Risen from the Grave

Half of the time I'm just barely surviving

This is probably one of the hardest chapters to write so far, so please be warned there are some pretty graphic descriptions

I'd also highly recommend tissues.

title from 'i'm trying'

We walked for hours, Alex's weight entirely on my shoulder, his breath hot on my neck. Hours, and we still hadn't found anyone else. "Do you think they're dead?"Alex asked me, his voice strained and hoarse.

"No, I think they're scared, hiding somewhere,"I responded, hoping for the best. "I've never wished I had a phone so much in my life." Alex chuckled slightly, before descending into a coughing fit. I patted his back, rubbing in between his shoulder blades gently. We continued our journey, navigating the uneven landscape of the forest, looking out for any signs of our other friends. Thick bushes forced us to change our course, and large, fallen down trees made it difficult for Alex to continue, but we pushed onwards anyway. We kept on going until we finally came across a large road, clearly some kind of highway. I looked around for any people, either ones we knew or ones we were escaping, but there was nobody in sight. I sat Alex down by the side of the road and armed him with a knife before delving into the forest, but not going far, ensuring I could still easily return to my friend if needed. I searched around, eyes peeled for any of my friends or family, desperately hoping I would see a small blond boy, or an old man, or a girl with curly hair. Nobody. I turned back around and headed towards where I left Alex, only to see it was empty. I searched the area, but there was no sign of him. All of a sudden, everything went black.

I don't know how much time passed, but when I woke up I saw all the friends and family I'd been looking for. We were all lined up kneeling in a semi-circle, much like the one we'd been in when Caleb was murdered. To my right was Owen, then Alex, then Willie, then Luke, then Julie then Dad on the end. I looked around and spotted Ryan talking to Ben and a shit ton of well-built men who could easily snap our necks. When Ryan saw I'd woken up, he grinned, slowly making his way over to me. "Good morning Bobby,"he said, kneeling in front of me. "Did you sleep well? I hope so." He nodded sarcastically before standing back up and walking around the semi-circle, smiling like a psycho. "I'm sure you're all aware of what happens when we gather you like this, as Ben so kindly demonstrated the other day. In the case you're wondering how we know each other, my dear friend Chad was in the military, as was Benny boy here. So, I'm telling you now we are not the people you want to be messing with." He paused his monologue for a second as he reached Luke, looking down at him with confusion and disgust. "Though I don't pity you,"he continued, resuming his journey around us. "You stupidly let the child, the diabetic and the dude who can barely use a gun go off by themselves and well... I'm honestly shocked they lasted as long as they did." He chucked manically, stepping into the centre and starting at us all in turn. "Now, we really must... punish you, for trying to be smart and break the rules we put in place." He glared at Willie. "We were so kind too, we easily could've killed you all, but we only did one, and that was to avenge our friend Max, who shall rest in peace. Unlike your little friend Reggie, who's resting in pieces." He stopped talking for a moment to laugh, joined quickly by the large gang of idiots around him. I glanced over at Luke, who was almost in tears. Looking around at the rest of our group, I noticed similar reactions from Dad and Julie, who had also been extremely close to him. Alex looked disappointed in himself, and Owen and Willie looked terrified. I noticed Alex's hand slowly go out and grasp Willie's offering him some comfort. "Now, another one of you shall join him,"Ryan continued, looking around at us. "But who, who who who shall it be?" His eyes landed on Owen, and Alex's dad instincts quickly kicked in.

"Don't you dare,"he threatened. Ryan laughed, walking right up to Alex.

"Aww, is he yours? You look very alike." He then thought for a moment, stepping back and claiming a baseball bat from Ben. "It would be so very cruel of me to kill a young boy in front of his father... so I won't. It would also be very, very cruel of me to kill a father in front of his son... but I have no problem doing that." With that, he swung the bat down on Alex's head, smashing his skull in immediately. His body bent backwards, his hand going limp in Willie's. Owen screamed a scream no child should ever have too, and Willie looked on in horror, unable to tear his eyes away from the mess. Ryan didn't stop there though, he stood over Alex's crumpled body and continued hitting his skull over and over again until it was a minced mess of flesh and brain. Then, and only then, did he stand back and admire his masterpiece, grinning wildly. "And that, my good friends,"he said, "Is what you get for fucking with us. And trust me, I have no issue with doing that to every single one of you if you try a stunt like that again, do you hear me?" Finally, he left, quickly followed by his herd of buff men. I dared a look over at Alex's body, his neck leading into a pile of red. Luke ran over to me and into my arms, sobbing into my shoulder. I wrapped myself around him and held him tightly, letting myself cry into his soft hair. I hadn't let myself cry when Reggie died, and there was no real time with my mom, Carlos or Caleb, so whilst I was crying for Alex, I was really crying for them all. Everyone we'd lost, from accidents, suicide and the hands of other, malicious humans. I let my eyes wonder over to Dad and Julie, who were holding each other tightly, trying to avoid looking at the remains of Alex. Willie had taken on comforting Owen, a young child who'd just lost his daddy, the only person he had left from before. The man who'd cared for him, protected him, let him live as much of a childhood as possible in the situation given. A man who deserved more than any of us to live to see the end of this madness. A man who'd just lost his life for no real reason at all. A man who had a family. I tightened my embrace with Luke, letting myself go with him in my arms, not worrying about the infected making their way towards us, not thinking about what the future holds for us, my only thoughts occupied by the man in my arms, and the knowledge that I must keep him alive at all costs, even if it means I don't make it.