Pray For War

In my time of dying

I'm gonna fight for what's right
Today I'm speaking my mind
And if it kills me tonight
I will be ready to die

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I shot my way through the hoard of infected. But no matter what strength I held in arms they knocked me down. Crawling over each other. Prevailing through bullets as I rolled to the side in-between the trampling feet of the mutated. Despite the pressure that weighed on me I scrambled to my feet because staying down wasn't an option. Dying in this hell wasn't an option. A creature opened its mouth to snarl but I replaced any sound with a single bullet. The thing's head rebounded off the wall with the force of the shot. I held my arm up as the crimson blood splattered on toward my face.

"Fuck!" I shook the thick clotted blood off my gloved hand. The beast thudded to the ground next to John's lifeless body. They didn't touch him. Like they knew he was indeed dead. I gulped back that pressure that bubbled in my chest. My eyes scanned the room for an escape while I slammed the butt of my rifle into a corrugated skull. Shit. They poured in. Growling and grunting. Clawing at me like a damned prize. 

A table was my only solace. I mounted the object with a small leap. Running on the will to survive and a heavy dose of adrenaline that made my hands quiver. In a swift movement, I propelled myself over the horde. Leaping through the air with nothing but demons to catch me if I fell short. But my fingers gripped the ledge of the door frame and I shot my body into the hallway. Stumbling as my shoulder slammed into the wall. I shot too far. But I had time to make up. I jumped into a swift run. Buzzed on the energy that the adrenaline coerced from my body.  Further into the hall lights flickered, rumbling under the feverish steps of the mutant horde. Blood was what they wanted. Blood and fear. And they got it, because they were no brain dead zombies. No. When they ran they sprinted. As fast as a human. Perhaps with more speed. 

 Faster and faster I willed my legs forward. Each step precise and unfaltering.  I hissed as one of the creatures clawed through my thermal shirt and into the flesh on my shoulder.

"Get fucked", I cursed, taking a long stride forward. I twisted myself to meet the creature and fired centre mass. Fucker went down in a pile of blood and trampling feet. Shit. I bounded forward, my legs feeling the strain of keeping ahead of the beasts. Running hadn't been a friend to me. Not after I'd busted my knee in Afghanistan. But damn it felt good. 

"Fuck!" I cursed as I looked at the gauge on my rifle. I only had five bullets left for my rifle and seven in my eagle. I didn't know if John's gun was fully loaded but I was willing to bet it had less than five bullets. I needed to get rid of these fuckers some other way. I rounded the corner into a plain white and grey corridor and powered ahead.

From the mirror at the corner of the ceiling, I watched the mutants chase me. They had to be 5 seconds behind me. Perfect. I reached for my grenade. The time delay of 4.4-5 seconds would give me enough time to get to cover. I took a deep breath before unclipping the round object off my belt. I was willing to bet not even the genetically superior could survive such a forceful blast in a confined area. I prayed there were no gas lines in this section of the facility.

"Shit" I murmured and took a deep breath before looking back over my shoulder. My hand quivered while I took out the pin and held down the lever. The grenade bounced off the grated flooring in a metallic thud. Run faster. I growled, holding my ribs as I sprinted down that hallway. My rifle smacked against my hip with the action.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck" I murmured. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest with anxiety while I hauled ass to the nearest intersection of hallways. Diving behind the corner to the left just as the small bomb detonated and I held my arms over my head for cover. Shielding a small part of my face and head but it wasn't enough. The blast shattered the wall I was next to and buried me in debris. I groaned as chunks of drywall fell on my body. A section of wall collided with my brow, sending the facility around me into a void of blackness.

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"Sin?" A soft voice woke me from my concussion. I winced at the dull pounding in my head.  Squirming to free myself from underneath the debris of drywall. I coughed violently as I pushed off a section of wall from my body and I could sit up. The water raining down from the fire detectors had me drenched in seconds.

"Sin?" Sam's voice echoed in my voice.

"Sam?" I called into my mic and leant against the remaining wall for balance as I got to my feet. Leaning into it until I found my senses.

"Sin, they have me surrounded." Her voice sounded so scared. Shit...

"Where are you?" I asked firmly and swallowed the lump that grew in my throat. The stench of burnt flesh was nauseating.

"The medical ward, In the north corridor" Sam replied.

"Don't move I'm heading your way now" I called over the buzzing in my ears.

I looked around the shattered wall to the bodies of the infected that were strewn over the ceiling and floor. Blood painted the walls a dark red colour and pooled on the floor.

At least one method was effective. I pushed myself off the wall and blinked through the blood that dripped from my eyebrow. The debris must've reopened it.

I carefully walked past the dead bodies and tried to avoid the blood pool. My boots still left faint footprints of red but the sprinklers washed it away instantly.

"Here I go again"

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"Sam?" I called from outside the medical ward. I kept my weapon raised and walked slowly toward the door.

I was greeted with a loud snarl as I entered the ward but I silenced it with a single headshot.

"Sam?" I called quietly into my earpiece and stepped over the corpse. Another creature bounded toward me with its teeth bared, giving me the perfect opportunity to put a bullet in its mouth. My eyes flickered to the monitor behind me where a creature was trying to sneak up from the rear.

"Don't even try" I hissed. I swiftly turned before firing a bullet into its skull. Its brains splattered on the once cream coloured wall and its body fell back lifelessly onto the tiled floor.

"Sam!?" I called.

"In here" I heard her voice coming from the room to my right.

I bounded toward the locked room and knocked on the door.

"Sam?" I asked and heard the lock click. I turned the doorknob and walked into the small storage room where Sam was standing in the corner, gripping onto my Glock for dear life.

"Sam, are you hurt?" I rushed toward her and checked over her face. She shook her head weakly and began to shake. She had claw marks on her face but they weren't deep.

"Sam? Listen to me, did you use the gun?" I asked firmly.

"Its out" She replied in a shaky voice.

"Okay" I replied and reached for John's gun that was strapped to my hip. I took out the clip and counted the bullets before slamming it back in.

"This is John's gun, it has six bullets" I said firmly and placed it into her hand. She handed me back my empty Glock and I holstered the useless weapon.

I knew we were fucked, I only had nine bullets all up and one more grenade left.

"I'm getting you home," I said firmly and looked down at my rifle. I had two more shots, I better make them count.

"Let's move" I ordered and patted her shoulder before taking the lead out of the stuffy storage room.