I didn't want the world to ruin her innocence or sweetness, the day she really grew up would be a sad day for me. I honestly didn't know if I would survive, while I could fight I wasn't as good as Tamara or Frankie. The only thing I knew in my heart as I looked at my family, was that this place would be the last time we were all going to be together. Not all of us would make to the safe zone.
Chapter 10
Frankie
I had been sat with Nora just before we were all going to leave to do our jobs, she was a kind old Christian woman. I found that she was very understanding and open-minded, I told her about me being a Pagan and she was just interested more than anything. I told her the story of when I was younger and a bunch of Christians tried to convert me, when they found out I was a Pagan they tried to throw holy water at me.
'Daft sods, I bet they had a heart attack when you didn't burn from the holy water.' She had a soft yet loud laugh, it was refreshing to hear. Each of them in the group had a story to tell and like mine they were tragic, I had always known that everyone had a tough time since the world ended but to hear their stories made me incredibly sad. I had to admit that it was Nora I felt most sorry for, she would never know if her family was alive. Though she had adopted everyone here as her children it could not replace what she had lost.
Tamara was quite withdrawn when I had asked about her life before the outbreak, Maggie had told me that unlike the rest of us Tamara's life wasn't a happy one. I understood and didn't push the topic, though I had wondered what could have been so bad in her life that she wouldn't talk about it.
I helped Nora into the white deck chair, she was often in pain but tried not to show it. If we ever tried to make a fuss of her she would just say that it was her arthritis, but deep down we all knew that it was something much worse.
'Nora, how can we leave with you like this?' Jade asked kindly. 'You have to leave me Jade, you can't stay here not with that group so close. If they get in you will all either be killed or captured, do you think I could live with myself if you let any harm come to these people because of me?' Nora may have been old but she was far from stupid.
'Nora you are my oldest friend, I can't leave you to die. I've already lost everyone else in my life, even my children and husband. Please don't ask me to do it.' Jade's voice broke, I could tell this was hard for her.
Tamara and Maggie had already gone on their mission, Jensen and Tom were waiting in the cellar for me while I sat and watched as the realisation of the fact that she was going to lose Nora set in. I think while we were planning to leave for Scotland, it hadn't really hit Jade as to what was going to happen to Nora. While Jade was clearly the leader here, and she had been the one care for all the others in times of great distress, she just couldn't bear the thought of abandoning one of her own. I sat on the sofa listening to their conversation, it broke my heart to know that Jade had already lost her husband and children. Now she would have to choose between leaving Nora here or putting the group in danger.
'I am old Jade, even if I could travel with you, I would only slow you down. Give me the choice of being able to die where I was born and not be torn apart by those things. I know your children's loss is still with you, and I know why you need me but you cannot keep living with these ghosts. You have to go on, if not for you then for me. Do not make me the reason that you gave up' Nora said softly.
I was glad that Nora understood but I was still sad that she had to die, this world was no place for a kind old lady like Nora.
Jade went down on her knees.
'Nora please don't leave me,' she begged as she clung to Nora. 'We have been friends for many years, I was there the day you were born. You are like a daughter to me, but you must get these people out of here,' Nora held Jade, she stroked her hair trying not to cry.
'I need you, how can I live without my mum?' She cried.
Nora looked at me softly, I could see the tears welling in her eyes. I had no idea just how close these women were. Even though Jade was in her forties, she still needed her mum.
'I ask you this as my daughter, please let me die in peace. I'm begging you,' she said pleadingly.
'How can I, if you die you will come back?'
I could not ease the pain of Jade losing Nora, but I did have a way for Nora to go in peace without coming back. I still had some deadly nightshade berries in my bag.
'Jade I know your worried about Nora coming back, but I have to way to ensure that she doesn't,' I hoped that this would help at least a little. I told them both about the Nightshade, they looked at me with surprise they didn't know what to say. They asked why I didn't say anything sooner, I told them that I too wanted to save Nora and only gave them this solution now because it was what Nora wanted.
