Gory Glory // l.t au

18 - Leila

Leila

I sighed with relief as the scrapyard came into view. I had been walking for a good half hour and my feet were starting to ache. I had only come across about three Breathers, all of which I had decapitated with my knife simply because it was quieter.

I searched through the pile of junk, yet failed to discover anything of use. All I could find were tyres that clearly wouldn't fit, bits of old, rusted metal and items I struggled to even identify. I couldn't ignore the surge of panic that was beginning to arise from within me as the possibility of unearthing a tyre began to deteriorate. I had kept calm and collected for Louis' sake, but, truth be told, if I can't locate a tyre here then I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do. It's not as if I could just 'get a new car'; I was incredibly lucky to have found one at all. Well, I should rephrase that as 'car-jacked', but 'found' sounds much more pleasant.

A jubilant scream was caught in my throat as I finally uncovered a tyre that seemed to meet the appropriate standards and fit the measurements. I heaved it from the pile and, using all the strength I could muster, managed to roll it down the heap. It landed with a thud, dust clouds forming around it due to the impact of it's weight. I extended my arms in the air, leaning back to hear my spine let out a satisfying crack. I hurried down the mound, careful not to trip. I lifted the tyre with great difficulty and began rolling it away. Just as I was about to retreat, my gaze froze on what appeared to be a wrench in a dead Breather's hand. I mean, actually dead this time...

I inquisitively approached the motionless creature with the metal firmly in it's grip. I don't own a wrench, but I need one in order to fix the tyre. I grasped hold of it in my attempts to free it from the Breather. I tugged it towards me, but proved unsuccessful. My yanks grew stronger until I screamed in surprise when it's head jerked up and it pounced on top of me, pinning me down with it's hands. My reflexes had simmered down due to the weapon that I usually possessed, but I had foolishly tucked it away so I could handle the tyre better.

I could see the Breather was once a woman, but was now nothing more than a decomposing monster. I struggled out of it's grip, and eventually managed to pry it off me as I shoved it to the ground. I reached down to retrieve the blade from my boot, but as I was doing so, the Breather leaped up and dug it's teeth into my arm.

“Shit!” I yelled, kicking it off me. I held the knife to it's neck, and in one swift movement, drew it across, resultantly decapitating it. It landed on the ground with a thud, and the atmosphere was surrounded with an eerie silence once more. I wasted no time in lifting my arm up to inspect it. A clear bite mark was engraved into my flesh, the blood yet to overflow from the gash.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” I muttered continuously to myself. I could feel my pulse quickening and my attempts to keep calm were gradually fragmenting. I paced aimlessly back and forth as I began to feel my entire world stop. I wouldn’t allow myself to come to terms with what just happened. If I refuse to admit it, maybe it won’t be true. Maybe I’ll be okay.

Refusing to waste any more time over-thinking everything, I ripped a strip of my shirt off, revealing my stomach. Only then did I realize I’ve gained quite a few abs over the past few months.

I know exactly why I’m focusing on this seemingly unimportant detail. I’m not going to let my mind wander to what I really need to be thinking about. I absent-mindedly tied the ribbon of material around the wound, absorbing the crimson blood. I tucked the wrench down the back of my pants alongside my pistol. I proceeded to haul the tyre up once more and, taking a deep breath, roll it down the path to return to my friend.

As my thoughts drifted to a particular boy with aqua eyes waiting for me by the Jeep, all but one dissolved in an instant.

Should I tell him?

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*ducks from random objects being thrown my way*