Chapter Ten

Drive Fast

Melody's P.O.V

Consciousness.

Unconsciousness.

I floated between the two. Carried between them, unsure of which had its grasp on me. It wasn't unpleasant. It was bliss. Like being cradled in a pair of soft arms. Completely unaware of the chaos that surrounded me. Bliss. Pure and utter bliss. All things good have to end eventually though, and this bliss was ending. I could feel it slipping away. I didn't want it to leave. I didn't want to wake up.

Muffled voices surrounded me. I didn't call out to them. I didn't move. In one last effort to gain relief, to gain bliss, I lay still. In hope that I would feel that wonderful euphoria once more. Of course my efforts were in vain. The once muffled voices were now clear, and the pain in my left arm was returning with a ferocious vengeance.

My eyes opened. All voices in the room fell silent. Alan leaned over me, his face creased in concern.

"How are you feeling?" He whispered, his hand caressed my cheek softly.

"Like shit." I replied, my voice hoarse. I gently pushed his hand away, giving myself room to sit up.

I was lying on a table in a dark room. My muscles were stiff and ached with every movement. Blood stained bandages covered my arm and restricted me from bending it. The sight of it made me nauseous. I swung my legs over the side of the table and leaned forward. The word shit wasn't strong enough to describe how bad I felt. A gentle hand pushed me back into a lying position on the table. I shut my eyes as the nausea began to dissolve.

"Are we back at the police station?" I mumbled. Grateful that I was beginning to feel better.

"No, we're still at the school." He stated. I groaned. I remembered everything that happened at the school. I wished that I would have woken up at the police station, it was safer there.

"You lost a lot of blood and you passed out, it would have been suicide to carry you back in the state you were in." He explained. I opened my eyes and looked at him. Dried blood painted his pale face red. I leaned forward once again, this time moving at a much slower pace. Thankfully no feeling of sickness grabbed me.

I slid off the table and nearly collapsed. Alan caught me before I fell and helped steady my balance. I leaned against the table for support and gestured for him to let me go. Cabinets cluttered the room and left little space for movement. A dark figure stood leaning against the door. His eyes watching me intently. A dose of fear circulated throughout me but quickly disappeared when I realised who it was.

"Are we safe here?" I asked, my voice still hoarse.

"For now," he stated "I don't think any of the infected have made it into the school yet." Carl stepped forward into the little light the room provided. His grey eyes deep with concern. Confusion tugged at me.

"The infected?" I thought aloud, barely whispering.

"That's what the news called them, the sick people." He explained.

"That man. In the class, was he infected?" I asked, my arm ached just from the memory of him.

"I don't think so. I think with everything that's happened, some people might have gone a little..." He stopped there and sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"I managed to stitch your arm up but the school didn't exactly have the best medical supplies. The station has a better Med kit, the sooner we get back there the better. Alan's told me how bad it is outside but my squad car is just in the parking lot. If we get there we should be fine." He explained. My brain struggled to keep up with everything, I shut my eyes and simply nodded, understanding the gist of everything he said.

"How long have I been unconscious?" I asked, summoning the courage to inspect the bandages wrapped tightly around my arm.

"Only a few hours. Five maybe." Alan answered, he limped past the table and towards the door. He opened it and stuck his head out, looking left and right. He pulled back inside and nodded at Carl.

"We should leave now." Carl announced, clearing his throat and looking at me. With a sigh I nodded. I dropped my arms at my side and stretched my muscles, preparing for whatever might happen.

They both walked out of the room and left me in solitude. I hung my head in the air, mustering any and all amounts of strength I had. Unsurprisingly there was very little strength left in me. My stomach growled in hunger, demanding food. My throat was dry as sand, my lips cracked and bleeding. I didn't want to run. I didn't want to go back outside. I just wanted everything to be normal. Hopefully, once we return to the station everything will be back to normal. With that small and feeble hope in my embrace I left the room.

"Come on, car parks this way." Carl whispered. He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly before walking ahead of me. Alan and I followed after him. Trusting him unquestionably.

The long and narrow hallways echoed with our footsteps, the only noise accompanying us. We passed room after room and locker after locker until finally we stopped in front of large grey double doors. The iron handles glistening with an oozing red liquid. My heart beat quickened at the sight of it. I didn't have to guess what it was.

It was clear that Carl and Alan were thinking the same thing. Their expression blank and their eyes fixated on the bar. Carl broke his gaze away and looked back at Alan and I, his blank expression had adopted grim features.

"The parking lots outside, but the fence around the school should have prevented any of them from getting in." He said, locking his fingers around the handle of the door.

"So that's just paint huh?" Alan breathed, stepping back away from the door. Carl looked at him for a moment before turning towards the door. Without warning he flung it open.

