Died

"Mom! Mommy, no! No, please! You can't leave me!" My heart breaks as I watch Vincent pull Kira away from me. Her terrible and tearful cries resonate on the floor I sat on as her arms and hands reach out for me, giving Vincent a challenge to pull her in. I couldn't show her any tears. I made sure I held my cries in, or else she would have to see me crying before I die instead of a tough exterior. I need her to be strong. "Kira, come on," Vincent finally hoists her into a bear hug from behind to carry her out of the building. It was unfortunate. Out team was accidentally split up. Cody, Gem and Ria had already gotten across the street and atop the Norton building, I had slowed us down, leaving Vincent and I behind. It was all my fault. I had been bitten. The dead were sprinkled on the road, not exactly a horde but enough to have you cornered. "Mommy, please." She begs again before Vincent puts her behind him. "Kira, listen," I try to say with a straight face and a firm tone. If I didn't try at all, I'd be in tears. I will not leave my daughter tormented with the image of my tears. "Baby, mommy's not coming with you, alright?" "Why?!" She screams and cries at the same time. Vincent's arm was stretched in front of her to keep her from rushing towards me. I had already hugged her, kissed her, obviously it's not enough. We're both wounded hearts. "Baby," I say in a gentle tone as I pull up my sleeve. I show her the reason why. "I'm bitten." She explodes in louder screams and violently tries to get past Vincent, but I'm thankful that Vincent's persistent. Once she gets a hold of me, I'm afraid she won't leave me. "Vincent will be with you when you run, okay?" I say, "And mommy's going to be up here on the building's roof covering you, okay?" I try to get through to her, afraid that she couldn't hear me through her sobs. "Did you hear me, Kira? Mommy will be right here to watch you as you run. Don't look back, okay? Just keep running, follow after Uncle Vincent okay?" I start to feel the hot lumps in my throat. I swallow them down. I will not cry. Not in front of Kira. Vincent wasn't a family member, but he was a new-found friend in the group. I'm lucky he hasn't died yet. Kira needed him. I stand up and point to the building far across from the one we're standing atop of. The Norton building was where the others were waving on the roof, making signals to us. "Kira, baby, do you see them? That's where you have to go, okay?" I tell her, the bright sun was scorching hot today, but even so, at this specific moment, my hands and feet were cold at the sight of the dead roaming aimlessly down below. Kira brushes her hair away from her face as the wind blew them into her tears. She was out of breath as she cried behind Vincent, hugging his leg. "Baby, you've gotta go." I tell her, "Time to go, champ." Vincent says as he hoists her over his shoulder, Kira got more violent, yelling and screaming for me. But I can't come with them now that I'm infected. I could feel it inside me, making its way to my brain. My skin had already turned a deathly white. It was too late. Vincent rushes back to me, giving me the sniper that hung on his shoulder and says, "Make it count." He gives me a nod and proceeds down the building with Kira holding his hand. I blow her a kiss as I watch her disappear on the steps. There were still about five bullets in this thing. I lift the heavy sniper and pull out its bipod as I position myself on the edge of the roof. All I have to do is wait for them to come out onto the road, and save the last bullet for me. I ignore the bright sunlight hurting my eyes and lay my cheek on the sniper, opening both my eyes and seeing through the scope. I adjust my view as I search around the road, the dead have spread out a little on the road. A short leg of a run for her and Vincent. Anxiously, I lay my finger on the trigger. I notice how warm it is, I instantly blend into the weapon, becoming one with it. I was the sniper in the group. I only had to be taught a couple of times and I learned quick. And now to put it to good use. I tilt my weapon down to spy on the face of the building below me. There they were, Vincent and Kira hand in hand, making quiet movements as they stepped out the front door and into the dangerous world. Vincent was already counting. I just knew. Being with other people for survival let me learn about their thoughts, their instincts, their movements, their impulses and their actions. Vincent and I had closely bonded, we had achieved this camaraderie. I am thankful for that. I breathe through my mouth to calm myself down as my trigger finger wiggled as my hands got colder. I shook my arm and brought it back quickly to my weapon. I started counting. One, I could see Vincent whisper it to Kira. Two, I could see Vincent's mouth move as he said it. My heart skipped a beat as I whispered, "Three". They break into a run, hands held tightly. I sit up, straightening my back as my brain sparked into this mode that bordered panic and alertness. I had to balance both. I had to for Kira. "Come on," I