Outside the Dome

#9: A dying man's last word to his medic/nurse: "Run." OFFICIALLY PUBLISHED in the Circus of Indie Artist: Gates of Hell Edition

            For as long as I could remember we had to fight to survive, my older sister and I. Nanae, she raised me, kept me alive when everyone else including our parents would have left me for dead. Babies make noise; noise attracts things. Those things bring death so now our world is doomed. The only safe place is beneath the water, the undead can't survive in water. Their rotting carcasses attract all sorts of fish who devour them until they are nothing but bones. It doesn't stop them from trying though.

 

Nanae and I were lucky enough to find someone to trust when we were all alone on the surface doing everything we could to survive on our own. Mykhail's family took us with them to the underwater society we called the Dome, where the last of humanity resided. There were so few of us left, and the numbers were still constantly dwindling. The other survivors, they taught us many things. Like how to fight, how to survive, and most importantly to never trust anyone. Not even close friends or family. To trust is to give an opening and anyone can stab you in the back to ensure their own survival. In this day and age, I'd rather have my face eaten off then be betrayed by anyone.

We survivors take shifts on the surface. We spend a month in search of survivors, medical supplies, food, and weaponry. We track, slay, and burn any undead that we can find while praying they don't scratch or bite us during it all. Even so much as a scrape of their nails, will infect us. The infected only live about a week at most, before they die. Usually they don't last a day. We don't know what causes it, but mere hours after death, the disease kicked in and the body becomes reanimated.

Mykhail, Nanae, and I are a team. We watch each other’s backs out on the surface. We are the group that’s outside the dome the most, because we are the youngest capable of surviving, and we seem to be the luckiest. Some people say we're miracle workers, but we're not. We are just survivors, fighting to help humanity last one day longer. Despite what they may say, this is a battle humanity is going to lose in the end. We all know it, but we are too proud to admit defeat.

 

Today is my eighteenth birthday, and instead of celebrating we are piling into the submarine that we use to get to and from the surface. We've got our guns, ammunitions, rations, and melee weapons of choice. Nanae has this sad look on her face as she tinkers with her spiked bat. I know she had wanted to celebrate my coming of age the way we would have before the world was overrun by the undead. It doesn't bother me; what does being a year older matter when the older we get the more set in our ways we get, and the closer we get to our deaths?

"Sumi?" Nanae called my name.

"Mm?" I grunted as I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. I wasn't really known for speaking, I was more known for my silence.

"Sorry we can't celebrate your birthday." Ah, so she was still tearing herself up inside over it.

"Don't be. It’s just another day. It's not as important as the mission."

"Sumi." This time Mykhail spoke and I gave him my full attention.

"Remember, the mission isn't everything. We have to make as many good memories as we can." He knew just as much as I did that birthday celebrations meant a lot more to Nanae than they ever would to us.

I didn't say anything as I pulled out my two machetes and a whetstone and began to sharpen the edges. I heard him sigh and I know they shared a look before he grabbed hold of the controls as my sister closed and secured the hatch. We always took turns navigating, driving, and just sitting back. That way no matter what happened we all would do what we needed to if worse came to worse.

"Radio check," Mykhail called out wanting to make sure our radios were good to go one last time before we got too close to the surface.

"Copy," Nanae breathed into her mic.

"Affirmative," My answer was swift and clear.

"Good."

Mykhail was our team's technological expert. I still have no clue how he managed to make us headset radios that worked using potatoes as makeshift batteries. Sure they didn't last long, but they did the job well enough in case we got separated. He is also our crowd control expert, when it comes to the undead.

Nanae was the team medic and scavenger. While we all knew first aid, CPR, and all that stuff; she knew far more. She's the one who managed to keep an infected alive for a full week. She was the only person who had a chance to find a cure, besides fire. In all honesty, she shouldn't have been out here with me and Mykhail. She'd be better off in one of the labs on the lower levels of the Dome working to create a cure, but we all knew she'd never leave Mykhail's side. There was a bet going around on when they'd confess their feelings and get married.

