The Last Alive

Chapter Twenty-Four - Making it Back Alive...Sort of

Chapter Twenty-four

Making it Back Alive...Sort Of

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. My breathing sped up as I listened hoping I didn't hear what I thought I heard. The moaning on the other side of the door grew louder as the pounding intensified. That wasn't what had my attention though. I half expected the undead to find us. They could smell fresh flesh miles away. At least I thought so. A light crack came through with the pounding.

That was what I thought I had heard.

"Shit," I muttered, slipping off the couch trying not to wake Nathan yet.

I crept to the door and ran my hand over it. In the center the wood buckled and splintered. I knelt there for a few moments listening and rubbing my temples. Nothing was going right for us. At the rate we were going we would be eaten or at least bit before even left the hockey arena.

Taz sat with his back to the door, eyes open and staring at me.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.

"They're breaking the door," I whispered.

"What? How?"

"I don't know," I said, standing up. "Maybe from incessantly pounding on it?"

"I've been holding it back for most of the night. I don't know how much longer the door will withstand them," Taz whispered.

"Now what?" Nathan asked.

"We leave."

"How? The only exit is blocked," Liz questioned.

"We go over the balcony. I'll wake Meaghan."

I shook her shoulder while Nathan glanced over the railing of the suite.

"What?" she grumbled sleepily.

"Get up. We have to go."

"A few more hours," she yawned.

"No, we don't have a few hours. I'm not sure if we have a few minutes."

She sat up looking around wild eyed. "Why?"

"They're breaking through the door."

"God they're worse than bloodhounds!" she yelled.

"Shh," Nathan said.

"What's the point of being quite now?" she asked.

"We're going to have to jump," Liz said.

"Jump? Jump where?" she asked.

"Over the railing." I glanced down and grimaced.

It was a good ten feet, but it was clear of undead.

"There has to be another way," she cried out.

"Sorry, Meg, there isn't," I said.

"I hate heights," she mumbled.

"Get over it fast." Taz quickly abandoned his post at the door and climbed over the banister first.

"Get over it?" she asked.

"That or enjoy being lunch," he said, hanging down as low as he could before dropping.

"That's really not funny," she hollered to him.

The door behind us splintered and the undead burst through. The horde fell over each other, wild with hunger, trying to get to us.

"Go, Meaghan! Now!" I yelled helping her climb over the banister.

I climbed up as they reached us. One grabbed a hold of Meaghan and brought its drooling face to her arms. As it was about to take a chunk out I slammed my knife into its skull. Meaghan screamed, let go of the railing, and fell backwards. I watched as she landed on the seats below. She groaned and rolled over, but was okay. Taz, Liz and Nathan waited below us.

"Let's go, Emma," Nathan shouted.

I clung to the railing stabbing as many of the undead as I could.

"Forget them and get down here!" Taz yelled up at me.

"Considering they're all grabbing me, I need to get rid of a few of them so I don't get bit," I yelled back. "Here, catch the cat." 

I leaned over and held the kitten down as far as I could and gently dropped her into Taz's outstretched arms.

"Oh God," I heard Meaghan gasp below me.

I looked down and saw her slowly stand. I sighed with relief that they were both okay, but I wasn't so sure how I was going to fare. I stood and turned ready to jump when an undead grabbed my leg. I swayed a bit and swung down with the knife slicing off its hand. Meaghan screamed below as it plopped onto the floor in front of her feet.

"Here I come," I yelled.

I grabbed the railing and lowered myself as far as I could. As I was about to let go, an undead grabbed my hand. It had unbelievable strength for a corpse. I let go of the banister, but it held me there its cloudy eyes staring right through me. I was nothing but food to it. The drool dribbled from the mouth and landed on my arm. The smell from the slobber was unbearable. I stared up into the monster's face. Terror gripped my stomach, and I wanted to vomit. I'd come close to dying a few times, but never this close.

"What are you doing?" Nathan shouted up at me.

"I thought I'd just hang around," I grunted, stabbing the undead in the arm.

It didn't wince. It didn't loosen its grip on me. It kept trying to pull me up to eat me.

How can it be so strong? How is it holding me here?

Panic set in. We were so close to our fortified city, yet here I was hanging. I wasn't ready to die. At least not like that. I couldn't let Meaghan and Nathan watch me be turned into chow.

"Get out of here," I said, choking back tears.

"What?" Liz called up.

I glanced down at her. She was hunched over holding her stomach.

"Go. I'll catch up to you guys," I called out.

"Catch up? What the fuck, Emma!" Nathan screamed.

"Please, go."

"I'm not leaving you!" he yelled.

"You guys need to leave! Now! Get back to the city!"

"Damnit, Emma. I'm not leaving."

I slapped at the zombie's face as it got close to my arm again. The rotting teeth snapped at my hand, narrowly missing my finger.

"Well, it won't let me go."

"Stab it," Meaghan said.

"I've been trying."

"Try again," he stressed.

"Stabbing doesn't seem to be doing much."

"Why won't you try again?"

"I'm getting tired, Nathan."

"Emma, do it again!"

"Fine!" I shouted, frustrated they just wouldn't go.

I grasped the knife tight enough my knuckles turned white and waited. The zombie lowered its head to my arm again and I struck. I swung my arm up and sliced off its head. Black blood oozed out of the neck hole while the head plopped to the ground below. It bounced down the stairs and thudded against the wall. I'd never decapitated a zombie before. It was really nasty. The grip on my wrist loosened, and I was falling to the cement stairs below me.