Nap Time

It has been a long time since I can say I actually slept in a bed that didn't consist of the seat in a car or of some blankets laying on the ground in some abandoned building, so when Erin suggested we stop and get some rest I knew what we needed to do. I told her that was a good idea but I wanted to sleep in a big comfortable bed that actually had sheets on it. She agreed and we started looking for a place to stop.

See the problem is that going into some random house and sleeping in the bedroom there just isn't a option. The reason being that most houses were boarded up in an attempt to provide some sort of protection for the family inside. Unfortunately for most people that just didn't work out like that had hoped. Most homes didn't stand up to the attacks on them and the protection failed, leading to everyone in the house being killed. The few times I have ventured into someones house I only ran into to grab what supplies I could and got out before the stench of the bodies was to much to bare.

After discussing it we decided to try to find a hotel that we could get into and sleep there for the night. We started looking at the signs along the highway trying to find a place. About 5 miles down the road we saw a billboard for a Hilton hotel. Well something is better than nothing so we headed down that exit. We turned left down the road and started on our path to what we could only hope would be a good nights sleep.

As we approached the hotel we went over our strategy for making sure the hotel was clear. After the situation at Bass Pro Shops and having the two of us separated we figured it might be safer if we worked as a team checking one area at a time. This would take us longer but would ensure that one of us wouldn't be trapped alone and be killed. We finished working out the game plan as we pulled into the parking lot.

I looked around the lot and noticed that there was no movement, this could be a good sign. I tell Erin we need to do a lap or two around just to make sure that we were alone. After the second pass I was convinced that the lot was clear and told Erin to pull up close to the doors. As she did I looked inside and again saw nothing moving. Maybe for once we were going to be lucky and not have to fight for our lives.

Erin parked the car and we both met at the back of the car. We opened the back hatch and started to arm up just in case. Erin grabbed the shotgun and started to load the barrels with a few rounds, then took the 9mm and put it in her belt. I took my two favorite handguns, my matching desert eagles and made sure they both had full clips. We have learned that you can never be to prepared when walking into a unknown building. I pulled the rifle out and flung it over my shoulder. The two of us looked like something out of a bad cop movie but at least we were fully loaded and ready for anything.

The slowly crept up to the front doors and checked again to make sure there wasn't anything moving inside, so far all clear. I pulled the sliding doors open and ushered Erin inside. I turn and closed the doors behind us and turned the lock to make sure nothing could get in, whether it be living or dead. Erin scanned the lobby and told me she was headed to the front desk to see if there was anything of use. I looked at each of the hallways and still saw that everything was clear. Wow our luck is never this good, and now I was getting a bad feeling or maybe its just me being paranoid. Hopefully it is the later because I could really use a break from trying to fight for my life.

Erin yells back that there is nothing over there that we can use and that all the computer systems are down. Damn that would have made it much easier to find a room that we could be sure was empty. I tell Erin we should get started on checking the hallways before it got to dark out since the lack of lights in the hotel would leave us vulnerable to anything roaming around inside. I figure its a better idea to stay on the first floor in case we needed to leave in a hurry.

We started down the west hallway and went to each door one at a time. Luckily for us this hotel had electronic locks on their doors. This was actually a good thing for us since it would make impossible for the creatures to make it into or out of any room that had the door shut. We work out way down the hallway and finish checking all of the doors. Other than the smell of some dead bodies in a few of the rooms we didn't hear any movement. We look at each other in amazement, damn this is just to quite.

We headed back to the lobby and started down the east hallway. As we progressed the smell of death got stronger and more vile. We came to a stop in front of a set of double doors that were labeled "The Gold Room". The stench was emanating from here which meant bad things for us. We could here movement inside and we tried the handles. I looked at Erin and she pulled the shotgun off of here shoulder and rechecked it to make sure it was loaded and ready to go. I grabbed the two .50 cal handguns and checked the clips, full with two spare sets on my belt. I guess hitting that Bass Pro Shop was a good idea since we now had a abundance of ammo for everything we could carry.

I jiggled the door handle again to see if we could hear more movement inside. This time there was nothing. Hmm curious usually the creatures would jump at any noise they heard and started heading towards the cause of it. I crack the door open and am greeted with a report of a handgun round hitting the wall next to the door, followed by the sound of crying. I jump back from the door and hit the ground. I look over and see that Erin is on the floor as well, but that she is ok. She turns to me and asked me what the hell just happened. I shoot her a look like she is crazy and ask her what the hell she thinks it was. She just smiles and tells me that if we live she is going to beat the hell out of me for being a smart ass.

As we are sitting on the floor waiting I can hear whoever fired the round at us sobbing uncontrollably. I yell through the cracked door that we are alive and that we are no threat to them. This was followed by another round smashing through the door above us. Damn that was to close. I motion for Erin to move away from the door and into the hallway as to get out of the line of fire. The person inside yells out, telling us she doesn't care who we are that we need to leave since we might be infected. I assure her that we are not but she doesn't seem to care. Two more rounds blast through the door way way to close to my head. I tell Erin we need to get the hell away from this door and try to find somewhere else to go.

As Erin begins crawling across the floor back towards me we hear a loud scream come from inside the room. We hear the girl screaming and running around the room. The thing that both of us notice is that she isn't the only thing moving in the room. Erin and I look at each other and know what we have to do. Well at least this time we wont be fighting for our lives but some innocent scared person.

We both jump up and burst through the door with guns drawn. Once through the doors we both realize that the initial thought of not fighting for our loves was a complete fabrication of our minds. Inside the gold room there was one girl running around covered in blood, screaming as she tried to escape from the twenty plus undead in the room. It seems her shots at us had attracted all the creatures roaming around the building and they had come through the open door behind her position.

