Time to Survive

Fading

Ow.
My head was fucking pounding.
And I was moving?
Which made me incredibly nauseous.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and I clenched my hands, an awful smell rising to my nose.
Where was I?
I tried to shift, feeling slightly numb, and I realized there was a harsh grip on the back of my thighs, keeping me still.
Eh.
I was going to puke.
I shifted again, opening my eyes.
Or I tried too.
Everything was still pitch black.
Why couldn't I see?
I strained, feeling panic and fear race through my chest, and I started to flail my legs, earning a grunt from whoever was holding me.
I wanted down!
Wherever that was.
All the blood was in my head, and I was going to spill my guts everywhere.
Oh god.
We abruptly stopped moving, and then I was shuffled around. I felt my feet hit ground, but I was incredibly grateful whoever was holding me didn't let go because I would have face planted so hard.
I had absolutely no strength right now.
They went down with me on my knees, and I felt their hand curl through my hair as I unceremoniously vomited everywhere, adding my own stench to whatever was rotting.
I gagged, shuddering, and I couldn't catch my breath.
"Shh, it's okay," I heard a familiar voice murmur close to my ear, and I could feel his lips brush my skin as he spoke he was so close.
Chris.
"We're in the tunnels, so try not to make any noise, okay? This place is crawling with deaders."
The tunnels... That explained why it was so dark.
I pressed my hand over my mouth, wavering back and forth.
Why did everything hurt so badly?
My head!
I cradled it between my hands, whimpering unconsciously.
"Shh! It's gonna be okay, we're almost out, I just need you to stay quiet!"
He didn't have to yell at me about it!
I wanted to send him an irritated look, but I wasn't sure where he was.
Ow.
"Can you walk? I can still carry you if I need too."
Nooo --- that had been so sickening. I shook My head, slowly letting my hands drift off my face.
Could I stand?
I reached out for the wall, but I couldn't find it, and I couldn't see anything.
I had never been in such complete darkness before.
It was beyond frightening, I felt so disoriented.
But that could also be because someone had bashed me in the side of the head. Or had it been the back?
I wasn't sure.
I was so confused.
Everything kind of hurt right now.
"Let me help you," I felt his arm curl under mine, and then we were slowly rising to our feet.
I hesitated, but I could stand pretty stable so long as he held onto me.
I turned, clutching tightly to his chest, and he gave me a comforting squeeze, brushing my hair behind my ear.
"It's gonna be okay," he whispered again, his lips literally at my ear this time. "I got you."
I hoped so.
I nodded, my eyes wide in the pitch darkness, and he slowly turned us around.
"There's stuff littering the floor, old cans and trash, so you're gonna have to be careful where you step --- just don't let go of me."
Trust me, I wouldn't be letting go any time soon, I couldn't see shit.
I felt him hesitate a few moments, and then he was turning again, forcing my arms to wrap around his neck before he abruptly lifted me up against his chest.
I tightened my grip in panic, and squeezed my eyes shut as I pressed my face against his neck, content to let him just carry me through the darkness so I wouldn't trip and stumble over every invisible thing.
I'd never felt so helpless in my life.
It was so dark, not even a crack of light --- I had never seen anything like this before.
Well, I suppose "seen" wasn't the right word to use.
I couldn't see whatsoever.
We shuffled forward for what felt like forever, and I assumed Ryan was with us since Chris seemed to be following someone.
Why was Ryan taking the lead?
Chris slowed, and I clenched my jaw as I heard a major shuffling noise, cans skittering and echoing across the tunnel, and we were abruptly moving, pressing against the wall, and I tried to make myself as small as possible.
I heard the deaders stagger past us, then loud, sudden thunking noises as if they'd fallen down.
"Are you okay?" Chris abruptly hissed.
"Fine, don't worry about it."
So Ryan was around.
How were they seeing in the darkness?
Did they find the spy goggles? For some reason I couldn't think of the words I was going for.
Wait, did Ryan get hurt? Was he okay?
I wanted to ask, but I was afraid to speak and my mouth was dry.
So I just held on tightly to Chris and prayed for the best.
We started moving again, and I felt groggy, not even the jostling of Chris ' arms enough to keep me awake as I started to fade in and out of consciousness again.
Why couldn't I stay awake?
How hard had I been hit?
WHO had hit me?
What had happened?
I had so many questions.
But I guess they would have to wait for later, because I was fading again.