S. Davis - 900 Miles

We had everything, and our arrogance took it away from us. When the world fell to shit, our lives fell right with it. The dead roam the landscape while Man fights over what little we have left. It wasn’t the strongest or the most intelligent of us that survived. It was the ones most willing to adapt to the new rules of the world. No matter how hard we tried to avoid it, those still alive have all lost a little humanity.

The Zs may have kick-started our extinction… but we’ll be the ones that finish it. In the end, Mankind has turned out to be the real plague.

My knuckles turned white as I pushed on the flashing instrument panel, bracing for impact. There was a sudden drop in my stomach as the helicopter took the final plunge. I think I was screaming, but it happened so quickly, I can’t really be sure. In the moment before we crashed, I remember seeing the beam from the headlight of the chopper as it got smaller and smaller against the calm, flat water. Glancing over, I watched Kyle’s entire body arch back as he pulled on the yoke in vain.

There was no stopping this.

I saw us hit the water more than I felt it. Anything not physically attached in the chopper flung forward in a magnificent fucktastrophy of mayhem. I think the blades hit first and twisted the entire helicopter sideways. A white first aid kit flew forward and cracked Jarvis across the head, shooting a dark splatter of blood across the front window as we continued to turn. Another jarring flip as the tail hit the dark waves flung me against the roof of the cockpit. I felt a stabbing pain in my neck as my body rolled around like a rag doll… my breathing slowed, and the world around me started to fade to black.

Then there was nothing but darkness.

In what I think was only a moment later, my eyes went wide as the frigid water slapped across my face. Slowly sitting up, I realized that I was perched on the roof of the cockpit looking up at the chair I had been sitting in. The only light in the cabin came from what was left of the flickering instrument panel, which was now dangling above my head.

Feeling my ears begin to pop, I clenched my teeth at the realization that we were still sinking. Twisting around to face the front window, I gasped at the sight of water rushing in around the seams of the glass, which for the moment, appeared to be holding under the mounting pressure. Catching my attention, I noticed that the headlight from the helicopter was still on, flickering in short intermittent bursts against the long, standing seaweed as it waved good-bye while we fell further into the abyss.

Looking over, I saw Kyle hanging upside down from the pilot’s chair. He’d been smart enough to wear his seat belt. Pulling a lever at his hip, the latch dropped him headfirst to the roof of the cabin below. Landing with his arms out, he pulled himself upright in one quick motion.

Looking over toward me, he finally said, “I’ve had better landings.”

Nodding wearily, I reached up to find blood dripping down my own forehead. I didn’t know if it was mine, or someone else’s.

“Jarvis is out, but alive!” Kyle yelled as he pulled his hand back from holding two fingers against Jarvis’s neck. “Where the hell is that gun?”

We both shot our attention to the cabin behind us. The gun, a small nine millimeter hand pistol, was sitting just out of reach of Rodgers, our fourth and final passenger. He too was out cold, and both his legs appeared to be pinned under one of the seats that had come loose.

I dove forward to grab the pistol just as Rodgers came to. He looked up at me with a clear sense of terror in his eyes as he realized the situation he was in. Nobody said a word. There wasn’t a sound that could be heard except the ever-present dripping of water as it continued to slowly fill the chopper.

We were still descending.

“Get me the fuck out of here. My legs are caught!” Rodgers screamed.

Looking down at the gun in my hands, a pop from the windshield pulled my gaze just as the first crack started to splinter down its clear finish. We needed to get out of this tomb.

Rodgers could see what I was thinking. “Don’t you dare do it, John!” Rodgers cried out. “Don’t you shoot out that glass.”

Glancing back out the front window, I could see the exterior light illuminating the murky water as we gently landed upside down with a thud on the muddy bottom of the lake. The aircraft shifted forward, then to the side, as we all rolled along with it, before finding its final resting place. A movement caught my attention outside. Something had swayed with the current just at the edge of what was visible from the exterior light.

“What was that? What the hell was that?” Rodgers yelled as he shifted back and forth, trying to free his legs.

“Shoosh,” Kyle whispered as he cocked his head to the side.

We all paused in horror with our eyes fixed on the flickering exterior light.

A thump from above us broke the silence. Freezing up, not one of us moved as a dull scratching noise emerged. It was soft at first, then slowly grew louder.

“They’re out there, man. Don’t you shoot that glass. Don’t you do it!” Rodger irrationally said again, this time looking right at me.

“Holy shit… holy hot fucking shit!” he yelled as he pointed at the front glass.

I felt my heart jump into my stomach as we all saw it. The slight glow of the instrument panel illuminated those hollow red eyes, the clear mark of the dead, looking in at us. The creature slid down the front of the window into the mud. We lost sight of it for a moment. The monster then stood up in its full deadly glory right in front of the exterior light, its clothing hanging loosely in the dark current.

A bead of sweat ran down my face, and my hands began to tremble. I could feel the gun shaking as the creature waded toward us, pressing its water-bloated white face against the glass, causing the small crack to spiderweb down the windshield.

Water continued to pool up and was ankle deep when Jarvis lifted his head. Looking around at our surroundings, and glancing at me holding the gun, he wearily said, “Looks like we’re in a bit of a pickle, huh boys?”

More scratching from the roof. The creature outside was joined by another, both slowly pounding on the glass. He was right. We were fucked.

“Can you make it?” Kyle asked, looking down at Jarvis.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass on this lovely swim, my friends,” he said, revealing a blood-covered hand as he lifted it up from his leg. Biting down hard on my lip, I fought to conceal any sense of hysteria as we saw the metal pipe sticking through his thigh.

Like the beat of a scratchy drum, the creatures continued to press from the outside. The water was at my knee as Kyle moved behind Jarvis to lift his head.

“Like hell you’re not up for this one,” Kyle said calmly. “It’s time to pull your shit together. We’re gonna get out of here.”

“Don’t you shoot that fucking glass, John. There has to be another way!” Rodgers screamed again. Looking back, I saw that he had freed himself from beneath the metal seat. On all fours, his eyes landed on the gun, looking like he was ready to pounce to stop me.

The air was becoming stale, and I could hear the gushing water as I watched it quickly rising against the wall of the chopper.

Snapping us all to attention, a crackle boomed from the radio.

“Jarvis… ohhh Jarvis. You better not be dead down there. We’re not done with you yet,” a voice radiated out.