There was a tremendous amount of racket in the background, making it difficult for Lori to hear what Rachel was saying.
“What is that noise?”
“Nothing… don't worry about it. I just want you to know I love you”.
“Hang tight, I’m coming”.
“Wait, what? No! Get on that lifeboat and go!”
“I am not leaving without you! Do you hear me?”
“Lori, it’s dangerous, I mean really dangerous here. You don’t want to be here, I don’t want you to be here! If you don’t get attacked by those crazies trying to get here, you’ll get hurt or killed by…”
“By what?”
“This… thing”.
“What is it Rachel? What’s there?”
“I don’t know how to explain it”.
“I’m coming for you, just stay there”.
“I said no! Go! Leave! Get out of here!”
“And I said I’m coming for you! We leave together! I’ve said it once before and I’m saying it again”.
“Lori, you can’t…” Lori hung up on Rachel abruptly, refusing to argue with her on the matter any further.
With threats in every possible direction, inadvertently drawing attention to herself arguing with her girlfriend, was in neither of their best interests. Determined to save Rachel, she tightened her grip on the fire axe and ignored Rachel’s attempts to call her back.
Rachel, already scared out of her wits, didn’t need the extra fear of her girlfriend walking into the same perilous situation. Why wouldn’t she pick up? Where was she? Rachel peered out of the small service cabin and her assailant, wedged between the narrow corridor and edging closer to her, dug its fingers into the walls, ripping out nails as its mouth formed a saliva spitting, teeth bearing snarl.
It suddenly dawned on her that she still had the gun, but for all the logic telling her to use it to potentially escape, she was still a coward with weapons and just its weight alone was intimidating, this was no toy, this was a real gun and once she pulled that trigger she couldn’t take back the results.
Still, she had to consider hers and now Lori’s safety, this monster was nothing short of a concoction of unyielding, untamed fury and a voracious appetite for her.
Her hands shaking harder than she could ever recall, she lifted the gun and pointed it towards the monstrosity. Her finger slipped onto the trigger of the weapon she clutched, like her life depended on it, but before she could fire, she remembered Lori having mentioned something about safety, so the trigger feeling further back than she had anticipated suddenly made sense.
She inspected the gun, looking for something obvious that she could use to release the safety, since the slide at the top of the gun exposing the muzzle didn’t appear to want to budge with physical force and she’d probably end up shooting herself doing the wrong thing.
It was a moment later she spotted a little nub towards the upper back part of the grip and no sooner did she give it a little push down, the slide ejected forward with a loud snap, concealing the muzzle. Was safety off now? There was only one way to find out.
She pointed the gun towards the monster and squeezed the loosened trigger, closing her eyes as she did so.
A loud, terror inducing bang erupted from the gun and the recoil ripped the gun from her hands and propelled it over her head and to the ground behind her. Yelping in pain, she nursed her bruised hands and opened her eyes to inspect the damage done. Her assailant seemed unfazed and continued its attempt to reach her, if anything, only invigorated by her attempt to kill or at the very least injure it.
Had she missed? How? Her target wasn’t exactly petite, surely a bullet would have at least grazed it. She spun around and stared at the gun momentarily, having to really consider whether it was worth a second attempt, before conceding and grabbing it. She had to remember and repeat to herself that this was no longer just for her, it was also for Lori.
She pointed it towards the monster again, but not before wiping her sweaty palms off on her jeans and clutching the gun harder.
She took a deep breath and without closing her eyes this time she fired.
Lori, following the trail of destruction and taking every and any means to avoid running into crazies, heard the gunshots, adding credence, however small, to the hope that she was going the right way.
Soon enough she came to the end of the trail and found herself staring at something she couldn’t understand, wedged into a narrow corridor. Arms protruding from its colossal body and its legs attempting to push itself further into the narrow space, she wouldn’t be able to find the words to describe just how horrified she was if she tried.
She stood there staring at the monstrosity in utter shock and confusion. Where the hell had such a thing come from?
Another shot of what sounded like a gun, this time coming from the very corridor the colossal creature was stuck in. Lori ducked and covered her head with her free hand. She only stood up again when she heard voices.
“I squeeze you, mummy, I’ll crush you… I’ll eat you and your bones too”, came an unfamiliar, heavy voice rife with aggression.
“Why won’t you fucking die?” A panic stricken female voice that Lori did recognise snapped back.
Not wanting to give away her position just yet, Lori texted Rachel, informing her that she was outside and had come to help, only to receive an angry text back that she should have left when she had the chance, which was followed up with a text thanking her and informing her of the situation and how terrified Rachel was.
