Dead Rising: The Run Aways

Chapter Ten

The sick in the street begin brainlessly trudging towards us.

            I let go of Mitch’s hand, reach my hand behind my back, feel for the opening in my bag, and pull out my bow. Then, I retrieve a long, pointed bow out of the bag hung over my shoulder.

            Keeping my eye on the enemy coming towards us, I steady the arrow on the bow, and get ready to shoot.

            I squint one of my eyes, trying to see them.

            I aim for one of their heads and shoot. The arrow flies through the air, and I stare as it strikes one of them in the head, sending its blood across the black top of the road.

            The movement gets the attention of the others, and I curse.

            I look over at Mitch and see he’s already got his shotgun out and has loaded it with shells. He makes a face as he cocks it back and shoots one.

            Then another.

            And another.

            He starts making his way towards the gas station, and I follow him, continuing to shoot my arrow, but eventually stop because I keep missing.

            Instead, I run up to the one I had killed.

            It’s a little girl.

            A strong sense of regret shoots up my spine and my head now feels like it has its own heartbeat.

            She looks to be only around six or seven. She has light blue eyes and this bleach blonde hair that reminds me so much of summer. The little girl is wearing torn, ripped, dirty white capris with a little t-shirt that says ‘WestPoint Elementary School Chorus’.

            She was so young with so much life left to live and I just killed her.

            But I stop myself.

            I didn’t kill her. That disease did. I didn’t kill her.

            I tell myself this over and over as I yank the arrow out of her undeveloped skull.

            After I do this, I look around at all the corpses now lying around me.

            All these people, and one thing killed them all.

            “Hey Dylan, it’s clear over here!” I suddenly hear Mitch yell across to me from outside the small gas station.

            I take one more glance at the little girl, trying to remember everything little thing about her that I can. I lean over her body, and close her eyelids carefully shut. Then, I walk silently towards Mitch, trying to hide my current mixed up emotions. I don’t want him to think of me as weak, because I’m not.

            I’m just now coming to the realization that this illness is much, much more widespread and easily given than I thought it was originally.

            “So what was up with you back there? I didn’t know I would be doing all the shooting now.” Mitch says as he puts a strap on his gun, and puts it on.

            I come up with a quick explanation.

            “My bow and arrow is too slow. I need another weapon.”

            This gets his attention immediately and he smirks this sideway smirk that I’ve always found attractive on any guy.

            “I could teach you how to shoot. It’s actually pretty easy if you can aim, and from what I’ve seen, you can aim pretty damn well.”