Other Side

by Rose, Isabella C.

  “I can’t. I need to see if my older sister is a zombie or human. Please,” I begged. This was my family, and I needed to know if they were all goners before I gave up.

  He must have seen something on my face because he said, “Okay.”

  He reached into the bag and pulled out some rope, tying one end to the door handle and the other to the handle of the half-bathroom. I let go of the handle. I shared a room with my big sister. We were not my step-father’s biological children, so we weren’t treated like Jessica. She was his daughter. He treated her better only to torture us; he didn’t care about her either. I hated the bastard, and I didn’t even feel guilty hoping my step-father became a zombie.

  “My room’s the last on the left,” I told Jaime.

  He nodded, and we moved together to my door, his hand in mine. My door was closed. I took a deep breath and swung it open. Brandi lounged on the bed.

  “Sup, chica?” Brandi said pulling her headphones off and throwing the magazine on the floor. Swinging her legs off the bed, she pulled a letter from under her pillow.

  I’d never been happier to see my media-starved older sister in my life—her perfect skin and rosewood-colored hair that reached past her shoulders. Those baby-blue eyes I had been jealous of my whole life even gave me delight now. I ran to the bed, wrapping my arms around her.

  “Wooh, you got a fever? You got a letter. I think it’s your SAT scores,” she said laughing, hugging me back and putting the letter in my hand.

  “You don’t have any idea what is going on?” Jaime said from the doorway.

  Brandi turned to see Jaime. “Well… hello, cutie. My sister has been hiding a secret boyfriend! Wow, it is a day of firsts all around,” Brandi teased.

  I could see Jaime over my sister’s shoulder and his face became a little redder I thought. I had to tell Brandi what was going on with people turning crazy.

  “Brandi…” I got out before a crash came from the hallway.

  Jaime jumped into the room, slamming the door, locking it, and leaning on it. A moment later, a loud bang hit the door. Then the bangs became heavier, and the door trembled. A male voice mumbled on the other side of the door.

  “What is going on, Vi?” Brandi asked, pushing me out of the hug and holding me at arm’s length. “Did you do something to upset him again? I told you to keep your mouth shut. You better let him in or he will make it worse on all of us,” she said to Jaime.

  Jaime pulled my desk chair shoving it under the handle. He backed away looking around, his eyes stopping on the window. What he didn’t know was that my step-father had glued it shut to prevent me from taking off like I used to do when we first moved here. I turned to Brandi, shoving the letter in my pocket and shaking her, grabbing her by the arms forcing her to look at me.

  “He isn’t mad. He is a zombie. Jessica too. I haven’t seen mom yet. I know it’s hard to believe, but people are turning crazy. You have to believe me,” I told her somberly.

  She looked from Jaime to me. “You guys are serious,” Brandi said shocked. “Vi, you of all people are the most logical person I know. Zombies? Come on, girl. You can’t be serious.”

  Outside the door, a large thud hit the door and then another. This time a piece of the door splintered onto the floor.

  “We have to get out of here now!” Jaime said rushing to the window, pushing back the black curtains. He pulled on the frame; it didn’t budge.

  Another bang to the door, and I saw a silver blade poke in. I let go of Brandi and rushed to the window. I grabbed my dictionary off the dresser and wrapped it in a shirt. “Move, the window’s glued shut. Watch out!” I said swinging the book at the window. Crash! The window broke, shards of glass falling out and onto the windowsill. I hit it again, taking out all the edges so we wouldn’t get cut.

  Bang, bang, and my step-father’s ashy gray fingers slipped through the crack he had made in the door. He pulled, and the door gave as he yanked a chunk of the door away. “Opppeeeeennn nnnnnoooooowwwww,” came into the room.

  Brandi stood by the bed; her mouth wide open. I ran to her shaking her. “We have to go, I’m not kidding. Something is wrong with everyone.”

