Putting the duffle bag down on the floor, Karl stayed in the doorway keeping an eye on the way they just came. He watched on as Duane took the lead with Judith covering him as they left the stairwell and entered the hallway. They were leaving the same way they came in but that didn’t mean it was safe. He’d feel better if there weren’t so many doors everywhere and he had a bigger gun, a shotgun maybe, especially after what happened upstairs. Being in the dimly lit basement of the hospital and its morgue didn’t help things either. “Where are they, did they leave?†Judith asked after they had walked 30 feet down the hall and noticing the empty hallway. They had put down eight of those things and were able to go around the others on the way in. “Even the ones we shot before are gone.†“Maybe they wandered off and took a snack with them?†Duane jokingly replied. He was getting an uneasy feeling all of a sudden. Out of habit he reached for the cloth covered tube hanging from a chain around his neck, making sure it was still there even though he knew it was. “Keep alert, this doesn’t feel right. Karl, grab the bag, we’re leaving.†Karl turned grabbed the bag, when he turned back he was face to face with a walker. “Oh crap.†Karl muttered as he backed up quickly onto the stairs. He raised his gun and shot it in the head. The thing fell to the ground but others quickly took its place. He turned to run up the stairs but was faced with more of them. Panic overwhelming him, he screamed as he emptied the clip into them as they closed in on him. Duane and Judith spun around at the sound of the first shot to see over a dozen walkers coming out of the doors between them and Karl. They raised their weapons and fired into them but more kept pouring out and now they were heading towards them. “Karl!†Judith yelled, knowing that it was already to late to save him. “We have to go!†Duane yelled at Judith. “But the bag.†“We have to leave it. There’re to many of them.†As they turned and ran, the walkers grabbed and dragged Karl down to the floor. His echoing screams mercifully stopped as the things ripped into his flesh, devouring whatever chunks they could get. Judith knew he was right. They just lost Marilyn less than 15 minutes ago upstairs getting the medicine and now Karl with the damn bag. This plan of going into town in two groups instead of one stronger one was John’s plan. She never trusted him and suspected he was after George’s position as group leader. It wasn’t just dumb luck that those chosen to go were loyal to George and she wasn’t alone in thinking that. At least she got teamed up with Duane. There were only a few people she really trusted and he was on the top of the list, even knowing he carried a pipe bomb for his “last stand†incase he ever got bit or into a no escape situation. Those things had set a trap for them. A goddamned trap! This isn’t happening, Duane thought, not after all they’ve been through since the outbreak started. That’s what they called it after all, an “outbreak of unknown originsâ€. The dead were walking. That’s not an outbreak, that’s a biblical apocalypse. This was a bad idea from the start but they had to try for those back in the camp, the kids especially. The medicine they were after might help those sick but only if someone survived to bring it back. Hopefully Keith’s group got some from the clinic they went to since their bag of medicine was laying in the middle of at least a dozen of those things. The door they came in at was around the next corner. Just as Judith reached it, a walker slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. They fought each other as it tried to take a bite out of her. Its decayed face inches from hers. Judith kept it at bay long enough to quickly shove her pistol into its mouth and pull the trigger. Duane glanced around the corner to check if another walker was there before helping her, it wouldn’t do any of them any good if he got attacked trying to help her. “Oh my God.†he said under his breath. The hallway was full of walkers. They were cut off from their only escape route and they couldn’t go back the way they just came. Even if they had enough ammo they couldn’t kill them all and his bomb would likely bring the floor above down on them. The sound of Judith’s gun going off quickly snapped him back. He kicked the walkers body off Judith and helped her to her feet. Judith saw what he had just seen and her face went pale. “Oh Christ.†She barely uttered. They backed up as far as they could go at the end of the hall. It was to late to reach one of the rooms and barricade themselves inside, the walkers had advanced to far and there were to many of them. They kept shooting at the walkers closest to them, buying a little more time in hopes of a last second rescue. “We’re not getting out of this are we?†Judith asked already knowing the answer. He handed her his pistol with its last clip already in it. “No, we‘re not.†Her eyes began tearing up. “Well, it was fun while it lasted, right?†“Damn right. Lets take these bastards out.†he said with a grin as he took out his pipe bomb from its pouch and pulled out his lighter. They both held the bomb while Duane lit the fuse. It went off just as the first walkers reached them. ________________ “The Last Stand†-Word count: 1000 -Inspiration: Of course a big one is George Romero’s Living Dead film series. The Resident Evil games and films. A little bit of Aliens for how this story ends -the scene where Gorman and Vasquez are trapped in the air duct and blow themselves up. This was tougher than I hoped it would be in trying to keep the story at or under the 1000 word count. I tried to cram in as much information on a larger untold story while still telling the story of the last minutes of my characters in this short story. I was considering doing a digital art render of the last scene for the contest as well but never got to it.