'I'm going to check on Delilah,' I told my dad.
He wasn't one for coddling people, or being in tune with their feelings.
'I wouldn't waste your time, she'll be fine,' he said in his gruff voice.
'I know, but I want to,' I replied walking off after Delilah.
I hurried after her, not wanting to get lost in the mass of woodlands. I caught up with her, she looked sad, more sad than I'd seen her in a while.
'Hey, thought you might want some company,' I said gently.
She gave me a weak smile, 'thanks, but I'll be fine on my own,' she told me.
'I know, but none of us should be alone. We don't know what's in here,' I replied.
'True, but there's something I need to do. The others might not understand,' she said quietly. 'What is it?' I asked concernedly.
She stopped for a moment, a look of grief crossed her olive face. I saw the tears in her eyes, whatever was wrong, was clearly hurting her.
'It's my little sisters, two of them are buried here,' she told me. 'I'm sorry,' was all I could say.
'I just figured, since we were here, I could visit them.'
'Of course, and I'm sure the others would understand,' I smiled.
'Thank you, I'll tell them when we get back. It isn't far.' We walked through the darkened woods, with heavy hearts. We'd all lost so much, my dad and I had lived at Sanctuary since the beginning, we'd helped make it into what it was. As I thought of my home, the images of our family and friends flashed through my mind.
I remembered the fear, like it was yesterday. The screaming, the crying, all that blood, still stuck in my mind. The first person my dad and I lost was my mum, it was before Sanctuary, before we'd even left home. We lived not 10 miles from Thurso, though we were originally from Blackpool. We'd moved there when I was fifteen, we lived in peace for five years before the world ended. We'd barricaded our house, kept all the lights off and stayed in our attic. Dad was always preparing for the end, he was so sure something was going to happen. Even he could not have predicted just how bad things were going to be.
We survived for almost six months, with all the food dad had. When it did run out, we ventured out into the towns to look for food. We'd kept updated with the news, as is was still airing at that time. It warned people to go to the refugee camps, but dad knew better.
'Going there will ensure our deaths,' he'd said. How right he turned out to be, it wasn't long before the camps were overrun. My mum had stayed behind, when we went out. She was a sickly woman, there was always something wrong with her. Whether it was a bad case of the flu, a minor accident that affected her worse than normal people, or her allergies. She was allergic to so much, cotton, wheat, dairy, dust, cats, dogs, you name it she was allergic. She was a tiny, frail woman, with powder white skin, long white blond hair and ocean blue eyes. Both my dad and I were afraid to take her out, she never would have been able to fight.
So we left her at home, we promised we wouldn't be gone long. I kissed and hugged her as we left, reassuring her that we'd be back. As we went into town, we saw the corpses roaming around, their dead eyes scanning for fresh meat.
'Shit, dad what are we going to do?' I asked in a hushed voice.
'The shop is just over there, we need to get in. I'll create a diversion, you get in there and I'll catch up,' he replied confidently.
'Alright,' I nodded. I kept out of sight as he distracted the walkers, I waited till the street was clear before heading into the shop. I opened the door just a fraction, I came face to face with a child corpse. I didn't hesitate, I lopped off its head with my machete. While the body collapsed, landing on the floor with a thump, the head snapped, still trying to get at me. I put my machete through it, and walked into the store. I kept quiet as I wandered down the aisles, catching the dead by surprise as I saw them. Before I knew it, I'd taken out six of them, I'd even taken on two at once.
I knew not to get cocky though, as the dead could still get the upper hand. I filled a trolley full of food and drinks, wondering what was taking my dad so long. I began to worry, but kept calm as I looked out the window. The street was still pretty clear, though a few corpses had wondered back. I couldn't go looking for my dad, but I could try to stop the streets from getting littered with those undead bastards.