  “Aggggggghhhhh,” my step-father yelled, and he slammed into the door. The chair buckled, and the door shattered. Standing in the door was my worst nightmare. Black, shaggy hair fell over his gray face, glazed over, white eyes stared on. He was bloody and his mouth had drool coming out of the side. I couldn’t breathe. I was so close to escaping him, and now I would die a painful death by his hand. He took a step into the room, and a shot landed right in the middle of his eyes. He staggered, falling face-first on the carpet, purple ooze seeping out right at my shoes. I backed away, turning to Jaime, who held a shotgun to his shoulder, a determined look on his face. He walked to my step-father, placing the shotgun above his head shooting another bullet into him. Jaime became my hero right then and there. He saved me from the one person I loathed.

  “Woo hoo!!! That’s right, you piece of garbage!” Brandi exclaimed, kicking his side.

  We both looked at her. “What? I hated him, and if he was a zombie, he deserved it.” She went to the side of the bed, grabbing her backpack, shoving in some clothes and her stash of snacks from under the bed. “So, where are we going?”

  Chapter Four

  “I’ve been thinking... we need to find a place that’s safe and far away from people. My parents have a cabin a few hours away. We can go there, but we would have to get supplies, they have shut it up for the winter. The windows have storm shutters,” Jaime said stepping over my step-father and into the hallway, shotgun still in his hand.

  “Sounds good to me, we can raid the kitchen,” Brandi agreed, following Jaime.

  This was probably be the last time I would see this room—this house in fact. I went to my nightstand, picking up the picture of my family without my step-father in it. I removed the picture from the frame, stuffing it in my pocket. I grabbed my overnight bag hanging on the closet. Brandi had the right idea—I didn’t want to die or become a zombie in dirty underwear. After picking up a few clothes, I joined them in the hall. The rope on my little sister’s door was on the floor, her door wide open.

  “Keep an eye out for her, she’s on the loose,” Jaime said.

  Brandi whispered to me, “Jessica?”

  Quietly I said, “Yeah, she’s a zombie too. Don’t ask what we found with her.” I shuddered at the thought.

  We moved down the hall silently, cautiously. We got to Jessica’s door, peering in—it was empty.

  “We need to get to the bus. The kitchen isn’t safe with your sister running around,” Jaime whispered over his shoulder.

  He was right. I also didn’t want to see him shoot her. The front door was just around the corner. We turned the corner, watching the other doors and living room for Jessica. Nothing, we would make it out! Turning to the front door, there she was in her white nightgown red with blood, and clutched in her tiny hand the arm from earlier. Little bite marks on the flesh, the hand had a silver band on it. I knew instantly whose arm she had, and I hurled right there on the floor—it was my mother’s arm.

  I turned away, covering my ears as the shot rang out. Brandi hugged me back, not wanting to see her die either.

  A warm hand touched my cheek. “I’m sorry,” was all he said, and we stepped out the door. I didn’t look down.

  The bus was still there, thank God! Jaime gripped my hand, and we ran to the bus. This time though there were people on the streets… well, zombies. The old lady next-door was wobbling toward us. She always had her beagle with her on a leash. The leash was there, but a ball of red was now dragging behind her. When she saw us, an inhuman gurgle came out her mouth. We came to the bus door to find the door blocked by a man. We all staggered back, Jaime aiming the shotgun at him.

  “Let me in, man! I’m not one of them!” We must have startled him because he pulled a kitchen knife, brandishing it toward us. “I don’t want any trouble. This old fart won
’t let me in. I’m clean, look.” He showed us both arms and pulled up his shirt.

  He didn’t look like the zombies. His eyes clear-blue, a nice brown hue to his skin. No time to debate. I was still in no emotional state to decide, but with the real threats getting closer I said, “Hale, open up, he’s good.”

  The door creaked open, and we all rushed in, even the knife-wielding man. Hale closed the door just in time for two zombies to attack the door. Brandi sat right behind the mother and her son, who still clung to her in his sleep. He must have worn himself out—I didn’t think I’d have a peaceful night’s sleep for a very long time. Jaime sat with a sigh opposite Brandi. The newcomer sat further back, not putting his knife away. Hale started the bus, the two at the door still clung as he made the turn out of the cul-de-sac. The old lady with her dog had made it to the street—she was right in our path. I thought Hale would stop, but he sped up just a tad, side-swiping her, sending her sprawling across the lawn. I looked out the window at her, seeing a huge chunk of her face hanging off with that purple blood oozing out. I still couldn’t wrap my brain around people turning into zombies.

