Zombies

Chapter 23

So there we were, all tied up, watching the zombies flood into the base on the first floor from a raised balcony. They had just arrived and caused the zombie leader to turn away from us and towards them. We were all individually tied to the stakes that had been bolted to the ground just for them. They were made of wood, and nobody tried to smooth out the slivers. Estelle was quietly making a fuss next to me. I wished I was closer to my father, but he was the farthest one tied up from her. His eyes were downcast, and she couldn't shout to get his attention.

When all the zombies had come through, the king turned to them again. He smiled at all of them. "Have any of your tried death before? Nicholas I think it'd suit you best."

"Charles. We both know what this is about. Leave them out of it."

The zombie king, who turned out to have a plain name after all, frowned. With a snap of his fingers, Nick was slugged. He was coughing to much to speak anymore, when he'd finished coughing, the zombie hit him again, this time across the jaw. Nick hit the back of his head on the board that held him fast and his head lolled back afterwards. It was after this that Estelle began to cry in earnest.

"Does anyone else have any fight left in them?"

We all stared at him blankly, perhaps with exception to Johnathan. 

"Good." I noticed just when he turned back to the undead masses that Nick's words had blown away any of his theatrics. Somehow he had a great effect on the zombie king. 

"He's angry. But he's also scared." Johnathan said quietly. I only heard because he was on my other side. 

Emotions. That was it!

I turned to Estelle. "Are you turning yet?" I whispered to her.

She looked at me with terror, here eyes began to yellow after I said that. "I don't know why."

"Get claws. Quickly. While he's distracted. We can get away."

"I can't control it." She whimpered.

"You can, you just have to get more scared. Frighten yourself. Hurry."

She hesitated, then seemed to come out of her daze. She nodded, then squeezed her eyes shut and muttered to herself. In seconds she was starting to get scales, then claws. I wanted to encourage her, but I didn't know if that would have the wrong affect.

"Good, now cut yourself loose, then me." I prompted her on once her claws seemed sharp enough. "And keep getting yourself upset."

"I'm trying." she whispered.

I felt awful to make her do this, but we were all about to die anyway, so it was now or never. 

She cut her strings quickly and then moved to me, the claws were getting longer as she cut mine. 

Just as I was able to free myself someone yelled at us. "Hey! Stop what you're doing!"

I tried to reach Johnathan to untie his ropes but was dragged away by a zombie before I could reach him. I screamed and tried to fight it but I was held fast. I heard Estelle screaming beside me. So she'd been captured too.

Charles turned to us and smiled. "Did you really think it'd be that easy to escape? I was sitting right over there."

His taunting grin got closer to her. She really wanted to spit in that face of his, half decomposed and all. But the fire in me at last was dying. This was it. I was going to die. Through it all I had been afraid of becoming a zombie. Brainless and ever wandering. But facing true death now rivaled that fear. Yet the worst of what she felt was the despair setting in. The giving up. I was looking at the floor, my feet. Anything but those taunting eyes. There was no look to level back at him anymore.