The Last Plague

Chapter Thirty-Six: Bridge And Ladder

The pile fell and I fell with it. Raymond and Trina started running down before the pile gave out. They were at the bottom when I fell completely. The slime must've held the pile up. When it dispersed the pile gave out. I fell and landed on my head. A shock of pain traveled through me. My vision began to grow blurry and I grew nauseous. For a moment I wanted to just pass out. I refused to pass out though. Trina and Raymond would have a harder time killing off the creatures and then they'd have to drag me up the ladder. If they brought me. The thought scared me for a moment, but I shook it from my mind.

Then gunshots seemed to quiet and grow muffled. Trina was shooting at the wave of oncoming creatures when she knelt over me. She was shouting something, but I couldn't hear anything. I only heard the muffled gunshots. She stared down at me with worried eyes, but I couldn't feel anything.

Raymond ran over and grabbed Trina's shoulder. He told her something and they both stared at me. I tried keeping my eyes open to let them know I was alive, but even that was a task. I felt them move behind me and grab my shoulders. They both started dragging me across the cold concrete floor. The gunshots had almost stopped and there weren't many more. They laid me on the side of the tunnel and ran back out.

I couldn't move anything, let alone help. I wanted to run out and help them kill off the creatures, but I couldn't. I saw them shooting with fear painted across their eyes. I turned my head using all the strength I had, then saw them shooting across the pile. The collapsed pile was low, but still about five feet high. They could both shoot over it. It also gave the advantage of the creatures having a harder time getting to them.

After what felt like hours they ran back to me. They shook me and it only made my head hurt more. I had the feeling of exhaustion come over me. Trina ran back over with her two pistols in her hands. I could hear her gunshots ring through my ears, still muffled. She ran back over after a few minutes.

I could feel Trina and Raymond pick me up. They dragged me back towards the hill of creatures. When we were over they continued dragging me through the tunnel. The floor was covered with creatures. Their dead bodies terrified me as I was dragged across them. I could feel my pants dampen as they absorbed the creature's slime. The cool slime sent a chill up my spine that woke me slightly.

I could feel consciousness returning. I wanted to be awake more than anything. They continued dragging me with one hand; their other hand was occupied with a gun. I was being dragged up to the ladder. I could hear gunshots continue to be sent across the tunnel.

I felt Raymond grab my waist and start pulling me up. I felt myself being slowly lifted off the ground. Raymond started climbing up the ladder with one hand. He would leap off and grab the bar above that last one every jump. Trina followed right behind us. I tried waking up, I didn't want them to have to carry me, but I couldn't.

I could see several creatures coming up to the ladder. They seemed to never end. Trina was shooting at them, but it didn't make a difference. They continued coming at us at the same slow rate. I could see them slowly slug towards us. Fear welled up inside of me, but I still couldn't move. I wanted to wake up and climb up the ladder as quickly as I could.

The creatures had gotten to the ladder when we were about ten feet up. There was another ten feet above us that we hadn't climbed. The creatures were piling on top of each other, climbing up the ladder quicker than us. I felt a push below me and we started moving faster. The creatures I could see below were coming closer.

Wake up, move, come on, I practically shouted in my mind. I wanted to move more than anything. I started to be able to feel movement come into my arm. I started clenching and unclenching my fist. You can move your hand, I thought. I was happy to have some movement.

"Raymond," Trina shouted up. "He just moved his hand, I think he might be waking up."

I hated her even saying I might wake up. I was awake, but I couldn't move. I started feeling movement in my other arm and was shaking myself.

"Stop moving," Raymond told me.

I was finally awake. I grabbed the ladder and swung myself over to it. "Okay, I'm almost awake. Let's go," I said slowly, gasping in between breaths.

We all started going up the ladder quicker, I was getting more feeling as I climbed on. Wait, I realized. Raymond said this was a PS base. There are creatures down here. This place is abandoned. The sudden realization worried me, but I continued up the ladder.

Raymond started yelling at us from above. "The ladder's broken! The rungs have been broken off, we'll have to jump," he finished, jumping onto the ledge.

I started right after him, he was hanging on the edge pulling himself up. I grabbed the edge and pulled myself up. Trina jumped and we pulled her up too. The creatures were almost to the top of the ladder and Raymond hadn't pulled himself up. I ran over and grabbed him, but the creatures were at his foot.

A sudden look of horror and sadness went into his eyes. A tear started dripping down his face. "I can't come with you," he said, sounding the most human he ever had; full of sadness.

I started to pull harder on him, trying to pull him up. He started refusing to come up.

"Listen," he shouted. "I was just bit. I'm not getting out of this. Let me go, just let me go," he said, trying to loosen my grip on him.

The creatures were up to his waist, tugging on him trying to pull him into the pile. They pulled mercilessly on him. Raymond let go completely. I held on longer, now holding all of his weight. He used his hand to try to pull my grip off.

"Let go of me, please, I don't want to die like that!" he shouted, obviously saying he didn't want to be tugging on my hand as he died.

"Okay," I said simply. I let go of his hand.

He pushed off of the ladder and grabbed some of the creatures with him. I watched him fall, and I noticed the bite on his ankle. His suit was the last thing I saw of him. His pants were ripped showing the bite mark. He grabbed his gun and started shooting at the creatures that were piling on top of him. He didn't scream when he died. He just shot his guns killing as many creatures as he could as they piled on him.

They swarmed his leg and continued biting it. They started gnawing away at his arms. He dropped his guns and started pulling himself away from them. He seemed to be dragging out his death. He punched and swatted and the creatures swarmed him. I watched this from the edge of the tunnel. The creatures climbing up the ladder all came after him. The height they had up the ladder shrank.

The creatures weren't climbing up the ladder anymore. I could see Raymond still struggling against the creatures. He didn't scream though, he stayed silent as he fought them off. I watched him beat at them, doing nothing. I knew he wouldn't be able to kill anymore with his fists, but he was doing everything he could to fight them off. I almost shouted at him to use his gun, but he didn't. I didn't understand it.

I wanted him to stop; I wanted him to stop fighting. He kept punching at the creatures without stopping. I wanted it all to be over. I stopped watching him struggle, catching one last glimpse at his suit and tie. I stopped looking and looked in the opposite direction. I was horrified at what I saw, and I even knew who he was. I couldn't stand him dying; I started to cry.

After about a minute Trina looked over to me and stared at me, her eyes welling up with tears. She looked almost disgusted, yet she was crying.

"Is it over?" I asked her, hoping Raymond's torture had ended.

"It's over," she said quietly.

I sat there, staring up to the sky, crying. I couldn't understand it. Raymond rescued me. Without him, we would've died. The crazy people at RADD would have killed me, or worse, tortured me, if I had stayed. I was grateful to know Raymond. I was happy he had lived this life.

We had to move though. The creatures would start climbing back up the ladder soon. I stood up with Trina. We started walking silently and crying for our lost friend.