“Fight Back”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Explosions ring out around me, spraying dirt over my head. I squeeze my eyes tightly closed as I crouch behind the remains of an old cement wall.

It’s bad out there. Something happened this morning that triggered a type of insanity in the undead. It’s not like they weren’t bad before, wanting to eat us and all, but today’s been different. Usually, they chase us in a disorganized, frantic, brain-dead manner. But not today. Today, they’re organized. They’re prepared.

They’re hunting us.

“Alex!”

My gaze shoots up to see Libby screaming at me, her eyes wide and darting everywhere.

“Alex, move!”

The growling is faint at first, but gradually, it becomes louder. It’s behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see one of the undead staring directly at me, its dead eyes fixed on me.

I scramble away and join Libby behind her self-made barricade.

“Where are Gavin and Luke?” I ask, clutching my gun tightly to my chest.

Libby gulps and points a quivering finger at a pool of blood across the street.

Bile rises in my throat. I take a trembling breath and push it back down. It’s just us now.

We can’t stay here. There are too many undead. I can hear them, growling and scraping the road with their rotting fingernails.

“What do we do now?” Libby whispers, her attention on the incoming horde.

My eyes land on the last place Gavin and Luke had been. We can’t give up. Not now. Not ever.

“We fight back,” I reply, tightening my grip on my gun.

I take a deep breath and stand up. I hold out my hand to Libby and she takes it, standing with me.

“Let’s go,” I say, giving her a reassuring nod. Her expression changes to determination.

Together, we let out a yell and run at the undead.

Final Comments: This song is really inspiring and powerful and I just loved listening to it. However, I’ve got to say that this isn’t one of my favourite stories… I think that it could’ve been much more descriptive with both imagery and the protagonist’s feelings.

Overall Rating: 😣