to try to get myself to fight and keep going. Because obviously the voices are my subconscious talking…right?
Yeah that’s sane.
Of course the other alternative doesn’t exactly make me feel any better. What alternative you ask? Well, given the circumstances, I’m starting to think maybe I’m either dead or dying. Not exactly something fun to think about. At least this way is almost peaceful if I factor out the pain in my head and its way better than being eaten by hundreds of the dead. So really, my day isn’t going too bad…in theory.
The voices fade enough that I become aware as the others are shooting into the dead and just barely clearing a path around them enough to begin to run. I stand frozen by the car, not sure what the best attack plan is. I can’t just run after them can I? It would seem that I’m finally cracking under the pressure of it all. They act like they know it too and are fine with just leaving me to die. Deep down I know that can’t be true. Not after everything we have all been together, I mean really it’s not like we were strangers before this. Dan is my brother for goodness sakes, and Gabe, well he’s the love of my life now.
I’m so confused.
I’m all alone.
And worse of all, I feel so out of control.
For once though the dead are leaving me alone, this in itself is strange. Usually they charge for the weak and vulnerable…meaning me, basically. And yet they leave me alone? That can’t be right. I will take my pass though, even if I could very well be dying at the moment or going completely mental. Actually, you know what? Freak that, I’m not staying here to be dead people meat. I’m getting the hell out of dodge.
Before I can even flex my muscles to take a step forward, I have the sensation that I’m in two places at once. Complete with vertigo and I need to know why. So, biting the inside of my cheek and tasting the salty sweetness of blood, I push away from the car. My legs shake enough that I wonder if I’m about to fall flat on my face. My entire body just wants to buckle to the ground in defeat. But grinding my teeth together allows for me to find some semblance of balance to remain upright. My head does throb from the sudden change from movement to stillness.
It’s like an old friend at this point though, I must be getting used to it.
The feeling of being in two places at once overrides the pain. I suddenly feel like I’m sitting back inside the car again. The clarity of the sensation makes me go numb…well no that’s not true. I can feel my head throbbing like it is now but at the same time stronger somehow. My body feels so weak and tired in both scenarios that it makes me want to just lie down and give up altogether. Then something happens that makes me gasp. Warm strong hands press into my cheeks and hold me protectively. I physically sigh into them. A peace that I haven’t felt in a while wraps around me like a security blanket that I never want to lose track of.
The voices become clear. Gabe’s voice becomes clear and I can’t avoid it.
“Maggie please hear me, I can’t lose you. Not now and maybe not ever.” His hands tighten, urging me to listen. “Just hang on a little longer, all we need is time. We’re so close to being safe. It can’t end here. Not like this.”
His voice fades before I can try to respond or even think if his voice is real. It makes me feel like everything is spinning out of my control. I’m seriously contemplating climbing back into the car, and just letting this crazy trip ride me like a roller coaster ride, when the sound of a bomb blazes through my senses.
My eyes go wide, and I go back to just hearing what is all around me and not in my own head.
The early dawn lights up as the ground quakes, bodies of the living and the dead are running around now. While trapped in my head, I lost sight of the others and quickly search out for them. It doesn’t take long until I find them, and I see them in the distance much closer to the wall than they were moments ago.
Screaming for Gabe and