Me, I am the stealth and tactics specialist on our little team. Not to brag or sound overconfident, but I'm the one person no one can find if I don't want to be found. I don't like much noise, which is why I barely even speak. I'm pretty observant and I think quick on my feet. I guess you can thank dear old Dad for that. He managed to get us close enough to the Dome before he left us for Mykhail to find us. Dad never did tolerate any sort of sound, so guess I get it from him.

Before I knew it we breached the water’s surface. I put my weapons and the whetstone away and drew my AWC G2. Nanae unlocked the hatch and I opened it just enough to scan the area through my scope. We were inside a small boat house, the perfect place to hide the sub. There wasn't anything in the area, but it never hurt to be quiet.

I signaled them the all clear and soon enough we were all against the wall. I motioned for them to quietly pull the door open enough for me to check the area. Mykhail has his Magpul FMG-9 in one hand, as he reached for the door. Nanae was resting single hand on her M-16 to keep it pointed at the ground as she helped open the door.

The door opened silently, and I was thankful we'd found enough oil to keep the hinges from making racket. The team we were relieving should show up soon, if they weren't already outside. Usually they'd wait inside the boat house for us, but we were a few hours early still.

Everything seemed clear, but just as I was about to give the all clear a loud groan sounded. We all tensed and I could feel the hair standing on the back of my neck. I heard a shuffling sound and felt my stomach drop. Nanae gasped silently behind me and Mykhail cursed under his breath as I motioned for them to open the door wider so I could check my blind side a bit better.

There was Old Man Ignius covered in blood and a chunk missing out of his arm. He was shuffling around in a circle, eyes completely white. I couldn't see Nina, his partner, anywhere so there was still some hope for the poor girl, not much but it was there. Since my rifle was the most silent, I took aim for the old man's head. The click of the trigger caused the zombie to turn and look right at me. The bullet landed right between his eyes and knocked him backwards right off his feet. He hit the ground with a thud, but didn't move as black blood spilled from the holes in both the front and the back of his head.

The easiest way to take out the undead was with a shot to the head. Shooting center mass only wasted bullets. It didn't drop them, hell, it barely knocked them back. First rule of survival is to aim for the head. Second is to light them on fire just to be safe. We didn't know if they'd reanimate a second time even if there was a bullet in its head and keeping anything from coming in contact with its bodily fluids kept the infection from spreading further than it already has.

"Man... Alexia is going to be so pissed." Nanae murmured.

"Not our problem. We all know how unlikely it is to survive out here." I whispered quickly, though I didn't mean to sound as cold as I did bad habits and all that.

"I'll light him up. Then we need to see if we can locate Nina." Mykhail pulled a matchbook from his pocket and dropped a lit match onto the body. We watched it become fully engulfed for a moment before we secured the door to the boathouse.

We searched the nearby houses streets and hideaways in the same manner. After a few hours we eventually came across Nina, or what was left of her. We found her head and there was rotted flesh still in her mouth.

"Damn..." Mykhail shook his head.

This time I pulled out a match and set the head ablaze. Knowing Nina, the stupid girl had hidden her injury till she turned, and by then it was just too late for the girl's grandfather.

"Night's going to fall soon. We haven't found any new supplies yet. Most of this area's been cleared. Let’s finish with this building then we'll hole up in the basement for the night." The love birds nodded their agreement. The building was empty, so the old man must have cleared it out before Nina turned or shortly after he finished dealing with her.

When we got to the basement I was surprised to find quite a bit of supplies. Old Ignius and Nina had found quite the stash. It wasn't sorted though. So I decided to give Mykhail and Nanae some privacy and began to organize and sort through the supplies while they moved to a more secluded part of the basement. Unfortunately it wasn't much; because I could still hear them whispering to one another in hushed tones after they secured the door.

Before we continued exploring, we made several trips to bring the supplies we'd found back to the boat house. The area was still clear, and it was the perfect chance to do it before more of the undead showed up. Somehow they always did.

It was almost noon before we moved on, travelling deep into the outskirts of the city. We'd been out this way many times, but it never hurt to go over again, as we saw in the basement the night before, you never know where survivors will turn up or stash their supplies.

Not all newcomers are good. Some kill any people they meet and steal from their remains, instead of taking them in. Some groups even turn to cannibalism in order to survive despite the lack of food and resources. Those people we have to kill, before they kill us and leave the rest our survivors to die waiting for us to return.

