Chapter 18:
Desperation
Paula flew through the corridors after Hannah as the blonde pushed door after door open trying to find Billy, the others had scattered throughout the station trying to find him, Leon ran parallel to Hannah checking the other side, after the third corridor Hannah let out a scream of anguish.
"Where is he?! Billy?!" she screamed with a wild look in her eye, Paula looked around and saw the open door to outside.
"Hannah he's gotta be outside! Let's go!" Paula said gripping her gun tightly, Hannah pushed ahead in front of Leon as Paula brought up the rear. They burst outside to see two walkers lumbering towards the station, Hannah yelled out as Leon ran forward scooping up a metal pole from the ground as he went.
The first walker lunged but missed as Leon moved around it, he plunged the pole into the walker's face multiple times, the frail looking woman who used to be human buckled as a taller and stockier walker advanced on Leon.
"Leon!" Paula screamed but he turned and repeated the move on the other walker who was forced to the ground dead. Hannah wasted no time as she ran past Leon still screaming.
"Billy?! BILLY?!" she went to scream again but Leon covered her mouth.
"Shush, you'll draw walkers!" He seethed but she writhed from under him and continued into the woods with Leon hot on her tail. Paula turned and saw Shane on the rooftop, she signalled to him to wait there as she followed them.
Another two walkers appeared; Hannah was caught off guard and dodged one (a fat, balding one) as Leon drove the pole through its head, the second walker approached him from behind but Paula hit its head with the butt of her gun, it fell to the ground as she continued to pound away until nothing was left but a smashed pile of brain matter.
"Billy?!" Hannah shouted out in a more desperate voice, it was replied with a loud bang and then a scream, this scream sounded older though.
Oh God, Rosie…
"Rosie?!" Leon called out running alongside Hannah, Paula got up and followed them gun in hand, through the trees she could make out shapes, in a dip in the terrain there was a large rock, leaning against it was the writhing form of Rosie, a walker was on top of her as she screamed her head off.
The walkers hand was in her stomach.
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"I can't find him!" Jamie screamed as she ran from room to room, everyone was looking for her baby brother and everyone was coming up empty handed. She knew he wasn't stupid, he wouldn't go outside unless he had too, tears drenched her face as she ran around pushing past people, eventually she ran into a strong pair of arms she recognised as Morgan's.
"Honey it's okay, we're gonna find him." He tried to calm her, however the effect was broken by a loud bang somewhere in the distance.
Outside the station.
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Leon swung the pole and sent the walker flying; he smashed into its face multiple times as Paula ran to Rosie, the woman fell down shocked as Paula and Hannah tried to catch her, her face was pale and blood was dribbling from her mouth, Leon continued to smash the walkers face as Rosie moaned in pain.
"Oh my God…" Paula moaned as she ripped off her over shirt and dressed it over Rosie wound, she pressed it together but she screamed out in pain. Leon rushed over and tried to speak but stumbled over his words.
"Rosie… don't…" was all he could manage, she turned to him and spoke in a gurgling voice.
"The kid… more…"
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Morgan saw Jamie panicking more and more as he ran around the station after her, everyone was continuing to search but no one could find him, Jamie was weeping as she ran, in the bedroom Sophia and Carl were checking under the beds and in the bathroom and Shane was checking around but they couldn't find him.
"Billy!" Jamie screamed as she came to a stop, Hannah, Paula and Leon were outside with Rosie trying to find him. It had only been minutes he couldn't have gone far. The gunshot hadn't helped Jamie, the bang had set her off screaming.
"I'm going outside to find him." She said running for the back door, she still had the gun in her hand from practice and Morgan knew she meant business, he grabbed her shoulder and steadied her.
"No, you can't. Don't worry they'll be back soon." However as soon as he said this he heard something in the distance, something more terrifying at this moment than all the walker moans in the world combined.
Another gunshot.
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Hannah turned when she heard that gunshot, it had come from where they had just left, her and Paula had left Fred with a dying Rosie after Rosie had begged them to find Billy.
She must have turned.
Hannah could feel her heart in her throat and tears crawl down her face, her baby boy was missing and there were walkers in the woods.
"Billy?!" she screamed again running forward, a small female walker lumbered from behind a tree but Paula stepped in front of her and swung the metal pole Leon had used into the woman face, it embedded itself clean inside and the woman keeled over once more.
"BILLY?!" she screamed, this time her voice broke and so did she, she slumped against a tree and felt it all overcome her, she felt momentarily paralysed as she fought to regain control, before she knew it hands were on her shoulder and Paula was talking to her.
"Hannah, come on we have to keep looking…"
"Oh God, what if they got him, what if they got my BABY?!" she wailed but Paula shook her and spoke in a stronger voice.
"No! Walkers got my baby and I'll be damned if they get yours! Now come on! We are going to-!" she all but yelled, however before she could finish a child's scream ripped through the air, Hannah froze recognising the voice.
"BILLY?!" she screamed sprinting towards the source of the noise, everything about her was adrenaline and dread, she could see it happening but she didn't want to. She wasn't thinking, just acting.
As she rounded a larger tree she saw a clearing and her heart stopped dead, Billy was surrounded by at least 6 walkers who were all gunning for him, he was trapped up against a cluster of trees as Hannah screamed out.
