by T. A. Sorsby
Breathless, dizzy, and I think possibly bleeding, I became dimly aware of someone’s shouts for me to get down.
I tucked my head down as multiple shooters opened up with pistol fire – I guess at this point it was shoot straight to save my life, or shoot badly to save me from a horrible death.
The weight on my back suddenly went slack, and I rolled a shoulder to knock the thing off of me, my head pounding with the strain.
I got to standing, groggy, and managed to start putting one foot in front of the other, building speed to try and match the train – there was still one more flatbed to jump into.
But as I turned to make the final push, to jump onto the back of the rolling train, the world lurched sideways, my vision turning grey. A dim little thought told me that I’d hit my head a lot harder than I thought, and that for some reason, my shirt was wet.
As the train left the station, I tried once more to get back on my feet, but putting weight on my left arm was agony. I fell onto my back and craned my neck to look down myself.
There was a bullet hole in my jacket, up past the elbow on my sleeve. The jacket I’d bought to ride on Katy’s motorcycle. I could feel my hoodie and my shirt were really wet, but I couldn’t feel the wound yet. Was that a bad sign? Or was I in shock? And was that a bad sign?
I looked around the platform, my world spinning as a wave of dizziness hit. It looked like zeds were climbing on the ceiling, but when the world settled down again I could see they were just coming at me from everywhere else. Down the stairs. Along the platform. Over the other tracks. Man. There were quite lot of them.
I reached into my pocket for the loose bullets for the Cobra, dropping a few of them as I tried to load them into the gun with my shaking hands. I tried to sit up, but the world didn’t like that, doing its best impression of a washing machine as the bile rose up in my throat.
I took aim towards the stairs, and fired. I don’t think I hit anything, but that wasn’t really the point anymore, was it? I was fucked from the moment that strap got caught around my foot. It was over.
‘At least I got everyone else out.’ I said, letting the Cobra fall from my grip, clattering to the concrete. I’m not sure it was saying it out loud or if it was in my head.
I’d told Neville I’d wanted Morgan to be prepared. I guess she was now, even if I had to look out for her, one last time. Maybe if I’d have thrown her gun back she’d have been able to reload and get that one off me. Then again, Morgan might have shot me in the head, rather than the arm. Would that have been so bad?
‘Just too damn slow.’ I muttered, fishing in my pockets for Edgar’s Tetley, the single, lone, loose, last bullet.
Poor kid. She’d be devastated to leave me behind. But at least she still had her dad. Still had each other. Still had Anita. She’d need people too, her sister, her parents, all gone.
‘Think I did okay.’ I replied, pushing it into place, fingers in my left hand going numb. Dizzy, I flicked the chambers closed.
Like Lucile and Damian. His folks were gone. But weren’t Lucile’s from Sydow? Nice. Maybe they’d find each other. They’d do alright there then. Providing he took his meds, and got some new stitches. Maybe Lucile would go back to her medical training, have a change of career.
‘Just…better luck next time.’ I said.
I didn’t have anyone left. They’d gone without me – I told them to, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a sting to it. Someone could have jumped off the train. But no. Probably for the best.
I closed my eyes, feeling the tears welling up behind them. I saw Katy’s smiling face, her cute nose and that little stud. So many memories. So many things left to say.
Then I saw Laurel standing beside her, tall and strong, a pain sometimes but worth it. I couldn’t help but wonder…maybe there was something there, after all. I mean, I was thinking of her. With the last bullet loaded, it was her I now saw, here as I got ready to end it all. Right before…
I pressed the gun under my chin.
Edgar Jameson left me this gun while he took pills with his wife. That’s how they checked out of this world. Peaceful and quiet. But that wasn’t how I was going to go out – I wouldn’t kick and scream as the zeds tore my flesh. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
One shot, and it’d be lights out.
My hands shook as my finger tightened on the trigger.
Go on. Just one pull, and it’s over.
My grip was so tight it was painful.
It’s not giving up. It’s not losing.
I felt myself begin to sweat as the zeds closed in nearer.
You got everyone out. You won.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
That’s when I pulled the trigger.
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Table of Contents
Chapters
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty One
Twenty Two
Twenty Three
Twenty Four
Twenty Five
Twenty Six
Twenty Seven
Twenty Eight
Twenty Nine
Thirty
Thirty One
Thirty Two
Thirty Three
Thirty Four
Thirty Five
Thirty Six
Thirty Seven
Thirty Eight
Thirty Nine
Forty
Forty One
Forty Two
Forty Three
Forty Four
Forty Five
Forty Six
Forty Seven
Forty Eight
Forty Nine
Fifty
Fifty One
Fifty Two