Tristan:
The infected run toward us as soon as they see us. I run back into the house and push the sofa against the empty doorway. The sofa only blocks half of the entrance, but it's still enough. With the infected all rushing at once, they get stuck. However, as I keep having to push the sofa against all the snarling infected, I also have to stay out of the reach of their swinging hands.
"Hold on!" Baily shouts as she pulls out a handgun and aims at the infected.
"Don't shoot," I say, an infected's arm grabbing my hair. Screaming as I shake it off, a few strands ripping off and setting my head on fire, I bite my lips and look at the stupid package. "Don't shoot! Just grab something and start hitting them. Keep them out of the house!"
Bailey nods and disappears into the living room. Meanwhile, Rebecca grabs an infected arm and starts slicing it. Black blood flows out of the cuts before the arm goes limp. When the arm stops moving, Rebecca reaches for another arm.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm making an opening!" Rebecca answers while cutting a whole arm off. Tossing the limb to the side, Rebecca then stabs the armless infected in the head. However, a second infected tries to bite Rebeca. It lunges for her when Rebecca stabs the first infected in the head.
"Ahhh!"
Jumping back, Rebecca drops her knife. She reaches for it, but all the infected, swinging their sharp fingers, force her back.
"Damnit!"
With all the infected pushing against the sofa, my feet start sliding along the hardwood floor. Stomping my feet against the floor, trying to get some footing, I yell.
"Rebecca!"
Rebecca sees me and runs away before running back, slamming herself against the sofa. Pushing them back only a little, the infected push back, and now, we're both sliding across the floor.
"Where's Bailey?" Rebecca asks, having to bend down to avoid all the arms swinging around in the dark.
"I'm too busy to be a babysitter!"
Stomping on the floor again, the bottom of my foot setting on fire and the fire shooting up my leg, I still push back with everything I have. Gaining a little footing, I lose it all when I slip, and an infected gets in.
The infected lunges at us, and with our backs against a sofa, we can't do anything.
Bailey:
"Aahhh!"
Screaming as I swing the baseball bat, I hit and knock the infected back.
"What the hell!"
Tristain looks at me, and I bring up the baseball bat, showing it off.
"Hey. Look what I've found."
"Congrats, kid," Rebecca says with a smile. "Now, please kill some infected before they all burst in here!"
Nodding, I raise my bat and start hitting the infected. However, despite how many I hit, there are always two more infected, already lunging and biting.
"There are too many," I yell, hitting another infected. As soon as the infected falls dead, another infected pushes it down and lunges at me. I hit its arm, and the cracking sound of bones breaking echoes in my ears.
"Is the upstairs clear?"
"What?"
"The upstars," Tristan repeats. "Is the upstairs clear? When you were searching, did you check upstairs? Did you hear anything from upstairs?"
"I don't think so."
"You don't think so?"
"No! No, I didn't hear anything from upstairs!"
"Then go upstairs," Tristan yells. "You too, Rebecca! Grab your knife and leave."
"What?"
"Go upstairs. Pick a room closest to the neighboring house. Go now! I'll be coming up in a few minutes."
Tristan gets up from the floor and pushes the sofa back.
"Do it now!"
Immediately, Rebecca grabs both her knife from the floor and my hand.
"Follow me," she says. Nodding, we run up the stairs. Reaching the top in only seconds, we then look around. It's a dark and narrow hallway, almost impossible to see the doors hiding.
"Which doors?
"I don't know," Rebecca asks, spinning around.
Rebecca raises her knife and runs to a random door. Placing her ear against it, Rebecca then swings it open.
"It's a bathroom without a window!"
"Tristan said to pick a room closest to the neighboring house."
"Yeah!"
Rebecca and I leave the bathroom and check another door. Swinging this one open, we enter a bedroom with a large window and a clear view of the house next door.
"Will this work?"
"No," Rebecca answers. "Drifter says to pick the room closest to the neighboring house. The house is too far away."
"Okay"
We leave the bedroom and run to the last door.
