"Shit!"
Shit, shit, shit, Jake thought, running down the alley. It was dark, but through the thick night air once could quickly recognize the red blotches staining the pavement. Jake stared straight ahead, clutching his left arm at the elbow to keep it still. He couldn't look back. No matter what, he could not look back.
Why did this happen? It wasn't supposed to happen like this! I was supposed to be the hero, the star! It was my turn to be the big man, just like Sweet Bro in the movies!
The mission was simple. Get in, kill the fuck out of undead bastards, get out. The setting: an unowned warehouse on Derse. Couldn't get more Mission Impossible; so simple. Ever since the Void Glitch that woke him and his friends up from their strange dreams, a strange virus began spreading among carapacians that killed them and took control of their body to spread the virus. In short, goddamn motherfucking zombies that needed to get killed fast. People began giving up their ideals, and just rioting and fighting, making it easier to get infected; it seemed that few living were left, but damned if they weren't going out with a fight!
Jake dared one glance back. The Pailfilling Maniac—no, the zombie who used to be the Pailfilling Maniac—was still making chase, and gaining ground. Not here, not like this! He couldn't possibly survive a head-on encounter with a fully-turned zombie; not with his pistols AWOL. Not with Dirk AWOL! He rounded a sharp corner into another alley. He couldn't see too far ahead, but it looked like there wouldn't be any other turn for a while. Too late to turn back now.
The plan was simple. They knew that there were three zombies in the warehouse. Five of the Livers – Jake, Dirk, Roxy, Jack Noir, and the Wasted Ventriloquist – would come into the warehouse through different entrances, and kill the zombies. But somehow their intel was wrong. There were no less than a dozen in there! Roxy was killed. Jack was killed. WV was killed. And Dirk never showed up at all. And with each Liver that fell, one more menace joined the ranks of the undead. Dirk! Where the hell are you?
Jake looked back again as he ran, and nearly tripped over a stone. He regained his footing, and started sprinting faster. Years in his dream world had made him a fast runner with good endurance, but he was starting to wheeze in his breaths. He remembered an island, and lots of fantastic and frightening animals he would regularly struggle against. It was a strange dream – but not a bad one. He had his friends. He had his grandmother, who didn't even seem to exist in the real world. Everything would have been perfect if he could have just stayed. Jane was even talking about a new game Crockercorp was developing that they could play together. Why did he have to wake up? Why did he have to wake up to Nightmare Prospit and the Dersite Horror? Why? Why?
The end of the alley was starting to come into sight. Maybe there he could shake them! Go back to base, regroup with Dirk, grab new pistols, and make a new plan. The Furthest Ring! If they could find a way to escape into the Furthest Ring, they may find a path home!
Breathing harder than ever, he began getting close to the alley. A shape at the end of the alley began to come into clearer focus. A zombie? No… It's Dirk! Then he saw the next problem. I'm going to run right into him! Jake attempted to slow down without falling over, but he found himself running to the end of the alley and falling down on his knees next to Dirk, PM still not far behind.
"Oh, thank God! There's a zombie right behind me! Help me up, I've lost my weapons, we need to get out… Dirk?"
Jake looked up at his friend. There was something strange about him. His eyes seemed unfocussed and heavy, and his mouth was hanging open.
"No…!" NOT YOU TOO! Jake suddenly felt a rush of rage pulsate throughout his entire body. He jumped up and tackled the zombie to the ground. It bared its teeth and tried to snap at him, and Jake responded with a solid punch to Dirk's pretty-boy, asshole, forever-gone face. Jake felt a cold hand grab his shoulder and pull him off Dirk. He looked to see the face of the Pale Manslaughterer looking straight at him, and for the first time noticed the Wailing Vicar. Jake jumped away from PM, and kicked WV in the back of the legs to get him on the ground. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he landed hit after hit against the zombies who just wouldn't stay down.
Why are you still fighting? A voice from his subconscious seemed to ask him. Don't you know that you're going to die?
Jake punched at Dirk with all of his might with his left arm. A loud snapping noise filled, followed by a loud howl of pain from Jake. He started running, and stumbling, trying in vain to escape. In moments, the remains of his friends were upon him.
And just like that it ended.