The End of Us

by D, Hannah

“Hey Alex? I have some cookies here stashed in my pocket, you want them? I’ve eaten far too many” Zoe offered Alex.

  Alex nodded his head and held his hand out and Zoe placed the cookies in his hand.

  “Thank you” Alex said quietly.

  Jeff looked over and smiled at Zoe. They found the key for the vending machines in the school yesterday morning and took all the food from them. They were preparing to take as much as they could for when they left but Zoe didn’t mind giving Alex a little extra. He was a growing boy after all!

  Jeff got to reading the story and Zoe settled in beside them. Zoe didn’t remember falling asleep. It must’ve been Jeff’s soothing voice that made her go to sleep, she could listen to him talk all day.

  It was a loud bang that walk them up. Everyone was up, wiping sleep from their eyes. Even Jeff was wiping sleep from his eyes.

  “God, I don’t remember falling asleep. Shit!” Jeff said as he stood up, unraveling Alex from him.

  “I’ll go look out one of the classroom windows, find out what’s going on’ Zoe said.

  “I’ll come with you” Chris offered.

  Zoe smiled at him and together they went to the gym hall doors, made it free from the barricade they’d put up and jogged to one of the classrooms.

  “What do you think that bang could’ve been?” Chris asked Zoe as they jogged to the classroom.

  “I have no idea” Zoe replied.

  They’d made their way into the classroom and they both came to a skidding halt when they saw what was happening outside the widows.

  The skin eaters had managed to break the fence and were coming into the school grounds, heading for the school. Even though they didn’t move fast, Zoe and Chris both knew that they would all have to move very fast before they were surrounded.

  “We have to move” Zoe said to Chris.

  Chris nodded and they both ran, full speed back to the gym hall.

  Everyone in there was already throwing their belongings and the food into their bags. Zoe and Chris didn’t even need to tell them that they had to move, they all already knew. It wasn’t that hard to guess that the skin eaters had made their way past the fence and into the school grounds. Their moans gave them away, getting louder as they got closer to the school.

  Jeff had packed Zoe’s backpack for her and had a knife lying on top of it since Zoe already had one of her knives in her back pocket. Jeff had found a fir axe when they searched the school and he was using this as his weapon. Everyone else had knives, even Alex still had one.

  “Okay, there’s the back doors to this gym hall, they’re fire doors so I just push against them, we go out them, stick together and run up the hill and we keep running until we find somewhere” Jeff said to them all.

  They all nodded and followed him to the back doors.

  “I’ll go first. Sophia you stick with Alex and protect him” Jeff told Sophia.

  Sophia just nodded.

  “Don’t worry little man, I got you. No skin eater has beaten me and my bat yet!” Arthur told him.

  This time, Arthur wasn’t managing t make anyone laugh or smile. They were all nervous.

  “Okay on three, One.. Two..THREE!” Jeff yelled as he pushed against the doors.

  Jeff ran out and already there were a group of skin eaters coming toward them.

  ‘Holy shit, this is going to be a battle for our lives’ Zoe thought.

  After that thought she didn’t think much else apart from killing the skin eaters. There were more out here that Zoe noticed. It felt like every time you killed one, another two appeared in it’s place. It was difficult for them to fight the skin eaters when they were all carrying bags on their backs that weighed a ton, they were getting tired easier and quicker. Zoe wasn’t going to let anything slow her down. She could walked everywhere, be on her feet twenty three hours a day, she could manage fishing these skin eaters with a heavy bag on her back no problem.

  They were all focusing on the fight on hand. It had became like second nature to them all to kill the skin eaters. They all didn’t even think that these skin eaters used to be human, they were gone now, turned into these biting, cannibal things.

  Zoe was focusing on the skin eater coming toward her when she heard a scream coming from her right. Zoe turned her head and saw that a skin eater was coming toward Sophia and Sophia had no weapons in her hands. Alex was standing behind Sophia, petrified, trying to give Sophia his knife but Sophia wasn’t taking it. Arthur was too busy fighting off the skin eaters behind them to jump to their rescue from the skin eater coming for Sophia and Alex.