I could hear groans and shuffling around the corner from the alley we were currently crouched in. I use my scope and note that there’s more than a few roaming the streets here. In fact I can count at least twelve zombies each more gruesome looking than the next. I relay the information through some hand signs and Mykhail switches places with me. I hold up one finger to begin counting. I add another finger.

"Three!" Mykhail called out the final number as he jumps out into the street quickly followed by myself and Nanae. We fire round after round into the hoard of zombies, and Mykhail made quick work of the groups crowded together as me and Nanae picked off the stragglers. Thankfully we still had more than enough ammo for out preferred weapons, so we didn't need to worry about fighting close up yet.

As we go to set the bodies on fire I hear the slight taps of footsteps and some light clicks. Survivors. I raise my hand to stop Mykhail and Nanae and we dart back into the alley. We climb onto a dumpster and Mykhail boosted me onto the roof. As he and Nanae climbed into the dumpster and closed the lid to hide themselves, I quickly situated myself flat against the roof close to the edge.

I could see movement in the building across from me through the scope. There was a few people peering out the windows and a couple hiding around the other corner of the building.

"I have a visual on ten to fifteen possible combatants, maybe more, five in the alley across the street. The rest are in the building. Going to call out to them, see if they are friendlies. Do not come out of hiding. Do you copy?" I called out over our headsets.

"Aye, roger that!" Mykhail replied.

"Alright I know you people are there. Come out hands up, weapons not ready to fire and you won't be shot. Try anything funny and there will be a bullet in your head faster than you can blink." I called out, wishing silently for Mykhail to be doing the talking. I really hate dealing with strangers... I could hear whispering, but I couldn't make out their words. After a few tense moments, one of them stepped out, hands up and unarmed.

"The others in the ally with you as well, I know there were five in the alley." More whispers sounded and I heard weapons being put away before the other four stepped out all of them held their hand s close to their ears.

"That’s good for now, you with the people in the building?" I called out again.

"Yes, they are allies. We've been held up in there for a while, but when we heard gunshots we had to take the chance to talk to you." The first one that had come out answered.

"How many people total, and has anyone been bitten or scratched?" I asked cautiously.

"Just fifteen of us and not that we know of. I... I hear there’s a safe place near here. a place zombie free. Have you heard of it?"

"That I have. Whether it exists or not remains to be seen. How'd you hear of it?" It wasn't like there was a working radio station broadcasting the information out.

“Eh, rumors and hearsay mostly..."

"Is that so? Can you give me any names? Maybe I might know the person?"

"The first time I heard it, it was a b*****d of a man by the name of Devon. He said he left his two girls near here for one of their patrols to take in. Left us to rot, he did. I heard it again a few days ago from this old guy; think he said his name was Ignus. He had a little blond woman with them. They acted a lot like you are." I heard the radio crackled in my ear as Nanae gasped. Devon was our old man's name.

"I should hope so, I knew of them." They visually perked up at my words.

"Are they alright? They said they'd go get some supplies to help us out but that was days ago."

"Unfortunately they are no longer among the living, or the undead. They never reached the Dome. Get all your people outside. My team and I are coming out. We've some facts to straighten out." I called out before giving the go ahead over the radio to come out.

As one of their members ran inside to gather the rest of their surprising large group, Nanae and Mykhail climbed out of the dumpster and came out into the open. As they brushed the garbage and trash off the rest of the people filed out. I didn't trust them, but there really wasn't much that I could do to learn if they weren't going to try to kill us in some manner of form without taking the risk. My team would be very angry if I didn't give them the chance to prove themselves to us.

"Mykhail," I called out and he moved to the side of the building as I dropped down from the roof to land safely in his arms.

"Thanks, Myk." I flashed him a small smile before glaring out at the people in front of us.

"Anytime, Sumi," he grinned. The newcomers greeted us with smiled.

"I'm John. This is Annette, Jacob, Susan, Mickey, Scott, Darin, Edward, Melany, Joshua, Louis, Frances, Bob, Robert and Linda." He pointed to each member as he said their name and each one nodded their head in greeting, or raised a hand briefly at their name.

