Death Count

[Part 12] - Bloody Hell

I STRUGGLED TO KICK the infected mangled claws away from me because I keep bumping my knees on the slimy corpse, making me cringe and try to angle my knees to kick awkwardly  away from it.

My heartbeat thundered inside my chest and adrenaline rushed to me as I fought to keep her from taking a bite. With all my strength, I pushed my body to crawl away from her through the sea of dead bodies, soaking the front of my shirt with dark infected blood and making some unidentified lumpy pieces cling to it, however, the task at hand is more important than minding all the bloody mess.

I was startled when beneath me, the body that I was slump over started twitching and suddenly opened his eyes. Only the whites of it are visible and the pupil was covered with sickly white substance.

I laid there unmoving; caught off guard as he struggled to wiggle out from under me to take a bite on my face. Stunned at his sudden onslaught, I felt the infected behind me catch my foot again. There was an unmistakable sensation of a chomping clomp on my toes, waking me from my stupor.

In a blur, the pressure on my foot ceased, followed by the loss of the weight of the infected body that was slump on my left leg. At first, I was confused to what happened and got my answer a second later when a knife was suddenly embedded on the eyes of the infected who was trying to chomp on my face. I was hauled away from the corpse a second later.

Different emotions churned in my chest. Embarrassment, helplessness, shock and fear bubbles inside of me, making my heart beat a hundred times per second. Slowly, I trailed my eyes upward to watch Sarge’s reaction.

I gulped at the intensity that was etched on his hard face. Feeling chastised, I dropped my gaze on my fidgeting hands and discovered that the liquid I felt was actually blood instead of what I thought was only due to perspiration. I frantically wipe them on my shirt but it only makes it worse. There was now bits and pieces of gore stuck on my shaking hands and inside my nails, making me remember my nightmare and the events that unfolded a few moments earlier.

Within seconds, I hurled whatever that was inside my stomach down at my feet. I kept throwing up until I can’t any more. I groaned out my disgust at my smelly dirty self and blink back the tears that accumulated on my lids.

I tried to stand up on my shaky legs but stumbled on my feet where the gravity tried to pull me in its embrace. However, the cold hard ground didn’t come to greet me; instead I was engulfed in a warm cocoon of hard surface. Blinking my surprise, I look up to see Sarge’s handsome ruggedness. His arms are protectively around me, keeping me from falling on the ground.

That also means that my bloody shirt are squished up between us and I could already feel the gooey substance soaking up inside.

I pushed him away as fast as I could muster to get some space from him and to keep the bloody mess from sticking everywhere.

“I-I’m sorry.” I choked out, fighting off the mortification that bubbles up in me.

I heard Sarge let out a sigh. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” Taking hold of my hand, he led me inside, close the gates and then inside the bricked building.

After cleaning up the mess that covered me from head to toe, I consumed the food that Sarge left for me when he deposited me back to the room where I slept in. A can of mixed vegetable, a packet of beef jerky and a bottle of water satiated the hunger that surfaced in my grumbling stomach, after realizing that the last time I ate has been more than twenty four hours ago.

Oh how I wish for a cold can of beer to wash away the events that happened that morning, but in this new world where a crazy might appear any moment, it’s best to be alert at all times.

Now I am in search again for the giant man inside the building. I have decided to look for him to ask if he could lend me one of the vehicles that were sitting behind the building. It’s not like he could drive all of them at once or one less truck could hurt him. I mean, it’s their duty to protect the citizens isn’t it?

I’m not saying he should be there to protect me or us, when I find my sister. Just, lending an effective tool could even the odds in our favor, even if he’s not physically with us. You got my gist.

Thinking of not having Sarge’s presence in this new messed up world is kind of scary. His intimidating presence is kind of a solid rock to rely on in these trying times. If there is anyone who could survive this mayhem, it’s Sargeant Phillip.

However, if I ever want to survive I shouldn’t rely too much on anyone else besides myself. If there’s one thing that I’m good at, it’s being a great shot at zombie games. Cliché, I know. But it’s very critical in these times to put your trust fully on someone, because a second of hesitation from the person you trusted could be the second a zombie could take a bite out of you and then it’s all over. Unlike on the games I played, you could just restart all over again, however, this time it’s real. No second chances. One mistake could end my life.

I shivered. Goosebumps rise on my arms and nape as I considered my situation. I might not even find Avaree ever again. I might not even survive this. Yesterday’s success in leading a horde of infected unscathed is only due to adrenaline rush and the will to save my sister and of also a pinch of beginners luck thrown into it.

I shake my head to rid of the negative thoughts that started to crawl in my brain. Peering inside a room for what seems like the hundred times, I let out a sigh when it failed to show the sergeant’s huge build.

Walking through the hallways of a police station, I found Sarge at one of the store rooms in the very back of the building, later on. I wouldn’t even have noticed his presence in there if not for my great sense of hearing, and of course my paranoia, which leads me inside the room.

I was walking past one of the rooms that weren’t illuminated with sunlight when I heard it, an unmistakable sound of glass breaking. I jump in surprise. Twirling around to look behind me if the origin of the noise was just behind me but found nothing. Looking to my right, I saw a door that wasn’t closed firmly. Biting my lip, I hesitated to move closer in that direction, afraid that I will find an infected in there. But the second I took a step, I heard the sudden onslaught of curses that permeated through the door.

Now I’m curios of the source of those very imaginative profanities. Opening the door, I found myself inside a gloomy room. The silence hung like a thread stretched taut, ready to snap at any moment. It was very dark and I squinted my eyes to make them adjust fast and see better in the darkness, not that it helps. Does it even help? I don’t know.

I thought that the noise I heard was just a figment of my over active imagination, but a sudden flicker of light that passed a narrow slit convinced me otherwise. Walking towards the said slit, I discovered that it was a door. Peering inside, I watch as the light passed by the door again and the sound of footsteps echoed.

Pushing the door open wide, I watch the giant man in the act of bandaging a hand. A flashlight was tucked in his armpit as he struggled to bind the gauze and something was in between his teeth.

I walk up to him and cleared my throat to get his attention. He did not seem surprise to find me standing in front of him. He only look up for a brief moment and continued his effort to cover up his wound.

I took hold of his working hands, taking the gauze from him and look at him for permission. With a subtle nod, he offered me his hand, which I took silently. He got ahold of the dancing flashlight in his armpits and held it out in a different angle to make me see the wound clearly. It was just about an inch long but the blood that poured out of it indicated its depth. I hesitated, looking up to his face again to make sure of his decision.

“I think you need stiches for this.” I stated, my previous agenda for finding the man is totally forgotten.

He only grunted and used his foot to move a small bag of emergency kit towards me. Satisfied with his response, I bent down to retrieve the bag and in the process, I saw the shards of glass that was littered a few feet from us.

Sending him a quick look, I proceeded in taking the necessary items for me to stitch his wound. With the needle poised on his injured hand, I hesitated for a second before plunging it in his flesh. Hearing not a single peep from him, I raised a brow at his control. It should’ve hurt like hell without anything to numb his senses. But going by his reaction, or for lack of it, I felt my self being impressed.

We were silent throughout the ordeal. When I finished my task, he only mumbled quick thanks before turning his back on me. Puzzled by his actions, I took a step towards him only to stop in my tracks as he whirled back to face me.