The Dark Side

Chapter 32 - A Difficult Goodbye

"No!" I yell, pulling out of his hold. My grip loosens on my bleeding side. "No!" I repeat over and over.

"I'm sorry, Jess." He says.

"It's not your fault! It's not anyone's fault!" I yell.

I can hear the groaning of the Horde coming closer and closer. Already I can hear some of them reaching up to try and get us.

"What do you mean?" He asks, confused.

"This isn't happening! It can't be!" I feel my tears fall down my cheeks. Although, Drew doesn't allow any tears to fall I can see them in his eyes as he holds them back. "First it was Jamie! Then it was Conner- I had to kill Conner! He couldn't even move! I killed him!" I yell.

"Jess, please calm down." Drew says, trying to keep himself calm as he speaks.

"But, I can't lose you, Drew." I cry. He pulls me into a hug. I continue to cry in his arms. "I need you." I whisper. He buries his face in my hair and sighs.

The groaning of the Horde gets louder as they get closer. "Jess, you have to go before they all get here." Drew mutters, a tear finally falls down his face.

"No. I'm not leaving you." I say and hug him tighter.

"Please, Jess. If you stay here you'll die." He says, "And I don't want you to die too."

I only hug him tighter. "Well, if that's what it takes for me to stay with you, then so be it." I whisper.

The hug continues for a little while longer, before the groaning of the zombies gets too loud. "You have to go now, Jess." He says quietly, pulling out of the hug.

I step back and look up at him, "I love you, Drew." I say.

"I- I love you too." He replies.

I give him one last hug. This is probably the last hug I'll ever be able to get from him.

With that, I grip my bleeding side, I step back and turn around. Without looking back, I climb down and kill two zombies that try to get to me, before I leave. I rush away, not wanting to look back, because I know that if I did look back, I wouldn't be able to leave.

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Autumn | Five Months Later

I never saw any of the group after that. I accepted that Jamie, Conner, Zachary, Vincent, and Drew were all dead. But, not in vein. We killed the IX and the Stranglers. All of them are dead.

I learnt quickly how to survive on my own, and how to handle myself. I'm now pretty good at killing squirrels, rabbits and ducks using a bow and arrow and I know exactly how much firewood is needed to keep the fire going for an entire night. I found it useful considering it's getting colder. It's almost Winter. Just one more week to go. Although, one thing I am struggling with, is finding new clothes that would be suitable for Winter. Other than that, I'm fine on my own.

Another thing that's going well for me is my wound. It's almost completely cleared up. I got the right tools and fixed it up a bit. It's cleared up a lot surprisingly fast. I am also getting as much rest as possible, just like I promised everyone I would. Although, the scars are pretty brutal. I'll surely have them for the rest of my life.

I found a couple guns, knives, daggers, and a week ago I went back to where I thought I saw my father die. There, I found his machete. It was lying on the ground, ready to be used once more. What confirmed my father's death was the body beside the machete. It was quite torn up, but I could still tell it was my father.

I ended up burying Zachary where he died. I also ended up collecting a couple lavenders and I place them on his grave at least once a month. Almost like paying my respects to him. I always remember where I buried him by the pile of stones I made on top of his grave. Each one represents each visit I have made. So far there are four rocks stacked up on the grave.

Being so alone has made me feel more independent and confident. Especially, since I can make my own decisions about where I go and when is best.

Everywhere I go, I kill many zombies. I also have no source of transport, so it takes longer, and I kill more zombies.

Although, whenever I do end up having to kill a zombie, I get to use my father's machete. I never let go of it. Whenever I can't sleep, I'd be sitting up and sharpening it. I even practise swinging it almost every day. I'm still getting use to it, but already I'm pretty good at it.

Being alone means I always have time to think. A lot more than I used to. A lot of the time I would find myself thinking about Drew. How much I miss him, what would've happened if he hadn't died, what would've happened between us. I wondered how long he had those sorts of feelings for me.

I guess I'll never find out now though.

~-*-~