Categories > Original > Fantasy
All I remember is everyone running. Running to get away. Running to live. Running so that we could keep living to run another day.
We’re running down the streets. Everywhere we look there are wrecked cars and trucks. Ahead of us there’s a turned over semi that we’re certain is about to explode. Behind us a horde of ravenous zombies, hungry for our flesh. How cliché.
“There’s no way we’re getting closer to that truck!” I yell.
“Look! Through that there alley!” Wang points. We lead the girls, Kassy, Jeni, Tania, and Ana, and the two other guys, Jason and Bui, to the alleyway. Damn, there’s a fence. As all the guys, the protectors of the group, Aaron, James, Eddy, and I, move to cover the girls I yell at Aaron to go back there and help them out. Swords are swinging. Gunshots are firing. I can’t help but notice how good she is with that gun. I also can’t help but notice that she isn’t going to the fence like I said! She’s next to me, holding my hand.
“GO!” I command at her, she wont have any of that. Kassy pulls me with her as we all head to the fence. The last of the girls, aside from Kassy are over the fence.
“Everyone, over the fence!” Aaron starts shoving the guys up. As soon as James is over he gets in position to start shooting, holding off the horde. Boy is he good. Aaron is still ahead cleaving some heads off the zeds. I run to him and pull him toward the group. Always the hero. Sometimes I gotta stop him before he gets himself killed.
“Get up!” I stare at him for a second and he knows that he should listen to me now. The zombies are closing in at us. 15 feet. 4 more people. 10 feet. 3 more people. 5 feet. 2 more people.
2 more… Kassy and I. why isn’t she already on the other side?! She finally starts climbing while I cover her. My arms are burning from swinging my sword. Every breath I take sends another inferno to my lungs. She’s screaming. A zombie has her by the ankle halfway up the chain-link fence. How did I miss that one? Damn it. It’s over for her…
No it isn’t! I cut the hand off the zombie holding her. Finally she gets to the top of the fence, waiting for me. And then, there’s a sharp pain on my forearm.
A sharp pain, like a paper cut, only bigger. But then, nothing. In the same instant of excruciating, agonizing, pain, the complete opposite. Numbness. From where the wound is I feel nothing. That’ll help. In that instant I know what I have to do to save them.
The multiple clicks that make up the loading of a shotgun.
The sound of the empty shell hitting the ground.
The 15 people at my back, screaming at me to hurry.
The squeeze of the trigger.
The explosive bombardment of the gun unloading on the zombie bodies.
All in an instant…
I’m up the fence immediately after Kassy. I stand at the top, looking not at my group of friends but at the zombies.
“Jason, James, Aaron!” they all focus on me now. “Reload that shotgun and prepare the others to leave” I toss the gun to James. “Aaron, Jason… heads up.” I push Kassy off the fence and into their arms.
“What are you doing!?” she screams at me.
“There’s blood on your arm. Are you okay?” Aaron asks her.
“Yea I’m fine.” She replies.
“Who’s is it then?” Jason asks.
“Take good care of her you guys, please?” They all look up at me. The finally notice the blood dripping from my arm.
“No it can’t be! You’re the expert!” Jason says jokingly, not willing to accept it.
“I want you all to get out of…”
“Shut the fuck up! You’re coming with us! We’re not leaving you behind!” Kassy interrupts me. I can see the pain in her eyes. I have to add more to it. I didn’t want to have to do this.
“I HATE YOU KASSY!! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU EVER AGAIN!! LEAVE!! I don’t even know why I went out with you in the first place…” My voice cracks, ruining my act. She still feels it. There are tears about to come out so I look away and into the horde. Everyone’s gathered behind me.
“GO! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Aaron, Jason, Jeni, and Jess all have to drag Kassy away.
“Chris,” I look at Wang. He nods and I nod back. “Caged tiger…”
“… fights like a thousand free ones.” I finish. I remember back to when he said that to me, thinking how we so easily joked of this situation. How he gave me words to live by. To die by. He walks away, taking the others with him. All but Aaron. He knows there’s more.
