Epilogue

Epilogue

Genevieve

“Wait!” I hear my superior cry. I stop against my better judgement. I just want to get going. I'm not interested in being held back anymore, just want to focus on the task in hand.

“You forgot this, you  dummes Mädchen.”

“Oh, thanks,” I take the gun from him and smiles, “I'd lose my head if it weren't screwed on.”  He shakes his head and walks back into the building. I put my two fingers up; he is such an arsehole sometimes. Jayden walks out from around the side of the shed, fiddling with his flies.

“You done playing with yourself, J?” I yell out to him. He shakes his head and continues walking.

“Ha ha, very funny. Just had the mother of all pisses though. Would you like more details about that?” I punch him in the arm. He punches me back and puts his arm around my shoulders.

“So, what's the brief?” he asks.

“They heard they was a crash a little distance away, probably new recruits. The kraut wants us to retrieve them,” I answer, taking out my gun. Jayden takes out his gun.

“Right, is that what the smoke was?”

“What smoke?”

“I saw smoke from the top window. I'd say it was about a mile away.”

“Oh, that can't be good. So, if there was smoke, we can assume that there is fire?” I assert.

“Well yes, Captain Obvious. That would be a wise assumption. My God, you suck,” he says, walking ahead, with his typically cocky smile.

“You swallow.” It's the only retort I have. He sticks his tongue out at me and starts jogging. The quicker we go and scout this place out, the faster we can get back and warm up. It's bloody freezing this morning but it might warm up later; it is only six o'clock in the morning, if that. 

“Come on slow poke,” Jay mocks. I start jogging to catch up.

The sight of the crash is somewhat shocking. The car is a total write-off, smoke is billowing from the bonnet. A lamp-post has impaled some poor b*****d, the driver. I don't think that was the cause of death though; he has a bullet wound to the head. The back seat is covered in blood. A dark haired Infected sits in the back of car, she has no arm and she seems to be absolutely covered in it.

“Gen, take a look at this,” Jay beckons me over, as if he was showing a dog t**d to impress a friend. There's nothing left of the poor git. He's still alive...or reanimated. He just stays...he doesn't move or react to us. There is no flesh or anything on his abdomen and chest. His spine and parts of his entrails are visible. Half of his face has been peeled off. He has no arms and legs. Jesus, he looked so young. Handsome too. But his last expression perplexes me; he looks euphoric, a smile sketched onto his face.

I often like to look at the faces of the dead, try and create their life stories. Like, this one time, there was the one old bloke who had been trapped by a bookcase. He seemed so frail and desperate. I imagined he must have been a veteran, scarred by his life before. Scarred by this life an' all. I thought he must have gone into retirement, hiding out to spend the rest of his days reading the classics. One day, his passion squeezed the life from him. Something caused it to fall and he was left to die, aware of everything little thing. Every single sensation heightened by not being able to do anything. I don't think he would have appreciated when the Infected made him into kibble.

I go around to the other side of the car. There's a trail of blood leading from the car into a little cove in the ditch. Someone might still be alive, injured but alive. What happened here must have been brutal. One person impaled, one infected and one torn apart. If one poor b*****d survived, we have to give them help. We have to get them to the safe zone and get them medical attention. The amount of blood they must have lost...we have to find them.

“Jay, there must be at least one survivor. Come and check this cove, just in case.”

“Are you sure?” he runs over to me, “If they've lost this much blood, we might have to face the possibility that they could be dead.” I take a deep breath and take out my flash-light. Jay does the same and we enter the cove. 

There's someone here. A girl. A girl with a baby in her arms. Both covered in blood. I walk over to the baby; none of them are making any noise. I touch the baby's check with my fingertip: they're ice cold but it is breathing. As soon as I shine my light towards its face, it begins to scream from the top of its lung. Wow, this little boy has a pair of lungs on him. The girl's eyes flicker open. Her eyes are a vibrant green but their colour is diminished by melancholy.

I offer her my hand. “It's all right. We're going to take you both somewhere safe.”

She just smiles and closes her eyes.

“I've heard that one before.”