  I sat down behind Brandi, getting lost in thought and trying not to think of Jessica. I put my hands in my pockets and felt the letter that Brandi had given me earlier. I slipped the letter out, unfolding the wrinkles. The return address said SAT, The College Board, 45 Columbus Avenue New York, NY 10023. This was the last piece to me going off to college—whatever the score was would determine if they extended my scholarship to the full four years. Did it even matter now? Reluctantly, I broke the seal and pulled out the crisp, white paper. I read past the typical stuff down to my actual SAT score. I sat there looking at the number. I knew I was smart, but this said my SAT was one thousand five hundred and two from the two tests. The highest you could get was sixteen hundred.

  I leaned on the window, closing my eyes. A moment of peace was all I needed. My baby sister was dead, my mother was dead, my plans to escape were ruined, and my life was changed forever.

  Chapter Five

  I woke to Brandi shaking me saying, “Vi, wake up. We have a problem.”

  My eyes hurt as I tried opening them to the dim bus light. Night had fallen outside, and I couldn’t see any lights.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Outside the city,” Hale said. “There is an outlet mall that closed recently.”

  “No one should be there and…” Brandi hesitated.

  “And?” I asked, more awake now. How could I fall asleep among this mess?

  “We are almost out of gas and the strip mall is a good five miles away. Hale says we might make it. There is a gas station we could use, but we don’t know if they have any gas since the strip mall closed,” she said without looking at me.

  Her face wasn’t as full of color as before. Could Jessica’s death be the cause? We never really talked about serious issues. Never been too close for fear that our step-father would twist it and use it against us. I wanted that closeness now that he was dead. I needed it. I placed my hand on her knee. She looked at it, then at me. A small smile crossed her face.

  “I’m okay, chica. How are you?” she said trying not to sound too distressed.

  “I’ll be okay too,” I lied.

  I’d never be okay again. In that moment, I left what little childhood I had behind and steeled myself. I needed to be tougher to survive this new world. I knew I could do it, I endured the beatings and degrading my step-father gave me and my family. I pulled on that hardened shell, slipping it over me.

  The bus stuttered. I slipped past Brandi to the front of the bus. “How long until we are out of gas?” I asked Hale.

  “Not long, a minute or two. I can see the strip mall if she can hold out a little longer.” Hale rubbed the bus’s steering wheel.

  Out the front window, I saw dim lights in the distance. I sent a little prayer up that no one would be there, no zombies. I turned to the inside of the bus. Had we ever found out who the newcomer was? He sat in the back of the bus glaring at me. Arms crossed, and he gave me a slight nod.

  Jaime sat in the front; his eyes downcast. He had seemed in control this whole time. Maybe he could tell me about the man I saved.

  “Can I join you?” I asked him.

  His face expressed uncertainty. “Yes,” he replied.

  My thigh brushed his as I sat down; it was so warm and inviting. I looked down at our legs for a second. I never would have imagined I’d be sitting next to Jaime the jock in a zombie apocalypse. Regardless of him being the most popular and cutest kid in school, he had been there for me and my sisters. He deserved my respect, which I didn’t give easily ever.

  “Did you find out who the guy in the back is?”

  “Yeah, he said he was visiting his girlfriend on the next street over. His girlfriend tried to chomp on his neck. He locked her in the bedroom and left. His car keys were in the bedroom with her. He saw us run into the house when he was running from zombies, so he knew we had to be human still. We checked him again, and he doesn’t have any bite marks. His name’s Roth, he just graduated college and was doing his summer internship before heading to New York. Tough luck, right?” Jaime said, avoiding my glance.

  What had changed? Jessica? “Jaime, back at the house with my little sister. I know it had to be done. I don’t blame you. She wasn’t Jessica anymore.”

  He looked at me, the uncertainty gone. “Thank you. I’ve never killed anyone before. I couldn’t take it if you hated me.”

  I had never been close to anyone, and I had never killed, so I couldn’t think of what he was going through. This was new territory for me—human interaction. I gently took his hand and said, “You saved us, I couldn’t hate you. We need to stick together if we want to survive whatever this is.”