“Take my stuff Aaron. You guys’ll need it more than I will.” I toss my backpack at him. I hand over all my weapons but two. My sword and my favorite knife.
“You’ve been a great friend to me.” He states.
“And you to me.” As they all vanish around the corner I remember all the moments I’ve spent with every single one of them. All the laughs. The fun. The tears. The punches. The hours spent late at night talking about everything that matters to us whenever someone spent the night at another’s house. The punches. The kisses. Kassy. I think of her in my last moments.
And I jump.
I land in the middle of the horde. I cut the head off of one. From the first time we kissed. An arm goes off. To the hours spent on the phone, blaming each other for hanging up when we both know it just got disconnected. I feel a bite on my right wrist. My knife thrust into that zombies’ eye socket. The moments we spent cuddled together in random places like Isaacs’ party or Aarons’ blue thing in his room. Another bite on my shoulder. My sword instantly penetrates its head through its mouth. About ten more to go. Every fight we had and regretting it the instant it even began. Apologizing as soon as I could. I get two heads off with that blow. There’s a slash at my back. Fucking nails. Every moment we have our fingers entwined, feel her presence next to me. Something’s gnawing in my ankle. There goes its head flying with the force of the slash. The stupid things I did to spend more time with her, see her, or because of her. Skating to her house on Halloween. Tripping when entering the bus after rushing to it because I was with her, cutting the same ankle just being chewed on. I start to get tired. Every wound has gone numb. This must be how it works, killing every cell working it’s way to the heart. How many more can there be? I’m going to fail at protecting her, again…
HER! Every text we had, amounting to over 300 a day! Another head! Every kiss we shared, always seeming better than the last! 2 more heads! Staring into her eyes whenever we were laying next to each other! They final three go down. Loving her with as mush passion as I possibly could.
I cough, spraying blood. My face is covered in sweat, tears, and blood. This is how it ends. I kneel down picturing her for one last moment. I place my sword to my neck with the last of my energy.
“I love you, Kassy.”
My own head.
We’re running down the streets. Everywhere we look there are wrecked cars and trucks. Ahead of us there’s a turned over semi that we’re certain is about to explode. Behind us a horde of ravenous zombies, hungry for our flesh. How cliché.
“There’s no way we’re getting closer to that truck!” I yell.
“Look! Through that there alley!” Wang points. We lead the girls, Kassy, Jeni, Tania, and Ana, and the two other guys, Jason and Bui, to the alleyway. Damn, there’s a fence. As all the guys, the protectors of the group, Aaron, James, Eddy, and I, move to cover the girls I yell at Aaron to go back there and help them out. Swords are swinging. Gunshots are firing. I can’t help but notice how good she is with that gun. I also can’t help but notice that she isn’t going to the fence like I said! She’s next to me, holding my hand.
“GO!” I command at her, she wont have any of that. Kassy pulls me with her as we all head to the fence. The last of the girls, aside from Kassy are over the fence.
“Everyone, over the fence!” Aaron starts shoving the guys up. As soon as James is over he gets in position to start shooting, holding off the horde. Boy is he good. Aaron is still ahead cleaving some heads off the zeds. I run to him and pull him toward the group. Always the hero. Sometimes I gotta stop him before he gets himself killed.
“Get up!” I stare at him for a second and he knows that he should listen to me now. The zombies are closing in at us. 15 feet. 4 more people. 10 feet. 3 more people. 5 feet. 2 more people.
2 more… Kassy and I. why isn’t she already on the other side?! She finally starts climbing while I cover her. My arms are burning from swinging my sword. Every breath I take sends another inferno to my lungs. She’s screaming. A zombie has her by the ankle halfway up the chain-link fence. How did I miss that one? Damn it. It’s over for her…
No it isn’t! I cut the hand off the zombie holding her. Finally she gets to the top of the fence, waiting for me. And then, there’s a sharp pain on my forearm.
