The Dead in River City by S.A. McGarey Page B

replied with his eyes fixed on the
stairwell door.
    Kendra frantically looked around for anything that
could possibly help them. They couldn’t exactly fight their way out, as they
had lost most of their weapons and ammo, thanks to Alan. Escape was the only
option, and it looked to be impossible. Kendra kept searching, sifting through
every possibility, just so she could keep living.
    Alan watched the door, waiting for either Malcolm,
or his horde to arrive. He remembered that he had one weapon remaining, and it
was the only thing at their disposal. The explosion had almost certainly
destroyed the katana that barred the entrance. He retrieved his crossbow
pistol, and aimed it at the doorway. He had 4 shots, and he’d have to make each
one of them count.
    From the darkness of the doorway, a figure stepped
into view. Alan didn’t wait to shoot. He fired the crossbow pistol at the
figure, and was dismayed at the result. The figure was obviously hit, but it
didn’t slow or flinch. It kept moving into the room, and the light from the
window revealed its identity. It was a Dead One, with a crossbow bolt jammed in
its head. It was soon joined by two other figures behind it. The Dead One
shambled a few feet further and then halted.
    “Malcolm is definitely here.
Otherwise, they’d never stop.” Alan thought to himself.
    One of the other bodies shambled towards the spot
where the first one was. Two Dead Ones now stood in the room, but the third
figure moved differently. It walked as a normal person would walk. Alan quickly
reloaded his weapon, knowing full well that Malcolm came to see him personally.
    Kendra was in the room still, but hadn’t been
spotted. After minutes of searching, she was running out of ideas. She had only
one potential solution, and it was a long shot at best. She picked up one of
the nearby chairs, and began to move towards Alan’s position, staying out of
sight. As she moved, she heard a voice echo through the room.
    “It’s over, Alan. Nowhere to run.” Malcolm’s tone
was almost bloodthirsty. “Where’s your girlfriend?”
    “None of your business.” Alan’s tone was cold as he
aimed his weapon straight at Malcolm’s face.
    “You’re really gonna shoot me?” Malcolm laughed.
“That’s not going to help you. I control the dead, what makes you think that I
can die?”
    “No one is immortal, Malcolm. Death never changes.”
Alan said. “With a last name like Graves, I’m pretty sure you’re already halfway
there.” He quipped.
    “I do so enjoy talking with you, Alan.” Malcolm
said, brandishing a 9mm pistol. “I think we’re done here now. Time to go.”
    Malcolm aimed the gun at Alan, and Kendra knew she
had to act. Dropping the chair she’d planned to throw she sprinted towards Alan
and tackled him to the floor, just as Malcolm fired. The timing was a matter of
luck, but it worked well enough. Alan took the seconds that his life was spared
to fire his weapon back at Malcolm. The bolt flew from the weapon, straight
into Malcolm’s right eye. Screaming in pain, he dropped to his knees and
dropped the gun.
    Almost immediately, the 2 Dead Ones began to move
towards them, along with the crowd of them ascending the stairs. Kendra ran to
retrieve the chair as Alan reloaded his weapon. He fired again at Malcolm, the
bolt striking him in the chest. Malcolm let out a scream of agony and fell
backwards onto his back. Alan didn’t know if he’d killed him or not, and they
couldn’t stick around to find out.
    Kendra returned with the chair, and with a mighty
roar, she threw the chair at the window, shattering it into thousands of glass
shards. She grabbed Alan’s wrist and pulled him close to the window.
    “What are you doing?!” Alan asked in a panic.
    “You’ll just have to trust me.” Kendra said.
    Kendra got him as close to the window as she could.
Pointing to the bushes below, she instructed him to jump. Alan was afraid, but
he trusted Kendra enough to listen to her. He