The Dead Walk Among Us

Chapter 11: No Turning Back

Sam turns down an aisle. She steps back, horrified.
   
"What is it?" I ask.
   
"Sam?" Tom asks.
   
"It's...not Taylor," Sam says.
   
"Then who is it?" I ask.

Sam starts walking down the aisle. I grab her arm stopping her. I see a woman lying on the ground. A zombie is eating her.
   
"Run!" I yell.

We all run as fast as we can. The zombie is chasing us. Sam pulls out a gun.
   
"Don't shoot! We don't need more of them chasing us!" I say.

Sam jumps across a display table. I hear a scream. It's close.
   
"Taylor!" Sam yells running.

She stops. She's staring at something. It's Taylor's dead body. Tom catches up with us.
   
"Oh my god!" He yells.
   
"We gotta go before we end up like that!" I say.
   
"You go we'll catch up," Tom says.
   
"No way! We got to go now!" I say. I hear growling. A zombie is close by.
   
"Come on! Let's go!" I yell.
   
"Go!" He yells. I run.
   
I'm not staying there anymore! If they don't want to move, I'm not going to make them. I climb up one of the shelves. The shelves are really tall which means I can put distance between me and the dead.

I jump to the next shelf and then the next. I see Tom and Sam running.
   
"Get on a shelf!" I yell.

They nod. I keep moving from shelf to shelf. Splitting up was Sam's stupid idea! If we didn't, Taylor would still be alive.
   
I look down. A person is climbing the shelf. I jump to the next shelf. I realize that it's not a person, but a zombie. The zombie jumps to the shelf I'm on. He runs at me. I push him off the shelf. He falls all the way down to the hard tile floor.
   
I feel the shelf tipping. I look down to see twenty zombies pushing the shelf over. I jump to the next shelf and keep going. The one they were pushing knocks into the next one. I keep going until I reach the last shelf. I climb down and run far away from the shelves that are now tipping into each other and knocking each other down like dominos.

Tom and Sam hiding under a table.I hear the shelves crashing all around me.
   
"We need to get out of here!" I say.
   
"We can't. Both doors are blocked by shelves," Tom says. "And who's fault is that?"
   
"You should be nicer to someone who's getting you out of this mess. Is there any other way out? Like a back door?" I say.
   
"There's a window in the break room. We can climb out that way," Tom says.
   
"But the break room door has zombies all around it!" Sam says.
   
"Then they must know that the window is there. They're trying to trap us but I'm not going to let them," I say.

I need to get them both out of here no matter what.
   
"You run, and I'll distract the zombies. It's our only chance at getting out of here," I say.
   
"No way! That's crazy. There has to be another way." Tom says.
   
"Can you think of any other way?" I ask.
   
"Well, no."
   
"Then this is how we do it," I say.
   
"Fine, just be careful," Sam says.
   
I run towards the break room. The zombies notice me and start chasing me. Tom and Sam flee to the break room. I shoot at one of the zombies. I miss. There's twenty zombies. I have to be careful. I run past a clothing rack.
   
A zombie leaps from the rack and tackles me to the ground. I push the zombie back as he tries to bite me. Another zombie pulls the one on me off and is throwing him around. I get up and run.
   
Five zombies chase me across the store. The other zombies are beating each other up. Their fighting over who gets to eat me. I've seen it once before. I run to the break room door. I see Tom and Sam climbing out the window. I get in and slam the door shut with my back up against it keeping the dead out. Tom pushes over a locker and blocks the door with it.
   
"Let us in!" I hear on the other side of the door.
   
"We don't have much time!" I say.
   
Tom and Sam get outside. The door flies open. A zombie grabs my arm. More zombies are running over. I punch the zombie, knocking him down. I climb out the window. Tom and Sam are running through a horde.
   
I run after them. A machete falls from Sam's bag. A zombie grabs my arm. He bites my wrist. It hurts really bad. I grab the machete off the ground and cut his arm off. There's blood all over my arm and my face.

Arms are grabbing at me. A hand grabs my coat sleeve. It's...Iris.
   
"Iris?" I ask. Her skin is a pale grey, her eyes are now dark black. Her hair has dried blood. She growls. She bites my coat sleeve but doesn't actually bite me.
   
"Iris, please. Don't you remember me?" I say crying. She pushes me back.

She's gone. She's gone and she's never coming back. I get up and run through the horde. I finally reach Sam and Tom. Seeing her like that...all of the humanity she had is lost. She's just a shell of what she once was. She used to be so happy, now she's...empty. She has no control of what she's doing. She's just another host for this virus.
    "Jade, your arm!" Sam yells. I look down. Blood is streaming down my hand and pooling on the ground. I fall over and pass out. Is this the end for me?

...

I wake up in a cabin. People are standing over me.
   
"Is...is she dead?" Tom asks.
   
"No, just barely alive," Sam says. I sit up.
   
"What happened?" I ask.
   
"You were bit," Elizabeth says.
   
I remember seeing Iris, I wish that was the part of my memory that was gone. I can only remember running through the horde.
   
"Why did I react like that? I'm immune. I felt like I was turning! What's wrong with me?" I say.
   
"Even immune people have their limits. The next time you get bit, you will turn. The immunity is weird. It only works a few times and then you turn," Sam says.
   
"I'm not immune anymore?" I say.
   
"No, you have to be really careful," Elizabeth says. I get up. I look at the bite mark. It stopped bleeding thankfully.
   
"So, I'm screwed is what you're saying? I can't believe this. The only thing that has kept me alive is no longer going to work!" I yell.
    I go outside. This can't be happening! I thought because I was immune, I was safe. Realizing I'm not safe anymore is terrifying.

Six months later
We recently got electricity at the camp. We found generators a few months back. We got so lucky. Ever since I was bitten, I've had slightly enlarged pupils. I know I'm not turning. Sam tells me it's because I was infected with a small bit of the virus. I know I'm still in control of my body. It freaks me out knowing that one more bite will kill me. I don't want to end up like Jack or Iris.
   
I still think about seeing Iris in the horde. I never thought I'd see her again. I was hoping some part of her still remembered me.

Elizabeth is much happier now. Her parents love to fish in the lake. Jenny and Hannah have fun playing with the other kids here. Since this was a summer camp, they have toys and games.
   
I mostly sit in our cabin, unless I'm out on a run. I don't want anyone to see my eyes. I'm afraid of what might happen. Sam tells me it's hard to see if my pupils are enlarged, but I'm still afraid. I miss Jack and Iris so much. I would do anything to get them back. They didn't deserve what happened, but there's nothing I can do about it which makes me feel helpless.
   
I think this place is our home now. I feel safe here. I really do love it here. It's nice not to have to keep running from place to place.
The End