Decay

Decay 7 -Part 1-

"What?! No!" I screamed throwing the weapon down.

I checked the barrel to find it was empty of any bullets. This couldn't be happening! I had only killed four of the creatures! I still had six more! By now they had trapped me in a circle. I had no way to access other weapons. I was completely screwed. What could I do? Was fighting even an option? Yes, a zombie had already bitten me and I was turning into one of them, but now there were six that had me surrounded and this time they would eat me! All of my nightmares would finally become a reality.

A zombie reached out to grab a hold of me. I jumped up and kicked it in the chest, causing it to stumble back. This wasn't enough to do damage but it helped buy me some time. As soon as my feet touched the floor, one grabbed at my waist knocking me to the ground. I gasped in surprise as I fell. My head bounced off the concrete floor. Thus causing me to black out for a couple of seconds. This gave the creatures enough time to act. They piled on top of my body and grabbed at my limbs. Thrashing around in their gasped seem to do nothing but frustrate them. I screamed as I felt their cold saliva drip onto my skin. There was nothing left to do but lie still, and anticipate their torturous bites.

I lied still waiting for my cruel fate, and waited, and waited. Strangely the bites never came. Instead I heard a series of shots and felt a couple of the corpses being lifted off of me. Someone grabbed my hands, helped me stand, and dragged me behind them as they ran. I couldn't see the stranger's face but I could tell the person was a male. He led me upstairs and into a bedroom. As soon as I was in the room, he slammed the door shut, leaving me alone and shaken. More shoots, moans, and thuds sounded from outside the door. I stood with my ear pressed against the cool wood, hoping to hear my rescuer's voice. Giving up, I paced around the room. Who was this person? A few minutes passed before the door opened. My savior panting and hunched over; face still hidden from my curious view.

"Thank you." I whispered.

His head nodded, "No problem." He said in between exhausted breaths.

Walking over to the bed, I sat down. I noticed that it was my room we were in. The room I had given to Teddy. I looked down at my shirt and saw it was streaked with blood. I should have waited on the shower. In the corner of the room rested Teddy's dirty attire. Seeing his clothing, my heart began to race again thinking about him being in danger, and the confession he made before leaving.

I looked up at the person, "Who are you? How did you get here?"

The person lifted their head and I gaped. How could it be possible for someone to be so beautiful? From his brunette hair, to his chiseled jawline and pouting lips; he screamed perfection. Covered in filth and blood, he looked like an avenging angel.

"Not even a thank you? I believe I am offended." He said.

Shaking my head, I looked at the ground blushing, "I'm sorry, thank you for saving my life...umm..."

"Adam. My name is Adam." The gorgeous male said.

I shook my head, "Adam?"

"That's the name." He said, laughing at my gaping mouth.

Not knowing what came over me, I rose from the bed and placed a hand against his cheek, as I stared deeply into his dark eyes. The strength within them was almost startling. "How have you survived this long without me knowing?"

He sighed as he removed my hand from his cheek, "That's a weird question."

Shaking my head, I replied, "It's just that I've been searching for survivors for a while. I didn't know there was anyone around here left."

"Well, after the virus hit, I started to keep myself hidden and on the down low. I've been looking for survivors but haven't found any yet. I was passing by when I saw the horde come here. I figured they must have found something good to swarm like that. How are you, shorty?" He said with a smirk.

"I can't believe you're using nicknames at a time like this!" I exclaimed as I backed away to sit on the bed, "I've been better but I'm fine. Seems I've succeeded where you have failed. I've been living with seven other survivors."

He smirked, "I'll never stop using the nicknames. And I never fail! I found you, didn't I?"

I nodded, "I suppose you did. Thank you again for saving me."

"As I said before, no problem." He said. Without a second thought, he came up to me and wrapped me in a tight embrace. Being that we were in an apocalypse, it wasn't weird. Any time you saw a new, kind breathing person, there was an instant sense of warmth and belonging. I guess we all just got tired of the loneliness. As we hugged, I breathed in his spicy scent as pain shot through my shoulder. I could feel the wound oozing more blood.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked with a frown.

"Oh yeah, it's nothing." I said, pulling away. He noticed the bandage poking out from the collar of my shirt.

Adam pointed at the slightly crimson bandage, "What happened?"

I rose from the bed and stalked to the other side of the room as I froze. I honestly didn't want to tell him. How would he react? Kill me now? Run away? I knew if I said it was just a scratch he wouldn't believe me. It seemed that telling the truth was my only option.

"I was bitten earlier." I said.

He frowned and nodded. I could see him slightly back away from my frozen form. "How much longer do you have left?" Adam asked.

I shrugged my good shoulder, "I'm not sure. Maybe thirty hours. That's why the people I live with aren't here at the moment. They are out battling The Head Zombie so that everything will go back to normal."

His gaze dropped to the floor, "I'm very sorry, shorty. At least you're still you for now."

"Yep." I mumbled, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Do you have anything to eat? I'm starved." He asked.

Nodding, I moved away from the corner and led him downstairs to the kitchen. There were still bodies on the ground and the house was a wreck. Outsiders would believe a tornado had come through, leaving only carnage behind. Adam dug through the cabinets and found things worthy of consumption. He seemed like a strange character. A part of me desperately wanted to ask what his story was, but I knew it wasn't my place. After he finished, he helped clean the house and get rid of the spoiled bodies. He piled them on top of each other in the back yard, as we lit them and watched their bodies turn to ash.

Later, the clock read 5:36 P.M. Where was everyone? I checked out the broken windows and saw my friends coming up the driveway. Not one of them making a single sound, smiling, or showing a sign of completion. I knew in that moment, the mission had been a complete failure.