Joshua Adams
Friday 6, February 2015
22:55 Hours
Phoenix, Arizona
His breath was heavy and his guilt too. Joshua had failed two people he had wanted to protect. Annabelle's death was like a slap with a metal glove: Anyone, even experienced people, can die by just a mere bite. This thought made Joshua's mind begin to think of how, exactly, would he take the survivors out of the airport. Right as this question was thought, he ducked into a bathroom to hide from a particularly large batch of the infected that he had seen at the end of the hall. He feared for his life and those of others, yet, as trained soldier, kept his calm. He leaned on the door and slid into a half-kneed position. Quickly, he made a quick check-up of his equipment and had only a handful of bullets left, alongside a kitchen knife. Cursing, he ran a hand through his hair in despair. His mind raced through all the possible outcomes he could think so, and most were grim. The burden of having to watch over the other was tough, specially since Jane and Greg were there. A soft thud was heard through the door. Joshua's instincts kicked in, and he stood, in case an infected broke through. Several seconds later, another thud was heard. Suddenly, though, Joshua realized, with hope, that the sound was similar to bodies falling to the ground. After a handful of minutes, only three more thuds had been heard. Taking a deep breath and cocking his gun, he opened the door quickly.
His hopes of allies quickly vanished as his eyes settledupon five infected who's legs were utterly damaged. Several of their legs stuck out at odd angles; another leg seemed to dangle from a couple of veins; while another's leg had fallen off and was now being threaded upon by a large group of infected that hadn't moved from behind the door since Joshua ducked into the bathroom. Slamming the door shut, Joshua felt the weight of all the infected attacking it in order to get to him. Joshua's mind raced through possibilities;, and all the good ones were nearly impossible. Deciding to ease the pain, he turned the gun to himself and, just as he was about to pull the trigger, something happened. He couldn't quite explain, but a deafening sound, similar to a large explosion, shook the whole building. Taking diversion as a sign, he slammed the door open and dashed out, pushing the infected out of the way, who were stunned by the loud sound and ignored Joshua. He dashed across the halls and finally reached a wide open area, and his heart skipped a bit.
Where the lobby had once been now was a blazing inferno. Infected walked through the flames and were caught on fire, but they didn't seem affected. Bits and pieces of the infected fell from their bodies and still they walked on, and Joshua began to wonder who or what could cause such hell, since nothing he had seen could have ever compared to the scene before him.The infected didn't spare anyone, not women; not children. They didn't seem very smart, either, as some walked into things or slammed into pillars before walking around them. Joshua, after noting their behavior (having kept moving to avoid the infected), headed back to the hotel. Once there, he knocked the pattern he had decided upon with Jane and Greg, and finally returned to the relative safety that was the hotel.
"Joshua!" Jane cried out, tossing herself into his strong arms. "You're safe!"
"Where's Annabelle?" Rebecca asked, looking about. "Did she-"
"She got bitten." He replied, letting go of Jane. "She died a honorable death. Can't say the same of the men who left, though..."
"We need to talk." Jane said after a minute or so of silence.
Jane and Greg informed Joshua of everything that had happened since, including the visit by the soldiers. Nodding, Joshua walked off, upstairs, to collect his thoughts. Being a soldier himself, he understood the situation, but he didn't quite get why the army would come here and not save them. If they have the manpower to surround the airport, why not barge in, guns blazing, like they usually do? Something was amiss, and he needed to find out what. Returning downstairs, he took Jane and Greg apart and spoke to them. The siblings listened intently as Joshua described what he had learned of these infected beings and about both Leonard's dad and about Annabelle's death. Once he finished explaining, the two were silent for a long time.
"So, what do we do?" Greg asked. "I agree it's suspicious, but the army's our only choice at leaving safely, right?"
"To save everyone, yes. But, from what you told me, we'd be researched for a long time, yeah?"
"It seemed that way. The soldiers didn't seem very helpful, either." Jane replied, leaning on a wall.
"Did they mention any names?" Joshua asked, leaning on the opposite wall. Greg kept pacing up and down the hall. "Any at all?"
"I think I heard a captain's or colonel's name... It was..." Greg stopped, distorting his face as he thought. "Uh... Clout...?"
"Clout?" Joshua asked, confused. Suddenly, though, his voice took an odd edge as he asked: "Captain John McCloud?"
"Yes, that sound relatively similar to what I heard!" Greg said, relieved. "Wait... You know him?"
"Yeah. I worked with him for a while." Joshua said, thoughtfully.
"But...?" Jane asked, knowing how Joshua was.
"But I don't get it. John McCloud's a very righteous guy. He'd save us. Hands down."
"So? There's probably a higher ranking officer, right?"
"Probably. Luckily, between the three of us, we hold all the information we can get, and with John's rank, we could keep all those other people out of it while giving them what they want."
"How?" Jane asked, worried.
"I'll give myself in, in their stead."
"Will it work?"
"Only one way to find out." Joshua said, then, before he could say anything else, a shriek split the air. "That's coming from the hotel's lobby!"
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