State of Decay✔️

Chapter 21: Midnight Terror

"Marcus? Marcus, get up right now!"

Marcus gasped awake. He'd been having a nightmare, the first one he could remember since all this crap started. He was running through the blackened city streets of his hometown. Burning skyscrapers lit the night sky like funeral pyres. The dead were everywhere. They were coming for him. Reaching for him with cold, clammy hands and glowing yellow eyes...

He looked around, trying to get his bearings. It was night and the moon was out, casting a ghostly silver half-light across the world. Maya was standing over him, the terror plain on her face. Behind her, he saw someone else, Jacob, getting dressed. Ed was stirring in the other bunk.

"What...what's going on?" he gasped, badly frightening, the nightmare still wrapped around him like a shroud.

"We just got a distress call from the enclave down the street, at the Kirkman residence," she said. Her voice was shaking, he realized she was just as frightened, but she was holding onto herself, and that gave him some strength of his own.

He sat up. "What kind of call? I mean, what's happening?" he asked, throwing the blankets back. He'd gone to bed in the bottom bunk of the outdoors tent after getting Sam home and having dinner with everyone else. She'd told them stories about Andy Pimms.

"Zombies," she whispered.

"I'm ready," Jacob said.

"You need to get Ed up," Maya said. "I need to make sure we've got our guns."

Marcus turned, reached up under his pillow and pulled out his M9. "I've gone mine," he said and he stood up.

"Good, get Ed up, we're going," Maya replied.

Marcus hastily grabbed his holster and reattached it to his belt. He was extremely glad that he had gone to bed fully clothed that night, including his shoes. He wasn't sure why at the time, but he just had a bad feeling, a shiver of cold paranoia, that made him want to be ready to leap up at a moment's notice. And it had paid off, apparently.

"Ed, come on, get up," Marcus said, shaking him.

"I'm up, I'm up," Ed mumbled. He was terrible at getting up in the mornings. Marcus pulled the blankets back and Ed groaned.

"Ed, people are dying!" Marcus snapped.

That got him moving. "What?!" he cried, sitting up and banging his head on the top bunk. "Shit!" he snapped.

"Quiet, you two!" Jacob snapped.

"The people at the Kirkman place, they're in trouble!" Marcus hissed.

"Okay, okay..." Ed hurried up. He, too, had gone to bed mostly dressed, though Marcus wasn't sure if this was a side effect of sleeping in a public place or sleeping outside. All he had to do was slip on his shoes and he was good to go.

Soon, the four of them emerged from the big tent, each of them toting pistols and backpacks, ready to head into the darkness.

Lily stood by the front gate. Overhead, Sam sat in the watchtower.

"Please be careful," Lily said, looking worried and disheveled. "I don't know how bad it is, but it sounded bad."

"They're definitely shooting up a storm down there," Sam said.

"Where's Pastor Will?" Marcus asked. "Isn't it his watch?"

"He's too sick," Lily replied, just as worried about that, too.

"Marcus, come on!" Maya hissed.

No time to worry about that now, no time for anything. He said quick goodbyes to both women and hurried out of the gate after Maya, Ed and Jacob. Maya and Jacob both had flashlights, which they used to guide their way down the dirt path. They managed to make it through the backyard of the nearest house, down their driveway and onto the road before they encountered the undead. But they had an advantage.