Seldom Six Feet Under

Chapter Sixteen: An Ending

          By the time the infected had all been released, Ryder had long ditched his metal baseball bat and substituted it for his handgun. He crept along the hallways in aim for the stairwell that would take him to the rooftop, holding his weapon close to his chest in a defensive manner. The Huskie trailed behind, its feet shuffling over one another in the most zombie way. Despite its painfully sluggish pace, it still managed to follow right behind.

      The doctor pressed his back to the wall and peered around the corner at a flooded hallway. Distant gunfire and Wailer screams were becoming more familiar in his field of hearing. Shit, he thought with a snarl. That damn Wailer's going to bring the whole city down on us. He leaned back around the wall and took a deep breath. The rapid firing was hard to pin down, he couldn't exactly tell where it was coming from; And frankly, he'd much rather not run into the crossfire. He lingered there, eyes shut tightly in hopes of determining where the sound originated from. It sounds like it's further to the right, he recalled. In attempt to confirm his theory, Ryder peeked back around the corner once again. Lights flashed from guards' automatics and it reflected so on the walls.

      He took one final glance back the way he came, as if double checking that he was secure. All that there was was the very beast who had shielded him, sauntering with its body arched as to not bash its head on the ceiling. "Ugh, seriously, piss off!" The doctor jeered. "You can stop following me around now."

      It slowed to a stop. The pit of darkness in replacement of eyes seemed to meet his, no expression on its blue and veiny face. Amidst the moment of tranquility, he was finally able to take a look at the creature's body in full. It ranged to about nine feet tall and its torso and the side of its head was tormented by glowing green tumors that appeared to pulsate at a slow rate. The entire being was about the size of a twig. Ribs and other various bones were practically poking through its skin. If it weren't for the belt, its tattered jeans would not have managed to stay on. The most mind boggling fact to Ryder was that the Huskie's hands were significantly larger than the rest of its being. As the arm progressed down, the larger it became. Its decayed talons only added to its length. Between its excessive strength and size, it seemed almost undefeatable.

      But staring back at this deemed deadly creature, it was nothing but harmless. All it was doing was following him around like a lost puppy. At least that's how he saw it. Even with a name like Huskie, it felt a little wrong to compare him to such. It certainly didn't help that once Ryder realized he'd been staring for much too long, the Huskie had slightly tilted its head to the side as a confused animal would.

   "You're free now," Ryder stated, frowning up at it. "Go. I can take care of myself," and without another word, he spun on his heel and jogged left down the hallway. He knew that there was another side stairwell there that could get him on higher floors, and that Ruby and Allen supposedly went this way in search of their friend. Part of him was hopeful that he'd run into them again. However, if he did, it would just make it all that much more difficult for them all to escape. Traveling alone would be his best course of action, at the very least for the time being.

      He kept his gun low but didn't let his finger stray far from the trigger. He kept a steady pace, running on his toes almost to reduce the sound of his footsteps. He was torn between calling out for his brother or just letting them be. He knew joining together as one would put them all at risk, but was it worth losing him again? Knowing he was alive and well was thrilling, but he couldn't stand to let him slip away another time. Everything was finally falling into place, the last thing he needed was to lose him, or any of his friends.

      When he heard the bang, he hardly had enough time to react. It was impossible to avoid, especially from behind. He felt a sudden sharpness graze his side and send waves of pain throughout his entire body. He let out a shriek before stumbling on himself and collapsing to the ground. The gun flew from his grip, sliding a ways from him on the polished flooring where he could briefly see his own, panicked reflection up until his blood seeped out onto it. He winced and tears started filling up his eyes. His head began to throb and suddenly, every joint ached at once. "Agh..." He muttered under a shaky breath. "Fu-Fuck."