Race for Safe Haven - Jason and Laura

[Posted by Ted H]

Hey, look, it's 2015. Too bad for me that the playoffs are happening and my Packers are playing. Writing isn't exactly a priority. Also, work has me doing some funky hours for the next couple weeks, so...yeah....send more writers?

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[Race for Safe Haven - Jason and Laura]

            Rhett blew through the entrance, the bell ring barely audible over the chorus of moans and Rhett's beating heart. The bell kept ringing to indicate the small mob that was after him as he ran to the back. He pushed through the stock room door and frantically searched for an exit sign. The dead were right behind him, any wrong move or dead end would spell the end.
            A glowing exit sign caught his eye, and Rhett was to it in an instant. The cries of the dead tailed him and he waited for the mob to draw near before pushing out back outside. He kept looking back at the crowd as he walked forward, unaware of the figure who was right outside the door. The sound of a girl gasping caused him to snap around, gun drawn, and cry out at the person.
            "Don't shoot me!" a blond girl cried as she threw her arms up and cowered to the ground. Rhett, unable to process the situation right away on the fly, could only shake his gun at her and go "Bwah! Christ, where did you come from?" Instead of waiting for a reply, Rhett grabbed the girl and started running. "Oh my God!" the girl yelled as the dead started pouring out of the gas station.
            They headed for a vacant lot when the girl stopped. "Not that way," she said as he pulled Rhett towards a one story building. Rhett looked to the lot to see more zombie pouring out. "Through here," she said as she ducked into the building "We can lose them in here."
            At the other side of the building, Rhett and the girl ran out a door and into a back alley. A few steps out, they could hear the moans of more zombies who discovered them. "Stick close," Rhett said as he shifted in front and aimed his gun. Three zombies blocked their advancement while the alley was filling up from the street behind. Rhett squeezed off a couple rounds, striking one in the head. "Keep up!" he yelled as he rushed forward and shouldered into a zombie, sending it tumbling back into the other, allowing Rhett and the girl to get passed.
            "Stop shooting!" the girl yelled as she struggled to keep up with Rhett. "Yeah, let's just lay down and die," Rhett barked sarcastically. "Every time you shoot, you announce where we are!" the girl yelled back. "They already know where we are!" Rhett yelled as he threw his arms up "Dumb bitch."
            "Laura! Up here!" someone yelled down from above. Rhett and the girl slowed down to see a man lower a ladder from a fire escape. Zombies from down the alley were coming, giving Rhett no real choice but up. "Go first," he said as the girl scrambled up the ladder while Rhett aimed his gun and waited. The mob of zombies behind was closing in fast and the undead up ahead were wasting little time in getting over.
            "Who the hell is that?" the man above asked.
            "Just leave him, he's going to get us killed," the girl said as she reached the top and got off the ladder.
            "What are you waiting for, man! Let's go!" the man yelled down. Rhett put the gun back into his belt and started up the ladder. By the time he reached the top, both incoming waves of zombies converged on the ladder and groped their hands up, but were unable to climb. "Well that was fun," Rhett said as he finally allowed himself to relax, the girl shook her head at him with a disgusted expression.

