BLOOD ON THE LEAVES
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Losing Kara was only the beginning of the end for Faren... It was a hay-fever from Hell; it began as little stories here and there during the springtime but by the time Summer came there was a new world where the dead didn't stay dead for long. It started slowly, the dead rising two days after death, it gave them time to burn the bodies but then it turned into one day, to a few hours to right after contamination... the dead overwhelmed them even with the help of the military. Faren was one of the few hundred humans left that were immune to the contamination. Many of those humans, including Faren, went into hiding never wanting to be found by Central Command. It wasn't long before she was found and a choice had to be made...
Chapter 1
Oct 25, 2024
“Kara, keep up.” I shouted behind me, the fire alarm almost drowning me and the snarling out… almost.
The group that was ahead kept widening the distance between us, making it harder for me to know which way to go; I couldn’t blame them for leaving Kara and I though… we all wanted to live. Those things were fast, but they stumbled a lot and that worked in our favor. Not only was I trying to save myself, but I was going to save Kara as well.
We made a sharp right around a corner heading towards D Hall for the freshman. Nothing looked as it had this morning; blood and soot smeared the walls, walls that were cracked and breaking away, huge slabs of concrete littered the halls as classroom blazed and smoldering pieces of paper hanging from the walls lit our way. The school was a wasteland now…
Angry growls echoed from behind us. I didn’t dare glance back to see what had them so upset, but I could chance a look at Kara. Peaking back, I almost stumbled noticing how far Kara had fallen behind and how long it had taken me to notice. If I didn’t move her faster, she was going to die, and I couldn’t let that happen… not to Kara.
Seeing that I had finally noticed her she called out to me. “Fare, I can’t breathe. I need my inhaler.”
Kara wheezed as she tried short gasps of air that soon turned into coughing fits. Her inhaler was in my bag and we didn’t have time for her to stop and use it. I just needed her to make it to the exit point. Once the army had us, she could use the damn thing until it was empty… but right now I needed her to push through.
I jogged back a little way and grabbed her hand plugging it with me as I shot off and spoke. “We don’t have time for you to stop and use the inhaler Kara… hell, we don’t even have the time to grab it from my bag.”
A coughing fit raked her body causing her to almost break free of my grip. “Fare, just go.”
Ignoring her words, I checked behind her. Even though I had picked up our pace those things were still gaining on us. I had to do something and fast; the only thing I could do was run but I couldn’t run for both of us…
“Kara, get on my back. Now!”
I didn’t even stop to give her the chance; I threw her onto my back and pushed myself as hard as I could. Her legs locked around my slim waist and she wove her hands through the loops of the backpack on my shoulders; she was secured.
In three minutes, I was able to see the group ahead of us. Some were ushering others down the school’s laundry chute and the stragglers, like Kara and I, were still making their way. There wasn’t a huge distance between us and them, but I knew what was behind me and we were going to survive. I mustered up whatever strength I had left and pushed myself as fast as I could. I gave it everything I had because the end result meant rest and safety for Kara and me.
“Almost there Kara. Stay with me okay? Just focus on breathing,” I said in short bursts. Her head nodded and as she tried to get her breathing under control.
A loud crash sounded from somewhere below and the floor began to rumble and shake. I instantly stumbled, throwing both Kara and I into the lockers. Kara screamed as the burning metal of the locker seared her flesh. I unwrapped her from around me and checked her.
It was her left shoulder. It was already beginning to boil and blister, the swollen irritated skin screamed and oozed blood. The heat had fused her melted clothing to her skin, making it even harder to care for…
“Faryn, we don’t have time for this. Let’s go,” she wheezed out in pain.
I nodded in agreement and stood, reaching my hand out to pull Kara up as well. After a slow and obviously painful attempt to stand Kara made it to her feet. There was smoke and debris everywhere, I couldn’t tell which way we had come or which way we should go… one wrong decision and we were dead.
“Faryn!”
“This way!”
“Hurry!”