"BILLY! RUN!" Hannah sprinted forwards gun aloft, behind her she heard gunshots and she knew Paula was firing, one walker fell and another was pushed back by the bullets striking her chest.
One lost interest in Billy and lunged for Hannah but she raised the gun and pressed it into his scalp and fired, the brains coating her leg as she pushed him away. Billy had tripped and was crawling away, the second walkers head exploded as Paula fired and Hannah fired wildly at the walker, bullets hit two and one fell as the other stumbled back, the third however lunged at her son.
He caught fast and enveloped the boy as Hannah was pushed into a tree by another walker as she screamed her son's name over and over again.
"BILLY!"
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The gunshots were stressing out Shane, he couldn't see anyone emerging from the woods but he heard plenty of noise.
He felt the pangs in is stomach as he realised this was his and Rosie's fault, they should have been watching the back as well. They should have been making sure nothing was out there, they should have seen the little boy wander out.
Hell they should have even locked the friggin' door just in case.
This was his fault.
Suddenly Shane's walkie came to life as he clicked it off of its holder.
"Shane?" Fred's voice asked from the other side, it sounded dull.
"Yes?"
"We got a problem." He said bluntly.
"What?"
"They got Rosie."
Shane's heart fell with that last line, he felt a wave of crushing defeat and pain enveloped him as his inner voice rebounded inside his head.
His fault.
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Paula struck another walker in the head with the instrument and it fell as she fired at point blank range with the gun. Another walker fell as Hannah continued to scream her head off, a walker pressed her against a tree as one grabbed Billy.
"BILLY!" Hannah screamed as Paula ran forward, she tried to sprint but her worn legs betrayed her and she fell, she raised her gun to take the shot but as Billy and the walker reared up there was a bang and another walker fell in her field of vision, Hannah threw the body back and she shot it in the head, the rushed over to Billy but she was too late.
The walker bit hard into the little boy's neck as his screams pierced the quiet forest. Hannah screamed as well kicking the walker away and firing into its face wildly, it fell back as Hannah crouched over Billy. Paula stood in dumb shock as she witnessed the sight before her, he was going to die.
Another bang brought her back to the real world, a last walker body slumped beside her dead, she turned to see Leon holding his gun and staring at Hannah and Billy with wide eyes.
"No… No…" he moaned covering his mouth, Paula felt tears caress her face as she looked around, the walkers were all dead and Hannah continued to wail, Billy was coughing up large amounts of blood as he cried, Hannah was covered in his blood as she wept, Leon paced and put his hands on his head in dire emotion, Paula began to cry as she walked over to Hannah.
"Baby… Baby no… I'm so sorry… NO!" she screamed as Billy began to convulse, the scene was racking Paula's body as she knelt beside Hannah and hugged her with one arm whilst covering her own mouth with the other. The mother was clutching onto her child as his eyes looked up to his mother, they were filled with fear and tears, Paula wanted to comfort him but she knew it would be of no use. With a jolt he began to convluse, the loss of blood was cauing a seizure.
"Baby, no, no, no, no, please no! Stop! No! No!..." she screamed as Billy shook, Hannah tried holding his head but he shook violently as his eyes rolled back in his head and the lids came down.
"NO!"
He was gone.
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Jamie was really stressed now. They had heard a load of gunshots and there was still no word from Mom, Leon or Paula, Jamie was pacing as she cried, she didn't bother to hide it since everyone had saw it as she was running around the rooms.
She was waiting by the door with Sophia, Carl, Lori and Carol. Officer Lam was on the outside waiting for the others to come back as everyone continued looking just in case.
"Jamie please, sit down." Sophia said but Jamie ignored her, she didn't mean to be mean but she couldn't stop pacing.
Lori began to speak, "Jamie I think it would really help if…" however she didn't finish since there was a groan from the door.
The door opened and Lam stepped back in, his face was sad as Leon came in behind him covered in blood, both looked worn and without Billy, both didn't meet Jamie's eyes as she searched theirs for answers. Her heart stopped as she saw who followed.
Her Mom was being held up by Paula, she was coated in red and was looking down, her face was blank but she had been crying. Jamie looked from her mother to Paula who looked her in the eyes, her own filled with tears.
"No… No..." was all Jamie could muster, she moaned as she walked towards her mother but she didn't respond to her, Jamie looked around at everyone to see everyone else had come back, everyone knew what it meant.
"NO!" Jamie screamed as she fell back, her legs giving way underneath her, her chest began to hurt as she wailed, she didn't know what to do, everything was hazy, it was wrong, the world was wrong. Billy couldn't die, he shouldn't die, he was her baby brother.
She felt someone hug her as she covered her face, it felt like Sophia as someone else small hugged her, she couldn't respond at all and continued crying, her head felt full and bloated, she throat felt restricted and she couldn't breathe, she felt like she was going to explode with every constricted breath.
The world was fuzzing as the feelings of people hugging her felt miles away, the world began to vibrate as she slumped in her friend's arms, the world growing black around her.
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This was my most depressing chapter yet, honestly it killed me to write this but I thought it was time for something big to happen.
Don't track me down and kill me.
leg64