The Rotting Flesh Book 1: Escatology
Chapter 12: Phobias and Fears

“And there goes our last can of beef” Desmond said dropping the empty tin on the ground

It bounced twice making a loud clang before landing next to Praise’s foot.

“All our wounds have healed i think its high time we get a move on” Jane said as she did her morning push up exercises

“Well you seem much better, three weeks back you couldn’t lift your own head from the ground” Merlyn commented pleased by how much her friend had recovered

“So what’s the plan, when do we leave?” asked Praise who sat leaning against the wall

“Well for starters we need ammo” suggested Jane and Merlyn nodded in agreement

“Where do we get it?” said Praise “you guys are military right, so you must know”

“Well we aren’t from this region, we had just recently returned from Africa when this mess occurred” Merlyn replied

“I might know a place where we can get it” Desmond said

Everyone shifted their attention to him

“Where?” they asked

“There is a gun shop at corner Julius Nyerere and Speke. Its in the basement of Century Mall” he said “hahaha its kinda a black market place thats why you might not know about it Praise”

“Lead the way then” said Merlyn and Desmond cringed “whats wrong?”

“Have you forgotten the situation outside” he said gesturing at the door

“Oh wow, I thought since you are the only man here we are safe” Merlyn teased him and everyone laughed at him

“I’m still not leading even if you pressure me” he stood his ground

“Okay, I’ll lead and you direct” Jane said

“Aww thank you Jane, you are the only one i can count on here” Desmond sighed in relief

They prepared to leave. Desmond went to check whether there were any eater at the entrance while the girls finished up. There were only a handful of them loitering in the street where the restaurant was but aside from that, things were okay. Their numbers seemed to have been dropping with time.

“Done” Jane said as they walked to where he was “how is it?” she asked

“How do you find the energy to bath during an apocalypse, women are so unusual” he commented before telling them the coast was clear

They opened the doors immediately drawing the attention of the eaters that were outside. They lazily dragged themselves towards them. They were rotting while they walked to the extent that some of their limbs would fall off on their own. The muscles holding the jaw together would decay so much that the lower jaw fell off. Desmond reached for his gun but Jane stopped him

“Don’t waste bullets”

She looked around and found a small plank lying a short distance from them and took it. The others followed behind her to avoid being separated if things went the wrong way. She shattered their skulls one by one taking them out until their path was clear.

“She’s a natural” Desmond sarcastically remarked

“You better be watching what i’m doing because you are going to need these skills” Jane said “now which way?”

“We go straight and pass the first two rights then take a left” he instructed

The street were awfully quiet. It was like a ghost town, the air was filled with a gut ranching stench of rotting human flesh. Hoards of flies were everywhere. Countless bodies lay on the ground, one had to tread carefully to avoid having to step into a decomposing body. The once busy full of life city was now a deadman’s wonderland.

“Jesus, how did things get to this” Desmond commented trying very hard to keep his food in

Rugal you son of a bitch Merlyn thought as she saw the hell their world had fallen into

“Watch your step some of those are still alive” Jane said pointing at one eater that had no body but the head kept groaning

“Shit! How is that even possible” Desmond’s eyes widened

“I believe it something to do with the brain, thats why when you smash the head it doesn’t get back up again” Merlyn explained

“Wow unbelievable”

They reached the left turn without any incidences and were beginning to relax. Taking the turn into Julius Nyerere they saw only one eater, the street was completely deserted.

“Our luck” Praise commented

After passing two blocks without incident they finally reached the mall entrance. A huge banner on top of the entrance read Century Mall The Wonderland Of Gadgets.

“Valla here we are ladies” Desmond said gesturing at the sign

“We too possess the ability to read, you know” Merlyn commented

The doors were locked as if someone was inside so they broke the glass doors and forcefully entered. The place was a mess, broken phones and laptops lay on the ground and the shelves were in a disorderly fashion some lying down while others leaned on each other. It was clear the place had been looted just like any other place when this whole zombie issue occurred. It was a bit dark to clearly see the whole room so Jane looked for the light switch and flicked it, little did she know what it was going to lead to. The moment it went on their eyes widened.

