Deceased

Chapter One

One year later

Run. Run. Run

The sound of my boots hitting the hard pavement is what keeps me going. I follow the beat of my feet, not daring to slow down but too tired to speed up.

I can't do this
Yes you can! Keep going. Almost there...

My lungs feel as if they're about to burst and my legs burn from the overuse.

KEEP GOING, DAMMIT!

My thoughts spur me on, as well as my imagination of what the biters would do to me as soon as they catch up. Their growls echo off the walls of nearby buildings and I nearly choke on a sob, screaming in frustration.

Yes, be angry. Focus on your anger. Let it spur you to keep moving.

I finally see the building I'm looking for. Without even glancing back I jump up onto the ladder attached to the building and promptly climb it. I'm barely out of reach when the first biter slams itself into the wall beneath the ladder. I keep climbing until I reach the top, collapsing onto my sleeping bag.
I'm sobbing and shivering violently, not just from the close call, but also because of the guilt I feel inside of me.

It's October in Florida and the weather is beginning to cool, especially in mornings and nights. Dusk is settling and I'm grateful I made it back before darkness fell.

I wrap a blanket around my shoulders, peering over the edge of the building. Five of the biters surround the ladder, their disgusting hands stretching up towards me. The worst thing about them are their eyes. So cold and emotionless. Black and empty.

I groan laying back down on my blankets. Everytime I close my eyes I see him desperately pleading. I hear him screaming. Begging for his life. I didn't help him though. I ran. I was too scared.

Hot, wet tears slide quickly down my cheeks and I don't even bother wiping them away.

You're nothing but a coward, I think to myself.

I eventually stand up to rummage around in my bag, pulling out a can of corn beef hash. I've never understood how people always ate it cooked. I've eaten it straight out of the can since I was a kid. Warm food is gross usually.
I eat it silently, staring out over the small town I'm in.

"It's time to move on, you know," I state to the wind swirling around me.

"It's time to go," I say to myself quietly, wrapping my blanket around me tighter and laying down. I drift off to sleep quickly.

☣☢☣☢☣☢☣☢☣☢☣☢☣

"Alex!" I whisper shout his name trying to find him in the dark store. Shivers run down my body as his name echoes throughout the large space.

I turn in a slow circle trying to determine where he may be. I'm about to walk down an aisle when a hand clamps over my mouth and I'm pulled from behind into what I'm guessing used to be a supply closet. I'm too scared to even attempt to scream.
I hear a low chuckle before the hold on me is loosened and I spin around hitting him and mumbling a string of curses.

"I hate you," I tell him.

"Do you?"

"Yes. A lot."

"Well then I'm going to have to change that, aren't I?" He leans his arms against the wall on either side of me, trapping me in. I giggle placing my hands on his warm chest.

He leans forward slowly, kissing me gently. "Do you hate me now?"

"A little," I reply playfully.

"I'll have time to change that later then, won't I?" He smirks playing with my hair.

"You will. And the faster we gather supplies, the faster you'll be able to change it."

He leans down giving me one more kiss before opening the supply closet door and leaving.

I smile, following after. We fill our bags with anything important. In my case it's a bag filled with water bottles, food, a stick of deodorant, and some female hygiene items. Damn period.
We've both went off on our own in the dark quiet store.

What happens next will never be eradicated from my memories.
I hear a loud crash and Alex cries out in pain. I run towards the direction of the sound, not even caring about the sound of my echoing footsteps.

I turn the corner of an aisle and see him trapped under a fallen shelf.

"Alex! Are you okay? What happened?" He seems a little dazed and looks up at me.

"I climbed it... and it fell," he says slowly.

"You're an idiot," I mumble.

I kneel and slowly begin lifting it for him to slide out, but it's much heavier than it looks. He's definitely going to be bruised tomorrow. I keep trying to lift it.

"I thought... I saw somebody," he says breathlessly. "A person... not a biter... but I guess the dark... was causing me to see things."

"Shutup," I say angrily. "I'm going to get you out of here, but only if you can be quiet," I say managing to lift it off of him an inch.

"My legs are trapped," he says better able to breathe now that the shelf is off his chest a little. I'm trying to lift it more when I hear a moan and stop dead. I look up and see five biters stumbling towards us, their mouths opening and snapping shut hungrily.

"Hurry up Amber," he shouts now, having already been spotted. He tries lifting up desperately now, but his trapped arms can't really find purchase. I struggle to lift it up another inch and the biters are twenty feet away now.

"I can't do it," I cry out.

"Nononono, don't you dare do this to me Amber. Don't you dare! You can do this. C'mon just another inch!"

The biters are ten feet away now and I shake my head in defeat. "I'm sorry," I say tears filling my eyes. I slowly drop the shelf down onto him gently and kiss his forehead whispering, "I love you."

They're five feet from us now and I run. He screams for me begging and shouting. All five stages of grief seem to pass over him in the five seconds it takes for them to reach him.

Denial.

Anger.

Bargaining.

Depression.

And the last is what makes me cry even harder. Acceptance. He cries out "I love you too," as the biters descend on him and he screams in pain before it cuts off.

I run out of the store taking all of the back roads. Some biters see me and give chase but most give up.

Run. Run. Run.

Hello! Thank you very much whoever is reading this. I just wanted to post this chapter to see how people react to it and if they like it. If you guys do then I will start posting the other chapters every week. Please, please, please comment what you think and give me some constructive criticism if I need it! Also you can message me or comment how you think the story should go. Vote and/or comment if you like it! Thank you.