Coward

“Did you hear that?” Her whisper cut through the silence like a cold knife.

  I shook my head despite her unable to see me… We couldn’t see anything through the heavy darkness. Once surrounded by the constant buzz of electricity, the city now sat still… silent.

  I peaked out the windows over the helpless city. A chill swept over my skin as I stared out at the vastness. Skyscrapers that once shone like a beacon were now shadows against the stars in the sky.

I tried to focus my eyes on the street below but the moonlight would not reach there. 

 That is when I heard it… The sound of a pair of feet sprinting down the hall towards us. The steady pounding on the tiled floor seemed to echo down the hall until they must’ve been right outside the door. 

  I held my breath, clamping my hand over my mouth hoping that it would block the sound of fear choking me. It squeezed my throat until I felt like I would be consumed by the darkness that surrounded me. 

  The things we saw before the lights went out were terrifying. The videos uploading faster than they could be censored or concealed. Men and women crazed in the streets that surrounded us now. A disease or infection that turned the blood in their veins black. Their blood would flow from their nose and their eyes until they lost their minds completely. The people with the virus turned evil and unreachable. They would turn on anyone near them, turning common objects into brutal weapons. Meanwhile keeping a smile on their lips with a chilling laugh. Some would sing or others would scream seemingly lost in a rage. 

  Outside bright flashes lit the street below. The sound of gunshots rang out, bouncing among the buildings. I jumped when something slammed into the door of our apartment. Alia let out an involuntary shriek before I felt her hand wrap around my forearm. 

  It hit the door once..twice. The third time sent a crack down the middle. I fought against the darkness looking for anything that could be used to protect us. I reached out blindly finding the lamp from the side table. Gripping the cold metal like a bat outstretched in-front of me. 

  When the door banged open, ripped from the hinges. I no longer felt my fear as adrenaline flooded my veins. I didn’t notice my tremble or feel Alia’s nails digging into my arm. 

  I could see its shadowed figure racing across the living room as if it knew where we stood before it even reaching our front door. 

  Grunting, I brought the lamp up and brought it back down on its head. It dropped to the ground hard with a thunk. 

  I stepped back bumping into Alia, nearly tripping over her as I heard a deep, gutteral chuckle.

  “Ten, nine, eight-“ it began counting through a low hoarse voice. Alia cried out again, still blocking my path as I attempted to put more distance between us and that thing. The only light came from the moonlight the poured through the open windows.

  I watched in horror as it began to rise again, continuing to count down. Its face twisted in the faint light, dark blood shimmering down his face.

  “-four, three, two,” it paused on one and I leapt over the couch, scrambling to my feet I ran. Ran as fast as I possibly could, my false bravado leaving me as swiftly as it came. 

  A sob choked in my throat as I heard Alia scream slice through the night, this time dripping in pain. However I couldn’t stop running. I rounded the corner into the hallway and ran until I reached the stairway. The last thing I heard was Alias voice screaming my name as the heavy metal door slammed shut between us. 

  I couldn’t comprehend what was happening to us, that any of this could possibly be real. That I had left my partner of two years, left her to the terror in what was once our happy home only hours before. 

  My brain could not comprehend any of it. All it could do was focus on taking one step at a time down the steps, my only guide in the complete darkness was the railing scraping across my palm. 

  My ears reached out, listening but the only sound was my bare feet hitting the metal stairs. Finally I reached concrete that I knew was ground level. I rushed over my body slamming into the door, shoving it open as I emerged onto the street. My eyes adjusted in time to see silhouettes rushing towards me. 

  “There he is.” a woman’s voice scratched out from my left. I turned right and continued my sprint. I skidded to a stop when a figure emerged from the building a few feet in front of me. The moonlight lit his face revealing a smile stretching across his warped face. 

  I turned and ran into an alley which seemed to stretch on and on. I could hear their footsteps pressing closer behind me, their taunts reaching my ears.

  My breath was labored but I didn’t dare slow to even to glance over my shoulder. Gunshots rang out again a few streets away, wishing I owned on. Maybe if I did Alia would still be with me and we would be safe.

I was nearing the end of the alley, the street illuminated in front of me. 

  A hand reached out from behind a dumpster as I passed grabbing my leg in a death tight grip. I fell hard, my face slamming onto the pavement. Blood immediately began pouring from my nose and a deep cut along my forehead, however I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t feel anything other than intense terror that seized my body and mind. I struggled to my feet, kicking at the hand that still held tight. Gaining my footing I began to run again. My vision swayed and blurred but I kept running because there was nothing left to do. I held no weapon and I had no plan. 

  That is when the outline of a man stepped out into the opening of the alley in-front of me. I tried to rush past him but his force slammed into me.  My body smacked against the brick wall and I returned to cold pavement I had just risen from. I attempted to rise again when something hit me hard over the head, slamming me back down to the ground. 

  My vision began to darken as I felt hands grip my ankles and begin roughly dragging me back into the shadows of the alley. I knew this was the end, I have met death as I have always lived my life.

A running coward.

That is where the darkness found me, consumed me…