Bite Me

Chapter Three

Silas pulled down a quiet street and pulled the car over to the side of the road. 

I don't know if it was the stress or the fear, but I started laughing, I was laughing so hard it made my chest hurt. Everyone was staring at me like I was crazy.

Silas turned down the radio, Josephine was still crying, Harvey was frowning, but he wasn't crying, Scarlett was looking out the window, making sure nobody was around, Silas was looking down at me. He put his hand on my shoulder and my laugh suddenly turned to sobs. We barely made it out alive, the outbreak has reached the whole city.

In the distance, you can see several fires, none of them were being put out. People's screams can be heard, zombies chasing after a teenage girl. None of this is easy to look at. 

Silas rubbed my back in small circles trying to calm me. 

 Josephine sobs. "We need to get out of the city, the suburbs will be calmer." She tries to think clearly. 

"We also need food and water." Harvey adds. 

"We need to see if our families are okay." Scarlett says. 

Silence. 

I pull out my phone and call my parents. I still have service, my phones at ninety percent. 

It goes straight to voicemail. I power down my phone and reach for my backpack in the back seat, pull it to my lap and open the zipper to place my phone inside. I wipe my face to rid myself of the tears. Silas starts driving. 

"Our families." Scarlett said again. 

"We don't have time to go to everyone's houses and see if our parents are okay. I'm sorry." Silas said. 

"That's complete bullshit! Don't you want to know if your sister is okay?" Scarlett yelled. 

"Of course I want to know if she's okay, you gremlin, but I have to trust that my mother can watch over her." Silas answered. 

"You're a monster." Scarlett crossed her arms. 

"He's right, if we attempt to check if all our families are okay, we'll be dead by sundown." Josephine said. 

"So, you want us to continue surviving without making sure our families are alright?" Harvey asked. 

"There's not enough room in this car for everyone's families." Silas said. 

"We should at least know if they're alive." Scarlett mumbled. 

Silas hits the brakes, making everyone lurch forward in their seats. "If you want to go see your families, be my guest. Get out." He motions at the door beside Scarlett. 

Nobody moved. 

"Exactly, so shut your damned mouths for once." He started driving again.  

I bit the skin around my lips. "You didn't have to yell at them." I said. 

He peeks at me from the mirror. "They had to understand."

He's way too aggressive. 

I pull out all the objects from my bag. My phone, a full water bottle, a bag of chips, a bunch of papers, my makeup bag, my wallet, my home key with an attached key decoration with 'Aurora' written on it, a few pens and pencils, but no rifles or flamethrowers. Why wasn't I a psychopath?I lift the water bottle. "Anyone need a sip?" 

Nobody reaches for it. "We need to savour it." Silas took the water bottle and threw it back in the bag.  I carefully place everything back in my bag and zip it up.