In The Blink of an Eye (A Zombie Story)

Leave it all behind

The sun tilted through the glass of the windshield harshly and warmed my bare hands soothingly, like mittens on a chilled winter day. I was thankful for the warmth for once.

It had been hours now since we'd left the school, yet I was still shaking...still fearing what I'd seen back in the auditorium.

That thing...what was it? Its eyes reminded me of a rabid dog, bloodshot and wide as they darted around the room and locked onto its' next victim. A shudder racked my body at the mental image of it tearing away at those helpless people.....There was so much blood from it all, splattered onto the hardwood floor and some even on the walls.

Hell, it painted the room.

The janitors would definitely have fun with that I think, scrubbing away at all the thick red that covered the once beautiful room.

As tasteless as it was, I felt a wistful smile twist onto my lips at the thought of something resembling normality, the routine Janitors coming to clean our messes.Though my smile dropped as fast as it had come when the look in my classmate's' eyes flashed through my mind and made me gag. 

They were like a deer caught in headlights, begging for help as they were hit. I think they knew they were dead as soon as they felt teeth sink into their exposed skin and into various arteries and veins, watching their own life slip away from them in thick crimson that pooled around them. That thing... I really knew what it was, deep down I knew what this was, but pretending I didn't made it better for everyone else. It would give reassurance to those who needed it. 

My eyes flicked briefly to see the shaken group piled in the back, scanning over their wide shocked orbs and trembling frames. My grip tightened on the already abused steering wheel as I fought to not break down, because even if I didn't look it, I was in the same state. But I'm the one stuck having to be strong while they lose their heads to panic. I barely felt the sigh that escaped me. It was unfair to think like that. So I didn't. I stared at the dark road that stretched as far as I could see and clamped my hands over the wheel to keep from shaking instead. My thoughts raced and I tried to stop them, but they slashed through my weak defenses and  landed on one specific fact that had been troubling me since we'd left.

I had been assigned as the Leader of our group...unanimously and silently because of what I did in the Auditorium I guess. I'm not cut for being followed, I'm more of a follower. The more I thought about it, the harder I strangled the poor leather steering wheel.

I hated being in charge and hell, I don't even know why I am. I get flustered and reckless when panicked. I wouldn't be able to carry them through this. I'd get them killed...

An involuntary sigh escaped me, one that I hadn't noticed until I felt it stagger from my own mouth. I needed to really try to catch myself before stress-fully letting out my breaths, it could snatch the others' attention and I didn't want that, not now. I was tired. I tried to empty my head of thoughts, but one just kept buzzing back stubbornly, poking at me like a playful child. except right now, I didn't want to play.

'What really caused this?' I thought with pensive accusations, my thoughts first darting to the Government or evil plans gone wrong. I sounded like my fucking Grandpa with his conspiracy theories. I shook my head minutely to try and dispel my lingering thoughts, the small action making me a bit dizzy. Yet not a second later, another question popped up.  'What could even?' No matter how much I picked my brain, I couldn't think of anything that sounded right. No virus or disease came to mind that could mutate to this extent, not even Mad Cow Disease could do this. I hated not knowing what I was up against. I hated sitting here without a plan and wasting our precious fuel on going nowhere.