Tasia soaked in blood up to her elbows and me with blood all over my face, neck, and clothes.
“You know what apartment it is?”
Tasia presses a thumb and index finger against her eyes, thinking, her lips moving silently, rattling off numbers. “1310…I think?”
I sigh. “Well, we’ll keep kicking doors till we find her, ain’t leaving without Alisa.”
“Let’s get our baby girl.”
5
I open the door to the hallway, the low creak of the hinges announcing my presence. The hatchet leads the way for me, blade first. I’m not some great combat strategist; I’ve had no formal training, and have never been much of a fighting man in general. I don’t know the proper way to enter and clear a room. But I’ve gotten this far, so I must be doing something right. I’m not surprised to see that there are bodies spaced up and down the hall, missing various limbs and pieces of flesh; after what I just saw, I don’t think there’s anything that can surprise me at this point. Many of the apartment doors have been kicked in and are hanging from their hinges or are missing altogether. But I don’t see any sign of the sick ones. I don’t hear any groaning or growling either; just distant gunshots and folks yelling somewhere far below me.
“It’s clear, come on.” Tasia steps out behind me, knees cocked, a hand on my shoulder. “Put your back to mine. You watch that end and I’ll watch this one.”
It takes a few tries for us to sync up; I’m going too fast or she’s going too slow, or I get away from her and she starts stumbling backwards, trying to keep her balance. But eventually we get it right and soon we are moving like a couple of pros, covering the angles, speaking in covert whispers.
“You watching the numbers?”
“Yeah.” The door to my left says 1317.
There’s a wet roar and loud footsteps. Tasia screams. I turn to help her but find the attacker already impaled on the end of her blade; she managed to stick him right through the eyeball, first try.
“Nice work, babe. You got this.”
“Yeah…yeah, I got this,” she says between panicked gasps. She twists the blade free and the sick one slides down her legs to the floor.
I hear growling and footsteps again, this time they’re coming for me. I turn, swinging the hatchet blindly. I catch the sick one in the arm. I pull back, leaving the arm dangling by a thin sheet of tissue, just below the elbow. The next blow sinks into its temple; the killing blow. Apparently our noise has stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest; they’re trickling from the open apartments in front and in back of us.
“Stay close to me.” I reach back and pull Tasia by the tail of her shirt, getting the upper portion of her back good and tight with mine. “We’re gonna keep moving, slow and smart. When they get close, go for the head, don’t panic. You need me, just holler.”
“You do the same.”
My wife has always been a tough woman and I’ve never been happier to have her at my back than I am right now.
I move and she moves, staying right with me. We’re both stabbing and swinging and grunting, downing sick ones left and right as we move steadily towards 1310 . I keep waiting for Tasia to yell for my help, but the only sounds coming out of her are battle cries and profanity.
When we make it to 1310, there’s a line of bodies behind us and we’re both soaked in a fresh coat of blood. The door for 1310 is still intact and secured. I’m not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing. Every part of my being wants to bust through that flimsy ass wooden rectangle and get my arms around my little girl. But we’ve gotten this far by being smart. One slip up and me and mine could end up with a bullet or a set of teeth buried in our necks.
I put my ear to the door. I can hear what sounds like the drone of a television.
Tasia checks the handle. It’s locked. “Alisa!” Tasia whispers loudly, her lips almost touching the door.
I brace myself,
“You know what apartment it is?”
Tasia presses a thumb and index finger against her eyes, thinking, her lips moving silently, rattling off numbers. “1310…I think?”
I sigh. “Well, we’ll keep kicking doors till we find her, ain’t leaving without Alisa.”
“Let’s get our baby girl.”
5
I open the door to the hallway, the low creak of the hinges announcing my presence. The hatchet leads the way for me, blade first. I’m not some great combat strategist; I’ve had no formal training, and have never been much of a fighting man in general. I don’t know the proper way to enter and clear a room. But I’ve gotten this far, so I must be doing something right. I’m not surprised to see that there are bodies spaced up and down the hall, missing various limbs and pieces of flesh; after what I just saw, I don’t think there’s anything that can surprise me at this point. Many of the apartment doors have been kicked in and are hanging from their hinges or are missing altogether. But I don’t see any sign of the sick ones. I don’t hear any groaning or growling either; just distant gunshots and folks yelling somewhere far below me.
“It’s clear, come on.” Tasia steps out behind me, knees cocked, a hand on my shoulder. “Put your back to mine. You watch that end and I’ll watch this one.”
It takes a few tries for us to sync up; I’m going too fast or she’s going too slow, or I get away from her and she starts stumbling backwards, trying to keep her balance. But eventually we get it right and soon we are moving like a couple of pros, covering the angles, speaking in covert whispers.
“You watching the numbers?”
“Yeah.” The door to my left says 1317.
There’s a wet roar and loud footsteps. Tasia screams. I turn to help her but find the attacker already impaled on the end of her blade; she managed to stick him right through the eyeball, first try.
“Nice work, babe. You got this.”
“Yeah…yeah, I got this,” she says between panicked gasps. She twists the blade free and the sick one slides down her legs to the floor.
I hear growling and footsteps again, this time they’re coming for me. I turn, swinging the hatchet blindly. I catch the sick one in the arm. I pull back, leaving the arm dangling by a thin sheet of tissue, just below the elbow. The next blow sinks into its temple; the killing blow. Apparently our noise has stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest; they’re trickling from the open apartments in front and in back of us.
“Stay close to me.” I reach back and pull Tasia by the tail of her shirt, getting the upper portion of her back good and tight with mine. “We’re gonna keep moving, slow and smart. When they get close, go for the head, don’t panic. You need me, just holler.”
“You do the same.”
My wife has always been a tough woman and I’ve never been happier to have her at my back than I am right now.
I move and she moves, staying right with me. We’re both stabbing and swinging and grunting, downing sick ones left and right as we move steadily towards 1310 . I keep waiting for Tasia to yell for my help, but the only sounds coming out of her are battle cries and profanity.
When we make it to 1310, there’s a line of bodies behind us and we’re both soaked in a fresh coat of blood. The door for 1310 is still intact and secured. I’m not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing. Every part of my being wants to bust through that flimsy ass wooden rectangle and get my arms around my little girl. But we’ve gotten this far by being smart. One slip up and me and mine could end up with a bullet or a set of teeth buried in our necks.
I put my ear to the door. I can hear what sounds like the drone of a television.
Tasia checks the handle. It’s locked. “Alisa!” Tasia whispers loudly, her lips almost touching the door.
I brace myself,
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