  Zoe turned toward the skin eater coming toward her and lunged herself at it, plunging her knife into it’s head.

  As Zoe turned around to face where Sophia was meant to be standing she just saw Alex. Sophia was running away from them, screaming as she went.

  ‘What a selfish little bitch! She’s left her little brother to die!’ Zoe thought as she started to run toward where Alex was standing, frozen, watching the skin eater getting closer to him, it’s eyes wide and unblinking, it’s one rm stretching out for him.

  “I’m come Al..” Zoe started to say before she felt her foot being grabbed and then she started falling to the ground.

  Zoe twisted and saw that a skin eater had grabbed her ankle and was about to sink it’s teeth into her. Zoe used her other foot to hit the skin eater in the head, but she had to do this another two times before the skin eater let go of her long enough for Zoe to grab her knife and it it into the skin eaters head.

  Zoe heard Alex scream and turned herself around.

  ‘Oh no, I’m too late’ Zoe thought as she was turning around to where Alex was, expecting to see the worst.

  What Zoe didn’t expect to see was Chris jumping in front of Alex and pushing the skin eater away from Alex before grabbing the knife Alex had in his hand and putting it into the skin eaters head.

  “Come on everyone, we have to run! There’s too many for us to keep on fighting!” Jeff yelled to them all.

  Zoe saw Chris pick up Alex and start to run only to get a few centimetres in front of where he was before falling to the ground. Alex falling out of Chris arms. A skin eater had grabbed Chris ankle, just like one had managed to get a hold of Zoe ankle. Chris let out a scream before leaning forward and putting the knife into it’s head.

  Sarah was there before Zoe reached Chris and Alex, helping Chris stand up. He must’ve hurt his ankle when he was grabbed and fell to the ground as he was struggling to put any weight on it.

  “I have to help him run, he has to lean on me” Sarah said to Zoe when Zoe reached them.

  “No problem, you help him, I’ll carry Alex” Zoe said.

  Zoe turned and picked up Alex who had begun to cry.

  “It’s okay, you’re okay, we’re going somewhere safe” Zoe was telling Alex as she bang to run towards where the others were.

  “I can see them coming after us” Alex said to Zoe.

  “Close your eyes then they are no longer there” she told him.

  Alex must’ve closed his eyes as his breathing felt slower and not as panicked and he never said anything more on the skin eaters.

  They caught up with the rest of them and there Sophia was running not too far in front of Zoe.

  ‘She’ll get a piece of me when we stop running and are safe after leaving her kid brother to die!’ Zoe thought angrily.

  They ran up the hill, it looked like everyone was here and had made it out alive. It really was a miracle they’d managed it. Zoe could still hear the skin eaters moans coming from behind them. They wouldn’t stop being followed.

  “Guys, we need to find somewhere to hide out in fast! I don’t know how much longer I can keep helping Chris run or how much longer he can keep running on his ankle” Sarah shouted to them.

  “I don’t know where we can go!” Jeff yelled back.

  They were running out of stamina and Zoe started to feel panic rising in her chest. It didn’t seem like they were going to get
lucky and manage to get anywhere safe.

  “Wait, is that what I think it is? Up ahead outside that row of cottages?” Mike yelled.

  “Yes, it is! Everyone, keep following me. We may be in luck!” Jeff yelled.

  As they got closer to what Mike had pointed out Zoe realised that they were facing what was indeed a campervan. Mike and Sue were already taking down the few skin eaters that were near the campervan.

  “This can’t be real, people actually have these!” Zoe exclaimed as she got to the campervan and set Alex down.

  “Let’s just hope we can get inside and get it moving before we’re being eaten by the skin eaters” Jeff said back to her.

  “Here, give me a t shirt from your bag” Zoe said to Jeff.

  Jeff reached into his bag and passed Zoe his t shirt.

  ‘Here’s hoping these people were really trusting and this campervan doesn’t have an alarm. The last thing we need is noise attracting more of the skin eaters’ Zoe thought.

  Zoe wrapped the t shirt around her hand and started punching the campervans windows, it took a good seven punches before Zoe managed to break the window. The good news was that the people who owned this campervan were trusting and didn’t have an alarm on the campervan. The bad news was that the skin eaters were gaining on them. Zoe had to get this campervan moving fast.

