Rot & Romance (Rewriting)

Chapter 74

The silence was deafening as Eric's lifeless body fell to the floor. In that moment, everyone that Lainey knew that had been affected or died by the hands, or teeth, of a dead walker ran across her mind like a slow slide show.

Nicki. Rita. Dave. Harry and Susan Parker. Lionel. Rodney. Jason. Eric.

Mom.

It made Lainey tremble with frustration.

Retro chuckled at the lifeless crowd.

"What?" he said, raising his arms. "It isn't a party until someone dies, right?"

Nobody dared to say anything. Nobody dared to move. Even blinking could have been a death sentence.

He took a bite out of Eric's heart before dropping it to the floor, causing Vera to gag. He approached the violently shaking girl whose eyes were on the corpse in the center of the room.

"Happy birthday," he grunted, running a finger down the side of her cheek. Down to her chin. He raised her chin so they were eye-to-eye. "A couple of months ago you stomped all over my heart when I confessed my feelings for you. You remember that?"

Vera shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, sobbing.

He shushed her, sinking her head into his chest.

"It's okay," he said, patting her back. "It's okay . . . because tonight we're going to fix that."

"Wh-What do you mean?" Vera stammered.

He took a step away from Vera.

"Well . . . since you don't seem to remember, not only did you stomp my heart into the ground, you, being the performer that you are, put on a show for the entire cafeteria. I had never been more humiliated in my life."

"Jason, please . . . ," Vera pleaded. "I'm really sorry . . ."

"Oh now you're sorry! Well if you're so sorry, prove it. . . . Make out with me. In front of everyone."

The deafening silence returned.

"Jason, you don't have to do this," Vera whimpered a moment later.

"Okay," he said, annoyance embedded in the word. "How about I'm not asking you?" He pulled Vera toward him again. "In front of everyone."

Lainey gripped the golden dagger Fawn had given her. She knew it was stupid and would most likely cost her her life, but she slowly made her way through the stiff crowd into the center.

"L-Let her go," she stammered.

Lainey could feel every eye on her. She could hear every gasp. Jason slowly turned his head in her direction.

And grinned.

"Well if it isn't the bitch that killed Nicole," he said, releasing Vera. "I had been working on that one for a long time." He approached Lainey. "I was going to get lucky that night if you would have just minded your business. . . . Nicole would also be alive today."

Lainey scowled but remained silent.

"Oh? We're keeping our hands to ourselves tonight, are we?" He eyed Mom's ruby necklace and snatched it from her neck, shattering it in his hand and tossing the remains into the crowd. Then he grabbed Lainey by her neck, causing her to drop the dagger. Jason looked at the dagger and frowned. "That was a big mistake," he said as his skin rotted. "You do remember what I said to you the last time we spoke, yes? After you slapped me? I'm a man of my word."

"Release her!"

Fawn's words were thunderous. She, too, had made her way into the center of the crowd, barely standing.