Z: In The Heart of the Queen City

Chapter 17

“No fucking way are you telling what to do again!” Martin grouched. “This is really not the time to go play hero.” “No one's playing hero, I just don't want to die a zombie and end up eating some other human's brain for dinner!” I told him. Our conversation was halted when a shot was fired so close to my ear. Karen slammed her first to the stone ground. “That's it! I'm sick of this shit!”

“Karen, you better not do anything stupid.” I told her.

“No Em, I'm just scared! I don't know what's more terrifying being so close to being shot to death or the thought of those...those..” Karen said her eyes beginning to fill with tears now.

 “Z's” I stressed looking up at the red sky, “Let's call them that and if it makes you feel better I'm scared shit of them too.”

 “Time to surrender midget! No one is going to save you now!” It was a familiar female voice, I looked over to my shoulder to see that it was the Chinese lady who was I quote All About the Bass. Then I dove, I was Emma Fucking EL Diva at that moment, just diving and dodging shots. Fuck, this was no use, they were going to get to us one way or another. When I heard Sam yell, “Cease fire!” an idea crept into me. With the last amount of courage that drove Martin nuts I stood up with my hands in the air. “SAM! Don't shoot! It's over the zombies are here! We have to work together if we want to make it out here alive!” I pleaded shaking as I walked closer. I wonder what a gunshot wound felt like? I prayed to God that it wouldn't hurt as much. Sam lowered his rifle then he began to rub his eyes as if the whole reality began to sunk in. He and his group were in reverse triangle position with him closest to me. “Emma, I was just following orders. The Marked One...” Sam began. I frowned at him, “The Marked One isn't here to save you anymore Sam! His whole fucking regime is over! That fucktard was just the stupidest fucker ever! All of you should just get the fuck out of here if you want to live!” I said, leveling my hands to my shoulders now. Sam let go of his gun and so did the rest of the people behind him. “I'm sorry Emma, I was just scared...it was leave or die...” He told me and the tears began to form on the corners of his eyes. “Sam, it's okay...” I looked behind me, Martin and the rest were standing already while Jaycee was still leaning for support. Without turning to Sam I continued, “We can do this, we can work toge..”

Then Karen screamed, I turned to Sam again. Blood was trickling from his forehead now. Blood from a sword that pierced through his skull. I put my hands over my mouth as Sam dropped to his knees. Blood came out from his mouth after he began to cough. “Sam...Sam...” I said faintly. Behind him, someone pulled the sword out causing his body to fall and roll over to the side like a helpless rag doll. I looked up at his assailant, it was Kat the katana wielding psycho bitch. “Oops, missed that one by a long shot!” She laughed maniacally. “That was meant for you sweetie.” She said looking like a rabid dog already. For a moment I thought she was bitten, but that thought escaped me when she swung her bloody katana. “Emma!” Jaycee called and tossed the police baton I had earlier. I managed to evade her attack and knock her leg with the baton. Even when Kat screeched in pain she stood up still not getting enough of bullying me around. She held her katana up in the air and shouted her last battle cry.

 Then the wind shifted. I could feel my heart hammer in my chest.

“Emma..” I turned to see Martin run next to me. We were all faced towards the right, the tension in the air was so thick you could almost cut it half. “Emma...” Martin repeated. Then vibration from the ground below us, I spotted the trees begin to shake too. “Emma, we really need to run...” I was still in a trance even the fire that painted the sky red seemed to shake with fury.

“EMMA NOW!” Martin shouted kicking me back to my senses.

This was followed by a stampede, a stampede of the worst kind. A zombie stampede.

Someone made a blood curdling scream which made my feet pivot on its own. The Z's came close running in full speed, seems like they had run out of food in the boodle fight over there. One guard got bitten so he seperated me away from Martin when he grabbed onto me. We were like a human centipede, he was on top of me while a zombie was chewing his shoulder off. I tried to shake them off but the weight was too much. The guard was spitting at my face and convulsing at the same time as the zombie that latched on to him struggled to get to me too. No fucking way was I going to give him a chance, dude already got his fill. I grasped the police baton then whacked the newly turned in the head, when it made contact the baton sunk into his now squishy skull. It was gross shit. I had no choice but to swing to the other zombie cracking its head and spluttering gray matter everywhere. There was no time to celebrate that small victory as more zombies were closing in, the area was wide and had its disadvantages. One for example was that the Z's were scattered everywhere and there was literally no time to stop and think of a next move. I turned in panic when smoke filled the air, holy shit some of the zombies were on fire. They must have caught it when they penetrated the central command building. “EMMA!” I heard my name and spun around. Jaycee, Karen and Martin were already inside the safety of a red SUV but no sign of Martin that was when the fear started to sink in. I was far away from them and panicked as more zombies were rushing in. I reached for a gun that fell and began to fire at everything I could.

Run, I thought. I told you guys to run!

But they didn't move, not even starting the engine. Assholes! They better move before the zombies get to them! I was the one moving, desperately fighting off zombies. I had to check my body once in a while to make sure I wasn't bitten. At the same time, I desperately searched the ground for any melee weapons or anything I could get my hands on. “Em!” It was Martin. He had just narrowly missed a fatal zombie bite but he shot the thing in the head. I called him, “Martin!” Cocked the gun and shot a zombie in the shoulder then shooting another one in the head to kill it. “Get back in the fucking car” Another shot. “Because I can fucking handle this” Yet another one. “Fucking shit on my own!” Then I ran to the opposite direction, there were too many Z's on our side now. For a moment, my heart sank as I heard the engine start.

Now, I was alone. I was turning my back and sprinting, jumping over cars and kicking the Z's on fire. They were actually pretty useful, kicking them to a horde meant setting the whole group on fire. I kicked more and more finally getting a hang of it. But as soon as I kicked another one, a flaming zombie startled me even as I dodged it my right arm caught fire. I recalled fire drills, I always hated them thinking they were a fucking waste of what could be a time to get some work done. But this was the perfect moment to apply what we spent 30 mins learning in the field imagining an emergency, I stopped dropped and roll. The stimuli attracted more zombies but as they came close they winced as the fire pierced their rotting skin. When I stood up a speeding van was headed towards me. It's headlights shone and wheels screeched as the driver panicked and crashed to the sidewalk. The passenger seat opened, revealing a very short man. A very terrifying short man, he was rabid, saliva dripping from his mouth and blood from the driver's throat which he bit. In his hand was a real fucking chainsaw. Shit, he was high on drugs and a zombie. If I don't get to live to tell my story, remember kids, don't do drugs on an apocalypse because you might just get an award as the most menacing Z of the year.

Then The Marked One roared the chainsaw then he went for me.