The Infected: A Post Apocalyptic Thriller by Matt Cronan

from the loving expression he wore on his face. He continued, "We have to leave your friend here and I have to show you what's in the city. It's vital to your survival."
    Jordan extended his hand and this time she accepted it, and he led her away from the field and away from David. They walked toward the burning city of steel. She hesitated once as they reached the edge of the field and turned back to the spot where the dead boy lay in the deep grass. Sam said a silent goodbye and then followed Jordan into the city.
    The half-mile walk seemed to take only a minute, the travel time unrealistic, furthering the proof that this was a dream. But it was a dream where Jordan lived. One where his heart still pumped in rhythmic, steady beats. It was a dream that she didn't want to end, despite the increasing volume of screams from the buildings towering over them.
    Jordan led her past burning building after burning building. They stopped at the intersection of 21 st and Smith Street. The street corner was familiar like she had stood on it a million times before. She was close to home. Much closer than she had been in a long time.
    "Do you know where we are?" Jordan asked.
    "I think so."
    The shouts and pleas of help from the windows above became more and more distinguishable from one another. Sam heard the wails of a little girl in the building ahead.
    "Help me," a woman in the adjacent building screamed out. "I'm not one of them. I'm not infected."
    "Can we save her?" Sam asked Jordan.
    Jordan shook his head. "She's already dead."
    "I know."
    Sam's flesh erupted in gooseflesh as an explosion of fire ripped through the apartment building and the woman cries fell silent.
    "I can't go on," Sam said. "I need to wake up."
    "Not yet."
    "How much further?"
    "Not much."
    "Okay."
    Jordan started toward the heart of the city, but Sam found herself unable to continue. She attempted to take a step forward but couldn't lift her foot. She tried to take a step with the other foot but nothing happened. Her legs refused to listen to the commands of her brain. Jordan hadn't seemed to notice that she was no longer with him.
    "Jordan," Sam called out after him. "There's something wrong."
    He didn't look back.
    She leaned forward as far as she could without falling over but couldn't lift her foot even a millimeter off the ground. "Move goddamn you." She looked back to Jordan who was now far ahead of her.
    "Jordan," she called out again, this time a bitter sense of urgency prevalent in her voice. A hot ball of panic formed in the pit of her stomach and spread through her body.
    "Jordan Riggs!" she yelled.
    But Jordan didn't turn back or even hesitate. He was too far away from her. Swallowed by the darkness.
    "Don't leave me here!" Sam cried out.
    She pawed at her leg with both hands trying to lift it from the ground. Her nubby fingernails dug into the bare skin and she clawed at her flesh. It remained planted to the ground. She tried the other one to no avail and then shrieked as her foot sank into the blacktop.
    "Please come back, Jordan!" This time she screamed with all of her might, straining her voice until it was nothing more than a raspy gravel. It didn't matter how loud she screamed though. Jordan was gone. She had lost sight of him. He had left her and now she was all alone.
    She continued to scream and tear at her legs. Blood trickled from the claw marks. Above, the towering infernos roared louder and louder. It drowned out the screams of the people trapped inside and then her own screams. The temperature sweltered and bulged and Sam felt the intense heat of the flames kissing her skin like the sun on a hot summer's day.
    In the distance, just past the point where she had watched Jordan disappear, the slightest of movements caught her eye. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing Jordan had realized that he left her. He was coming back to save her and he would free her from the blacktop, from this city, and from this horrible nightmare.
    The thing in