July 20, 2011 by Mark Lidstone

Zombies I – Chapter 7

VOTING FOR THIS CHAPTER IS CLOSED

A little late I know but I was hit with an emergency project that took up a lot of my time. But here it is! Your last chance to vote.

This is the Seventh chapter in my Vote Your Own Adventure series. Your vote will determine the next step and could end up winning you a prize. To read more about the series, click here. To read the previous chapter, click here.

Routine Check Up

You aren’t well. Whatever is in your system is quickly spreading and you can’t stop it alone. Derek paces near the back of the basement. He’s seemed on edge since arriving at the house. You see Geoffrey eyeing him with a look of unease. You wipe the sweat from your brow with your palm and struggle to speak. Your throat feels dry and sore.

“Can you really help me?” you ask Brian.

He can only stare at you for a brief moment before looking away. The sadness in his eyes tells you he doesn’t know. But you know you can’t just lay down and die. You have to do something.

“What do I have to do?” you ask.

“No,” Derek’s shout startles you and he pushes his way past his friends to face Will. “Will, we need to get out of here. We shouldn’t be here. We…”

“It’s going to be fine, Mate,” Will says softly. “We won’t be here long. Isn’t that right, Brian?”

Brian opens his bag and unloads instruments wrapped in cloth. He arranges them on the small table in the middle of the room.

“I need to take some blood samples and analyze them,” he says. “Once I know how far the infection has spread, I’ll have a better idea of what needs to be done.”

“There’s a reason we left,” Derek says. His voice is low and he appears to be struggling to control his anger. “This place is a hot spot and they will come back.”

Will says nothing. He pats Derek on the shoulder before walking away from the group and out of the room, his rifle over his shoulder.

“Rest up, boys,” says Geoffrey. “Looks like we’re staying.”

—

You spend days laying on the table as Brian studies you. Every day he takes new blood samples and injects you with something that he’s sure will cure you but each time he’s disappointed. The side-effects leave you feeling weak and your nauseous spells are more frequent. You can’t eat. You can’t drink. You can only lay there, covered in your own sweat and vomit, waiting to die.

You watch through blurred vision as Will walks down the stairs and into the basement with Geoffrey close-by. He crosses his arms and waits patiently for Brian to finish what he’s doing.

Brian rubs a wet swab over your arm and forces a smile. The tiny pinpricks from the past injections sting a little as the alcohol touches them.

“This seems kind of silly considering everything that’s going on with you,” he says. “But the last thing we want is to find a cure and then have you die of infection because I didn’t clean you properly.”

He pushes a long needle into the disinfected area and injects you with a light blue liquid. You watch as the syringe empties and you feel a familiar burn as the serum moves through you. Brain pats you on your chest as he stands up. He gives you one final smile before walking over to meet with Will.

You watch as they speak to each other. They talk in whispers so you can’t hear what they’re saying but Brian looks defeated. Will listens quietly as he leans on his gun like a cane.

“Just keep trying,” Will says finally, loud enough for you to hear.

“Will, I…” Brian tries to say something but Will raises a hand to cut him. He turns his back to Brian and walks back up the stairs.

Brian retreats to a small table covered in beakers and starts cleaning them in silence.

A figure positions itself next to you and sits on the small stool. Derek’s face slowly comes into focus as you fix your eyes on him.

“I don’t know what the fuck we’re doing here,” he murmurs. “There’s nothing we can do for you. Everyone knows that. Even Brian knows. We should be at the safe zone.”

You look around the room. You don’t have the strength to reply.

“Can I tell you something?” he asks. “I just need to get it off my chest.” You try and nod but you aren’t sure whether your head moves or not.

“I killed a man,” he says to you.

You focus your gaze back on him but he’s blurred again. You can feel your eyes growing heavy and you struggle to stay awake.

“He wasn’t infected,” Derek continues. “He was just a man. He worked at the hunting store on 16th. ‘Dale’s Hunting Store’ or something. We were going to hole up here, wait for this whole thing to blow over. We needed weapons though, you know, in case any…” he pauses a moment, unable to say the word. “Will sent me to Dale’s to see what I could get.”

Your eyes close slowly. Whatever Brian had injected you with was stronger than the others. You can’t fight it.

“I had to persuade him to even let me into the store,” Derek went on. His voice was muffled as if under water. “He refused to sell me anything. He said he needed it. Can you believe that?” He forces a chuckle as he wipes tears from his face. “With everything that’s going on. He offered to let me stay with him in the store. He said the two of us could defend it. When I told him I couldn’t leave my friends, he told me to leave. I guess I panicked. I pulled out the handgun that Will had given me and I shot him. I shot him dead and hid him in a bathroom. I just left him there. I don’t even know his name.”

