Despair

Despair | Chapter 24

He collapsed to the floor, a sword stuck clean through his body, the mark of death.

It was with a thud that his body hit the ground.

With glassy eyes he looked up at the sky, and he breathed in one last time before he whispered his last words. "I... I did it." His eyes shone with true emotion before they darkened. The life drained out of his face.

Mason.

Tears dripped down my checks. I aimed at the zombies and shot them, gritting my teeth in pain. My arms were giving up. It seemed like the whole of me was—slowly, losing hope just like how the life had streamed out of Mason's dying face.

I reached James at last. His eyes widened and he aimed at me.

Legs tiring, I fell to the floor as the bullet zipped over my head. Persisting, I stood up. My mind spun.

"How?" James demanded, anger in his voice.

I gave a shrug and managed to shoot James in the leg. He scrambled away, sending bullets at me.

The bullets hit my arm, making the pistol fall to the ground with a clang.

"Come on," I muttered as I slowly dragged my rocket launcher out.

I aimed at James and pulled the trigger.

Bam.

Dust flew everywhere; I coughed, covering my face with my sleeve, then tentatively opened my eyes to see James lying in the middle of the floor, amongst the explosion.The launcher, now empty, was only dead weight. I threw it away.

A groan came from behind me. I turned and shot a zombie, who had been clutching the useless rocket launcher. I frowned—could they not tell the difference between a useful and not useful weapon? Apparently.

There was an itch in the back of my throat.

Then I remembered.

James.

It was a miracle I hadn't been shot already; I whipped around.

James was out of sight, and he hadn't left a trace behind.

He's gone.

Abigail, who had been evidently fighting through the crowd of zombies, emerged. Her hair was in a wild frenzy, her eyes beacons of frantic light. Her expression was full of fear as she gazed at me. "Evan!" she shouted.

Something lit inside me at the sight of her. She was alive.

"Abigail, there you are! James's gone!" I called.

Her words were pulled out of her throat in a rush. "EVAN, HE'S BEHIND YOU!"

"What?" I hollered back. Something about me.

"I SAID, HE'S BEHIND YOU!"

Then a zombie reached for her and she disappeared, once again, into the crowd of the undead.

Crap.

My head spun around so fast stars appeared in my view for a second. And there he was.

We were so close our weapons were almost touching. There was a strange light in his eyes as he shouldered the rocket launcher and pointed it at me—his finger firm on the trigger.

My breath caught.

Lifting a shaky arm, I aimed my very last pistol at him.