  Zoe reached through the ow broken window and felt the handle and pulled it so that the door opened.

  “Sue, climb through here and through the front seats and open the side door to eat everyone in while I hot wire this campervan and get it started’ Zoe said over her shoulder to Sue.

  Sue done as Zoe asked and managed to squeeze herself through the seats and opened the door. Everyone climbed in apart from Jeff.

  “You focus on getting the campervan started, I’ll watch your back” Jeff said to her.

  Zoe turned around back to the campervan and focused on the task at hand. She had only done this twice before when she was in a really bad situation not long after she turned eighteen and was pretty much homeless. It was the worst point in her life up until the skin eaters came about.

  Zoe started playing around with the wires, trying to get the campervan started. She could hear Jeff fighting off the first of the skin eaters that had made it up to the campervan. She could also hear the multiple moans coming closer from them as more drew nearer.

  “Zoe, I think now might be the best time to get that started up and moving” Jeff grunted.

  “Nearly there” Zoe said.

  After a few more sparks from the two wires Zoe had in her hand the campervan rumbled and came to life. Zoe could hear the rest of the group shouting gleefully inside the campervan.

  “Jeff its ready, get over here and lets go” Zoe shouted.

  “In a minute!” Jeff yelled.

  Zoe spun around and saw that Jeff was trying to fight off three of the skin eaters. Zoe grabbed one of her knives and ran up to help him. Together they managed to kill them and ran back to the campervan.

  Zoe jumped in first and slid over to the passenger seat, letting Jeff jump in to the drivers seat. Zoe wasn’t the best at driving and hoped that Jeff was better than her. She didn’t even know if he could drive come to think of it.

  “Everyone hold on, we’re going to have to get out of here fast!” Jeff shunted to them all.

  Zoe didn’t have to wait very long to find out that Jeff was actually pretty skilled at driving. Was there anything he couldn’t do Zoe started wondering.

  “Whew, that was really close! We must have someone looking down on us” Jeff said to Zoe.

  “We’re so lucky” Zoe said back.

  ‘Guys, we have a problem!” Sarah shouted from the back.

  “What is it?” Zoe shouted.

  “It’s Chris, he’s been.. he’s been bitten!” Sarah shouted back, a sob catching in her throat.

  Zoe and Jeff looked at each other. Jeff’s eyes went as round as saucers, his hand gripping the steering wheel tighter.

  Zoe knew Jeff was friends with Chris and this was not. Good situation to find themselves in.

  “We keep driving for now until we find a safe spot to stop, then we’ll help Chris” Jeff decided.

  “But Jeff he has been bitten! We all know what this means!” Sophia piped up.

  “You shut up you little bitch! This is your fault!” Sarah screamed at Sophia.

  “I don’t see how?”Sophia yelled back.

  ‘Wa she being serious right now? Did she even remember leaving her little brother to die!?’ Zoe thought.

  “What do you mean it’s Sophia’s fault?” Jeff yelled back.

  Before anyone could answer him back, Zoe spoke up. They shouldn’t have this conversation now and case any delay on getting somewhere safe so that they could help Chris.

  “Look, lets find somewhere safe and then we can discuss this. We need to focus on Chris and helping him” Zoe said to them all.

  “Yeah, good idea” Jeff said and turned his attention back to the road.

  ‘Jeff obviously doesn’t know what Sophia done. This is not going to end well’ Zoe thought.

  No matter that Sophia was Jeff’s sister. Alex was also his little brother and Sophia had to pay for leaving him alone and nearly dead. If it wasn’t for Chris jumping in then that’s exactly what Alex would be right now, dead. No one spoke for the rest of the drive. Eventually Jeff pulled up outside a locked up bus depot.

  “We can see if we can get in there, there’s not much skin eaters around outside it. We can take them on easy enough” Jeff said.

  “I’ll come help kill them” Zoe said.

  “Me too, I want to help this time” Sue said.

