Red Zoned

4

    Jada bites her lip. Her eyes flick to Jeremiah and back.

You got this, she lips to me.

Roman is stoic; staring out past the tall electrified fence.

The soldier with the scar, a short Cowboy Hulk, raises his wrist to his lips and speaks into the communication device on it. The gate slides open with a metallic whir.

I swallow hard and sprint from the large black 'X' before Jeremiah orders me to. There are audible gasps from the crowd as I squeeze through the opening and into the unknown. Into the home of the monsters.

A glance over my shoulder shows Jeremiah slapping Roman over the head. "Ring the bell, goddamnit!" he shouts.

Roman fumbles the bell before the loud dings echo around me.

I'm running, holding my cuffed hands to my chest, overly aware of every movement in the distance. Was that a rat under the car to my left or a Flesh Eater waiting to lunge at me?

My lungs are on fire as I push into a dark tunnel.

I hesitate. Should I avoid the tunnel? I wish Roman could have given me more advice.

I keep running. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness but once they do, my heart gets stuck in my chest. The road is scattered with cars and trucks. Weeds grow taller than the vehicles through cracks in the pavement and every time the wind blows, they scratch against the metal and send chills down my spine.

I should have avoided the tunnel. There are too many hiding spots. Too much darkness.

I slow to a walk, careful to check around each vehicle as I pass. I'm beginning to think that the stories they've told us about The Red Zone are dramatized. Maybe they add hype to the outside so people won't try to escape, but the barren roads aren't what I imagined when I pushed past the gate into what is supposed to be swarming with Flesh Eaters.

Moving to a crouch, I begin to dig in my pocket for the handcuff key, but as I do, someone... something lets out a high-pitched laugh. An overly excited yipping noise that echoes down the length of the tunnel and bounces off every surface.

My eyes shoot to the end of the tunnel, where white light streams in, revealing a mob of Flesh Eaters running toward me. I stifle a gasp and sprint in the opposite direction. I can only hope the rumors are true about them lacking basic intelligence or they'll have a group waiting at the other side to trap me.

I crawl under an overturned truck, where the rest of the road is blocked, and wonder if I should hide here.

I keep moving anyway, the adrenaline putting my brain in overdrive. The fear of being torn to shreds won't let me stop. Not now. Not when I can feel them closing in on me.

The other side of the tunnel is only a few feet away, but the opening is blocked by a row of cars.

I take them at a sprint and roll over the hood of a sedan but as my feet hit the other side, something grabs my ankle.

A flesh eater is crouched, digging his black nails into my jeans. There's an empty smile glued to his face as he drags me to the ground.

"Shit," I yelp.

They are smart.

He lets out a squeal. The noise sounds unnatural coming from his lips, too high. Too animal-like.

I kick him in the face with the bottom of my shoe. He flinches and I start to crawl away but he's back on me in a second, the smile replaced with gritted gray teeth.