I put the trolley in the doorway so it would be easy to get, I snuck up on a biter and put my machete through its skull. I did this five times, before I saw my dad running round the corner. It was kind of funny, watching him run. He was only 5'6 which was short for a man, he had hair back then, a thick mop of chestnut brown that was always getting in his face. I saw that there was six corpses chasing him, I got my machete ready for a fight. My dad ran towards me, skidding past me on his knees as I took out the closest one to him. Between us it didn't take long to get rid of them, I wiped the blood off my face not wanting my mum to see.
'You alright dad?' I asked.
'It's my job to ask you that,' he smiled.
'I'll take that as a yes,' I laughed.
'Yeah, I'm fine. Did you get any food.'
'I got a trolley full, its all ready to go,' I told him happily.
'That's my girl, always gets the job done,' he laughed.
'You taught me well dad,' I told him.
'You're a good student, you remember that time I tried to teach you how to ride a horse? You were what, six, seven.'
'Oh dear god, of course I remember. I had nightmares about that thing for years,' I joked.
'Aww, you were cute though. When that thing got spooked and threw you off, good thing you had a helmet and some padded clothes on,' he howled with laughter. I loved seeing my dad laugh, and reminisce about the old days. Memories were all we had to hold on to, it was one of the things that kept us going. I felt sorry for any kids growing up in this world, their happy memories must be few and far between.
'Never again, will I go near a horse,' I told him sticking my tongue out.
'I promised your mum, I'd never bring one near you and I swear I'll stick to it,' he said happily.
'See that you do, or I'll whack you round the head with mum's wooden spoon,' I teased.
'Oh god no, not the spoon,' he pretended to be afraid. I knew that was mum's tactic of dealing with him he got annoying, I could still picture it, he'd be sat in his favourite chair watching the football, getting all pissed off because his team were losing. We differed on teams, I was a Manchester City, he was a Manchester United fan.
Many days we'd spent sitting, yelling at the television and teasing each other. Dad always got a little heated, mum would always warn him but most of the time he'd never listen. She'd sneak up on him, and then whack, straight across the back of the head.
'Gah, god fucking damn you woman,' he'd growl.
'Do you want another one?' She'd ask teasingly.
'No,' he'd pout. I'd sit there laughing, as the bump on his head grew, it was a miracle that he never got a concussion. We laughed as we walked home, making sure we were still keeping an eye out for corpses. It was only when we got to our street that we saw there was danger, we hid round the corner but we knew we had to get home.
'Go, distract them. I'll get mum to the car,' I told him. He passed me the keys, then ran round me to get to the alley way not far from where the walkers were. I waited again until the coast was clear, I thanked my lucky stars that dad was such a fast runner. It wasn't until I neared my house, that I knew something was wrong. I could hear the growling from inside, I flung open the door to find three walkers inside. I kicked one, stabbed another and shoved the third out of the way. I finished them off without trouble, and raced upstairs to the attic.
'Mum!' I shouted fearfully. She didn't reply, I pulled down the ladder that led to the attic and called up again, but still there was reply. I poked my head in, to see my mother laying on the floor covered in blood. We didn't know then that the bite made you turn, we'd kept to ourselves for so long. I held her in my arms, she was weak but alive.
'I'm sorry
, I heard the door and thought it was you and Troy. They came at me, I even tried whacking them with my spoon,' she said weakly. They'd made a meal out of her, her arms, her legs there was even a bite on her face. I could see the veins spreading, but didn't know what it meant. We'd never seen anyone turn, I just clung to her, crying.
'It's okay mum, you didn't know,' I cried.
Even as I held her, she kept hold of her wooden spoon, I couldn't help but laugh.
'I couldn't give up my spoon, you never know when I might need to whack your dad one,' she laughed.
'Oh mum,' I smiled. I heard my dad shouting from downstairs, I called to him as he raced up here. The look on his face as he saw the state my mum was in, I'd never seen him cry but seeing her like that, he wailed like a baby.
'Sarah, my darling, are you alright?' He asked tearfully.
'I'll be fine love, I just need some sleep,' she replied tiredly.
