Andy throws his head back and lets out a booming laugh. “Let’s make sure you’re not going to fire it from your bow first, huh?” he teases before whirling around to behead a zombie that’s just about to reach for me.
I sigh and slam my blade into the eye socket of another undead. “I’m never going to live down that arrow incident, am I?”
“Not if I have anything to do about it,” Andy chortles before killing another zombie.
Unfortunately, our teasing gets pushed aside as more undead filter through the gate in a never-ending stream. The fight quickly turns into a battle for survival as people grow tired and the horde overwhelms us. I barely dodge a pair of particularly greedy hands when I spot a zombie go for Andy’s back with its open maw.
“Look out!” I shout as I surge towards him.
Andy whirls around, and his eyes widen. He brings up his sword, but he’s not fast enough and the zombie closes its jaw around his shoulder. He yells out a pained curse before thrusting his blade into the glowing eye of the zombie.
It immediately releases him, but the damage is already done.
“Oh god, oh god,” I mumble as I grab his arm and wrench him towards me. “Did it break skin? Are you infected?” I try to examine the bite, but it’s too dark and we’re both covered in blood and gore.
Andy shrugs me off. “Don’t worry about me,” he says with a grunt. “You need to stay focused, or you’ll get bit, too.”
Tears burn my eyes. Does that mean it broke the skin? Is he going to become one of them? Are we going to have to kill him before he turns? Nausea, horror and guilt slam into me, stealing my breath away as I choke on the lump in my throat. I should have been faster, or more aware, or done something, like push him away.
But I was too late.
“Ollie,” Andy snaps as he shakes my shoulder, jarring me from my spiralling thoughts. “Get your head out of your ass and focus on surviving.” He gives me a stern look before turning away to kill more zombies.
I swallow hard and blink my watery eyes as I still struggle for breath. Despair wants to press down on me, but I shove it aside and force myself to focus on the fight. A fight we’re losing.
Every stab, slash and kick has my muscles screaming and my lungs burning for air. My limbs feel like they’re weighed down with lead and my movements become sluggish and sloppy. A quick glance around shows that I’m not the only one struggling; everyone else is as well.
And there’s still no end in sight.
At least the fucking car is inside the walls, although the occupants remain inside. No doubt they’ve seen how bad it is out here and took the coward’s choice.
I sneer in frustration at the car before reining those emotions back. They’re useless to me. Right now, I need to focus on stopping this madness.
As I stab and slash at the zombies around me, I keep a lookout for something to inspire an idea or plan. But nothing is coming to me aside from somehow stopping the flow of the horde, which means closing the gate. The only issue is that the gate is wide open and stuffed with hungry zombies willing to take a bite out of anyone.
“We need to close that fucking gate!” Rhys bellows above the din of fighting and screams, echoing my thoughts.
Yeah, no shit. The issue ishow?
And then one of the fires outside the gate catches my attention. They’re still a ways back from the horde streaming into Haven and don’t seem to catch enough of the zombies’ attention. Not when there’s fresh meat here. What we need are fires closer to the gate.
We need to throw more Molotovs.
I look at Rhys and our eyes meet. Somehow he seems to understand what’s going through my mind because he gives me a small nod and points to the watchtower behind me.
“Go!” he shouts before turning to stab a zombie that almost takes a chunk out of his arm.
Andy taps my shoulder. “Do what you have to. I’ll help cover you,” he says as he takes position behind me.
Theo and Alex, having heard Rhys, flick their gazes to me. There’s a desperation and fear in their eyes that makes my chest ache. I blow them both kisses before surging towards the watchtower, barely dodging several hungry mouths on my way there. I have to throw myself at the ladder and kick at a few undead as I scramble up it.
It’s only when I get to the top and look down that I see the true extent of how fucked we are.
The living are outnumbered by the undead at least twenty to one, if not more. They surround people like a sea of monstrous glowing eyes and yellowed teeth as they try to bite and grab anyone within reach. The horde is so thick, I can barely make out my guys, let alone the security team, my brother and my friends.
I have no idea who’s dead or alive. Who’s been bitten and who hasn’t. Bile burns my throat as icy terror trickles down my spine and dread knots in my stomach. I want to cry and scream but I don’t.
I turn to the Molotovs, grab the first bottle, light it and then throw it. It hits the horde where the car had once been, setting a few of them on fire. Since they’re undead, they don’t react beyond stumbling as fire licks at their rotting flesh and tattered clothes. Several zombies around them stop their forward motion and turn to the fire.
