“The Tailor Shop!” Sage yelled. Panic was written across his eyes while sweat and blood from the fallen Z’s covered his face and shirt.

I swung in the opposite direction and shot my last arrow into the temple of a dead teenage girl. Her limp body fell, only to have a dead man replace her within seconds.

Seeing red, I rushed forward, and unstrapped my bow’s leather band from my arm. Quickly, I flipped the weapon around and slammed the butt end straight upon his skull. Black ooze covered my face, but I had no time to care; all that mattered was killing the Z’s that followed.

“Move to the right!” Sage yelled, and I followed orders as bullet dropped the next one and then another.

“Save the rest,” I ordered.

“Then get your ass back here!” We stood in the middle of their main street, our bodies pressed against a car. Sage had managed to slid around toward the rear end, while I battled the undead at the front.

Once we cleared the fields, the street became open ground for the Zs. While most follow this invisible beacon, some strayed when then noticed us. Now we were trapped against a growing number, and the end of this mob disappeared.

As I sent another one down, something pulled hard on my right arm. I snapped around to come face to face with a dead farmer. His body was bloated with more than fat, and pieces of his flesh had been chewed off.

It tugged harder and pulled my arm to its wide spread mouth. “Fuck,” I cursed and energy surged through my limbs. My left hand, now a fist, went flying back only to plow into his mouth. What teeth he had were crushed instantly, but Gumby continued. This time when I pulled back, I turned my fist into a claw and wrapped my fingers around the first thing it caught. It just so happened to be his neck bone.

“Shit,” Sage whispered from behind, his eyes locked on the deteriorated bone in my hand. Snapping out of my rage, I dropped it immediately, as the Z’s kept coming. “Ready to try that barber shop, again?”

“Yeah,” I called and hopped over the hood, kicking as many as I could.

Sage allowed me to past him, lifted his gun once more and executed any undead that cleared this side of the vehicle. The shop was right behind him, so my trek was short. My fingers wrapped around the antique brass doorknob and tried to turn it; locked. I cursed and looked for a mat, but only saw a potted plant. “What are you doing?” he asked, panic never left.

“Everything’s locked; there must be a hidden key somewhere.” With great force, I knocked over the terracotta and watched the rust stone shatter. As predicted shiny, silver key glimmered amongst the dirt. I scooped it up instantly and placed it in the locks.

“Any day now,” he warned as another shot took down a Z which stood on the sidewalk.  

A hard turn disengaged the lock and Sage pushed us both inside, only to slammed the door on the fingers on another. He jammed something into the other side of the lock and watched as the windows quickly filled with the cluster.

“Find any stairs?” He asked and backed away from the glass pane.

I looked around the small room, still preserved without an ounce of dust. “This is unreal,” I spoke of the storybook town, with its Z summoning and invisible colony.

“We need to find the others,” he spoke my thoughts as well and I looked over to the window. A crack formed along the top; it wouldn’t hold much longer.

Immediately, I moved deeper into the room and approached a curtained doorway. “Sage, over here,” I called as I used the key again. The door gave way with a hiss, just as the glass cracked again. Sage moved closer to me as a sharp sound broke the silence between us. I looked over my shoulder to see a spider web of cracks spread along the surface and the Z’s angry grew from the barrier.

“Run,” Sage ordered his voice low, fear filled.

“You first,” I replied and gripped him by the shirt collar. I pushed him beyond the door, just as one last crack connected all the others and waves of glass burst into the small room.

“Celeste!” He pulled me to him, as I tightened my hold on the key and snatched it out of the lock. Once inside, I reached for the knob, and slammed it shut; the key went in on the opposite side and turned it. Z’s snarled against the door, pounded the hardwood, which would give soon.

Now in darkness, Sage and I clicked on our infrared lights attached to our weapons. We were in a five by five closet, with stairs that led down. Sage gestured downward and then nodded. I mirrored his movement; booted feet took the steps quietly, yet quickly. I followed with as much finesse, and used my heightened sense to signal no danger. At the bottom, I was shocked not to see a basement, or even a small cellar. No, this led to a tunnel.

Sage paused for a movement, looked both ways before he moved his gun forward. Quickly, I whistled as his light flashed over something on the wall. I pointed at the object etched into the stone wall; coordinates.

Like an address, someone stamped this place with coordinates, degrees of latitude and longitude. I was just about to curse, when Sage sent a response whistle and took a sharp left. I raced after. Confidently, the man ran down the tunnel, only to stop when we reached another set of stairs with another set of coordinates.

