Through The Rot: Hell Breaks Loose

:warning: :warning: TRIGGER WARNING!! :warning: :warning:

Blood, gore, death, cursing

Word count: 2770

    Gavin ran into the main room, his crowbar held tightly in his shaking hands. The screams have changed from just confusion. They now held pain and terror.

     His eyes darted to the corner where he'd left Missy, but it was empty. His heart squeezed so hard he thought it would implode as his head swiveled around the chaotic room. ‘Where was she?’

    “Gav!” Missy cried from somewhere in the mix of people running in all directions.

     Gavin couldn’t see the cause of the uproar through the other survivors racing around wildly. “Missy! Where are you?”

     “You're too late, oh wise guardian.” Emily mocked as she stepped inside his line of sight.

     Gavin didn't have time to play her games. He needed to find Missy. He pushed past Emily but was stopped when she grabbed his arm with far more strength than she should have had. Gavin’s heated eyes snapped to hers, but his words died on his lips when he noticed the changes.

     Her eyes were no longer the chocolate color he found intriguing. They were now a milky caramel. They still held intelligence, but he could see the madness claiming her. Her hand was quickly losing its warmth as it tightened around his biceps with enough force to bruise.

     Gavin knew this was no longer Emily. It was a bloodthirsty monster with one thing on its mind. She cocked her head as she smiled, the movement stiff and unnatural.

     “You were right , big brother. Just too weak to do anything about it.” She mocked in a voice that was hers, but not quite. “These creatures are our future. Our saviors. They came to cleanse the world of the filth we call humanity.” She laughed, a strange gravelly sound that sent shivers down Gavin’s spine.

     “Your mighty leader should have listened to ‘the stupid boy’. We've all been bitten. We came to you for a reason. To save you.” Emily’s voice began to thicken, slur, and sounded more like growls than words. “We're going to free your sister…then you.”

    When Emily mentioned Missy, Gavin’s shock of horror snapped. He swung his free arm with all the rage her words fueled, crushing her skull with a single blow. She crumbled to the floor, her body twitching as it tried to reanimate. Gavin let out a primal scream as he brought his foot down on her head over and over until there wasn't anything left to crush.

     “Gavin! Help me!” Missy cried out just before she screamed.

     “Missy! Where are you?” Gavin yelled as he began running again, shoving people out of his way as his eyes darted in every direction at once.

     Gavin spotted Missy as she ran into the storage room, making him curse. She would be trapped in there. He pushed his legs harder as he watched two of the undead follow Missy into the room.

     Gavin dodged as one of the newcomers, now turned into a mindless killing machine, lunged at him. He didn't have time to fight. Missy needed him.

     He slammed into the swinging door separating the rooms, nearly losing his footing in his desperation. The sour stink of quickly deteriorating meat made his stomach turn as his blood pounded in his ears, drowning out everything except Missy’s frantic screams.

     Gavin didn't even think. He just acted on instinct. He grabbed a heavy storage rack that sat just inside the door and yanked it down with all his strength. The deafening sound of metal hitting the concrete mixed with all the odds and ends it held clanking did exactly what he wanted.

    The two creatures that had been stalking his sister snapped their heads in his direction as they snarled. Missy stopped screaming as Gavin began slamming his crowbar against the metal, making sure he had their full attention.

     Gavin moved deeper into the storage room, placing the wall behind him so if any others wanted to the fray, he wouldn't be taken from behind.

      “You want me?” Gavin screamed as he took another side step into the room. “Fuck around and find out!”

     Adrenaline rushed through his body making him tremble so bad he almost couldn't stand. He was scared, but his anger, his all consuming rage took over. These things were threatening to take his sister away. They dared to try and hurt her.

     Gavin screamed again as he raised his crowbar in preparation to strike.

     “Gavin!” Missy called again, her voice cracking as she sobed.

    “I'm here! Hide, Missy! Stay hidden no matter what!” Gavin growled back as he watched the closest monster's head turn in her direction then back to him. “And stay quiet!” He barked as he pounded his crowbar against the wall to gain their full attention again.

     The first zombie was on him before he could react, moving with a speed he didn't expect, slamming his back against the wall with a jarring thud. Gavin grunted as he was hit hard, pain flaring across his ribs. Its dead, cold fingers clawed at his jacket, its bloody nails ripping through the fabric like paper, scraping along his skin. The thing snapped its teeth inches from his throat, its teeth snapping wildly as he pushed back with all he had. The thing was strong and didn't budget as Gavin struggled to free himself from its grasp.

