Chapter 4
Despite the looming death, Max couldn't help but giggle to herself at how lost the group of cheerleaders looked. They always thought they were God's gift on earth. Now it was Max's time to shine.
Max expertly swung a skinny pole with a point on the end. She guessed it used to be a decoration in the yard that they had kept for some reason. She skewered a zombie's head as it closed in on them and pushed it off with her foot, shuddering at the squishing noise it made.
"I see those years of kendo classes helped," Emma said.
"Never thought I'd use them this way," Max half-laughed. "I told you that you should have taken the classes with me. But no, you had to take karate. How well is that going to help when you can't exactly use hand-to-hand combat?"
"Sorry for not predicting the zombie apocalypse," Emma joked, gripping the pitchfork. "Well, let's get going."
Everybody looked at each other, each taking in a deep breath.
"I wish this was a dream," a short-haired cheerleader whispered.
"I don't think anyone wants this to happen," Emma said. "Well, maybe Zak." They looked over at Zak, who was light bouncing on the balls of his feet, eager to run into the crowding zombies.
"Better to get going now instead of waiting until they surround us," Brian advised. "I'll lead."
"Ooh, how brave," Max winked.
"Let's just get going," Isabel complained. "I'm about to have an anxiety attack as it is."
Brian nodded and started to run, with everyone else at his heals.
"Don't think of them as people, don't think of them as people," Emma mumbled to herself, looking away whenever a zombie got close enough for her to hit them with her weapon. She watched as most of the others hit them without a second thought. Emma knew the people were already dead, but the thought of them normal made it a little hard to stab them in the head.
A movement by Emma made her twist her body to attack. A little girl, or what used to be a little girl, stumbled towards her. Emma froze.
A flying piece of metal blurred into view and embedded itself into the zombie's girls head, making her fall over motionless. Emma snapped out of her daze and looked over as Zak grabbed her wrist.
"Move," Zak said, pulling Emma until she started to run again.
"I think I see the truck!" Isabel shouted, almost out of breath.
"Shh," Brian said, freezing in place.
Everyone froze, looking around.
"I don't see anything," Alec whispered.
"Exactly," Brian said. "Think about it, do we really want to attract every zombie in a mile radius because they hear a loud truck?"
"Maybe there aren't any more," Isabel said hopefully.
"I really don't want to take that chance," Brian said. "I doubt they were just out in the middle of nowhere."
"We shouldn't talk," Sam whispered, pointing to dots in the distance. "Let's start walking to town."
Isabel groaned, along with her cheerleader friends. "But I'm tired."
"There's a farmhouse not far down the road," Emma said, remembering passing by it on the way to the lake house. "If we're lucky there will be some adults there."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Max said. "Then we can rest there until tomorrow, whether or not there are people there."
"Fine," Isabel groaned. The group walked silently on the edge of the gravel road, careful not to step on the rocks and make noise.
"Our definitions of 'not far' must be different," Isabel glared after twenty minutes of walking.
Emma shrugged. "It wasn't by car. I guess you didn't get your slim figure because you're in shape."
"You little—"
"Now really isn't the best time to start an argument," Alec said without looking back at them
.
"Sorry," Emma and Isabel sighed.
"I have no energy to fight anyway," Emma added. She looked up and smiled. "See, there it is," Emma said, pointing to the tall house hidden partly by the trees.
"Good. I was beginning to think you lied to us," Isabel said.
The group gratefully stumbled inside the house, not caring for politeness in knocking.
"Hello? Is anyone home?" Brian called. They waited in silence. "Let's look around." They went from room to room, finding nothing.
"Hello?" the short-haired cheerleader said in a bored tone, opening a door and then instantly screaming.
"Becky!" a blond yelled as a zombie of an older woman tumbled on top of her.
Becky continued to scream, pushing the rancid face away from hers. Alec swung the shovel at its head, but not before it got its teeth deep into the cheerleader's wrist. The zombie fell back and Alec brought the shovel down, chopping the head in half to make sure it would remain motionless.
