CH 36: Farewell, My Friend.

Warning:

This chapter contains slightly disturbing descriptions of gore that might be uncomfortable for certain readers. Please read at your own discretion.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Jared]

The long hallway which was once filled with blaring sirens and flashes from the emergency light, was momentarily plunged into an eerie silent and pitch darkness. As Jared groped blindly in the dark to find his way toward the balcony of the fourth floor, all he could hear were the thumps of his heart as it frantically beat against his ribcage. 

Amidst the deafening silence, Jared could hear nothing other than his racing heartbeats and the shuffling of his feet as he cautiously moved closely along the wall on the left side of the hallway. Vaguely, his senses began to play tricks on him in the absence of light. At one point, he thought that his eyes were closed the entire time, and on the other, additional shuffling of feet from somewhere up ahead.

The former turned out to be simply induced due to the lack of any form of light source, and his eyes were indeed opened the entire time. The latter, however, was beginning to be more and more difficult to play off as a figment of the imagination. The shuffling sounds he heard seemed to be drawing closer and were not in sync with his own footsteps.

CRASH

Jared bumped into a small table, and the vase that was on it fell and subsequently shattered.

Just then, a strong breeze howled outside the facility. The dark clouds that loomed in the night sky were blown away by the wind, revealing a soft glow of the moonlight which streamed brightly through the large glass windows. 

It illuminated the hallways that were once plunged into pitch darkness, casting long, ethereal shadows on the cold, tiled floors. The atmosphere was both eerie and captivating, as the building seemed to come alive under the enchanting embrace of the moonlight.

But fuelled with fear, Jared spared no moment to stare in awe at the scene. It was obvious to him that he was not the only one on the fourth floor. Running toward the balcony, he attempted to open the large glass doors that led to it but to no avail.

GROWL

Jared looked toward the source of the sound. Two zombies were shuffling clumsily yet quickly in his direction.

“Shit.”

Jared glanced out of the window and then around him.

‘This balcony is probably the only safe way out. I don’t know where the others are but I’m definitely on my own now… I won’t be able to take on two of them at the same time and I don’t have the key to unlock the doors to the balcony. What should I do-’ Jared paused upon spotting the small table he had just knocked over.

“Yes, this should do just- Ah!”

One of the zombies nearly caught Jared by the arm. Jumping out of the way, Jared grabbed the small table and made sure to keep a distance of a few feet between him and the zombies. As the zombies shuffled closer, the rays of moonlight from the window cast light on the zombies.

“N-No way…” Jared gasped in disbelief as he backed further away.

Jared felt his heart sink as he looked at the second zombie which was crawling slowly on the floor. Despite the disheveled hair, the level of deterioration of the flesh, the number of bones that painfully protruded out from various spots of the body, and the completely crooked body- Jared once knew the person.

Despite their brief acquaintances, Jared felt a pang of sorrow. He did suspect that it could be the case, but he has been in complete denial the entire time.  

“I’d hoped that you simply ran away… Samantha…” 

But there was no sign of recognition at the sound of her own name. It was not as if Jared wanted her to still be alive with her body in such a state. If anything, he was glad that Samantha was no longer conscious to feel the excruciating pain from her wounds. Nonetheless, it was the first time Jared had witnessed someone he was personally close with to be in a broken and zombified state.

The groan of the other zombie brought Jared back to his senses. Although the other zombie was limping towards Jared, it was not in any better shape. With a disheveled look and limps twisted in odd angles, it was clear that this other zombie endured a similar impact as Samantha. 

‘But who is he?’ Jared thought as he observed the zombie while holding up the small table as a form of shield and keeping a safe distance away, ‘I can’t really see since his clothes are matted with blood, but it looks fitting and black, similar to what- Oh… Was Boyan an Asian man? Brien and the others didn’t tell us much about his appearance but based on the size, this zombie looked like it could have been lean and maybe muscular. The deterioration of flesh isn’t as bad as Samantha’s… Or am I jumping to conclusions?’

CRASH

“Shit,” Jared instantly checked on both ends of the long hallway.

Although the crash sounded relatively close, there were no signs of other zombies. Even so, Jared was certain that every moment he continued to stay would only increase the chances of him falling into fatal danger.

Jared stilled his frantically beating heart and sighed.

“I can’t stay here any longer… I’m sorry, Samantha,” Jared said sadly as he circled around both her and assumedly Boyan, “Thank you for being my friend.”

Using the small table he had, Jared started hammering down on the door latch. After a few swings, the latch broke off, and the glass doors swung open as another strong breeze blew.

Jared cautiously climbed up the ledge of the balcony and looked out towards the closest tree branch. It was a good three feet away. He then observed the vast grounds below. There were no zombies at all.

‘All the zombies in the area must have been drawn into the facility due to the alarms blaring earlier. Maybe once this is all over, I’ll have to find out if the others have made it out alive and how exactly the zombies broke in. Until then…’

Jared looked back at Samantha for a final time.

“Farewell, my friend.”