The Final Female

Chapter Eleven

My brain shuts down.

The screams and cries seem to fade away as my eyes zone in on Jay. He looks peaceful and battered all at the same time. My eyes wander over to Patrick who seems to have recovered and is trying to help Isaac bring more men in but failing as Isaac tries to keep Patrick inside. My head tilts back to Jay but my vision is obstructed by a large man standing in front of me shaking me.

My vision begins to piece back together and all the screams and cries come rushing back. Vince is in front of me shaking me to get my attention.

"Sorry." I mumble. Everything was going too fast. It was as if my mind couldn't keep up. Shaking my head I look back down at Jay, and that is when I go into the survival mode I know all too well.

"Vince, grab his legs, but don't touch his skin, just his pants. I'll grab his arms."

"You can't hold his arms he's wearing short sleeves!"

Looking around frantically for some sort of fabric to wash him off, Patrick comes running forward with an old flannel shirt from one of the shops.

"You're a life saver kid." Vince grins at him as I put my arms through the flannel sleeves and use them as a sort of mitten to lift him without touching our skin.

A small grunt escapes my lips as we lift.

"He's too heavy for you, I'll get one of the other lads."

"No." I grumble, "I can do it."

We shuffle towards the escalator. His head rests against my clothed stomach as I hold his arms. He looks peaceful and in pain all at the same time, and that somehow scares me more.

"We need to get him upstairs quick." I'm starting to panic. I'm feeling my heart racing, speeding up and slowing down at a shaky rate. I don't know why I'm panicking so much. People have died around me enough for it not too matter too much anymore. Death may be final, but it's an inevitability I have become maybe a little too accustomed too.

I've only known Jay for a fleeting moment, we are just passers by in the old world, but here, now, it feels like I've known him since birth.

One step, two steps.

The escalator is hard against my ankles. The jagged metal stairs scraping my legs as they heavily climb.

Three steps, four steps.

Jay doesn't look peaceful anymore. His skin is raw, his face is dead.

Five steps, six steps.

Chaos is all that can be seen below and on the adjacent stairway.

People will die today.

Seven steps, eight steps.

I know we're nearly at the top now but I can't look behind to check. I can't tear my eyes away from Jay.

Nine steps, ten steps.

I lift my leg for the next step and nothing is there. My foot falls as my body follows. At first I'm just thinking of how my head hurts, then a bump on the head seems minute compared to the searing pain shooting around my bare skin.

I vaguely hear another shout directed at me over the rest of the chaos below. Arms grab mine and pull me out from under Jay.

The loss of contact helps but not all that much. How is Jay still breathing? Hardly any has touched me and I feel like passing out.

Flannel brushes over my legs and I sit up grabbing the flannel off of Patrick.

"Help Jay, not me. I'm fine." I feel helpless. I can't move. The slightest movement feels like needles a thousand times over. Frantically I run the flannel up and down the exposed skin. The pain dies down once all signs of liquid is gone. I can't even call it rain anymore, this is not rain. It feels like I've been scrubbing for ten minutes before I finally stop. My eyes veer down the escalator warily. I feel scared to know what massacre is below me.