Apocalypse Empire (Book 1): Apocalypse Origins Read online

  There were two couches in their waiting area. The longer one could hold three or four while the second one was basically a love seat. Greg wasn't sure how to go about this. Their office door opened outward, so blocking the door wouldn't work.

  He maneuvered the long couch in front of the door and placed the shorter one on top of that, forming a t shape. They had to get out of here. The furniture would only slow that thing down for a few seconds at best. Greg walked over to the window and looked outside. The fire escape! He opened the window to get a closer look and frowned when he saw its condition.

  It was rusted all over. The bolts that attached it to the building looked as if they were ready to crumble to dust at the slightest breeze but it was the only way out if he didn't want to deal with that thing at the door. Greg remembered what the man had said about the people who had gotten attacked. He didn't know how many of those creatures were running around in the building. The fire escape was the best option. Another thump reminded him he only had a few moments to figure this out.

  He needed a weapon though. His eyes fell on Mr. Ramsey's body that they had covered with a table cloth. The knife was still over there. Greg walked over and pulled the sheet back. He grabbed the knife and spent a few moments wiping it clean on the table cloth then put it into his belt. "Carol," he said, "We need to take the fire escape."

  The sound of breaking glass drew his attention and Greg watched as the love seat was shoved to the floor. To his surprise, there were three of those things there. All the noise must have drawn their attention. Right now they were all trying to get through the door at once but Greg was sure they'd figure it out soon enough. "Go, Carol!"

  Carol ran for the window and quickly made her way outside. Greg heard the fire escape groan at the weight but it held. Hopefully it would hold up long enough for them all to get down. The creatures managed to sort themselves out and began scrambling over the couch, one by one. Greg ran forward and planted a kick in the first one's chest went sent it crashing into its friends. That bought him a few seconds to run to the window where the man they'd let in was making his way out onto the fire escape.

  He climbed through the window and started making his way down. Growls behind him told him the creatures were close on his heels. He made it down the first set of stairs when the fire escape started shaking. Looking up, he saw the creatures making their way outside. He heard the screech of metal and hoped the fire escape would last just a few more minutes. He took off, taking the stairs three at a time. He thought about jumping all the way down a flight but didn't want to fall with those creatures close behind.

  The fire escape groaned again and began pulling away from the building. It wasn't gonna hold! Greg saw that he'd made to the second floor and considered going through the window but the fire escape pulled free with a final screech before he could act on it. There was nothing he could do but hold on. He closed his eyes and held on tight. This was going to hurt. There was a sensation of free fall and Greg heard screaming and roaring but didn't know who it was. There was a loud crash that nearly shook Greg loose but he managed to hold on. Opening his eyes he saw that he wasn't on the ground.

  The top of the fire escape had hit the building next door. It was a good thing space was so hard to come by in the city. If the buildings had been further apart, the fire escape would have crashed to the ground. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to walk away from that. He looked up and only saw one creature remaining. The roaring must have been the others falling from the crash. Who made that scream then? Was Carol okay?

  "Carol?" He looked down but couldn't see much of the lower area of the fire escape.

  "Carol!?"

  "I'm okay," came her reply, "just a bit bruised."

  "Good," Greg said as he sighed in relief. "What happened? I heard a scream."

  "That was the other guy. He fell when we crashed against the other building."

  Greg shook his head. That was a shame. To survive the horror in the building only to fall...

  Movement at the end of the alley caught his eye. Two of those things were making their way towards them. The crash must have drawn their attention. Screaming for Carol probably hadn't helped either.

  "Carol," he began calmly, "you need to make your way back to top me.

  "Alright. I'm on my way."

  Good Greg thought. She didn't waste time asking why. He looked up. With those creatures down below their best bet was to try and get into the neighboring building. He'd just have to deal with the one creature left up top. He reached for the knife and was glad to feel the handle. He hadn't lost it.

  He started making his way up. He couldn't use the stairs with the fire escape leaning as it was. He had to use the railing as a make shift stair. He had to be careful. The gap in the railing was large enough that a misstep would see him joining that other man on the ground. Greg approached the creature and it immediately roared and lunged towards him. Unfortunately, it didn't have the wherewithal to pay attention to its footing and one leg fell through the gap in the railing. Greg quickly took advantage and stabbed the creature in the neck. He withdrew the knife and used a foot to send the creature crashing to the ground below. He continued up the fire escape until he reached a window. It was locked so he launched a series of kicks to break the glass, careful not to cut himself. Once it broke, he used the knife to clear the remaining glass from the frame and slipped inside.

  He found himself in a storage room. There were various office supplies arranged on the shelves. Noise from outside alerted him to Carol's approach and he turned to the window and saw she had reached the end of the fire escape. He held out his hand and helped her navigate through the window. Screams from bellow reached their ears. Carol shook and Greg took her in his arms. The two creatures must have found the man from the office. Shame that he survived that fall only to be attacked by those things. Stepping back he looked at Carol.

  "You okay?" he asked.

  "Yea, I'm fine now that I'm out of that deathtrap." She sighed and used an arm to wipe sweat from her eyes.

