Among The Dead

Chapter 2

Emma's POV

I looked out into the hallway quickly to make sure there weren't any walkers nearby, pulling Kathryn out of the room of screaming people as soon as I had seen all that I was sure to see.

"Stay behind me and watch my back. If you see any of those things, whack them with your yardstick," I told her, releasing her arm as I turned to lead the way down the hallway. I was going to turn to make sure she stayed close, but before I had the chance to say anything her back pressed firmly to my own. Her hand latched onto my shirt as well, ensuring me that she wasn't going to wander off. She was too scared to.

We crept down the hallway at a snail's pace, my movement limited by the death grip my friend had on my shirt. I wasn't going to make her let go, though, because it would only make it easier for the two of us to get separated in the maze of hallways we had to maneuver through to get to the entrance of the school. I was a bit doubtful that Kathryn would make it outside without seeing another walker, but we might have gotten lucky.

The rest of the school didn't sound any different than our classroom had when we let the walkers in, though that wasn't a surprise to me. I was sure that there had to be more than a few walkers here, but I was hoping that they were distracted with other food sources and wouldn't come after us.

Everything did, however, look a lot different from what it had that morning. There were books tossed on the floor by students caught in the hallways, many of which had been trampled by those trying to make an escape. The glass windows to a couple of classrooms had been shattered by hungry crowds of the undead, who were still feasting on the flesh of those they'd trapped. The sight made me sick to my stomach, but there was nothing I could do for the people in there. If the walkers didn't kill them, the bite would.

Suddenly, I found myself jerked to a stop before I could reach the end of the hallway, the hand that held the back of my shirt beginning to shake as it held me still. I tried to pull free from the grip, but somehow my friend had developed an iron fist in the few minutes we'd been walking.

"E-Emma. There are walkers," Kathryn stammered, drawing a quick sigh from me as I turned to see what the problem was. Sure enough, there were two walkers ambling towards us, making me frown a bit. They're legs were un damaged, unlike the last one I fought, so it would be a bit different than last time... If I needed to fight them at all.

"Just hit them like I told you to," I hissed, turning myself towards the walkers a bit more in case I needed to intervene. I wasn't about to let Kathryn get killed, but I wanted her to be able to do this herself in case I wasn't there some time down the road and one of these vile creatures popped out of a closet or something.

"I can't, Emma. The other one'll bite me," she insisted, standing stock still and quivering as the things got ever closer. I opened my mouth to tell her to hit them again, but stopped myself when I realized that it would be a lot easier to allow my scared friend the luxury of adjusting to the suddenness of being forced into the brutal world of kill or be killed. Hopefully she would understand that she would have to step up sooner or later, but my gut told me that that wasn't happening.

"Fine, but you need to cover my back while I take care of this... And let go of my shirt," I growled, keeping the walkers in the corner of my eye as I turned to pull my bloody scissors out of my back pocket. The blades looked a little bent now, so I doubted that I would get too many more uses, as a weapon or as a tool, out of it. As long as they didn't break when I needed them I would be fine, though.

I rushed towards the walkers as soon as I felt Kathryn's hand leave the thin fabric of my t-shirt, weapon clutched tightly in my right hand as I closed the short distance between us. I kicked the closest one back immediately, glad for the jeans I was wearing as its hand grazed my leg when it stumbled back. I used the few seconds the action bought me to bury my scissors into the skull of the other walker, adding another layer of blood to it and my clothes unintentionally as I pulled it out.