whisper, as I move my scope around. Coming from Kira's six o'clock was a runner. She screams as the dead body follows her with poor mobility but quick movements. I target its head on my scope's cross-hairs. "Come and get it, bitch." I whisper as my finger pressed on the trigger. There was a loud boom in the sky and the butt of the sniper kicks a little into my shoulder, and at the same time, the bullet goes through the zombie's head. His body flails at the force of the bullet before he lay motionless. I see Vincent yelling at Kira. She needed to run faster and stop crying. The noise would attract more of them. I had to act quick. I act quickly on the bullpup. Pull, twist and push. One round down. I spot one coming from Vincent's eleven. My whole body moved along with sniper rifle as I spot the zombie running close. This rifle and I, we had a habit of becoming one. Got him in my cross-hairs, I squeeze the trigger. The zombie falls and dies. Second bullet down. Pull, twist, push. Loaded. They were both halfway there now. But here comes the twist. Now there were two coming from behind, followed by a whole crowd of them. "Fuck, no!" I hear myself say under my breath as I reposition my eyes on the scope and trace my sight down the road. I shoot one chasing them from behind, one of the closer ones. Third bullet down. Pull, twist, push. I hear the satisfying sound of my sniper telling me it's ready to kill. The other one was gaining on them. Luckily, Vincent and Kira were almost there. Just a few more seconds of sprinting. I aim, focus and breathe. Another one goes down. The same goes for my amount of bullets. Fourth one down, only one round remaining. I started sweating, arguing with myself in my head. I was planning to use the last bullet for myself. "Shit!" I exclaimed, but I had to think of my daughter running, they were only a quarter of the way now. The building's shadow was already shadowing them. They were close. Forget me. There was one getting close to my daughter from behind. How did these fuckers get so fast? I aim at the zombie, he falls and dies. My sniper's useless now. I throw it behind me. I'll apologize to it later. Just as things got worse, Kira tripped. I panicked. I grabbed my revolver from the back of my belt. I prayed it would reach its target as I position myself and aim. The dead were gaining as Vincent threw Kira into his arms and ran for it. I eject the magazine and put it back in. Three bullets. Just my luck. I make a shot. Vincent and Kira make it to the building's front steps. He struggles with the glass door not opening. My heart breaks at Kira's tear stricken face as she pounds on the glass. I aim and pray. I hold my breath. Please, please, let this one bullet make it! My hands shake as the dead close in on them. I aim at the glass doors. Vincent would be able to take care of the rest. I get to the edge of my perch as far as I can and squeeze the trigger. I hear the breaking of glass and my chest relaxes. I did it. Vincent punches with all his might at the glass, breaking it with knocks to it with his elbow and the side of his arm, creating a big enough hole for Kira to fit. Vincent doesn't wait for an approval as he throws Kira in. The team at the roof of the building ran down for them. "Go! Go!" I hear one of them yell as they disappear on the edge of the roof to respond to Vincent and Kira. I see Ria running from behind Kira inside the building and protecting her in her arms, comforting her the way I would have if I were there. Cody runs up from behind him and shoots the hell out of the glass door with his shotgun. I could hear the glass shatter and the shots going through the dead's brains. Vincent crawls in just as Gem, Ria and even Kira pushes any kind of furniture they could find against the glass door as a barricade. Cody was yelling hysterically as he supplied the firepower. They all step away from the crowd of zombies outside, breathless, not believing what they were seeing. They were safe, my baby was safe. But the time will come that they'll need to flee. God forbid they get trapped in a sea of the dead. It was the only option at the time. ~~~ Kira was in Ria and Gem's arms as they stood with the boys on the roof of the building. Vincent waved goodbye, Cody bows his head. He knows what's next, and so do the girls when they hide Kira from me. She can't see it. I don't want her to. I roll up my sleeve and see the wound getting worse, despite the adrenaline, my body felt weak. It was time. I pull the top of my gun back and sigh. Smile even, for a second I pretended the dead weren't dead and we were all just playing a game. A game where I had to die at the end. And afterwards we'd all be together, laughing, teasing, having ice cream after playing fortress. I put the nozzle of the pistol at my temple. Vincent closes his eyes in dismay, so does Cody. It's been fun. I feel myself pull on the trigger, I had a few seconds to watch myself fall to the cement. The life crawling out of me, taking my last breaths with it. And when this game ends, We'll all go out for ice cream.