Carry on, Wayward Dean

“Did you hear that?” Brian hissed as they all froze. Matt had just backed up and was ready to run forwards and kick the backdoor down. They had assessed that that was the best area to try and escape through. Zombies had already got their arms through one of the windows and Brian had shot a few. But now there had been a gunshot, and it wasn’t theirs.

“Was that a gun?” Val whispered, unsure if she should speak the promising words. Was help finally here?

“There- There’s someone else out there!” Johnny breathed, a small grin forming. “Oh my God, somebody else is out there!” He ran out of the backroom and down the aisles to the front windows. Johnny looked past the barricades and saw two men, one looking particularly strong, shooting down the zombies from a decent distance. His stomach felt light as it filled with a huge amount of hope. Maybe things were looking up now. Perhaps they could survive this horrid life! The zombies broke through the door at that moment and shocked the positive feelings from Johnny.

“Johnny! Get the hell away from there!” Zacky yelled as Brian shoved past him, shotgun aimed. The bullets went flying, but Brian couldn’t take down enough. He was too far away to aim properly, and then ran out of ammo. Brian swore and rushed back into the kitchen. Johnny fired his small gun too, but the line of zombies seemed to never end. Zacky rushed forward and started swinging, desperately wanting to save his friend. Matt was frozen, but Val shook him out of it. He then rushed forward and started shooting too. No way was Johnny going to die like Jimmy did. Not on his watch.

“Fuck! I’m out of bullets!” Johnny cried as he was backed into a corner by the hungry monsters. He pulled out his petty dagger and started to stab the creature in front of him. Luckily, the blade reached far enough into the zombie’s head to kill it, but it was pushed forwards by its companions. Johnny was taken down with it, unable to move the heavy dead body off himself. He shouted out in pain as the first set of teeth sunk in to his arm. Nails scraped at his face before another one bit his soft neck.

“The back door just gave way! We need to get out!” Brian called out as he came back into the shopping area. He saw his friends violently attacking creatures in one corner of the store, but couldn’t see Johnny. Assuming the worst, he bit his lip and tried to not cry. Now was not the time to mourn; it was time to survive. Brian slammed the door behind himself and heaved a shelf against it, hoping to slow down the ones behind them. One problem at a time. He could handle this… Taking in a deep breath, he moved forwards and aimed once more. The crowd eventually stopped coming through the front door, but the thumping coming from the other door was getting louder and more persistent.

“Baby, wait here. I’ll go check out front, okay?” Matt said to Val. She nodded as she hugged herself, sobbing loudly. The death and violence was just too much for her to handle. Matt ran to the front door and went outside with Brian. Zacky checked for Johnny’s remains, but he was covered in too much zombie blood and body pieces to be found. Outside, the other two met Dean and Cas.

“You need to come with us. We’ve got a car with gas and we’ll get you outta here,” Dean ordered.

“They’re coming around the side! Let’s go!” Cas yelled as Zacky came out of the building, so glad to be getting away from the monsters.

“Val!” Matt shouted as he looked back into the building. She screamed and Matt saw a rotting hand had reached through the broken door and grabbed her. His wife couldn’t break free; she needed his help! Instinctively, he sprinted forward. The door gave way and the zombies piled through and pounced on her. Dean ran in after Matt and grabbed his shirt to pull him back.

“She’s gone. Let’s go!” he shouted, practically dragging a shocked Matt out of the building and to his car. As they continued to drive north, dead hands scraped against the side of the car.