System Of The Undead

Chapter 318: The Fall Of The Community PT. 2

The community was on the verge of falling but that was all dependent on if Carl could close the gate in time.

Carl had done everything right but he had little experience in combating these creatures which made it impressive that he could accurately stand his ground against a few evolved zombies.

Even though they weren’t quite on the same level as other evolved zombies, this was still an impressive feat.

Carl looked over his shoulder and could tell that the evacuation was ongoing but he had to find a way to close the gates.

Luckily, they had another exit behind the community for emergencies and the zombies were only focused at the front.

Carl mixed in with the zombies, walking around like a mindless drone but he was nearing the evolved zombies with each step, an action he was aware of but he knew he had no choice.

The way to open the gates was in that way but if he could find a way to take them out, then maybe that would make this task a lot easier because the moment he attempts to shut those gates.

There was no way that they wouldn’t be on him and this could potentially halt his progress but he didn’t have time to ponder this.

He only had a few seconds left and Carl walked right past the zombie he had just blinded but there was something strange regarding it.

It stood still, not moving an inch or flinching like its controller had been disconnected.

"Are they supposed to do that?" Carl thought but there was a chance that they were luring him to attack them so Carl focused on his objective.

Even if he lost his life doing this, it would mean that he died for something and that thought comforted him.

Carl smiled as he reached the gates, pushing it shut but the moment his hands made contact with the gates.

The three evolved zombies dashed towards him like athletes on drugs and Carl realized he had two choices. Let go of the gate and defend himself or close the gates and be killed.

"I guess this is it for me..." Carl muttered as he closed the gates and locked it with the padlock sitting on the handle.

But three distinctive shots were heard coming in the opposite direction, Carl turned his head to see that it was Shantel, she managed to gun down one of the zombies but the remaining two managed to escape her line of sight by ducking.

This took them out of sight as they were mixed in with the rest of the zombies.

"GET OUT OF THERE CARL!" Shantel screamed and Carl managed to run, he had to run and that was exactly what he did.

Carl ran his fastest, the other zombies were too slow to react to these sudden movements and Shantel provided cover fire.

Carl knew he had to trust her, he had no other choice and the talk they had the night before allowed him to do this.

Carl was almost there, the relief on his face was evident but the moment he thought the danger was over, hands dragged him to the ground.

"CARL!" Shantel screamed, she couldn’t open fire or she risked shooting him.

Carl was glad that someone cared enough to return for him but was this the end of the road for him?

That was to be seen as the two people that had left earlier to evacuate returned with Lillian trailing a few meters behind due to her much smaller legs.

They had seen Carl disappear among the pile of zombies and rushed in without hesitation.

Cutting down all the enemies they came across they caught a glimpse of Carl.

One of the men opened fire, killing the zombies that surrounded him, it was strange because they saw no zombies on Carl or at least none were trying to eat him.

They managed to drag him out but what they saw made their heart drop.

Carl’s wrist was bitten.

-

Mariam asked for her son but no one could give her an answer, there was no way she was going to leave without Carl as that was the one person she would give her life to protect.

95% of the people in the community were already on buses, ready to go but the gates were yet to be opened, they were waiting for the signal, and Carl managed to hold the zombies at the gates.

They didn’t enter into the community and the ones that could, they could be dealt with easily.

The zombies made their way to the gates but they couldn’t get in, Carl might have single-handedly made it possible for the rest of the residents to get away from the community alive.

Mathis was among those who remained in the community, he was trying his best to make sure that all his patients made it even though a few had some contagious illness so they couldn’t go with the others.

That meant that Mathias had to stash them in a different car that he had to personally drive but Josephine was with him.

She refused to leave his side for some reason and Mathias appreciated her dedication to him but the truth was, he didn’t have much time left.

Mathias knew that Rachel was essential because she had the knowledge he held, even though it wasn’t quite as deep as his but it was a good place to start and with Josephine by her side.

There was no doubt that their combined knowledge would be enough.

"You need to go, Josephine, I will be fine," Mathias tried to get her to leave but she was helping with securing his patience or he would have to leave them behind.

This was something that she wasn’t going to let happen because Mathias was too exhausted to handle everything on his own.

There was no telling if they would get out of this alive but if it came to it, Josephine wasn’t certain if she would allow Mathias to risk his life for these people even though she knew that he wouldn’t forgive her if she made him do it.

Mathias has always been a selfish man but he was now putting people ahead of himself.

The good thing was that they had a free car but not everyone could fit in, this was the dilemma.

"We need to go, Mathias, you cannot save everyone..." Josephine tried to get him moving but Mathias looked visibly tired.

"What if I stay behind..." Mathias suggested.

"Huh? What do you mean to stay behind?" Josephine asked, clearly confused about this.

"What if I stayed behind? How many more people will you be able to fit in?" Mathias questioned her, the tone in which he used only certified his stance.

"Maybe two to three more people..." Josephine told him and that was the rest of them, they had lost weight and if she cramped them up then there might be a chance as the car they wished to use.

They dumped some of them in the boot but left the trunk open for ventilation.

"I am glad..." Mathias said, clearly relieved but Josephine noticed this wasn’t him being selfless.

There was something off about him, he was too willing to throw his life away and there had to be a reason for that.

"What if I entered the bus with the rest of them?" Josephine was surprised that this wasn’t his initial go-to, to think he was willing to sacrifice himself when all he could have done was to convince her to get onto the bus.

"That would work... Now go!" Mathias screamed like he was waiting for her to say this and Josephine realized that he was baiting.

She kissed her teeth, she didn’t know when Mathias became so important to her but she didn’t hate the feeling that came with it.

It was nice to care about someone even though that person was the last person in the world she would have thought would light this kind of feelings in her.

Josephine looked back at him, she hoped that this wouldn’t be the last time she saw him but if it was, she wanted to have one last look on his face.

Mathias had a few more people to handle but he could do such considering the state of their malnourished people.

Mathias soon coughed but this was far more aggressive than his previous cough, this wasn’t the worst part of this particular fit, it was the seizure that followed that ultimately left him unconscious.

This meant that Mathias was not only left for dead but the patients he was meant to save were sitting ducks for the dead with Josephine now nowhere in sight.

-

The walls were barely holding, the zombies couldn’t climb over it because of the spikes protruding from them that skewered anything that tried to climb over it.

This was their defence but it was only a matter of time before the zombies climbed over it.

There was no stopping that from happening but the only thing that could save them was time.

They had to be gone before the zombies scaled the walls.

Carl had done his part but could they make it back before in time?

That was the big question and with Carl bitten, there was no telling if he would even be allowed to leave with the rest of them.

How would Mariam react? Would she stay if her son wasn’t allowed on the bus or she would force them to let him on?

There were so many variables but one thing was certain, the community had fallen on this day but there was something strange in the sky, a crow was circling from above like it was keeping an eye on the community, it bore a resemblance to the same crow that was spotted after Rachel’s assault.