Fitful slumber visited Evan throughout the night as troubling phantasms refused to abate. Each time the hazy visages were quickly forgotten, but not before refreshing the memories of what had been done just before his weary rest. Nothing was quite so bad enough to prompt a vocal outburst, but Evan was not normally so restless. Each time he awoke in the night, Evan reminded himself with the thought that the actions he had taken were the responsible choice for his situation.
Yet the minor possibility that those infected people could have been redeemed with a cure or just recovered if they had more time refused to leave him. He had no idea if the disease would prove to be eventually curable in some way, but he knew for certain that the actions he chose were permanent. Speculative conjectures that they would have been eliminated by any rescue party in the morning or that their early extermination could have potentially saved lives was of minor consolation, but they did help.
A burst of loud excitement in the building roused Evan, bringing him to a weary, but alert state of wakefulness. Natural light filtered into his room from the curtains, grey with the obscuring heavy clouds and rain but bright enough to indicate it had been day for maybe an hour. Despite a problematic rest, he had apparently slept more peacefully that last time than previously. Rising from his bed and drawing open the curtains to let in the light, he briefly spied the rain slicked and empty streets several dozen feet below.
Before heading out to check out the commotion, he noticed the previous day's clothing smelled faintly of dried sweat. Quickly swapping it for fresh clothing, he tossed the old clothes in the nearby hamper. During the quick exchange a distinctive loud crack came from outside. It was muffled by the building, but likely had been produced by a nearby gunshot. Retrieving the flashlight from his desk, he departed the room and made his way through the halls to the front doors. During the short travel, other sounds came to his ears amidst the sound of heavy rainfall, continued excited chatter and distant gunfire.
Several of the building's residents were gathered in the small area by the front doors. Other residents were standing outside, crowded into the tight alleyway and holding umbrellas. There was an excited discussion taking place as Jennifer weaved through the crowds. "I was just about to come get you!"
"What's going on?" Evan spoke with a loud voice to be heard over the excited chatter; keeping to the back wall of the lobby to stay out of the way of people who eagerly crowded the area.
"They're here! They're wiping out the zombies and they're heading this way! They're coming to take us out of here soon!" Jennifer exclaimed as she embraced Evan.
Holding Jennifer was a greatly pleasant experience after such a miserable night. Exhaling gently, Evan was glad they were nearing the end of their troubles. Somehow, he almost didn't expect the moment to arrive. "So, we need to start rounding everyone up."
"I think everyone is already here. They drove by the building a few minutes ago using a loudspeaker. I think it woke a lot of people up."
"So that's what that was. But we should probably still check."
Jennifer retrieved the list of names from the flimsy desk nearby, scanning it quickly. "Twenty seven. So I guess we should do a count."
Through the open doors came a distant echo of an amplified
voice and the regular chopping hum of a rotor. Both sounds
were hard to make out over the excitement, but once the crowd noticed, their clamor faded to a murmur so they could attentively listen.
"Then let's count heads." Evan whispered. "Remember, it's twenty eight now because of Minoko."
While each performed an independent count, the booming, echoing voice carried on, the reverent hush of the mingled crowd sufficing to bring its message into focus. That soon they would all be rescued and not to depart from their safe havens prematurely. From the fading voice after a moment it seemed as if the vehicle booming the message was driving away now. Perhaps to carry its message to other places within the city. As the sound faded, the crowd resumed its relieved chatter.
By the time Evan finished his counting, he had glimpsed Zach at the far end of the corridor, close to the gate and holding the residents at bay. Someone had taken some sheets and covered the mangled body parts and corpses with them. The sheets had been weighed down with random objects. Water had swept away a great deal of the blood, but the sheets still bore large discolored splotches. Minoko lingered by the door where Robert had been restrained the previous night.
Finished with his count and noting they were only short by one person, Evan approached Minoko with care, using the flashlight to get her attention. She barely regarded his presence as she apprehensively stood at the door as if deliberating over whether to open it. Someone had taped a warning to the door indicating that a zombie was inside the room, but there was no sound coming from within.
"How are you feeling?" Evan awkwardly asked as he approached with his light.
"I want to be certain." Minoko whispered almost too faintly to hear over the surrounding celebratory mood. "Before we leave."
Evan tried to consider a measured response. Ultimately, he had no idea what to say that would diminish her sorrow. "If you'd like, I could check for you."
"I need to see." Minoko said with her slight accent. "I want to know it wasn't just a- a mistake." Her voice hitched as she had trouble looking towards him. She hung her head down and just stared numbly at the door.
"Okay, I'll be right back." Knowing the door would be locked without needing to check, Evan returned to the main entryway. He approached the corner with the folding chairs and a very flimsy portable desk. A plastic bin with dividers contained labeled keys for every room in the building.
