We passed a store with a mass of them banging on the windows. I saw the petrified faces of a huddled group of people inside. One of them ran up to a clear space in the window and seemed to follow our progress through the messy streets. I wonder if they wished they could be with us or if they simply felt sad that we were driving to our deaths.

  We passed another survivor on a rooftop with a long metal pole in his hand. He looked haggard and exhausted, his entire body covered with blackened blood and filth. He too looked after us. I felt a tug at my conscience to stop and try to save him, but that would have been suicide. The building he was on was surrounded by a swarm of them and they could have easily overtaken the car if we had slowed down.

  That's when I realized that there was no way we could have gotten that far undetected. I looked up in the rear view mirror and covered my mouth to stifle the scream that wanted to burst out. We had stirred up quite the following. In a spiral of chaotic bodies like a crazed paparazzi parade, hundreds of undead creatures had taken up our trail and were following us. I'm not sure if it was the sound of the engine or the movement of the car but I could see them amassing in a veritable horde in the streets we were leaving behind. They pulled themselves up from the ground, stumbled out of buildings with broken windows and smashed in doors, side streets seemed to flow with their jerky clumsy movement. My heart stopped when I realized that they were all heading for us.

  I turned to Ryan, but I could see that he had already noticed.

  I'm not sure what his plan of action was, but if I wanted to freak out, it wasn't a good time to share the horror with him. I grabbed the pistol tightly in my lap and braced myself for what came next.

  "Hold on guys..."

  Ryan pushed down on the accelerator and sped down an open patch of road. I tensed up as he began to widen the gap behind us and the group of dead followers. He spun around a corner with a high pitched squeal of the tires and sped down a road that twisted to the left. With a sudden jerk of the wheel he sped down a small side street and then up over a low curb.

  I couldn't help screaming as we barreled towards a chain link fence. We smashed through it and came to a stop in a large empty parking lot. The gate behind us swung loosely on a single hinge. Without a second thought, Ryan jammed the car into park, jumped out and ran to the back. He grabbed some of the ropes we had packed and ran to the gate. The sounds of shuffling feet and groaning voices filled the car at a terrible volume. I wanted to reach over and close his door, but what if he had to jump in quickly? Instead I made sure the gun was securely in my hands as I turned to watch his progress.

  He grabbed the dangling gate and pushed it closed. He wrapped the rope around it securely and tied it into a rough complicated knot. He did the same with the other end. He turned to run back to us just as the first of the zombies made contact with the fence. It was a woman with a bright orange shirt splattered with blood in a pattern that almost looked like a flower. She gnashed her teeth as she slammed her body into the shaky fence. It wobbled along the entire length and didn't look like it would hold her or the hundreds of friends she had brought with her.

  "We don't have much time, move out!"

  It was then that I noticed the building in front of us and the sturdy metal fence on the far end of the lot. On the other side was a long expanse of asphalt.

  We had made it to the airfield.

  65th Day: 3:00 PM

  The rain died down today. It's also been exceedingly calm outside. I don't know if they all went undercover from the rain (which seems odd to me) or if they've just moved past this neighborhood to something more exciting. Whatever is happening, I don't like it. It's never been a good thing to have a long period of peace. It always means something else is simply building up energy to completely shake my sanity.

  Bren said he wants to show me something later. He is acting a little strange so I'm not sure what that means. He's doing a perimeter sweep and surveillance. I think he really has gotten used to being alone and finds comfort in it. I think we're gonna leave here day after tomorrow.

  I left the story off at the airfield. By the time Ryan had made it to the back of the Jeep, the entire length of the fence was lined with ugly disgusting creatures. They were so loud, it was almost deafening and I found myself stopping in my tracks to stare at them.

  A man with no hand. Another missing an eye and part of his cheek. Still another with long scratches revealing the bones in his face. One of them seemed to have a gunshot through its neck. It was all so vivid, as if I was looking at them through a telescope.

  "No time!"

  My god, Ryan's voice. Once again, jerking me out of my own head. I had to learn to stop doing that or it was going to get me killed. I jumped out of the car, calling for Adam and Tina to follow me. Ryan was there with the trunk open. He threw a large pack at me and then shoved a box full of MRE's in my hand. He had already put on the second pack and was instructing Adam and Tina to grab as many things from the back as they could. We were parallel with the building so it was only a few steps to the front door. It was locked with a small numeric pad for someone to input a security code.

  At first I thought he planned on hacking the code... instead he calmly punched in 1-2-3-4 and I heard a buzz and a click.

  Really?! A building that was next to an airport had a security code that was THAT easy? Was it some sort of misleading logic... nobody would ever think it was that easy, so why not use it?

  I later found out it was exactly that and Ryan had known the owner of the charter company that owned the building. He had been given access to the building while still working at the airport and it would seem they hadn't changed it yet. He swung the door open and pulled his gun up to a ready position.

  "Kat..." I stepped up next to him as he said my name. "We need to secure this floor. I'm going to have those two finish emptying the Jeep into this front hallway and then barricade this door with the office furniture there.”

