?"

"Your hideout? We didn't know it was a hideout. We were just -"

He was cut short as she slapped him across the face and grew angrier.

"I don't like your tone! Now stop lying!"

"We aren't lying lady! We thought this was just a store!" Scott protested.

She stared, clearly she wasn't buying it.

"Listen, we came here looking for the safe zone. We would have gone there and left you alone, but there's a group of those things blocking the way! They take up the whole street!"

"Huh...so you're having trouble too." She nodded and hesitantly got off of him.

She wore a striped tank top, a sweater tied around her waist, and a tight pair of ripped jeans. She had long black hair and dazzling blue eyes.

"I've been trying to get into that safe zone for the longest time, but those government bozos haven't even tried to clear out the group of monsters blocking the way in."

"Why not?" Max asked.

"How should I know? Anyway, if you want in, we have to work together."

"Oh. So now you want to work together." Scott said sarcastically.

"I only want to because it'll benefit me. If I go alone, I have no chance, same with you two."

Max and Scott made eye contact and shrugged.

"Fine." Max rolled his eyes.

The girl perked up and clapped her hands together.

"Great! Follow me!" She grinned and walked to the back room.

"I never got your name." Max mentioned as he followed her.

"Jessica. Call me Jess."

They entered the back room, but it looked more like crappy living quarters. A mattress laid on the floor with blood stains, a small pile of canned food was stacked in the corner, bottles of water accompanied it. In the middle of the room, on the wall was a drawing on the wall, done with a marker.

"So. The low ground is impossible, considering how fast those bastards would chew us up if we tried to get through. So the high ground is our best bet." Jess explained.

"H-High…?" Scott whimpered.

"Yup. The building beside us is high enough for us to jump across the rooftops, but it's boarded up. The main door is open and leads in, but the door leading to the roof is boarded up.. I'm not strong enough or have the right tools, so I need you two, with your brute strength."

"So you need a pair of big dumb guys to kick down the doors." Max sighed

"That's it?" Scott crossed his arms.

"Well, also you'll be useful in case something goes wrong. If I were alone and something happened, I'd totally die. So you'll be plenty of help."

Max and Scott rolled their eyes, but agreed, because the alternative was true. If they needed help in a situation where they'd die, Jess would be an extra set of hands.

"Alright then. Let's do this."