The Dead and The Damned

Part 9

Blood. Blood everywhere. It's splattered across the ground, the walls, even the roof. I'm in a dank hallway, the putrid smell of death curling into my nose and making me gag. But the blood. There's so much blood. The color red is criss crossing in my vision. I reach out my hand to steady myself with the wall, but something slimy and sticky makes me flinch away. I glance down at my hand and see more blood. Blood blood blood. I stagger backwards, my mind reeling, when my feet catch on something and cause me to fall to the ground. My head connects with the floor, and black spots explode in my line of vision. I push myself up with shaky arms, trying to see past my blurry vision, when my gaze falls onto a body sprawled against the floor. I must've tripped over it. It looks alright, all in one piece, but then I look at its head. Half of its face look likes its been chewed off, its arm hanging limply across its forehead. Its lifeless eyes are settled on me. Gashes run across its cheeks, giving it a permanent smile. I open my mouth to scream, but nothing comes out. The body seems to come alive, sitting up slowly and reaching its arm forward to me. A tattoo thats stitched across their forearm bursts in front of my eyes. Cold, pain, hard. Cold, pain, hard. Cold, pain, hard. The words repeat through my mind. The body grabs my arm, twisting it at a painful angle, opening its mouth and leaning forward to nibble at my neck -

And then it's gone. Instead I'm sitting in a small bedroom, a kingsize bed with elegant red sheets covering it and rose petals scattered all over. Harry is now sitting in front of me, leaving a trail of kisses along my arm and continuing up to my neck.

"Sophie." He whispers against my skin, tugging at my dress sleeve. I glance down at the dress I'm wearing. A beautiful floral dress is tight against my skin. Harry kisses my neck again.

"Harry.." I mumble, shutting my eyes in pleasure. I feel him smile against my skin. When I open my eyes though, I'm standing on the roof of a building, the street far below covered in zombies. Suddenly, the door that opens up to the roof rattles behind me, and I whip around as it's busted down. Zombies come stumbling out, but it's a different kind of horror I feel when I see them. They're not just normal zombies - well they are, like dead and stuff weLL NO SHIT THEY'RE ZOMBIES AHem but anyways - but they're all walking corpses of the people I love. Sam. Mackenzie. My parents. My friends. Harry. That's enough to send me over the edge. Literally. I scream and back away, my foot slipping and sending me sprialing down towards the street. I scream and scream as I fall into nothingness. Falling. Falling. Blood. Cold, pain, hard. And then it's dark.

I wake up screaming, my heart thumping against my chest. Sweat is beaded on my forehead. Harry sits up next to me, his eyes tired and concerned.

"Sophie! What's wrong?" he asks. Tears threaten to spill down my cheeks, and I use any ounce of strength I have not to cry.

"Y-you were dead..a-and I was being bitten, a-and I fell. There was blood. Cold, pain, hard." I sob, burying my face into the crook of his neck. He hesitates before wrapping his arms around me, rubbing small circles on my back.

"Shh. Soph, it was just a nightmare. You're ok. You're safe. You're mine. I won't let anything hurt you." he soothes, kissing the top of my head. I whimper and pull him closer, and he lets me cry into his chest for a while. When I finally calm down, I wipe my eyes and look up at him. Like, really look at him. His eyes are tired, his face red, and his cuts healed but scabbed.

"A-are you ok? Where are we?" He smooths my hair down, peppering my face with kisses.

" 'M fine. My fever went down quite a bit. I don't have a headache anymore, either. And I think we're in some tiny town, like a little blip on the map. Sam and Niall are out by the fire." Harry explains, loosening his grip as I shimmy out of the bus door. I attempt to stand up, but the burning pain that flashes through my leg makes me crumple to the ground. Harry reaches down for me, scooping me up into his arms and carrying me over to Sam and Niall. He sits down with me in his lap, and I don't bother moving.