The elevator flashed a number that displayed the message that it had just passed onto the 26th floor.
25.
And all hell broke loose.
A naked, skinny zombie with thin, oily, long hair flying in the wind broke through on of the sealing tiles and immediately started gnawing on Francis's skull while her claws shredded his torso.
Deshawn was the first to start firing at the witch and the others quickly followed suit. It didn't matter if they shot Francis as much as they did the target, but it had to die fast.
Because the well known groans of the undead echoed in their ears from all directions.
22.
The witch lifted her arms in the air, screaming as bullets riddled her figure. One of the drywall side of the hallway near the elevator crumbled apart behind Bill. Deshawn noticed a cluster was filing through as he was finished reloading his first emptied clip, so he switched targets to the newcomers and sprayed as they devolved into a red mist.
20.
The witch stopped screaming and lept to the upper corner of the room and clawed into a hold onto the ceiling. The three still trained on it noticed it was tensing to fly onto a form curled into a ball underneath it, but the holes they created in the witch hadn't put it down yet.
19.
Behind Jason, in the direction they came from down the hallway, a horde of near 50 zombies lumbered towards him and Zoey cried out to warn him as they kept firing at the witch.
And it pounced, claws flew, screams rang through the air and it eventually fell dead on top of Jenny's form as the multitude of bullets carved its head open.
17.
Jason looked his team over and made the call, "Bill! Check on her, Zoey, help me with the incoming ones!"
Bill took his med-kit up and threw the witches body off of Jenny. Deshawn, on the other side was sweating a bit, but he had his side handled.
14.
"She's alive!" Bill yelled over the sound of gunfire.
8.
"Throw me your gun," Zoey cried out as she started using Bill's fiery rounds on the horde.
5.
Deshawn's side was now clear and he was forced to risk leaving it alone after he told Bill to watch his back. The horde that had been advancing on Zoey and Jason were tumbling over there allies, but advancing quickly.
"Its here, come on! Let's go, go, go!" Bill's voice rang through the air. Deshawn picked up Zoey's gun that was out of ammunition, Zoey grabbed Francis's pack full of rounds, and Jason help Bill carry Jenny into the elevator.
They kept firing and the elevator was closing.
And it opened.
They yelled and shot in a frenzy while it slowly closed again, only for it to open when an arm of a newly re-dead zombie landed in the way.
"Fucking elevators piss me off enough when my life isn't on the line!" Jason yelled as they watched it close and finally start rising in height.
They decided not to discuss what just happened and it was only a matter of time before the elevator jerked to a halt, tossing and throwing the motley crew into each other.
Jenny yelled out in pain as Bill was finishing dressing her wounds with a second med-kit. The rest of them were uncomfortable and slightly bruised, but they were covered in so much filth and dried fluids that they had other things to worry about.
"Thank you. Thank you System-kun above," Jason prayed as he looked at the number on the elevator that listed what floor they were on and rested his head back on the wall.
"We're almost there kid, don't sit down yet," Bill remarked as he lit a cigarette and crossed his hands together. "Come on now, time to climb up the top."
They were just below the 30th floor and Jason forced himself up. With Bill's help, he pushed open the top of the elevator and climbed up.
One by one, they climbed and were pulled until they stood on the car as it swung in the air slightly. After easily forcing the door open above them, because it was a short distance away, they finally made it to the top.
All it took was a short jaunt and the climbed up a roof access. Sure, they killed more of the walking dead at this point, but they were home free and the mental drag had worn on them so far. The world was a blur for Jason as he was the first to exit the building and stepped onto the roof.
"You look like shit. Wait, is that literal shit?"
"Thanks for the reminder," Jason replied glumly before he shrugged, let out a sigh, and made his way towards him.
Louis's figure reminded Jason that he was definitely one of the playable characters in Left 4 Dead. His ragged appearance, rings around his baggy eyes and his torn, untucked clothes combined with a loose red, tattered tie was a far cry from a pleasant appearance, but he looked like a model in his prime compared to every person in Jason's group.
Francis's bravado to his death and how easily the group followed him still feels a bit unnatural to me, but Deshawn and Jason felt they could take down a witch if it came too it. Also, both of them are like this because at this point, they have both killed over 600 zombies in the span of one night, are dead tired, and almost finished. Francis, on the other hand, hid out the apocalypse alone so far, never saw a strong special zombie, and had an ego from his 'legitimate business practices.'