Becky scooted away quickly, tears streaming down her face as she cradled her bleeding hand. Every cheerleader was instantly around her in concern.
"Get some medicine," Isabel commanded, taking Becky's wrist carefully and looking at it.
Everyone looked around uncomfortably.
"I'll go find some," Emma said, rushing towards a bathroom they had checked over earlier. She dug through the cupboards and found a first aid kit. She spun around and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as a figure stood in front of her. She dropped the kit and almost screamed until she saw who it was. "Alec! Don't do that!" Emma huffed, picking up the kit once again.
"Do what?" Alec asked, and then dismissed it entirely. "You do know what is probably going to happen, right?"
"Of course. I think everyone does," Emma shrugged, passing by Alec to leave the room. "But I feel like we have to try. I don't want to lose anyone else." Alec nodded and followed Emma back into the room where everyone gathered around Becky.
"I-I don't know what's going on," Isabel said shakily.
Emma walked up, noticing Zak was looking at her skeptically. For what, she didn't know. Emma kneeled down and looked at Becky's wrist.
Becky sniffed, keeping down tears. "It really hurts," Becky said.
Emma stared at the wound. "That's weird. It looks like gangrene has already set in."
"Gan-what?" Becky sniffed.
"Gangrene. The rotting of a limb, or something. It usually happens after days of an infection," Emma explained, watching. She could swear she saw the rotting skin travel up the girl's arm.
Becky bit down a scream as more pain coursed through her arm.
Although she knew it was futile, Emma started to wrap up Becky's arm with gauze.
"Thanks," Becky said through clenched teeth. "I'm sorry we've been mean to you for so long."
"That hardly matters right now," Emma smiled. "It'll all be fine."
"Don't lie," Becky said. She clenched her injured wrist, feeling like her whole arm was torn apart. "We all know what's happening."
"Becky..." Amanda said sadly.
Becky screamed out, clutching her head. The rotting skin could already be seen making a spider web pattern up her neck. "C-can somebody end it, please?" Becky forced out. "It really hurts! A-and the thought of me wanting to eat people... somebody end it, please!"
Everyone instinctively looked over at Zak, who raised his hands in the air. "Even I have my limits," he said sorrowfully.
Becky continued to scream, no matter how much she tried to hold it in. Her brain felt like it was splitting apart. Was this what the other people had gone through before turning into a flesh eating monster?
"Please," Becky continued to say over and over. Nobody could bring themselves to do anything. The girls started to move away, not able to watch their friend in so much pain.
"Forgive me," Brian said, closing his eyes as he brought the hoe down on her head, silencing her screams of pain. The room remained silent.
Emma walked over and set a blanket that was on the couch over Becky's now lifeless body. "We should remove the bodies," Emma said listlessly, breaking the silence. "Then let's all get some rest."
People nodded. Brian and Alec carried the bodies out of the house, setting them off to the side.
"We should bury her," Brian said.
"We should," Alec agreed. "But we have neither the time nor the energy to do so. We need rest." Alec placed a hand on Brian's shoulder. "Don't dwell on what you did, okay? You did her, and everyone, a big favor. It was too late."
"I know," Brian said, unconvinced. He walked back inside and let Alec's hand drop. Alec sighed and followed him in.
After thoroughly searching the entire house and barricading the doors and windows, everyone grabbed pillows and blankets, setting them up in the big living room.
"Any chance when we wake up it'll all be a dream?" Isabel said in the darkness as everyone settled in to sleep.
"I wish, sis. I wish," Max yawned.
"That was more exercise than I ever want to do again," Zak said, just wanting to be part of the conversation.
Emma laughed. "Same here. My nonexistent muscles are aching."
"You know, I'm extremely tired but at the same time my adrenaline is still at its all-time high," Brian said.
Soon, the room was filled with quiet, idleness chatter that soon began to die out as people fell asleep. Regardless of the possibility of zombies breaking in, soon everyone in the room fell into a deep sleep.
