“Do it now.”
Violet shook her head, her voice cracking a little when she spoke. “She’s not yours. None of us are yours. We’re leaving.”
“You think I won’t do it?” Vince spat, but his hand was shaking. Violet knew it had always been John in charge. She wondered if Vince had even fired a gun before.
“Let us pass,” Matt said gently but firmly. “You can pretend you didn’t see us.”
Vince ran one hand through his hair. “Oh yeah, and how’s that? I was supposed to be guarding the gate! No, put her down and get into that classroom. If you do, maybe John won’t kill you.”
Violet shook her head again. “We’re going. Get out of our way.”
She and Matt moved forward. Surprisingly, Vince stepped aside to let them pass. Violet couldn’t believe it was happening, but he was letting them go. She looked sideways at Matt, who stared determinedly forward, and the three of them kept going toward the double doors. Vince did nothing; he didn’t shout for backup, didn’t chase them, he just watched.
Maybe he’s not as bad as the rest of them?
A single gunshot. Suddenly, Emily seemed to weigh twice as much. Violet felt herself lurch forward. Emily had stopped holding herself up, her legs crumpling underneath her. Violet brought her gaze to Emily’s face, not wanting to believe what she already knew. Vince had shot Emily. The bullet had hit the back of her head—a clean shot straight through her skull. She was dead.
Violet felt sick. She let her friend’s body drop to the floor. Matt’s eyes were wide as he gaped at the lifeless corpse.
Vince spluttered from behind them. “I…” He was pale and sweating, unable to even string a full sentence together. “I wasn’t trying to…” He pointed at Violet. “It was supposed to be you! Not… I didn’t mean…” He dropped the gun as though it burned him. The beautiful smell of Emily’s blood began to fill the air, but it all too quickly turned sour. The blood of a dead girl meant nothing, but Violet didn’t need it. She glared at Vince, the man who had killed her friend, and felt something stronger than the hunger.
Hate.
It happened fast. She threw herself at Vince, knocking him to the floor. He had been caught off guard, but fought back, trying to throw her off. She could hear Matt yelling, but he may as well have been underwater for she couldn’t understand his words. Violet was so angry, but she couldn’t do it alone. She needed the monster, and she knew how to make it come out. As Vince tried to push her off, Violet bit his hand.
Then it began.
It bites into his flesh, tearing the fingers off. Chewing some and spitting the rest out. Then it moves onto the neck. He’s not fighting as much when it bites there. The blood is sweet, and it feels so strong!
Then there are hands on its shoulders, and even though it is strong, it is pulled away. Pinned down. It is roughly shook, over and over, slapped once across the face, shaken again until things start to come into focus. It fights at first, but slowly the struggling stops. It is kneeling on the floor, the man’s blood drying on its chin. Someone is talking, and things are beginning to make sense again.
“Go,” Violet croaked, the world around her still blurry. “Get out of here before I hurt you.”
Matt’s face faded in and out. He got up and moved away.
It’s better this way. He’ll be safer.
I should find John and the others. Kill them before it completely goes away.
Cold water splashed on Violet’s face. She spluttered, blinking rapidly. Matt stood in front of her before slowly lowering to his knees, dropping the empty water bottle. He held a wad of scratchy hand towels from the bathrooms and began to wipe her face, trying to clean the blood away.
“You should go,” Violet whispered.
Matt shook his head. When he had finished cleaning her face, he took her hand, helping her up. The gun was on the floor. Violet watched as he picked it up. He carefully tucked it in the back of his jeans. Then he led her into the rain.
Sam and Joe were approaching as Violet and Matt came outside.
“Where is she?” Sam asked, having to raise his voice to be heard above the storm.
Matt shook his head.
Sam swore loudly. Joe ran his hands through his hair, moving as though he was about to go back inside, then he caught sight of Violet’s bloodied clothes.
