Vick began to spit up blood. The slams on the front doors became louder and louder as moments passed. Haze and I pulled Vick to his feet. Christie was at the front door using her weight to hold the zombies at bay. Courtney tried to assist her but the door came closer to caving with every second that passed.
"We have to get upstairs. Now!" Haze barked in a panic.
There's nowhere else to go. We're trapped.
"What about him?" Nista questioned, nodding to the hysterical Joseph who attempted to help his injured mother.
Haze responded, "Who gives a shit!"
"Joseph, you have to come with us. Let's go!" I demanded as I attempted to pull him to his feet.
"I'm not leaving my mom! She's dying and it's all your fault! I'm staying. Our blood will be on your hands."
"No. You have to come with us. We're not letting you die down here!" Anna argued frantically.
Anna and Joseph have become close in the recent weeks and if anyone could talk some sense into him, it'd be her.
"We can't hold this door much longer!" Christie yelled as she struggled to keep the zombies at bay.
"We're running up the staircase on three!" Haze directed hawkishly.
Grrr.... rrrgggh..
Tabitha began to reanimate.
1....2....3!
Just as Christie took off, the door gave in and the zombies swarmed the inside of the shelter. Haze and I dragged Vick up the stairs with zombies trailing behind the group.
When we made it to the top floor, our floor, I skimmed the room. Anna managed to get Joseph to come with us. Vick doesn't look too well. Joseph is still bleeding.
"What the Hell are we supposed to do now?" Haze questioned in a hiss. "There's no way to get out of here."
I lay Vick down on the dainty old bed. His eyes were closed now.
"Vick, come on. You can't leave us. We need you. If you don't wake up, we aren't going to make it out of this."
I began to shake him. The wound was still bleeding profusely and blood stained Vick's chin.
"This... is it, kid." He muttered, letting out a harsh cough. "You take over from here."
"No. No," I objected. "I'm not made for this. I'm not you."
"You were meant to lead. You're going to do big things for this damned world someday."
His squinted eyes came to a complete shut once again. I shook him and called out in a plea but nothing worked. Eventually, his breathing ceased. Anna tried to save him. I tried.
Rrggghh...
When he opened his eyes, they weren't brown anymore. His once soulful eyes were now clouded and colorless, pure white without a soul behind them.
"I'm sorry, Vick. You saved us and I couldn't save you."
My knife entered and exited his temple, saving him from wandering around for the rest of eternity. Tears fell from my eyes as I realized the only father figure I had was gone.
_
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The slams of the zombies became white noise eventually. The only thing that separated us from them was the metal door that would eventually give in.
"We gotta get on the roof. Find some fireworks, distract the zombies," Haze planned. "Then, the others should be able to walk right out of this place."
"And how much time do we have to do that?" Christie questioned with a furrowed brow. "That door is strong but if we don't do something fast, we're going to be zombie food."
"I'll go on the roof. There's an overhang I can get on. Should be a ladder somewhere over there — then I'll make sure the coast is clear enough to get everyone down the ladder." I volunteered, staring through the window at the overhang of the roof.
"I'll go with you." Haze added, "you can't go out alone, brother."
"No. You're the best fighter. We need you here," Nista objected, staring directly at her partner Haze. "Joseph is a mess. He may be a problem that you should be here to take care of."
"I'll go with you," Christie chimed in before turning to Courtney. "You stay here, Court. If I don't come back, move on."
Joseph stood up as he stared at the metal door. Through the window, Tabitha could be seen banging on the door as one of the zombies.
"Mom? Mom!" He called, his voice cracking with sadness. "Let me out! I have to go get her!"
"No." Christie pushed him against the wall, placing her hand on his throat. "You open that door and all of us will die. She's dead. You can't save her now."
I turned to Haze with worry prevalent on my face. The expression he gave assured me that he would be alright. I need to go now.
Christie and I climbed through the window, scaling the overhang of the building until we reached the side of the large facility. A ladder ran down from the roof to the ground below. Christie could tell I was nervous.
"I'll go first if you'd like."
"No," I objected firmly. "I'll go. I'm waiting for the zombies to disperse a little more."
"It's not your fault, Jake."
Moments of silence passed before I finally spoke.
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have followed him to Barry's," I argued. "He's gone now — the person we needed to lead us. The only man who could keep us alive."
"Quit that," she declined firmly. "You keep yourself alive, Jake. Nobody has kept you alive. If you were meant to die, you would've. Don't believe that you're doomed because then you really will be."
"He saved my life and I couldn't save his. Kara was my everything and she's gone."
I fell to the ground. I felt weak both mentally and physically. It was as if my body had given up along with my mind — as if I wasn't meant to continue functioning.
Christie bent down to get closer to my face.
"C'mon. Get up. You can't start ducking now."
Kara would want me to go on. She'd tell me to find a way to get us all out of here alive. I stood up before shuffling over to the ladder.
"I'm going to distract the lingerers once I get down there. As soon as they're drawn away, go grab the others. If I'm not near the car when you get there, just go."
I dropped down the ladder slowly. Don't look down. Heights were never my thing. My heart pounded as I drew closer to the ground. As I gripped the step to the ladder, my hand was sliced open.
"Shit! Shit!" I examined the injury as I clung to the ladder with the other hand.
Drops of blood fell from my hand and splattered on the pavement feet below. The zombies fell to the ground to lick the bloody pavement. I pried the hidden razor from the step.
"Don't come down! You guys can't take this way! Tabitha rigged the ladder!" I shouted and in result, drew the zombie's attention.
My foot slipped on the now bloody step below. I lost my balance. As the zombies growled at the bottom of the ladder, I hung upside by my leg. My head was inches away from their grasp.
"Jake, get the hell back up here!" Christie shouted in a panic. "Please!"
"I can't! It's too late!"
I began to feel woozy. The blood rushed from my now open wound and I noticed the chunk of skin missing. After awhile, I had to shut my eyes to calm my fear of heights.
Even in death, Tabitha manages to hurt others.
"I'm coming down!"
Christie slid down the ladder slowly as I argued with her to go back to the others. As we reached the top of the ladder, my vision went black.
_
"Jake? Jake, are you with us?" Anna questioned as she buzzed in close proximity to my face. "Please, wake up."
My eyes opened slowly, revealing a blurred image of Anna. Her green eyes were wide with worry.
"I'm sorry," I spoke sincerely. "I tried to find a way out of here. I —"
"Don't apologize." She objected, cutting my sentence short. "Haze and Nista went down. They're going to find a way to distract them so we can get out."
Because I failed.
"And Vick? He's really —"
"Dead? Yes. He's gone Jake. I'm sorry."
Tears filled my eyes before they streamed down my cheeks.
Within moments, a siren began to wail in the distance. As the noise continued, zombies began to wander away. It was unlike any siren I've heard in a long time — the tone represented danger.
"We have to go as soon as the zombies get far enough away!" Christie spoke hawkishly, "gather your supplies! Hurry!"
The others darted around as they attempted to collect their items.
What the Hell is that noise?
Each of us shuffled quickly and breathed a sigh of relief when we got inside the vehicle. We pulled away just as the zombies yards away noticed us.
With next to nothing left, we hit the road. It reminded me of the beginning — except this time there is no Vick.
We passed a sign directing us to the next city over.
With tears in my eyes, I whispered, "I'll never forget you, brother."