Under the carpet the floorboards creaked. Each step we took made my heart race seconds faster than it had prior. There was something much more sinister about the inn now that we were alone. The undead outbreak could turn any place into a nightmare. Jacob and I gripped our flashlights tight as the two streams of light illuminated our way down the black stairs.

Within seconds, one of the streams of light went out. Jacob banged the flashlight, clicking the button, but it was no use. When his attempts were proven futile, he discarded it.

My flashlight would be enough to lead our way. We continued to creep down the hall.

Fingers curled around my wrist. I jumped, only to realize they were warm and very much alive. They belonged to the guy in front of me.

I illuminated his face with the flashlight.

He winked, "Scare ya?"

At my unamused eyebrow raise he switched to a more sheepish appearance.

"Fine, I got nervous. Happy, Locke?"

I wasn't, but I didn't him press further.

He didn't let go of my wrist. I took the lead, yanking him along as I adjusted our grip. I let go of his hand once we reached the basement.

A door sat at the bottom. It kept us out, protecting us from something horrid inside.

To quote of my favorite trilogies: I've got a bad feeling about this.

We could hear faint noises coming from inside. I deluded myself into thinking it was only the machine running inside or perhaps at worst, a small animal.

Jacob pulled open the door, his gun raised.

It was a truly horrifying sight. Two of the undead sat inside. An elderly couple by the looks of it, likely the ones who had owned the inn. Now they were disturbing creatures with sunken faces, glassy, grayed eyes, and lacking in a certain charm they likely once had had. The woman laid across the ground, her neck, chest, and stomach torn apart by her husband. She did not stir at all. Instead she stared unseeingly up at the ceiling.

Her husband could be a problem. He still moved, head turning towards the door once we opened it. By the looks of it he was starved too. Ready for his next meal, having forgotten the body was there since it no longer stirred.

His vision must have been poor for he didn't lurch forwards immediately upon glancing our direction. His nose twitched as if our scent was strong, but his vision was certainly weak.

Jacob jerked me closer, grabbing a firm hold on my sleeve at the elbow. He leaned close, almost close enough for his lips to brush my ear as he spoke. Even then I could barely hear him. Determination rung in his voice, almost shaky as if it came with nerves.

"Stay still. Keep your flashlight straight, just like it is."

He moved away, lowering his gun to the corpse's level. The creature shifted.

My flashlight flickered.

The room went black.

BANG!

"Shit!"

I banged my flashlight against my hand. It flickered back to life, only to illuminate an awkward scene.

Jacob has given away his position. He scrambled to get away from the creature in front of him.

I dropped the flashlight. It flickered for a moment, before staying lit. I almost let out a sigh of relief. I was too busy fumbling for my gun.

BANG!

Another shot. The creature launched himself at where we had been standing in the doorway. My bullet grazed it's shoulder.

"Fuck!" I muttered.

"Quiet!" Jacob exclaimed.

"Hypocrite, you did it first!" I yelled right back. Okay so maybe we weren't the perfect team. So far we weren't even a good team.

The creature lunged towards me. I had a better advantage point. I aimed down at it.

Another shot.

The bullet grazed its back. It yanked my leg, digging its dirty nails into my skin. This time I would aim for the head.

Keeping it from biting me in that moment became more important in that moment as I tried to shake it off.

BANG! BANG!

Two shots.

A bullet grazed my leg before black blood and bits of brain exploded out of the back of the creature's skull. I covered my new wound, hissing in pain. My hands were coated with blood.

It wasn't my bullet. Neither had been.

Jacob's breathing was heavy as he glanced up at me. He straightened up, his gun still pointed straight down at the unmoving creature.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I bit my lip. Trying not to scream in pain was hard, but I'd been humiliated enough.

"You shot me!" The words slipped out.

"It was an accident, I swear!" Jacob raised his hands in defense.

I smiled weakly, faking it with all the strength I could muster. "Just a flesh wound."

It was for my sake that Jacob weakly smiled back.

"Let's find the valve to turn the water on." I limped across the room.

"You should wrap that up first. Immediately. If it gets infected-"

"You'll shoot me again, I know." I rolled my eyes. Did it look like I had anything to wrap it up with?

"I'd rather not do that again if I can help it." Jacob sighed.

I huffed. An idea came to me. I didn't love it but also I didn't have many options. I took off my shoe, ripped up my sock and created a makeshift bandage from that as I wrapped it around my leg.

Jacob walked to the wall and turned on the wall which turned on the water for the whole building.

"Now we can clean that up properly."

"Let's go. This place gives me the creeps." I stated.

Jacob leaned down, allowing me to use him for support. The wound still stung, bad enough to make me want to buy my tongue off. I wouldn't let him see the beads of tears in my eyes.

I took one final glance back at the corpses before exiting the basement. Rotting, full of maggots, stomach churning creatures. Black blood stained the crime scene. I couldn't stomach looking at it any longer.

Was this really want had become of humanity?

So it's like a week late, I know. I'm sorry and I have no excuses. This chapter was just difficult to write for some reason. I'm sorry.

I've decided to move my update days to Tuesday and Friday instead of Monday and Friday. It should help as the weekends tend to be busier for me.

Thanks for reading! Honestly this is one of my favorite chapters so far so tell me what you think! Thank you!