The Zombie Chronicles by Chrissy Peebles

for explanations. We’re all on the same team. But if I were you, I’d go upstairs and get some more ammo for your gun.” She then reached down and threw me a handgun, which I caught in one swift move.
    She regarded me from under lowered brows. “You know how to use one, right ?”
    “Yep,” I said. “I’ve been training at the shooting gallery for some time now.”
    “Good.”
    Nick put his gun away. “Thanks for saving our asses back there.”
    Her blue eyes twinkled. “Hey, what are long-lost sisters for?”
    We both smiled.
    “It’s nice to finally meet you, Nicholas,” she continued.
    “Please call me Nick, big sister. I-I don’t even know where to begin. I have so many questions. This entire thing has totally taken me by surprise.”
    She grinned.
    Nick ran up to her, hugged her tight, and spun her in a circle. “Dean told me a little, but not much.”
    “We’ll catch up later, huh?” she asked.
    He nodded, and then motioned around to the dead zombies on the ground. “I didn’t know I had such a bad ass for a sister.”
    I laughed and joined in on the reunion.
    Val held our hands as tears welled up in her eyes. “I’ve waited so many years for this moment. I’ve met my biological parents, and now I’ve met both of my siblings. This is best day of my life! I couldn’t possibly let those monsters take that away from me.”
    My brother tucked his gun away. “Girl, we crashed in the middle of Zombie Land.”
    “It doesn’t matter. We’re together, and that’s all that counts.”
    Even though it had barely been a day, I already loved her just as much as I loved Nick. I knew how important it was for us, a family, to stick together through thick and thin. I did have to wonder, however, if humanity would even survive the cruel plague of reanimated cannibals. It wouldn’t be easy, but deep down, I felt we’d somehow make it. We had too; failure was absolutely not an option.
    “Hey, do you have that cure with you?” Val asked. “Now might be a good time to use it.”
    She wanted to use it because she was slowly beginning to change; I could see that much in her eyes. I thought about how I could break the news and soften the blow, but it would be like trying to hit someone gently with a battle axe. “I do, but I can’t give it to you yet.”
    Mistrust filled her voice. “Why not?”
    I realized I’d have to tell her delicately, so she wouldn’t flip.
    “You’re going to have to let the change occur first, become a zombie,” my brother chimed in. “I’m sorry, because it’s going to suck, but there’s no other choice. As much as I detest it, we’ll be there for you. When the time is right, I’ll give you the antidote.”
    Val’s jaw dropped, and various emotions crossed her features, from dread to disbelief, then back to dread.
    I elbowed my brother. “I was going to tell her in a nicer way than that,” I half-whispered.
    “There’s no way to sugarcoat it, bro. She needs to know the truth.”
    “But I…I can’t…I don’t want to turn into one of those things!” Val’s eyes brimmed with tears.
    “It’s the only way,” I softly said, rubbing my hand up and down her back, which was about all I could do. As much as I wanted to help, I was helpless. I couldn’t even find the right words to soothe her, if soothing was even possible at that point.
    I expected a fit or lots of crying. She did neither. She just spun around and headed toward the house, her long hair dangling behind her like a curtain.
    “Wait!” I shouted, running after her. “Where’re you going?”
    “I need to punch something, preferably a wall.”
    I looked at Nick. “Yep, she definitely has our temper.” Of course, if I’d have been faced with the same dilemma, I’d probably have wanted to start punching holes in things too.
    “C’mon,” Nick said. “Punching a wall will solve nothing. Trust me on that. I’ve only done it a million times. Some of the holes I’ve left aren’t pretty, and my