'Thank you Frankie, you have no idea how much this means to me,' Nora let the tears fall, she knew now that she could die in peace without having to worry about coming back.
I showed Jade the berries and told her where more could be found, I went downstairs and told Jensen and Tom. They were both sad but they understood, we left to go to the supermarket while Jade took care of Nora.
'I wish Nora didn't have to die,' said Tom sadly.
'I know, but its what she wants and at least with her taking the Nightshade she won't come back,' I replied softly.
'I know and that's a good thing, but its still sad that she has to die,' Jensen chimed in. The sun was behind the clouds today it made the village seem dark and gloomy, the weather matched the dismal day I thought sadly. It was too quiet outside, it was like the animals knew something was going to happen and had fled.
Despite it being spring, it was eerily cold outside. I rubbed my arms to keep warm. I loathed the cold days and the freezing nights had become much more dangerous than they once were, I remembered before Eddie found me when I was sleeping in a country park I had almost frozen. I had no tent as I'd lost my bag with my supplies in when I got cornered by some dead ones, I'd slept on the cold, hard ground for weeks.
I hoped that I never had to do that again, with no food of my own I had to catch wildlife and eat it. I took no pleasure in killing the rabbits and squirrels, but if not for them I would have starved. I looked at Tom and Jensen and saw the sorrowful looks on their faces, I wished I could do something to ease their pain. Whether you were a Christian or Pagan or even a Hindu, we all had our own version of heaven and one thing was for certain Nora was going to a better place.
I felt lost in my thoughts as we carried on walking, if only I were a joker like Tamara I would be able to make them laugh and forget their grief if only for a short while. Sadly making others laugh was not one of my skills, Jensen was so young and yet he had already lost so much. Tom may have been older but I could see the horror of this life written all over his face, I wondered if Nikkita had to make tough choices like this.
I think everyone who still lived in this world had to make impossible choices, some seemed to revel in the horror while others shied away from making the hard decisions. I'd had to make tough calls many times and it never got any easier, I would love nothing more than to bury my head in the sand but sadly I couldn't.
'I hope Nora's going to a better place,' Jensen said sympathetically.
'I know as a Christian she believes in heaven, as a Pagan I believe in the Summer land. Its a place where your soul goes before your reborn,' I replied almost happily. 'It sounds nice,' Jensen answered thoughtfully. 'I think in this world its more important than ever to believe in something greater than us,' I told him.
We walked the rest of the way in silence, I couldn't help but think of Nora as I walked. She would be terribly missed. We got to the weapon store without incident, it was full of old weapons just ripe for the taking. Though the front of the store only housed fake weapons, looking downstairs we found the real ones. There were swords, crossbows and ammunition there were even some daggers. As soon as I laid eyes on the crossbows I knew I had to get one for Jade, she would love one. I was more of a sword girl but crossbows we
re also useful.
I chuckled at the thought of Jade with a crossbow, she loved medieval weapons. We grabbed as much as we could carry, despite the dire state of the world there were a few amusing moments in this life. We must of looked really funny walking around with all these weapons.
Our next stop was the supermarket we had to get some food for our long journey, I could not help but feel nervous I feared that we would run into Dave's group. The very thought of what his group were doing gave me the shivers.
'We need to be careful guys, we have no idea where the other group are,' I hoped we would not run into them, but I couldn't hide the panic in my voice.
'Don't worry lass, everything will be alright let's just get what we need to and be gone from this place.'
Though he could be quite aggressive his voice often soothed me.
We got to the supermarket and did our usual and knocked on the windows, there was not a walker in sight. I looked up to see that the letter T was missing from the shop sign.
'Esco, the new shop of the apocalypse,' I joked.
'At least the prices are low,' Tom laughed. We grabbed a trolley and began to fill it, despite the dire life we all lived we could not help but revel in the few happy moments.