Now, I understood where we were going; the stadium.

Shit, I thought. That’s why we never saw anyone. That’s how the buildings stayed clean, yet seemed untouched. The people lived underground. However, I wondered what else they had in store for us.

“You said center of town is the stadium,” Sage stopped again, but this time turned off his light.

“Yes,” I answered back as his right hand touched my weapon with great precision and the light flicked off.

“We’re close. Where is Jasper meeting you?”

“Along the south side,” I answered and listened for any sign of danger.

“Okay,” and I pictured him nodding. “Stay close,” he whispered, only barely and took off to the left again.

Down here, there was nothing but silence and heartbeats. I sniffed for Z’s but the only smell that lingered was earthy, muddy. I didn’t like this. I stayed on Sage’s heels and used my increased hearing to guide his. The pounding of Z’s against the barber shop still echoed through the tunnels, but at a volume too low for Sage to picked up on alone. I listened for another sound and was met with nothing.

We ran by two more coordinates and then turned right, only to hit a dead end, there was no address. Sage lit only his light at brief intervals, but this tunnel was darker than the others. What light filtered in from fist size holes in the ceiling, were now gone and I had a sense of unease.  

“This is the only way?” I asked, and he responded with a stiff yes. “Then we’ll go one coordinate back.” I instructed and turned around to move, but Sage didn’t follow.

“Flowers,” he whispered, and that’s when I concentrated on my nose.

“We’re under the bowl…” I started and continued to back away. “We’ll be trapped by more, there’s no way out through there.”

“Okay,” he spoke and this time his foot started, but a loud clatter filled the tunnel.

“Sage!” I gasped as the clang came from his dropped weapon. Immediately, I flicked on my light and swung around, and froze.

In front of me, Sage was sprawled out on the floor, as a pale, translucent hand wrapped around his ankle.

“Run, Celeste,” he whispered, his voice shaky and scared. “Turn off the light and run.”

But I couldn’t, even as the hand tightened around his leg and another came out of nowhere, slid into view of the light. Sage produced a hunting knife and stabbed the tightened grip, only for a screech to echo off the tight walls.

“Fuck, run!” Sage screamed as he turned on his gun light and the white, bright glow illuminated the whole tunnel, and the cluster of mutant Z’s huddled at the base of the steps; bright yellow eyes opened and hungry. Rapidly, their breathing grew into a deadly symphony and slowly, their famished bodies dismantled from their group, as if they’ve woken from hibernation.

“Sage,” I called and moved forward to help him, as he moved out of the mutant’s grip. Quickly, he got his feet, and within seconds we were at a sprint.

I made a right, down a tunnel we’ve never tried, with the floral scent intensified. Another growl filled the air, and then we heard them. Like a stampede, the mutant dislodged and found their strength from pure hunger. Thinking of my own curse with famine, fear coursed through my blood. We needed to get to higher ground.

I took another right turn and ran up a set of stairs. They led to a metal grate in the ceiling. “Watch out,” Sage ordered, as he fell to his back on the steps and kicked up with all his might. The metal popped open without a fight, but didn’t leave us much room to escape.  

I was the first to climb out of the tunnel and helped Sage, as two mutants fought on the steps for the prize. Sage fired twice, stilling both creatures and giving us a head start, but I knew we couldn’t get too far without more danger.  Now we stood in the middle of the bowl, right in the floor of weeds, reaching six feet or more.

“We have to get out of here,” I warned just as my body burned and the redness came back. My mentality floated and the creature took over.

Her vision sharpened and her mouth salivated. She was hungry, seeking blood wherever she could find it; which proved a useful tool.

“Celeste, which way…fuck!” Sage started and then he saw the transformation. Quickly, his gun flew up, and aimed, but she wasn’t interested in fresh blood at the moment. Eyes focused behind him, before her teeth bared and she ran, as something jumped from the shadows.

Like a skilled killer, she grounded herself and watched the body fly toward her, but fell with its oozing head in her hands, ripped straight from his neck.

She smelled another one behind the first, and another one, and another, as she moved in a circle. They were trapped, but then a growl from the grate brought her back to reality.

In seconds, a mutant sprung from the depths, his eyes locked on her, but squinted once it sensed its surroundings. She began to back away. Another mutant joined the first, but their attention were replaced by the growing number of Z’s approaching.

She continued backwards until she bumped into a frozen Sage. With eyes wide and gun aimed, he was only a model of what to do; shock suppressed actions. “You need to run.” Celeste heard the words, even felt it leave her mouth, but she gave no thought to it, her body moved on its own. It was the creature inside who took over.

