End Of Everything (Book 1)

20: The Ghost Of You

*Claire Pov*

Hundreds if not thousands of growlers all coming down the halls of the school. The moans of the undead feeling the halls louder than anything I ever heard. The smell was absoultely unbearable but we have to suck it up as always.

Luckly there's a hall where only a few growlers are located to the right of the nurses room of which we fled from. We make our way down that hall with Sam holding up a injured Matt in the middle of the eight of us.

Johnny's on top left of us and me on top right we try our best to clear the path ahead of us from growlers. We fight our way to the southside stairs to our unfortunate luck a herd to many to kill on our own without guns are crawling up and down the stairs. We slid to a stop as we came across them. We are trapped with growlers coming from the front and the rest of the horde approaching behind us. We took a quick step back.

"Damnit." Jenny whispered panting.

"Robert, Troy, Nicole, Sam you take back. Claire, Olivia, Jenny, Simon we take the front. We fight until we die guys. Remember your training, this is our last stand." My beautiful husband commanded.

It felt like time stopped as we prepared for battle against the undead. The thought of dying along with my best friend, my husband, and people I wish I knew before the end of the world happened. Well everyone except Matt of course.

Having nothing but our knives, a few handguns with very little amount of ammo left, and a mix of fear and adrenaline pumping through our veins.

I quickly look at my husband and he gives me a slight confindent yet scared smile. His eyes though, haven't changed. The eyes that I get lost in, that without even saying a single word I already knew what he was telling me.

I love you.

I return the smile while mouthing I love you so much to him while tearing up. Being as it may be the last time I'd ever see him again, I don't want the last memories he has of me be me in tears scared. So I put on a brave, 'we got this' face.

"Now!!" Johnny yelled while swing his bat onto a skull of a growler heading his way. Holding two combat knives I drive them into the heads of two growlers and then more and more more until I lost count on how many I killed. Even over the loud moans of the undead, I can hear everyone else grunting as they fight off the undead.

It felt like it was working, that we can actually hold them off. But more and more kept coming. They're endless. As they kept coming the more tired and exhausted I've gotten. Doubled cause of the fact that I haven't fully recovered from my injuries.

"N-no you can't help us with one ey- Urghhhhh!!!!" I hear a scream come from Sam.

I was too busy trying to fend off the growlers ahead of me I had no time to turn and see what happened. Sam's screams started to fade away as I kept fighting off the growlers ahead.

"D-Damnit, it's to many of them back here!!" Nicole yelled. I kicked a growler in the chest as hard as I could, causing it to knock down three that where coming for me. I stab a growler in the head before I can take the knife out.

BOOM!!

Thinking I'm gonna join my parents, a loud explosion, the sound of glass breaking, and the ground rumbles knocking me off my feet with the growler I killed falling on top of me. I couldn't hear anything but the groans of the undead.

I closed my eyes not wanting to see them eat me alive. But then the unexpected happened.

I wasn't getting eaten. I felt the growlers marche over me, just completely ignoring me. The pain from my previous injuries and the undead walking on me causes me to see nothing but black.

***
I wake to the sounds of fadeing groans. The feeling of the undead marching on top off me was gone, but the pain didn't leave.

Grunting, I push the dead guy off of me, using the wall behind me to stand myself up. My body felt numb and was covered in so much blood and guts. I take in my surroundings and noticed everyone was gone. There's piles of bodies on the ground all around me, blood everywhere, and a giant hole in the school with flames surronding it. About 15 stray growlers where down the used to be hall facing a door, and a few walking out of the hole.

My breathing started to pick up more and more and I collapsed on my knees with tears starting to flow out uncontrollably. I started to think of my husband, Olivia, and the others. It gotten worse when I looked down and seen Sam's remains. All that was left of him was his jacket and torso. I try to control my sobs the best I can so I don't alert the growlers ahead of me.

Suddenly something touches my leg. I open my eyes knowing that familiar touch. My heart jumps at the sight of Johnny's hand on my leg with the rest of his body underneath the pile of bodies we killed.

Praying that he is still him and not dead, I move the bodies off of him. When I got to his body, blood and guts are all on him while he laid oh his stomach. I turned him around and see his eyes fluttering open. His face is covered in blood, his eyes trailed my body until they locked on to my eyes. His dark brown eyes aren't glossy grey and my heart skipped a beat when he open his mouth.

"A..Are we dead?" He said in shock. I chuckled and shook my head. A small smile appears on his face and I couldn't help but to shove my face into his neck hugging him and crying hard. His arms instantly goes over my back and he holds me tight.

"I..I thought I lost y..you." I managed to say into his neck.

"I know..I know. I thought I did too. But your not losing me that easily baby. I'm never leaving your side." He whispered back calming me. I get up and help him up. He looks around and sees all the bodies laid out from us. He starts moving bodies around and tears start coming out more when I see Olivia underneath five growlers. Her eyes weren't open and fearing the worst, I start to mouth prayers hoping to God she was still with us. Johnny placed to fingers on her neck.

"S..She's alive, just unconscious from being trampled." He whispered to me, I sigh in relief.

"Anyone else survived only got one barely good eye." I hear from behind me with a cocky chuckle.

I turn around to see Matt up against the wall with a dead growler on his lap. Remembering what I heard Sam yell, I take my knife out, kneel down, and put it on his throat.

"You're not leaving this school alive." I threatened. I never killed anyone, never thought I could. But this asshole is most definitely deserving of not to be here on this earth anymore.

"I..I didn't do anything, p..please don't kill me." He pleaded. I feel a hand hit my shoulder and I quickly turn to see Johnny with a serious look on his face.

"It doesn't have to be you, you know?" He whispered. I nodded with teary eyes. I looked at the growlers up ahead of us and started to wonder why they haven't gone after us yet, don't they smell us? I thought. "I can't find the others under these bodies." He adds. Not breaking my focus on the 15 growlers ahead of us I nod. An idea came to my head and I think I figured out why they didn't eat us alive.

"What I'm about to do, please don't stop me and don't be mad. I think I figured out a way to get us out of this school."