BITTEN

Chapter 6-The Sewer

Dedicated to @JessePenelope for the new lovely cover.

The writings on the wall were really creepy. Everything seemed creepy.

"Roman, what happened earlier? Why wasn't one gun shot able to kill the Zombies anymore?" I asked, silently in shock.

"If I'm correct," he said, "the Z-Virus is getting stronger and so are the Zombies."

"What does that mean for Mark?" I asked, hoping for a good response.

"It means it's not going to be long before he..."

"Before he does what?"

"Before he turns into a Zombie." Roman completed.

I punched the wall in anger. How many more innocent people will suffer in the hands of this epidemic?

"You gotta kill him before he turns into one of those things." Roman suggested.

"But I can't just kill him." I opposed.

"So, you want him to kill you?"
I thought of it deeply, without answering.

Mark was now resting inside a little empty room. I knew he was now alone.

"Okay," Roman began, "here's your chance. He's all alone, sleeping. Go kill him and save him from his misery."

Roman handed me a pillow and I took it slowly. What did he expect me to do? Smother Mark to death with the pillow?

"John," he added, "I'm trying to teach you to be strong. In times like these, the weak dies, while the strong lives. Be strong."

Be strong. That was all that was in my head as I got into the tight little room. Mark was still asleep. My hands shook while I took a few step closer to him. I gotta kill him, I thought. I took a deep breath and slowly, I moved the pillow closer to Mark's face and was prepared to smother him to death.

"I'm sorry Mark." I said, silently under my breath.

All my hard work was cut short when I heard the growling of zombies. The growling outside of the room was so loud that it woke Mark up, but I had already dropped the pillow down before he could realize my intention.

"What's going on?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"It seems the Zombies are hunting in packs."I informed.

I heard Mark curse a little as I helped him up. Hurriedly, we opened the door and almost immediately, we shut it. Bang! The zombies were right in front of the door, waiting for us to come out. Or so I thought, until the zombies started to pummel the door. I looked at the window for a way out but darn it. It was too small. Half of me wouldn't even go through it. There was no time to think. The zombies were already ripping the door apart, and it was loosing its grip. Hinge by hinge.

"Hey Mark," I yelled, "search on the floor. Maybe there's a secret passage or something."

It seemed odd but in the heat of the moment, that was all I could think of.

"Hey, I found something. " Mark called out.

I checked it out, it was like an underground passage indeed. There was one problem though. It was locked.

"It's locked? We're toasted." Mark fidgeted.

"I'm not dying yet. Do you have any thing like a pin?"

"Think so." he replied, and brought out just the right pin I needed.

I tried to unlock the lock with the pin. I had done that on multiple occasions but now, when I needed it the most, it was failing me. Tension rose through my vain as I watched the zombies burst the door open. It was then I unlocked the passage. In no time we jumped in and no one told me to lock the underground passage in a jiffy.

"Thank goodness." I said to myself.

I felt water soaking my Jean trousers. I looked down only to see that water had covered the ground level. It was then it hit me that we were in a sewer tunnel. The smell in the sewer could probably kill someone, but it was a whole lot better than being eaten by the zombies or turning into one. I covered my nose with my hands and brought out a little torchlight I always had in my pocket. I could now see the tunnel properly . It contained piles of human waste, and the water stinked to the core. I wondered where it led to.

"How's your arm doing?" I asked Mark, but he didn't respond.

"Mark! Mark!" I called out.
Still no response. Where the hell was he? I searched in the waters and finally I felt the body.

"There you are." I said, and pulled out the body, only to find out that it was that of a dead zombie .

Yuck! I tried not to scream, and immediately, I dropped it back into the water in fright. My hands skimmed over the water and I felt another body. But this time, it was Mark's. I raised him up, and watched him breath heavily as water gushed out of his mouth.

"Thank you." he said, trying to catch his breath.

"Let's get out of here." I said, observing the water.

"Can you make me a promise?" he spoke, with his eyes filled with tears.

"Yes. Anything?"

"Promise me I'll see my daughter again. That's my wish. I just wanna see my daughter again. Even if it's just once. I don't wanna die without seeing her again." he said, sincerely.

I wasn't particularly sure I could fulfil that promise, but I wanted to.

"You'll see your daughter again." I told him, "I promise."

We hadn't gone too far, when I realized the water which had reached my knees before, had almost gotten to my waist. There was probably a leakage in the sewer or something.

"Hey Mark," I began, "do you realize that the water level is increasing?"

He gave me no answer. I looked at him and I observed something. The zombie effects had started to kick in. I swear, I could hear him screech a little. He was breathing heavily.

"That's it . You have to relax. Let us take a little break for about five minutes or so."

He nodded in agreement.

So we decided to stop moving for about five minutes. I swear, that was the longest five minutes I had ever witnessed. Crazy thoughts ran through my head. Should I kill him now? Just in case he was turning into a real zombie . Or should I wait a little, in a bid to grant him his last wish to see his daughter again?
Slowly, I brought out a dagger; ready to kill Mark. I couldn't believe I was doing this. Deep down I didn't want to do it, but did I really have a choice?

Mark was now resting on the walls, with his eyes closed. I found myself raising the dagger up in the air with my fidgeting hands. I stood behind him ready to strike. Dang! What goes up must come down, and the dagger wasn't an exception.

A/N
Thanks again for reading and shout out to everyone who read this book. I love you all.