            The man entered through a window, the woman following. Rhett took one last look at the sea of the dead below before going through the window himself. Inside was a storage room for old furniture. The woman threw herself onto a couch and tried to catch her breath. Rhett looked to the man, scrawny with short, blond hair not unlike Chris had looked, but with darker eyes and a clean look to his face.
            The girl was also blond, but didn't seem like she was related to the man. She had lightly colored eyes and she kept her hair tied behind her head. She was out of shape as evident by her still being unable to catch her breath while she held her sides. "No more running, please," she mumbled to herself as she laid down and closed her eyes.
            "Thanks," Rhett said as the man shrugged.
            "Not gonna lie," the man replied with a nod "I was only aiming to rescue Laura, but you're welcome anyway."
            "Still...Name's Rhett."
            "Were you that asshole who brought the entire city's worth of undead down here?"
            "My fault?" Rhett asked, confused by the accusation "Your friend was being chased, too."
            "Nah man, we were sneaking. You're the one attracting everything."
            "That stupid gun!" the girl broke in, sitting back up "You shooting up the place caused them to come. They came from all directions, of course some would find me if I'm nearby! Now we're never getting out of here."
            "No," the man spoke, putting a hand up to calm the girl down "We can still escape. We just need to be quiet about it, and not shoot any guns unless we need to."
            "Alright, my bad, Jesus," Rhett said as he waved his hands out "It's not like any of us died, right?" The girl said nothing as she flashed Rhett a dirty look and laid back down.
            "Well Rhett," the man said "It's not like we can change what happened. Just, you know, be more careful."
            "Right..."
            "Anyway, I'm Jason. And over there is Laura.
            "Where were you guys headed?"
            "We're looking for a car, but neither of us can hotwire or anything like that. I found keys on a dead body and went looking for the car it went to."
            "You found keys on a corpse, and what, assumed the vehicle they went to was nearby?"
            "You know how when you hit the lock button on the remote keychain and it makes the car honk briefly? I was looking for that."
            "........And she bitched me out for shooting a zombie."
            "That's different."
            "Causing a horn to honk won't attract an unwanted crowd?"
            "It's a calculated risk."
            "It's just as dumb as what I did. Dumber actually."
            "Well what was your master plan?"
            "Gas."
            "That was my job," Laura said from the couch.
            "For a car you don't have?" Rhett asked.
            "Do you have a car?" Jason asked.
            "Yeah," Rhett said "Parked it to get gas. How did you not hear me driving?"
            "The last thing on my mind was to listen for a car when I'm too busy looking for another car."
            "How the hell did you two survive this long alone?"
            "We didn't," Laura said, making another dirty face towards Rhett.
            "What she means is we're not alone," Jason said "We're part of a larger group."
            "And where is the rest of this group?"
            "Scattered. Laura and I are trying to get to a rendezvous to meet up with them again. We figured having a car with us would help us all get out of the city faster."
            "So what are we waiting around here for?"
            "We can't go back empty handed."
            "Is...is that a rule or something?"
            "No, but..." Jason hesitated "We're in a bad way. The group is on the brink and I figure if we don't have something useful on our side, we won't last another day."
            "This is stupid," Rhett said as he made for the exit "You have a chance to meet up with more survivors, and you're passing it up to go car hunting with an idiot."
            "Hey!" Laura yelled.
            "How far is this rendezvous?" Rhett asked.
            "A bit to the northeast," Jason responded.
            "We find your group, then we deal with getting my car back," Rhett said as he reached a door, slowly opened it and checked outside. He pulled out his handgun and nodded that the coast was clear. "Any trouble on your way up here?" Rhett asked. Jason shook his head. "I didn't exactly look around," Jason said "The front is unlocked and I'm pretty sure nothing saw me sneak in. They were too distracted by the gunshot."
            "Good enough for me," Rhett mumbled. "Just stop that," Laura quipped "We did just fine before you riled up all the dead. We don't need you saving the day." Jason put his hand up to Laura again and asked her to relax. "Can we fight later?" he pleaded as he looked to Rhett's gun. "How many bullets are in that thing, anyway?" he asked. Rhett shrugged. "Let's hope a lot," he said "What about you two? What weapons are you rocking?"
            Jason shrugged as Laura pulled out a knife. "I'll fucking cut anything that gets near me!" she announced proudly. "You're both dead without me," Rhett said "Stick close and don't say anything."
            "Asshole," Laura said under her breath as the three made their way down. The rest of the building was empty as they found their way to the front. Outside was mostly clear with a sporadic zombie still making its way in the direction of where Rhett was shooting before. "They're literally on a one track mind," Rhett observed as he watched from a hidden position.
            "You know the way to that rendezvous?" Rhett asked Jason, who nodded. "Alright, they're not really paying attention, but stay low and stay quiet," he said "Jason, take the lead. Laura next and I'll cover from behind." Jordan nodded. "You're putting the one person here without a weapon in front?" Laura asked, brandishing her knife again.
            "If you try and stab a zombie," Rhett warned "I promise you I'll do absolutely nothing to stop it from straight up murdering you. You stay between me and Jason and you don't try a fucking thing. Got me?" Laura huffed and stared at Rhett for a moment. Jason sighed and waited. "I say we ditch this fucker now, Jason," she said as she put her knife away and folded her arms. "We're not doing that," Jason said as he looked to Rhett "We ready?" Rhett nodded, and Jason was off. Laura waited a moment before following, then Rhett brought up the rear with his weapon ready.