Fenced in

(Rody)

Rody's hands fidgeted anxiously as the archway of Prime Gardens came into view. He clasped them together tightly in an attempt to compose himself.

Ray drove the car through the main entrance and Rody found himself back inside the apartment complex that they so desperate had tried escaping from. He began to wonder if all their efforts were for nothing. But he quickly shook the idea out of his head.

"Well… we're back." He said tensely.

"Is it just me or are there more of them now?" asked Samantha.

Rody turned around. His eyes scanned the vicinity as his breathing steadily grew heavier. He did not like what he was seeing at all. Their numbers had risen by an alarming rate. In the short time that they were away from Prime, the monsters had almost completely overtaken the apartment. The Deathless around the main entrance had now started noticing the car. Slowly they shifted their gaze in its direction. Rody's heart almost leapt out of his chest.

"Ray, they see us man! They're going to rush us at any moment."

"No, they won't." Meghan said confidently, "Not these ones."

Sure enough, unlike the woman whose head Rody had hammered in, these Deathless didn't seem as violent. He watched on as they dragged themselves after the car in a slow and lethargic manner.

"How did you know?" he asked as the Deathless shrunk away in the distance.

"We've faced a few of them already." Meghan said, "I think I'm starting to understand which ones are the regular Deathless and which ones are the Erratic."

"Erratic? Is that what you're calling the crazy ones?" Rody asked.

"You got a problem with that name too?"

"Well… it's kinda fine. It's a better name than what you gave the regular ones at least."

"Oh c'mon!" Meghan said, "Can you stop being stubborn and just call them 'Deathless' already? There's nothing wrong with that name."

Rody didn't agree. But he didn't want to start another argument either. "Okay," he said.

"You won't complain about the name anymore?" Meghan asked.

"I won't" he assured her.

Just then Samantha gave Rody's hand a squeeze. He looked over to see her pouting. He knew her well enough to know that she was upset about something. He leaned back in his seat and whispered, "What's up?"

"Nothing" she said simply.

"Don't do that. Tell me what's wrong."

"Why? You obviously would rather talk to other people than me. Go ahead and continue talking to Meghan about those Deathers."

"Deathless," Rody corrected her, much to his own surprise.

"Whatever," she said and continued to pout.

Rody reached out and held her hand before patting it gently. "Look, I'm sorry if you felt like I was ignoring you. Everything is just crazy right now and I'm still trying to process it all."

"So am I." she said.

"Yea, I get that. I was only asking about those monsters because it might help me keep you safe. Since we're going with Ray's plan, we need to gather as much information about them as possible. The more we know, the better prepared we'll be to face them."

"You'll protect me?" she asked.

"Of course, we're in this together right?"

Samantha nodded and smiled at him. She seemed to have been satisfied with Rody's answer. He let out an internal sigh of relief. He had successfully avoided another fight. It was definitely embarrassing talking like this when there were others nearby but it couldn't have been helped. He did what he had to do. A little awkwardness was easier to deal with than an upset girlfriend.

Rody noticed that Ray had taken a right instead of going left towards the entry ramp.

"Did you miss the turn?" he asked.

"No, we're going up the exit ramp." Ray said.

"Why?"

"I have a feeling in my gut that's telling me that going up the entry ramp is a bad idea."

"Didn't we used that to escape?"

"Yes, but the horde had chased us all the way till Samantha's block. I'm willing to bet that that whole area is now swarming with Deathless. We won't make it far if we take that route."

"Was it the same one you saw when you told me that our timer was cut short and that we'd meet up behind A Block instead?"

"Yeah. I had to change the plan because we saw the horde making its way up the exit ramp. We also saw another car try to plough through them. That didn't work out too well."

"No it didn't" Meghan agreed with a shudder.

"So if the same horde is now near the entry ramp then the other one should be clear."

"Exactly." said Ray.

For some reason Rody found himself frowning. He looked at Ray and Meghan and wondered how they were able to be so calm and composed in a situation like this. Ray's plans had pretty much kept them alive all this time and without Meghan's alertness, Samantha might not have even made it to the car. When it mattered most, these two did not falter.

But Rody did. Back at the bus, when Ray needed him, he hesitated. His legs felt like they had turned to stone and his brain tuned off completely. For a brief moment, he thought he was watching a horror film on Netflix. The world around him sped past but the horrific scene of Ray struggling with a flesh-eating monster seemed frozen in time. He wanted to help him but he couldn't move his body. Ray was about to die and he was powerless to stop it.

The idea of losing Ray was the only thing that snapped him back to reality. The second he got some feeling back in his limbs, he rushed forward to deliver the finishing blow. But the looming guilt that he was almost too late weighed heavily on him. He had nearly lost his best friend.

They had finally reached the exit ramp. Ray tilted the steering wheel slightly to the left, guiding the car along the upward curve.

Halfway up the ramp Rody heard Meghan say, "Oh god…"

He looked up and was met with the aftermath of a car crash. A Ford SUV had collided with the ramp wall. The front bumper was crushed and the windows were completely shattered. The white of the vehicle's exterior was now caked with blood and dirt.

As they passed the car, Rody glanced in through its rear window. He saw the faces of two children pressed up against the glass. Their faces were besmeared with a dark crimson. Deep wounds tainted their once innocent visages. There was no humanity left in their eyes. Rody only saw an insatiable hunger in the way they stared at him, clawing at the window. He closed his eyes in sorrow. The world had always been a cruel place. He just hadn't realized the exact extent of it.

"Wait, if there are Deathers in front of my block then I can't go back home." Said Samantha.

"Deathless," Ray corrected her, "And you won't need to go back there. All of us need to stick together. We can stay at my place. My floor was clear last time I checked. It should be safe."

"We're almost at F block," Meghan said, "Where are we parking the car?"

"Right in front of the building. Easier to make a quick escape if things go south."

"Smart," said Rody.

As he looked outside the left side window, Rody got a full view of the swimming pool. Nostalgia hit him hard. He remembered back to the good old days where he and his friends would spend hours playing around in the water. Those were peaceful times.

Suddenly, he saw a figure collide with the pool fence. At first he thought it was a Deathless. But as he watched on, the figure's movements looked more and more human. Rody pushed past Samantha and stared out the glass. The figure was now clumsily climbing up the fence. He made it to the top and tipped over it, landing gracelessly inside the pool area. Just as he managed to stand back on his feet, Rody saw three other figures ram into the steel fence as well. These were Deathless, Rody was sure of it this time.

The figure inside the pool area turned around, allowing Rody a glimpse of his face.

"Leon?" Rody said, "Oh my god, Leon!"

"What?" Ray asked, whipping his head around. "You saw Leon? Where is he?"

"He's in the pool area…"

Just as he said that, half a dozen more Deathless crowded around the fence. They seemed to have been lured in by all the commotion. The Deathless slid their arms through the gaps, hungrily reaching out towards Leon. Rody noticed the fence start to quiver and creak. It didn't look like it would hold for much longer.

"Holy fuck dude!" Rody yelled, "The pool is surrounded by Deathless. He's getting fenced in! If we don't do something then he—he's not going to make it!"