Everything slows down as I whip out my gun. I can feel the blood slowly pumping through the veins of my heart, as it's trying to process what is happening. The creatures cheek is torn off which makes its teeth visible and blood leaks out of its gruesome gap. I shoot it in the forehead and a thick red substance spurts out of its head. It crumples to the floor.
"Let's move!" I shout as the bus continues to rock back and forth. We use the emergency roof exit of the bus and stealthily climb onto it. My head pokes pout and is hit by flurries of snow. I stabilize my feet and hoist my body up and onto the roof. I stare out across the vast expanse of paved road and take in the hundreds of bodies. Shit, four to one hundred. That seems pretty fair. Running out of ammo is bound to happen sooner or later. The sound of bullets rings through dead air. That's when it hits me. I grab a lighter and some fuel from the pack ( I took everything I could see) and drop the fuel onto onto the group.
"I'm too far, they wont catch fire," I say. Arianne gives me a look and she knows what I'm asking her to do. she hoists me down, half of my body dangling off of the bus. I try to steady myself as the bus sways back and forth. Stretching my arm out as far as I can, I manage to light the tip of one corpses outstretched finger. A number of them catch fire like tall dry grass under the Arizona sun, and begin to deteriorate into piles of ashes. Ten down, only ninety more to go. Mia takes a bottle of starter fuel from her pack and sprays it over a ton of them. I understand what she's doing gfand automatically throw a match. A zombie that's much closer than the others claws at us from the escape hatch. Mia takes a step back and it reaches for her.
"Mia!", I exclaim. She turns around and shoots it.
"Hit the front of the bus with something!", I yell. The group does as told and the heard swarms to the front. I slowly climb down the back of the bus without attracting too much attention to myself and land in a hunched over position. The pavement digs into my palms as they come in contact with the road. I spring up onto my feet and Martha leaps down from the bus. Sprinting, I begin to make noise and attract the numerous group of soulless creatures. They all moan and limp in my direction. The young scientist makes odd animal noises.
"They're a group of dead people, not female moose during mating season!" I exclaim. She scowls at me.
"Do you really think this is the time?" she asks me.
"When's the right time if not now?" I retort. We dash into the underbrush of the forest and continue to travel deeper into the jungle of nothing.
"I- I think we outran them" I heave, trying to catch my breath. She gasps for air and swallows it in large gulps.
"Let's do a detour and go back to the bus" she suggests. I nod and we start back to the vehicle with a light jog. We dart through trees and push aside the low branches, engraving a trail back to the road. We emerge through the last line of trees and footsteps echo against the cold, stone ground. There's no bus. We've glanced both ways but there's no bus. I dig the heels of my hands into my eyes to push back the tears that threaten to spill out. Five minutes past, then ten. During that time my body simply becomes numb. It was bound to happen either way, we were gonna lose each other someday.
"RAINE!", I hear a distant cry. A figure is coming over the hill top. They're sprinting with a bounce in their step. I realize who it is.
"Griffith", I mutter in a dazed voice. Dropping my bag off of my shoulders, I sprint towards him and I can see the relief drawn upon his face. Someday I'll die, taken by this treacherous life but that day is not today. Finally reaching him, I leap into his arms. He holds me close and I wrap my legs around his waist. He brushes away my tears with the tips of his fingers and kisses me. On my neck, on my forehead, but most importantly his lips roughly press themselves against mine. I lean my forehead against his and sigh in relief, but where are all the others?
"They're okay, they're back at the bus", he reads my thoughts. I unwrap my tight hold on him. Someone clears their throat and I turn my head to see Martha holding my bag. I purse my lips and snatch my back from her grasp. We make our way down the steep hill and I see the bus in the distance, bodies surrounding the vehicle in masses like a battlefield. The group is on the opposite side of the road. A few are kneeling, some stand, and Mia rocks on the floor as she cradles her ankle. We reach them and everyone turns their attention to me. Faces light up and Mia's face beams. My friend stands up and she attempts not putting to much pressure on the foot that's been hurt. I give her a questioning glance as she hugs me.
"I twisted my ankle as I hopped down from the roof of the bus", she explains. A worried expression grows on my face.
"I can check it", I offer.
"No, it's okay. Riley already did, but thanks", she declines. I embrace her and look at everyone. They stare at the floor, not sure what to do. Maybe it was meant to be but the sky begins to sob, teardrops stroking my face.
"I always like walking in the rain, so no one can see me cry," my mum would quote Charles Chaplin. It was her favourite saying. Depressing yet so truthful all at once.
"We should get moving, it's going to be dark soon," I suggest. We all put on our packs and start towards our destination.
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We travel through the first line of trees beside the road and forest. Darkness blankets the sky and rain falls in heavy sheets. I'm drenched and shivering as I push away branches from my path. I spit water out from my mouth as it streams down my face. That's when I notice the light in the distance. I sprint towards it and the outline of the building becomes clearer. The others catch up with me and we circle the building, attempting to find a way inside. Knocking down a set of boards, we enter the castle-like house. Thunder rumbles through the sky and lightning strikes near by. There's the sound of metal clanging against cobblestone which echoes through the hallways. It smells of pot roast which means were not the only one's here. Lightning touches the ground and ignites the whole castle like a Christmas tree and all are breaths stop as the outline of a group of around ten people is shadowed from all three hallways. Definitely not alone.
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Infectious
Teen FictionLove, an apocalypse, and survival. Three things that should not be combined in a sixteen-year-old's life. Raine was a girl with a picture perfect life. That was until the virus broke out. A tale of sacrifice, secrecy, and the hunt for a cure.
