_The Church:
2 weeks after initial infection...
Crosshairs traced over the township down the hill, through the fog, quietly writing Sakura's initials in the forehead of every staggering silhouette. Leaving her finger off the trigger was an uncomfortable feeling, especially with her weapon charged; a fresh and shiny 7.62 cartridge sitting cozy in its chamber. Not yet. Sakura flipped the safety on. Shouldering her M14 EBR she climbed the steps down the bell tower.
Ground floor, sconces were still alight with a warm glow. The pews, more useful as barricades, striped every inch of stained glass. There were the sounds of firearms clicking mechanically as the scent of gun oil filled the air. Pristine, shiny weapons for everyone. A small crank-radio crackled with indistinguishable chatter. Backpacks and other equipment CEDA dropped were laid out across folding tables. The seams of their gear quickly swelled with provisions. A colorful array of bullets, band-aids, and beans strewn over the table to be soaked up by a 5.11 backpack.
Lex seated a fresh mag into her M16. April sat behind her. A few boxes of nine-mil held down the map she was studying. Interstates and highways ran across the US like capillaries, and the more she listened to her radio the more red X's appeared over eastern states. The last to get scratched off was Georgia.
She picked up a model 870 and dropped it over the coast, "Don't need CEDA to tell you to go west, girl". April took the gun from her and checked the chamber. A bright red shell peeked through the ejection port.
Sakura came in shifting her rifle to her hands. "Are we all set for the Hallelujah?"
April lit the cigarette in her lips before taking a last peek at the map, "Estamos listos, Lexine and I got everything hooked up to the same circuit".
"Such a waste" Lex sighed,
"-We need to be light if we're gonna leave here on foot."
"I wasn't talking about the genny...but that is a lot of gas."
April crossed her fingers, "Then let's hope there's more at the travel center".
Lex grabbed a katana. Its aluminum saya was cool to the touch, bits of white paint began to chip near the end. Cherry blossoms-hues of pink and magenta-were painted near its mouth with glittering detail. She tossed it to Sakura who popped the blade out an inch to study its mirror finish.
"-and not more of them," she added.
Vivian patrolled the perimeter wall. The Scorpion EVO bouncing on her hip gave a small reprieve under the glow of moonlight. Every sound from the fog was amplified in its eeriness. Somehow the combination of stone and wrought-iron wasn't enough and she finally understood the need to leave. Where exactly? Uncertain. Hopefully California or Oregon. This whole thing started on the east coast-or so she thought.
Gravel crunched underfoot. Thankfully there was no wind carrying any smell up the hill. But that also meant the fog permeating. Vivian just hoped it wouldn't interfere with Hallelujah and she thought if they could see through the thick of it; the infected. Maybe they didn't need to and sound would be enough. They certainly liked car alarms.
April folded the map. A crooked blue line ran through four states going west then climbed all the way up the coast towards British Columbia. Lex and Sakura bumped fists before splitting up, Sakura retaking the bell tower and Lex going down into the basement. April took the last backpack, Vivian's, then exited through a side door. Minimal glow bled through the fortifications and she toggled the light on her 870. Outside, Vivian waited next to the iron gates that were still chained up. She looked up in time to catch her bag.
"Closing time, Viv. We're on the move" April told her carrying a pair of bolt cutters.
The jaws bit through that wreath of chain as if they were licorice. With a few pounds of force, the sharp metallic kink rang out like a suppressed gunshot. No chance the infected heard it. Just as April and Vivian started to pull the gate open, Lex came out running through the parking area.
"Timer's set!" she announced, "It's all up to Sakura now."
April glanced back at the bell tower once the gate opened. Even through the fog the moonlight was caught as a small glint on the muzzle of Sakura's EBR. Good Hunting she said internally. Lex and Vivian were a few meters outside the perimeter. Flashlights peeled back the darkness revealing every bluish-green shrub and pine. Lex crouched dead in the road grabbing the walkie-talkie on her bag's shoulder strap.
"Sakura, how're we doing?"
"I see a couple of drifters down the road. They haven't noticed you yet, keep an eye on the shoulders."
"Kay-kay. Viv, April, watch my blindspots. I'll take the lead."
