"The Undead" (Mercy)

Elliot took a deep breath, gripping his knife tightly. Annabelle peered through the curtains at the window, watching Elliot through the rain. A flash of lightning startled Elliot, but then he instantly readjusted, with his mind focused on the ‘mission’. Harrumphing, he marched towards the Biters. The sound of rain and thunder drowning out his footsteps. He stabbed the first Biter directly in the head, and threw it aside. He stabbed the next Biter directly in the head, and threw it aside. He did the same with the next Biter and – obviously – threw it aside.

Taking out all of the Biters in his path, Elliot slid into the pickup truck and started the engine. Looking back out of the window, he noticed Gwen watching him eagerly. He nodded back at her in reassurance that he was going to alright.

“Can I get a double? Let’s see!” Elliot recklessly ploughed through Biters on the road. “Oh! Yes, I can!” He mowed down two walkers at once, playing a little game as he drove on.

“Elliot? Are you there? Come in, Elliot.” Zach asked him down the radio. Elliot slowed down, ceasing his idiotic game, picking up the walkie. “Zach! Are you alright?” Elliot was relieved to hear his voice. “Yes, yes, I am… But Reed isn’t. Elliot, he’s been bitten…”

All of sudden, Elliot stopped the car, pulling the radio closer to his face. “Bitten?” He didn’t know how to react. “We were sleeping, and a horde of Biters ambushed us. Around a dozen or so. We fended most of them off but… Reed was bitten on his right arm. Elliot, please help us!”

He breathed a sigh of relief, “Right arm, you say? Forearm? Shoulder? Elbow? Where on the arm? Zach?” Elliot had an idea, but he had to make sure it was worth putting Zach through this idea first.

“The forearm, yes. Not too far below his wrist. He tried defending himself from a Biter, he just had his arm a little bit too low.” This information relieved Elliot. “Alright Zach, listen to me. Does Reed have his axe with him?” There was a momentary pause as Zach presumably was searching for the tool.

“Yes, I have it here.” Zach answered, relieving Elliot even more. “Alright good, do you have any type of object which can be used as a bandage? Anything nearby? Anything at all.” He waited for an answer. “There’s a first aid kit over here, there could be a bandage in there.”

Elliot paused and thought to himself for a moment, before remembering how time sensitive this problem was. “Alright, search through it lad.”

Again, there was a momentary unnerving silence.

“I’m afraid there isn’t a bandage in here, Elliot. What now?” Zach gravely responded, sending all of Elliot’s relief away again. “Sit tight, I’m coming.” Elliot put the radio back down, pushing the pedal all the way down, going full speed.

Back at the house, Robert and Andy had finally found the problem. They were trying to put the door back on its’ hinges, but the wind kept blowing it back again. “Crikey, this is hard work!” Robert remarked, “I think maybe I need a power nap.” Still Robert was desperate to go back to sleep. “Alright fine. Sod off and leave me to it then,” Andy had given up on him.

“Hey, I was just kidding man.” Even though he wasn’t, Robert felt bad about leaving Andy to do the job by himself. As they tried to put the door up again, another Biter entered. It pushed the door back, as the two men were pushed by it as well. Robert dropped it, cowering back instantly.

“Jesus Robert! Could you like not be such a coward?” Andy was now forced to back away as well. “Says you man! You only wanted me to help you because you were too scared of the Biters,” Despite how inappropriate of a time it was to do so, Robert mocked Andy anyway.

Annabelle stepped down the stairs cautiously, she had finally been woken up. “Mum?” She noticed Gwen looking out through the curtains. “Annabelle!” She was startled by her daughter’s presence. “Why don’t you come and sit with me?” She had taken Elliot’s advice about treating Annabelle like an adult to heart.

“Uh… Is everything ok?” Annabelle of course found this to be strange. “Yes, yes! Everything is fine dear. I just thought maybe it would be nice for us to have a little chitchat you know!” Gwen was clearly struggling to adjust, as Annabelle seemed even more confused by why she hadn’t been told to go to bed yet.

“Where’s Andy? And Robert? I thought they were sleeping down here…” Annabelle had gotten the wrong idea about her mother’s behaviour, suspecting that someone may have died.

“Oh, they’re alright. They’re just fixing the back door!” She instantly regretting these words, as it prompted even more questions. “Alright come and sit down. Let’s discuss the weather!” She cut her daughter off before she could ask anything.

Even more cautiously than before, Annabelle slowly carried on down the remaining stairs.

“Everyone upstairs now!” Robert and Andy ran back into the lounge, like headless chickens. “What the heck are you two playing at?” Gwen was trying to spend time with her daughter, and was fed up with the shenanigans of her two friends.

As Robert ran straight past everyone and flew up the stairs, Andy grabbed Gwen, rushing her up with him. “Unhand me!” She ripped away from his grip. “What’s going on?” Annabelle was confused about many things right now.