While we were in Esco, Jensen who was one of the youngest in our group could not help but be a little silly. He threw a large stuffed bear at Tom, who surprisingly just laughed at him. That was it for the next half hour or so we just acted like kids and like the world was still normal. Even Tom who was normally quite serious joined in.
'Come on, let's hide,' Jensen whispered happily. I smiled and ran alongside him as Tom tried to find us, we each hid in an aisle apart waiting for Tom to walk by. I found the art aisle and threw a tub of red glitter to Jensen, we smiled at each other as he tried quickly to open the tub.
'One, two, three,' I mouthed as Tom came closer.
We simultaneously threw the open tubs at Tom, getting him covered in bright red, sparkly glitter.
'You swine's,' he said jokingly as he threw a stuffed bear at me.
'Catch us if you can,' I called to Tom. Tom smiled as we ran away laughing, seeing him smile made him look ten years younger. My heart swelled to see him so happy and carefree for once. Jensen looked like an innocent teenager, when he smiled I noticed the twinkle in his eyes. I was glad to see that the horror of these last years had not affected his youthful face.
I had kept a tub of glitter in my pocket but undid it as we ran to the other side of the shop, I threw it over Jensen watching as the red sparkles landed on his pale face. Seeing him covered in the stuff and being happy made me smile, I looked at him and saw something in him I had not seen before. He looked beautiful in a way that made me blush, I had never noticed just how handsome he was.
We both somehow managed to slip, he ended up right on top of me. For a moment I just stared into those water green eyes, I had never looked at a man before but as I was so close to his face I could see the faint freckles across the bridge of his nose. I could see how his lips looked as though they had been carved by the finest sculptor, I could feel his heart beating fiercely in his chest. He looked at me with kindness, but there was something else in those green eyes, could it be attraction? It was as though time seemed to stop, we forgot where we were and what we were doing. He reached down with his pale hand, and brushed my long hair out of my face. My own heart was beating furiously, I didn't think about his outer physical body, I only thought of how kind, gentle, and funny he was.
As we leaned in, I shakily placed my hand upon his nervous looking face. Our lips began to touch, and I thought of nothing but the feel of his lips on mine. They were soft, a little dry and I could feel them trembling slightly as it changed from a soft gentle kiss to something more passionate, more urgent. I put my arms around his neck as I felt my body awaken with a lustful longing for him. I could feel our hearts beating furiously as one, for a few minutes I forgot about Nikkita and my sorrow over losing her. It had been so long since my body had been alive with passion, even though he was on top I was very much in charge of the kiss. I pulled him closer, the feeling of his body pressed on mine made me want to do things to him that I'd never wanted to do to any man before. Just as our kiss began to heat up, I heard Tom calling us.
'Where are you two?' He called.
Jensen jumped off me and helped me up, both of us were slightly red faced and flustered but we had a job to do.
'Well that was an interesting shopping trip,' I said trying to lift the nervousness.
'I can tick that off my list of things I wanted to do before I die,' he laughed.
'Good to know I was on your wish list,' I joked back. I raced over to find Tom. There was no time for romance, we had a hell of a journey in front of us, I scolded myself. We picked up our things and grabbed some more stuff before heading out, despite the awkwardness of me and Jensen; the whole thing had been quite fun. As usual the village was deserted of walkers, there were no noises anywhere nearby. The streets were empty of even flies and bugs, all the ducks and swans who once lived in the river were long since gone. As we walked down the river bank hauling our trolley's, the sky opened up and poured with rain. I could not remember that last time it rained like this. Within moments we were soaked, and a part of me felt like laughing but then a very bad feeling came over me.