“Violet, what—”
Another gunshot. Violet and the others turned back to the school. John was standing in the doorway. He’d fired his gun into the air. Edd and Zack were behind him. Edd had a baseball bat, but Zack had a gun.
Where did they get all of those from?
Edd stepped forward. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“Just let us go, you can have this place,” Matt said calmly, stepping slightly to the right. Joe moved a little to the left, and Violet realized they were trying to block her from sight. She looked over at the car; Tom and Maggie were safely inside with Ben.
“You killed Vince,” John said. It didn’t sound like he really cared.
Joe and Sam may have been shocked by this, but they took it in stride. Sam stepped forward. “He deserved it,” he said simply, taking the blame for something he had no idea Violet had done.
“He killed Emily,” Matt growled. Sam and Joe, upon hearing the words aloud, glared at John now with even more anger etched on their faces.
“Well then, I guess we’re even.” John grinned. He nodded at Violet. “Leave Harriet here; the other one, too. The rest of you can go. They belong with us.”
“Who’s Harriet?” Joe asked.
“He means me,” Violet muttered.
Matt stepped forward, holding out Vince’s gun. “I don’t want to kill you, but if you don’t let us go, all of us, I will shoot you.”
John laughed. “Go on then, I dare you.”
“I mean it,” Matt threatened. He sounded pretty sure of himself, but Violet knew his heart was racing. Hers was, too.
John stepped closer again, a cruel smile on his face. Violet’s stomach churned; she didn’t think Matt would do it. She didn’t blame him. She may have just killed Vince, but it wasn’t like she could take all the credit for that—she at least had the excuse of being half dead. Matt didn’t exactly have a zombie version of himself to call upon.
In one smooth move, Sam took the gun from Matt’s hand, aimed at John’s leg, and then pulled the trigger.
Nothing.
He pulled it again.
Still nothing. Sam quickly popped open the gun’s chamber and checked inside. Violet didn’t have to see through his eyes to know what he had found.
John and Edd began to laugh viciously.
“Oops,” John said. “Vince only had one bullet left, and it’s in the skull of the pretty one.” He raised his gun, aiming it at Sam. “I, on the other hand, have enough for all of you.”
“Please,” Violet begged, stepping out from behind Matt and Joe. “Don’t hurt them. I’ll stay. Just let the others go.”
John sneered. “You? You’re more trouble than you’re worth. We want the redhead; she’ll do as she’s told.” He paused. “Maybe we’ll keep you, too, but I think you need a leash, at least until you learn your place.” He studied her more carefully. “And you’re covered in Vince’s blood.” An ugly sneer crossed his face. “Why don’t you start by taking those bloody clothes off?” He laughed, and Violet’s face burned with humiliation. John swept his gun in front of Matt and the others. “As for the rest of you—”
The gunshot rang out before he could finish, louder and clearer than the thunder. Rain beat down, diluting the blood pouring on to the concrete.
“What the hell are you doing?” Edd screamed, dropping to examine John’s body. Violet knew it was no good. John had been dead before he hit the ground. Zack had shot hit him in the head. Violet allowed herself to take a breath. Just one.
Edd lunged for John’s gun, but Zack quickly kicked it toward Sam, who grabbed it and aimed at Edd.
“You’ll pay f
or that,” Edd growled at Zack. His eyes were wild.
“I’m sure,” Zack replied sincerely…right before shooting Edd in the leg. Edd fell, crying out in pain as the blood seeped from the wound. Violet turned away; the delicious smell was already dangerously tempting. She was just grateful for the rain, which began to dilute the blood as it pooled on the ground.
“We need to leave,” Violet muttered, stumbling a little as she moved toward the car. She could feel Matt watching her, but couldn’t look him in the eye.
What does he think of me after what he saw?
“Come on,” Sam said to the others. “Let’s go.”
Matt and Joe went to leave, but Matt paused. He stepped over Edd, who was holding onto his leg and groaning, and halted in front of Zack.
