The soft notes of music played as couples piled onto the dance floor. The gentle rhythm swayed every person into a dance of admiration of the other. Observing others, I lead the two of us into the same dance. We seamlessly mold to each other's hold and step wholeheartedly to the beat. Scanning the room suddenly becomes dull and my attention turns to her. Her features magnificent as ever and her exemplary attire tops it all. The long gown she wears crashes against my own in a wave of elegant fabrics of black and blue. Her hair, long and thick, curls to one side of her neck and spills out across her arm. It tickles my arm that holds her shoulder and I can't help but notice her grip on my waist. Everything about her in this ballroom, on this spring night, in this exquisite attire seems magnified.
As I look at her, I notice a small grin spread across her features which snaps me out of my reverie. She giggles (it's a noise I could listen to on repeat) and explains to me the reason for her laughter.
"You were staring. It was kind of funny." She laughs again because I seemed to have been completely infatuated by her again. I force myself to say something and it comes out as rambling gibberish. She seems confused by the sight of the furrowing of her brows.
"Sorry, I don't usually ramble. I only do when I'm nervous." Now her look is shock and she tilts her head in question. I close my eyes and internally berate myself for revealing my nervousness.
"It's fine. I don't think anyone in this room is as nervous as I am. You just look so great and perfect and I'm nothing in comparison and…" I look at her with disbelief my mouth slightly ajar and think that if anyone is anything close to perfection, it's her. She stops talking and looks uneasily at me. I then feel invincible and plant a chaste kiss on her cheek.
"You are perfect."
Her eyes almost pop out and her smile reaches her ears. Before I lose my courage, I grab her and begin to sway again as she rests her head on my shoulder and tightens her grip on me.
Everything is at ease until the first scream. At the other end of the dance floor there seems to be a fight or a commotion of some sort. My instincts kick in and I start mentally preparing for the worse. Or at least what I thought could be the worse. A guttural scream rips across the room and everyone stops in their tracks. Now, the room holds a feeling of danger and fear. The screams continue as others join until it's a chorus made of pure agony. The once dancing couples at the other end of the dancefloor are now ravenous, rageful, and running towards other couples at full speed. It hits me. They are the undead. The realization comes to light as soon as I see a woman get violently bitten on the neck. I cannot move. I can only see and hear. Screams of terror and hunger fill my ears as pictures of the undead multiplying flood my eyesight.
I feel her tugging at my arms and my legs move at their own will. They carry me to a door where loads of people are desperately trying to escape out of. I snap back to my full self and the panic starts to grow. I turn to her and the fear in her eyes boosts me with the will to protect her and get out of here.
"We have to get out of here! They're so fast and…" I turn around and see the undead approaching me at a rapid pace. The dead band player runs towards me and as if I've known how to for years I bring my leg up at lightning quick speed and kick it in the neck. Its neck breaks and falls down but then slowly starts crawling to me with a loud growl. I reach for the flag staff at the door and with quick speed spin it and firmly plant it into its decaying head. Blood spews onto my gown but I don't care. I grab her arm and kick the door down and we run out safely into the large garden. The overwhelming smell of fresh flowers hits us as soon as we escape. There is no undead but they will start following us. I keep running with her hand in mine as she trails behind me. She stops me once we're a safe distance away and she looks me straight in the eye.
"How did you learn how to do that?! It was amazing! You saved us!" Her eyes don't leave my face for one second and her hands tightly grip my waist. The distance between us is made up of only inches. I can finally convey to her what I've felt for her for months so I put all reservations aside and lean my forehead against hers. Her eyes close and we're breathing the same air now. I close my eyes, my lips ghost over hers and as I'm about to close the space between us her hand tangles into my hair almost violently and she yanks away from my grip and has a death grip on my wrist. My eyes open and I feel the pain surging through my wrist and up my arm. It intensifies every second and the weight in my legs gets heavier. My lungs burn with an intense fire that spreads across my whole body. I can no longer take the pain and let out a shriek. As it leaves my mouth, it sounds inhuman with echoes of a beast.
I turn to her and look straight into her eyes. She has tears streaming down her face and is yelling something but all noise becomes muffled. Her eyes shoot to my wrist and I follow. And there I am, seated against the wall of the ballroom spewing blood from a bite mark encircling my wrist.
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