Free The Zombie Evolution by Rowan Burke

side by side, staring up at the flames protruding from the furnace that once housed me, and kept us safe for the past few days. It seemed like we should have said something to wish Carl and Stacey well on their journey to the next life, and to again thank them, Carl especially, for what he had done to give us a bit more time. There was a bittersweet feeling that they had gone together, arm in arm, irrespective of the terrifying turmoil that surrounded them. We sincerely hoped that the next chapter was an even better one for them, and that they got to enjoy their next lives together, away from fear, away from pain, away from zombies . There was no time for that serenading goodbye though, as although the zombie infestation upstairs was now a well done barbeque, not even half of them who had filled the carpark would have been taken out by the flames, plus we still had some more out on or near the high street we had spotted who we needed to contend with.
     
    Even filled with the adrenaline of the near-death escape and fall to the pavement, I could not put anything on my ankle. It was smashed beyond recognition, with my foot facing the wrong way and two bones escaping my skin. The pain was like nothing I had ever felt before, taking all my strength not to pass out, which I imagine the adrenaline did aid with. Derek scouted the streets and noticed a few deathly silhouettes headed in our direction which although were walking, were walking quickly, actually a little quicker than the ones we first met in the pub. Realising the time restraint, Jon ripped apart some of the sheets that had escaped the blaze, wrapping a tourniquet just below my shin to cut off the blood supply to my ankle. Brushing away the debris, he grabbed my foot and looked at me in the eyes.
     
    “This is going to hurt a bit, mate”
     
    He wasn’t lying.
     
    Grabbing my backwards facing foot on both sides, he swiftly crunched it back into position, pulling the exterior bones back inside yet tearing my skin in the process. The pain was unreal; I couldn’t help but yelp in agony, like a small puppy getting his tail trodden on. That’s all I remember of that moment, the pain was so severe that it knocked me for six, and like a little bitch, I instantly, and ashamedly, passed out.
     
     
    5.
     
    Slowly coming to, I immediately recalled the pain of my shattered ankle. It still hurt with the same intensity, yet now felt slightly more compact, slightly more controlled, like someone had made me a sort of homemade cast.  The only thing making it worse was that it was bouncing around.
     
    Hang on a minute, all of me is bouncing around.
     
    Why the fuck am I bouncing around?!
     
    Gingerly, my eyes began to open to reveal that I was on my front, facing the ground, yet the ground was several feet below me. I was bouncing like mad, and could hear the noise of someone panting for breath from a mouth I assumed belonged to the person who’s arse my head was uncomfortably close to, with three other similar panting noises coming from different sources out in front.
     
    “Hey”
    I uttered, which caused a sudden halt to my bouncing momentum.
     
    A voice then acknowledged that of my own.
     
    “He’s awake”
     
    Lifted up, over and down, I found my singular footing and adjusted both my body and mind to what was going on. Only now realising I had passed out, I instantly felt embarrassed, but Phil must have thankfully lifted me and put me across his shoulders in a fireman styled carrying position, then all four boys had just started running. I wasn’t sure how long I had been out, but noticed that we were somewhere on the Rushmoor roads that link Fleet and Aldershot, a far few miles away from where I had so ungraciously lost consciousness, subsequently realising I must have been out for a good hour if not more. Phil looked understandably exhausted, so after giving him a hug of thanks, the boys took the opportunity to sit down for a moment and catch their breath. I