Jake Morrison's Arc

Chapter 4 of 54

The duct forked ahead. Jake stopped and swept his light down both paths. One branch dropped left. The other ran straight. He couldn't tell which shop each led to. Below him, through a slotted grate, he saw movement. Creatures. Three of them, hunched and twitching, tearing at a display in the store beneath his feet. Their claws scraped the floor. One raised its ruined head toward the ceiling. "Which way?" Marisol whispered behind him. She gripped the bat with both hands. "Pick one before they hear us." Jake pressed his palm to the metal and felt cold air pull from the straight path. Fresh air. Bigger space. "The supermarket's the biggest store. More air moves through it," he said. "We go straight." "That's a guess." "It's a good guess." He crawled ahead, slow, spreading his weight so the metal wouldn't groan. Marisol followed. The grate with the creatures slid behind them. He held his breath until it was gone. The straight path opened wider. Light leaked through a large vent below. Jake looked down and saw long aisles, shelves stacked with cans, a checkout counter shoved against the front doors. The supermarket. He'd guessed right. Then the metal screamed. A screw tore loose under his hand. The panel dropped. Jake fell through and hit the floor hard. Marisol crashed down beside him, the bat clattering away. A gun cocked. "Don't move." Jake froze on his knees. A man stood over him, black hair, grease on his arms, a pistol aimed at Jake's chest. His hands were steady, but his eyes weren't. Beside him a young woman in a store apron raised a crowbar, ready to swing. Her ponytail was loose. Her knuckles were white on the metal. "We're not sick," Jake said. He kept his hands open and wide. "We came through the vents. From the electronics shop. There are creatures in the store next door." The man didn't lower the gun. "How many people are you?" "Two. Just us." Jake nodded at Marisol. "She built a radio. We're trying to find a safe way out." Marisol pulled the small device from her bag and held it up. Static hissed from the speaker. "It works. Weak, but it sends a signal." The woman with the crowbar lowered it an inch. She looked at the man. "Marcus. They fell out of the ceiling. They're not with them." Marcus studied Jake's face a long moment. Then he pointed the gun at the floor. "Sofia, check the vent. Make sure nothing followed them." He looked back at Jake. "You brought noise into a place we kept quiet. Those things by the wall heard that." A thud hit the supermarket's front doors. Then another. Something outside had started to push. Jake got to his feet. The barricade was solid, but the pounding grew. Their quiet refuge wasn't quiet anymore. He'd found more survivors. He'd also led the creatures right to their door.