  He gestured towards a receptionist area with a small desk, 5 chairs and an end table. There was also a tall book case and a cabinet made of metal. He gave the orders to Adam who snapped into action. Tina seemed to want to huddle in the doorway but sprinted to the truck when Adam called her to take some more supplies in.

  I dropped the pack on the floor next to Ryan’s and followed him into the dim hallway that extended past the foyer. He held out a flashlight for me to take. He needed both hands to use the rifle, so I had to man the light and my pistol.

  The electricity seemed to still function from some sort of secondary power source. A few dim bulbs lit up as we flipped switches.

  "They have these set to conserve energy..." Ryan mumbled as we made our way to the first doorway in the hallway. He gestured for me to flank the other side of the door and my heart popped into my chest.

  I had never fired the gun before! What if I missed at a critical moment? I had to stop thinking about it. I made sure the safety was off before nodding to him that I was ready.

  With a quick movement he pushed down on the long door handle and kicked the door open. The room beyond it was pitch black and the air was stale and dusty. I did a quick scan of the room with the flashlight. It was a small office, not really any place for anything to hide. We moved to the next office, which was exactly the same.

  In about 10 minutes we had secured the entire floor. The executive office looked ransacked. Papers, books, and trash were strewn all over the floor. There was no sign that anything had been inside since the owner had left. No blood, no broken windows, nothing. We also checked the door that led out to the airfield and the hangars that lined it, finding that it was securely locked.

  We were lucky. I knew that. Far too many other places were bound to hold some sort of danger lurking the shadows. All we had to deal with was the mass of hell that was outside the front gate.

  We ran back to the front to find Adam pushing the bookshelf against the door. Tina was curled up in a corner crying. I needed to see what was outside, so I ran to the regrettably large windows and gasped. They had breached the fence and were swarming around the jeep. They hadn’t made it to the building yet. A few boxes of MRE's were ripped open and then thrown to the ground. Two had found their way into the body of my beloved car and were floundering around. With their limited coordination, it was going to be a long while before they figured out how to open the door to let themselves out. At best they could hope to flip back over the seats and out of the back the way they had come in.

  Ryan and Adam had just pushed the desk into position against the door when the first body slammed into the window. Tina screamed and the strong smell of urine filled the room. I aimed my pistol at the smeared black goo that was marring the tinted glass where the zombie had hit.

  "How long is that going to hold Ryan..." My voice seemed foreign to me as I shakily held my weapon at the ready.

  He scratched his head and began to pull some of the supplies back down the hallway.

  "Long enough."

  I winced as several more of them made their way to the windows. Thankfully, the sound was muted due to the thick bullet proof nature of the glass that had been used. I was glad for the security, but watching them start to frenzy was starting to take its toll on my sanity even though it had only been a few seconds. The glass turned a muted grayish black with the blood and mess that was seeping from their decaying bodies. It was truly a nightmare.

  "Come on guys, move on to the back room here. We'll try to get this gear more mobile and then we'll make our move." Everyone seemed to prefer moving away from the besieged front door. We all grabbed things from the floor and fled to a conference room in the back of the office. It had a large window facing the empty airfield. I almost expected bodies to just start flying into it as soon as we got situated, but nothing ever came. Ryan did another sweep of the offices and came back with some duffle bags, a pallet and a half of bottled water and some more food, mainly snacks and soda.

  Tina's eyes seemed to grow less dim at the sight of the sugary drinks and I immediately offered her one. She opened it quickly but sipped it slowly. The long sleeves of the sweatshirt she was wearing fell down over the top of the can as she held it in her lap. She looked about 5 years old. I wasn't sure how she was going to make it if she kept going in the direction she was heading.

  We spent a few moments packing the rest of the supplies into the duffle bags. The only major hindrance was the water. It was bulky and heavy and would be difficult to take with us. We had to figure out a way to move it, it was essential to our survival. I didn't want to leave any of it behind. We tied some of the remaining rope to a large plastic ice chest on wheels that was in one of the offices. We filled it up with water and would pull it after us whenever we had to mobilize.

  By this time it had gotten really dark. The auxiliary runway lights flickered on creating an almost surreal scene of tranquility on the airfield outside. I sat next to Tina staring at them for a moment. She yawned and I knew she would need sleep soon, and I would too. I had been running on adrenaline, but now my nerves were quieting down.

  It was almost completely quiet, the conference room was soundproofed and we could only hear the monsters at the front when we opened the door. We decided that someone had to keep an eye on the condition of things. Ryan and Adam both volunteered to take shifts. They pulled a chair out into the hallway to sit in, the rest were pushed down towards the front door as a sort of obstacle if anything were to make it that far.

  After that, they let us sleep. I didn't think I'd be able to close my eyes knowing that hundreds of undead bodies were pressing to get into the very building where I was laying down. I had chosen a spot next to Tina underneath the long conference table. I had let her change her wet sweatpants for a pair of jeans I had packed. She looked a lot more comfortable in them and instantly closed her eyes as she laid her head on a sweater she was using for a pillow. I turned my back to her, facing the door and laid down as well. I felt her reach her hand out for me and I let her fingers rest on my back without letting her know I had felt it. She needed comfort and I was glad she was able to find it.

