Induction

I looked back one more time, taking in the scene. Sanchez’s left pant leg had been rolled up, and I could see a circular bite wound on his ankle. Gauze hung off the small wound and was held in place by a single remaining piece of medical tape. All eyes were on us, and their legs propelled their mangled bodies in our direction. We fled to the back room and up the stairs.

The only thing that separated us from them was a rusted fire door. I knew it wouldn’t hold them for long as they pushed and scrabbled their way to get to their prey. Seth jumped into the pilot’s seat and started up the helicopter. The wind began to whip into a frenzy around us as we piled into our only means of escape. I watched the mattress and bedding sail off the roof and plummet out of sight.

Even with all the equipment we’d removed, there wasn’t enough room for us all. The chopper was meant to hold only ten. We had eleven plus a dog. Even if I were willing to give up Daphne, which I wasn’t, her small mass wouldn’t create enough space for someone else.

Margie passed Gabby to Adam and stepped back.

“Margie, what are you doing?” I asked.

The look on her face was one of resignation. A lump formed in my throat as I realized her decision. She was sacrificing herself, her life, so that we might live. Gabby fought to reach her in Adam’s arms. She kicked and screamed, begging through tears for Margie to come with us. Margie took another step back, outside the reach of Gabby’s clawing hands. I looked at the faces that filled the helicopter. Most of us looked down at our laps in shame, for fear of being deemed less important somehow and thrown from the aircraft.

The door began to bulge. Puffs of rusty dust rose from the hinges. Seth yelled back to the group. “We need to go.” He pulled back on the throttle and the landing skids raised imperceptibly. We were overweight. The gravity of our situation was too heavy to consider. Someone else needed to stay behind lest we all perish. No one wanted to die, and exiting the helicopter was suicide.

A soldier stood on each of the skids. I felt the weight of the craft shift and we tilted to the left as one of them stepped off, sealing his fate. He stepped next to Margie and pointed his weapon at the failing door that finally burst apart. The fresh corpses of our group fell out. Those unlucky enough to be at the front of the line were trampled as others made their way out of the small opening.

Gabby was still crying for Margie to join us as we hovered precariously mere feet above the roof.

The soldier positioned himself in front of Margie and began shooting the undead as they came through the door. There were too many, and they were on him in the blink of an eye. Adam turned a struggling Gabby away from the gory scene as they fell to their knees around the soldier and used their hands to carve him like a Thanksgiving turkey. I closed my eyes as they began to eat Margie and as her tortured screams reached me.

Seth yelled at the controls in a fit that could rival even the brattiest kid, attempting to bully the rotors into speeding up faster. It still wasn’t fast enough and fetid hands began probing the opening. The soldier on the landing skids wrapped his arms around the metal frame of the door and tried to pull himself into the cabin. His eyes betrayed his fear as he fought to gain purchase and lift his legs out of biting reach. The helicopter lifted off the roof, but it wasn’t fast enough.

The soldier’s body lurched as they pulled at his lower extremities. The bones of his fingers snapped backwards at the knuckles, one by one, until his grip released. A look of sheer agony clouded his features and his mouth formed a silent Oh as the deafening sound of the rotor blades drowned out his screams. I gripped his outstretched arms and pulled with renewed strength, but my efforts were fruitless compared to the horde below.

Time stood still as his arms slipped slowly from my hands and his jaw cracked on the floor of the chopper. Bloody, broken teeth shot out of his mouth, leaving a trail of red spittle, as his body was dragged out of the opening.

The helicopter steadied itself and began climbing. Breaths of relief escaped us all, and the atmosphere quickly became one of grief. Mrs. Talbot stared out the window, no doubt mourning the loss of her husband, Jim. Meg sat next to her; her eyes stared blankly at nothing. Gabby cried openly for Margie as Adam comforted her. The pregnant couple huddled together, faces devoid of expression. I felt the shaking of Daphne’s tiny body against my side.