Becoming Them: A Zombie Novel

Seventeen

     I stared at the growing numbers of zeds that continued to surround me. If I didn't move now, there'd be no way out. So, I forced my aching body to move, letting out a whelp when I moved my shoulder.

     Without even realising, I had my dagger gripped in my hand and I began to crawl through the masses of decaying bodies. It felt like I was living what happened at the mall all over again, except the numbers were twice as much, if not more. Adrenaline coursed through me and I crawled faster and faster, just in time before blood-smeared hands could grab me. I got out of the small crowd which were piling against the front door, only for them to turn around and target me again. More zeds were on the other side of the road and caught sight of me, hobbling in my direction. I started to run as fast as I could. There were gaps between them so I managed to quickly slip through, stabbing any of them that got in my way.

     The roads were quickly filling with them, and I let out pants of panic and fatigue. I wanted to stop, but knew I couldn't. I ran past many houses, but soon the end of the road had been invaded by hundreds more of them. Staring behind me, I found more still languidly making their way to me. They were slowly closing in, and I needed to find a way out.

     A gap between two houses caught my eye. A ladder was stuck against the side of one so I made a beeline for that. They continued to follow every small direction I made, eager to get to me. The zeds crowded the narrow passageway to the ladder and once I started to climb, they were already a few meters away. Finally, I was out of reach, and I landed on top of the house, trapped.

     I was surrounded by small potted plants. Flowers were evident on one side while vegetables were on the other. It was clear no one had tended to them for a while as both started to die or not grow properly. The tomatoes were wrinkly, berries not fully ripe. Apples were soft. The stem of the flowers would arch downward, and the petals were devoid of colour.

     I felt betrayed. Even though leaving me behind could have been unintentional, I just could not get rid of the feeling that it wasn't.

     Zeds from all over were targeting me, and I had no plan to escape. The zeds looked at me with corrupt eyes full of nothing but hunger and it induced a slight shiver of fear knowing I was the number one target for dinner. After all this time, I never thought Adrian would do this again. We had avoided each other like the plague, but I did already know he hated my guts. So, I guess it wasn't all that surprising, really.

     The exhaustion finally caught up with me and I let my body drop to the floor.

     The growls of the zeds would not subside. All I knew was they wouldn't be able to get me from here. But if I wanted to survive, I couldn't stay here forever. I lost hope in the others coming by and rescuing me. Maybe someone else would drive by or walk by, and the attention would be on them. That would be my chance to escape.

     But who would be stupid enough to come here anyway? How do I know it wouldn't be days until any sign of life would be out there?

     No one knew I was here. On this rooftop. No one would come rescue me. If it came down to it, I'd probably have to think of something on my own. After moving my body a little, a dagger fell out of one of the pockets and crashed to the floor with an echoing clang. It felt like the growls from below had seemingly become louder, but that might've been my mind just playing tricks on me. Besides, I've got no reason to be any more afraid than I already was because they couldn't get me while I was up here.

     Any solution to get out would have to wait. The sky was getting darker and it would be a lot more dangerous out there when going at night. It would be a lot scarier since I wouldn't be able to see anything.