'Go get her some bandages dad, I'll stay with her,' I told him. He nodded as he went downstairs, I kept hold of her, trying to clean the blood off with some wet wipes. No matter what we did, nothing seemed to work.
That night my dad and I took shifts, my mum took a turn for the worst. She writhed and convulsed, her limbs twisted into unnatural positions, I rushed to wake my dad not knowing what to do.
'Dad help,' I cried.
'Oh god, what happened?' He asked in shock.
'I don't know, I was holding her and she went to sleep, the next thing I knew she was convulsing,' I said panicked.
He raced over to help her, but as she opened her eyes we saw, they were black, just like the walkers.
'Oh fuck, dad the bites. They must have infected her, she's turned into one of them,' I cried.
'No, no, she's just sick or something,' he stammered. I watched as my mother rose, her eyes black, her body covered in the those black veins. My dad tried to hold her and talk to her, but she didn't recognise us. He cried, trying to hold her down, I knew what had to be done. My dad couldn't do it, I had to be the strong one and save us. I got up machete in hand, shoved my dad out the way and ran the machete through my mothers skull. I let the tears fall, but somehow I kept strong. I made my dad gather all of our things, we put them in the car and drove as far away from our home as we could.
As we came to Delilah's sisters graves, she knelt down placing the flowers she'd found on their graves. One read, 'Amy, my baby sister, may you rest in peace,' the other, 'Claire, far from my life, never from my heart.' Delilah let the tears fall as she sat on the cold, hard ground. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and gently squeezed. I'd lost my mum, but I'd never had any siblings, I couldn't imagine losing five of them.
'How, did they die?' I asked softly.
She shook her head, 'I still can't talk about it.'
'It's alright, but we should get back to the others, they'll be worried,' I told her gently.
'Yeah sure, just a moment.'
I stood waiting for her to move, but first she had some things to say. 'I'm sorry I couldn't save you, I should have protected you. At least you're all together now, with Mum, Dad, Clayton, Tristan and Becca. Say hello for me kids,' she said softly before kissing her fingers then putting them of the wooden crosses.
She got up and walked with me back to the others, I didn't know what to say, I felt I didn't know her well enough.
'How old were they?' I asked.
'Amy was eleven, Becca thirteen and Claire was fifteen,' she replied quietly.
'What were they like?' She smiled, 'Amy was the baby, she loved her dolls and was forever collecting them and putting them on shelves in her room. Becca loved the animals, she favoured horse riding. While Claire, was just getting into boys when all this started, my parents had the talk with her, but she wasn't stupid. She loved to write, I always said she would have made it as an author.'
'They sound like cute little things,' I told her smiling.
'Oh, they could be trouble. As the youngest three, they stuck together. When our parents went on holiday, my two older brothers and I would look after them. They'd run rings round us,' she laughed.
'I know this might not mean much, but at least you've got good memories of them,' I told her gently.
'I know, I just wish I could've saved them,' she replied sadly.
'You know what Jade always says, everything happens for a reason,' I smiled.
'You ever noticed how people only say that about bad things,' she laughed.
'That's true.'
We walked back to the others, they all looked worried.
'Where have you been?' My dad demanded.
'I'm sorry Troy, it was my fault. Two of my little sisters are buried here,' Delilah said quietly.
My dad's expression turned from furious to gentle, we never buried mum, we were in shock. He understood the importance of being able to visit your loved ones, especially in this world.
'It's alright, just please tell us next time,' he told her gently.
'I will,' she replied. We walked into the woods, trying to find somewhere safe to sleep. I didn't know what the future held for us, and I was afraid. Afraid that we wouldn't all make it to the lab, all I could do was thank god that we had good friends among us, and just hope that somehow things would turn out okay.
