grimaced, not wanting to look.
My heart was racing so fast I thought I was going to have a heart attack. With my back to the bathroom, I stood completely still, hoping that the crazy would act as predictable as I assumed. I was relieved when he jumped. I dropped out of the way, spun and slammed the door on his hand. I wheeled the bed in front of the door and booked it out of the room. Padraic was racing down the hall, keys in hand, thank God.
“ Run!” I shouted and took off, not bothering to wait for him. I tore down the stairs. My thighs burned from the exertion. Forcing myself to use some grace, I slowed and tried not to stomp down the last section of stairs.
“ We have to go this way,” Padraic breathlessly told me, pointing away from the closet. “To the parking garage.”
“ Ok.” For a minute, we caught our breath. I darted out of the stairwell to the closet. Silently, I waved everyone to follow Padraic. No zombies got in our way as we hurriedly jogged to the parking lot. They must all be in the basement, a fact for which I was both thankful and wary of; why would the zombies stick together?
We piled into the Range Rover, sitting on top of each other. Padraic gunned it out of the parking garage, smashing through the motion censored gate.
“ Where are we going?” he asked, his voice cracking in fear.
“ My house,” I answered instantly. “I have some things that might be useful.”
The farther we got from the hospital, the less zombies we saw. I didn’t know what to make of that either. I hadn’t stopped shaking as I ran up the steps to Aunt Jenny’s apartment. I felt sick with anxious fear. I fumbled with the lock, dropping my keys two times before I finally unlocked the damn door.
When no overwhelming stench of death hit me, I walked inside. Everything was where it should be. The banana bread I had made the day of the outbreak sat on the stove moldy, but untouched. Maybe Aunt Jenny had gotten out in time. A hard ball of guilt wound its way around my stomach, telling me that she would have tried, at the very least, to find me. I was her favorite (if only) niece, as she liked to remind me. There was nothing I could do about it now.
Along with locking the door, Logan shoved a chair under the handle. It was a good idea, but executed prematurely. We didn’t know if we were alone. I crossed the living room into the kitchen, rustling around in the knife draw for the biggest knife I could find. Something rattled the bathroom door. Sonja screamed and I wished it was humane to gag her. No one liked a screamer.
Logan looked at me. I nodded. I raised the knife, moving my feet as quietly as I could. He put his hand on the doorknob, mouthing ‘on three’. I counted along with him. One, two, three! The door opened. A cat ran out.
“ Damn it, Finickus,” I swore, letting my hand fall to my side. What was he doing trapped in the bathroom? A big bag of cat food had been dumped on the floor and the sink and tub filled with water. “Oh,” I said out loud, feeling a bit of hope. Aunt Jenny had left him with plenty of food and water. That meant she had left. And she also provided us with something valuable to wash up with.
I peered into the living room. Hilary, Jason and Sonja sat on the couch. Zoe traded her pink stuffed cat for Finickus. Logan looked out the window and Padraic tried to get the other young girl to breathe normally.
“ Take slow breaths, Lisa,” he said, his voice calming. The girl gasped for air, tears rolling down her face. I felt bad for her for being in pain but, mostly, because I had no faith in her survival. I walked into the room; a fuzzy feeling surrounded me when I saw Aunt Jenny’s unfinished tea on the coffee table. Then I felt their eyes. Every one of my seven companions, looked at me.
“ What do we do now?” Jason asked.
“ I don’t know,” I quickly answered. I didn’t like the hope in his voice.
“ I’m tired,” Zoe whimpered. “And hungry.”
“ We should
My heart was racing so fast I thought I was going to have a heart attack. With my back to the bathroom, I stood completely still, hoping that the crazy would act as predictable as I assumed. I was relieved when he jumped. I dropped out of the way, spun and slammed the door on his hand. I wheeled the bed in front of the door and booked it out of the room. Padraic was racing down the hall, keys in hand, thank God.
“ Run!” I shouted and took off, not bothering to wait for him. I tore down the stairs. My thighs burned from the exertion. Forcing myself to use some grace, I slowed and tried not to stomp down the last section of stairs.
“ We have to go this way,” Padraic breathlessly told me, pointing away from the closet. “To the parking garage.”
“ Ok.” For a minute, we caught our breath. I darted out of the stairwell to the closet. Silently, I waved everyone to follow Padraic. No zombies got in our way as we hurriedly jogged to the parking lot. They must all be in the basement, a fact for which I was both thankful and wary of; why would the zombies stick together?
We piled into the Range Rover, sitting on top of each other. Padraic gunned it out of the parking garage, smashing through the motion censored gate.
“ Where are we going?” he asked, his voice cracking in fear.
“ My house,” I answered instantly. “I have some things that might be useful.”
The farther we got from the hospital, the less zombies we saw. I didn’t know what to make of that either. I hadn’t stopped shaking as I ran up the steps to Aunt Jenny’s apartment. I felt sick with anxious fear. I fumbled with the lock, dropping my keys two times before I finally unlocked the damn door.
When no overwhelming stench of death hit me, I walked inside. Everything was where it should be. The banana bread I had made the day of the outbreak sat on the stove moldy, but untouched. Maybe Aunt Jenny had gotten out in time. A hard ball of guilt wound its way around my stomach, telling me that she would have tried, at the very least, to find me. I was her favorite (if only) niece, as she liked to remind me. There was nothing I could do about it now.
Along with locking the door, Logan shoved a chair under the handle. It was a good idea, but executed prematurely. We didn’t know if we were alone. I crossed the living room into the kitchen, rustling around in the knife draw for the biggest knife I could find. Something rattled the bathroom door. Sonja screamed and I wished it was humane to gag her. No one liked a screamer.
Logan looked at me. I nodded. I raised the knife, moving my feet as quietly as I could. He put his hand on the doorknob, mouthing ‘on three’. I counted along with him. One, two, three! The door opened. A cat ran out.
“ Damn it, Finickus,” I swore, letting my hand fall to my side. What was he doing trapped in the bathroom? A big bag of cat food had been dumped on the floor and the sink and tub filled with water. “Oh,” I said out loud, feeling a bit of hope. Aunt Jenny had left him with plenty of food and water. That meant she had left. And she also provided us with something valuable to wash up with.
I peered into the living room. Hilary, Jason and Sonja sat on the couch. Zoe traded her pink stuffed cat for Finickus. Logan looked out the window and Padraic tried to get the other young girl to breathe normally.
“ Take slow breaths, Lisa,” he said, his voice calming. The girl gasped for air, tears rolling down her face. I felt bad for her for being in pain but, mostly, because I had no faith in her survival. I walked into the room; a fuzzy feeling surrounded me when I saw Aunt Jenny’s unfinished tea on the coffee table. Then I felt their eyes. Every one of my seven companions, looked at me.
“ What do we do now?” Jason asked.
“ I don’t know,” I quickly answered. I didn’t like the hope in his voice.
“ I’m tired,” Zoe whimpered. “And hungry.”
“ We should
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