“Come with us,” he said. Zack regarded the rest of the group, and Violet saw Sam eyeing the bodies on the floor before giving him a nod. They hurried down to the car. Violet climbed in first, wanting to be as far away from the smell of Edd’s blood as possible. It didn’t matter that she’d just eaten. She already needed more.
With seven people in the vehicle, as well as a dog, it was a bit of a squeeze. Sam was in the driver’s seat, with Joe and Zack sharing the passenger seat, Violet, Maggie, Matt, and Tom squashed into the back, with Ben on Violet’s lap. It was tight, but a vacation compared to where she’d just been, so she wasn’t complaining.
“Look,” Maggie said, pointing to the school gates. They were wide open.
“We wanted to make sure we could get away quickly,” Matt explained.
“No,” Maggie continued. “Look.”
Violet saw it now; just barely visible in the darkness were the silhouettes of the dead. Lots of them. They were heading toward them—fast.
“Should we help him?” Maggie asked. She meant Edd, who was still clutching his leg and shouting obscenities from over by the doors. The biters were getting closer, ignoring the car and heading toward the sound of his voice.
“No.” Sam answered.
Violet almost felt bad for not arguing. Almost.
Sam slammed the accelerator, and the car screeched away. Violet turned to watch through the back window, but couldn’t see Edd anymore, only the dead swarming around the place he’d fallen. He was gone.
“Hang on!” Sam cried. The car slammed into the creatures that were continuing to pour through the gates. Violet closed her eyes, heart pounding, sweat on her forehead. She felt an unwanted tear slide down her face, and wiped it away before anyone could see the blood. Someone’s hand found hers in the dark.
They had been driving in silence for a few minutes when Matt finally asked the question on all of their minds. “So, where are we going?”
“I don’t know,” Sam replied honestly. “I live in an apartment in the middle of town. I doubt it’s the best option right now.”
“What about you?” Matt asked Joe.
“I live with Sam.”
“Great.” Matt sighed. “My place isn’t safe. I barely made it out of there in one piece, and I had to smash the glass door to do it.”
“I wouldn’t even know how to get to my house from here,” Zack added. “Those guys found me miles away.”
Violet knew what was coming. Her house would probably be the best option. She remembered Maggie’s story well enough to know her’s wasn’t safe. Tom hadn’t offered, but it wasn’t like she was particularly eager to go to whatever dark hole he called ‘home’.
But even though she knew her house was probably okay, it didn’t feel right for some reason. She didn’t want to go home, but she didn’t know why. Still, it wasn’t like they had much of a choice.
“What about my place?” she offered quietly.
“Is it safe?” Matt asked.
“I don’t know,” Violet admitted. “I haven’t been there since it started, but it was locked up when I left, so there shouldn’t be any of those things inside.”
“Parents?” Sam asked.
“Away. They were on vacation.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Joe said. “Is it close?”
“About twenty minutes away.”
“Or we could go to my house?” Tom suggested. “It’s just outside town, so it might be safer. Plus, it’s nice.”
Violet scowled. What’s that supposed to mean?
“You think I don’t live in a nice house?” she asked.
Tom shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Well, that’s what you said.”
“Read into it whatever you want.”
“You literally said—”
“Let’s go to Violet’s,” Joe interrupted.
Sam nodded. “I agree. It’s closer anyway. The less time we have to spend traveling in the dark, the better.”
Matt seemed to be formulating a plan already. “A couple of us can go in and check it’s clear. If it is, then everyone else can come. At least it’ll be somewhere to stop and make plans. We need to start thinking long term—”
“Stop,” Violet shouted, interrupting Matt and causing Sam to slam on the brakes.
“What?” he asked, his voice sounding almost annoyed.
“Over there.” She pointed to the road on their right, where there were at least twenty biters running in their direction.
“That’s lovely, Violet, but why are we stopping?” Joe asked quickly.
Running from the biters, leading the undead following, was Toby, the boy from the bike store who had saved her life. Violet reached across Tom, not caring about leaning heavily on his leg, and opened the back door.