  Zoe was surprised to hear that Sue wanted to come help. Zoe could hear Mike protesting with Sue in the back but Sue remained firm and soon was climbing her way into the front with Jeff and Zoe, getting ready to leave the campervan to clear the skin eaters from outside this bus depot.

  “I thought it was my turn to help do something” Sue said to them.

  “Sure Sue, much appreciated” Zoe said as she smiled at her.

  Zoe, Jeff and Sue exited the campervan and they killed the skin eaters that were outside. It was easy enough. They had drove to an industrial estate. There must not have been many people around here when the epidemic started. It did look pretty run down. It a to of businesses around so not many people here.

  ‘That’s a relief’ Zoe thought.

  “Guys, I really need your help in here, please” Sarah said as she popped her head out.

  “I’ll help Sue try to find a way into the bus depot” Mike said as he came out the campervan.

  Jeff and Zoe made their way to the campervan.

  “What are we going to do?” Jeff asked Zoe.

  Zoe knew that Jeff couldn’t make this decision like he had been making majority of decisions. This time it was going to be up to Zoe and even she didn’t know what to do.

  “Let’s see how bad the bite is and how Chris is doing and we’ll take it from there” Zoe said to Jeff as she squeezed his arm.

  When they entered the campervan they found Chris lying on the three seats against the wall of the campervan. He was still conscious and still looked to be okay. He was trying to eat them all at least.

  ‘You doing okay man?” Jeff asked as he went up to kneel beside Chris.

  “Yeah, just a throbbing pain in my ankle, exactly the same way it would feel after you sprain it but I don’t feel any different. Don’t want to tear you apart anyway” Chris said to Jeff.

  “Well, I guess that’s a bonus” Jeff laughed.

  “Chris, would you mind if I had a look?” Zoe asked him.

  “Sure, crack on. Just don’t gush over hw pretty my ankles look” Chris joked.

  Zoe let out a laugh and bent down to look at the bite. It looked angry, it was all read and dripping with puss. Zoe could see just how deep the bite was from the teeth marks. The skin eater had taken a nice little bite. Zoe rolled down Chris jeans to cover t
he bite mark and stood back up.

  “So, is my ankle still oh so pretty” Chris asked Zoe.

  “Of course, just a little red is all” Zoe told him.

  Zoe didn’t want to tell Chris just how bad the bite mark looked. She had no idea if they would manage to save Chris, she didn’t know anything about how long it took to become a skin eater after you had been bitten. Zoe went and stood outside, she needed a little more space to try and think a little more clearly.

  “It’s not looking good is it?” Sarah asked Zoe.

  Zoe didn’t notice Sarah following her out. Sarahs eyes were red and puffy. She was shaking and it definitely wasn’t cold enough to make her shake.

  “I don’t want to lie to you Sarah but no, it doesn’t look too good” Zoe told her.

  “I thought so. I’d rather people told me the truth than lied to me about this. I need to try and prepare myself for the worse” Sarah said as she let out a sob.

  Zoe reached out and gave Sarah arm a squeeze. Zoe wasn’t much of a hugger and even now she couldn’t force herself to hug someone.

  Jeff came out beside them, looking like he was torn between what to do. Let Chris stay alive and eventually become a skin eater or kill him now before he turns.

  “I’m thinking, What if we amputee his foot, above the ankle above the bite?” Jeff asked.

  “Are you crazy!? None of us are qualified to do that, we don’t know what we’re doing and we could do it wrong and then he’ll bleed out” Zoe said to Jeff.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea Jeff” Sarah also said, sniffing.

  “I know, sorry, I just thought that maybe that would stop him becoming a..” Jeff couldn’t finish his sentence.

  “A skin eater is what you mean to say and I am not allowing that” came Sophia’s voice.

  “Sophia maybe you shouldn’t say..” Arthur started.

  “How fucking dare you think you have a say in this you little bitch, this is all your fault” Sarah yelled.

  Next thing Zoe knew Sarah had lunged herself toward Sophia and was grabbing her by the hair and bringing Sophia’s head down to meet Sarah’s knee. Everyone heard a loud crunch which was the sound of Sophia’s nose breaking.

  Sophia managed to get herself free and was crying holding her nose.