Apocalyptic Love

Recklessness

"Matt? Is that you?" I whispered through the walkie talkie as I headed to the hallway outside our room.

The machine crackled before I heard his voice again "Katie. I'm trapped, there's too many" My heart was beating out of my chest as I listened to his cracking voice.

"Where are you?" I pushed back.

"Lime wood hotel" His voice echoed back.

I didn't respond, I didn't even breathe as my feet carried me towards the armory. I knew Carter would be angry that I didn't wake him but after tonight I didn't want him in danger, even if that meant him being mad at me.

Andrew was standing guard outside the building when I marched in front of him, he tilted his head slightly as he took in my determined stance.

"I need weapons, my uncle replied. He's trapped and I need to go get him" Andrew nodded, turning around and unlocking the building.

"Wait here" I nodded, tapping the heel of my boots against the pavement impatiently. What was minutes, felt like hours before he came back; Two pistols and a machete in his hands. I knew their guns were short so I would have to make do "Where is Carter, you can't go alone".

"Waiting in the car" I nodded a thankyou and grabbed the weapons before he had a chance to argue, I felt bad for lying but I couldn't have anyone else in danger.

It wasn't until I climbed into the driver's side of the car and marked the map I realised I couldn't actually drive; I slammed my hands against the thickness of the wheel. I watched Carter do this, surely it couldn't be that hard?.

I turned the keys and pulled the gear stick to "D" feeling the car vibrate underneath me.

Good start.

My foot pushed against the pedals as the car moved forward too fast, my head colliding with the headrest as I quickly removed my heel and tried again with less pressure. It was a bumpy ride and an hour's drive took me double that as I neared closer to the town.

The dead were outnumbering me as I made it into the town, I turned the wheel to move around them, but the force took control, the wheel twisting too far as I lost control of the vehicle. The car jumped as the dead were splattered under the front wheels, their bodies crushing under the weight until the front of the car slammed into a tree. My head flew forward and collided with the steering wheel, I tried to grab the throbbing pain but when I pulled my hand away, red blood dripped down my fingers. I cursed under my breath as I held the length of my shirt to the wound to slow the bleeding.

When the white spots across my vision slowed I noticed a huge herd heading for me through the rear mirror, following the sound of the spluttering engine. The door was trapped by the weight if the crash, so I hooked my pack to my shoulder and climbed through the sunroof.

I made a run for it, hiding between the shadows cast by the trees, most the corpses stayed littered around the car, which was now on fire, while the rest followed the stench of my fresh blood.

"Matt, where abouts are you?" I whispered into the walkie as I neared the hotel. It looked relatively empty, but I had no way of seeing inside so who knew what death trap was awaiting me.

"Katie. It's too dangerous, you shouldn't have come" The voice bleeped back.

"You are my family, I don't care. I'm outside where are you?".

The hotel was five stories high, huge concrete pillars around the walls and arch windows that covered the perimeter of the stone building.

"I'm in the main hall, ground floor. But they are everywhere. I'm stood on the stage, but they are starting to pile on top of each other".

I didn't wait around; my adrenaline was on high force as I ran around to the back entrance, slamming my knife into the corpses head that was blocking my way in. My footsteps were soft as I snuck through the hotel, slowly taking out the dead from behind before I noticed two large, wooden doors that led into the main hall. Two windows sat on the middle of each door and when I peered through my stomach dropped.

Matt was stood on the stage, his exhausted body slowly taking out the dead that neared too close. The room was filled, their snarls echoed from each inch of the huge hall. I needed a distraction to lead them away because there was no way I could get through them without getting myself killed in the process.

I raided the reception and found a small Walkman with a disc already in the device, slowly creeping back to the double doors I pulled them open without the dead noticing me.

"When they leave you run, I'll meet you round the back" I spoke through the device as I crept back outside to the entrance.

"Don't do anything stupid bug" Matt replied.

"Stupid is my middle name Spartacus". I laughed before turning the volume to full, the sound blasting when I pressed play, the music blaring through my ears as I held it above my head.

The moment they started following the sound I retreated backwards slowly, keeping myself out of their reach. Their mouths snapped as they grew closer to me until eventually the doorway was clear for Matt, he spoke back into the walkie to tell me he was out but the moment I turned around I collided with the rotting chest of a corpse, dropping to the ground as I used my arm to keep the distance between us.

Gore dripped from each cavity of its mouth as it snarled and thrashed its hands trying to reach me. I tried to grab my knife, but I couldn't do that without letting the monster get too close and the crowd was growing closer with each passing second. Pushing with all my weight I used my arms to inch the corpse off me until I was on top of it with my knees pinning its arms down, I quickly unsheathed my knife from my waist and pushed it through its fragile skull before running from the incoming mob.

The moment I reached the back of the hotel I saw my uncle leaning against the stone wall holding his side in pain and my heart dropped. The first thing that crossed my mind was that he was bitten so before I even spoke a word I lifted his shirt. A small hole rested above his jeans seeping blood.

"It's a gunshot from the farm. Must have re-opened" he sent a re-assuring smile before pulling me into a hug "I've missed you kiddo".

I looked to his tired brown eyes; he looked exhausted as his lids dropped. "I missed you too, you got a car? I crashed mine" I laughed as I put his arm over my shoulder to help him walk, we had to be fast before the herd caught up to us.

"Car? You can't even drive Katie" Matt looked worried while I smiled, his finger tracing the small gash across my forehead "That's what you get dumbass, I've got a car down the road, but you aren't driving".

"No shit" We carried on to the car, Matt leaning against my weight most of the way. I helped him climb into the driver's side before joining him and handing him a bottle of water from my pack.

"We found a camp, with good people" I pointed to a location on the map.

Matt's brow's furrowed as he looked over to me confused "We?", I knew I wasn't going to tell him about me and Carter yet, it was new, and nothing was official yet and plus I'd only just reunited with him.

"I made it of the farm with Carter, been with him since. We found a camp in a school, and they let us join" He huffed a sigh of relief "Ramon?".

Matt's eyes lowered "Ramon got hit at the shoot out, I got him out, but he didn't make it, I haven't seen Crystal since that night" He paused as he started the car.

"We saw her before we got out, the dead got her" My thoughts drifted to the fate she was left with, she deserved much more than that ending.

"She was a good kid" Matt gripped my hand "But I'm glad you wasn't alone".

"Me too".

Edited