** PREVIOUSLY A FEATURED HORROR STORY**
The dead have risen. You wake up in the middle of this violent, rotting new world. The putrid stench of carnage is in the air. You flip on the news to learn that dead people are coming back and cannibalizing e...
"With Sal's idea, we have a clear route to the other parts of the building without having to step outside," says Chuck. "Market Mania next door has food. Friedman's Gym and Dojo might not be much help-"
"But heck," interrupts an excited Louis. "Carson's Body Shop is in the building, and there's bound to be a getaway of some sort down there!"
"It'll never work," Charlotte says in a pissy tone. She turns to Louis. "I swear, if I had it to do over, I'd have let you drive yourself to the stupid library!"
Rocky growls at Charlotte from the safety of Louis' arms, and you can't help but agree with the little guy. Charlotte is being quite the pain.
"Will you shut up, Char?" Louis says, finally seeming fed up.
"No," she says. "This whole thing is bull-shit. I could have been on the beach right now, but no! You had to rat me out to mom and dad about Lyle, and here I am, being your personal assistant in hell!"
"You're still worried about the stupid beach trip?" he says. "You are so thick! There are bigger issues to be concerned with. Don't you realize mom and dad are probably dead?"
Charlotte shoots him a look that could burn through metal, as though he has just declared her Tramp-Less-Likely-to-Get-Attention. She opens her mouth to retort-
"Stop it!" Chuck demands. "I've heard enough bickering from you two. We've got to work together."
Charlotte turns her foul attitude onto him.
"I mean it," he says. "Learn to get along, or I'll throw you to them!"
Whoa, you think. Harsh! It's true, you should work together and stress levels are high enough as the situation is...but to threaten to toss a living person to the mercy of those things. . . . You couldn't hand your worst enemy to the undead, not really. You snare at Chuck slightly before you catch yourself. He's big enough to do the job, but does he really have that level of cruelty in his heart? He's definitely one to look out for, but letting him know your indifference so soon is no good.
Charlotte put on a forced pleasant grin. Keeping her teeth together, she says, "So what do we do, sir?"
"I'm glad you asked," Chuck says politely, without a smidgen of anger. "Sally?"
Sally, seeming taken aback, clears her throat before beginning. "We go up. In the manager's office, the ceiling is lower. We can climb on the desk and get in the ventilation system."
"Let's go," you say. You don't need any further instructions.
Everyone is following you as you go back the way that Sally brought you. All the while, the moans of the undead are growing louder the way a howling tornado warns of its approach. Chills begin to spread across your skin with the rising amount of danger. Not having the slightest idea where the office is, you step aside at the top of the stairs and let Sally step in the lead. She mimes for everyone to be quiet, but already, Rocky is grumbling in Louis' arms.
The whole front of the library is glass, with the blinds pulled. Fat load of good that does, you think. You hear dull thumps against the thick glass. Their silhouettes are there. A large army of the living dead. How long will the glass hold, you wonder. One glass slab shakes, clattering in the frame from the weight of the creatures pressing on it. A gnarly undead stands in front of a thin open slit in the blinds. Below its milky eyes, the jaw is askew, almost like it's hanging on only by a feeble thread, and the thing's whole front is covered in dried blood. Behind you, someone gasps.
"Keep going, Char," Louis says in a whisper, because she's stopped.
Louis tugs on her with his Rocky-free hand, but she's rooted in place. It's hard to know exactly what someone is thinking, but as you study Charlotte's pale face, you think you know. There's too many. They're going to get in! Then, without warning, Charlotte breaks. She crumbles, covering her head with her arms, and screams like a bomb is about to fall on her. It's as if all this time, she thought everyone had been lying to her about what's outside. Now, the horror is setting in.
The slightest sound still finds way to your ears, even through all of Charlotte's racket. Thin lines begin to form in the unsteady glass, spreading out like a great spider web.
"It's cracking, let's go!" you shout over the noise.
Louis is pleading, but Charlotte keeps crying, "No, no, no."
"Leave her!" Chuck shouts.
"She's my sister!" Louis says. He shoves a wiggling Rocky into your hands and properly pulls at Charlotte.
Before the first undead crashes through the library lobby, you've all managed to get inside the office and shut the door. Charlotte is growing more difficult and continues to scream and cry. She'll draw in the undead for sure. Louis tries to deal with her while Chuck stands on the desk and unscrews the vent cover in the ceiling, and Sally peeks out an office window into the lobby.
"They're coming," Sally says.
"Got it," Chuck says. He tosses the vent cover into the floor and pulls himself into the hole it left without giving Charlotte a second glance.
"It's okay, we're getting out," Louis tells her. "See?" He tries to draw her attention to Sally as she follows Chuck through the hole in the ceiling.
The door gives a terrible shudder. Something massive has thrown itself into it. It hits it again, causing you to jump and Charlotte to cry louder. You crawl up on the desk and hand Rocky through to Sally, then start climbing up yourself. With a heart dropping cra-a-ack, the door starts to give.
"Come on, Charlotte!" yells Louis desperately.
You want to help Louis, but you know the undead is going to burst through the door any minute. The two of you should be able to shove the file cabinet in front of the door. That might hold long enough to get Charlotte in the vents and follow her before the undead get in. But it could backfire. She might prove to be too difficult and get you both killed. Still, it's in-humane to not at least try, isn't it?
There's no time to think! Follow your impulse-
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Help Louis with Charlotte - SKIP TO CHAPTER 21 Get out of there - SKIP TO CHAPTER 22