  The bus engine stopped at that moment, and coasted for a few feet. I jumped up, my senses on high alert. “Hale?”

  “She’s empty, the strip mall is only a little over half a mile away,” Hale said, pointing out the front window.

  Roth came from the back of the bus. “What’s going on?” he asked in a Jersey accent I hadn’t noticed before.

  The terrified mother with her son also chimed in, “We will never make it that far if they are out there.” Her blonde bob shifted to the side.

  I still didn’t know her name. Did it really matter? Yes, I had to stick to still being a human, or I’d be just like them, dead inside.

  “I never got your names,” I said looking at the woman I avoided at the bus stop when all this started.

  “I’m Julia, and this is Connor,” she said, pointing to her son.

  Brandi had come up to join us now too. For some reason, they were all looking at me, waiting for an answer. The strip mall wasn’t that far, but could we all make it?

  “We go together, protect each other. Jaime, how many weapons did you get?”

  Hoping it was enough, he reached for the camo bag under his seat and pulled out the shotgun, three handguns, and ammo.

  “I’m good with the shotgun. Has anyone ever used a gun before?” Jaime asked the lot of us.

  “Brandi and I have,” I told him.

  Our step-father made us learn to take us on his hunting trips. He knew I didn’t want to hunt. It was his way of torturing me. Making me shoot a deer and then skinning, cutting, and cleaning it. I had learned quickly and didn’t complain, which pissed him off. He wanted me to fail and be disgusted at him cleaning the deer. I never showed him once I wanted to vomit. Brandi was good, but she purposely missed the deer and he smacked her a few times, making her lip bleed for it.

  “Okay, you and Brandi take a handgun. I’ll lead us and you two monitor our sides.” Jaime gave orders like we were his football team.

  “I have gone to the range a few times,” Roth said, holding out his hand.

  I didn’t like how eager he was to get his hands on a gun.

  “Now, wait a minute there, youngen. I was in the war and I could take out a Charlie a hundred y
ards away,” Hale said proudly.

  “I don’t care what or who you took out, old man. I’m not going out there without a weapon,” Roth argued.

  “It ain’t up to you, it’s up to Violet. Now, girl, tell this boy I’m the one getting the last gun,” Hale said.

  How did I end up being the one to decide? They looked to me as if I knew what to do. I was just as scared as any of them, but I guess I was better at hiding my emotions because I had been doing it my whole life.

  “Bring it on, old man. I’ll show how you who’s deciding.” Roth pushed forward, grabbing for the last gun.

  Jaime snatched it away before he could take it.

  Brandi interjected, “Roth, you can help me. We don’t need to fight each other. We need to be worried about what’s out there.” She placed a hand on his chest with a sly smile.

  Roth stood taller, showing his macho side. Brandi had been great at deterring an argument within our house.

  “Okay, I’ll stick with you.” He put his arm around her.

  Brandi’s gaze fell on me, and we shared that silent conversation where I said thank you and she said you’re welcome.

  “Good choice, youngen,” I heard Hale say behind me.

  At least he still had a fighting spirit. Jaime placed the last gun in Hale’s hand.

  “Julia, I need you and Connor to stay close and in the middle. You need to be our lookout. Watch for any zombies we don’t see. Can you do that and carry him?” Jaime asked her.

  “Yes, I can and I’ll do my best,” Julia said.

  I had my doubts. Julia looked so scared the black pupils of her eyes almost covered the sea-green.

  “Okay, we move together, we leave no one behind understand?” I said staring at Roth.

  I looked to everyone else, and everyone nodded. Jaime stood ready at the door. One last look outside, and I knew we all wouldn’t make it if zombies hid in the darkness.

  Chapter Six

  The bus door opened and Jaime stepped out first. Julia and I followed. My gun at the up with my finger resting on the frame just outside the trigger guard. I heard Hale’s heavy breathing behind me, Brandi and Roth the last to come out. The night was so dark anyone or anything could run up on us. Silently we stood outside the bus. A sharp creak of Hale closing the bus doors echoed into the night. Back and forth my head went, just in case we were heard. Nothing. We started jogging silently toward the strip mall.