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</div></div><br/>The throw was as close to perfect as it could have been. Zack snatched LuAnn’s pack out of the air just before it reached the opening of the window and quickly pulled it inside the room with him. He set the pack on the floor out of the way but still close to him. Those packs were their lives, a major part of their survival. They would still survive if they lost them because that's who they were, but it would be a major setback.<br/><br/><br/>With a quick glance towards the street, Zack made sure that they still had not been spotted then his attention was back on LuAnn. He could still hear the pounding on the roof access door behind LuAnn. It wasn't a matter of if they would break through to the roof but when. He knew that LuAnn was well aware of this and she wasted no time with her turn to traverse the void of empty space between them.<br/><br/><br/>For a moment it seemed as if she would fall short and Zack’s arms shot out of the window for her. In the next instant, that may as well been an eternity, her gloved fingers were gripping the window seal. She could have, and would have made it through the window but that wasn't the point, they helped each other whether it was needed or not. Zack helped pull LuAnn into the room with him then quickly stole a glance at the street below. They seemed to have pulled it off without drawing attention from the street below.<br/><br/><br/>He could still hear them hammering against the door on the roof across from them. That was good. At least he knew where they were at. LuAnn spoke to him in a whisper drawing his attention back to her. He nodded and with a little persuasion, he managed to get the window closed. About that time, he heard the door on the roof across from them give way. He moved away from the window quickly before they reached the edge of the rooftop and spotted him.<br/><br/><br/>He drew the short spear from its scabbard strapped to his back beneath his backpack then hurried out into the hall to meet LuAnn. They moved as silently as possible through the hall but it wasn't easy with the debris scattered across the floor. There were a few doors left ajar down the dark hallway. They provided the only light piercing the darkness of the ominous corridor and it wasn't much of it.<br/><br/><br/>Zack had moved ahead of LuAnn to take the lead. He walked semi-crouched with his short spear drawn back and ready to strike. He could hear shuffling noises coming from at least one of the rooms. The sound was funneled to him down the hallway making it difficult to determine which room the noise was coming from. On top of that, he could hear the wailing of the creatures on the rooftop across from them. He had no idea if it was from the frustration of losing their prey or if it was telling others where their prey had gone. They needed to find the stairs and get back to street level to find the other two that had accompanied them.<br/><br/><br/>As they walked slowly down the hall, Zack had the short spear drawn back ready to fight. He had found the spear when raiding a pawn shop a few years back. It was a short spear, maybe three feet or so long, with a tapered spearhead. The spearhead was designed so that it was easier to dislodge from an enemy. The opposite end of the spear had a knot so that the spear could be used as a club as well. It was an excellent close quarters combat weapon. Apparently it was the same spear used by Shaka Zulu and his warriors. He wasn’t sure what sort of wood it was made from but it was extremely durable.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><div class="bbImageWrapper lazyload js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FjlemCLE.jpg&amp;hash=00fc8680051e017b5e1db83e3d846556" title="jlemCLE.jpg">
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</div></div><br/>His spear became useful as they passed the second open doorway in the hall. Just as they reached the doorway, Zack was about to peer inside when a walker stumbled out into the hallway in front of them to investigate the sounds of their footsteps on the trash scattered throughout the corridor’s floor. Zack reacted instantly. His movements were as much a reflex as it was a conscious attack. The point of the spear entered the walker’s eye socket and protruded from the back of its head. Zack grabbed the the tattered shirt of the zombie to lower it quietly to the ground. It was surprising how little the nearly mummified zombie weighed as Zack lowered it to the ground. He then stepped on it’s head just below the spearhead and pulled the weapon free of the walker’s head.<br/><br/><br/>He glanced to LuAnn and nodded that he was ready to continue down the hall. Zack showed no reaction to the attack. He had experienced to much by this time to be shaken by a single walker. It was back to business as usual. He couldn’t wait to be out of this building and this town but he knew that caution was paramount in their predicament. He nodded that he was fine and ready to continue. They made it halfway down the hall with no further incident. They were close enough now in the limited light to see the stairwell. It was an open stairway with no doors to close behind them. They had to descend four floors to make it to the street. He glanced down over the railing and saw, as well as heard no movement below. Especially the quick footsteps of their new nemesis. He stepped aside to let LuAnn take the lead. Her bow would be a much better weapon descending the stairway able to take down any attackers before they got close. He could step in front of her with his melee weapon if any got too close.<br/><br/><br/>So far since entering the hallway they had stuck to signs and just knowing the body language of each other for communication. They had avoided any verbal communication whatsoever. They had grown pretty used to being able to act together without so much as a spoken word. It came in handy in situations like this when any sound could bring death down on them.