“Daniel,” you whisper as you finally drift off to sleep.

—

You wake up, overcome with panic. Something doesn’t feel right. You struggle to open your eyes but your lids are too heavy. Your stomach churns and vomit pushes its way to your lips. You sit up and your eyes open briefly as purple vomit rushes past your lips. You’re too weak to hold yourself up so you slowly lay back down; your eyes close as you do. As the room grows darker you notice other people in the room. Dozens more than before you had fallen asleep. Some sway close-by while others tumble down the stairs into the room.

As your head hits the damp table, sounds slowly fill your ears – as if someone’s hands were being pulled away from the sides of your head. You hear muffled gunshots and screams in the distance. You grab the edge of the table and roll over onto your side. You force your eyes open.

Hands grab your arm as an elderly man with bright white eyes leans close to you. You try to push him off but you don’t have the strength. The drugs that Brian had pumped into you have left you weak and helpless. You feel his teeth pierce the skin of your shoulder and you howl in pain as muscle and sinew are torn from your bone.

The head of the elderly monster promptly explodes and you are showered in blood and pieces of skull and brain. His body drops to the floor in front of you and you see Will staring down the sights of his rifle – smoke billows from the barrel. Your fight against the drugs is too much and your eyes force themselves closed again. You slip into unconciousness for nearly a minute before you can reopen them.

You watch as Will is pushed to the ground by a group of six or more zombies. His gun goes off and one of them stumbles backwards, blood spraying from his midsection. He quickly rejoins the rest of his group and together they tear Will to pieces. Thick blood pours from their fingers as they shove his flesh and organs into their mouths and feast hungrily.

You see Geoffrey laying on his stomach, reaching for his shotgun as his legs and back are ravaged. His fingers brush the handle of the gun before his head collapses to the floor. You feel as though you’re in a dream. You can’t control yourself, you can only lay there and watch as your friends are killed.

You hear panicked rustling near you and slowly turn your head. Brian is by your side filling his bag with beakers and syringes from the small table in an attempt to salvage his work. You slowly reach you hand towards him, silently begging him to help you. To pull you from the table and to your feet. He looks you in the eyes briefly before turning his back on you and running towards the stairs. You watch has he falls through the air, his foot wedged under Will’s body. He hits the ground hard and his bag tumbles from his hands. He struggles to get up but an overweight man pushes him to the floor and tears the skin from his face. Brian screams as his lower lip is bitten and slowly ripped away.

You turn your head and your eyes connect with Derek’s. He looks at you in fear as he reaches for a clip tucked into his belt and reloads his gun. He nods at you and rushes towards you, dropping anyone that gets in his way with quick shots to the head. You reach out for him as he gets closer.

“Jesus,” he whispers. “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.” He hesitates a moment as he gets close to you. “Your eyes…”

The words make your skin crawl. You know what he means. You’re changing, you can feel it. Derek grabs your arm and helps you off the table. You moan loudly in protest as your body erupts in pain. Your feet touch the ground and your head rests on his shoulder. Before you know what you’re doing, before you can stop it, you bite him.

A copper taste fills your mouth as you tear at his throat. Blood squirts into your eyes and you both fall to the floor. Derek screams in pain and quickly brings his hand to his wound. You savagely tear at the tough muscle with your teeth before swallowing it.

“What the fuck?” Derek screams. “What the fuck?!”

He backs away from you as blood pours down his shoulder. He pushes himself to his feet and readies his pistol. You watch the terror on his face as he points the gun at your head and tears stream down his cheeks. He closes his eyes as he pulls the trigger.

You can barely hear the click of the gun over the sounds of the grotesque feast surrounding you. The clip is empty. Derek lowers his arm and pauses a moment before turning away. He runs up the stairs and out of your sight.

You roll over onto your back. Your vision is clearing and you can feel some of your strength returning. It’s not too late for you. You know it. You can feel it. You aren’t one of them – not yet. You need to get out and to the safe zone. Someone will be able to help you there. They have to.

A horde of bodies slowly move towards you, their arms outstretched and their mouths agape. The basement is full of them. You’re going to have to push your way through them to get out. To your left, you see your messenger bag leaning against the far wall. To the right, you see Brian’s bag. You have enough time to grab only one of them. Yours has the revolver with four bullets but Brian’s has his medical supplies and research. The gun might be your only hope of getting to the safe zone alive but Brian’s research may help end this whole thing.

You push yourself to your feet as the creatures close in on you.

VOTING FOR THIS CHAPTER IS CLOSED

Do You
A: Grab your bag
B: Grab Brian’s bag