Chapter 9 (Swimming Lessons)

Chapter 9: Swimming Lessons

Blake Rhodes

Unknown, 2029

About 7 years after outbreak

Miami Sewer System

Season 3

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We continued to walk along the canal, Kingsley refused to let me walk in front of her. I tossed the strap of the M16 over my shoulder and struggled trying to attach the machete holster to my belt without stopping. Kingsley turned around briefly to see what I was doing that was making so much noise and chuckled to herself as I jokingly glared at her.

We hadn't said a word to each other since we left her camp. I had so many questions but I was too afraid to ask. The silence between us was almost intimidating, the sounds of the water beneath our feet made me uneasy. The further we went the louder the sounds of the dead got until it felt like they were right next to us. I shined my flashlight to the middle of the canal, the more sound we made the more of the dead rose from the water. Their skin was almost completely off their bodies, water pooled out of their mouths, and their eyes were completely decomposed.

"Fuck." Kingsley whispered before stopping immediately in her tracks.

"What are those things?"

"Melters, they've been down here since around the start. They're as close to dead as you can possibly get without being unable to move. They can't see, and when you touch them their skin sticks to your hands. They're not as strong as the ones on the surface but they're fucking disgusting."

"So then why are we so afraid of them."

"Well if you haven't noticed, our path is blocked up ahead so we have to get back up to the surface. The ladder's on the other side of the dead."

"We have to cross."

"We do."

"Why don't we just shoot them."

"If we shoot them the dead on the surface will hear the gunshots and be right on top of us the minute we get out there. Trust me, old man, I've lived like this for a long time now. We're gonna cross though the water, as far away from them as we can and we're gonna hope and pray that they're stuck in all the nasty shit that's on the bottom, but also cross your fingers that we won't get stuck too."

I gave Kingsley a concerned look and she responded with a nervous smile before taking the lead and slowly submerging herself into the deep body of filthy water. She let out a noise of disgust before I went in with her, my feet able to touch the ground. The melters let out ear piercing screeches followed by loud deep moans as they tried to get to us. Many of them were stuck but Kinglsey and I both noticed a few slowly making their way towards us. Kingsley darted ahead and I followed her much slower, the dead that were approaching us seemed to be walking even faster the second time I looked back at them.

Kinglsey had reached the other side while I was only about halfway across. She turned around to look back at me before running off in the other direction leaving me to panic thinking I was going to die here. I tried to run faster but the muck made my body sink down almost to my knees with every step. Finally, after I thought my body was gonna give out, I reached the other side and as I pulled my body up I noticed Kingsley looking down at me, reaching out a hand.