"I'm Mykhail, This is Nanae, and Sumi here was the one you were talking to." I continued to glare at them silently at them, as he introduced us to them. I wanted to talk tactics; I didn't care about who they were. I didn't trust them. Something didn't feel quite right.

"You two girls look a lot like that Devon guy..." One of them pointed out and I narrowed my eyes further.

"He was our father, so of course we do." Nanae sounded annoyed. Honestly it wasn't any of their business whose kids we were. So I didn't see the point in sharing that in formation.

"If you have an issue with our parentage, go find our old man and take it up with him." They winced at my words. Sure it was harsh, but he never wanted a thing to do with me so why should I want anything to do with him? With the introductions out of the way we began to talk strategy, meaning I had to talk, a lot. I wasn't happy in the slightest because they kept trying to argue with me. Eventually I got fed up.

"Listen here, we do this my way or you are on your own. We don't need you, but you obviously need us. So make your decision here and now, because I'd be more than happy to leave you to the undead." Nanae was appalled at my anger though Mykhail kept her from vocalizing her thoughts. He fully agreed with me, and I knew it.

"Fine, I just don't see why you can't take us all at once to the Dome."

"It’s simple. There is only one way to get there and there isn't enough room for everyone, unless you can sprout gills and breathe underwater." I rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration.

"Oh... That makes sense..." Was it really worth arguing that much about? Did we have to waste a full hour arguing about facts dealing with space and mass?

"Good. Mykhail, you and Nanae take rear guard. I'll take point. The rest of you stay between us and close together. Do not discharge your weapons unless I give the all clear. Only exceptions are if we come across some surprises and a zombie jumps out at you faster than I can put a bullet in its head. Understood?" Most of the group frowned, but nodded at my words. I had a feeling they weren't going to listen to me, and if they died that was on them, but if they endangered Mykhail or Nanae there would be hell to pay and I'd make sure to collect.

We made a slow trek back to the basement where we had stayed the night before. I told them to stay there while I scout ahead. Enough time has passed during all the arguing and traveling, and hunting that it was nearing night fall, not a good time to be out and about. I left Mykhail in charge and left the group by myself to scout ahead. There was no telling how many of the undead had shuffled back in in our absence. There were probably once a small handful, but it'd be best to take them out now rather than face them with that large of a group.

I travelled along the roofs, quietly leaping between them. The undead weren't much for climbing anything but stairs. In fact from what I heard from some older survivors, before the undead came they used to think they'd move at a snail’s pace and barely be able to do anything. They were wrong, obviously. The undead moved as fast as an average human, sometimes faster.

I could hear the shuffling of feet on the pavement below, dead weighted feet dragging along the ground. I managed to find a decent vantage point and took aim. I could see seven of the not so dearly departed in sight and took a deep calming breath. Then, I fired a shot.

"One." I muttered to myself as I switched targets.

"Two." I exhaled after I pulled the trigger. Then I took a moment to reload.

"Three." I fired again and again each time calling out the next number. Nanae hated when I did this, so for her sake I only counted my shots when I was alone. I liked counting my shots. I needed to take track of how many I have left. It wouldn't be good to run out of bullets in the middle of a fight after all.

"...Seven." The last zombie hit the ground and all was quiet. I didn't move from my spot as I looked out over the area. The noise of the bullets hitting flesh, as well as the bodies hitting the ground, was sure to attract any more that might be nearby.

I heard a strangled cry as I saw one of the more mobile undead run into the area. It looked like a little girl, a child that had been no more than eight. Her throat had been partially torn out. That would explain her cry. I could hear more scraping; she was leading the others to the spot with the noise she made as she stumbled about the area searching for something alive. Though I was sure her lungs weren't working, it looked almost like she was trying to smell me out. These brain dead things seemed to be growing smarter.

"Eight." I took aim once more and fired just as she looked up in my direction. She hit the ground hard and I could hear a loud crack as her head bounced on the pavement. The girl must have been one hell of a hard head. Nanae and Mykhail would have been sick, or at the very least upset about it. Me? I was unsettled.

