//------------------------------//
// Run 
// Story: Run or Die 
// by Buckseed 
//------------------------------//

My name is Rainbow Dash, or just Dash for short, and I am in some deep shit right now. My heart is pounding in my chest like never before and I can hear them clawing at the door. Their ungodly screeches and bloody gurgles, the sound of nails gouging out shards of wood, and the smell of rotten flesh and disaster are the only things around me right now.

I sorta knew it would end up like this though, it always does, no matter how awesome you are. Hell, I can still remember hearing stories about the runners that didn’t make it. I’d be the first one to claim that if it had been me out there, I wouldn’t have any problems getting what I needed and making it back safely. But I was only trying to boost my own confidence to hide my nerves. Each and every time a new number was added to the death toll, I knew I could be next. 

Look at me now, trapped in the room of some kid that probably died during the outbreak. I never thought my death would include a room with pink bunnies on the wall. What would the younger me have said about this? What would he say?


Run.


The word echoed in my mind, as if my memories were yelling at me. I had to run, it was the only way to survive, it was all I knew, all I was good for anymore.

My eyes rapidly darted around the room, other thoughts began to cloud my head but the loudest was my instinct to run to safety. 

A closet, I could hide! No, I have to run!

A bat, I could try to fight my way out! No, I need to run!

Run, run, run. It’s the only way. Don’t do anything else, don’t think about anything else, and don’t look back. 

Just. Run.

I didn’t even realize what I was doing. One second I have my back against the wall and the next I’m swinging a bat at a window and climbing down the side of a house. My hand went to my side, where a shard of glass nicked me and caused some bleeding. I didn’t even feel it, so much adrenaline was rushing through my body, I barely had control over where I was going. It was all muscle memory and fear at this point.

Before I knew it, the gates of the compound were in view. Almost automatically, I reached down and grabbed a walkie-talkie that I kept on my belt. Pressing the talk button I said my message.

“Open the gates, I’m back! I made it!” I blurted out with haggard breath.

For a moment, where fear and doubt clouded my mind, I thought the gate wouldn’t open. But relief struck when it slowly began to slide upwards, just enough to let me through if I took off my bookbag and crouched.

Relief fell over me once I was on the other side of the gate, and with that relief came my crash. Exhaustion took over, and I could feel my legs turn to jelly. I refused to go down though, not in front of all these people.

My eyes scanned the crowd that had gathered at the entrance. Everyone was saying something different, and it all became garbled trash to my ears, not that I could hear anything beyond the frantic thumping of my own chest.

“She’s bleeding! Look at her side!” I heard those words loud and clear of course. 

The tiniest scratch was a big deal these days, I had to explain to everyone what happened before a riot breaks out over nothing.

“I can ex-” I tried to talk, but pain rocketed through my brain. I should have expected this to happen, nobody is willing to take chances anymore. 

It felt like time had slowed down for a moment. As my vision began to darken, I realized I was falling. Looks like I ended up going down in front of all these people anyway.

Fuck.