     Missy screamed and Gavin turned his head just in time to see the second monster lunge at her as she scrambled from her hiding spot.

     Gavin had never fought newly turned zombies before, but he was learning the hard way that they were a lot faster and more agile than their rotting kin.

     As Missy tried to run, the thing grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her back. She screamed and flailed as it pulled her back to its chest. It wrapped its arms around her and lifted her from the ground, her feet kicking wildly.

     These things weren't quite dead yet. They apparently still had a little of themselves inside. They were toying with Gavin, showing him that everything he'd done to protect his sister was for nothing.

     ‘NO! NO! NO!’ The thought screamed through his head as he watched helplessly as the creature grinned.

    Gavin drove his knee into the things gut as hard as he could, forcing it back just enough that he could raise his crowbar and swing it into the creature's head. It staggered back, allowing Gavin more room to swing harder. The crowbar crashed through its skull, sending brain and bone matter spraying along the floor and wall.

     From the doorway, another freakish monster flew through, slamming into Gavin. They both fell to the floor hard enough that Gavin felt ribs break. Black dots danced in his vision as pain wracked across his skull.

     He was going to die. Missy was going to die.

     As soon as the thought rose in his head he screamed, “NO!” He wasn't about to let anything happen to Missy. He promised to keep her safe. She trusted him. He had a responsibility.

    Adrenaline ran rampant through his body again, giving him the strength he needed to keep fighting. Gavin shoved his fingers into the zombies dead eye sockets, pressing deep until he felt soft tissue give. With a stomach turning squelch the thing stiffened, then went limp. He shoved it off as he gasped for air, his head turning back to look at Missy.

     The creature had her pinned against the wall, its teeth sunk deep into her jacket, missing her skin by mere inches.

     Gavin was on his feet before he even had time to form a thought. He snatched his crowbar from where it fell and ran towards the threat with a war cry that would have stopped an army. He swung before he even stopped moving, his momentum and body weight adding to the already deadly strike.

     The zombie's skull was smashed and forced into its brain with such force its eyes popped from their sockets. As it fell, he swung again, then again as it hit the floor.

     Gavin panted hard as he held the crowbar above his head, ready to rain yet another blow on the already dead monster.

    Missy collapsed to the floor as she sobbed uncontrollably, her small body shaking badly.

     Gavin dropped the crowbar as he knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. “You okay?” He whispered.

    She shook her head as she cried harder, her fingers digging into his shirt. “I…I thought…” Her voice cut off as her tears came faster.

    “I know. Shh, you're okay.” Gavin held her tighter as his own body trembled from exhaustion and fear.

     Gavin allowed Missy to cry for only a few minutes before he gently pulled her to her feet. “I have to help them.” Gavin looked around then pointed to one of the tall shelves. “I'm going to get you up there. You're going to stay quiet and perfectly still until I come back for you.” As she shook her head and gripped him tighter he spoke again, but with more authority. “Missy, do as you're told.”

    Missy nodded and wiped her tears as she tried to control her emotions. “I don't wanna be alone, Gav.”

    “I know. But you're not safe until they're all dead. Stay put and be quiet.” He pushed Missy towards the shelves and hoisted her up. “If…if I don't come back, or if I'm…compromised, you don't move from that spot until you don't hear a single sound for hours. Understand?”

    “Gavin…” Missy whined as she began to cry again.

     “I always come back. But I have to end them so we can get out. Promise me, Missy. Promise you'll stay there and not make a sound. No matter what.”

     Missy nodded slowly as she whimpered. “I promise.” She whispered as fresh tears poured down her cheeks.

     Gavin nodded and soaked in every detail of her little face. If he were going to die, he wanted to go with her image burned into his mind. “I'll be back.” Even to himself his words sounded false.

     The second Gavin stepped into the main room he froze. The place was a slaughterhouse. Blood painted the floors in thick pools and the walls in grotesque splatters. The people he'd shared meals with, laughed with, gotten close to were sprawled out along the floor, their lifeless eyes staring at nothing. The monsters tore through everyone like animals.

     The bacades on the front doors have been torn down and the doors were hanging open on by a single hinge. The undead had apparently thought they'd finished the job and bailed.

     Gavin slowly waded through the carnage as he searched for survivors. Someone had to have made it out.

    A choked gasp broke through the silence and Gavin’s head snapped towards the hall leading to the bathrooms. At the far end, pinned against the barricaded door, was Chuck. One of the newcomers had him by the throat as it snapped wildly at his face.

