"Fuck..."
It was all I could muster as my battered body fell against an old withered tree. Back pressed hard against the trunk, I dig my heels into the ground below to keep myself from losing balance. I knew I needed to keep moving, but if I could rest for just a minute, one lousy minute, it would be enough for my lungs to not feel like they are being expelled from my body. Breathing hurt. I knew I had bruised ribs down my left side, hell, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them were cracked.
"Slow deep breaths, come on...not too fast or you will faint again"
How the hell did my life get to this point. Three years ago, I was a young and ambitious newly wed, 21 years old, with an amazing husband and our precious newborn twin boys. Life was perfect. We were happy. Everyone was happy. It was a great time to be alive.
That life seemed distant now. Here I am, always watching my back, always on the move. The only motivation that has kept me going, hell I don't even know. Maybe it's insanity, because death would be the easiest way out of this hell hole, and I wouldn't have to deal with this shit anymore. I try not to think about it, the circumstances that led me to this point, well I wouldn't say led, more like dragged me through the pits of hell. Everything that I have witnessed, and the things I have had to do to enable my own survival. I would rather forget.
"Come on girl...breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...breathe o..."
SNAP!
Panic rushes through my body. I hold my breath for a moment, listen intently, trying to figure out the direction of where the noise had come from. My breathing shallows while my senses heighten.
SNAP! "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhh..."
There, to my right, shuffling through the foliage. A fucking walker about 25ft away and it looks like it brought about a half dozen of its friends with him. They must have sniffed me out, and here they were, on the path of the narrow clearing. Of course it is the only other way out apart from which I had just come from. Goddammit, I didn't have my hammer. I had dropped it back at the river. Pacing backwards, I knew it was only a matter of time before I got to the edge of a 100ft drop down to some jagged rocks. I could run back in the direction I came from, but then I would be running back into the horror of which I was trying to escape, which is just as terrifying as what I am facing at this very moment. Also, no way I going to try and weave my way through the dense wooded area. Who knows what sort of psychos and traps are out here. Fuck it, I'm just going to have to run through them. If I make it through, then I can out run them, if I don't, then my fate will be no different from if the other guys caught up to me.
"Come on. If you are going to do it...do it now"
I run at pace towards them, and as I approach closer, I realise that there are twice as many walkers than I initially thought. Shit, I am going to have to be really careful about this. I dodge the first few easily, then shoulder charged one behind them. Ducking and dodging, I manage to get through. A sense of relief sweeps over me, which is short lived. I feel my foot hook into a hidden tree root, I feel the strain on my ankle as I am sent diving onto the over grown.
My arms shoot out in front of me attempting to break my fall. An expulsion of air escapes past my lips as my already broken body slams against the ground. If none of my ribs were cracked before, they definitely would be now.
Looking back towards the walkers, I can see that they have turned around and have already started making their way towards me. I go to stand up, but an excruciating burning pain shoots through my entire right leg. I look over to my leg, there is a tear in my jeans, minimal blood, and there was a piece of rusty corrugated iron protruding from the outside of my thigh.
"What the fuck?"
I fucking landed on it when I fell. That is all I needed at this moment. Grabbing the piece of iron, I try to pull it out. Pain shoots through my leg, I feel the muscles tighten around the piece of metal and my entire legs feels like it's on fire. . It is deep in there. It won't budge. I felt the warmth of blood over my thigh from the wound. Scrambling backwards, I stare at the walkers, as the gap between me and them closes. There isn't much I can do, but drag myself as much as I can. The walkers gain on me, all I see is the nothingness in their eyes, the decay of their flesh, and their hunger for mine. Always hungry. With all the blood pouring out of my leg, I begin to feeling light headed. The groans and shuffling get closer, I can see my world closing in.
"HEY!!! SHOOT EM!! KILL EM NOW!!!"
BANG!!! BANG!!!
"GET HER OUTTA HERE!!!"
BANG!!!
Darkness...
