Chapter Four: Getting Out.

Jay looked through the mesh window and almost lost his lunch at the scene in the lock up room; a creature from someone's worst nightmare was crouched over a bloody mass on the floor; a long tongue thick tongue flicking in and out.

Laura let out a strangled squeak and banged against the door.

The creature; Jay would learn later that it was called a licker; raced at the door.

Jay pushed Laura away from the door and dived to the other side unslinging the Remington.

A crunching shriek and a crump sounded as the door flew off it's hinges and slammed into the wall across the room.

The creature's tongue flicked out at Jay and he rolled to the side just in time to avoid being impaled; the sharp thick tongue left a rather nasty looking hole in the linoleum.

The 12-gauge roared three times and the trio of rifled slugs smashed the licker's head into pulp.

Jay staggered up, "what the hell was that thing," he said in a high panicky voice and realized he needed to get a grip on himself.

"I have no idea," Laura said through gritted teeth," but we have other problems right now," and the Combat Commander cracked four times as if to emphasize her point.

Jay heard the low moaning of zombies as they came through the hole the licker had made as it had torn the outside door off.

Jay grabbed Laura's arm and pulled her towards the underground passage. Jay slammed the steel square back down and slid the bolts home. Jay noticed three squared pieces of metal that could hold a lock bar; but when he looked around he didn't see one.

Laura leaned against the wall breathing heavily and slipped fresh shells into the clip of her gun.

Jay slid the third fresh round into the shotguns magazine when the trap door started shaking violently.

"Shit not again," Laura yelled and started running down the passage slapping the magazine back into the Colt.

"Talk about stating the obvious," Jay grunted as he ran.

"Did you say something," Laura panted over her shoulder.

"Didn't say a word," Jay breathed back.

A couple more yards and they came to another trap door; Jay climbed up the ladder and popped through the opening and off to the side like a jack-in-the-box; he bent back down and grabbed Laura's hand pulling her up.

A gray gnarled hand shot up through the trap door and tried to grab her ankle.

Jay dumped Laura off to one side and grabbed an aerosol can of engine cleaner and pulled out his zippo flipping it open.

Jay bent over the opening and depressed the aerosol's button; a blue green flame flicked out. "Roast in hell you bastards," as the flaming limb dropped back into the hole.

Jay slammed the trap door shut and toppled a roll-around tool chest on top of it.

"That won't hold them for long," Laura said and ran for the only car sitting in the garage.

Jay climbed into the passenger side and Laura turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life.

Just as Laura was about to put the car in gear, "what about the garage door," Jay asked?

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she said dropping the car in gear and flooring the accelerator.

The engine shrieked and Jay was slammed back into his seat by the force.

The Police Cruiser smashed through the aluminum roll-up door and kept going.

Jay leaned out of the passenger window and put a round from his Glock into the large gas tank sitting between the sub-station and garage.

The cruiser rocked on it's springs and Laura nearly lost control of the car as a heat and concussion wave passed over them and the night blossomed into a large brilliant red-orange fireball.

Jay let the breath out that he had been holding unknowingly.

"I didn't think we were going to make it there for a second," Jay said.

"Laura only nodded and concentrated on the road.

"Where are we going anyway," Jay asked?

"Raccoon City Mall," she replied.