UFSW Hunger Games/Issue 2

This is a preview of Issue #2 of the UFSW Hunger Games

Issue 2
Conner stares at the note in his hand, re-reading it over again in his confusion. He’s only knocked out of his daze when he hears the screech of a familiar voice.

“Conner!” Ash yells, sprinting through the ruined park towards Conner, happier than ever to see the man. As the boy impulsively tackles him with a hug, Conner notices he has an identical piece of paper in his hand.

“Did you read it?” Ash asks.

“Y-yeah. I--I don’t know what to make of it, maybe it’s a...I dunno. I don’t even know where we are,” Conner stammers.

Ash suddenly looks to his left and points at a white structure with a pointed top looming in the distance. “I--I’ve seen that before. My dad, he was flipping through this book once. I don’t know what it’s called,” Ash says.

“The Washington Monument...” Conner says in awe. “We’re in fucking Washington D.C?”

“Let’s just go,” Ash suggests, tugging once on Conner’s sleeve.

“No, no. The note said--you read it, you know what it said. We die if we leave here.”

Before Ash can respond, Kim Coleman’s voice echoes throughout the park as she calls for the two familiar figures. “Ash! Conner!” she yells, waving her hands to get their attention. She stops, out of breath, when she finally gets near them, and shakes the note at them. “What the hell is this?”

“Like I fuckin’ know,” Conner says. “Look, let’s just stick together, that’s the best plan. If there’s...45 other people here, and fuckin’ walkers, I’m not happy being out in the open like this. Come on.”

Grimm sits on the cold, hard floor of a derailed subway train, a single dim light dangling in the otherwise dark tunnel. He rereads the mysterious note in his hands, a small smile of amusement forming on his face. Him against 47 others. Shouldn't be too hard; not for him, anyway.

He stands and wipes the dust off of his pants; he takes a few minutes to stretch, since the hard floor didn't do his back any favors. But in the middle of his stretch, he hears a growl from behind him, proof that the note wasn't lying about the zombies being just as big of a threat. He turns his head and sees the train car behind him filled to the brim with infected, and they push past the unhinged doors into his car, a few also climbing up from the tracks.

With no weapons in sight, he sprints in the opposite direction, towards the train car in front of him. He hops from one car to the next with ease, laughing as he does so, amused at his slick getaway. But when he hops to the third car, he feels a tug on his leg, and he falls to the car's metal floor face first. All the wind is knocked out of his lungs, but he wastes no time turning into his back; he's instantly face to face with the zombie latched onto his ankle and its undead buddies behind him.

"Oh, fuck," he mutters, giving it a kick to the face. "Get--the fuck--off of me!" he shouts in between kicks, and the last kick causes its jaw to fall clean off its face. With no other options in sight, Grimm reaches forward and grabs the zombie by the head; he smashes its face--once, twice, then three times--into the floor until its completely motionless, its face nothing but a pulpy mess of brain and rotten skull. He rips his foot from its grasp and scurries to his feet, speeding once again through the train cars and escaping the rest of the zombies.

"Let's cut through here," Ash suggests in front of the subway entrance. He, Conner, and Kim glance behind them at a large herd of zombies at the horizon.

"We don't know what's down there," Kim says.

"We obviously can't go that way," Ash says, gesturing to the herd. They look to Conner to be the mediator, but even he's conflicted.

"No," Conner says finally. "Too dangerous."

"And the bell's coming from that direction," Ash adds, and despite Conner's protests, he descends the steps to the entrance.

"Ash!" Conner and Kim both shout, but he continues on until he disappears behind the doors.

"Come on!" Ash calls to them.

Hoping tO escape the zombies proves not to be a realistic goal, as Grimm still attempts to outrun them through the dark subway tunnels. He covers his nose with his tank top to block out the smell, and he wipes his forehead free of sweat. After a few minutes, he hears a yell that echoes through the tunnel.

"Ash! Slow down!" Grimm hears a man yell, and Grimm stops in his tracks in surprise, despite the zombies pursuing him about fifty meters away.

"I'm right here! Hey--I think I know where--" Ash calls out, but then he turns a corner and is face to face with Grimm. Ash backs up nervously, Grimm's appearance instantly intimidating him: the shaved head, the tattoos.

"Hey, kid," Grimm says. "I'm good--I'm a good guy. Help me get outta here."

"What--I don't know how to get out of here."

"We'll work together. Yeah, we'll get out of together." Grimm reaches his hand out to Ash, expecting the kid to take it.

"No. No, I have people with me already. You can join us."

Grimm sighs, remembers the 47 others he has to take out, and trying to even the score now will be for his benefit. Even if he has to kill a kid. So without warning, he grabs Ash by the arm. Ash immediately screams out for Conner, but Grimm covers his mouth with his hand.

"Shut up," Grimm orders.

"Ash! What's wrong? Where are you?" Kim shouts.

"Sorry about this, kid," Grimm says, and he drags Ash by the arm toward the zombies rushing toward them.

"No! Please--Kim! Conner!" Ash pleads wildly, the volume of his screams escalating as Grimm tosees him to the undead, and he eventually goes silent. Not wanting to take the risk of dealing with two adults, Grimm sprints past the zombies as they focus on Ash, intent on getting away.

"Ash, what the hell--" Conner begins, but then he turns the corner and sees what he wishes he would never have to, and collapses onto his knees.

(END PREVIEW)