Panic at the poolside

(Ray)

Ray sprinted towards his destination as fast as he could. Even though he had a head start on Rody, his friend managed to catch up to him in no time. He knew that Rody had always been very athletic but seeing how easily he was outpaced, Ray started feeling like the lockdown had definitely made him unfit.

'If I survive this, I'll start jogging every morning' he secretly promised himself.

"There's the stairs." Said Rody.

The two of them had almost made it to the stone steps that led to the poolside. Ray noticed there were three Deathless in their path. He glanced over at Rody who gave him a quick nod. Without needing to exchange any words, they drew their weapons and picked out their targets.

Ray went after a short, stout man. He had a balding head and a stump where his left arm should have been. He was wearing an off white shirt and black trousers which were both caked with dirt. He had noticed Ray rushing towards him and staggered forward with his remaining arm outstretched. He groaned weakly and clawed at the air between them.

Ray had the javelin in his left hand and his trusty knife in the right. Using the longer reach of the javelin, he swung outward and swatted away the man's arm. The Deathless grunted and turned slightly in the direction of the swing. Seeing a clear opening, Ray gripped his knife in a stab hold and drove the blade horizontally into the man's temple. A gush of blood oozed out from his head as he tumbled to the ground. He poked the body with the end of his javelin, just to make sure it was actually dead.

Ray looked up and saw Rody drop one of the remaining Deathless with a solid blow to the top of the head. He then did a little jump and kicked the other to the ground. Before the Deathless could get back on its feet, he rushed forward and pounded its head against the concrete.

"Alright, let's keep moving" said Ray as he led the way down the stone stairs.

The two of them stopped when they reached the base of the steps and crouched down. The steel fence was a few feet in front of them. Ray's mouth went a little dry when he saw the number of Deathless that had gathered around the poolside. He darted his eyes around and began counting.

"Eleven," he whispered, "Shit, that's a lot."

"What do we do now?" Rody asked.

"I'm working on it." He said, "Do you see Leon?"

Rody stood up cautiously and scanned the poolside, "Yeah, I see him. Ahh—he just ran into the Men's changing room."

"Good. He won't be in their line of sight anymore. We need to get over the fence but I don't see how. There's too many Deathless around. We'd get caught before we manage to make it over."

"I can distract them," Rody said immediately.

"What? No dude, I'll think of something. Just give me a minute."

"We may not have that long. Look," he said pointed forward, "the fence is already bending from their weight. It's going to break if they keep it up. We need to lure them away from the poolside."

"I—I don't know man. It seems really risky…"

"Hey, trust me," Rody said, "I'm fast. I can easily outrun all these walking corpses."

Ray didn't doubt that one bit.

He sighed softly, "O—Okay. But just be careful, alright? Don't get cocky. These things can come out of nowhere."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

"I'll get over the fence while they're distracted." Ray said, "Lure them somewhere far away from the pool. That'll give me enough time to meet up with Leon and call Momo. I should be able to plan out our next move before you get back."

"Got it," he said, "Well… see you in a bit."

"Right," Ray replied and clasped him on the shoulder, "Stay safe."

Rody nodded and dashed towards the fence.

He slowed down considerably as he neared them and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"HEYYYYY! OVER HEREEEEE! HEYYYY, COME GET MEEEEE!"

One by one, the Deathless around the fence turned and focused their attention on Rody. Luckily there weren't any Erratics in their midst. The lethargic group pulled away from the poolside and staggered after him. He stayed close for a few seconds to make sure that he had successfully baited in all of them. When the last of the Deathless left the fence to chase him, Rody broke into a run and led them in the opposite direction.

Ray saw his chance and rushed towards the left end of the fence. It was the only place where one could jump over without falling into the water. He dug his fingers into the chain links and began climbing. The iron slightly cut into his fingers but he bared the pain and continued moving up.

Further to his left, he noticed that one of the Deathless had stopped following Rody. It was a tall, muscular man with a thick beard and long, black hair. He was standing a couple feet away, staring intently at Ray. He opened his mouth wide, causing a combination of saliva and blood to drip onto the ground. Very slowly, he started moving his massive frame back towards the pool.

Ray gulped. Even though he reckoned it was just a regular Deathless, he didn't think he could take this one down.

'I better make sure I won't have to fight that thing.' He thought before continuing his climb.

His hands soon made contact with the topmost part of the fence. Using all his available strength, he hoisted himself up and swung his right leg over it. He then leaned inwards and pulled the other leg over as well. Ray dropped down and managed to land on his feet, though his soles stung from the impact.