  "Good. Sorry I didn't lend a hand. Had to deal with another one of those things so we could get in here."

  "That's fine. Look, I know I don't have a chance of surviving this craziness without you but I'm not completely helpless. I can keep up."

  "I'm not complaining," he said shaking his head, "and I don't think you're helpless."

  Carol smiled. Carol looked around the room. "So what's next? How are we gonna get out of here?"

  "First, I want to see if there's anything we can use in here. Anything we can use as a weapon. All I've got is this knife."

  Carol nodded and began looking at the shelves. There didn't appear to be much that would be of use. She saw pens, paper, staples, binder clips and so on. She was just about to give up when she noticed a mop sitting in the corner.

  "How about that mop?" she asked. "It's not much but better than nothing maybe."

  Greg walked over and looked at the mop. She was right. It wasn't much at all but they didn't really have anything else at hand. He supposed he could take that mop part off, that'd leave him with a staff of sorts. The mop was really fragile though, it wasn't designed to be used as weapon. Maybe he could get a few hits out of it before it broke.

  "It'll have to do," he said as he began removing the mop head. He had a sudden inspiration. The mop was nearly useless as a bludgeoning tool, but maybe he could make a serviceable spear out of it. "See if you can find some duct tape or something like that he said. I'll try and make a spear."

  "Okay," Carol replied. A few minutes later she found the desired item hiding at the bottom of a shelf. "Found some."

  Greg took the knife and held the handle to end of the stick. "Take the tape and wrap it around. Make sure you get it really tight."

  Carol nodded and set to work. "How much tape should I use?"

  "A lot. I don't want to lose the knife when I use it."

  "Alright, how's that?"

  Greg tested the knife and it seemed pr
etty sturdy. It wouldn't last indefinitely, but it would give him some reach if he had to face any more of those things.

  "Not bad," he said. "Alright, time to get out of here. Stay close to me alright?"

  Carol nodded. "I'll be right behind you."

  Greg nodded and moved over to the door. He wasn't sure if any of those things were loose in this building so he turned the handle as quietly as he could and cracked the door. He took a moment to listen. He couldn't hear anything. Maybe no one was in the building. Only one way to find out though he supposed. Greg quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. It was carpeted so that would muffle their footsteps. If anyone was hear they shouldn't be able to hear them coming. The closet they were in was situated at the end of a hallway. They could only go to the right. He looked back into the closet and motioned for Carol to follow him.

  He quietly made his way down the hallway, spear at the ready. The hallway opened up into a larger room. There were a number of cubicles which fortunately, only came up to his chest. He could easily see that the room was empty. Halfway down one wall Greg could see an elevator. Greg's hand was halfway to the button when Carol stopped him.

  "Wait," she whispered.

  Greg looked at her. "What's wrong?" he whispered back.

  "What if one of those things is downstairs?"

  Greg thought for a moment. She was right. If one of those things was downstairs it might be on them before they could get the doors closed again.

  "You're right," he responded, "let's look for the stairs."

  Crossing the room brought them to another hallway. Looking to his right, Greg saw several doors in that direction. Probably offices. To his left, he saw their goal. He approached the steel door and opened it as quietly as he could. He checked behind to make sure Carol was still with him, at her nod he started down the stairs. Greg paused at the first floor landing. It was probably fine but he didn't want to be surprised. He still couldn't hear anything though. Maybe the building was empty after all. He continued down the stairs and paused when he reached the door. Opening the door would reveal his position so he placed his ear to it and listened. Still nothing. He quietly turned the handle and opened the door.

  He walked down a short hallway and found himself in a lobby area. There was an information desk and a few comfortable looking chairs. The room was completely empty and Greg sighed a breath of relief. Sneaking through the building may have almost been as bad as if he'd had to fight his way through. The thought that one of those creatures could be around the next corner had kept him on edge the entire trip down.

  "Let's catch our breath," he said.

  Carol nodded and sat on one of the chairs. She let out a shaky breath. "That was intense. I just knew one of those things was lurking around."

  Greg nodded. "I felt the same way but it looks like we're okay for the moment." He glanced towards the exit. It was a set of glass double doors. He'd be able to see how things were outside and hopefully nothing would see him in the process. He approached the doors and looked around.

  The parking lot for the building was completely empty. Looks like no one made it in to work today. He looked towards his building and saw his car in the lot. A quick sprint could see them there. They'd probably have to deal with those two creatures from the alley though. He glanced at his spear. Hopefully it would be up to the task.

  He walked back to Carol. We're gonna make a run for my car."

  Carol nodded. "What about staying here though? No one else is here so we should be safe."

  Greg shook his head. "That works for the short term but not for the long haul. If one of those things breaks inside we'll be in the same boat all over again."

  He looked at the exit. "Even if we could barricade the door, what about food? We can't stay here forever, Carol."

  Carol sighed. "I know. Just...it would've been nice to be safe for awhile."

  "I don't think we'll be safe here. Two of those things are probably still in that alley."

  "Alright," Carol said, "you're right."

  "I know this is a lot to deal with," Greg said, "i don't even know how I'm not going crazy right now. But we'll get through this."

