The Dead Live (Book 3)

Chapter 25: Get Her (Shannons PoV)

I stood there for a few moments, as my heart seemed to stop on me. I was not sure what to do, as I almost felt like I wanted to go to the ground, and then give up. I knew what was going on, while I knew that the others might be a bit confused.
I knew that my horse only neighs for 2 things... One of those was when I got near it, and pet it a little bit, and the other. It hurt me to even think about it, as I shivered at the thought of it. I knew that I was wasting a few seconds, and a few seconds could make a major difference in saving his life.
I knew that the dead were near him, as I had heard him neighing over and over again when the storm had hit, and the dead had been all over the place. He neighed when ever the dead were near him, as it was almost like a bit of a warning signal to his owners.
Those days that he had the dead near him though, he was locked up in a stable... It was a strong stable as well, set up for things such as the dead getting near it. The dead loved to eat any thing that was living, it did not matter if it was a human, or if it was a horse.
They loved raw meat... Raw living meat at least... I shook my head, as I did my best to shake off all of those thoughts, as I turned my head over to Christian. I knew that he cared about his horse a fair bit as well, and I knew that it might be a little bit important.
Plus... They were the only things that we had to get back to the community home. If we did not have them, than it would be a very long, and very treacherous walk. I looked at Christian for a few moments, as I saw that he had a blank look on his face, as it was clear that he did not have the faintest clue as to what was going on out there.
I shook my hand, as I was a bit confused as to how a man that seemed to know a lot about how to go out of the wall, and take a horse around, could not understand when his horses were in danger. I shook my head off of those thoughts, as I knew that I needed to speak them, rather than think of them.
I began to freak out once again, as I heard the loud neighing come from the other horses as well. I nodded to Christian, as he blinked a few times, still a fair bit confused, as he nodded back to me. I then began to speak to him, to get him to understand what was going on.
"The horses, the dead are near them!" I yelled to him. He stood there for a couple of seconds, as if he had not heard a word that I had just said to him. I felt like I was going to give up, and I wondered if I should just go out there and try to save them my self.
At this point, I did not care about my life at all, as that horse was the last thing that I had from my father. Hell... It was the last thing that I had from either of my parents, as I had lost my mothers necklace in the storm that we had a few months ago.
I turned my head away, as I then began to run down the hall way, not giving a care in the world about the other 2, that were in that room. They would be fine, but my horse, I was not sure if I could say the same for them. They were not locked up in a stable, so the dead could easily get near them if they tried.
I am sure that the loud neighing as a warning, did not help that cause either, as I knew that the dead locked them selves on to sound, from any animal, once they heard it. I shook my head, as I knew that my focus did not need to be on that, at the current moment, as I made sure that I was paying attention to where I was going down the hall way.
I had been here several times before, as I recognized a few of the things in some of the rooms that were around me. It was just so dark, as the power was out, that I could not grasp exactly where it was that I needed to go to. I blinked a few times, as I heard foot steps coming from behind me, on the hall way that I was running down.
I stopped my self, as my mind, and my body went blank, at the wrong time for it to do so. The horses had gone dead silent, and I feared what it was that it meant for them. I knew that they were still close enough to me, so that I could easily hear them, if they were to neigh in fact.
The problem was, I could not find the doors to get out of the building that we had gone in to, and I sort of wished that I had been paying attention to where it was that we had been going, rather than being in my head, and thinking of long forgotten memories, that no longer mattered to me, or to any one anymore.
I heard the foot steps of Tanner and Christian stop, right behind me. It was a bit funny to me, though I knew that it was not a funny time, as for the first time, I had finally managed to hear the foot steps of his. I let out a loud burst of laughter at the exact same time as well.
I looked at the both of them, as it was clear that they were both confused on what it was that I found so funny. I was not even sure the answer to that question at all either, but I heard Tanner begin to speak to me, as he seemed to put that answer that I had just been thinking of in my brain, in to his own words.
"What is so funny... This is not a laughing matter right now." He said to me, as I then began to stop laughing, at the exact moment that he had in fact reminded me that this was not some thing to laugh about. Tanner continued to talk, as I saw his eyes squinted at me, as if I was being a bit suspicious at the same time as well. "We can't get back with out those horses... Did you put us in some sort of trap?"
