The Evolution of Dakota Graves

The Weight On My Shoulders

Tony couldn't find his words, he had his hands through his hair and his eyes bulged.

"Dakota...." He says grimly, his voice was low, scared and shaky, he starts taking loud and heavy breaths, I can tell that's he's doing everything in his power not to have a breakdown.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." He says awkwardly. I look down at the body.

"Go ahead, I won't look at you." I said without any emotion, grabbing the bags.

I could hear him throw up, I could hear heavy footsteps, but they didn't belong to the skin eaters.

"What happened? I heard a gunshot!" Winnie says, her eyes widen as she sees the bodies.

She opens her mouth but no words come out, I turn around to see the door that was barricaded slowly cracking open, fingers slowly roam through the small space, the moaning gets a bit louder as the barricade slightly slides off.

"Go!" Tony yells, I run out of the room and down the hall.

"We have to go-NOW." I said to the rest of the group.

"What's going on-" Mason tries to ask but I interrupt him as I continue to walk towards the door.

"They're getting in, we don't have time." I said, Mason grabs his keys then he helps Launa up, she staggers towards the door.

I turn around to see Tony and Winnie catch up with us, the corpse grabs Winnie, it bites into her neck, she shrieks hysterically as Tony shoots the corpse. Winnie falls to the ground face first but the rest of the undead hover over her, she closes her eyes then faced her back to them.

Her screams echoed. As they tore her back apart, I look away then kept running, my legs aching. The truck backs up closer to the door, I jump inside. Tony turns around.

"Tony don't-" I tried to yell but he puts the gun to his head, with a pull of a trigger he shoots himself before the undead surround him.

I pull down the lid to the truck, lettinf myself sink against it.

"Where is he?" Launa asks.

"He's gone..." I said, I couldn't stop myself from looking at my hands, they didn't deserve to be clean. I'm torn from this...all of it.

It gets quiet, I couldn't stop myself from looking at the bite which is bandaged pretty well, but the blood still bled through it.

"Stop looking..." Launa says.

"I'm scared already...." She adds, resting her head against the wall.

I close my eyes, my thoughts going back on the days as a teen, a damn mess that was worse than the guy I am today.

My girlfriend's voice drowns out to the music, I was dancing on the countertop. I was drunk off my ass, forgetting I had a sad reality when I was sober.

"Dakota get down!" She yelled. She was nothing but a cruel woman, she had her ash blonde hair styled in a messy ponytail, she wore my leather jacket, which was the only jacket I have...she didn't even make a attempt to get off the barstool.

"Fuck that!" I yelled, for the first time in a long time I should've listened to my girlfriend.

A man tries to fight me, he was drunker than I was....his fist brushed off my chin. But I shove him away, giving him a axe kick that I've spent years practicing but gave me a cramp everytime, but being the drunk prune I was, my leg only got his shoulder, soon as he gets up I fall on top of him, causing us both to fall off the countertop and on the hard floor.

I kept punching him, causing blood to ooze down his nose. And his right eye begun to swell up.

"Don't fuck with me mate!" I yelled. Someone dragged me off of him as I cursed like a sailor and kicked over tables with empty bottles of bourbon on them causing them to shatter all over the floor, I look up to see a man a bit older than me throw me out. I shouldn't have drunk to much, because I never used the word "mate" when sober.

I bend over to puke. The pure alcohol emptying from my body.

That was the first night I've been thrown out of a bar for fighting.

I get out of the truck to see Hannah talking with Daphne, she smiles when she sees me then she runs towards me.

"I really thought you were gone!" She says, hugging my waist.

I couldn't speak, I just pat her back awkwardly as Daphne gave me a scowl.

Stay away from Hannah.

Fuck that, why am I worried about this woman? She never cared, she didn't do shit when she saw me hugging Hannah with a big black eye on my face. As much as I love Hannah, Daphne would always run to her. But I'm not surprised....I'm expected to keep my shit together and avoid fucking everything up.

A blood curdling scream makes Hannah wince. Ross walks out, but not as a man....as one of them....the undead.

He bit into a woman's arm, she tries to rip herself away, but more of these things walk inside the camp, they begun feasting on people.

I pull out my glock.

"Stay behind me Hannah." I warn, Daphne runs towards us, she hugs me then kisses Hannah's forehead. I had no time to be shocked...there were people eating one another out here. I run to our truck, unlocking the door.

Darren runs towards us.

"Come with me!" He yells, he looks at Daphne, there was blood surrounding her wrist.

"You're..." Darren trails off.

"No! I cut myself!"

More of the undead start walking towards us, Hannah shrieks.

"Hannah I love-" Daphne tries to say...but Darren shoots her in the back of her head....my heart fell to my stomach...this woman threw my hand on a eye of a burning stove for playing with her lighter when I was five....who forced me to puke to make sure I wasn't using her pills.

The woman who also tucked me in at night when Kurt wasn't home, who used to cradle me on the couch like a teenager, who never stopped kissing me after I came home from running away.

I shouldn't feel bad but.....DAMMIT. She was there secretly holding my hand as she was signing her divorce papers.

That woman brought a mess into this world, knowing she was a mess herself, but she dared to have a smile on her face. She was a dark angel. A black sheep.

Without thinking I pull out my gun, shooting Darren in the groin. The undead surrounding him and eating him slowly, pulling out his lower intenstines, his screams drowned out by the undead's moans and groans.

Then I grab Hannah while running to our truck, forcing her into the truck and I drive off.

Her choking cries pained me, but I kept driving.