I knew very well that had it not been for Mykhail that could have been me or Nanae, or both of us. It was a frightening thought, so I shoved it away as I continued to shoot down more and more of the undead. I fell into a simple rhythm: aim, breathe, fire, and breathe. I was so focused that I didn't even notice that my mind had cleared and I'd stopped counting.

I counted the bodies as I waited in silence for a few more minutes. Twenty five, I fired twenty five rounds out here tonight. No more were coming so I climbed down the nearest fire escape and set the corpses alight. As the foul stench of burning rotted flesh filled the air, I returned to the roof and made the trek back for the night. 

Hopefully, that would help us out tomorrow. There was a feeling in my gut that was just a foul as the air around me. Something bad was going to happen tomorrow, and I couldn't help but hope that for once my gut was wrong.

We set out just before dawn. I had informed them all the night before my findings from scouting ahead, and while they were pleased I could tell they were nervous. There had to be more of the undead out there, despite the number I dropped last night. We were all on our guard. I took to the roofs again to provide visual and cover from above while Mykhail took lead point and Nanae covered the rear. It was eerily quiet out, aside from the newcomers’ movements. They weren't very quiet; at least they weren't moving as silently as my team was.

It was just as the boat house came in sight, the long trek oddly uneventful, when movement caught my eye. The area around our current goal was swarmed with the undead.

"Mykhail, proceed with caution. I see the undead five mikes ahead. There’s too many to get an accurate number." I called into my headset

"Wait till I'm in position, I'm going to circle around, see if I can pot shot 'em from a different angle to distract them." I was answered with static, but I could see him nodding his head in my direction, looks like the potatoes were losing their juice; such bad timing. I hoped my message was clear, because I didn't have the time to confirm it.

 

 

I waved the others back as Mykhail ran forward to both organize them a little as well as to get into position. I stalked silently doing everything possible to not alert the dead. They didn't need to know where I was till I made the first shot.

Once I was situated flat against the building closest to the boat house, I took aim, exhaled, and released my first round. The zombie hit the ground with a thud and its brethren turned to look in its direction. I started picking off the faster moving ones as best as I could as Mykhail and the rest of the group moved into positions of their own. Then they began to open fire as I noticed a couple of zombies attempting to climb up to me, only barely failing to pull themselves self-up.

Mykhail let loose a battle cry that drew the zombies' attention. They walked right into his bullets. What I had failed to notice, was the few zombies that had been slumped against the wall. One was directly behind Mykhail. As it rose to its feet I caught sight of it and yelled out a warning, but it was too late. Mykhail let loose a yell as it's teeth tore into his shoulder.

"Son of a monkey's left nut sack," Mykhail cursed and punched it off his arm, before stomping it's head in; despite the situation I smiled. He was going to die as he lived: a goof ball. I planted a bullet in each of the other zombies heads. He nodded his thanks, but we all knew he wasn't coming home with us now. Well, all of us except Nanae.

"Hold them off of us! Mykhail, I can hold of the effects, I've got the serum." Nanae yelled; her fear evident in her voice.

I climbed to my feet and started taking pot shots at the dwindling hoard of zombies as Nanae reached Mykhail's side. The rest of the group took on the zombies they could, but Linda, Louis, Edward, and Joshua were already down. It was too late for them, as the zombies had managed to take a bite out of them. I made sure to plant a bullet in each of their heads as well as the zombies that bit them. Just as it looked like we might be in the clear, I heard that telltale garbled cry, and numerous feet hitting the ground at a fast pace.

 

"Run, Nanae!" Mykhail shouted.

 

"No!" My sister yelled out as she reached for Mykhail. He gave her a sad smile as he shoved her away.

 

"Damn there's more!" I called out as I slung my rifle over my shoulder and drew one of my machetes. I was out of bullets. I made my way down the fire escape one handed, pausing on occasion to behead the few that started reaching out from inside the building towards me.

 

"Where are all these b******s coming from?"  I roared out in frustration.

 

"It doesn't matter!" Mykhail yelled as he fired his rounds. He didn't care that he was going to die, I knew that all he cared about was getting Nanae back to the Dome safely.

 

"Guys, head towards the boathouse! I'll cover you!" Nanae tried to argue with him, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her with me. 

