Footprints in the Blood

TEN

Day 12

Carter lets me go first, and I pull Kel behind me. We can hear the infected moving all around us, the small space magnifying the sound, until it feels like we're drowning in it. Neither of us speak, but I can't stop the shakes that rake my body. The infected are closer than before, their rotting flesh reaching up through the ceiling panels.

As Carter pulls himself up beside us, his eyes zero in on my face. I can't distinguish his look through the darkness, but I can almost feel his concern. I'm sure he can feel the fear in me and I work hard at trying to push it down. I feel him move, a second before his hand lands on my arm. The contact is calming and exactly what I needed. He doesn't speak, so I don't say anything either, but I turn to crawl back the way we came.

We move slowly, much more so than on the way to find Kel, because there is extra weight added to the ceiling panels now. She's staying a trooper, but I'm not sure how long that will last. Since this started, I've seen people do a complete one-eighty in a span of seconds. It's how we lost so many people in the beginning.

The sound of the Infected grows louder, and I know we're right over the hallway now. There's something different about the way they feel and I freeze. Kel doesn't stop moving though, continuing in the straight line toward the direction I pointed out earlier. But I still can't move. Carter is right behind me now and I can tell he's wondering what's going on. Yet, I can't explain it. I couldn't even if I could speak right now. Something was off.

The feeling of wrongness intensifies the second before the panels drop out from beneath us. Carter's arms manage to drag me toward his body, trapping me against his body, cushioning our fall.

I scream, the sound much louder than I would like it to be, before we slam into the floor. The infected don't waste a second and move to surround us. We crushed a few who were right under the panels, but they're already starting to move. Frantically, I glance around, but Kel is still in the ceiling. From my position, I can see other areas of the ceiling and the marks on them. The infected must've been trying to get up there and the panels gave.

"Carter, come on!" I tug on his arm, kicking at the closest Infected, when I realize that Carter is bleeding. His head has a gash on the side from where he hit the floor. Pulling my knife out of the sheath, I stab at the Infected reaching for Carter, but only manage to lose my weapon in his skin.

"Carter!" I hiss, and when he groans, I sigh with relief. The panels and our entrance made a bit of a circle in the midst of the Infected, but they are now completely turned on us. If we don't move now, we won't be moving ever again.

One of the Infected reaches me then, yanking at my skin with all the intensity of a rabid dog. They always attack like this, before they realize they can't smell me. But it doesn't stop them from swinging in my direction. There's a second where I think I'm a goner and then Carter is there. His machete is almost an extension of his arm, as he swipes it over my head, cutting the head right off the monster.

"Come on!" Carter is on his feet, and pulling me away, before I can even realize he's up. He drags me in the opposite direction of where the rest of our people are, but I don't comment. His hand feels solid and comforting around mine, even in the midst of our flight. He pulls us around the corner, pinning me against the wall with his body.

I feel him as intensely as the wall against my back. His smell overshadows everything else around us and I breathe him in deeply.

"Here," his voice brings me back to reality and I glance down as he places a long knife in my hands. That's when I realize we're still standing still, the infected are not pursuing us as they usually do. Wrapping my hand around the knife's handle, we both lean around the corner. The Infected have stopped, mere feet away from us, creating a barrier between us and the room where we left everyone.

"I don't understand," I mumble, leaning back against the wall. Carter looks down at me, his eyes glowing in the darkness and even though I should be terrified, I'm not. There is something calming about him and something calming about this near to him. But even so, I can see his mind moving, as he figures something out that I can't.

"What is it?" I ask, leaning closer to whisper in his ear.

"They're acting like soldiers." He replies, his voice sending goosebumps over my skin. The sensation distracts me from his words for a second, before the reality sets in.

Carter doesn't give me a moment to react, but takes my hand again, leading me away from the hallway. Moving quietly, but with precision, he finds a room with no Infected and pulls me in behind him. Even though we're alone, I don't let go of him, the truth of everything from the last few hours becoming as bright as day in my mind.

"That means they're following orders." I say, no longer able to control my fear. Everything is spinning out of control. Every new discovery just makes our survival possibility slimmer. I can't imagine this being the reality of my life, but here it is.

They're not just monsters. They're weapons.