World of the Dead [REWRITING]

The moment the woman hit the floor screaming with the man on top of her, everything seemed to happen at once. Infected began to come through the door, stumbling over each other and letting out gurgling shrikes and growls. Some stopped to feast on the poor woman while the others shoved by them, heading for the shocked crowd.

Once the realization of what was happening sunk in, everyone began to move at once. The gym filled with screams as every person began to scatter and run, looking for an exit. The soldiers began shouting to each other and opened fire on the infected rushing in. 

But having a room crowded with panic-stricken people was a recipe for disaster. They couldn't shoot properly when they couldn't tell if the screaming man running by was a civilian or a hungry infected. Pretty soon they became focused on keeping themselves alive, only shooting if an infected got close to them. But Quinn swore she saw just normal people get struck by bullets in the panic. In a way they were lucky; a bullet was quicker and less painful.

The infected continued to come, now busting the second door open and increasing the flow of them. Some were running while others seemed barely able to walk. But all of them were hell bent on getting their hands on anything alive and tearing it apart. Soon the cries of terror heightened to screams of agony as men and women were eaten alive. The stench of blood filled the gym fast, making her gag at the metallic smell.

Quinn was frozen in horror like so many others had been before the loud boom of a shotgun snapped her out of it. I need my bag, she thought frantically as she took a shaking step back, eyes glued on the gory scene all around her. Sucking in a deep breath that smelled like blood and rot, she whipped around and rushed to her cot.

Skidding to a halt when she reached it, she bent to grab her things when someone sprinted by and rammed her. Barely avoiding smashing her face into the ground, she looked up in a daze to see Jasmine's back vanishing into the crowd. Cursing her, she grabbed the backpack and tried to stand.

But falling when a stampede is happening is one of the fastest ways to die. No one cared about the fellow human being on the ground as they ran. Quinn was kicked, her hands stepped on, and her legs knocked out from under her as she desperately tried to get to her feet. Between the infected storming the shelter and the crowd, her chances were getting slimmer with each passing second.

Someone suddenly grabbed her by the back of her coat, heaving her off the floor and to her feet. She screamed, certain an infected had grabbed her. But it was Liam, who looked terrified but had a grim look of determination in his eyes. 

"We gotta go!" he bellowed, trying to make himself heard over the mayhem.

She nodded shakily and he grabbed her by the hand, leading her through the horde of living and dead. They barely stayed together, constantly being jostled and having to dodge away from the infected as they gained another victim. Quinn glanced to the left and to her horror saw Kent on the ground, two infected crouched above him with their hands in his stomach and pulling out coils of intestine and stuffing it in their mouths. He was thankfully dead.

Looking away and gagging, she kept her eyes on Liam's back, her stomach tossing. While she hadn't known Kent well, he had always been friendly and polite to everyone and was on track to go to a good college. He didn't deserve to die so horribly.

None of these people did.

Ahead of them was Paul, Debbie, and Kevin. They were all crouched down, Kevin between his parents in a protective huddle. Paul was whispering into his wife's ear rapidly, who was pale and grim looking. Kevin was shaking and had tears in his eyes. When they saw them approaching, they stood and rushed over.

"I got Quinn, now let's go!" Liam yelled.

"Where?! Where could we possibly go?" demanded Paul.

Liam pointed to the far exit. Few people had managed to reach it, so it wasn't blocked. Yet. Not waiting for that to happen they began to run, pushing by others who were fleeing.