The Stranger
689 Words
Chapter 3 — The Stranger
The street turned into chaos.
Zombies rushed toward the group from every direction, their slow steps suddenly quick with hunger.
“Fight through them!” Marcus shouted.
Aisha struck first. She swung her metal pipe and smashed it into a zombie’s knee. The creature collapsed, and Jade stepped forward, driving her knife straight into its skull.
Tyler swung his bat hard.
The hit knocked a zombie backward into another one.
“Why are there so many?” he yelled.
Jonah fired his shotgun.
Boom.
The blast cleared a small path in front of them.
“Move!” Marcus ordered.
The team pushed forward through the opening.
More zombies staggered toward them from the sides.
Luis grabbed a broken bottle from the ground and slashed at a zombie that tried to grab him.
“I miss my garage,” he muttered nervously.
Evelyn stayed close to Samuel as they moved carefully behind the fighters.
“Just a little farther,” Samuel said calmly.
The pharmacy door was only a few steps away now.
Marcus knocked another zombie aside with his crowbar.
“Go!” he shouted.
Aisha ran forward and pushed the pharmacy door open.
“Inside!”
The team rushed in quickly.
Jade slammed the door shut behind them.
The sound of growling filled the street outside as the zombies crowded against the glass.
For a moment, everyone stood there breathing heavily.
Then a voice spoke from the darkness.
“Don’t move.”
Everyone froze.
A figure stepped out from behind the pharmacy counter.
It was a young man holding a pistol.
His clothes were dirty, and his face looked exhausted, but his eyes were sharp.
Marcus slowly raised his hands.
“We’re not here to hurt you.”
The stranger kept the gun pointed at them.
“That’s what the last group said,” he replied.
Jade narrowed her eyes.
“What last group?”
The man hesitated.
“Raiders,” he said.
“Two days ago. They took everything they could carry.”
Luis looked around the pharmacy shelves.
Most of them were already empty.
“That explains a lot,” he said.
Marcus stepped forward carefully.
“We’re just looking for medical supplies.”
The stranger studied them for a moment.
His eyes stopped on Evelyn’s medical bag.
“You have a doctor?” he asked.
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.”
The stranger lowered his gun slightly.
“Then you might actually be useful.”
Tyler frowned.
“That’s a nice way to introduce yourself.”
The man finally relaxed and lowered the pistol.
“My name’s Daniel,” he said.
“I’ve been hiding here since the outbreak.”
Marcus nodded.
“I’m Marcus. This is my team.”
Daniel glanced toward the windows.
Outside, zombies continued pressing against the glass.
“They’ll keep coming,” he said.
Marcus looked around the pharmacy.
“Then we don’t stay long.”
Evelyn began searching the shelves quickly.
“Bandages… antiseptic… painkillers,” she said, placing supplies into her bag.
Luis checked the back storage room.
“There’s more stuff back here!”
Jade kept watch near the door.
The zombies outside were hitting the glass harder now.
Cracks were forming.
Tyler noticed it first.
“Uh… guys?”
Everyone turned.
The glass door splintered slightly as another zombie slammed into it.
“That door isn’t going to last,” Tyler said.
Marcus grabbed a backpack.
“Take what you can carry.”
Samuel filled the bag quickly with medicine.
Daniel looked toward the back hallway.
“There’s another exit through the storage room,” he said.
Marcus nodded.
“Good. That’s our way out.”
But before they could move—
A loud crash came from the back of the pharmacy.
Everyone turned.
The storage room door slowly creaked open.
A dark figure stepped out.
Its skin was pale.
Its movements were faster than the other zombies.
Much faster.
Luis stepped back.
“That… doesn’t look normal.”
The creature lifted its head.
Its eyes were not cloudy like the others.
They were clear.
And full of rage.
Then it screamed.
- Writer
