HAUNTED

8: Kiss

EMMA LAUGHED
slightly as she waved goodbye to her friends at school that were driving away on the school bus, her backpack laying on one of her shoulders lazyingly as she opened the front door. "Dad! I'm back from school!" She shouted into the house so loud It echoed.

There was pure silence, Emma thought her father was not home or in the backyard until her eyes were covered by hands. "Guess who?" He asked with a smile.

By the voice, the girl knew exactly who it was. She giggled. "Daddy, don't scare me like that" She said as he took his hands off her eyes as she faced him.

"Will a surprise make up for it?" He asked with a wide grin.

The girl shrugged. "Depends"

He laughed as he lead her towards her bedroom up the stairs. Emma was confused but also excited. Her heart beating against her ribs as she thought of all the things he could have given her.

The door to her bedroom was closed, the light was on as you could see under the door, the light peaking through. Emma opened it, curiously, not knowing what was awaiting her.

Her blue eyes laid on a fluffy cat that was in a wooden basket with a blanket and a mouse toy. It's autumn brown eyes met hers as her heart skipped a beat, not fully believing it as her eyes widened and a wide smile appeared on her face.

"You got me a kitty!?" She exclaimed, so excited that in that moment, nothing else mattered.

Her eyes slowly opened, her head aching as it felt like a bolling ball. "She'll need some more rest. Luckily it was only a scratch. If she doesn't remember things, let me know" Hershel spoke as he left the room.

Her vision was blurry at first, not fully seeing who was there. A dark figure slowly approached her, leaning down in front of her. She saw brunette hair, although it seemed alot of shades darker. Almost like a black. Her eyes lit up slightly. "Dad?" She whispered, her mouth watery like a sea.

The man didn't say anything. He just stared at her blankly, no expression, no nothing. It was like someone took his batteries out and left him to die all alone. It was like he knew he was gonna die and just accepted it. He was empty. Lost.

She smiled. "Dad, what happened?" She asked the figure.

"You were shot. How are you feeling?" The man finally spoke. His voice didn't sound like her father's though. She assumed maybe he was crying and got all stuffed up. He didn't like to admit to his daughter whenever he felt weak. It was better for him to not have her worrying.

"Shot? Who? How?" She asked as suddenly her vision came back to normal and her eyes laid on Rick. "Rick? No...no, no, no" She mumbled.

The zombie apocalypse wasn't just some bad dream. Rick existed. Everyone else existed. And they were still in the same shitty area they were when they first arrived. Sophia was still missing and there was no hope. And worst of all, her father was dead.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. You gotta take it slow. You aren't thinking straight." He told her.

"My dad....He.." She didn't even want to say the words. Despite them never finding a body, she still had hope that there was a small chance he was alive.

"I know. I'm sorry. But what matters now is that you aren't dead. Now, do you know what day is it?" Rick asked the girl.

She thought about it for a long moment. "We don't know what day it is. We don't entirely have calendars. It's about to become fall though. You can tell by the leaves changing color and the weather getting cooler" Emma answered as Rick smiled in approval.

"Can you follow my finger?" Rick asked as he slowly moved his finger left to right as her eyes followed. Then, he made it more challenging, up and down, X marks the spot. Anything. "Alright."