"Last one," Rebecca says. She didn't even bother to check it. Walking right up to the door, Rebecca raises her foot and stomps it open.
"Found it! Bailey, go and get Drifter!"
I nod and rush back out to get Tristan.
Tristan:
"Son of a--" I yell as I'm thrown off my feet and fall to the floor. Turning around, I watch as the sofa is thrown against the wall and the infected, with drooling yellow teeth and cold white eyes, run over each other to get inside the house.
Pushing myself up, I wind up my fist before throwing the first punch, hitting and knocking an infected back. The damn infected fall back and knock over some more. However, the other infected run over all the down infected, and toward me. Seeing all the hungry infected, I back up until my back hits the wall.
"Drifter!" Someone yells. "Over here!"
Looking up, I see Bailey on the stairs. I don't waste a second and run up the stairs, following Bailey. We run into the room, with Rebecca slamming the door shut. Bailey then pushes an empty against the closed door. We all stand back and watch as the infected pushes against the door and desk.
I look behind and see a large window, and outside the window is the adjacent house. However, the house is still too far for us to jump. I look around the bedroom again and see an overturned bed with a torn mattress, covered in stains, and a steel frame.
"Grab the mattress and throw it against the door," I say, grabbing the steel frame.
"What? Why? What are you doing?"
"Building a bridge," I answer, pushing the frame out the window.
"Come on! Help me!"
Rebecca and Bailey lift the mattress, and together, they throw it onto the desk, barricading the door even more. However, it does almost nothing to stop the infected. The sound of them scratching and pounding the door screams in all our ears.
"Okay," I yell, snapping my fingers. "Come on. Come on!"
Rebecca and Bailey run over to me, but stop.
"Wha--What is this?" Bailey asks, looking at me as I hold down the frame, half of it pushed out the window.
"I'll hold down the frame, you crawl to the end, and then jump over to the next house."
"Wha--"
A rotten arm breaks through the wooden door and swings around wildly, almost grabbing Rebecca and Bailey.
"Never mind!"
I throw my whole weight on the cold steel frame, the frame pushing back against my stomach as Baiely slowly climbs onto it.
"Stop shaking it," Bailey begs.
"I'm doing my best here!"
Carefully and slowly, basically sliding along the frame, Bailey reaches the end of the frame.
"Now what?"
"Jump!" Rebecca yells, stabbing an infected in its arm.
Bailey's head snaps between me and the next house. Her chest is going up and down, and she is biting on her thumb.
"Damnit," I yell. "Just jump!"
Bailey screams as she jumps from the bed frame to the next house. Hitting the wall, the thud, getting lost in all the snarling, Bailey screams again as she reaches for the window. The package shakes as she pulls herself up.
"She made it! Rebecca, your turn."
Rebecca nods and puts her knife in her pack. Doing the same as Bailey, she quickly climbs the frame before jumping. Bailey helps Rebecca in. Once the two are inside, they turn to me.
"Come on, Drifter! Hurry!"
As the two scream at me, I hear wood cracking and turn around. The door is covered in cracks, with splinters constantly flying off it.
"Okay," I say, swallowing a rock in my throat. "Okay. You only got one shot at this."
Biting my thumb now, I turn and look at the door.
Rebecca:
"Wait," Bailey says.
"What?"
"How is Tristan supposed to jump over without one of us? I mean, without someone to balance the frame?"
The words hit me like a truck.
"Son of a bitch," I yell, grinding my teeth and kicking the wall. "You're right! How the hell is Drifter supposed to jump without a counterweight?"
"Look!"
Pointing back at the house, Bailey and I watch as infected run into the room with Tristan. Seeing this, Tristan pulls out a handgun and fires. Shooting the first few infected, their lifeless bodies fall onto the frame. Still shooting as more infected flood into the room, Tristan runs up the frame.
"Holy fuck," Bailey screams, her hands hitting her head. "He's using the dead infected as the counterweight! That's--That's--"
"Bailey," I yell. Tristan reaches the end of the frame and jumps.