Survivors of the Z’s- Cal Moore, 29/07/2016, Ashford City California
“Holy shit, holy shit,” I panicked
The whole world had now shrunk to a pebble and the oxygen tended to be getting lesser and lesser each time I breathed. My feet scurried along the night. To chase down my fallen friend.
My best friend
Who at any moment was going to be eaten alive by the monsters we were taunting
What a stupid thing it was
An arrogant move where we thought that safety would
At that moment of idiocy
Would’nt abandon us
And then bang. The carpet was swept from under us and the jaws of these things were snapping at our heals.
Tasting our blood
Reaching to grab us and pull us down into the deep hole they came from.
“Please, don’t let him die, don’t let him die, don’t let him die”
I heard a sound. A sound that when I ran through it. It sent a cold feeling through. I was running blind.
Tunnel vision
My hands
My feet
My whole body grabbing for the rope to pull him out of the hole we had suddenly found ourselves
“Cal, hurry!”
“I’m here,” I said
I saw his silhouette and I saw there’s. Moving sluggishly toward us with the grunts of hunger seeping out of their grotesque mouths.
No faces
No dead skin hanging on
No guts showing
Just their noises sending chills through us and making the air seem more impossible to catch
“I’ll help you up,” I said
With a struggle. I helped him get back up on to his feet.
“I can’t”
“You have to, come on, quickly”
He tried standing on it and he fell once more. The noises were getting closer and closer. I could feel their gaze on the back of my neck. He got up again with my help and this time the urgency was there.
The desperation
The emergency fuel
All of them feeding us to get back to the house.
“I’m sorry, I was stupid”
“Shut up, just keep moving, or we’re both screwed”
There were little alleyways to our left with other houses next to them. They looked daunting in the darkness. We hurried passed street lights that I now wished weren’t dead. We hurried as fast as we could, but they still seemed to be closer than before.
“Aah!” He cried
Once more
He collapsed onto the ground.
“Mason, we need to move”
“My leg, I’m in too much pain, just leave me, I’ll only slow you down”
“Don’t you fucking say that, I’ll never leave you,” I grabbed him once more in the darkness, “now get up, we’ll get out of here, I promise you”
“I can’t”
“Yes you can”
I forced him up with everything I had. He seemed heavier than before. Like he had given up. Like he was making it more difficult on purpose. Like he wanted me to leave him. But, I wasn’t going to
No way
No way in hell
I was getting him out of there whether he liked it or not
“You might’ve given up, but I haven’t, I’ll drag you back if I have to”
It was getting too much
The pressure
His weight
The weight of the planet that I felt on my shoulders. I felt his parents shouting passed deaths door and into my ears. Every word
Begging me
Pleading with me
To save him
To save their son
Their child
To get him to a safe place where they couldn’t touch him. Then a voice cried out.
“Cal!”
“Mason!”
“Where’re you?!”
“Dad, mom, we’re down here, help us, there’s loads of them!”
“We’re coming to get you!”
“You should’ve just let me go, now your family are in trouble”
“You’re my family,” I told
With the sudden boost and the sudden extra hope of getting back. Thanks to my mom and dad. I chose to carry on dragging my helpless best friend across the night. Each step I could hear him wincing. Each step his weight got heavier and heavier.
Don’t fall again
Don’t you dare
“Come on, we’re close,” I said, “They’re coming for us bro, they’re coming for us”
I could see them. Their silhouettes ran around the same corner I ran around.
AND THEN
I heard
“Cal, run!”
It wasn’t them that was running to us. It was them.
The infected
They had now blocked our way out.
“Mason come on, Mason, we need to get to this house!”
“Cal!” I heard again
“Please please please,” I cried
I heard gun shots that were fired by them
But
They were still coming for us. One had fallen, but it wasn’t enough. We reached the house.
Please open
Please open
Please open!
But it wouldn’t open.
The door
WOULD. NOT. OPEN
We were trapped in the evil night. Trapped in the darkness that was swallowing us whole. The loud noises from the infected hitting our hearts with every sound that infested our ears.
“I’m sorry Mason, I’m so sorry”
The bullets fired again
And again
And again
But, they still came for us. I could hear mom’s voice. I could hear the pain in Mason’s voice, but I could’nt see them. The only thing I could see was darkness and silhouettes
Which
Made me
See something completely different.
“Let go of me, bro,” he told
“What?”
“Let go!”
I felt him move away from my grasp and saw the outline of his body start moving forward
Toward them
“Run!” He told
“What’re you doing?!”
“Saving you, now run!”
They were here
And then…