 

"Run!" Mykhail yelled again.

"No time to argue or we're all dead!" I snapped at her as she tried to yank her arm free of my grasp. She cried out in frustration. Thankfully, Annette rushed over and helped me drag Nanae back as John, Melany, Bob, Robert, and Darin covered for us.  Jacob, Susan, Mickey, and Scott had all been bitten or scratched and were standing alongside Mykhail physically holding the Zombies back.

 

"I'm sorry... And thank you!" I called out to the six people sacrificing themselves for the rest of us. There was only enough room for the eight of us in the sub. Nanae managed to break free and started to run back to Mykhail, but I managed to catch her and slammed my fist on the crown of her head. She dropped like a sack of potatoes.

 

"I hope you can forgive me, Nan..." I murmured as I pulled her arm over my shoulder and moved as fast as  I could to get her back to the sub. John met me halfway and I let him lift Nanae in his arms. I looked back one last time and saw Mykhail yanking the door shut behind us as I put my machete away. I quickly caught up with John and the others and opened the sub.

"Climb in!" I ushered the others in, pausing only to help John lower Nanae inside to Robert and Darin, who got her into a seat and secured. I hoped in and John pulled the hatch closed behind him.

"No one else get bitten or scratched?" I asked one last time as everyone strapped themselves in.

 

"No, we're all good," Frances said as he rubbed at his arm. I saw it in the glass' reflection. My eyes narrowed as I turned to look at him. 

 

"Let me see your arm." The others eyed the two of use nervously as Frances shook his head.

 

"No, I'm fine." I uncrossed my arms and moved to stand in front of him.

 

"You show me your arm or I cut it off."  I pulled my machete back out, fully prepared to follow through with my threat. He looked at me shocked as the others gaped at me. Sighing, Frances' hand shook as he pulled up his sleeve to reveal three thing gashes.

 

"Get out. You're infected and I'll not have you risking the Dome's safety." I demanded as I loosened the strap he had used to secure his seat as John, Bob, and Scott unfastened their own straps.

"No! Stop! I'm fine!" He argued as John opened the hatch. Scott and Bob  yanked him out of his seat and forced him out the sub, carefully making sure to not touch the bleeding wound on his elbow. Once Frances was out and the hatch was secured. We could hear him beating on the metal begging us to let him in, but I ignored him as I began to flip some switches and press some buttons. We sank back into the water forcing Frances to thrash about the water and banging on the hard metal in his attempt to get us let him back in..

 

As we slipped deeper into the water towards the Dome, a tear rolled down my cheek. I knew Nanae would never forgive me. Though I know she couldn't hear me, I couldn't help but whisper an apology to her. She'd probably never trust me again.

Reviews

[Mila]

This was great! The change in the font a little more than halfway through was a little off putting, but that didn't take away from the story!
This was a really sad story too. I loved the way you conveyed the emotions! All very believable :)

Well done! :)

-Mila

[Arrinae]

The change in font is not intended I'll fix it later today. I blame the computer I was using. I just got home and am no longer overseas. Im glad you like it.

[TimeTunerTrish]

I just happened to see EdgarAllanPoet's review and I have to agree, it is reminiscent of a mixture of Mad Max and The Hunger Games. It's a good story.

[EdgarAllanPoet]

Nice! It's kinda Mad Max meets The Hunger Games. :)

[LastMonth]

This is good.
I have to say that the length is somewhat problematic for a site such as this.
Not because long stories are bad!
But because people here are usually looking for something on the shorter end.

Very emotional and well written.

[Miyank]

Such an emotional ending. I am crying right now.

[Arrinae]

I'm glad you were able to relate with the characters enough to do so. Thank you for reviewing it means alot!

[Not here]

this was really good. i think the length was a little daunting, but overall it was great and i love the setting it was put in. great job :)

[Arrinae]

Yeah, length can be a bit daunting at times. I was kind of surprised myself when I realized how long it was when I finished writing it.

[Miss Jenca]

Ooooooooo. That is sad. Very cool, but sad. You've done great, again. XD

[Arrinae]

Aww thank you my dear! I always love hearign from you. And I knew you'd like it.