Zomb-Pocalypse 4

Chapter Sixteen

It's more horrible than I'd imagined it would be- which was pretty terrible. The water is so cold that it forces all the air from my lungs on impact. I panic and accidentally swallow a mouthful of disgusting water as I kick my legs in sheer terror and try to fight my way up to the surface. It feels like millions of tiny pins are being drilled into my body. My legs and arms feel heavy with the cold and even though I only just jumped in here, I'm struggling. Screw the polar bear swim, and screw Silas- the jerk... Everybody look at Jane, surviving the zombies just to be taken out by plain old, everyday water. I can't dial back the monologue in my head, and I'm angry that my last thoughts are going to be so bitter.

I feel a hand latch onto my arm and I panic as I struggle and kick, trying to fight it off. I'm convinced it's a zombie reaching up from its watery grave to drag me down with it. The arm tightens it grip the more I struggle and finally I'm pulled above the surface of the water where I see it's actually Silas that has a death grip on me.

He doesn't speak to me, because he probably can't while we're being swept along in the rushing river current- all his focus is being used up on survival. I can't get over how fast the river is moving- it's one of those things you never really realize looking down from the bridge, but it's kind of like a roller coaster in the worst possible sense of the word.

Water splashes me in the face and I swallow more of it as I'm struck by a body that's floating along beside me. I let out a scream, but it's absorbed by the water and comes out as more of a gurgle. It's so dark that I can't see a thing and I'm torn between hoping for a quick, painless death, and trying to find the will power to keep trying to survive

I have no idea how much time passes, but after a while we can't see the outline of Louisville in the moonlight anymore and that's when Silas stops letting the current carry us wherever it wants and starts to kick his legs and swim towards the bank.

I try and kick my legs to help, but of all the crazy things, I'm exhausted. My eyes are practically begging me to close them, just for a minute, by the time Silas pulls me into the shallow. "God damn it Jane!" He snaps, shaking me roughly to try and rouse me. "Don't do this to me. You have to fight, okay baby?" He says and something in his voice pokes at my tired brain and draws my attention. It's terror. He is terrified right now and I'm confused. I glance blurrily around for zombies, as he grabs both my arms and unceremoniously drags me further out of the water and up onto the bank. I don't see any, and I hope they aren't here because I don't have the strength to fight them right now.

Silas slips and falls in the soft sandy ground and sits for a minute with me in his lap before doggedly getting to his feet. "Stay awake Jane! You can't die on me. I won't allow it." He tells me and through the fog in my head I realize with a start that he's scared because of me.

My eyes start to shut again, but Silas brings me back with a rough shake that makes my jaw crack together and I bite my tongue, tasting blood. It hurts and I want to yell at him, but I just don't have the energy.

I try and focus on Silas, but he isn't looking at me, his attention is somewhere else. I crane my head to try and see, but everything is so dark. My eyes beg me to close them, but I try and resist since it seems to be upsetting Silas. "I think I know how to help us." Silas tells me, brushing some sand away from my cheek, "I just need you to hold on for a little bit longer." He begs me and now I'm a little bit scared- Silas doesn't beg.

He pulls my backpack off my back and tosses it to the ground, reminding me of the first time I ever met him. I give him a silly little grin, but I'm not sure if my lips actually move or not, they might be frozen in place. Silas scoops me up next, grunting with the effort of carrying my weight and I'm a little bit offended- I don't weigh that much anymore. I rest my cheek against his shoulder, and even though its cold and wet I don't mind. "Almost there." Silas tells me as he wobbles up the river bank, nearly dropping me a couple times before we finally crest the hill.