Despite the looming death, Max couldn't help but giggle to herself at how lost the group of cheerleaders looked. They always thought they were God's gift on earth. Now it was Max's time to shine.
Max expertly swung a skinny pole with a point on the end. She guessed it used to be a decoration in the yard that they had kept for some reason. She skewered a zombie's head as it closed in on them and pushed it off with her foot, shuddering at the squishing noise it made.
"I see those years of kendo classes helped," Emma said.
"Never thought I'd use them this way," Max half-laughed. "I told you that you should have taken the classes with me. But no, you had to take karate. How well is that going to help when you can't exactly use hand-to-hand combat?"
"Sorry for not predicting the zombie apocalypse," Emma joked, gripping the pitchfork. "Well, let's get going."
Everybody looked at each other, each taking in a deep breath.
"I wish this was a dream," a short-haired cheerleader whispered.
"I don't think anyone wants this to happen," Emma said. "Well, maybe Zak." They looked over at Zak, who was light bouncing on the balls of his feet, eager to run into the crowding zombies.
"Better to get going now instead of waiting until they surround us," Brian advised. "I'll lead."
"Ooh, how brave," Max winked.
"Let's just get going," Isabel complained. "I'm about to have an anxiety attack as it is."
Brian nodded and started to run, with everyone else at his heals.
"Don't think of them as people, don't think of them as people," Emma mumbled to herself, looking away whenever a zombie got close enough for her to hit them with her weapon. She watched as most of the others hit them without a second thought. Emma knew the people were already dead, but the thought of them normal made it a little hard to stab them in the head.
A movement by Emma made her twist her body to attack. A little girl, or what used to be a little girl, stumbled towards her. Emma froze.
A flying piece of metal blurred into view and embedded itself into the zombie's girls head, making her fall over motionless. Emma snapped out of her daze and looked over as Zak grabbed her wrist.
"Move," Zak said, pulling Emma until she started to run again.
"I think I see the truck!" Isabel shouted, almost out of breath.
"Shh," Brian said, freezing in place.
Everyone froze, looking around.
"I don't see anything," Alec whispered.
"Exactly," Brian said. "Think about it, do we really want to attract every zombie in a mile radius because they hear a loud truck?"
"Maybe there aren't any more," Isabel said hopefully.
"I really don't want to take that chance," Brian said. "I doubt they were just out in the middle of nowhere."
"We shouldn't talk," Sam whispered, pointing to dots in the distance. "Let's start walking to town."
Isabel groaned, along with her cheerleader friends. "But I'm tired."
"There's a farmhouse not far down the road," Emma said, remembering passing by it on the way to the lake house. "If we're lucky there will be some adults there."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Max said. "Then we can rest there until tomorrow, whether or not there are people there."
"Fine," Isabel groaned. The group walked silently on the edge of the gravel road, careful not to step on the rocks and make noise.
"Our definitions of 'not far' must be different," Isabel glared after twenty minutes of walking.
Emma shrugged. "It wasn't by car. I guess you didn't get your slim figure because you're in shape."
"You little—"
"Now really isn't the best time to start an argument," Alec said without looking back at them
.
"Sorry," Emma and Isabel sighed.
"I have no energy to fight anyway," Emma added. She looked up and smiled. "See, there it is," Emma said, pointing to the tall house hidden partly by the trees.
"Good. I was beginning to think you lied to us," Isabel said.
The group gratefully stumbled inside the house, not caring for politeness in knocking.
"Hello? Is anyone home?" Brian called. They waited in silence. "Let's look around." They went from room to room, finding nothing.
"Hello?" the short-haired cheerleader said in a bored tone, opening a door and then instantly screaming.
"Becky!" a blond yelled as a zombie of an older woman tumbled on top of her.
Becky continued to scream, pushing the rancid face away from hers. Alec swung the shovel at its head, but not before it got its teeth deep into the cheerleader's wrist. The zombie fell back and Alec brought the shovel down, chopping the head in half to make sure it would remain motionless.