  I was surprised when I was woken up over 8 hours later. It was almost 6 AM and Ryan was kneeling next to me. He made a shushing motion and beckoned for me to go to the far end of the room with him. I followed, taking notice of Adam who had fallen asleep in a chair with his feet propped up on the table. Ryan gestured towards the pistol that I had slept holding in my hands.

  "Do you have the extra magazines?"

  I patted the pocket of the pants I was wearing. "I have one of them..."

  "You need to have all of them." The panic in Ryan’s voice alerted me that there was something he wasn't telling me. I went to the gun case and removed the loaded clips. I shoved them into my pockets, mentally taking note that it was a tight fit and I'd have a hard time pulling them out in a hurry. I looked back at Ryan who was standing near the conference door. The safety to his rifle was off.

  "Did they get in?!" I whispered loudly. I glanced over at Adam and Tina who were still sleeping.

  "No, but we need to make our move. I'm going to go out on the airfield and try to get a car from the hangar. They keep two small cars here and the keys are usually right there next to them. I want you to stay here and keep watch. You have fresh eyes. Adam started losing it a little while ago and I just don't want him accidentally shooting someone in a panic."

  I noticed that the other pistol was shoved inside of his waistband. It must have gotten really bad. I didn't have time to really ask about it because Ryan started heading towards the door.

  "What happens if you don't come back?" I said, grabbing at his arm. I couldn't believe he was going to leave us in an unfamiliar place while he went risking his life to get us somewhere he wasn't even 100% sure was going to work out for us in the end.

  I could tell by the look he gave me that he didn't have an answer for me. He seemed to really think and then pulled out a notebook and started drawing a map on it.

  "You have to find a way to the office building. It's south of here, the only multi storied building on that side. There is a gate lined with razor wire, but it's not locked from the airfield side. The parking lot there is probably the most dangerous, but if you can make it inside of the building, go to the second floor and you'll be okay. There are two staircases you can easily secure once you’re safe. Head to suite 210, that's the airport manager’s office."

  The map was crude and hard to read, but I got the gist of what he was planning.

  "The door will be locked, but ..." He pulled a set of keys from his pocket... "I have a key. I never gave it back when I retired."

  He dropped the keys into my hands.

  "There's also keys to all the offices that belonged to the airport. A key to the airport police headquarters on the first floor. Also a key to the roof access door. Everything you'll need. If I fail, then you're it. You can try to use the radio system on the 3rd floor in the Operations section to contact the outside world. I'm not sure if it'll work, but I have a few ideas of some old friends that might be monitoring the frequencies if they're still alive. If so, they can help us fly out of here."

  He scribbled a few more things on the paper (names and numbers for the radio) and I swallowed hard as he stared at me for a few more seconds. I folded up the map and put it in my back pocket then checked the gun I was holding and nodded.

  He opened the door and quickly exited. I followed him.

  The pounding and groaning seemed louder than before. The maddening relentless fists pounding to be let inside echoed from the darkened entrance. I knew that the sun would be coming up soon and I'd probably be able to see them again. I didn't want to think of it. My head was spinning. I hadn't processed a single thing that had happened. I was just surviving moment to moment.

  I watched as Ryan went back to the door that led to the field. He had found a set of keys in the executive office and one of them was for that very door. He pulled it open, the fresh air from outside blew into my face. He saluted me before heading out and firmly closing the door behind him.

  I sat down in the chair and said a silent prayer for Ryan to get back in one piece.

  66th Day: 6:29 PM

  My legs are almost completely better. I'm always amazed at the healing abilities of our bodies. I just wish that whatever it was that has made people turn into monsters was something we could fight off with immunity or a shot or something. As it is now, we can only hope to "live" longer than them and reclaim the world that they have tried to take from us.

  I decided to take up the downstairs watch today. I can see why Bren likes it here. There is actually a little family of birds nesting in a tree next to this window. Out of all of the wildlife, the birds seem to be faring pretty well. I haven't seen many dogs, cats, or squirrels, but there are always at least a few birds flying around. I'm sure he gets a lot of comfort out of watching the babies with their beaks squawking and the mother bird coming to feed them.

  It’s like a small slice of normal in a world that is anything but. It can work wonders. I feel a little refreshed myself.

  This morning Bren finally showed me his secret. We were eating a light breakfast of dry cereal when he looked up at me and said,

  "I have something in the garage I want you to see."

  I was a little worried. He hadn't really let me into the garage; I had only seen him go into it once when we were downstairs looking around the first day. A crazy thought of him keeping his zombifiied family tied up inside came to my mind. I'm sure I would have heard them by now unless he had gagged them or something.

  "Stay here..." He said getting up. Visions of a zombie family fled from my mind. I don't know Bren all that well, but I'm pretty sure he's not gonna bring his family up on a couple of leashes to show off. I looked down from the loft and waited a few moments. I heard the door open and close and then his footsteps as he came up the stairs. For some reason I held my breath.

 

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