Infectious

Goodbye

Riley's P.O.V

My frozen lips press against hers, blood boiling beneath her skin. My hands lay atop her soft, golden hair. Hips pressed against each others , and we're united. We break away from our passionate kiss and I search her thunderstorm eyes for some kind of sign. All I can detect is an alerted expression. My lips part to speak the words my heart aches to utter, yet she simply presses her fingers against my open mouth. I love her, that's what I want to say. She pierces my gaze.

"Me too", she says in such a knee-buckling low tone. I fully take in her beauty and turn away from her. There's reluctance when she lets go of my sleeve. Forcing myself not to look back, because if I do I might take her hand and runaway, Mike waits fir me to enter. He leans against the wall, his tall, lanky body bizarre against the large gun he holds.

"Let's go", he says, looking at me with his icy blue eyes through his waterfall of hair. He puts up his gun and kicks open the door, checking his surroundings as he enters the store. I follow him, glass crunching under the soles of my sneakers. I point my pistol at every scratch, creak, and squeak. The shelves are almost bare, crushed boxes and cartons littering the tile floor. A few shelves contain actual supplies. I grab a packet of matches and stuff them in my bag. The tile, department store floor is stained by blood and grime. Light fixtures hang from the ceiling, no longer igniting our pathway. Water drips from behind the staff room doors. It hits something metallic which echoes through the store, like a horrible horror movie sound.

My hand flies up to my nose as we reach the rear of the store. A rotting stench enters my nose, a mixture of sewer water and a dirty stable. I peer into the small, grimy window of the storage area door and notice the large amount of zombies inside the room. Mike holds up a stubby finger to his thin lips. I motion opening up the door and he shoots me a short nod. His hand resting on the door handle, I count down from three. He jerks the door open and begins to fire away at the corpses. My bullets fly into their craniums, bits of slushy brain leaking from the open wounds. My heart speeds up as the roaring sound of snarling rages in my ears. Thank goodness she's not in here, at least she's safe. A woman with a contorted face grabs at Mikes collar but I stealthily dive for her with my knife. It sinks into her forehead, blood oozing out of the gash. I withdraw the knife from her head and Mike mumbles a thank you under his breath. The large group slowly advances, pushing us father back into the corner.

"RAINE!" I yell. No response.

"RAINE, WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?" Is she okay? Maybe she got out of here in time and she's coming back with help. Worry fills my head as my heartbeat quickens.

Mike notices my concern, "SHE'S FINE." He shouts over the ruckus. Hollowed cheeks and rotting teeth are the only thing my brain can process as I slash at the heads of nameless faces. Blood sprays my clothes like we're taking part in a satanic ritual. A path clears up in the midst of this crowd of hell. Mike and I make a dart for the exit. We reach the outside, stumbling through the doorframe, the soles of my shoes scraping against the asphalt. I turn my face to the sky. My cheeks are kissed by the rain. Excitement courses through my body like an ecstatic ecstasy addict.

"I'll lead half away," I say. The sea of monsters pours out of the department store.

"Come on fuggers," I taunt, leading a portion of the heard into the nearby woods. The trees whizz by in my peripheral vision, a few of the faster zombies are trying to catch up. Leaves lick the arm of my sweater as I speed by. My shoes kick up the debris if fallen leaves and carcasses. Dark clouds hang above me and the crackling thunder is like a warning sign. I spin around and am met with a wall of zombies. Lifting up my gun, I channel all my anger into my shooting.

"Nighty-night motherfuggers!" I yell while shooting down each corpse. They fall over like limp rag dolls, their bones turning to spaghetti. Just as my arm begins to tire I begin to shoot the last few. 'Click, click, click'. No more bullets. I draw out my knife and slice through the remaining few. My back is dripping with sweat and my jeans cling to my sweaty legs. I bend over, panting from exhaustion.

"GRIFFITH," I hear Mike's distant beckoning.

"OVER HERE," I shout. Pushing my grimy hair out of my face, I get up to make my way back to the convenient store. The warm wind rustles the leaves like a coordinated dance, and the everything falls silent. There are no squirrels skittering across the forest floor, or beautiful birds singing their mating calls. There is nothing. I hold my breath, waiting for something, anything. The silence is broken by the snarling of a single zombie.

"Awe great," I mutter, spinning around to face it. My heart stops and my breath catches. It can't be... I approach the corpse to study it, watching her goldilocks style of hair tumble around the structure of her face. Her eyes are oozing a yellow liquid and yet she still looks like herself.

"No," I whisper, my voice catching. A lump builds in my throat and I try to push it down. Choked sobs escape my mouth and tears stream down my face, burning my cheeks.

"Why," I cry.

"WHY ME?" I yell at the air. She swipes at me and I dodge it. Her teeth click together, hungry for food.

"Oh Raine, what did they do to you. If only you wouldn't have come," I say between cries of anger. I kick the nearest tree and rest my head against it for a small moment.

"I NEVER EVEN GOT TO SAY THAT I LOVED HER!" I yell, pounding my fist against the peeling tree trunk. I wipe at my runny nose and attempt calming myself down.

"No, no, no", I repeat. Letting out the sobs silently, to buy myself time alone with her, I slump down against the tree. I'll never hear her laugh again, like a million angels in harmony. no more whispers of secrets for me and no one else. No more caressing her hair or arguing over music. no mire loving her. Maybe I should let her infect me... But my mom needs me... I stare straight into her rotting eyes. The girl I love is in there somewhere, under all the zombie traits there's her. She's internally screaming, trying to get out. I was going to propose to her. We were supposed to get married and have children. Unfortunately, life doesn't work like that. It doesn't have a graph, nor a formula. Life is one, big punch in the face. I think I know what I need to do.

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A/N: okay, so that's the end. I know, what the hell? What happened to Griffith? Well if you want to know what happens you'll need to read the second book I'm in the process of making. It's from Mikes point of view and why he got kicked out, what he did to survive, why he betrayed his mom, etc. At the end, I'll reveal what happens with Griffith by explaining what happens when he finally finds Griffith in the forest. Thanks for reading guys :)