The Dead, The Living and The Broken

Chapter 13: Explosions

After a while, Damien was out of tears and his previously wet cheeks dried. Him and Cassandra still sat in the dark and musky basement. They sat in silence and felt the vibrations from the explosions rumble around them. It was almost as if the whole basement was a giant massage chair set to high.

  The two wondered how long the explosions would last and if they would end up crushed under the debris.

  Finally, the blasts stopped. The building now felt oddly still to Cassandra now and she felt almost dizzy without the constant tremors. 

  Next to her, Damien slowly opened his eyes and looked around with a sad look on his sharp features.

  "I was hoping to open my eyes and we would all be back at the cabin," he said in a soft voice. "But I'm still here in this stupid basement, missing my best friend," he said. His voice cracked as he spoke.

  "We need to get out here," Cassandra said in a delicate whisper.

  Damien closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He nodded his head.

  Cassandra rose from the ground and walked up the basement stairs. She pulled the door open and stepped into the backroom. The chairs were still stacked against the door that lead them to the main store area. Cassandra turned to leave through the backdoor of the building but Damien grabbed her arm and stopped her. 

 "I need to see her, once more," he said in a pleading tone.

  "Damien, don't," Cassandra insisted.

Damien backed away from her and towards the door. "I have to," he said. He swiftly turned and yanked the door open, forcing the chairs to pile up behind it. He ran out of the door and Cassandra followed after him. 

  "Damien! Stop!" Cassandra yelled but Damien had no intentions on stopping.

  No zombies remained in the store, drawn away by the noise of the blasts but as Damien turned down the aisle with the fallen shelf he saw the last remaining corpse in the store. Trapped under shelves, it was unable to move but it tiredly reached towards them with its mangled arm.

  Cassandra followed him into the aisle and watched as Damien slowly approached the zombie. Cassandra's breath caught in her throat because there was Piper, trapped. But, no. It's not Piper, she told herself. Sure, she had the same light brown hair but she held none of her previous joy and care.

  Damien took another step toward it. He was nearly within its grasp

  "Damien, don't go any closer."

  He looked down at the creature with heartbroken eyes. He crouched down and looked into the blank eyes of the zombie and its destroyed features. Still he tried to gently reach towards it in hopes that somehow Piper would return. 

  Cassandra stood unsure of what to do as Damien's hand slowly approached the creature. "Damien, stop," she said again. "Damien, stop," she repeated firmly.

  But Damien didn't stop. He continued to inch closer and closer to the monster.

  Cassandra's breathing became shallower and shaky. She did the only thing she thought of doing, which also happened to be the very thing she never thought she could do.

  She jumped forward and slammed her knife into her lost friend's head.

  Damien stumbled backwards and lost his balance, falling onto his butt. "Why would you do that?" he shouted.

  "That wasn't really her, Damien. Piper, sh-" Cassandra started saying. "She's g-gone."

  "What if there was a cure? We could've saved her!" Damien said.