I fire two rounds into the air to gain their attention, as I do Erin yells at me asking what the hell I'm thinking. I tell her we have to try to save this girl. As I look back towards the girl I see my plan worked and the girl was safe but I could not say the same for Erin and I. The whole horde of them were headed in our direction. Dammit I knew this whole having a relaxing night of sleeping thing was a myth.

Erin slings the shot gun over her shoulder and pulls the 9mm out of her belt. She fires of round after round hitting as many of them in the head as she can but only two drop. I fire off a round from the .50 cal in my right hand and watch as the bullet tears through the closest sprinters head causing it to explode all over the rest of them. The recoil from this gun is insane and it throws off my next shot so that it only hits the next one in the shoulder knocking it over and causing a few to tumble with it. I yell to Erin and tell her to start heading for cover so she can reload as I start to run in the opposite direction. I dash 20 ft away, turn and take aim. I fire off a couple more rounds from each gun causing a explosion of blood and bone as the rounds destroy their fragile bodies. Three more down. Slowly we are whittling away at the creatures as they chase me around the room. I here Erin click the fresh clip into place and know she is going to join the fight in a second and that I need to give her a clear shot at the pack.

I dive behind a overturned table as Erin stands up and starts firing off round after round. Four more drop in the ensuing chaos. Damn she is a good shot, surprising for a peace loving hippie vegetarian. The remaining few start towards Erin. I hear her fire of a few more rounds and watch as the rounds travel through the bodies but don't do any damage. If only these things felt pain then we would be set, but the only way to stop them is to stop the brain from functioning. Erin fires again and I hear the gun click and it tried to fire a empty chamber. I look over and see Erin un-sling the shotgun from her shoulder and line it up with the heads of the creatures. She pulls the trigger and I see the mass of flesh fly from the shoulders of the entire front group. She had accidentally loaded buckshot into the chambers instead if slugs, but damn if it hadn't worked out for the best.

We were down to the final few roaming around the room. The yell to Erin to get down and take aim at the back of their heads. I squeeze the trigger and hear the bang as the round left the chamber. The splattering sound is a dead give away that I had hit my target, but how much damage had I actually done? I look over as the smoke clears and see both the creatures that were left drop down and start twitching. I had hit one right through the back of the head and the one in front had been hit in the shoulder as it left the first ones body. The force of the round had caused the creature to spin around and hit the ground a foot in front of Erin. She raised up the shotgun and drove the butt of the gun down through the creatures head causing it to cease movement.

We both look at each other and stare in amazement as we realize we just cleared the entire room without one close call. I re-holster the two handguns and watch as Erin slings the shotgun back over her shoulder. I walk over and make sure Erin is ok. She just stares at me then punches me in the jaw. Ouch, this little hippie can throw a good punch, I guess its that low center of gravity. My head snaps back into position as I hear Erin screaming at me about shooting in her direction. Pshh like I was worried I knew what I was shooting at but Erin wasn't to convinced of that. After being yelled at for a minute by Erin I begin to wonder were the girl that was originally in the room is hiding.

I tell Erin to stop and help me find the girl. We scan the room and finally see her hiding behind a table in the corner of the room. We run over to the girl and find her holding the gun crying. I tell her its ok that everything is dead but she wont respond. Erin leans down and starts to whisper to the girl trying to calm her, but to no avail.

The girl screamed for us to get away and jumped to her feet. She had the gun trained of us and was telling us not to move. She tried to scream at us more but through the crying we couldn't understand what she was saying. Erin and I started to back away and leave the room. We watched the girl the whole time as we headed for the door. I looked at the girl and could only imagine the things this girl has been through to be in this type of state. She looked like she could be no older that 20 but appeared as though she had been through more than a war torn vet would go through.

Erin and I backed out the door away from the girl as she continued to scream. I felt for this girl. Since the outbreak all of us survivors had been through so much, and having all that shoved on you at such a young age has to be a lot to bare. As we turn the corner out the door I can still hear the crying as she tried to get her composure. I tell Erin we should head over to the other hallway and try to find a room over there. As I finish saying this we hear and click and a loud bang as the handgun the girl was holding goes off. Erin dives to the floor thinking the round had come our way but I already knew what had happened. I listen carefully and know that all I will hear is silence. My heart breaks as I know that would could have helped this girl if only she had let us.

Erin and I head down the west hallway and stop at a room close to the entrance that doesn't seem to have any smell coming from it. I crack open the electronic lock and start stripping away the wire coverings. After a few minutes of messing with the wires I hear the distinct noise of the electronic lock opening and I push the door open. Erin heads inside and tells me the room is clear. I head into the room letting the door shut behind us and making sure it locks. Just to make sure I switch the deadbolt on the door turn towards to beds. I look over and see Erin already laying on the far bed, half passed out. Damn it will feel good to sleep in a real bed. I take a deep breath and notice a foul odor that I could not smell in the hallway...cigarette smoke. Of course of all the rooms I could pick I get a smoking room.

I lay down in the bed and start to think about how good the sheets feel. I lay my head of the pillows, feeling them engulf my head. As comfortable as I am I cant fall asleep. My mind keeps going back to that girl and what happened. We could have saved her, I know we could have but now she is laying dead in a hotel conference room instead of at home with her family and people that love her. The outbreak has caused life to become a former shell of what it used to be and has destroyed all notion of what family means. I feel a tear roll down my cheek as I drift of to dreamland. Hopefully my dreams are less of a nightmare than my reality has become.