He winced slightly from the pain as he jogged over to the Men's changing room. He pushed open the door and took a step inside.

"Leon—"

WHACKKKK!

Something hard struck him across the face and sent him reeling backwards. He lost his orientation for a second which caused him to trip and fall onto his back. He landed heavily on the ground with his vision going black.

"OWW! WH—WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Ray?" came a voice as a figure stepped out of the changing room holding what looked like a mop, "Ray, is that you?"

"Leon, you jackass! Of course it's me!" Ray yelled as he gently cradled the side of his face, "What the hell, man?"

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. I thought you were one of them. Come on, I'll help you up."

Saying so, Leon dropped the mop and extended his arm. Ray took it and was promptly pulled to his feet.

Standing in front of him was a young, fair lad with neatly cropped hair and sharp features. He wore a black, loosely-buttoned shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. His forehead was beaded with tiny droplets of sweat. He had a smile on his face that conveyed a plethora of emotions, the most recognizable of them being sheer, undiluted relief.

"Dude… you're alive!" Leon said, "I don't believe it. I thought I was the only one left."

"Scarily enough, we're among the few that are." Ray replied, still nursing his cheek.

"Where did all those freaks that were near the fence go?"

"Rody lured them away. Listen, we don't have much—"

"Rody's alive too?" Leon asked loudly, "Dude! That's awesome."

"Yeah, we tried escaping together but it didn't work. Anyway, we'll chit-chat later. For now, we need—"

"Anyone else we know?" he interrupted again, "I'm sure there must be more right? I wonder how many made—"

"Leon!" Ray said, giving his shoulders a quick shake, "We'll talk later! Let's get out of here first."

"Right, right. Of course. Good idea."

"I need to call Momo." Ray said, "And yes, before you ask, she's with us too."

"Ohh, sweet. Nice. Awesome."

Ray rolled his eyes and fished out his cell phone. Just then, they heard a soft clang coming from the right. Ray looked up and saw the big, bearded Deathless bumping into the steel fence. A lone Deathless wasn't much to be concerned about but something about this one gave Ray an ominous feeling. He ignored it and scrolled through his contacts to find Meghan's name.

Suddenly, the bearded Deathless gave out an ear-splitting roar.

"UUUURAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"

Ray winced in surprise and took a step backwards.

"What the fuck?" said Leon, "Get a load of this guy! Thinks he's Mufasa or something."

"Ahh, I have a bad feeling about this." Ray said anxiously.

A low hum could be heard in the distance. Very gradually, it began to get louder and louder. Soon, it became apparent that it wasn't the sound of any singular entity but rather, of a collective. It was the sound that Ray recognized all too well.

"Oh no," he said, "They're coming."

Sure enough, in the next few seconds, several Deathless started appearing by the right side of the fence. They grabbed the chain links and began to push forward. The bearded Deathless followed suit. Owing to his strength combining with the other Deathless, the metal fence gave out a weary creak.

Ray called Meghan on the phone. She answered.

"Momo," said Ray with a slight quiver to his voice "They're everywhere… I—I don't see a way out of this."

"What?" she asked in shock, "What's happening? Where are you?"

"Leon and I are at the pool. We're surrounded. Our only escape route is blocked. They're going to tear down the fence at any moment. I—I don't know what to do."

"Oh god!" she said, "Hold on, I'm almost at your balcony."

Ray couldn't take his eyes away from the Deathless on the right. His bottom lip trembled as he pictured his eminent demise. However, a small part of him was relieved that Meghan had made it to his flat safely. Rody was probably alive as well. At the very least, he wasn't trapped in the poolside with them. If Ray died right now, he could at least be proud of having saved a few of his friends' lives.

"There you are! I see you." Said Meghan.

Ray looked up and saw her standing on his balcony. She was too far up to see clearly but it made him feel a strong sense of fulfilment. She was safe. And hopefully, she would stay that way even without him.

CLANGG!

The right side of the fence broke and fell with a resounding noise. The Deathless slowly staggered inside, moving directly towards their prey. Ray couldn't breathe. He stood rooted on the spot, his mind completely blanking out.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!" Leon said in a panic.

"Crap, the fence!" Meghan cried through the phone, "Oh shit, this is bad! This is seriously bad! What the heck do we do? Ray, think of something!"

But Ray had nothing left.

"Hey, Momo" he said calmly, "I uhh—I just wanted to say…"

"Ray!" she said suddenly, "Do you think they can swim?"

"Huh?" said Ray, confused.

Then realization hit him like a truck. He immediately grabbed Leon by the collar and flung him into the pool. He quickly ended the call with Meghan before jumping into the water himself.