“Follow our voices.”
“Come this way!”
Shouts rang out from to my right and without thinking I grabbed Kara’s arm and took off. I didn’t hear them growling and snarling anymore; I sent up a silent prayer to Mama that those things had somehow died in the rumbling.
Then suddenly, the rumbling began again but this time more ferociously. Panicked shouts began to drift from the direction we were running. The smoke and debris still clogged the air around us making it hard for me to breathe let alone see…
“Faryn!” A voice called from the chute.
“Rick?” I called back questioningly.
“Yeah! The building is coming down… you and Kara have to hurry up or they’re going to leave you here,” he explained. He didn’t sound too far.
“Yeah we’re coming,” I shouted back, but as I spoke the words the floor collapsed, and Kara was dangling in the air with nothing below here but fire and rumble.
“Rick! Help!” I cried.
This couldn’t be happening, I thought to myself. We were so close…
The crater in the floor was now a vacuum pulling out all the smoke and debris, stealing away what little safety we had. The room was clearing, and my line of vision had improved. Hesitantly, I looked down at Kara, tears streaking my face.
“Faryn,” she said giving me a cross between a giggle and a sob. “This time you really do have to let go.”
“I’m going to pull you up,” I replied ignoring her.
She and I both knew I had no more strength for that, but I tried anyway. My arms and legs were limp noodles, but I kept trying. I kept trying even as I heard Rick calling my name, I tried as Kara yelled for him to come and get me, I tried as the growling and snarling started to grow louder. No matter what, I was going to keep trying to save her.
“Faryn, you can’t save me anymore. You don’t have time, we don’t have time for that anymore,” she cried. Her one hand clung onto mine while the other held on tightly to a metal rod jutting from the broken floor. Her blood pooling around the rod making it slippery…
“Kara,” I sobbed. “I can save you.” I pleaded. “Let me save you.”
“Faryn,” she said looking at me sweetly. “You have saved me. You’ve been saving me… my parents, school, myself.”
“We are still at school… please just let me save you. Help me save you.” I was begging at this point, still trying to pull her up.
The snarling was getting closer, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “Faryn, I don’t want to be one of those things.”
I nodded my head, but I couldn’t force my hand to release hers. I felt hands on my shoulders pulling me away then… Kara was crying terribly hard and whispering how much she loved me and how sorry she was for this…
She was telling me goodbye, the words echoed in my mind for what seemed like forever. I love you too, I thought.
Rick pulled me away tears streaming down his face. I kicked and screamed the entire way. Through the tears I could see that those things had made it to the cater… to Kara. One by one they began to fling themselves at her, some only missing by inches. Her screaming made me fight Rick harder.
“Let me go! I have to help her,” I screamed at him. “She’s going to die!”
“Faryn, she’s going to die anyway… she knows that… that’s why she chose to save you this time,” he said softly.
The next time I heard Kara scream, it was her last. I knew that she had let go of the rod; her screams echoed and faded as she reached the bottom floor in silence. Everything I had been holding back broke free in that moment… I cried out for Mama. My body went limp allowing for Rick to carry my weight and sprint back to the chute…
From the moment our feet hit the bottom of the chute everything changed, and it was all hazed. We had only just made it before we were left behind. Classmates only had to look at my face to know the truth… my Kara was gone, and I was in shock.
“Faryn, I’m really sorry about Kara,” Rick whispered in my ear softly as I rested in his lap. He wouldn’t let me out of his sights or arms, and I needed that, comfort…
I wouldn’t dare speak a word in fear that I just might break down all over again. If I was being honest I couldn’t even more if I wanted to… I just kept hearing Kara falling to her death. The sounds repeated in my mind over and over; coaxing me to join Kara. I wanted to so badly, but she’d never forgive me if I killed myself.
“What are we going to do now Rick,” another student asked from somewhere in the armored truck.
“The only thing we can do… survive.”
BLOOD ON THE LEAVES
10 Chapters
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