BIG BRUCE HOUSE (case of the black soot) pt 6

Seconds later, the glass door exploded as a tsunami of bodies blasted through it.  A  nightmarish roar of animal sounds exploded in the room;eyes glazed over and dead, they  crashed and stumbled over eachother in a frenzy. Something launched itself across the room and slammed into Prince and Chinyere.

"C'MON!!!" It was Justine pulling her towards the stairs. A large sized man with a gaping hole in his chest  came at at her like a mad bull.



Funke ran after Justine. Her feet pounded up the stairs, the stench of burnt flesh and bodily fluids filled her lungs . For a heart-beat, she heard Prince call for help, but it was  overlapped by other screams and the sounds of furniture violently knocked over. At the top of the stairs, Justine took a left through the long corridor. Not Funke's first choice, but there was no time to think. She could feel them just behind her; their animal grunts and snarls quickened the pounding in her chest.


They're going to catch me! I'm not fucking fast enough! Her side caught something that sent a massive shockwave of pain through her body, she stumbled, slammed into the wall but kept running. The door at the end of the hall seemed like a football field away. Something grabbed her hair. She could almost feel its breath on the back of her neck. She Screamed, but it lost its grip.

Funke and Justine crashed into the room and slammed the door. But it jammed against a blood-soaked hand that made a grab for Funke's face. Both women threw their weight against the door as the wood shook and trembled.

"Push!!!"

Funke grunted and shoved the hand back---breaking several nails in the process. The door shut. Her trembling hands turned the key in twice just as the wood splintered.

The two women backed away. Their only barrier of protection began to crack.

Justine was wide-eyed and out of breath,"Th...that door's not going to hold---!"
Another loud bang caught her off. A  screw from the top hinge popped off.

"Oh shit!-Oh shit!-Oh shit!" Justine  she rapidly paced the room.

The animal sounds just outside the  intensified.


 A section of the door cracked off.

Funke looked out the window. The gate was wide open. It was at least a ten or fifteen foot drop to the ground.

"We go out through there!"

More cracking sounds.

 "Are you fucking crazy??"

A large hand tore through the opening of the door. A thick black fluid oozed down the side of the wood.

Funke went to the window and opened it. For a fleeting moment the coolness of the air took her back to a time when all she had to worry about was winning a million dollars.

Then the door shattered, spraying wood fragments into the room.

"THEY'RE COMING THROUGH...!!!"

Funke flung herself out the window, tumbled off the side roof and fell through the air. In that moment, she wondered if Justine made it out in time.

Then the ground rushed to meet her. Her head bashed against something. Then she blackout.






THERE was the sensation of being dragged across the ground. She could feel the coolness of the night. She could smell smoke and burning meat. Then the sounds came to her.

"GETUP,BITCH! THEY'RE COMING!" It was Justine's voice. Funke felt a blow across her face. She opened her eyes.

"Wake the fuck up!!!"

When the cobwebs cleared from her vision, she saw Justine's face over her.

"There's no time," Justine said "they're coming!" As if to emphasize her point, something heavy hit the ground and with a roar came at them.

"Oh shit!" She saw Justine spring up and repeatedly bash the head of what looked like a woman. " You have to go, Now!"

Funke struggled to her feet, her head was ringing and her limbs felt like they belonged to someone else. She counted half a dozen bodies lying on the ground. She was still in the compound, but closer to the gate.

"GO!!!" Justine took another swing at the woman on the ground.

Justine looked like she'd been fighting all night. "I...you were out for...less than a minute...but it fucking felt like a year."

She saw what looked like a large bite mark at the back of Justine's neck.

"...I'll...hold them off...until I turn," Justine's eyes met hers. "Don't let my death be for... nothing!"

Funke heard a sound that was like the distant rumble of thunder. She looked up to see dozens of bodies bursting through the window, tumbling of the side roof, and hitting the ground.

The creatures roared and charged at them.

"GO!!!" Was the last thing Justine said before she dashed towards the creatures with a roar of her own.

Funke turned away and ran through the gates with the screams still in her ears.





SHE ran...

...and kept on running.

Cars burning, bodies on the ground, smoke everywhere.

The sounds told her they were gaining on her.

Justine only slowed them down.

Justine...

The thought pricked her like the cold morning air. Was she one of them now? Growling with the same emptiness in her eyes? What about...
...Chinyere, Samuel...Prince?

Were they there too?

As more muscles ached, she thought of her family. Her mother, her sister. Were they...?
A blast of light hit her face.

"HALT!" Came a man's voice.

The glare was intense. She stopped and threw her hands in the air.

The creatures were getting close.

"ARE YOU INJURED?HAVE YOU BEEN BITTEN?"The voice demanded.

The sounds were getting closer.

"...I...I...haven't been bitten...!" She heard her own voice say. Her nerves were scraped raw and her chest hurt.

They were almost upon her. She could almost smell them.

She heard several metalic clicking sounds just beyond the glare.

"GET DOWN!!!"

Gunshots exploded before she threw herself to the ground. She heard the growls and the sounds of bodies falling. She heard the shells clinking on the cold tar and heard more bodies behind her fall.

Her ears were still ringing. Her head felt like it was about to burst. The cold tar trembled like a mini earth-quake, until she realised it was her body that was quaking.

A strong hand grabbed her. She spun around screaming and lashing out with her hands.

But the grip was firm.

"I'm  Lieutenant Anthony of the Thirteenth Platoon." The same male voice said. But it was softer. "you're safe."

Long silence.

He was standing over her. Other shadows emerged from behind the light. She caught glimpses of their uniforms and rifles.

Then she blacked out.







"FUNKE, Funke..." It was a familiar voice.

 She opened her eyes. Her head hurt and most of her body felt numb. There was a ceiling fan above her. She could smell iodine and other chemicals. It made her stomach churn. She raised her hand. It was wrapped in clean bandages.

"You'll pull your stitches." Mum was holding her hand.

A surge of energy ran through her. She tried to sit up. But another pair of hands held her down.

"Ssssh!" Kemi said. She suddenly looked older than her fourteen years.

A gazillion questions ran through Funke's head.

"You've been out for two days." Mum said.


There were bags under her teary eyes and she had a nasty cut on her forehead. "That's...how long it took us to find you."

Funke saw movement from the corner of her eye. They were in a large hall with many beds.


Several women and men in white moved about with trays and what looked like syringes. She suddenly felt weak. Her eyes began to close.
"Rest dear," she heard mum say as she slipped away. "The military has contained it...we're lucky to be alive."

The last thought she had was of the ones who weren't so lucky.


...the end


opustjk