Chapter 28
Jade
We'd been at Northumberland National park for just over a month, it was freezing, but with the camping stuff the others had got we were managing alright. I woke up early, as I usually did. I sat on one of the chairs we'd got, looking into the woods. It was peaceful here, and there wasn't many walkers around. We'd used old cans and some string to set up a perimeter so that if any corpses came by we'd know. I didn't feel like myself, I felt lost, empty. I didn't have any hope left, the food we had was going down quickly, we only had enough to last a few days. Everyone was quiet, sad and still reeling from the losses at Sanctuary. I hadn't told anyone, but I'd had a prophetic dream two nights ago. I knew Frankie and Jensen would believe me, but I wasn't sure about the others.
We were going to be in trouble, I foresaw another battle. Hordes of the undead, were chasing us across the land. Followed by the cannibal's, I felt the terror, the panic. We were running across the countryside, tirelessly trying to out run the dead. I could hear the cannibal's breathing, as they caught up to us. Frankie fell, she was caught. I saw her be torn to shreds, I sat crying as I remembered the sight. The cannibal's grabbed Jensen, they dragged him away as the corpses reached us. Tessa died, trying to protect her father. Delilah shoved me out the way, as a walker tried to bite me. I had reached the safety of a bunker, but as I turned to look back, there was no one else left alive. As I pulled the doors shut, I sat with tears streaming down my face as the rest of my family were killed. I was alone, I had no children left, no friends, no hope of ever being whole again.
I waited for Frankie and Jensen to get up, they were often up before the others. I had to tell them about my dream, we needed to figure out a way to get the others out of here.
'Morning,' I said as they got out their tent.
'Hey, what's up? You look worried,' Frankie asked.
'I need to talk to you before the others get up,' I replied quietly.
We walked a little out of the camp to talk, I didn't want the others to hear, last thing I needed was for them to think I was nuts.
'So what's wrong?' Jensen asked worryingly.
'I've had a dream,' I told them.
The look on their faces said it all, they knew it was bad.
'How bad is it?' Frankie asked.
'There's horde coming our way, the cannibal's too,' I replied.
'Shit, how many of them are there? Can we fight them?' Frankie wondered. I shook my head, 'no, there's hundreds of them, plus the cannibal's.'
'Fuck, what do we do? I think Delilah would believe us, but the others I'm not too sure about,' Jensen said sadly.
'I know, we'll have to come up with a way, but I'm not sure how.' We stood in the cold, wet forest thinking, I
didn't know how to get them out of here. I wasn't even sure when the horde was coming, but we needed to move and soon. After a few moments, Frankie's face lit up.
'I've got an idea. We can tell them that we've heard from Finn, and there's trouble at the lab. They all care enough about him to want to hurry,' she said smiling.
'You're right, we can tell them that the army are back in the area, and Finn's worried about his mum and sister,' I told them.
'I'm going to tell Delilah the truth, don't ask me why but I just think she'll believe us,' Frankie replied confidently.
'Alright, its your call but make sure she doesn't say a word to the others,' I urged.
'Don't worry, she won't say a word,' Frankie promised. We went back to camp, I stood looking around for minute. It was safe enough, but it wouldn't do for much longer. Frankie and Jensen slept in a brown, triangle tent that was just big enough for the two of them. Tessa and Troy had a larger, green tent that had two rooms, Brooke and Tessa shared one room while Troy had another. Delilah and I had a pale blue tent that we fitted in quite comfortably. The fire we'd lit the night before sat in the middle of the tents, any cans we used we hung on the string. We'd brought all our bags with us from the cars, we had a few things like hairbrushes and toothpaste but that was about it. I longed to be somewhere that we could have the nicer things, though I didn't know if that would ever be possible. All I could think about was making sure my family was safe, I was determined not to let my dream come to pass. Delilah got up shortly after we returned, Frankie took her away to talk while Jensen and I waited for the others to get up. I sat down on one of the chairs, lost in thought.
'How are you holding up?' I asked Jensen.
He smiled weakly, I knew he was struggling with Maggie's death.
'I just miss her you know, I wish she would have talked to me about everything that was going on in her head,' he said sadly.
'I know, but I don't think any of us could have helped her,' I replied wistfully.
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