Among The Dead (Book 3): Dwell In Unity

by Colley, Ryan

  “One time my chute didn’t open properly and I had to cut myself loose. I fell about forty feet. I was sure I’d die. I came away winded and bruised. Here I am, to die another day,” Keith said, speaking cryptically.

  “So what?” I replied. I liked Keith, but I didn’t want my last thoughts to be about Keith’s war stories.

  “I’m a man of probability. What do you think your chances of death in here is? One hundred per cent?” Keith said, weighing up the odds. He had a look of determination in his eyes, but one of desperation too.

  “Probably,” I said with a shrug. Then I sighed and said, “Definitely.”

  “I’ve had enough. Hadn’t felt like that before, but survival takes its toll. I feel like I’m done. Served my time so to speak. I have fought and killed, survived and died inside a thousand times before. What’s one more death? I’m just … I’m just so tired now. I want to sleep. For a long time …” Keith said sadly, walking to stand next to me on the balcony. He looked at me in the eyes. “If there was a way out of here, with one per cent chance of survival, would you take it over this room?”

  “Of course,” Kirsty replied without hesitation. I stared at Keith cautiously. I felt like I was being tricked.

  “Only if I was sure all of us would make it out,” I replied carefully. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I, awkwardly, hugged back.

  “You’re a good guy Sam, remember that when the world seems dark, okay?” Keith said softly and tightened his grip around me

  “What are you doing?” I said, feeling panic rise inside me. I stared at him helplessly as he lifted me off the ground. “Keith?”

  “Kirsty,” he said, ignoring me. “The van is below. Hitting it will be a lot softer than concrete. Okay?”

  She nodded confidently and ran forward, peering over the balcony. I saw her wince but, without a second’s hesitation, she climbed over the railing and pushed herself off.

  I watched her fall, hanging in the air forever … and then she hit the van. I heard her scream in agony, and the sound of metal shifting and breaking from the impact. Yet, that didn’t stop her. She got up and limped away, still clutching the shotgun, and got into the van. Keith shuffled forward with me in his tight grip.

  “Will you jump?” he asked me calmly.

  “No! What are you doing? Keith. Calm down. What the hell!” I said, panic speeding my speech.

  “Remember my choice, honour it, the same way we did with Stephanie in the end,” he said to me, tears in his eyes.

  “Keith?” I said, one more time, eyes begging him.

  He smiled before leaning and whispering to me, “This is your one per cent.”

  With those words, he did what I could only perceive as madness and let go.

  CHAPTER 41

  For the briefest of moments, I felt entirely weightless. Like I could fly away. Away from the horror. Away from the undead. Away from the path I was set on. Then gravity took me and I fell, the world speeding by. A blur of sky and concrete as I twisted in the air.

  I felt flashes of betrayal and fear, anger and happiness, all at the same time. How could Keith have let me go? Would I survive the fall? I knew why he did it. I was out of there! I could survive. It was my one per cent. Then the crushing reality came back as I plummeted into the roof of the van. I expected to bounce in the same way Kirsty had. She’d survived because of it. I had no such luck. I crashed through the roof and into the bed of the van.

  My arm twisted. My ribs crushed. My flesh tore. Splitting pain in my back. I tried to sit up but I couldn’t. All I could do was look through the gaping hole in the roof that I’d made. I think I could see Keith looking down at me. In my fading periphery, I saw metal pushed up through my stomach. It was coated in blood. My blood. Oh my God. The pain. Oh God. My vision was swimming. Pain made it impossible to see straight. Had it hit anything vital? I just couldn’t tell. The pain … I wept.

  “Sam?” Kirsty called to me, fear in her voice.

  “Go!” I choked out. It took every ounce of my strength to muster that call. I heard the engine start and rumble as we moved. My vision temporary blacked out, the vibration making my flesh scream as it tore. I came back to reality for the moment.

  ****

  Keith

  Keith just stared at the door as it bulged inwards from the sheer force being applied to it from the other side. The poorly made barricade wouldn’t hold for long. The wood continued to splinter. Keith knew his time was up, and there was no way he was going to be able to fight his way out of it. Then again, he didn’t want to. He was done. Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually.

  Keith put the SA80 down on the table, regretting not letting Sam and Kirsty leave with it, and began looking around the room. He had a few minutes; he wanted to get to know the room that was to be his tomb. A three-star hotel was a terrible excuse for a final resting place. He spotted what he wanted in the corner and smiled.

  He rooted through the mini-fridge, discarding the water and wine, only taking the seven miniature whisky bottles. Whisky had always reminded him of his friends who he’d fought alongside and, with the end imminent, was the people he wanted to spend his final moments with.

  Keith dropped down into the only remaining chair, turning it to face the door. He finished the first whisky in seconds. The second more slowly, thinking over his life. The third as the door cracked and splintered further. The fourth as he thought about the sacrifice he’d made and the two people he’d made it for. The fifth while thinking of his friends and loved ones. The sixth while the door crashed inwards and the undead poured into the room. The seventh forever remained unopened, as he pulled the trigger and ended his life.

  ****

  Sam

  In the fading world, I heard the gunshot. Undead fell over the balcony and into the road. The sheer number of the undead going into that room … they must have just washed over Keith and out the other side.

  We carried on driving. My focus waned. I tried to move but slipped. The bed of the van was slick with my blood – that didn’t hurt as bad as the cracked ribs and damaged arm. But I was bleeding out. I knew it. My vision was pin holed and narrowed.

  I wasn’t afraid of dying. Not anymore. But I wasn’t ready to die either. I needed to find Alice. I had so much more to do. So much more to see. So much more to …

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I always enjoyed reading fictional worlds, but creating my own was always my passion. My Year 8 English teacher told me I should pursue writing after a short story I had written for a school project.

  Things changed and life moved on, but even while I was graduating from my Bachelors and Masters in Psychology, I still wrote stories and I still loved doing it. Writing is my passion, and everything else I do is a means for me to carry on with that passion.

  I’m also prepared to move to a secure location at a zombie’s notice …

  If you’ve gotten this far, please leave me a review and message me; I love hearing what people think!

  For my website:

  www.AmongTheDead.co.uk

  For regular updates:

  www.facebook.com/AmongTheDeadATD

  www.twitter.com/AmongTheDeadATD.

  Want to email me?

  AmongTheDeadATD@hotmail.com

  MARRY