Zombie End Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

            After that mini horde, the group gathered together to think of our next move. We scavenged as much as we could from the wreckage, and we ended up with quite a lot. None of us dared to enter the city though; there were too many zombies in there, and walking in would be equivalent to suicide.

            “For the mean time, we should just keep moving. Perhaps we can head to Capital City. It isn’t far too far, maybe two days of walking, and it’s a small town despite its name.” One of the men suggests.

            “Sounds good to me,” Lan agrees. “But will Marie be ok with walking that much? It’ll be a hard walk in this heat, especially for a pregnant woman. We might be able to find a working car somewhere here.”

            “I think I’ll be fine, Lan, but thank you,” Marie responds, “I don’t want to risk attracting more zombies with noisy cars.”

            “As much as I hate it, she’s right,” Phil says sadly. Phil is a frail man and also Marie’s husband.

            “I think things will work out. It always has for us, right?” Mitchell adds. Lan smiles and pats him on the head.

            “That’s my boy,” he comments proudly. I found out not to long ago that Mitchell is Lan’s nephew, and only remaining family. They must be close. To my surprise, I realize that I feel a little jealous of their relationship. I lost all my family in one day, and I think I’m beginning to see Lan as a father figure. I guess I can’t always have things my way though.

            Hours later, we’re a long way down the road. It’s about lunch break so we all sit down in the grass and begin to divide up the food. Everyone got the same thing: some crackers with beef jerky and stale bread. I nibble slowly on my food, not really in the mood to eat because I feel hot and sticky from walking in the sun so long.

            “Here, Jim, have some water,” Mitchell offers to me. I look at him in surprise. I wasn’t expecting this kind of kindness, but I wasn’t about to take some of his water either. None of us have much of it in the first place. I shake my head.

            “No really, take it. You still look a little white from before.” I study him as he earnestly holds out his water bottle. “Think of it as thanks for the knife you gave me,” he adds.

            Finally I decide to take a sip of it and he smiles brightly. What a cheerful boy. He’s going to grow up into a fine young man one day. I’m sure that, once all of this is over, we might be able to become good friends.

            After lunch, we begin walking again. More hours pass, and I notice that the road is beginning to narrow and the light is fading away. Linda, Marie’s daughter is complaining about being bored. It gets me kind of irritated, and I’m sure the rest of the group is as well, but none of us is willing to say anything to her. Marie is already doing her best to calm her, but she’s frustrated and tired too.

            “I think we should stop for the day, we’ve come far enough,” Lan announces. We all sigh in relief and drop our packs. “Hey guys don’t just sit here. We need to find a secure campsite and set up a watch.” A few people moan but don’t disagree. Phil finds a small area that is easily hidden from the road and we all gather around it.

            But at that moment, Linda begins to cry. She’s had enough of being bored, and being as young as she is (maybe seven years old), she doesn’t have anyone to talk to. But I feel a little bad for her, so I kneel down beside her so that we’re about the same height.

            “Hey Linda, don’t cry. It’s making your mom sad too. And you don’t want that, right?” I try. She shakes her head, but continues to cry. I pat her head awkwardly. I can sense the rest of the group watching out of curiosity while setting up camp. Mitchell kneels beside me and takes her small hand.

            “We can go play a little right now if you want. What do you say?” Linda immediately warms up to Mitchell and nods her head frantically.

            “I want to explore!” she exclaims excitedly. I look to Lan, and he shrugs.

            “What’s the harm? We haven’t seen any zombies today, so as long as she sticks with you and Mitchell, it should be okay. Right, Marie?”

            “Sure, I don’t have a problem with it. Just don’t go too far, and be careful! Come back before it gets too dark!”

            “We will!” Mitchell reassures, and together we wander around the area. It’s not exactly night time yet, but the sun is beginning to set. And Linda is surprisingly active, now that she’s free to do whatever she likes.

            “Gather sticks!” she orders. Mitchell and I shrug and follow her lead. After a few minutes, it turns out to be pretty worthwhile. But instead of just any stick, Mitchell and I gather firewood for the campfire later.

            Some time passes, and I notice that I haven’t heard Linda’s voice for awhile. Immediately, I freeze. There’s a blood curdling cry coming from over on my right. Mitchell hears it too and we drop our firewood and sprint towards her direction.

            It doesn’t take us long to find her. She seems to be wedged underneath a giant boulder, but that isn’t the problem. There’s a zombie under it with her, but its arms seem to be stuck between some rocks inside, so it’s hanging only inches above her. She probably didn’t see it when she was entering the cave, then got stuck inside when the zombie moved. I can tell that it isn’t long until the zombie is able to break free.

            Linda continues to cry. Her face is buried in her knees and she’s covering her ears. She could easily crawl out and avoid the zombie completely, but even as Mitchell and I try to coax her out, she either won’t listen or can’t hear us. She’s probably too afraid to move. I glance at Mitchell, not sure what to do. He seems to be studying the situation intently.

            “What do we do? She refuses to listen,” I ask anxiously.

