Consequences (Warm Bodies fan fiction)

Chapter 21

"R!" R ran as fast as he could, but his legs were dead and unresponsive. "R help me!" Julie screamed for him but the closer he got, the further she seemed to really be. All around her were sinister forms, but they were not undead, they were very much alive, taunting and hurting her.

"Let her... go!" he tried to scream, but all that came out of his rotten lips was the guttural moan of a zombie.

"Look! Another corpse! Kill it!" One of the men growled, lifting his pistol up. "Oh it's that corpse, hahaha! Look at him, he thinks he can save her!"

"Maybe we should give him a little show before we kill him, eh?"

"Ah! ...Stop it!" Julie cringed, trying to shy away from the evil men, but she was trapped...

"Leave... her alone...!" R groaned, tears welling in his eyes.

"Aww look at it, it looks like it's going to cry! Ah, let's just put it out of our misery..."

"No! R!" Julie's tears flowed freely down her swollen cheeks.

"Let... her go! Let her... go!" R's heart cried with Julie, but he was again unable to get anything comprehensible out, just growls and groans. And then the shot was fired, the last thing he saw where the men turning their evil intentions back toward their captured prey...

"R!'

R shot up from his sleep, gasping and panting for breath, sweat coating him. "No! No! Julie!" He pulled himself out of bed in a panicked rush. Not caring who he woke or what time it was, he ran out of the room. He was relieved and horrified to find that there was a dull bit of morning daylight streaming in through the dirty windows. How long had they slept? Far too long in R's opinion. "Hey! Let's go! Get up! Get up!" he said to the still sleeping soldiers, all but tripping over the junk lying all over the ruined floor while he frantically put his gear back on, grabbing his shotgun.

"R?" Kevin yawned, confused for a moment. His memory soon returned to him and he as well quickly got up, kicking the boots of the other men. "Come on, people! We a lost soldier to rescue!" he yelled at his troops. R was slightly pleased that the older man didn't refer to Julie as a 'maiden in distress' or 'the general's daughter'... but only a little, he was much to concerned about just getting to her and making those who took her pay.

They got their things and headed out again in the very early morning light. They found their path again, even though they knew it was probably going to lead right to a trap, they continued to follow it. They kept a steady job, trying to be silent but trying to be fast as well. They heard hissing in the distance, somewhere behind a building maybe, followed by rustling. Kevin glanced to the side and saw a couple Boneys shambling toward them, but they were moving far too slowly now to be a threat, so they ignored them. They had no time to wonder what was going on with the Boneys, but they could almost feel the hatred coming off those horrors. One of them seemed desperately furious at them, especially when they were ignored, and took off after them.

"Boney!" One of the soldiers yelled. It was closer to R's side now. "R! Look out!' R stuck his hands up and grabbed the Boney as it slammed into him. They tumbled to the ground but R wrestled it under him, unstrapped his shotgun from his shoulder and once again bashed another Boney in the head. He didn't slow down though, after the Boney stopped movie, he got back up, slinging his shotgun over his shoulder once more, and took off again. They were closer to the Purist's hideout than they originally though, taking them just two hours to find it. It was a large abandoned dock warehouse near the coast. The closer they got, the more they could smell rotten fish, oil and whale blubber.