Don't Go

The blood that got splattered all over my face blinded me and prevented me from seeing anything, but I know it was Winter's...

Old man Avery kept shooting at the roof of the truck, the deafening sound of gunshots ringed in my ears while he was trying to get rid of the stragglers latching on to our vehicle.

Hank desperately tries to keep his view on the road, swerving left and right and avoiding the roadblocks.

I...

I wiped the bloodstain on my face and turned back to Winter and the person grabbing her. There was a moment where the man is positioned out of her way, adrenaline rushed back to me and that gave me the opportunity to shoot him directly in the face.

I could hear a loud bang from my gun, as I pulled the trigger the shot recoiled my hand backwards and I shot the man in the head.

The man got thrown out by the force of the bullet, and the car was free from the horde once more.

Putting away my gun, I quickly came to Winter's side and assessed the situation. She was bleeding in volumes and was losing consciousness.

There was a large gaping wound on her neck and a bite mark on her head. It almost ripped off a chunk of her head... Her eyes focused at me as she was trying to utter a word, but her neck was completely torn apart...

I could feel her pain, every bit of her breath could be her last.

Her eyes filled up with tears coming out. She didn't want to die.

I felt her hand on my shoulders, clutching it and let out gasps of air trying to hold on to life.

The gunshots seem to have stopped and Mr. Avery saw the situation in the back seat, but he couldn't do anything. In his mind, there was nothing left for her beyond saving.

But she's my goddamn friend!

I threatened the old man to get me some bandages, he reluctantly agreed, and he kept eyes on both of us.

I wrapped the bandage around Wint's head and in her neck, preventing any more blood from leaking out of her body "You're gonna be alright Wint! just stay there!"

Her eyes darted around and turned red in a fade, she got up quickly as if a sudden jolt of electricity powered her up.

The old man was shocked, we both saw that the movements Winter made was not something a normal man can brush off of, let alone recover from in a short time.

But...

I reached out to Winter...

"Zaina no!"

In a brief moment, she pounced at me and pinned me into the door of the vehicle, throwing the truck off balance and surprising Hank, he let out a cuss in response and Mr. Avery was forced to take aim at Winter.

I looked at her dead in the eyes...

Her eyes did not look like the one of a normal person...

Her strength was surprisingly strong, as she was weak before and couldn't even match me in terms of power.

It's giving off signs as the same people that I encountered earlier.

"Winter...?"

Suddenly, a burst of gunshots came from the old man's rifle, as he attempted to shoot Winter.

That shot did nothing as he remembered that Winter wore an armored vest.

In a panic he shouted, "Zaina! Shoot her!" he stood his guard and kept his aim at Winter, but not risking it to accidentally hit me.

But I couldn't think of what to do, I'm staring at both my friend's and death's face, she was trying to bite me, and I kept holding her off by pushing her and preventing her from eating my face.

The gun I threw away was right beside me, waiting to be beckoned by my intent to protect.

My mind is shifting, it's telling me that the person I loved for years is not her anymore, but a mindless creature taken over by primal carnage.

Slowly, I held her back further and pushing Winter to where I can finally reach out my gun, I grit my teeth but hesitated to shoot her.

The more I look at her, the more it became clear that she is already gone.

She became one of them...

Wint- whoever she is now, raised her hand and prepared to claw me with her long, bloodied nails.

And in a desperate need of survival.

I pointed the gun straight at her head point-blank and pulled the trigger.

______

The truck stopped moving, coming to a halt as Hank took his grip from the wheel, "I think we're safe now, for a while at least" He took a deep breath as he thought that it's all over.

The old man stayed silent, although looking forward at the road, I know his eyes are looking right at me, he felt the pain I just went through as I lost my one and only friend.

And here I'm recollecting my thoughts, trying to tell myself I did the right thing, but it just felt so wrong, and so bastardly to kill someone you've known and cared for years.

It was for retaliation, an act for survival.

But at the same time, it felt nasty.

The old man opened the door on his side and Hank opened the trunk of the vehicle.

And I was left alone with nothing to stare at but myself in the driver's mirror.

It wasn't until I looked into the mirror that I saw myself tearing up and visibly shaken. I hovered my hands over my face and wiped off the tears coming from my eyes.

I didn't want this to happen...

All that time I promised her I would protect her, and I did nothing but watch as she got turned into one of them slowly right in front of my damn face.

I felt the urge to puke and on instinct; I opened the door of the truck and instantly hopped outside to release all the vile substance into the ground. I coughed out after I stopped puking, but I was left kneeling on the ground for a while.

Hank got me up, helping me to stand again and bought me to the back of the truck to see if I had any more injuries.

They inspected me if I had more wounds but it turns out I didn't.

"Looks like my hunches were correct"

The old man stood there muttering something to both me and Hank, I asked the old man, "What are you referring to?"

The old man rolled up the sleeves from his clothing and showed us a scratch mark that definitely came from the people that chased us earlier.

"Look at this, its an obvious wound I got from the attack earlier, but I didn't turn into one of them, unlike someone..."

He rolled down his sleeves again to hide the wound, Hank stared at him in confusion "You aren't gonna bandage that thing?" He said as he grabbed a pair of bandages and disinfectants to give to him.

"Oh my bad." Mr. Avery accepted his offer and healed his wound, he took a moment to cover himself first before continuing.

"Anyways, what I'm hinting out is we're safe from their attacks as long as it isn't a direct bite."

"Let's make sure we won't end up the same fate as her"

He lightly tapped me and gave me a towel and water, Hank and the old man clearly cared and wanted me to forget what happened.

But I just can't.

It'll be a burden I'll have to carry forever.