Page 11 of Surviving Her

Why didn’t I spend more time with you guys?

Tears streamed down her face as she braced herself against a cold wall. The infected were nearly upon her, their jaws snapping as they closed in. The thought of never seeing her family again, of never having the chance to make things right, was almost too much to bear. The finality of the situation was heartbreaking.

As the infected reached out with bloodied hands and hungry eyes, Eliza’s breath caught in her throat. She prepared herself for the inevitable—she was about to be bitten.

The world seemed to narrow to a single, terrifying moment as a tall, hefty male zombie towered over her, his jaws closing in. Her mind went blank as she looked up at him, ready to face the darkness that was about to engulf her.

5

RIVER

The stench hit River as she made her way through the hospital. It was a vile blend of sweat, blood, and something indescribably awful. Whatwasthat? The narrow corridor she found herself in was very dimly lit. She could barely see far enough ahead to put one foot in front of the other. The walls were smeared with handprints, some dark and rusty looking, others fresh and bright red. She smelled a coppery tang in the air.

Oh, God. It stinks.

She gulped back a wave of nausea.

River knew she couldn’t afford to be afraid—not now. Her father was still up at the cabin, and she desperately needed to get him some help. She’d managed to get this far, and she refused to give up now.

What did I see out there? They were like animals. Jesus! They were tearing each other apart.

After Sheila left to find Dr. Carter, she’d found herself stuck by the side entrance to Holy Souls. As she waited, she’d caught a glimpse of the frenzied mass outside. It had all happened so quickly. The image stayed with her as she made her way deeperinto the hospital. River wasn’t sure what she would find or who she was looking for, but she knew it couldn’t be any worse than what was going down outside. This Dr. Carter had to be here somewhere—and she was her only hope of saving her father.

The hallway opened up into a larger, even more distressing scene. The hospital’s ER had probably always been a place of high energy, but this…this was something straight out of a nightmare. Bodies, both living and dead, littered the floors, their forms twisted in pain or frozen in expressions of sheer terror. River’s heart thudded as she stepped over a lifeless arm, her eyes scanning the room for any medical personnel. She’d been to this hospital countless times and even dated one of the nurses, but she’d never seen it like this. She’d never seenanythinglike this, not even in the movies. Horror flicks were so not her thing.

Suddenly, she heard a guttural growl. River’s attention was drawn to a group of what she assumed were infected people looming over two people dressed in white coats.

“Hey! You two! Over here!” she hollered as loudly as she could.

Then one of the figures, a man—or something that had once been a man—snapped its teeth, its body jerking as it bit into one of the white-coated people. As it ripped off an arm and started chomping down on it, it stared hungrily at the remaining doctor crouching on the floor behind him.

“Bobby!” the person on the floor cried out in desperation. It was a female voice.

“Hey! No! Leave her alone!” River’s breath caught in her throat as the creature lifted its head. Its eyes were glazed over and unseeing, and blood dripped from its mouth.

This is actually the zombie fucking apocalypse. This is happening. It’s actually happening. I have to save her.

The thing that had once been a man let out another growl, its gaze snapping to River with a suddenness that made her freeze.For a heartbeat, neither of them moved. Then, with a snarl, it lunged at the woman on the floor.

River’s instincts kicked in. She grabbed a metal IV stand and ran toward the thing. The cool steel of the metal steadied her nerves as she swung it with all her strength. The stand connected with the creature’s skull with a sickening crunch, and it staggered back. River didn’t wait for it to recover. She swung again, this time aiming for the creature’s neck. The impact sent it crashing to the floor, its body convulsing once before going still.

I got it! I killed it! I think? Oh my God. What did I do? I’m a murderer. But this is hardly a human.

River stood over the body, almost choking on her breath as she fought to keep herself from collapsing. Panic coursed through her veins at what she’d just done, but she had to survive this and save her dad. She could still hear distant screams and the faint crackle of static over the hospital intercom, but she didn’t have time to dwell on the horror of the situation. She couldn’t process killing that monster, but there had been nothing human about its behavior. As she straightened up and looked behind her, she saw the rest of the infected walking in the opposite direction en masse. She realized she’d either scared them or something else had caught their attention.

“Get up. My name’s Riv. We need to find a way out of here,” she said, her voice steadier than she’d expected.

“Riv? Like River? Are you Sheila’s friend?” The woman’s voice was hoarse. She looked around, her expression hardening as the weight of what had just happened pressed down on her. “What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe!”

“Did that thing bite you? Or scratch you?” River asked, ignoring the woman’s questions.

“No. At least, I don’t think so,” the woman replied.

“Where the hell is Sheila?” River barked.

“Oh, God…they got her. And Bobby…Bobby’s wife is pregnant…”

“We can’t think about Bobby’s wife right now. Who are you? Nurse? Doctor?” River asked, stepping closer. “My father…he’s hurt. Badly. I need your help.”

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