Purgatory (5)

[Ben]

I woke up feeling refreshed and energetic. I had a vivid and memorable dream featuring Cynthia and her daughter, engaging in wild lesbian games. First, they caressed each other leisurely with their hands, and then they got into a 69 position and began licking each other's pussies. But just as Cynthia was about to put on a mysterious strap-on and bring it close to her daughter's moist cave, the dream abruptly ended. I would give a lot to witness all of that in reality, but alas, not all dreams come true. If I even dare to mention it, the redhead will surely shoot me on the spot, and she'd be right.

"How did the rest of the night go?" I asked, pulling breakfast out of my backpack.

"At first, it was boring, and then a bunch of ghouls got into the next room," Emma replied.

"How many were there?"

"I didn't count!" she snapped, raising her voice.

"It doesn't matter. They won't come back before dark anyway."

Moving the wardrobe blocking the door, we left the shelter. As we descended the stairs, we stumbled upon someone's gnawed remains. It seemed that not only the couple with shotguns tried to find a place to stay for the night. After so many bites, the poor soul didn't turn into a ghoul simply because there was little left of him. At the sight of what was left of him, Emma gagged. While the girl was getting rid of her breakfast, I leaned over the dead man and started searching the pockets of his torn jacket.

"This is disgusting," Emma said with disdain, wiping her mouth.

"If you don't like it, don't look," I retorted, continuing the search.

Emma followed my advice and turned away. In the man's pockets, I found a half-empty pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a decent knife, and also a motorcycle key. The last find was the most valuable. Tucking the key into my pocket, I stepped over the dead man and quickly descended downstairs.

We found the motorcycle near the adjacent building. After checking the fuel level and making sure the iron horse was still working, we pushed the motorcycle into the hardware store and left it inside. Ensuring a quick getaway from Purgatory, we returned to searching for the suitcase.

As we made our way to the second street, I thought about the soldiers from the supermarket. If they managed to break Jack, then we had very little time left. If Jack had just a bit of brains, he would have sent the soldiers on a false trail, just to buy us some time.

When we arrived at the location, the first thing that caught my attention was someone's hand lying next to the entrance to the underground. Coming closer and noticing that the stairs leading down were littered with shell casings, I sighed heavily. The city subway was the most dangerous place in all of Purgatory. Only a complete lunatic would dare to venture into the metro, teeming with ghouls. Or a desperate person surrounded by armed soldiers from all sides.

The likelihood of the missing suitcase being somewhere in the subway was not that high, but searching the underground was a priority. Wandering through the tunnels alone was equivalent to suicide. I knew that very well, but I was willing to take the risk.

"We need to split up. Search all the buildings, and I'll check below. Meet back here in three hours," I ordered.

"No! I'm going with you!" Emma unexpectedly objected.

"You won't. We don't have much time. Sooner or later, Jack..."

Emma didn't let me finish and ran downstairs, skipping three steps.

"Come back, you idiot!" I shouted after her, but the stubborn girl didn't stop.

When I reached the bottom, taking out a flashlight from my backpack, the runaway pointed the light directly at my face. I closed my eyes and shielded them with my palm.

"If you get lost in these tunnels, which is most likely to happen if no one covers you, then my mother won't get her medicine! So, we're going together!" Emma stated firmly, lowering the flashlight.

I didn't bother to tell the headstrong girl that her mother probably no longer needed the medicine. Let it be a surprise for the redhead.

"Fine. Just speak softer if you don't want to attract the hornets or rather the ghoul nest," I said, lowering my voice in a conciliatory manner.

First, we thoroughly searched the station. A ghoul attacked me at the guard post, but I managed to slam the door in his face. Emma was about to shoot the monster through the closed door, but I urged her to save her bullets and took out a bat.

Counting to three, I opened the door abruptly and leaped aside. The ghoul immediately rushed outside and got hit on the head with the bat. I didn't stop at one blow and continued to beat the creature until it fell silent. At the guard post, we found only damaged equipment and an empty first-aid kit. Returning to the platform, I lit a flare and carefully looked down at my feet. Spotting dried bloodstains leading to the tracks, I jumped down.

"It will only get worse from here. If you want to turn back, now's the time," I warned just in case.