I looked at him for a couple of moments as well, as I almost wanted to laugh at what it was that he had just said to me once again, but I luckily held it in, as I knew that this was nothing to laugh at, at the current moment. I blinked a few times, as I was also a bit confused as to what it was, that was going on with Tanner.
He seemed to think that I was always going to betray my community, as he had said it more than once now. He really thought that low of me, huh? I stared at him for a few moments, as he did not hesitate one bit, to stare right back at me, which made me dip my head a bit low to the ground.
I stood there for quite a bit of time, as I then heard the horses begin to neigh once again, as it was clear that they were still alive, but they were in danger as well. I was not sure why Christian had not just thought to bring them in with us...
It was not like this building was in use any more, so there was no need to worry about getting it dirty. I shook my head, as I was not sure why I was in those thoughts in my head at the current moment, as I knew there was more important things to worry about, as I heard the repeated neighing come from out side.
This time I realized where it was that I was at, as it seemed like there was some sort of power that had taken over me, all at the exact same time. I lifted my head up, as I realized that it was no more than 50 feet down the hall way that was in front of me. I had not realized how far we had walked, as I had been so stuck in my head.
I turned my head around, as I then began to start to head back over to it, as at first I started at a walking pace, but as I remembered just how serious this was, I quickly began to sprint down the hall way, and over to the room that had the doors that we had gone through about 30 minutes ago.
I heard the others begin to run after me at the exact same time, as I also heard the voice of Christian, as he began to yell back to Tanner at the same time as well finally. I did not focus my thoughts on it, as I got close to the door, but I did at least listen some what, to what it was that he had to say.
"Tanner... She is the leader, and she has been with us for a long time... That is like you saying she caused the storm that took down the walls... She is in panic... That horse was her fathers..." He said to Tanner, as he did a damn good job of explaining it to Tanner, but also to me as well, as I had not even been quite sure as to why I had been acting that way.
I heard Tanner let out a grunt, as Christian slammed open the doors beside me, just before I had the chance to do so. I blinked a few times, as I some times forgot just how fast the man was. I shook my head at the same time too, as I also knew that was not where my thoughts needed to be at, at the current moment.
I stood there for a few moments, as the sun was right in my eye, making it hard for me to see. I put my hand up, to try to block sun of it, so that I could at least some what be able to see, while also not having my eyes get burnt, at the same time as well.
After a few seconds, as I let my eyes get used to the bright light, I then saw what it was that was going on with the horses, right in front of me. I saw all 3 of them, as they too were in quite a bit of panic, as there was at least 15 to 20 of the dead heading right over to where it was that they stood.
I began to freak out, as I let out a bit of a loud yell, as it was as if it was some sort of second nature for me. I did it to get the attention of the dead, over to me and the others, as I knew that we had a better chance of stopping the dead, than the poor horses did.
But unlike the dead usually did when they heard a loud noise, the dead kept on going over to the horses, he were repeatedly neighing for help, over and over again. It seemed like their ears, and their eyes were stuck on the horses that were directly in front of them.
I began to run over to them, to maybe try to take a few of the hits for the dead, while Tanner and Christian used their guns that they had on them, to kill the dead. I knew that Christian and Tanner had left their rifles, and their shot guns in a bag that was attached to the horses, but they at least had a pistol with 12 round mags.
It meant that they could get each one of them, with a few bullets to spare as well, as I knew that the both of them had a fairly good shot, especially Christian, as I had never seen him miss a shot before. I shook my head, as I knew that I need not to be focused on that at the moment, as I ran closer and closer to my fathers horse, which was about 70 feet away now.
That was when I heard a loud yell come from Tanner, but I did not stop my self, to hear what it was that he had to say this time, as I knew that my horse only had a few more seconds, until he was taken down by the small little heard of the dead that was ahead of me.
I did how ever, listen to what it was that Tanner had to say though, as I made sure that my ears were open, to if it was any thing that was important. It was important as well, as I listened to what it was that he had to say, as I kept running over to my horse.
