→ my name is lana snyder and this is my story on what happened at the end of the world. we were invaded and it was a mass instinctive event. but somehow i was one of the survivors.
- the 5th wave
→ started : 12/22/22 - finished : 3/17/23
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
we lead sammy and amélie over to a wall, putting a group of kids between us and the nearest guard. we scrunch down as low as possible
i wait impatiently for cassie and sammy to stop talking. "let's go." she finally says.
she grabs his hand and head for the tunnel, i grab amélie keeping our shoulders back and heads up, because skulking toward the nearest exit like mystery inc tinkle-toeing is sure to draw attention. we even bark at some kids to get out of the way.
and then we're in the tunnel and, incredibly, there is a doctor walking straight at us, half his face hidden behind a surgical mask. his eyes widen when he sees us, i'll have to shoot him. as we draw closer, i see him casually drop his hand into the pocket of his white coat, i gripped amélie's hand harder.
i have one half of one half second to decide.
cassie levels the silencer at his chest as his hand emerges from the pocket.
the hand that holds a gun.
but her hand holds an m16 assault rifle.
how long is one half of one half second?
long enough for a little boy who doesn't know the first rule to leap between the gun and the rifle.
"sammy!" cassie yells, pulling up the shot. her little brother hops onto his toes; his fingers tear at the doctor's mask and yank it down.
my face drops and my breathing levels.
"zombie!" sammy calls. "i knew it was you."
"where are you taking him?" ben says to cassie in a deep voice.
"zombie, that's cassie," sam chides him. "you know—cassie."
"cassie?" like he's never heard the name before.
"zombie?" cassie says.
she pulls off the cap, thinking it might help him recognize her, then immediately regret it.
"we go to the same high school," she says, drawing her fingers hastily through her chopped-off locks. "i sit in front of you in honors chemistry."
sammy goes, "i told you she was coming."
"who is he?" amélie whispered tugging at my hand, as i watched the whole scene go down.
"quiet, sam," cassie scolds him.
"sam?" ben asks.
"my name is nugget now, cassie," sam informs her.
"is that ben, ben? like the one cassie liked?" she whispers again, i hold back a laugh before taking the cap off of my head, my brown locks fall out of it. before i nod to amélie.
"well, sure it is." cassie turns to zombie. "you know my brother."
zombie nods carefully.
"why are you dressed like a doctor?" sammy asks.
"i came to get you out of here," zombie says to sam, still looking at cassie.
sam glances over at her.
"you're not taking my brother anywhere," cassie says.
"it's a lie," ben blurts out. "vosch is one of them. they're using us to kill off the survivors, to kill each other..."
"i know that," she snaps. "how do you know that, and what does that have to do with taking sam?"
"8 know," sammy says to broker the peace. "we can all go together!"
"do you know a way out of here?" she asks zombie.
he nods. "do you?"
"i know a way—i just don't know the way to the way."
"the way to the way? okay." he grins. "i know the way and the way to the way."
he drops the gun into his pocket and looks now at me and amélie. then back to cassie.
