Callum swore through the hand covering his mouth as a young woman with blonde hair and icy blue eyes came into view. 'What the hell!'
"Callum!" Rachael hissed as she placed a finger on her lips. "This is Amy. The other Walker in our group. Just stay quiet for now."
Callum nodded his head as Amy removed her hand. Once he could get a good look at her, he noticed she was wearing a baggy grey hoodie, blue jeans and white trainers. She's around her mid-twenties, I think. Callum rapidly analysed her as the two women peeked over the fences towards the archway.
"This is bad," Amy said as she attempted to count the gobs rushing into the gardens. "There's got to be at least a hundred of them and more are coming."
Rachael chewed on her lip as she eyed the squeaking beasts. "What should we do Amy?"
"We can't stay here. That's for sure." Amy looked around until she spotted the other archways that led into those gardens. "We'll have to head for one of those. You'll need to be ready to fight. There's bound to be more of them on the streets."
Callum felt out of his depth as his gaze moved between the pair of them. 'I suppose it's better to have another one of us in the group. It should make this easier to survive. Amy? Her card should be Smoke then.'
At that moment, Rachael grabbed his arm and ran. A quick glance told Callum that they were leaving Amy behind. "Rachael! Wait! What about Amy?"
"Don't worry about her! She'll distract them to let us gain some distance!"
Callum gulped as he watched Amy shout and run in the opposite direction. However, he was slightly relieved to see the horde of gobs chasing after her instead of them. However, the gobs had surrounded Amy by the time they leapt over the few fences between them and their way out.
Just as Callum was about to say something to Rachael about it, a cloud of smoke erupted from Amy's position! Furious squeaks filled the air as Rachael dragged him into the archway tunnel leading to the main road. Before they could even cross half of it, a figure made of smoke flew past them.
Callum's eyes went wide as the smoke turned into Amy, who was wearing a wide smile on her face. "That should keep them busy for a while!"
"What did you do back there?" Callum asked as he raced past her while being dragged by Rachael.
"Nothing much. I created a smoke screen to blind them while turning myself into smoke to escape. Those things can't hurt me when I'm like that."
Callum nodded when he realised she had never been in danger. 'That's actually really useful.' He sighed when he thought about his own abilities. One of them was quite useful for combat, but the others felt like support abilities. However, both women had cards that were useful for escaping threats in their own way.
As they sprinted down the road, a couple of gobs came into view. 'Looks like Amy was right. Not all of them are storming the gardens!' Callum summoned his hammer as the two women prepared their own weapons. Rachael activated her Dash ability and appeared before the one on the right before it could react!
Her knife viciously slid into its throat as she severed its vocal cords. Which gave Callum and Amy the time to reach the other one since its companion could not warn it! Callum bludgeoned the beast on the back of the head as Amy stabbed at its ribs, aiming for its lungs.
When the creature tried to let out a squeak, Amy filled its nostrils and throat with smoke. This caused it to choke as its voice died in its throat! Callum used that chance to pummel his hammer into the gob's eye socket. Its eyeball made a wet, squelching noise as it popped and Callum twisted his weapon to use the claw end to scoop out its brain matter.
The gob trembled as it fell to the ground, deader than a doornail. Amy panted as she patted Callum on the shoulder.
"That was pretty quick thinking! Shame I won't be getting the fragments, though." Amy said as she clicked her tongue.
Callum gave her a stern glare as the fragments from the gob entered his body. In his mind, their situation was nothing to laugh at. Even Rachael wore a dark expression on her face as she listened to Amy's comment.
"Amy, do you know this area? We have to warn the others back at the library. If this horde crosses the river, I'm not sure we can save everyone."
"I only know parts of it. I've been out here for just over a day. Tom wanted to know where these things went when they left the area around camp." Amy shrugged her shoulders. "I used the bridge in that direction to cross the river, but I haven't found another one yet."
Rachael rubbed the bridge of her nose as she let out a sigh. "Well, clearly that way is no use to us now. Are there any tall buildings around here that will let us get a look at the area?"
Silence descended between them as Amy pouted while she thought. After a moment, her expression brightened. "I'm not sure if it'll be tall enough, but there's an old church just a few streets away. We might see something if we climb its bell tower."
Callum and Rachael exchanged a glance before nodding. The pair of them followed Amy as she led the way. They darted down twists and turns in the road and the occasional alley. Luck appeared to be on their side, as there was no hint of the gobs anywhere. However, that did not ease their tension.
Amy reached out and stopped them before they stepped out from between the two buildings. "Just out there is a wide open road. There's no cover between here and the church. We'll have to cross the road and the surrounding grass."