"Get down Shannon!" I heard him yell at me. I blinked a few times, as I did not stop, but I kept of going for just a little bit less than a second. It then hit me as to what it was that he was talking about, as I then dropped my self down to the ground, as I heard the bullets fly past me, as I knew their pistols were silenced.
I lifted my head up, just a little bit, to see how good of a job that they were doing. At first, as well, it seemed to be working fairly good, as I saw a few of the dead start to drop right in front of me. There was just one problem with all of that though, as I stared ahead of me for a few moments, and I blinked a few times.
They were clearing the dead that were coming from the sides, but they were not able to hit the dead that were coming from the back, as the bullets would hit the horses if that were to happen. I heard the bullets stop firing, as they too realized that they could not risk hitting the horses.
I lifted my self up from off of the ground, as every thing seemed to start to go in to slow motion for me, as my heart, my body, and my brain seemed to stop, as I heard Christian and Tanner yelling loudly, while also hearing their foot steps seem to go a lot slower than usual, as they ran over to me, and the horses.
I thought at first, that they were going slow, but I realized that it was all going slow for me. A tear dripped from my eye, as I knew what was about to happen next, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I really kind of wished that I had ignored what Tanner had yelled to me now.
They were accurate with their shots, so there was no reason for me to be worried about them potentially hitting me. I could have gotten in front of my horse, and tried to save them. Sure, I knew that my blade would not be enough for 5 of the dead, but my body would at least.
I no longer cared about me being an important person, or about me being the leader of the community. All that mattered to me, was that horse, and my father. I stared at it, as I watched it all unfold in front of me, as the first of the dead then grabbed on to my horse.
I really wished that now I had not tied up my horse. There was a difference between last night, and right now. Last night, he had walls around the area, that would make loud noises if the dead were to get past it, which would have woken us all up, and been able to easily save the horses.
This time, there was no walls, as we had been a long ways away from the horses, and there was no way that we would have been able to save them. Or my horse in this case, as the other 2 horses were behind mine, were just as freaked out, as I saw them hopping around, in panic.
It did not matter to me any more though, as it all seemed to be fading away, all so fast, as to the last of my memories that I had with my father. It was just like the memories that I had with my mother, as all that I had remembered, was that I loved her deep in my heart, but I just could not remember why, for the life of me.
It seemed like I only remembered the bad memories, as all of the good memories seemed to wipe out of my brain in just a flash. I fell down on my knees, as I heard the foot steps of Christian and Tanner, draw closer and closer to me, to the point where they then went past me.
I did not have my eyes focused on either of them how ever, as my eyes were just on my horse, as I watched him get mauled apart right in front of my eyes. It was a sickening scene to watch, even for a woman like me, that had seen so much, and been through a lot in my life.
Seeing things like this only seemed to feed to the flame though, as another piece of my soul seemed to fly out the window. I had seen my mother get torn apart, when I was young, so this was normal to me. Those thoughts did not make me feel any better at all though.
I was not freaked out, or sick due to the fact that I was watching a horse get torn apart, and eaten by things, that were once people, right in front of me, I just felt more sick, by the thought of the fact that I was losing the last thing that I had left, to remind me of my father.
I knew that he was going to fade out of my existence because of it. I always made sure to head to the stable, and spend some time with the horse, and feed him as well, even before the fact that I had last my father, and even after the fact that I had become the leader of the community, and had a lot less time to do so.
I closed my eyes, as I sat on both of my knees, and I looked up at the sky. I believed in God now... Yes... He was an ass hole, and he did not care about me at all. He wanted me to suffer... It was what me and my family got, for not ever believing in him.
Now, I knew that my family was in hell, like a lot of people. I began to cry, even though I was a grown woman, as I heard Christian and Tanner yelling to one another. I was not sure if it was yells of pain, if they too were getting torn apart, just like my horse, or if it was them yelling at one another, to try to save the other horses, before it was too late for them as well.
I did not care... If they were going to die right now, than I hoped that God would take me down with them. I did not want to live any more, as I felt like there was no point, and that there was no use. It sicked me to think those types of thoughts, but they were flooding through my brain, all at the same time.
I knew why... Yes... That was all that I had left... There was nothing, and no one that I cared about any more. It was all gone, this world was no use to me any more. I opened my eyes, as I looked down at my belt that I had on me, at the exact same time as well.