“Holly shit!” Desmond exclaimed

“Run!” Jane yelled and took off in their direction

They turned about to go back when they realized there were eaters coming to the entrance from the outside.

“Fuck, it must have been the glass shattering that drew their attention” Praise reasoned

The undead were appearing from every direction in the mall, some from behind shelves, others would just stand up from behind counters and the rest would emerge from different stores in there. It was like they had been dormant all along waiting for someone to wake them up. The longer they remained where they were the greater their numbers increased. Seeing how dire their situation was they had to think up something fast before they they were trapped.

“There!” Desmond yelled pointing in a direction where there were lesser zombies

Without question they ran in that direction. Bumping into and avoiding some zombies, they ran following Desmond’s lead since he was more familiar with the place. After what seemed like forever of fleeing and going up and down stairs they finally reached an empty hallway.

“This way” Desmond whispered as he entered an office sized. Once they were all in Desmond immediately shut the door and locked it. They could here the guttural noises of the undead outside and the sound of feet being dragged. Panting heavily everyone tried to stay as quiet as possible so as not to draw their attention to the door.

Desmond signaled for the window. Everyone turned to look and realized the window showed view of another building. Jane walked over to try and see what Desmond was trying to say and upon realizing it immediately backed away hoping she was wrong

“Please tell me I’m wrong” she said turning to him

“What is it?” Merlyn asked baffled by her friend’s reaction

“What floor is this?” Jane said looking at Desmond who still leaned against the door

“Third floor”

Upon hearing this Praise held her head in disbelief she too immediately pieced together what was going on “Jesus, what are we going to do?” she said and began pacing up and down

“We jump?” he said with a straight face

“No no there is got to be ano” Jane was cut off by the sound of eaters slamming against their door

“Fuck, they found us” Desmond whispered

The room was completely empty and there was nothing they could put against the door to make it harder to break into. The door would give in at any time and things would go south in seconds. Desmond pressed his back against it trying to buy time, Praise and Jane hesitated while Merlyn positioned the window in a way that a person can jump out without difficulty.

“Guys lets go” she said crouching on the window seal

“Damn, why did it have to go this way” Kane complained when suddenly the door gave in

“There are bags of trash in the bins so the landing won’t be bad” Merlyn tried to convince her mates

“We don’t even know whats inside them” Praise protested still pacing and shaking her hands with anxiety

“The bags contain those stuffy things they put inside fragile packaging, and besides this is our only option” Desmond tried to explain

The door gave in almost causing Desmond to fall face down but he managed to push back on it just in time. The handle broke and fell to the ground. Multiple hands had already gotten in through the opening and were trying to pry their way in, the only thing keeping them out now was Demond who still pressed against the door. He used all his might to keep the door from opening while at the same time avoiding any contact with those pale hands that were reaching for the inside.

Praise was already burning up from panic and her face was already reddening. She and Jane had extreme fear of heights and the phobia was manifesting at the wrong time. They could see there was no other way except to jump.

“Guys!!” Desmond yelled yanking them out of their trance “I can’t hold on forever” he warned

They walked to the window and immediately Merlyn jumped and landed in the huge bin. They peeped outside hoping nothing went wrong and she stood up and called out for them to jump. Jane and Praise held hands closed their eyes counting to three before finally jumping. They plunged from those heights screaming like people falling from a sky scraper. With a loud bang which burst the black plastics they landed unscarred. Once they were all down and safe they prepared the bin for Desmond to land safely. They looked up waiting for Desmond but there was no sign of him. Their faces slowly filled with worry as a minute passed and Desmond had not emerged from the window. Their thoughts were already beginning to collide from panic

“No, what have we done” Praise said her voice already shaking

“Hey Desmond!!” Merlyn yelled but there was no response

“Guys” Jane said pointing to entrance of the alley in which they landed

A horde of zombies was already coming for them.

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