I Could Save You

It was the third day.

We’d been locked inside the small room for that long. I couldn’t remember the last time I slept. I couldn’t sleep anymore. Not when the zombie apocalypse was a real thing, instead of something that only happened in my dreams.

I sat in front of the door, next to the young man that had helped us all to safety. The door was barricaded of course, but how long could a rusty metal pole hold out? We were the first line of defense, and I wasn’t sure if that scared me at this point.

The old man stood up, suddenly, making me jump. The boy (because that’s really all he was, a boy) didn’t move, but his grip on the shotgun in his hands instantly became tighter.

“Let me out.”

“Jerry, you know I can’t do that.” That was the old man’s name. I had forgotten.

“Well, why not? We’re not lasting long in this dung heap, and there are better places to be, like that big department store across town. At least they have food.”

“You know as well as I do that you’ll get shot the moment you approach that place. That’s why none of us went there.”

“Boy, if you don’t let me out of this room, I’ll kill you myself before they even get their hands on you.”

I had to dive out of the way as the struggle broke out. Everything was happening so fast. The shotgun flew across the room, going off and blowing a hole in the roof. Attracting noise. Jerry removed the barricade and was gone. The uproar was deafening. They had been waiting. Searching for us. Now they knew where we were.

The boy shut the door, but he forgot to get the barricade. It was too late. They were coming. Jerry had to have been dead by now. He had ruined any chance of us getting out alive.

The strange thing was, neither of us searched frantically for another exit, or screamed hysterically. It didn’t seem necessary. We were just staring at each other, huddled in the back corner of the room. I grabbed a hold of his hand.

“What was your name again?”

“Gabriel.”

“Gabriel.” I said it, letting the name roll off my tongue and hang in the stale air, because I knew it might be the last thing I ever said. The door was caving in by now, and there were so many. We didn’t have much time.

Gabriel turned my face towards his, almost as if we were in a movie. How ironic. The first one was getting through - I could see it out of the corner of my eye.

“Goodbye Maxine.” He had remembered my name.

“Goodbye Gabriel.”

He kissed me slowly, gently, and we savored the last few seconds of our lives. They were beautiful.

As we held on to one another, the world went dark.

(487 words)