She grabbed Sage’s thick wrist and pulled hard, snapping him back to reality. He stumbled before recovery and looked at her for instructions. She pointed to higher ground when a light flickered through the dim area. She paused in her haste, tried to identify where it came from, while Sage fought off the daring Zs.

“Fight back,” he yelled to her, but she was transfixed with the shimmer.

“Look,” her words came as she found the source. The ceiling which was lined with steel beams and catwalks, now opened. From the center, a small hole transformed, widened at a steady pace. It continued as more shimmers filled the dome and soon growls of the undead retreated.

Even Sage circled in amazement as the undead slowly backed into the shadows, leaving us. “The light…” he began but there was no time to finish. A strangled moan brought our attention to the center of the grass. “The mutant,” Sage voiced and instantly swung his rifle against his back.

She pulled an arrow from my holder and aimed right at its head. As Sage prepared for hand to hand combat, the count began and the arrow flew on three. It soared the fifty feet between prey and predator before the mutant jumped out its way; the arrow sunk deep into an undead’s head.

“Fuck it.” This time, Sage didn’t wait.

We went off into a fast run, whipped through the over grown greenery as light began to pour into the bowl.

The mutant raced behind, he growls sounded agitated, even on the border of painful. “Stay with me,” Sage yelled as my feet slowed, but she needed to see.

For a split second, she looked behind her, to see that the creature was gone, but his labored growls increased. She readied another arrow, as blinding sunlight erupted through the bowl all at once. Hung mirrors, purposely positioned, spread the intense glow around the field and spared not one inch.

She faltered in her blindness while her senses went haywire from the pain. “Ahh,” she screamed and I urged her to gather herself. We couldn’t stay in one spot, the mutant was close.

My eyes opened suddenly, against the pain. It took several blinks to clear myself of the white dots and for the grass to show its color. No longer in the shadow, I spotted the mutant cowered underneath a huge plant leaf. What skin was exposed seared under the magnified light and boils formed.

My feet moved closer, even though I urged her to leave. Soon, one step meant two, two steps turned into five and before I knew it, I stood over top of the fallen monster.

Bloodshot eyes screamed from the shade, while its arm reached out. The light caught it and the creature cried in agony. Though his features were distorted, they were still those of a human. His broken nose was nothing but skin, soon to fall off. Cheeks were so sunken that you could see the muscles and teeth on the other side. His jawline was too broad for his face, allowed the mouth to extend more, while sharper teeth promised that no parts would remain from a feeding. 

He thrashed around; his fingers spread and clawed for me, but they always flew back in a matter of seconds.

“Celeste!”

Sage was behind me now, his voice filled with urgency. He moved forward to take a glimpse and cursed before bile filled his throat. He gagged for a couple of seconds as the smell of burning flesh became unbearable.

“We need to meet the others,” he managed to spit out, with his shirt covering his nose. She nodded, even though she didn’t turn away from the mutant. She was beyond intrigued with his reaction to the light, something that never affected the normal undead.

‘I want my body back,’ I thought and there was a sense of reluctance within me, but slowly the redness in my vision lightened and my body felt unbelievably light. Beyond fatigue, my legs gave out but Sage was there to catch me.

I took a deep breath, and the smell scorched my lungs, my nostrils caught in the crossfire. Eyes watery, I gagged too and brought my own shirt up when nothing came.

“Come on, before someone catches us,” He order and turned away.

Weapons raised, we exited the field by climbing over a 3 ft wall and walked down an ADA ramp. The light was blocked from reaching this far, so everything was once again in darkness. I told Sage where the others were supposed to meet us, and he quickly retraced the directions we already took. Without words, he used his rifle to signal out instructions.

We were back in the concourse I discovered before, and while he kept to the walls and out of sight, I had a feeling something was wrong. I urged him to go quicker, sometimes moving in front of him and setting the pace.  The entry doors were up ahead, but as we got closer the more danger I felt. “Sage, keep your eyes up,” I spoke, but to no response.

Instantly, I stopped and turned to see no evidence of another person. The light from his flashlight was gone, and darkness surrounded me. “Sage?” I whispered harshly. I called again, circled until my arrow hit something sharp. “Ahh,” I let out as the pang echoed through the space. “metal,” I thought, but when I went to move again, nothing stopped me.

“Oh shit,” I thought and instantly called for the creature within, but it was too late. My bow slipped out of my hands and crashed to the floor, as a poison soaked rag was placed over my nose and mouth.