chapter 5
915 Words
**Chapter 5: The Road East**
The radio static hissed like a living thing, a ghostly whisper in the darkness of the abandoned hardware store.
Elena froze, her fingers tightening around Noah’s shoulders. “Did you hear that?”
Marcus was already moving, shoving aside a collapsed shelf to reveal a dusty emergency radio half-buried under debris. The antenna was bent, the casing cracked, but the faint green glow of its power light pulsed weakly. He grabbed it, twisting the dial.
The static sharpened, then—
*“—any survivors—frequency 925—seek—Flicker—repeat—safe zone east—”*
The voice cut in and out, warped by distance and decay, but the words were unmistakable.
Jake’s breath escaped in a rush. “I told you.”
Marcus’s expression darkened. “Doesn’t change our situation. No food. No water. And *her*”—he spat the word like venom—“just signed our death warrant.”
Elena’s mind raced. The radio was real. The Flicker was real. But between them and salvation stood miles of ruined city and God knew how many infected. And now, thanks to Lena, they had nothing.
Noah tugged her sleeve. “I’m thirsty,” he whispered.
Her chest ached. She unscrewed her canteen—only a few drops left. She tipped it into his mouth, her fingers brushing his grimy cheek. “We’ll find more soon,” she lied.
Jake crouched, rummaging through the scattered supplies Lena hadn’t taken. “There’s a map here. And… hell.” He held up a single protein bar, crushed but intact. He tossed it to Elena.
She split it in four equal parts. It tasted like dust and salt.
Marcus checked his pistol. Two rounds left. “We move in five. If we can make it to the river, we follow it east. Less chance of being cornered.”
Elena nodded, but her eyes lingered on the radio. The voice had sounded military. Official. *Was it really a safe zone? Or a trap?*
---
The alley behind the store reeked of rotting meat. They moved in silence, stepping over skeletal remains and shattered glass. Every shadow seemed to twitch.
Then—a whimper.
Human.
Elena’s pulse spiked. Ahead, a figure slumped against a dumpster—Lena. Her shotgun was gone, her braids matted with blood. A deep gash ran down her thigh, the skin around it already mottled gray.
*Bitten.*
Marcus raised his gun.
“Wait!” Lena’s voice was raw. “I didn’t—I wasn’t—” She coughed, blood flecking her lips. “They were already here. The infected. I tried to run…”
Jake stepped forward. “Where’s the pack?”
Lena’s laugh was a broken thing. “Lost it. They’re *everywhere*.” Her gaze found Elena’s, desperate. “I’m sorry. About the kid. I just… I wanted to live.”
Elena’s throat tightened. She’d hated Lena five minutes ago. Now, all she felt was pity.
Marcus’s finger hovered over the trigger.
Lena closed her eyes. “Make it fast.”
The gunshot echoed.
Noah flinched, burying his face in Elena’s side. She forced herself to look away from Lena’s body, but not before seeing the dark veins already creeping up her neck. *Too close. Too fast.*
Marcus ejected the spent shell. “We keep moving.”
---
The river was a graveyard of boats, their hulls rotting in the stagnant water. The group waded through the shallows, avoiding the open streets where shambling figures lurked.
Noah stumbled, his small frame trembling with exhaustion. Elena lifted him onto her back without a word. His arms looped around her neck, his breath hot against her ear.
Jake kept glancing at the radio, now strapped to his belt. “Signal’s getting stronger,” he muttered.
Marcus didn’t reply. His eyes scanned the ruins ahead, his grip white-knuckled on his pistol.
Then—movement.
A pack of infected crouched on a collapsed overpass, their heads snapping toward the group in unison.
*Not shamblers. Runners.*
Marcus cursed. “Go! *Now!*”
They ran. The riverbank gave way to a maze of collapsed buildings, the infected screeching behind them. Elena’s legs burned, Noah’s weight dragging her down. A runner lunged—Jake slammed a pipe into its skull, but three more took its place.
A gunshot. Marcus’s last round. A runner dropped, but the others didn’t slow.
Elena spotted a fire escape hanging by a single bolt. “There!”
They scrambled up, the metal groaning under their weight. The infected slammed against the ladder, their fingers clawing at the rusted rungs. The bolts held—barely.
Panting, Elena collapsed onto the rooftop. Noah curled into her side, his entire body shaking. Jake clutched the radio like a lifeline. Marcus stood at the edge, watching the horde below.
Then, from the east—a sound that didn’t belong.
*Engines.*
Marcus turned, his face unreadable. “That’s not infected.”
The radio crackled to life.
*“Survivors in the red brick district—hold position. Extraction en route.”*
Elena’s breath caught.
Noah lifted his head. “Are they… here to save us?”
In the distance, a convoy of armored trucks plowed through the abandoned streets, their spotlights cutting through the dusk.
Jake exhaled. “Yeah, kid. I think they are.”
But Marcus’s hand hovered near his knife.
And Elena couldn’t shake the feeling—
*Nothing in this world comes free.*
**End of Chapter 5**
- Writer
