Free My Apocalypse (Book 1): The Fall by Edward J. Eaton II

fast, we should be able to get by them without them seeing us.”
    “Where are we going?” I asked.
    “There’s a small street that runs along the river.” Alec said. “You know where I’m talking about?”
    “Yeah,” I started, but then, even with my failing eyes, I noticed something across the field.
    “What’s that?” I asked him and pointed towards the general area.
    He looked and saw what I had, a soft light blinking on and off in the upper windows above the Black Bear. We both watched for a moment, and were astonished at what we saw.
    It seemed the light was blinking some code, like Morse code, which could only mean one thing: Someone was up there. I immediately started towards the bar, but Alec reached out and grabbed my wrist, halting me.
    “Look man,” he began, “I understand you want to know, I do, but I said I’d get you home. I will do that, I promise. But if you want to go on some half-cocked rescue mission, I can’t follow you. You have no idea what’s in that place, and no idea that is in that place.”
    I thought about that for a moment. Then, suddenly, all the conversations that I had had with my family about just this exact situation came flooding back into my mind. All the family movie nights where we had watched zombie movies, then sat there for hours after, talking bout “what if”. I always played devil’s advocate in those discussions, always played the hard-ass. Now, looking back on it, I realized I was wrong, and knew then what I needed to do.
    “I’m going.” I said to Alec. “Come with or not. I thank you for leading me out, but if you aren’t coming with me, then you ought to head back. I’ll be okay.”
    “Oh, fuck me.” Alec said after a minute of thought. He shook his head at me once more before he spoke again.
    “Take this,” he said, reaching into his back pack and pulling forth a decent size Buck knife. “I wish I could offer you more, but I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”
    I unsheathed the knife, running my finger along the blade to check the edge, satisfied by the thin line of blood that was drawn. I chucked the sheath on the ground, adjusted my own pack, and held my hand out towards him.
    “Thank you.” I said to him.
    He nodded, then, without taking my hand, or even offering any words, turned and disappeared into the woods.

 
    18.
     
    I stood at the side of the bar a few moments later, having transverse the field quickly enough. The place was quiet, and I could not detect anything inside as I peeked through the few small places I could see through the windows at. After mere moments more of careful deliberation, I decided that it was safe enough, and began my search for a way into the bar.
    It was easy enough.
    The back door was slightly ajar, and swung easily open at a touch. I gave my eyes time to adjust, and did not see any movement, nor heard any sound, so I moved inside. I had entered into the kitchen area, and the smell hit me almost instantly. Something had died in here, and whatever it was, it was still here. In the small area, it was only a matter of a few seconds until I found the source.
    Lying there on the floor was the body. A pool of blood spread around it, and flies were thick. Vomit rose in my throat though when my eyes fell on the small swarm of rats that covered the body’s legs. Gnawing and eating, I heard the sounds of tearing flesh and snapping bones. I started to back step, my stomach doing flips in my throat, then chaos erupted around me. I had reached out to steady my legs, trying to place my hand on a countertop, and accidentally hit a small pot. With a crash that echoed through the entire place, the pan hit the floor. Instantly the entire rat swarm looked at me at once, and I could see that something was not right. Their eyes glowed in the dark, and they let out a collective hiss that chilled the blood. I turned to head to the door, and there, between me and it, was more of the dirty vermin, trailing blood as they walked