Instead of replying, Emma jumped onto the tracks and hurried toward the tunnel. As we moved away from the platform and delved into the tunnel, we noticed a train in the distance, surrounded by five ghouls. As soon as the flashlight beam hit one of the creatures in the face, it hissed angrily and ran towards us. The others followed suit. While Emma continued shining the light on the ghoul's face, she drew her revolver.

"Wait, don't rush. Let them get closer," I advised, taking out a submachine gun from my belt.

Emma didn't listen to my advice and started shooting at the ghoul from a distance. The first three bullets missed, but the fourth one hit its target. After finishing off the first ghoul, Emma targeted the others, but with the remaining two bullets, she only managed to wound one more. Holding a submachine gun in one hand and a bat in the other, I slowly approached the creatures. After a couple of short bursts, I easily dealt with the remaining monsters.

When Emma finished reloading, the only surviving ghoul was the one she wounded with her last shot. Bludgeoning the creature with the bat, I dashed straight to the train. Reaching the last car and noticing a bloodied handprint on the door, I realized that whoever made it was already nearby. Not waiting for Emma to catch up, I climbed into the car through the open doors. Holding a flare in one hand and a submachine gun in the other, I quickly made my way through the empty cars until I reached the driver's cabin.

Discovering that the door was locked from the inside, I broke it open with one hit and came across a dead body. A cursory examination of the body told me that it was one of Bob's guys and that he died from a stomach wound and blood loss. In the dead man's left hand, he held the very silver suitcase we came to Purgatory for. When I reached out to take the suitcase, another ghoul descended from the roof of the car onto the cabin window.

At that moment, as if by command, shots rang out from behind. Knocking the ghoul off the window with a short burst, I grabbed the suitcase, exited the cabin, and saw Emma retreating from the unexpectedly appearing ghouls, who filled the entire second car within seconds. Sensing something amiss, I stuck my head out of the car and realized that the ghouls weren't as brainless as they were believed to be.

About twenty of them were racing toward the train from the direction of the cabin, and slightly fewer from the tail. These creatures intentionally allowed us to enter the train to then spring their trap and prevent our escape. Desperately searching for an escape route, I noticed a partially open hatch on the roof of the car.

Meanwhile, Emma killed two ghouls, one of which had almost reached her, and was hurriedly reloading her revolver. Realizing that time was running out, I grabbed Emma by the collar, pushed her into my car, and closed the door in the faces of the creatures that were closing in on us.

"Don't even try to kill all these bastards. There are too many of them," I said, holding the door.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Emma asked in a frightened voice.

"I do. See the open hatch on the ceiling? Get under it quickly, and I'll follow!" I commanded, putting away the submachine gun and pulling out a shotgun from behind my back.

As soon as Emma approached the hatch and bent down, I leaped away from the door, fired twice at her, and then climbed onto her back. First, I threw the hard-won suitcase onto the roof, and then climbed up myself.

"Get up here with me!" I shouted, reaching out my hand to the girl.

Emma jumped up and grabbed my hand. As soon as I pulled her up onto the roof, dozens of ghouls rushed into the car from both sides, both from the car and from the tunnel.

"Run to the tail end as fast as you can!" I ordered.

I didn't have to ask Emma twice. As soon as she sprinted away, I took out a grenade, relieved that I hadn't used it on the soldiers.

"Want to feast? Feast on this, you bastards!" I exclaimed, pulled the pin, threw the grenade into the car, and ran after Emma.

The explosion that followed put an end to all the creatures in the car. At least, that's what I wanted to believe. When I reached the last car, Emma, who was standing on the roof, finished off the ghouls near the rails, clearing a path for our retreat.

Having dealt with the creatures, we both jumped off the train simultaneously and ran back to the station. We ran as fast as we could, knowing that any delay would lead to a torturous death. Reloading the shotgun while running, I fired randomly, hoping to hit at least one toothy monster breathing down our necks.

Emma managed to reach the station first. Climbing onto the platform, she used up the last bullets to fend off a ghoul that had come too close to me, allowing me to ascend to the platform unharmed. Leaping over a few steps, we covered the final stretch and literally burst out of the subway. The sun-dreading ghouls huddled next to the stairs, not daring to come up. Realizing that the most dangerous part was now behind us, we started catching our breath after the insane sprint.

"Will you open it?" Emma inquired curiously, pointing to the suitcase.

"No. I don't know what's inside, and I don't want to know. Let Bob deal with it himself," I replied, wiping the sweat off my forehead.