  Carol nodded. "Okay. I'm ready when you are."

  Greg led her over to the door and fished in his pants pocket. "Here," he said taking out his keys.

  "I want you to run for my car and start it up. Think you can drive right now?"

  Carol nodded. she was scared out of her mind but she had no intention of dying. If Greg needed her to drive then that's what she'd do. "I'm fine. Just keep them away from me."

  Greg nodded. "I'll open the door and we're gonna run for the car. If those things show up I'll keep them busy."

  Carol nodded as she took the keys from Greg. She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

  "Alright. On three. One, two, three." Greg pushed the door open and ran towards his car, Carol right on his heels. They heard roaring as they passed the alley. Greg glanced and saw two creatures looking up from the remains of the man from earlier. They immediately got up and started running after them.

  There was still a little distance left, Greg wasn't sure if they'd make it in time. "Get to the car!" Greg stopped running and prepared to fight.

  The two creatures came barreling around the corner and headed towards him. Greg waited until there were nearly on him and struck with his spear, as he made contact he stepped to his left and put himself out of reach of the second creature. Before the first creature could recover, he struck again, scoring a hit on its side. He jumped back as the second creature swiped a blood covered hand at him. He responded with a jab towards his stomach but didn't get a solid hit.

  The first creature approached and swung at him again. Greg blocked with the staff but heard a crack. It wouldn't last much longer. Greg kicked it in its chest and sent it sprawling onto the ground. He turned to face the second creature and just managed to duck a swing at his head. He spun away from the creature and swung low with his staff. The creature landed on its back with a thud. Greg quickly approached and thrust the spear into its neck. The force of the blow caused the spear to break and Greg stumbled and fell to his knee.

  He looked over his shoulder and saw the first creature charging towards him. The creature leapt and Greg threw himself into a roll to get out of the way. The creature roared in frustration and took off towards him again. Greg scrambled back to his feet. The sound of an engine heading his way caught his attention. That must be Carol. That was good. He didn't need to finish this one off then. He waited until the creature started its leap and then dodged to the side. Before it could recover Greg ran forward and kicked it in the back, sending it crashing to the ground.

  Carol screeched to a halt behind him. He ran over to the car and got in. "Let's go!" he yelled. Carol sped out of the parking lot while the creature ran behind them, screaming its frustration.

  "Where are we going?" Carol asked as she turned out of the parking lot.

  "We'll head to my house," he replied. "I have weapons and a few supplies there. He pointed at turn coming up. "You can take that road right there. It'll take us to the expressway."

  Carol nodded and took the turn. "You know," she began with a grin, "there are easier ways of getting me to your place."

  Greg chuckled. There'd always been this tension between them but Greg had never wanted to act on it. He'd always felt it would be unethical since he was her employer. Though, if he was being really honest, he wasn't sure he'd be able to replace her. But, getting chased by crazed people that wanted to kill you had a way of putting things in perspective. Today showed him that life was short. Granted, right now maybe wasn't the best time to explore a relationship but when all this was over...

  "Well, I figured we'd skip the whole awkward first date and all."

  Carol smiled. "You could've warned me. I would've put on something nice."

  Greg deliberately gave her a once over. "That'll do. You won't be wearing it long."

  Carol chuckle
d again. "Is that so? What makes you think it'll be that easy?"

  "You're madly in love with me. You can't help yourself really. I am pretty amazing."

  Carol laughed aloud. "Really? Someone thinks pretty highly of themself."

  Greg chuckled. It seemed a bit weird to be joking around given everything they'd been through this morning. But maybe that was just what they needed. She'd been so afraid back there. And who wouldn't be? He was scared himself. If not for his training in krav maga he probably wouldn't have survived. So maybe some laughter is just what they needed. He glanced at the clock on the dash. Nine thirty. All that they went through and only an hour and a half had passed since the day started.

  "There. Expressway entrance is right there."

  Carol nodded. She took the on ramp and merged with traffic. It was still pretty light which meant a lot of people were probably taking the warning to stay in their homes seriously. Fifteen minutes went by and Greg pointed out the exit that would take them to his house. They'd seen no signs of those creatures on the expressway. It was as if what happened at the office occurred in its own little world.

  A few side streets later and Carol was turning onto Greg's street. He pointed out his house and she pulled the car into the driveway. Greg hit the garage opener and Carol pulled the car into the garage. They got out of the car and Greg hit the button again to close the garage.

  Carol leaned against the car. "I didn't see anything on the way in. Are we safe here?"

  "For now I guess. Maybe it started downtown so it just hasn't spread this far yet. Probably just a matter of time though."

  Carol nodded.

  "Come on," Greg said, "let's get inside."

  Greg led the way inside and showed Carol to the living room. "Something to drink?" he asked?

  Carol nodded. "Sure. Maybe some food too. Running for your life leaves you famished. Great workout plan though. I'll finally get rid of those few pesky pounds if this keeps up."

  Greg chuckled as he headed towards the kitchen. Greg rummaged in the refrigerator a bit to see what he had on hand. "Beer, water, or iced tea?"