I held my hand up in the air, expecting rays of sunshine to bathe us in its warmth and blind us temporarily. Instead, the dark sky and cold breeze were all that were there to greet us. I shivered as a cold wind brushed past me. The bright moon radiated a small amount of light as it looked down upon us.

I looked past Alan and Carl and vaguely made out several dark figures stumbling about. Their moans barely audible in contrast to the wailing winds.

"If we hurry they won't get us. Stay close to me." Carl ordered, stepping outside onto the small footpath. I followed after him, my eyes glued to his back. Alan limped along beside me, panting uncontrollably. My eyes strayed to the left and caught hold of a group of them stalking towards us. I whipped my head back to the front, regret at letting my gaze stray already sinking in.

My foot caught hold of a stray rock. I fell forward and and gasped in pain. My injured arm the first thing to hit the ground. I felt the bandages rip as I collapsed atop my arm. I repressed a scream and rolled over. Clutching my arm in agony.

A dark figure loomed over me, they leaned forward and snarled. I screamed in fear and kicked them in the chest before they were able to get any closer. They fell backward and hit the floor hard. I rolled over and crawled ahead. Grabbing clumps of gravel I heaved myself forward, kicking my legs out frantically. Cold fingers wrapped around my ankle and dragged me back, emitting another scream from me.

Thunder boomed and silenced everything. The grip on my ankle disappeared with a small thud. I looked back to see a still body. I pushed myself off the floor and looked forward. Carl stood frozen, a small pistol in his hand. His lips moved but no sound reached me. I leaned forward, a blare of pain screaming in my head. Loud ringing deafened me and forced me to cringe. I clutched my skull and hissed.

A hand grabbed my wrist and tugged me forward. I looked up to see Alan, screaming silently. I watched his lips move, mesmerized. In a daze I followed his lead, stepping carefully over the largest of rocks. We ran through an open gate, probably how they had all gotten in to the grounds of the school.

A dozen cars sat in the dark parking lot. Several had blood splattered across their windshields. We stopped beside a checkered police car. Drops of dark blood plagued its white surface. Carl fumbled through his pockets, no doubt searching for his key. I looked back, trembling at the site of them staggering through the gate and advancing towards us. I looked back to Carl, my hands shaking.

"Don't you have the key?" I asked, watching him with wide eyes. He cursed quietly. He held his gun high up in the air and smashed it against the small window. It shattered instantly, shards of glass flew everywhere.

A loud and powerful alarm began to blare. The lights flashed brightly, a beacon in the dark night. Carl fumbled with door handle and swung it open. Reaching under his seat he wrenched out a small key. He jammed it into the ignition, silencing the alarm effectively.

"Get in!" He ordered, slamming his door shut.

I pulled open the car door and climbed into the back seat. Alan ran round the car and sat in the passenger seat. "They're coming from everywhere! Didn't you have a damn key?" He growled, directing his furious glare towards Carl.

"The nutty professor back there emptied my pockets! Just be thankful I managed to find my gun in his desk!" He retorted, his hands gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. Alan cursed before leaning back into his seat and clicking his seat belt in.

"Just drive fast before more of them show up!" He hissed, staring out the window.

I sat in the middle, cradling my arm in my lap. Carefully I pulled the seat belt over me and clicked it in. I focused my gaze on the windshield, watching Carl drive the car forward. The headlights lit up the area before us, attracting more attention.

"Can't you drive without the headlights?" I asked, watching as we passed by all the parked cars.

"Depends on whether you want us to crash or not." He stated. I ignored his witty remark and watched as a tall gate came into view. My eyes widened as I caught hold of the large group behind the gate.

"Hold on!" Carl stomped his foot down. The car sped forward, crashing into the gate. We all jerked forward in our seats. The gate fell forward, knocking them all over and crushing them beneath the weight of the heavy metal. The car drove over them, their low moans audible even within the car. I shut my eyes as I heard a loud crunch. I could only imagine what it was.

We drove down the road, way over the speed limit. Although I suppose now it didn't really matter. I continued to stare out the window. Even with the high beams on you could barely see ahead.

Without warning an infected person appeared on the road. The car slammed into them. A scream caught in my throat as the windshield cracked and the car skidded off the road. Carl fought to gain control but failed in the end. The car made contact with a tree. My body was thrashed forward. My head hit the back of Carl's chair. I blinked, furiously trying to fight the blackness that was coming for me. The windshield shattered and bathed us in glass. Blood trickled down the sides of my face. I fought the darkness valiantly, but the bliss that awaited was far too tempting. To be in the warm arms of unconsciousness was something I ached for. Something that was far too tempting to resist.

In the end, temptation won.

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