Brett said, “Ya'll, I got to go to the bathroom!”
Yassa replied, “Knock yourself out buddy. But we need to go straight ahead and get the fuck out of Dodge.”
The boy knew this was an absolute fact. They raced down the hall, each of them taking care to jump over the fallen Turned. The idea of them being somewhat put out of their misery but still able to be alive did not pass the thinking of the group. They knew a standing zombie or a lying down zombie made no difference to the outcome if they were bitten. It would only potentially be a difference on how long that turn would take.
When they got to the edge of the other hallway they had sprinted to, Joey used all his force, slamming into the doors, attempting to open them so everyone could run and they could get the doors to click shut, hopefully fooling their pursuers.
When Joey slammed into the door, he let out a humph as they did not budge but more than an inch. Daylight cracked through the small opening and Joey could hear and see the rattling of the thick chain. A chain which unfortunately was on the other side much the same as was the padlock.
The rattle which had been growing louder by the second as the Turned seemed to be realizing what they wanted was downstairs became a real life visual. They were fighting amongst themselves to be the first ones to make it to the bottom floor.
Joey kept fighting pushing at the door, getting frustrated beyond all belief, which he felt was validated at the moment. Joey screamed, “I can't get the door open, Ellie, I can't get the stupid door open.”
Ellie gently pushed him over to the side saying, “It's okay, Joey.”
She raised her rifle, pushing it through the small sliver of doorway that was available and let off an entire magazine without letting off of the rifle which she switched from semi to fully automatic. It only took a few lucky hits to snap through the chain and give them the freedom that they so desperately wanted and needed.
Brett was doing the best that he could, firing shot after shot. Ellie watched him, seeing he probably did not have the number of bullets under his belt needed to be shot to be qualified to come out on a mission like this. She wished that she now had not suggested they go after the ingredients by themselves. Even having Joe and Yassa did little for her self-esteem and optimism about making it back alive. When she realized you would need a grenade to hit something, especially something moving, she screamed, “Get out everybody now, get out!”
Ellie almost went into defense mode when two hands grabbed her. She was in the zone and was only thinking of survival which meant killing the Turned. It was Joey, she would be the last one to leave but only if he allowed it. That wasn't what he was there for, he was there to make sure she didn't die. Joey yelled, “We're getting out of here, Ellie. You come with me now.”
Joe got her other arm and they both lifted her up, pulling her out of the building. No one else needed to be told what to do. Yassa held the broken chain, wrapping it around the handles again and into the best knot that he could with the bulky chain. Everyone got to the side of the building, trying to hide and stay out of view of the Turned. They knew they could still smell them, but sometimes out-of-sight did nothing to hurt anything.
The doors buckled forward, making everyone jump. It took a second or two before a hand shot out from between the doors. It gripped onto the chain that he’d tried to keep the door shut with. Yassa whispered, “They aren’t that strong. That chain is strong as…”
Yassa shut up when the hand took hold of the chain. It clasped around it pulling it back in between the doors. When it grew tight, the handles began to bend before the chain didn’t snap but both of the handles began to bend. Ellie knew she should have been looking at the handles but was focused on the building across from her. She thought for sure her eyes were playing tricks on her. She leaned over not wanting to point to it. Ellie said, “Do you see that window over there, Joey?”
“Yeah, there are a couple hundred of them.”
“Right, but do you see the one where the shades are opening and closing.”
Joey said, “I didn’t know The Turned could do that?”
“They can’t.”
“So….”
“So, that’s where we are going, and we are going to go there right effing now!”
“You almost said the F word, Ellie?” Joey replied.
Ellie yelled, “There are people in the building across from us. Come on, let’s get over there. They must have that place locked down. We don’t have long before those doors are open.”
Joe hadn’t seen any of that, as he was focusing solely on the handles which seemed to be melting more than bending by the moment. He looked at the distant building, thinking about the speed of the Turned. If they didn’t get moving, they would be standing in their own graves. Joe prayed that they weren’t running to their deaths and that they weren’t going into some sort of unexpected trap.
The group took off as if their life depended on it...which it very much did. Yassa watched over his shoulder as everyone did. With every pulse of his heart he felt like the handles were bending faster and faster. A moment later they disappeared and were gone, pulled in through the door. The two doors seemed to explode open and the Turned fell out of the entrance, the darkness holding
