The Rotting Flesh Book 1: Escatology
Chapter 14: Jane is Lost

The gap between them and the zombies was closing quickly and Desmond had not yet come down. Praise was no longer in her right mind as she kept pacing back and forth taking little notice to the undead headed their way, all that went through her mind was how it would be her fault if he dies.

Damnit Desmond Merlyn thought as she looked around for something they could use against the creatures

“Shit, hey Desmond!” Jane called out but there was no response

She looked at her friend who signaled for her watch and lifted five fingers. Five minutes was all they had before the whole alley was swarmed with these bastards. Merlyn shuffled through the trash and grabbed onto something hard. It was a long metal rod. They had to take action since Praise wasn’t in her right senses anymore

“This will do” she said and began approaching the eaters

They were still coming in in pairs or trios so it was not that difficult for her to take them down. However with each body that fell the numbers increased.The clock was ticking, the odds were against them. Merlyn tried her best but by the time the five minute mark hit, it was now impossible to keep them out.

“Jane we gotta go!” she yelled her words jolting Praise out of her thoughts

“No we can’t, Desmond we have to go and help him” she said her eyes watering

Jane gently held her shoulder and pointed at the alley entrance

“Praise please, look even if we wanted to its impossible” she said pointing at the alley entrance

Praise felt her knees weaken. She knew there was no way to help Desmond. Realizing how outnumbered they were, Merlyn turned and ran.

“Lets go!” she said forcefully pulling Praise’s hand

As they were beginning to climb the fence a familiar voice made their hearts skip a beat

“Heads up!!! Wooooaaaaah” Desmond yelled as he jumped from the window, everyone’s eyes lit up

Immediately after landing he hopped out of the bin and ran to the fence the others were climbing. They had all stopped, looking at him with worried faces

“Hey guys, keep climbing don’t stop!” he yelled and latched on

By the time the zombies got to the fence they had all jumped over to the other side.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, I” he was cut short by Praise slapping him

She had blood shot eyes and tears flowing down her cheeks. Jane tried to speak but Merlyn stopped her and shook her head in disapproval. This was their personal matter to resolve.

“Praise…” he said realizing how much his delay had frightened her “I’m sorry” he added hugging her

She couldn’t stop her tears from coming out. She didn’t want to be the one to cause the death of a friend, maybe the only person she even considered a friend in this new world. Slowly letting go of him she wiped her tears pulling herself together.

“You didn’t get bitten right?” asked Jane

“No not that i know of” he replied scanning his hands and chest

“Well uhm guys, I think all this can wait we are sitting ducks out here” Merlyn said realizing how exposed they were

Even though they weren’t in the city anymore they were now in a more open area with no buildings to hide in. If they were to be chased there would be very low chances of survival.

“What now?” Jane asked

“We could swim across the river” Desmond joked

“Grow up” Merlyn commented

“There is a bridge down this road” Praise finally spoke after a long time of silence

As they decided on where to go, they failed to notice the fence they had jumped over was slowly giving in to the weight of the zombies that were after them. Their numbers kept growing and the wire were beginning to break. It was after they heard a tugging sound from the fence they realized the tables were about to turn.

“Run!” Desmond yelled and they took off in the direction Praise had instructed

The fence broke and the zombies flooded the area the guys had been standing in. Some falling on top of others while the rest trembled on them as they mindlessly followed their prey.

“Uh guys is it me or do those guys seem a bit faster” Desmond commented realizing some weren’t exactly walking they ran

“Shit, speed up guys” Merlyn instructed and they began to sprint

Not all of them were slow, usually the zombies were limited by how much they would have decayed. The ones that were still new were faster than the old ones because the muscles were still fresh. They fled along the river hoping to reach the bridge before they gas out. Jane dropped her gun and fell a few meters behind when she stopped to pick it up.Their concentration was mainly on the zombies behind them and Jane, causing them to not take notice of others that were appearing from ahead of them.

“Heads up! Damnit” Desmond yelled

Realizing the situation the trio dodged and shoved away those in their way managing to out maneuver them. However for Jane who had fallen behind it was a different story, the numbers had grown. She managed to evade a few but it was only a matter of time before she was surrounded.

“Shit Jane what happened!?” Desmond yelled as he stopped and pulled out his gun

“Run don’t worry about me!” Jane yelled seeing no way to escape

“No Jane,” Merlyn scream pulling out her gun too

They both began firing at the zombies trying to clear the way for her but the numbers kept growing forcing them to fire while retreating.There was no way for Jane to unite with them. It was only a matter of time before their bullets ran out.

“Shit fuck, Fuck fuuuuuccccckkk!!” Merlyn swore as she kept clicking her empty gun “nooooo God nooo Jane” she was already going into panic mode

“Lets go” Desmond said yanking her by the hand

There was nothing they could do, some zombies were also closing in on them. The only option they had was to run.

“Don’t touch me! Jane I’m coming” she yelled tears flowing down her cheeks

“Merlyn no!” Jane gave her a look which stopped her in her tracks. She knew exactly what that look meant.

Rugal you son of a bitch, Jane noo

She turned and began to retreat with the others.

It was too difficult to see her now because of the many heads that were swarming the place. They kept running even though their emotions had weakened their knees. There was no other way but to run. Tears endlessly flowed down their cheeks trailing to their eyes due to the wind blowing on their faces. This was the new world, this pain was the kind of pain people experienced on a daily basis. Life was no longer sacred as it used to be.

Is this the end of the road for me Jane thought as she contemplating the pain her friend must be feeling in that situation

The longer she stood there the closer they got so she had only one option. Without a moment’s hesitation she dived into the river and was carried down stream in the opposite direction her friends were headed. She tried to swim against the current but it was too strong. It spun her countless times pulling her under, with each spin and pul she felt lighter until finally everything went black.