Rick’s gun trembled in his hand, darkness swelled around him. The lights which ensured safety had been stamped out by some cruel God. He swallowed and listened to the sound of saliva running down his throat, felt the sweat wash down his brow, he hadn’t been afraid of infected in a long time, not truly, but this… This was something else.
‘Dad, what is it?’ Carl said, annoyed.
Rick’s teeth ground together like white pieces of rusted iron.
‘Ssshhh…’
The creature turned to him, staggering as it did. Rick’s eyes widened and he clutched Carl’s chest, pushing him closer to the wall. It’s skin looked wet like mucus, yet red as permeated with blood, its eyes were covered by raw fungi that shed a little bit every time it moved, like cheese grated through metal.
Bowlegged it began to wander into the flickering darkness. Click… click….click. It’s blind, it has to be, he thought, praying to God this strange abomination was blind.
As the lights flashed down the dirty white corridor, Rick glanced a look, the clicker was hobbling off, shaking and spasming, as it did, low screeches from the base of its gut seemed to escape every now and the. He waited until it turned the corner and grabbed Carl’s wrist to cross to the next room, desperate to find a window, to find daylight.
He put his ear to the door. These things click… And I don’t hear any clicking.
Rick clenched his jaw as he slid the door open, peaking in, his revolver raised by his side, the feel of Carl’s breath moist in his ear. Daylight flooded in on him and a smile crept onto his face. Finally, some good luck. The two crept into the room, it was a classroom thick with dust and dry with time.
Carl straightened his back and scratched his head.
‘What was that all about dad? It was just an infected, we could’ve taken it. I could’ve-’
‘It wasn’t… It wasn’t just an infected, there was something wrong with it, it had no eyes…It’s head… It wasn’t right.’
‘They’re never right dad, so what, did he have an eyes and you sh*t yourself.’
‘Watch your language.’
Carl looked down at his shoes and readjusted the cowboy hat resting on his head.
‘I was just sayin’.’
‘Yeah. Well, hopefully you never have to find out what they look like.’ Rick looked around the room. This room was secure for now, as long as they remained quiet, there was a window letting in amber sunlight. Rick opened it, ready for a quick exit.
‘Let’s see what we can find.’
The two looked around, there wasn’t much. An out of date milk carton, a nutrition bar, some vitamins and a can of soda.
‘Here.’ Rick hurled the can at Carl, it spun in mid-air and Carl caught it like a football, he looked at it meekly, obviously trying to hold back a smile.
‘Good.’ Carl said ambivalently placing it in his rucksack
Rick sighed. He looked down at a canvas of tiny hands made of paint, names were written next to them in childish letters.‘Lori’ one read.
He put his fingers on the tiny palm and laughed nervously, half a cry. I kept him safe Lori, I kept our boy safe, I failed with you… I failed with Judith, but I kept our boy safe.
‘Dad!’ A clatter let rip behind him as Carl fell to the floor, on top of him was a ravenous creature, with a twisted head and a body misshapen with foulness like the creature in the hallway, it gnashed rotting teeth at Carl’s face.
‘Carl!’ Rick dashed across the room, falling over a desk on his way, he could hear Carl’s grunting and groaning on the floor.
‘Hold on.’ He arrived at the scene and blasted the creature off Carl, shooting it clean through the brain.
‘Are you bit’ did it get you?’ He said on his knees, the words staggering over one another in anxiety.
‘No. I’m fine.’ He wheezed through strained breath.
‘Okay. Okay.’ He held Carl’s head to his chest.
‘We need to move. Those things, there’ll be-’
The door began to rattle and the shrieks of the clicking monsters sounded through the walls.
‘Go, go!’ The two ran to the window and Carl climbed through hurriedly, landing on the grass outside.
‘Come on!’ Carl yelled.
Rick darted through and was nearly free when something bit deep into his shoe. No…
He struggled and kicked frantically, eventually landing on the grass outside. The creatures slammed savagely against the window and it soon began to crack.
‘Come on.’ The two darted off across the field, there was a gap in the fence and they were soon in the suburbs. They ran into an alley, it was bare and nothing seemed to be around.
‘Wait, wait.’ He yanked his shoe off his foot awkwardly, then his sock. There was no bite. Thank God.
He slipped it back on his book swiftly and crammed his sock into his pocket.
‘Come on.’
‘What the hell were those things?
‘I don’t know, but I’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing a whole lot more of em’.’
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