“Toby,” she yelled.
Toby sped up, charging toward the car. The dead were close behind.
“He’s not going to make it,” Tom argued, reaching for the handle, but Violet ‘accidentally’ slipped and elbowed him between the legs. He let go of the door, groaning in pain, and she held it open for Toby.
“Run,” Matt shouted. Sam revved the engine, creeping the car forward a little.
The boy was inches from her now. Violet grabbed his hand, pulling him inside. The car screeched away with the door still open. It banged closed against a streetlight. Toby practically collapsed onto the floor in front of her seat. He was drenched and pale, but alive.
“Hi,” he panted.
They parked outside Violet’s house. Despite her arguments, Matt and Sam went to check it out alone. She told them about the spare key under the mat. It was an obvious hiding place, but it couldn’t be understated how often Violet forgot her key before she became a zombie, and they left the rest of the group in the car.
“What happened?” she asked Toby as he took Matt’s place beside her.
“I went out to find food, but my bike got a puncture on some broken glass. I was trying to drag it back when those things found me. I had to leave it behind. I hid in a house for the night, but they got in.” He flicked his eyes over Violet’s bloodied clothes. “You look terrible.”
“You should see the other guy.”
The one I ate.
That’s so disgusting, Violet.
She glanced up as the back door to her house opened. Sam waved them over.
“We’re clear,” Violet said to the others. They stepped out into the cool night air. The rain had stopped, and the moon had finally escaped the clouds, giving the group a little silvery light to see by. Sam and Matt had flashlights, but kept them low as they walked with the others to the door.
“We may have a small problem,” Matt whispered to Violet.
I have more than one small problem, she thought miserably, but followed him all the same. She saw what he meant when they stepped into the living room. One of the large windows was smashed, with a hole large enough for a person to fit through.
“We checked; there’s no one here,” Sam whispered. “I’m guessing someone broke in to hide, but they’ve gone now. We’ll need to block up the window.”
They used Violet’s dad’s tools to remove the living room door, then nailed it over the remains of the window.
It was not a neat job, and was loud and time consuming to carry out. Violet was sure the dead would hear, but so far, they had been lucky. When the job was finally finished, Sam, Joe, and Matt stood back to admire their work while Maggie lit some candles.
“Do you think it’s secure?” Violet asked.
Joe pulled at the door with both hands; it didn’t move. “Seems so.”
“At least if it comes down, it’ll make a lot of noise,” Sam added. “We’ll have time to get out.”
A thought suddenly occurred to Violet. “Why did we take the living room door off? We could’ve used the dining room one, then closed the door to this room. It’d mean the biters would take longer to get to us.”
Everyone was silent for a moment before Joe sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Wow. Really wish you’d said something before we nailed it on, Vi.”
“Sorry, didn’t think of it until now.”
“It’ll be fine,” Sam insisted. “I’m not taking another damn door off. If the dead get through that, they can have me.”
Violet had assumed there would be food in the house since her parents stocked up before they went away. They’d bought far too much for her to get through on her own. Unfortunately, most of that stuff went into the fridge and freezer. With the power off for weeks, none of it was even remotely salvageable. There was still food in the cupboards, but a lot of it was missing. Most that was left needed to be cooked. The camping stove was still at the school.
“We could start a fire?” Joe suggested.
Sam shook his head. “There’s no fireplace, and nothing to start it in. I don’t want to risk it getting too big and us not being able to put it out.”
The others agreed. Violet thought if there was even the slightest chance of her parents coming back, she didn’t want them to return to a burned-down house. A zombie daughter was probably enough bad news to have to deal with. Unfortunately, no fire meant no cooking, and so dinner that evening consisted of cold soups and tinned beans. It didn’t matter to Violet—all food tasted like the color beige now anyway—but she doubted it was too enjoyable for the others. Still, they were safe and together, which was far more important.
Alive? Page 15
