To Die Unknown

A wooden mop and bucket rested in the entrance to another room. I grabbed the mop, snapping it over my knee. I held on to the longer half of the mop, holding the jagged end out.

I picked up the purse of chocolates, slinging it over my shoulder.

I ran down the stairs, coming to a stop at the sight of an infected a few steps below me. He raised his head, glazed eyes meeting my own. His jaw was dislocated and hung at an odd angle. With one arm, he reached for me. His hand gripped onto the bottom of my jeans. He groaned at the contact, bringing his head towards me.

Raising my makeshift weapon, I stabbed the jagged edge between his eyes. Kicking him in the chest, I pulled the mop back. His glazed eyes remained open and unblinking when his body tumbled down the stairs.

“Up here!” I called, going down the rest of the steps. I jumped over the limp form of the infected man, and nearly into the arms of another. An involuntary gasp slipped my lips as I stumbled back in shock.

I fell back, landing against the steps and the dead infected. The infected man was extremely overweight, with a shaved head and a dirtied beard. His pudgy, blood crusted arms reached for me. I extended the wooden handle out above me. The jagged edge embedded itself into his forehead when I slammed it forward.

The weight of his body put an added pressure against the mop handle. His body leaned toward me, the handle sliding completely through his head. His body moved toward me slowly, the handle allowing his head to slide down the length of it. His face was mere inches from mine.

His lips were parted exposing rotting teeth, dried blood left a trail down into his crusty beard. His eyes were half open, exposing a pale green iris.

Struggling with his weight, I moved the mop to the right. His head slid back down the handle, his body falling to the ground with a thud.

I used the infected beneath me to push my body up, poking my head around the corner.

Infected were stumbling through the broken glass of the window, tearing the metal security gate down. The glass door was smashed and the dresser knocked over. Infected were climbing their way over the furniture, spilling into the room.

“Up here!” I called again.

Amanda barely glanced in my direction. The brown leather sheaths attached to her black pants were empty. She was again wielding her kukri knives.

Her upper half was covered in a white short sleeved shirt and a thick black vest overlaying it. The short sleeves of her once white shirt were now dirty and stained red. Her bare arms had bloodied hand prints running the length of them

Watching her was dizzying. Her arms were constantly moving, slashing and stabbing through any infected in her path.

Amanda was backing away from the undead, moving toward me and the stairs. She refused to put her back to the infected.

An infected woman broke through the crowd, running in Amanda’s direction. Amanda ducked as the woman lunged for her. Her kukri knives slashed through the woman’s knees. Her legless body soared over Amanda, landing behind her.

The woman snapped her jaws in my direction, her tangled hair was matted and dripping with blood. Her nails scratched against the wooden floor as she dragged herself toward me. Her tongue slipped between her cracked lips, an unidentifiable substance dripping from her tongue.

She raised her head and my narrowed eyes met her glazed ones. She let out a guttural groan, snapping her jaws at meI slammed the wooden mop handle down, spearing her to the floor. I pushed my foot down onto her head, using it pull the handle out of.

“Let’s go!” I shouted, darting forward. I grabbed Amanda by the arm, yanking her body toward mine. The room was completely filled with infected stumbling toward us.

“Luke!” She called, fighting against my grip.

Luke ran through the entrance of a back room, his arm raised and firing shots blindly behind him. His backpack was still slung over one shoulder.

An infected child sprinted through after him. Luke stumbled in shock at the sight of him, tripping and falling backwards. The gun fell from his hands.

The infected child sprang, landing on Luke and groaning. The little boy dropped his head to neck, snapping his teeth into the tanned flesh of Luke’s neck.

Luke shouted, his voice filled with pain.

“Hey!” Amanda screamed. The little boy glanced up at the prospect of fresh meat, Luke’s blood pooling from his mouth and down his face. He groaned, bending his head down and biting into Luke again.

Luke reached out, barely grabbing his gun. He pulled the trigger. Brain matter and blood splayed up and out of the back of the child’s head. Luke shoved the child off of him, pushing his body up and away from the nearing hands of the other infected. He dropped the gun, grabbing his neck with both hands. Blood spilled from between his fingers, coating his hands and the front of his jacket and shirt.

Luke stumbled up the stairs after us, groaning in pain.

He closed the door behind us at the top of the stairs. I’d broken the lock after slamming my body against it. He leaned heavily against the door, holding it closed. It wasn’t long before the infected began pushing against the other side of it.

“Oh, Luke.” Amanda sobbed, dropping one of her knives. She reached up, cupping his cheek with her left hand. He turned his face against her hand, kissing the palm of her hand with bloodied lips.

“It’ll be okay,” He whispered, his voice cracking. He coughed, blood spilling over his lips. It wouldn’t be long before he turned. From the sound of his voice, he knew that the seconds were slipping away,“You go, I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”

He slipped the backpack from his right shoulder, holding it out to Amanda. His bloodied hand dripped blood down the strap of the backpack as he passed it over. Blood spilled from his neck at an alarming rate. He put his hand back against it, hoping to slow the rapid blood flow.

“Go.” He whispered. Amanda nodded, turning her back to him. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She blinked repeatedly, clearing her throat.