I stared at the dagger for quite a few moments, as the thought begun to usher in to my head. There was no point in me being on this planet any more. There was nothing left for me... No one cared about me, no one needed me... I was just another body, and another useless person that our community had to waste food on.
I was really starting to think deeper in to those dark and evil thoughts, until I heard loud yelling coming from Christian, as I realized that he was saying my name. I looked away from the dagger that was on my belt, and over to him, as I was a bit confused as to what was going on.
I saw that the dead that had torn apart my horse, were all dead, and so was my horse, as it had not taken them long to tear him to the point to where he was dead. I also saw that Christian was on his own horse, and Tanner was getting on his, in quite a bit of a hurry as well.
I looked at Christian for about a second, and then I squinted my eyes at him, at the exact same time as well. Christian shook his head, and then he rolled his eyes at me, at the same time too, as he repeated what it was that he had said a few seconds ago, and I listened this time, to make sure that I heard what it was that he had to say to me.
"Shannon! Get on! There are more coming!" He said, as he pointed his fingers over to a large heard that was walking right through the open area that we had used to get in to the community in the first place. I stared at it with a blank look on my face, as if I had not heard what he had said, nor had I cared.
I was not sure if I did care at all in fact, as I continued to stare at the dead that was running through the torn down walls, heading right over to where it was that we were at right now. I heard the horses that they were on as well, begin to neigh, as it was clear that they saw the dead coming as well.
I stared for a few moments, as I then turned my head back over to Christian, as I looked at him for a little bit of time. For some reason a bit of a strange smile began to pop up on my face, as I was not sure what was going on with me, or what that was for at all.
It felt like it was a bit of a smile of me being sad, and hurt, but at the same time, I was not sure if that were the case at all. I shook my head though, as I shook off those useless thoughts, and then I began to speak back to Christian at the same time too.
"No... You guys go... You are better off with out me..." I said to him. Christian looked at me for a few moments, as if I was some kind of idiot, which to be fair, now that I thought a bit on what it was that I had just said, I kind of was an idiot for saying what it was that I had said just now.
It did not make sense at all, and I knew that this was a time that our community needed a leader. We could not bare to lose another one, especially at a time like the one that we were in right now. I stared for a few moments, as Christian then rolled his eyes at me, at the same time as well.
I heard him let out a loud sigh, that I could hear from over 20 feet away. I did not care at all though, as I looked back over to my horse. I had to at least bury him, and maybe I could put him in a casket with me... That would be the end of my family heritage... A cruel ending at that.
I stood up, as I finally got off my knees, but it was not so that I could get on the saddle with Christian, and ride off in to a glorious sun set, if you wanted to call ot such as that. It was so that I could go over to my horse, and lay beside his body, and just cry about what it was that I had just lost.
It was what I wanted at least, but it did not seem that it was what Christian wanted at all right now. It some times felt like he often thought of him self as the leader, and to be fair I suppose, he was the leader of this mission, and he was the leader of all this, once we got out of the walls.
He knew a lot more about all of it, than I did, though I had been told stories, and I knew how scary it was first hand, as well as every other person, though some might have forgot, such as I, just because of the fact that they had not been out there on their own for a very long time.
I wish that I had just believed Christian at first, or if he had just brought me back the paper with what was written on it, in blood, maybe then I would not have lost my horse, which was all that I had left with me, from before all of this went crazy, and the last memory of my father as well.
I was not sure if I would have believed it though, as it could have easily been some thing that Christian could have made him self, to spread some sort of agenda, to scare a bunch of people. I had to see the place for my self... I just wished that I had believed all that I had been told before hand.
I shook my head, as I shook away all of those thoughts at the exact same time too, as I heard the voice of Christian, as he began to speak up once again. I lifted my head up, as at first I had thought that he had been talking to me, until I saw that his head was pointed right over towards Tanner.
I was a bit confused by all of it, as I was a bit lost on all that was going on in the first place, due to the fact that I was in my head, and I was thinking back on all of the memories that I had left. I made sure not to get back on those thoughts though however, as I listened to what it was that Christian had to say to Tanner.
"God damn! We don't have time for this bullshit! Tanner, get her..."