Chapter 17: The Desperate Wait

Azu and the other two quickly burst through the fire door and sprinted into the short corridor to the left of the auditorium. Screams and cries echoed throughout the hall. As they reached the exit sign, a sudden flash of light erupted, followed by a piercing shriek.

Clark turned his head to see a live wire dangling from behind the stage. A man walking by had stepped on the exposed cable, his body jerking violently from the electric shock. His eyes bulged, his hair stood on end, and he looked as though he were dancing.

"Run!" Azu shouted at them. "Hurry!"

Clark had to abandon his instinct to help and pulled Lana along as they bolted toward the outside. As they navigated the corridor, a monster suddenly blocked their path. It had been crouching with its back to them, but upon hearing them, it whipped its head around.

Azu gasped at the horrific sight. The creature’s face was smeared with thick, viscous blood. Its protruding teeth were matted with a piece of undigested internal organ, from which fresh droplets of blood fell. Its clothes, once white, were now drenched in gore. Upon spotting them, the monster let out a low growl. It stared at them with gray, lifeless eyes that struck fear into their souls, and began to shamble forward. At first, it moved slowly, but its pace began to quicken.

"Run!" Azu, forgetting his ability to fire lasers from his eyes, grabbed their hands and sprinted with all his might.

They reached the storage yard behind the auditorium and shoved the door shut with all their strength.

"Bang!"

A zombie slammed against the door from the inside, nearly knocking Clark and Azu off their feet as they leaned against it. Lana, standing outside, was deathly pale with terror. Suddenly, the door was burst open, and the zombie stumbled out, but the three of them had already fled into the storage yard.

Lana could see rows of orange storage units. The facility operated twenty-four hours a day, but the main gate was locked tight, guarded by a small keypad. The perimeter was lined with high fences topped with barbed wire.

Azu didn't hesitate. He leaped up, lunging at the fence like a shark, and scrambled to the top in seconds. The barbed wire was old and poorly maintained; it wasn't electrified, serving only as a hollow threat. Azu easily bent the wire, though he still scratched his hands several times and tore holes in his jeans. With a thud, he vaulted over and landed on the other side. The ground was hard, and the impact sent a jolt of pain and numbness from his shins to his knees. He even wondered if he had broken something.

Once on the other side, Azu looked at the rows of warehouses bathed in the bright sodium lights. "Jump over, I can catch you!" he called out to Clark and Lana.

Clark could have made the jump, but Lana looked up at the barbed wire, on the verge of tears. "Lana can't make it!"

"Then leave her behind!"

"No! How could we abandon our friend?" Clark stared at Azu in shock.

"Because she's dead weight," Azu retorted, pointing at Lana. "She isn't our family, Clark."

"She is my friend!" Clark glared at Azu and took Lana’s hand, ready to leave.

"Don't go, Clark. I can handle this." Azu crouched down, eyes fixed on the wire mesh. His laser vision wasn't always reliable; it only activated under extreme danger or emotional turmoil. He stared intensely at the wire, red light building in his eyes. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fire the beam. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he desperately recalled the trick his father had taught him: focus, then think of something that makes you feel angry.

Angry? Azu immediately thought of how Clark had been willing to abandon his brother for Lana just moments ago.

*Zzzzt!*

Fueled by his rage, his laser eyes instantly sliced through the wire fence. Before Lana could even register the shock, Clark pulled her through the gap into the storage yard.

The three of them sprinted past seven rows of warehouses and across five more. The smell of rot and burning hung heavy in the air. They hunkered down behind a dumpster between two units, curling their bodies as small as possible.

"What were those?" Clark asked, his voice trembling.

"Zombies. I’ve seen them in horror movies," Azu whispered. "If you get bitten, you turn into one of them. But don't worry, Dad will come to save us."

"Are you sure, Azu?" Clark was shaking with fear.

The feeling hadn't been as intense while they were running, but now that they were hiding, the terror surged back.

"I'm sure. Dad said that if I were ever in danger, he would come to save me, no matter where I am."

Clark buried his head. "Yeah, I believe in Godfather too. He said he would protect us."

Lana, huddled in the corner, said nothing. She bit down hard on the back of her hand to keep from crying out. She felt like she was turning from Cinderella into an ugly monster, and she wondered if her knight would still come to save her.

Silence descended, heavy and deathly. Clark looked up toward the auditorium. In the distance, a pillar of fire shot into the sky, sending steel roofing panels, wood, and paper scattering into the air. The smell of oil and smoke filled the atmosphere. The main street was illuminated as brightly as if a flare gun had been fired.

"I..." Clark suddenly whispered to Azu, his voice trembling. "I saw him!"

Azu looked at him. "Saw who?"

Clark recalled the terrifying sight from earlier. "That monster that was chasing us—the zombie you mentioned—he... he’s Godfather’s cousin."

Azu swallowed hard. "You mean Uncle Louis, the one from the funeral we went to?"

"Yes, it’s him. I recognized him..."

Before Clark could finish, a low, guttural growl drifted toward them, sounding as though someone had phlegm stuck in their throat, accompanied by a pungent, rotting stench. Realizing it was the zombie from before, the three of them held their breath, terrified to make a sound.

*Click-clack! Click-clack!*

Louis's footsteps echoed in their ears. Clark’s heart was filled with fear, but when he saw Lana behind him, he gritted his teeth and picked up a broken piece of brick, ready to charge out at any moment. He had made up his mind: he would not go down without a fight. Even with just this half-brick, he would protect Lana and Azu.

*Clang!*

Suddenly, a sharp, metallic sound rang out. Lana watched in shock as a flash of light streaked through the night.