Jennifer sidled beside Evan. "There you are. I counted twenty seven. Zack told me he was planning on counting everyone as they leave by the gate so we don't accidentally leave anyone behind."
"I see. Any idea who we're missing then?" Evan fished through the keys as he replied.
"I'm pretty sure I didn't see Ryan."
"I don't recall seeing him either." Knowing Ryan, he was probably the only person Evan knew that could have concievably slept through such a commotion with ease. "It's probably him. You should go check on him so he won't be left behind."
"What are you looking for?" Jennifer asked.
"Minoko wants to see Robert one last time." Evan felt a weary exhaustion as he spoke, wary of being overheard despite the distance and other chatter. "Since this is the last time she'll probably ever get to see him."
"I'll do it." Jennifer exhaled carefully. "I have the key to the room, anyway. You go get Ryan."
"Are you sure?"
"Have you ever lost anyone very close to you before?" Jennifer intoned to him, almost stern.
Evan hesitated before his admission. "No."
"She's trying to be brave, but right now she needs someone who knows what that is like more than she needs a hero."
Reluctantly, yet with no small amount of relief Evan agreed to Jennifer's request. While they had spoken, news of vehicles were seen traveling along the nearby street and soldiers were reportedly very close to the gate. Someone with a rifle had approached the gate close enough to speak. Zach relayed a message that quickly traveled through the refugees, who responded with growing excitement at their transportation coming within the next few minutes to bring them to a safe zone.
Turning to ascend the steps as soon as he found the appropriate key, Evan hurried through the darkened corridors with the flashlight. He knocked forcefully on Ryan's door as he unlocked it. "Ryan! It's time to get out of here!"
"Whoa, dude." Ryan sat up in his bed and wiped at his eyes as Evan barged inside. "Calm down."
"It's time to go. We're leaving." Evan motioned his arms towards the exit. He could already hear the sounds of the group fading as the front door had likely closed with people filing out of the gate.
"The military is here?" Ryan slouched out of bed, throwing on some of his eternally wrinkled clothing. "Relax, all that means is that we're safe now."
"Safe or not, we still don't want to risk getting mistaken for a zombie after everyone else is gone."
"Hey man, zombies don't talk and we do. They'd have to be idiots to make a mistake like that." Despite the dismissal, the suggestion did at least seem to hasten Ryan's preparations. They proceeded together down the hall after a minute.
As they descended the pitch dark stairwell an unpleasant, muted sound like a hideous pipe organ chord struck. The sound was sharp and uniform in an entirely inexplicable manner, yet it left absolutely no lingering echo as if it wasn't real. Evan's knees weakened and he almost tumbled in that precise moment, a foggy dark cloud striking every sense and muscle at once before instantly dissipating.
In that fraction of a moment, Evan's grip slipped off the handrail as his knees weakened. He stumbled a few steps in a desperate attempt to regain his footing. The flashlight plummeted, bouncing hard down several steps before rolling to a stop on the next landing. He luckily stopped his fall as Ryan collided into him from behind, and fortunately for both of them, resisted being knocked down further.
"What the hell was that?" Ryan called out as he pushed himself upright.
"I don't know." Evan descended the steps cautiously to retrieve the light. "Are you okay?"
"My arm hurts, but I don't think it's broken."
"We can worry about that la-"
A distasteful crashing noise interrupted Evan, an unpleasant squeal of metal alloys grinding against each other with great energy. The force of it was close enough to feel vibrations within the building. An eerie silence containing only tense breathing and the rainstorm's forces lingered for a few seconds before another clatter broke out, remarkably similar in experience to the first, but fainter as if at a great distance.
Quietly motioning for Ryan to follow, Evan proceeded to the ground floor. Nobody had remained inside and the door had been closed, but within the corridor in the rain several people were strewn about upon the ground in a crumpled heap. Among them were Minoko and Jennifer.
"Holy shit! They're all dead!" Ryan stared outside in shock.
"Wait here." Evan ran outside, running forwards to check on the few people who were collected around the open gate. A quick check of pulses confirmed they were still alive and he could hear breathing. They seemed to be asleep in the cold rain, although no effort to stir them awake had any notable impact.
Somewhere in the distance, Evan thought he could hear a sustained, faintly audible squeal of tearing metal. Another period of the noise began after the first ended. Somewhere concealed within the rainfall, Evan thought he could hear a snapping, almost whistling noise in addition to that distant screech. All those sounds were distant, and could have just been a sign of his own stress. But that was soon forgotten.
Yet another sound tore Evan's attention away from barely notable noises and he realized something quite horrible. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of people were seemingly paralyzed in haphazard positions all over the ground around him. Whether or not any zombies were still lingering in the area, some of the unconscious bodies were on their backs. And it was raining rather heavily.
Evan frantically ran to where he heard the sounds of choking.
