Bloodshed for survival-A zombie novel

Chapter 10: what the world has become

It's been a few hours and I wake from my slumber. Josh took over a few hours ago to let me sleep. I sit up rubbing my eyes, after my vision clears I spot Josh looking out of the window with a rather shaken look upon his face. His eyes were wide and his breathing is heavy and shaking. "Josh...?" I say, he slowly stares at me and places his finger to his lip signalling to stay silent. He ducks down from the window and crawls over to Amber, signalling her to do the same. After my mind wakes up I crawl over to Josh and give him a look as if to ask what is going on. He answers with a whisper. "Zombies...lots of them...", my heart seems to drop as I peek up trying not to make a sound. A hoard is passing by, after listening in shuffling and groaning are all to real. I sink back down to the floor grabbing hold of my rifle that leans against the wall. Amber stares around in confusion as Josh lays beside her with fear ridden eyes.

Sitting back against the wall the sound of groaning and footsteps along with the aimless souls brushing against the walls on the outside makes my skin crawl. I shiver as I hug my rifle close. Hopefully they don't realise that they can get in here with very little effort. All it takes is one realising were here and we're all meat waiting to be eaten. My thought was exact, at that moment the sound of bumping on the metal door sends me jumping slightly. Amber and Josh also snap their attention to the noise. I shuffle over swiftly, leaning against the wall shaking. The walker scrapes it's hands and seems to knock on the door, it's breathing that of a beast. My whole body seems to stiffen until the monster decides to move on. The attempt stops. I let out a sigh and go to shuffle back against the wall. However in doing so my rifle barrel knocks a discarded coffee mug off the wooden desk. It falls, crashing on the floor. Amber let's out a slight yelp at the sight of defeat. Josh holds her close and I freeze in place. After what seems like forever a shadow appears inside the room. A figure stands at the other end of the window, it's bloody hand leaves a print where it presses it against the window. After a few seconds of its scanning it lets out a screech and begins swinging at the glass. Amber screams along with Josh as he lunges for his rifle. Straight after banging and screeching surrounds the entire booth, I switch into survival mode in an instant, pulling the coffee table against the door along with the computer chair. As the attempt to break in becomes more frantic the window shatters as walkers try to force their way through. Josh holds his rifle in two hands and uses it as a barrier as he holds them back. "We gotta get out of here!" He yells. Amber cuts in "the sunroof!", glaring upwards a glass roof acts like a gateway to sanctuary. I aim the rifle at the glass and pull the trigger, the shards fall onto the floor and I place the rifle on my back by the strap. Cupping my hands I look at Amber. "Cmon il boost you", she's reluctant but heads on anyway. Standing on my hand I push her up, she pull herself onto the roof. Josh is beginning to be pushed back my the swarm that overpowers him. "Josh!" I shout "let's go!". Josh sends one final push into the swarm and runs over to me. Their already beginning to climb over the gap in the window and the door violently begins to bend at the force on the other side. He looks at the hoard then to Amber who is also shouting to him "cmon...please!". He cups his hands and signals me to stand on it. "Cmon" he says. "No...you go!" I reply. He shakes his head and glares back at the beasts now inside the booth. "Cmon!" He says again, this time grabbing hold of my legs and him being much stronger than me he pushes me up, Amber pulls me onto the roof and turns her attention back to Josh along with me. I look over the gap and hold my arm down. "Grab hold!" I shout and he grabs hold of my palms, using my other hand I struggle to pull him up, Amber attempts to help but it's still impossible. "No....no!" I shout as Amber pleads that Josh makes it, looking down at his fear ridden face the flesh eaters lunge at him grasping hold of his legs and waist, they begin to tear, bite and chew at his flesh. He screams immensity in pain as I hold his hand hopelessly as he barley dangles off the floor, Amber screams and cries as she tries to pull him up along with me, everything seems to have stopped from there but the reality is overpowering. His screams echo through the night over the hoards screeching and moaning, his hand slips from my grasp and I scream down to him "no! No! No!", all in an instant I watched a Friend suffer before me. I pull my hand up as I see him disappear into the crowd of beasts. His screams drowned out by the screeching of the zombies until the struggle slowly stops. Amber screams and cries beside me as I just stare with wide, teary eyes. Everything feels like it's in slow motion as I feel my last meal churn inside my stomach, the blood, his flesh ripped from his body, his blood gargling screams...everything, taken away in an instant. This is what the world has become, a frenzy of terror and death. Ambers screams and cries are the only thing I hear as I stand looking around at the sea of undead that now surround us on our tiny boat of a booth, a Comrade now gone forever. Everything just seems numb and hopeless as ambers tears fall from her cheeks along with her screams of sorrow. It was my fault...all my fault, one tiny mistake came with a huge price to pay. And Josh was the one to pay for a debt that wasn't his to pay off...all my fault...all my fault.