A sharp pain, like a paper cut, only bigger. But then, nothing. In the same instant of excruciating, agonizing, pain, the complete opposite. Numbness. From where the wound is I feel nothing. That’ll help. In that instant I know what I have to do to save them.
The multiple clicks that make up the loading of a shotgun.
The sound of the empty shell hitting the ground.
The 15 people at my back, screaming at me to hurry.
The squeeze of the trigger.
The explosive bombardment of the gun unloading on the zombie bodies.
All in an instant…
I’m up the fence immediately after Kassy. I stand at the top, looking not at my group of friends but at the zombies.
“Jason, James, Aaron!” they all focus on me now. “Reload that shotgun and prepare the others to leave” I toss the gun to James. “Aaron, Jason… heads up.” I push Kassy off the fence and into their arms.
“What are you doing!?” she screams at me.
“There’s blood on your arm. Are you okay?” Aaron asks her.
“Yea I’m fine.” She replies.
“Who’s is it then?” Jason asks.
“Take good care of her you guys, please?” They all look up at me. The finally notice the blood dripping from my arm.
“No it can’t be! You’re the expert!” Jason says jokingly, not willing to accept it.
“I want you all to get out of…”
“Shut the fuck up! You’re coming with us! We’re not leaving you behind!” Kassy interrupts me. I can see the pain in her eyes. I have to add more to it. I didn’t want to have to do this.
“I HATE YOU KASSY!! I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU EVER AGAIN!! LEAVE!! I don’t even know why I went out with you in the first place…” My voice cracks, ruining my act. She still feels it. There are tears about to come out so I look away and into the horde. Everyone’s gathered behind me.
“GO! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Aaron, Jason, Jeni, and Jess all have to drag Kassy away.
“Chris,” I look at Wang. He nods and I nod back. “Caged tiger…”
“… fights like a thousand free ones.” I finish. I remember back to when he said that to me, thinking how we so easily joked of this situation. How he gave me words to live by. To die by. He walks away, taking the others with him. All but Aaron. He knows there’s more.
“Take my stuff Aaron. You guys’ll need it more than I will.” I toss my backpack at him. I hand over all my weapons but two. My sword and my favorite knife.
“You’ve been a great friend to me.” He states.
“And you to me.” As they all vanish around the corner I remember all the moments I’ve spent with every single one of them. All the laughs. The fun. The tears. The punches. The hours spent late at night talking about everything that matters to us whenever someone spent the night at another’s house. The punches. The kisses. Kassy. I think of her in my last moments.
And I jump.
I land in the middle of the horde. I cut the head off of one. From the first time we kissed. An arm goes off. To the hours spent on the phone, blaming each other for hanging up when we both know it just got disconnected. I feel a bite on my right wrist. My knife thrust into that zombies’ eye socket. The moments we spent cuddled together in random places like Isaacs’ party or Aarons’ blue thing in his room. Another bite on my shoulder. My sword instantly penetrates its head through its mouth. About ten more to go. Every fight we had and regretting it the instant it even began. Apologizing as soon as I could. I get two heads off with that blow. There’s a slash at my back. Fucking nails. Every moment we have our fingers entwined, feel her presence next to me. Something’s gnawing in my ankle. There goes its head flying with the force of the slash. The stupid things I did to spend more time with her, see her, or because of her. Skating to her house on Halloween. Tripping when entering the bus after rushing to it because I was with her, cutting the same ankle just being chewed on. I start to get tired. Every wound has gone numb. This must be how it works, killing every cell working it’s way to the heart. How many more can there be? I’m going to fail at protecting her, again…
HER! Every text we had, amounting to over 300 a day! Another head! Every kiss we shared, always seeming better than the last! 2 more heads! Staring into her eyes whenever we were laying next to each other! They final three go down. Loving her with as mush passion as I possibly could.
I cough, spraying blood. My face is covered in sweat, tears, and blood. This is how it ends. I kneel down picturing her for one last moment. I place my sword to my neck with the last of my energy.
“I love you, Kassy.”
My own head.
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