Infection

Chapter 26 - Dead or Alive

I jumped as I heard the first shot ring out, ripping through the silence, making me cringe. I could already feel my head pounding from my poor attempt of running, the effects of alcohol holding firmly onto me.

Moving towards the sound, I prayed that it was Jack. It would soon be dusk and I wasn't counting on them waiting for me. More importantly, I wanted to know if Seth was okay.

As I got closer I heard another go off, then another and something else... an engine?
THE TRUCK?! I fought through the pain as I began sprinting, every muscle in my body screaming for me to stop.

I could hear the vehicle more clearly now, getting closer and closer. It was coming from behind the row of houses adjacent to me, gunfire still piercing my eardrums.

With a cry, I burst into the garden parallel to the direction I had been running, flying in through the backdoor sending bits of paper into the air. Swiftly I depicted my way through the house, falling out into the street beyond, panting.

Dogs, infected, gunfire, truck, RUN!

My brain attempted to process everything before my natural instinct promptly took over, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I ran, ran like a hoard of demons were on my tail. Hundreds more of those things chasing after the very thing I should be in... the truck.

"WAIT!" I screamed, but I knew it was no use. I suddenly heard teeth gnashing close to my heels, sharp talons narrowly missing my ankles.

Dogs!

There was nothing I could do, but flee and watch as four or more dogs broke away from the pack, ogling me with dead eyes, drool falling from their rotting jaws.

"WAIT!" I yelled helplessly.

"Eve... EVE!"

"SETH!" My heart did a backflip. It's okay, he's in the truck, I could almost make him out. Tears began falling freely as the truth hit me. I would never seem him again, today is the day I die. There was no way Jack would stop for me with the horde so close behind. This was it.

"EVE!"

I was too choked up to reply as the emotions ran through me, my body going on overload. The groans and growls of the infected consumed me, the gunfire deafening. Wait, where was the gunfire coming from if not the truck? Caught in the moment I turned round just in time to see the nearest dog tumble over, a section of its head missing. Before I could do anything the breath was abruptly knocked out of my lungs, thick arms lifting me off my feet before smothering my face with a cloth. The world suddenly became very distant, my sight blackening out.

*

My head was on fire when I finally gained consciousness, the world still distant. I managed to make out a room full of messy beds, rafters separating the makeshift home into sections before my vision began fading. My body felt dead and stiff, still fast asleep, unwilling to awake. It wasn't long before my mind drifted back into nothing joining my limbs.

*

Heavy footsteps brought me to reality, the sounds of battle echoing in the distance. I heard the boots enter, traipsing across the hard wooden floor.

"We can't hold out for much longer, there's too many of..."
"Hush, there are people sleeping." A voice dripping with authority answered calmly.

"But boss..."

"Hush, fetch me Rick and Knuckles and pack your bags, no questions."

"Yes boss," without hesitation the boots swiftly exited, another softly pacing. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise as they came to a halt at the end of my bed with a sigh.