The Rising - A Zombie Novel

Chapter IV - The Big If (New Version)

"No," Gwen said, her deep rusty voice protested against Mark's earlier consequence. There was no persuading him to leave this room and join the other group, especially knowing Alia wasn't with them. Gwen continued assaulting my ears with her desperate pleas, shaking Isaac's arm. "We gotta do something! We gotta get Ivan! Don't listen to him, he doesn't care about us!"

"Oh, I don't care?" Mark argued, his voice raised in anger as he took offense. "I'm protecting you, stupid little idiot!"

Gwen ignored him. She continued whining and wailing, as if she didn't hear Mark. She didn't spare a single glance at Mark, as if he didn't exist. Tears streaming down her face, she rested her head on Isaac's shoulder and sobbed. I was amazed at Isaac's patience with her. If it had been up to me, I would have ignored Gwen's pestering long ago.

Isaac tried in vain to calm her down, his conciliatory tone not doing anything to ease her desperate demands. The defeated look on his face showed that he didn't want to hear any of this any more than I did. A slight jerk of his arm showed he didn't want any more affection coming from her.

I'd never been one to show anger or much of the emotions I felt deep inside. Yet, loud noises like this made me grate my skin with my nails, feeling my heartbeat pound with every passing second. My hands balled into fists with beads of sweat on my palms. I couldn't take it any longer and finally spoke up, my voice cutting through the commotion. "If you keep wailing, you'll lure every riser to this room."

She flashed a deadly glance my way. She scoffed, a cynical sneer twisting her face. "Are you telling me to shut up?"

I didn't answer. She already knew that I was.

"Do you have a brother of your own, Amari?" She slowly walked closer to me, her brows creased and her lips stretched into a crooked smirk. "Oh, right. You and Mark were having that sibling thing, weren't you?"

I grew confused. What did she mean by that?

"So, you know how it feels to be away from someone you treat as a brother..."

"Gwen, careful," Isaac warned.

Yet, I remained puzzled. I wanted her to say more, provide a context to what she was talking about. I let her continue, "How'd you feel if Mark weren't in this room, huh?"

I don't know, would be my honest answer. He wasn't my actual brother or someone so close to me to care about.

"Gwen, stop." Nathalie's voice made me turn to her for a query. As much as I felt audacious speaking with her, I badly wanted her to tell me what this was about as she seemed to know something I didn't. But Nathalie didn't budge an eye out on me. She had been avoiding me since we got locked up in this room.

"No," Gwen said, firmly. "She needs to hear what we think. It's time we confronted her."

"Alright, that's enough." Mark pulled my arm, dragging me away from Gwen. He spoke to her, "You stick to what you believe. Just don't put someone else into this."

I was left in the dark as everyone fell silent. Gwen went back to the corner where Nathalie had kept herself surrounded by the chairs from... me.

Mark let go of my hand as we stood together in the corner near the door. My eyes were fixed in their. Nathalie was shaking her head at Gwen, as Gwen mumbled a probable excuse I couldn't quite comprehend.

I asked Mark, "What did she mean by that?"

That must have caught him off-guard, his reaction a combination of surprise and hesitation. He walked closer to me, going for a whisper, "I don't want you talking with them, alright, Ri? Don't ask me why or anything, just don't."