He was sleeping soundly beside me, but I heard terrifying howls, followed by groans.
My hands were wrapped around him, and even the slightest movement woke him up. But there was no time for him to prepare because those things moved too quickly. There wasn’t enough time.
My next reaction was to turn and shield him.
I saw the brief flash of tension in his eyes as he glanced at the knives he had scavenged, lying not far from the seat.
I should have made him carry one on him.
Protecting him, I shouted as the thing lunged at us, “Get up from the seat.”
He immediately reached for the button beside him, while the skeletal corpse had already pounced on my back. I crouched down to prevent it from biting his neck. Then, using the direction the chair was rising, I forcefully pushed the thing away and yelled, “Knife!”
I don’t know how I managed it. I just felt my stiff limbs seemed to move. The skeletal corpse behind me seemed to be enraged. It swung its thin arms, trying to throw me off. I took the opportunity to grab its wrist, and as I was flung away, it was also thrown out because of its light weight.
In my peripheral vision, I saw him grab the knife and glance at the zombies pouring in from outside, then look back at me lying on the ground.
No, don’t come over…
“Deal with… them…”
The skeletal corpse I was struggling with couldn’t pull its hand out and was frantically trying to bite my wrist.
My old wound was still there. Another bite might break it.
So, I slammed my head into it.
The impact stunned it, and I had no sharp weapons nearby. I only saw the clothes he had changed out of in the corner.
Use whatever you can!
I quickly grabbed them and pounced on the skeletal corpse. Before it could grab him, I wrapped the clothes around its neck and tightened them.
Their necks are thin and easy to break. Although it won’t kill them, separating the head from the body will at least immobilize them.
Watching the head tilt and the flesh and skin separating and rolling away, I quickly ran over and began pulling the zombies backward.
Please be okay…
I could still hear his breathing, but the enticing meat smell was too weak amidst the surrounding rotting corpse odor. I couldn’t really smell it.
There was probably no bloody odor either.
Finally, when I squeezed to the front, I saw a few corpses with pierced brains lying on the table. Behind the table was him and another skeletal corpse.
I saw him’s knife being thrown away and couldn’t care less about moving the table or if the zombies behind would surge. If I didn’t go now, he might die immediately.
I pushed the table away with force and threw an empty can remaining on the table.
The skeletal corpse’s attention was diverted slightly by this. Good, that bought us some time. I pounced beside his head and, as the thing prepared to bite down, I raised my hand to block it.
“Don’t!” The person on the ground stared wide-eyed. In an instant, tears came out.
It’s okay. I won’t feel pain.
But he suddenly shook his head vigorously, moving the pinned wrist to reach for the knife. He then directly stabbed it into the brain of the creature biting my wrist.
With the teeth on my wrist loosening, he desperately kicked the fallen thing away. Many more zombies were slowly moving around the table toward us.
He ignored everything and held my now severed wrist, only connected by outer skin, and cried out. As I tried to stand up to block the zombies, he wouldn’t let me go.
I tried to turn around to protect him, but he refused to let me.
I was desperate and said, “You’ll… die…”
“Then I can’t use your life to trade!” He hugged me tightly, crying fiercely.
The moment he threw himself at me, I felt some fragments of memory flash in my mind.
It wasn’t from the old man I had eaten before, nor from any of the people whose brains I had consumed. I had no recollection of it, but the scenes felt strangely familiar.
Confusion, a car, him, and others.
I wasn’t in my current state.
I protected him from behind, running with him to the car, but someone appeared from the side, trying to pounce.
So I instinctively raised my hand to block.
I pushed him into the car, shut the door, and shouted to the driver to leave quickly, while I led a few zombies away.
I thought the person driving the car must have been a very good friend of mine. Very clear-headed, he locked the car and drove away despite the person’s shouts.
I knew I would soon die, but I felt at peace.
At that time, I would still feel pain.
I truly… recognized him.
I held him close, vaguely recalling the fragments in my mind.
The leading two zombies actually stood still, while those behind, not understanding, pushed them forward a little.
I recognized them. This morning, I was still calling them “you”…
One even responded to me…
I held him tightly, my vocal cords vibrating as I said, “Help me…”
Help me… I don’t want him to die.
Whether it was because I was holding him or something else, many of my kind, a large portion, seemed to slow down.
The leading one appeared confused but still, like me, reached out to rub the dirt on itself, wiping it on its back.
One of my wrists was severed and just hung limply, so I used the other hand to pat his shoulder.
“It’s okay…”
You found me…
Although I’m not in an ideal state…
But it’s okay now…
so touching 😭😭 remembering him even after you die