“Look!” Andy pointed to the far side of the lounge, as two Biters emerged from around the corner. “Oh come on. You’re pathetic you are!” Gwen pulled out her knife, preparing to take out the two Biters.

But then, she froze on the spot. There was another Biter behind the first two, and then another behind that one, and then… It was entire horde flooding in through the open back door. “Mum!” Annabelle cried out, as a Biter encroached on her.

“Gwen! Come on!” Andy darted over to her, pulling her away from the Biter as she narrowly avoided being drawn into the herd. “Up the stairs everyone! Go, now!” He pushed Gwen and Annabelle, but they didn’t need to be told twice to run.

At the top of the stairs, Andy turned back around with his pistol, firing at the Biters coming up. “Andy! Run man!” Gwen called over to him. “No, Gwen! You go! Take Annabelle and go! Use the bathroom window! You can jump safely on to a tree branch, then safely slide down to the ground from there! Go!” Remorsefully, Gwen nodded, directing Annabelle towards the bathroom.

More and more Biters emerged from around the corner. Andy was struggling to take them all out, they were getting further up the stairs. All out of luck, his handgun started clicking – the clip was empty. “Really?” He sighed, and then whacked the Biter nearest to him with the butt of the pistol as it rolled back down the stairs. He did the same with the next one. As he tried to swing for a third, another Biter grabbed him by the leg, tripping him up. Slowly, the Biters began to surround him, as flailed, brushing them away from him…

Gwen and Annabelle had used to tree to escape around the side of the house. All the Biters were either inside or approaching from the other end. Gwen and Annabelle snuck away, headed to the pavement.

“When we get out of view, run as fast as you can,” Gwen advised her daughter as the rain lifted. “Not an option,” Annabelle pointed out, “If we run, we’ll only draw more of them!” But Gwen knew how fast her daughter really was, “Trust me, you can do this.” Again, taking Elliot’s advice, Gwen was preparing to let her daughter go. “They’re slow. Especially in hordes. If you keep running, they won’t get you.” They remained crouched until they were at the corner of the street. Then, Gwen ran as fast as she could. Annabelle however turned back, running towards the house…

With his last bit of strength, Andy shoved the two Biters caving in on him back down the stairs, as they tumbled back causing others to fall with him. He crawled away before his foot could be caught again, getting back up to his feet. There was a candle holder on the banister, which grabbed instantly, backing further into the corridor.

Andy tried the bathroom door, but Gwen had evidently locked it on her journey out. “Dammit!” He kicked the door out of anger, but it gave him an idea. As the Biters approached, Andy kicked the door several more times, trying to knock it off its’ hinges. His plan wasn’t working however.

One of the Biters was dangerously close now. Andy spun around, striking it in the temple with the candle holder. “Huh. This thing really packs a punch,” he examined the object, before turning to another Biter, groaning and preparing to bit down on him.

Using the candle holder once again, he struck the Biter, as it was flung against the wall. He tried kicking the door repeatedly again and again, but he wasn’t powerful enough. He backed further down the corridor, but had reached a dead end. He tried the final door, but it too seemed to be locked from the inside. “For Christ sake!” He shouted out, before turning back to the Biters, accepting of his fate...

The door opened, as an arm grabbed and pulled him inside. “Whoa, sorry mate! Didn’t know you were still alive out there!” It was Robert. “Thought you had for sure kicked the bucket!” He was as unserious as ever. Outside, the Biters continued to moan and scratch at the door.

After driving for long enough, Elliot had finally reached the store where Reed and Zach were holding up. Using his knife, he took out the two Biters at the door, banging on it with a distinctive human knocking.

The door opened, as fifteen-year-old Zach stepped aside to allow Elliot inside. “Reed!” He ran over to the counter, where Reed had been laid out on the floor next to it.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Zach informed Elliot. “Not a problem, Erica’s taught me a thing or two in the time she’s been in this group. Let’s see how much attention I’ve really paid her.” Elliot ripped his shirt, preparing to use the ripped off piece as a bandage.

“I did try searching the pharmacy area of the shop, but someone’s already raided everything Elliot.” Zach answered Elliot’s question before he even thought to ask it.

“Give me the axe,” Elliot held his hand out behind him, as Zach passed him the tool. “Hang in there, buddy,” Elliot raised the axe above his head, swinging it down on Reed’s arm, chopping it off instantly.

He grabbed the torn off piece of his shirt, wrapping it over the bleeding stub which was now the end of Reed’s arm. He held pressure against it. “Is he going to be ok?” Zach asked. Elliot didn’t respond, he was completely focused on pressuring the makeshift bandage – At the same however, he wasn’t entirely sure if Reed still had enough blood in order to survive…