Becky scooted away quickly, tears streaming down her face as she cradled her bleeding hand. Every cheerleader was instantly around her in concern.
"Get some medicine," Isabel commanded, taking Becky's wrist carefully and looking at it.
Everyone looked around uncomfortably.
"I'll go find some," Emma said, rushing towards a bathroom they had checked over earlier. She dug through the cupboards and found a first aid kit. She spun around and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as a figure stood in front of her. She dropped the kit and almost screamed until she saw who it was. "Alec! Don't do that!" Emma huffed, picking up the kit once again.
"Do what?" Alec asked, and then dismissed it entirely. "You do know what is probably going to happen, right?"
"Of course. I think everyone does," Emma shrugged, passing by Alec to leave the room. "But I feel like we have to try. I don't want to lose anyone else." Alec nodded and followed Emma back into the room where everyone gathered around Becky.
"I-I don't know what's going on," Isabel said shakily.
Emma walked up, noticing Zak was looking at her skeptically. For what, she didn't know. Emma kneeled down and looked at Becky's wrist.
Becky sniffed, keeping down tears. "It really hurts," Becky said.
Emma stared at the wound. "That's weird. It looks like gangrene has already set in."
"Gan-what?" Becky sniffed.
"Gangrene. The rotting of a limb, or something. It usually happens after days of an infection," Emma explained, watching. She could swear she saw the rotting skin travel up the girl's arm.
Becky bit down a scream as more pain coursed through her arm.
Although she knew it was futile, Emma started to wrap up Becky's arm with gauze.
"Thanks," Becky said through clenched teeth. "I'm sorry we've been mean to you for so long."
"That hardly matters right now," Emma smiled. "It'll all be fine."
"Don't lie," Becky said. She clenched her injured wrist, feeling like her whole arm was torn apart. "We all know what's happening."
"Becky..." Amanda said sadly.
Becky screamed out, clutching her head. The rotting skin could already be seen making a spider web pattern up her neck. "C-can somebody end it, please?" Becky forced out. "It really hurts! A-and the thought of me wanting to eat people... somebody end it, please!"
Everyone instinctively looked over at Zak, who raised his hands in the air. "Even I have my limits," he said sorrowfully.
Becky continued to scream, no matter how much she tried to hold it in. Her brain felt like it was splitting apart. Was this what the other people had gone through before turning into a flesh eating monster?
"Please," Becky continued to say over and over. Nobody could bring themselves to do anything. The girls started to move away, not able to watch their friend in so much pain.
"Forgive me," Brian said, closing his eyes as he brought the hoe down on her head, silencing her screams of pain. The room remained silent.
Emma walked over and set a blanket that was on the couch over Becky's now lifeless body. "We should remove the bodies," Emma said listlessly, breaking the silence. "Then let's all get some rest."
People nodded. Brian and Alec carried the bodies out of the house, setting them off to the side.
"We should bury her," Brian said.
"We should," Alec agreed. "But we have neither the time nor the energy to do so. We need rest." Alec placed a hand on Brian's shoulder. "Don't dwell on what you did, okay? You did her, and everyone, a big favor. It was too late."
"I know," Brian said, unconvinced. He walked back inside and let Alec's hand drop. Alec sighed and followed him in.
After thoroughly searching the entire house and barricading the doors and windows, everyone grabbed pillows and blankets, setting them up in the big living room.
"Any chance when we wake up it'll all be a dream?" Isabel said in the darkness as everyone settled in to sleep.
"I wish, sis. I wish," Max yawned.
"That was more exercise than I ever want to do again," Zak said, just wanting to be part of the conversation.
Emma laughed. "Same here. My nonexistent muscles are aching."
"You know, I'm extremely tired but at the same time my adrenaline is still at its all-time high," Brian said.
Soon, the room was filled with quiet, idleness chatter that soon began to die out as people fell asleep. Regardless of the possibility of zombies breaking in, soon everyone in the room fell into a deep sleep.