I nodded my goodbye to Luke. I was mildly upset about Luke’s impending death, however I tried to focus all of my attention on getting out alive. I’d only known these two for what felt like minutes, but tt was always hard to see another survivor die.

However–as long as anyone remained alive– we would always be on the menu. The moment the infected ended their search for food, would be the moment the living ceased to exist.

Was that the cure to this global pandemic? Dying. Without us to feed on, the infected would possibly die off. As long as we were here, the hordes of undead would continue to be a constant threat. The chances at a normal life had long since ceased to exist.

I snapped my attention back to finding a way out of here. I ignored the staff room, knowing there wasn’t an exit from there.

My hands were growing clammy against the mop handle. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. My eyes were constantly shifting as I searched for an exit.

“There.” Amanda said. I looked in the direction she was pointing. Through a room to our right, a door in the far corner was labeled Exit to Roof.

“Well that is really convenient.” I mused, picking my way through the room and to the door. I turned the lock on the doorknob and pushed it open. With my mop handle in hand, I ventured up the stairs.

-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------

“There’s no way.” Amanda snapped. I turned my glare on her. We were currently by the edge of the roof, examining the distance between ourselves and the next roof.

“We just need a running start.” I nearly growled at her. She narrowed her eyes at me, crossing her arms across her chest. Luke’s backpack and my newly acquired pink purse sat by our feet.

After being up here for only minutes, I was growing tired of Amanda. Our personalities clashed instantly. She thought the best bet was finding a way to climb down, I thought we should make a jump for it.

“It’s only a couple feet.” I acknowledged aloud. Amanda and I continued to stare down at the cement below us. If I missed, I was bound to break a couple of bones. But, If I made it, I’d be home safe.

It would only be a matter of minutes before infected swarmed us up here.

Standing here whining about it wasn’t going to make a difference. I dropped my mop handle and backed from the edge. The gun was tucked tightly into the back of my jeans.

“You don’t think you’ll actually make it, do you?” Amanda laughed rudely, a smug grin on her face. I rolled my eyes.

Now that I thought about it, this probably wasn’t the best choice. However, I really didn’t have the time to think of the smartest solution.

With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I took off. I sprinted the length of the roof, my heart beating erratically.

When I saw the edge of the roof nearing, I almost stopped – reason telling me this was stupid.

I almost stopped.

I pushed off on my right foot, jumping into the air.

The moment went by in slow motion. My arms and legs moving through the air, trying to propel my body further. My body had started to descend, I wasn’t going to make it over.

My body slammed painfully into the side of the building, my body half on the roof. I swung my leg up, dragging the rest of my body onto the roof.

I laughed, out of breath and in pain.

This was definitely one of the stupider things I’d done. I was alive though, and without any broken bones.

I turned my head to the side, looking at Amanda. She was shaking her head at me, frowning.

“You’re an idiot.” She remarked.

“Alright, toss over the bags.” I said, pushing my body up. My stomach was really sore and I knew I would have a nice bruise on it. I touched my back, making sure the gun was still there. It was.

Amanda threw both bags over. They had an easier time making it atop the roof than I.

“I think you’ll have to leave this.” Amanda said, kicking the mop handle. I shrugged, it wasn’t too hard to come by.

Amanda walked away from me, approaching the other side of the roof. I stood there, waiting for her to run. I beckoned her with my hands, waving for her to hurry up. The door to the roof slammed open.

Luke stumbled out, other infected spilling out after him. His hands were outstretched, reaching for Amanda. He had clearly turned.

Amanda backed away in disbelief, shocked at the sight of her friend.

“Amanda, Run!” I yelled. The newly infected Luke took off, running toward Amanda with the rest of the infected. She ran.

The infected shambled after her, but they weren’t the largest part of the problem. Luke snarled as he ran after her, his arms outstretched and grasping nothing but air. Amanda reached the end of the roof and jumped. I extended my hand, reaching for her. Her body sailed toward me and began its descent.

My fingers gripped around hers.

“Come on.” I whispered, attempting to pull her up. The infected Luke fell off the roof after her. His hands grabbed onto her legs, trying to pull her down with him.

I dropped to my stomach, groaning against the added weight.

“Shake him off!” My fingers were clammy and I could feel her slipping from my grip. More infected began their descent over the side of the roof, all falling to the hard pavement below.

Amanda screamed, and I knew she’d been bitten.

I stretched my other hand out to her. As she reached, her other hand slipped from mine.

“Amanda!” I cried, watching helplessly as she fell. Her body slammed against the pavement. She screamed again. Her right leg was twisted to an odd angle, bone protruding through her pants.

The infected were on her immediately, tearing into her flesh with a ferocity I wished I would never again witness. I reached for the gun in the back of my jeans, firing into the gathered crowd around Amanda.

“For fuck’s sake,” I shouted, crawling back from the ledge. I dropped the gun, kicking it towards the bags in frustration. My hands went to my hair, gripping it painfully. “When will this nightmare end?”

I dropped to my knee’s, staring down into my hands.

Stupidly, I left Brian–taking off in hopes of helping these people. I’m not a hero, or some soldier who can save lives. I can barely keep myself alive. I’m just someone who was forced to grow up too soon, someone forced to take on great responsibilities. I’m just someone trapped in this Hell.

"And I'm never getting out." I whispered to myself.