Zomb-Pocalypse 6

Chapter One

Ryan

Life lesson # 9991: It's a lot harder to stab fresh corpses than it is to stab zombies. Especially when they aren't reanimated and trying to kill you, so it's not a fight or flight thing; it's just really sad. The blade doesn't go in as easy either. There's a lot more resistance in the flesh that isn't rotting off the bone. Just try not to think about it and continue your work. You're doing them a favor, making it so they can't turn into soulless monsters. At least that's what you need to tell yourself, so it doesn't just feel you're desecrating their bodies.

I finish stabbing the final corpse on the riverbank and turn to look for Jane. She's done her share and climbed the rise of the hill and is staring out at the chaos, and I can tell by the unnatural way she's holding herself that whatever it is, it isn't good.

"Jane," I call and hurry to catch up to her, skirting the massive dog at her side. She's always far too ready to charge into the chaos, especially for someone she loves. It's one of the things I admire about her; it also has me scared to death on a near-constant basis.

"Ryan." Her voice is a whisper, and I can barely hear her over the moans and violence happening all around us.

I come up beside her and catch my first glimpse, and it's nearly enough to knock me back and send me rolling back down the hill towards the river. I bite down on my first instinct to ask her what the hell she's thinking. We've been through a lot of shit, but nothing like this. Never intentionally.

I want to throw her over my shoulder and take her away from this place. This isn't what Silas would want either, I know it, and if we ever do find the guy, he's probably going to kick my ass up and down the street for letting her come back here- the irony is not lost on me. I look over at her face; she's white as a ghost, with her jaw slack as she stares out wide-eyed. It's triggering all sorts of things inside me to protect her; I can't begin to imagine what is going on inside her head right now. And as much as I want to, I can't just drag her off against her will; for starters, she wouldn't go quietly, and she would never forgive me. It's also something he would do, and as much as he is Jane's choice, I still pride myself on not being him.

Jane

Hell, on earth, it's what my brain is screaming at me as I survey the carnage from the rise of the riverbank. Ryan takes a step back, and at my feet, Mike lets out a whine. I feel immense guilt that I've dragged them both to this place. Most likely, we're all going to die horribly.

The cowardice inside me rises along with a fair amount of bile in the back of my throat, and I want nothing more than to tell Ryan that I've changed my mind and get back in the boat. Ryan would probably be ecstatic.

I don't, though. I can't, but I also can't quite get my terror under control either.

"Jane, we can't stay here," Ryan murmurs, pulling me from my turmoil as he grabs me roughly by the crook of my elbow. In his fear, he is squeezing me too hard, but I don't pull away. "If we stay here, they're gonna get us."

Zombies have already spotted us, and not just one or two.

"I..." I start to say and then trail off as the reality of the twenty or so zombies lumbering towards us fully sinks in. The zombies let out hungry growls of excitement, signaling to all the other zombies nearby that they've found their next meal. More and more zombies join in the hungry chorus as they turn to seek us out.

"We can't fight this many; we have to make a run for it," Ryan yells to be heard over the noise, no point in being quiet now, and I nod. This is the moment. Where we can still turn and run back to the boat and escape, or we can do what we came here to do and run towards the things that want to kill us. Ryan points to the largest gap between the zombies as he releases my elbow and grabs me firmly by the hand, and we start running. Mike thankfully sticks close by my side and doesn't attempt to run forward to tackle any of the creatures- even he knows his limits.