"Which way to the door?" Rachael asked as a deep frown appeared on her face. However, Amy shook her head.
"We don't know if anything is inside just now. It's best if we run past the door to the far side of the building. Part of its wall has collapsed on that side, so we can get a clear look and cover each other if something goes wrong."
The trio became silent as each of them thought about the risks of what they were planning to do. 'With no cover, if there's even a single gob, we'll definitely be spotted.' Callum's eyes moved to Amy and Rachael's hands. 'Rachael has eight will counters left and Amy has two. I still have all ten, but I've lost two life counters. I haven't had enough experience of this world to judge if that makes our chances decent or not.'
Callum sighed as he glanced at Rachael for her opinion. However, she seemed lost in her own thoughts. Callum's stomach churned as he watched her expression turn into a grimace.
"Cal, you and I will have to take the frontline if anything is in there. Amy, you stay behind us and only use your abilities if you have to. We still have to get back to camp and you're almost out of will counters."
"Hey! How come the useless new guy is up front? With no powers, he's cannon fodder at best!"
"Amy! Have you ever looked at his hands? He's a Walker, like us."
Amy's eyes went wide as she grabbed Callum's hand and stared at it. "Damn, you're right! Sorry about that. I thought you were another useless stray Rachael had found."
"No biggie," Callum replied, as he yanked his hand from her grip.
"So cold! I kinda like that in a guy." Amy said with a sweet voice as she moved closer to him. "I don't suppose you'd be my partner out here, would you?"
"Drop it, Amy!" Rachael growled as she put herself between them. "He's already met Tom, and he's my partner."
Amy clicked her tongue as she stepped away from the hostile situation. "Fair enough. So what's your core card? I hope it's something decent."
Rachael wore a smug expression on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You'll just have to wait and see. But make sure you keep your distance from him in case he has to use it."
Amy cocked an eyebrow at Callum as a flicker of interest darted across her eyes. "Oh really? Well, now I'm kinda hoping there's something in there."
Callum almost choked as Rachael glared at Amy. I feel like this is getting out of hand. "Shouldn't we get going?"
Both women shot him an angry glare before realising he was right. They were just wasting time with their bickering. Time that everyone at the library may not have. Rachael pushed Callum out in front as she trailed after him. After a few moments, Amy followed them.
Callum tightened his grip on his hammer as he looked around at the massive open space between himself and the church. The fog was still green and abandoned cars littered the road. However, there was no sign of any living thing except themselves. They watched on for several seconds as they mustered their courage. 'Please don't let us get spotted!'
Callum secretly hoped that their luck would hold out as he dashed forward while keeping his body low. He hoped that if there was something out there, his low posture and the fog would prevent it from seeing him. The girls followed suit just a few steps behind him as his heart threatened to jump out of his chest.
'Come on! Come on!' Callum silently prayed that they would make it with no incident. However, his mind pictured gobs flooding out of the church and overwhelming them. His hands trembled as they passed by the doors to the ruined building as he caught a whiff of the stale air from within. His imagination ran wild as he felt the hair on his neck stand up.
'I'm just freaking myself out. Calm down!' He placed his free hand over his heart as if trying to smother the sound it was making. 'We're almost there! Just a little more!'
He pressed his back against the stone wall as he peered around the corner. Callum squinted as his gaze studied the fog on that side of the building. However, he could see no sign of the gobs.
"I think we're safe." He whispered as he turned towards Rachael, who nodded for him to go ahead.
As they rounded the corner, Callum caught sight of the hole in the wall Amy had mentioned. He slowed his pace, forcing the girls behind him to do the same. There was no way he was going to get overexcited and rush forward.
He could clearly hear Rachael's breathing getting heavier behind him as the distance to the hole grew shorter. His throat felt dry as they finally reached it without causing a reaction in the fog. He turned towards Amy and Rachael, who nodded to show they were ready.
Callum held his breath as he slowly exposed his head to the interior of the church. It was a total mess! Everything seemed fine as he glanced over it. With a wave of his hand, he led the girls over the rubble and inside. However, Amy slipped on a loose brick and fell on her ass!
The brick clattered as it fell down the small mound, causing the trio to hold their breath. A moment passed and nothing happened. The three of them let out the air in their lungs as bright smiles lifted their cheeks. However, that was when it all went wrong!
A pile of rubble ahead of them suddenly moved as its contents fell to the floor! Callum gasped as the mound stood up, scattering dirt and dust in the air as it revealed its true form! A tall, humanoid creature with grey, stonelike skin stood at just over two meters tall as dust fell from it. The creature's dark globes that were its eyes glanced around as its wide mouth opened in a yawn!
'What the heck is that!'