April and Vivian moved up to shoulder Lex. Together the three moved like an arrow doing down the hill, flashlights shining on more brush and dead grass. Up in the bell tower, Sakura retraced her steps through the scope, finger hugging the knurled trigger. She checked her watch: 1 minute, 30 seconds. A few more silhouettes drunkenly stumbled onto the road behind them. Her crosshairs drifted over their crooked forms before steadying. One, two. The first shot ripped through the shoulder of the tallest zombie before the next bullet splattered the second's brains. Three, four. Another one to put down the first target going through its chest cavity and a fourth to end one that tripped onto the scene. Blood gleamed in the pale moonlight over asphalt.
Further down the road, Lex signaled everyone to stop. They all crouched. Up ahead was the group of zombies Sakura spotted plain as day. "April, we need a noisemaker" she called in a hushed tone. Shouldering her weapon, April put down her bag and reached for a smoke alarm. Its backside had parts ripped out and altered, all hooked up to a single button.
Like a frisbee she flung it at the infected ahead. There was no response until the chirping erupted into a frantic siren and those zombies suddenly burst from their stupor to flail at the source of the noise. Then more appeared sprinting from the shadows. Kicking, punching, mindless thrashing in this mosh pit of rotting flesh. In unison the three women let loose their firearms. Buckshot, pistol and rifle rounds, peppering the alerted horde still being drawn in from the area. The zombies didn't stop even as their bodies were being ripped apart by the incoming gunfire. They just attacked the source of the noise to no avail. When the battery died, a few stragglers ran up the hill. Lex's M16 dropped them all in a quick succession of three-round bursts.
Sakura kept plinking at any zombie she could find wandering the darkness. Lex, April, and Viv were already down the hill, this was just target practice. And then her watch started beeping. Time to go. She floated down the steps, rifle slung. A wall-mounted device similar to a thermostat was installed at the bottom. Just a few buttons to press: Starting..., Ready Y/N?, System Activating.
DING...DING...DING...DING, the bells were going off overhead. But there was nothing like the howl that followed. A deep flood of noise from evil woodwinds bellowed through the fog. Time to go now! Sakura burst through the doors of the church. As she took off running down the hill, all she could think about were the lyrics to that Lana Del Rey song, Feet don't fail me now. One hand kept her EBR close whilst the other had a Desert Eagle ready.
Down the hill, the three women flattened themselves behind a family of boulders. April prayed, Vivian and Lex kept a wrought-iron grip around their firearms. This mad flurry of bodies rumbled up the hill, pouring in from the town streets, breaking through glass and climbing over cars. A stampede of the dead. April wasn't praying for their safety, however.
She squirreled up the nearest tree. Sakura steadied herself amidst the dead branches holding on for life and limb. All the fog was peeled away by the incoming rivers of infected. Up the main road, from dark corners of the forest and beyond. The rivers clumped into giant roaches of greying flesh, skittering across hallowed ground, smashing through the barricades with their combined force.
Just a few minutes left by her estimate.
Vivian was the first to poke her head out. Trickles of footfall trailed behind the initial horde as the brass bells kept ringing. All clear she whispered. Lex rolled onto her front and posted her rifle over the boulder. Viv was right. Lex then turned to April who was still praying. Where's Sakura?
"-I don't know but I'm not leaving without her" April answered.
"Shit, is she still near the church?"
Checking her watch, Lex answered, "If she is, she's got two min-"
"Hey guys!" Sakura cheered as she threw herself onto the ground near the three.
Lex screamed. "FUCK-Don't do that!"
April rolled over to hug her sister still in the dirt. Vivian rose up with her Scorpion ready hissing "Are you Theater Majors done yet? We have two minutes left before-"
And then it erupted like Mt. Vesuvius. All the night was blown away by an agave-shaped plume of blaze orange creating a false dawn. First the glow then the roar of air moments after. Hallelujah. Bits of church splintered way in the air, raining down on the area and nearby infected as the roaches broke off running into panicked screeching torches.
"We're going to hell for this" April noticed.
Lex patted her shoulder chuckling, "Already there, Avi. And a church is just a building. We keep the faith inside now let's get out of here!"