     Chuck's eyes met Gavin’s as he kicked and thrashed uselessly. “Gavin! Help me!” He choked out as the thing tightened its grip.

     The zombie snarled as it tried to push past Chuck’s hands to bite into him. Gavin moved again on instinct, raining his crowbar as his muscles tensed. As Chuck’s arms went limp, Gavin slammed the bar into the thing's skull with all the strength he had left.

     The zombie stumbled sideways as it released Chuck who fell in a heap, gasping for air. Gavin struck again, hitting it in the face, then again and again. Gavin lost count with how many times he bashed the creature before it finally went down, its body twitching as low gurgles escaped its throat. Then it went still.

     Gavin dropped to his knees, completely spent as he tried to suck in much needed air. After a few deep breaths, Gavin drug himself over to Chuck and pulled him into a sitting position. “You good?”

    “Do I look good?” Chuck wheezed and coughed as he held his throat and shook his head. He turned his head towards the main room then cursed quietly. “Jesus…they're all dead.”

    Gavin narrowed his eyes and grabbed Chuck by the front of his shirt, yanking his face to his own. “Because of you!” He snarled, his emotions boiling over. “You did this! You killed them!” Gavin shook Chuck as he searched his eyes. “I warned you. I told you not to trust them. You called me a stupid kid. Who's the stupid one here, Chuck?”

     “Gavin…I…” Chuck began, but was cut off by Gavin’s fist slamming into his jaw.

     “You did this!” Gavin screamed again as he threw another punch. “You almost got Missy killed! What did I tell you? What did I say?” He held his arm back, ready to strike again as he waited for Chuck to respond.

     “You said ‘If anything happens to my sister, I’ll come for you’” Chuck whispered as he closed his eyes. “Go ahead. Kill me.”

    Gavin slammed his fist into Chuck's face again then shoved him away. “No. You get to live with what you've done. Every day you get to all the people who trusted you. The ones you got killed.” Gavin pushed himself to his trembling legs, his hand on the wall to him. “If I ever see you again.” He spoke quietly as his eyes focused on the carnage in the other room. “I won't hesitate to kill you”

    Gavin left Chuck sitting there as he made his way back to Missy. He took slow breaths, but it did nothing to steady him. The weight of it all crashed down on him all at once. The fighting. The screams. His friends all reduced to lifeless, broken bodies at his feet.

     His boots squelched on the thick blood coating the tile as he took a shaky step forward. Then another. The stench of death clogged his throat, the coppery tang heavy in the air. He tried not to look at their faces. He knew them all. Every name. All the loved ones they lost. He knew what they had all been fighting so damn hard to survive for. And now, they were gone.

     Every step felt like dragging dead weight, his boots slipping in what was left of the people he'd sworn to protect. People who trusted him. His chest was so tight he could barely breathe, and his vision blurred as silent tears streamed down his face.

     How the hell was he supposed to tell her? How do you look a nine year old in the eyes and tell her that the only people who were willing to take them in, the people who helped make her feel safe again, were gone? That they died just like their parents?

    His throat clenched. He was a failure. He let them die. He couldn't save them. Couldn't stop it. The weight of it all crushed him, suffocating, and unbearable. Then came the rage.

     It ignited like a wildfire, burning through his grief, consuming him whole. A choked, guttural scream tore from his throat as he slammed his fist into the nearest wall.

     Once. Twice. Again and again, he hit it, putting every ounce of his agony, his guilt into each blow. His knuckles split open, blood smearing across the cracked surface, but he didn't care. He barely even felt it.

     He deserved pain, punishment. He deserved so much worse. Because they were all dead. And he was still breathing.

     “...Gav?”

     Missy’s small, trembling voice sliced through the storm raging inside him. His fist hovered mid-swing, fingers shaking, blood dripping from split knuckles.

    He couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t let her see the broken man she depended on. If he met her eyes, if he saw the pain in them, the fear, the loss, he’d shatter completely.

     He swallowed hard, clenching his jaw, willing himself to stay upright. But then her tiny footsteps shuffled closer.

    “It’s not your fault.”

    Her voice was soft and fragile, but the words hit like a blade to the gut. Gavin’s breath hitched. His knees buckled.

    Before he knew it, he was on the floor, arms wrapped tightly around himself as the weight of it all crushed him down. The grief tore through him like a living thing, relentless, suffocating. His body shook, racked with silent sobs at first, then deep, wrenching cries that he couldn’t contain.

    He was breaking apart.

    And for the first time in forever, he didn’t try to stop it.