            “I’ll have to carry her out. I’m smaller than you so I think I should do it,” he replies. I stare at him, aghast, but maybe he’s right. He’s small enough to fit through the entrance and go under the zombie, which means he can carry her out safely. But he’d be at risk for the zombie to grab him. Then I remember that its arms are stuck and I relax a little. We can do this. It’s not a problem, and as soon as we get Linda out, we can kill the zombie ourselves.

            “Okay let’s do it.” I finally agree. Mitchell nods bravely, but I can tell that he’s nervous. He edges closer to where Linda is and holds out his arms.

            “Linda, it’s me Mitchell. We’re going to save you okay? But you have to crawl underneath it to me so I can carry you out,” he calls out softly. She still refuses to listen. The sight of the zombie this close to her is practically scaring her to death. “Linda, come on, please? We’ll get you a nice treat when we get back okay? I promise.” She quiets down a bit after hearing this, but she still refuses to move. Mitchell inches a little closer and flinches as the zombie tries to take a bite out of him. Its bloody arms seem to be a little looser from the cracks.

            “Mitchell, try to hurry up a little,” I urge worriedly. I have my ax ready to strike at any moment, but right now it’s still too close to Mitchell. And after what happened today, I don’t quite trust my control of the weapon.

            “I’m trying. Do you think you can strike it right now?”

            “No…”

            Mitchell pauses, then he says, “I’m going to go farther in. It’ll be tricky, but I have no other choice.” Before I can stop him, he takes a deep breath and dives under the zombie. He grabs Linda by the arms and drags her out, then pushes her into my arms. I catch her and glance up just in time to see the zombie rip its arms free from the rocks.

            Time seems to slow down as I watch what happens next. Mitchell is just beginning to climb out when the zombie falls out and opens its mouth wide, grabbing Mitchell’s leg with its black teeth. I hear Mitchell scream in agony and I cry out,

            “NO!” I drop Linda on the ground and grab my ax. Forgetting my previous experience with the weapon, I swing it into the back of the zombie’s head and watch with satisfaction as it stops moving. But its teeth are still glued to Mitchell’s leg. Without thinking, I grab the zombie’s head and rip it free. Mitchell screams and falls silent. Bits of skin come off along with the teeth, and I immediately regret doing it, because I can see the bones in his leg.

            “Mitchell!” I cry, my voice cracking. Tears are prickling my eyes as I pull Mitchell out of the hole and hold him in my arms. “Mitchell, can you hear me? Answer me, please,” I whisper. He slowly opens one eye at a time, and already, I can see that they’re blood shot. All the color is draining from his face, and his skin is beginning to turn dull and gray.

            “Hey, Jim. Thanks for saving me. You had a nice swing there with that ax of yours,” he says softly, putting a smile on his face.

            “What are you talking about Mitchell? I didn’t even save you, you still got bit…” my voice is cracking at every syllable now, and I’m trying so hard not to cry in front of him, but it’s no use.

            “No Jim, you did well. It’s not your fault,” he says, then he coughs hard and blood splatters out of his mouth. “Listen, I know I don’t have much time, but I want you to do something for me.”

            “What is it?” I whisper, but I already know.

            “I know this is a lot to ask from you,” he coughs again, “but I want you to finish me off before I completely turn into one of them.”

            I stare speechlessly at him. “No, I can’t do that. I can’t. We’ll find a cure; we’re almost at the city. I’m sure there’s a hospital…”

            “Jim. Please. I need you to do it. You know I won’t make it to town.”

            I study his ashen face for a while, then I finally come to a decision.

            “Okay. I’ll do it,” my words are barely audible, but I know that Mitchell can hear me.

            “Thanks Jim. You’re a good person. Say bye to my uncle for me will you?” I nod. My throat is too clogged up for me to speak. I reach for his knife and hold it firmly in my hand.

            “Ready?” I ask softly.

            “Yeah.” He shuts his eyes and I notice the giant tears falling down his cheeks. I take a moment to wipe them away, then I aim the knife at his heart and thrust it in.

            I don’t know how long I sit there with Mitchell’s body, but I vaguely remember taking off my vest and placing it over his chest to cover up the mess. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was sleeping. Slowly, I stand up and finally turn away. Suddenly I remember Linda and search frantically for her. She was hiding behind another large rock.

            “Linda.” She looks up and runs into my arms. I wordlessly pick her up and carry her back to camp. She doesn’t ask about Mitchell, but I think she knows. When we arrive at the others, everything seems to happen in a blur. But it was Lan’s shocked expression that remained clear in my mind. I knew that both the image of Mitchell’s dead body and Lan’s crestfallen face would stick with me forever. 

Reviews

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*shuts off dramatic music* Geez! that was terrifying me. Not when the song got really dramatic during the attack scene..... I was freaking out. So flippin wicked! Great job! :D

[Coyote Poetry]

A very intense chapter. I like the group trying to escape. A very good battle scene. I like the way you described the emotion of seeing death and trying to move on. No weakness in the excellent chapter.
Coyote