Induction

Men, women, and children I’d come to know over the last month were being eaten alive right before my eyes. Every direction I turned a new gruesome scene played out like a Romero movie—arterial spray here, intestines there. It all blurred into one giant mass of carnage with pools of blood so wide they merged. I became aware of Meg trying to drag me away, and I tried to clear my head by shaking it.

“Emma, pull it together. Run!”

Chapter 30 I See Right Through You

I could see the sun reflecting back from the water as we emerged from between the last row of houses. Bloody scenes were unfolding between our current location and the dock. Our only option was to run. Saving ourselves meant watching others perish. If I survived, I’d fight those demons for the rest of my days. We sprinted along the back of the row of houses, dodging outstretched hands as we passed.

One second I was speeding by the bottom half of a body and the next I was tumbling through the air and splayed out on the grass. The impact knocked the wind out of me and I couldn’t scream as I watched Meg get further away. My ankle was stuck, and when I turned my head, I discovered the severed torso of Dale Ellis. With a death grip around my leg, he used my jeans to climb his way up my body. I kicked out with my free foot and caught him on the cheek, effectively popping the eyeball that hung by a bundle of nerves still attached to its socket. This did nothing to stop his ascent up my legs. Somehow I flipped onto my back and grabbed Dale’s shoulders, using the length of my arms to keep his face away from my skin. He struggled to gain purchase on my chest. One of my hands slipped off his shoulder and dug into his open chest cavity. The harder he pushed, the deeper my hand sunk. With one vicious snap forward from Dale, my hand exploded from a patch of exposed rib and through one of the many wounds on his back, and I saw the sun through the new opening. Momentum carried him forward and his face was a hair length away from mine. The coppery scent of fresh blood on his breath wafted to my nose and I was able to shift my other hand from his shoulder and jam my elbow under his chin. My stamina began to wane, each second that passed found Dale inching closer to sweet victory. I let out a bellow rivaling a warrior charging into battle and gave a final shove. But I was spent. My arm shook with tremors and I had gassed out.

I could see Daphne trapped in the bag when I turned my head to dodge Dale’s teeth. She was barking ferociously and trying to find a way out. My next thought, as my elbow slipped from Dale’s chin, was that she would either die a slow death from starvation or become Dale’s, or my, next meal. Dale’s final plunge seemed to happen in slow motion. I saw every detail as he closed the space between us, and I focused on the single strand of hair slicked across his forehead, colored blood-red. I resigned myself to death and closed my eyes.

The bite never came, and in a flash of speed the weight of Dale’s body was lifted and I felt my arm slip back through his juicy chest cavity. I opened my eyes to find Adam standing over me.

“Are you bit?” He asked. His face was stricken with panic. His eyes settled on my chin and he let out a pained howl. With tears in his eyes, he raised his Glock and pointed the muzzle at my face.

“Stop! What are you doing?” I pled.

“I’m sorry, Emma, I won’t let you turn.” He let out a gurgled sob and I saw his finger tighten on the trigger.

“I’m not bit. I f-f-fell,” I stuttered out in a jumble. I could see realization dawn on him, and he gave a nervous sigh of relief, never taking his eyes from mine as if searching for the lie. He seemed to accept my answer and reached out a hand to help me up. Our hands never connected, because before our fingers brushed, an undead woman wrapped her arms around him from behind and bit into his neck. As she pulled away to chew, a spurt of blood from his carotid artery shot from the new wound.

“Adam!” I screamed. Getting to my feet, I made a motion to run to him. Before I could, I heard Jake yelling from behind me. He held me by the shoulders as I struggled in a futile attempt to rush to Adam’s aid.

“Emma, stop,” he whispered in my ear. “You can’t help him now. You need to help yourself.”

My eyes darted between Jake and Adam in disbelief. A loud shot rang out from behind me and I turned to see Seth standing beside Jake, the muzzle of his gun smoking. The zombie bitch that bit Adam was down, and Adam slumped to the ground, his hand held over his neck. I noticed the blood wasn’t coming out fast anymore; instead it pumped slowly between his fingers, the time between pumps getting longer and longer. His face was a pale, almost gray, color and I could see the fatigue of blood loss shutting him down at a rapid rate.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive me,” came out of my mouth in a tone so hushed that I didn’t think he heard me. He gave a weak nod and his mouth formed a sad smile as he fell forward.