I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't describe, I just knew that we needed to get home. Many horrible images passed through my mind, each one worse than the last. I had to resist the urge to run, I did not tell the others of my unease as I didn't want to alarm them. I could only pray that my bad feeling was just me being paranoid, though something in my brain told me that I wasn't. As we approached the wooden fence I could see that something was very wrong, we lifted the trolley's over the fence and began to walk towards the house. There were tyre marks along the little road in front of Jade's house, we dropped all the bags and sped into the house. I saw the look of panic on Tom and Jensen's face as we saw the house in a trashed state.
Chapter 11
Maggie
I could not remember the last time I had been so afraid, they came in hordes with knives and fierce faces. Tamara and Jade tried to help but it was no use, Nora was already dead so at least she was spared the horrific sight. I let the tears fall as me and Jade were bound and gagged in the boot of a car, Jade looked at me comfortingly. She was trying be strong but I could see she was just as afraid as I was, I banged my head on the boot lid as the car rode over the bumpy road. I felt dizzy and sick, I so wish Frankie hadn't told us what these men were like; it meant that I knew what was coming. My poor brother, he must be out of his mind with worry. Not only that Tamara had been badly beaten and left to die, I shook my head refusing to give in to my fear. The others would come for us, there was no way they would just leave me with these monsters.
The car pulled to a stop a short while later, the boot opened and I was blinded by the glaring sun. Three men pulled us out of the boot and made us stand, Jade looked at me as if to say 'don't do anything stupid.' I tried to wriggle as two of them grabbed hold of me to drag me into their lair.
'Get off me,' I screamed through the gag.
'Easy darling, no need for you to hurt yourself,' one of the men said as he laughed. They had to untie our legs so that we could walk, when one of the men tried to drag me I kick him hard in the balls. He went down hard and fast, I knew I was going to pay for that but I didn't care. He got up and smacked me right across the face, I felt the blood drip out of my mouth but I still looked at him angrily.
'This one's a fighter Dave,' the man said. I turned to look at Dave, the one Frankie had warned us about. He was a tall, large man with a serious looking face. He had white, fuzzy hair and a long white beard that came to his stomach. His dark blue eyes seemed to be eyeing me up, something told me that he was the one to watch out for. He was going to be trouble, but I was determined not to let them get me.
As the other guy held me in place, Dave
walked up to me and grabbed my face.
'Try as you might, you'll not get away. I think I'll take you for a spin first,' he said hungrily.
'Over my dead body,' I spat angrily.
'If you try to fight me, I'll let the whole crew have you,' he smirked. I looked at Jade who had not said a thing through all of this, she didn't look defeated but she seemed as though she wasn't really here. I guess losing Nora, her home and being kidnapped all in one day was just too much for her to handle. The men led us into a cul-de-sac of houses, there was an overly large barn looking building in the middle. As we were led inside, I could see that not only were the houses joined, they had knocked down all the walls inside so that it was like one very large house.
'Stick the ginger one in with Ellen, the other one can go with Cammi.' Dave ordered. Me and Jade exchanged fearful glances as we were separated, I was thrown into a dirty, cramped, smelly room. The door locked behind me, I trembled with fear not knowing what would happen next. I heard a noise from the corner of the room, I turned to see a woman in her early forties cowering in the corner. She looked almost wild, her long pale brown hair was not only dirty and greasy, but it looked to be almost dread locked. Her blue eyes were wild and full of fear, though I was a woman she was still afraid. I could tell she hadn't been eating, she was skin and bones.
'I'm Maggie,' I told her kindly.
'I'm Ellen, I take it you're new,' she said quietly.
'Yeah, but I don't intend to stay here long,' I told her.
'That's what I said almost a year ago,' she replied sadly. 'Well I have people looking for me,' I smiled at her.
'So did I, until they ended up here too.' Man this woman was really beat down, I would not lose hope. I knew my brother would come for me, I would not cry or let these men break me. I sat down on the filthy mattress trying not think of where those stains had come from, if I was going to survive this place then I had to be strong.
Dead World Rising (Book 1): Staying Human Page 9
