Apocalypse [will not be finished]

Chapter Eight

Okay, so maybe I delivered that little piece of information a little too quickly. Quinn's face twisted into one of pure shock before he properly composed himself. His arms had dropped to his sides. My heart was pounding.

"God, Laurie." He turns away from me and leans his face on the brick wall. "I don't know what to think."

I can't be bothered to even think for one minute that he's going to stay with me. He probably thinks I'm some kind of physco killing freak. I just keep silent.

"How?" I look up at him with wide eyes.

Do you really want to know?

He nods as if he's heard my thoughts.

So I decide that telling him won't hurt. If he knows I did it just to save Lou, he might even forgive me for it. So I spill out everything that happened up until I black out. Then I pause, swallow, and tell him exactly how I killed my parents.

I opened my eyes. Everything was so hazy - I could barely breathe. The air seemed to be coated with some sort of heavy depression. I blinked a few times and regained enough consciousness to be able to see. My vision wasn't clouded much now, and I sat up. My head ached and when I put a hand to my head, it came back covered in blood.

I got up, wiping my blood on my jeans. They were only old ones anyway. I looked around, my gaze settling on figures on the other side of the room. Two were hunched over, skinny adults, and there was one young girl that it would be impossible not to recognise. Lou.

I stumbled over to them, my steps wavering. Lou was the only thing going through my mind in that moment. I had to save my little sister. If I didn't I could never live with myself.

I clenched my fists and swung a feeble punch at one of the adults. It had thin brown hair that was tangled in knots. As its face whipped round to see who I was, I gasped. It was Mum. Well, not really her. She was gone and the creature inside her had taken over.

I choked on air and I felt myself be grabbed from behind. The other creature – whom I assumed was my Dad – had hold of my arm, and I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming out in pain. I didn’t know how I kept my shriek in when his teeth was brought to my wrist. He dragged his teeth along my purple veins, opening up several cuts. Then he put his mouth just below my elbow and bit down hard. I writhed in pain, throwing a proper punch at the creature’s face, causing him to topple backwards. I cradled my bleeding arm. His teeth were remarkably sharp and had penetrated my skin, causing red liquid to seep out. I was just about to grab Lou and run when I was suddenly knocked onto the ground. My mother was licking her lips, towering over me.

But, luckily for me, I wasn’t in the mood to go down without a fight. I slammed the heel of my palm into her nose, knocking her backwards. Lou had scurried over to the corner of the room and was now on looking. She looked petrified.

I scrabbled backwards, gasping for air. The impact of my body hitting the floor had knocked all the breath out of my lungs. The two adults were up, and my father was at my foot, scratching along with his long nails, making big bloody grooves appear on my shins. I whimpered in pain and looked from left to right, searching for something to save my own life with. Then I spotted my father’s hunting knife. Sharp, with grooves specially fitted to support your hands when you were holding the knife. I stretched as far as I could go, every few seconds struggling myself forwards towards the knife. I have one adult hanging on my leg, and the other is getting dangerously close to my torso. When my hand finally wraps around the knife, I clutch it. My life relies on two fatal hits. I swing my arm back as far as it will go, and then shove it straight into the forehead of the adult by my face. My mother.  I watch as I twist the knife deeper into her skull. Tears seep from my eyes and I blink, trying to stop my eyesight from fogging over. When her body is still, I pull the knife out, wiping my eyes with my other hand.

I then aim and throw the knife straight into the face of my father. My heart feels like its being wrenched apart and I know I will never forgive myself for this. It will haunt me for years to come. But I still watch as the knife rips into the flesh, hitting him square between the eyes. He gives out a terrifying scream, and I let out a giant sob. Then I scramble up, tear the knife out of his face, and run as fast as I can to Lou. She buries her face in my chest and weeps. I force myself to watch as the pool of blood around my dead parents grows bigger. Right then and there I promise myself that it will only be me and Lou. Nobody else. I can’t risk depending on other people, and I definitely can’t risk loving anyone.

When I stop talking, I slide down to the floor, my back on the wall. Tears are streaming down my face and each sob racks my body. Quinn is going to give up on me. I’m hopeless. I’m scared of losing everyone I hold dear to me.

I'm a useless mess.

I very nearly jump fifteen feet into the air when someone grabs my hands and pulls me right up off of the floor. I find myself facing Quinn. His cheeks are wet – and he doesn’t look like he’s about to kill me or run away because I’m a murderer. He looks like he’s trying to help me.

I know I am right when his arms go round my waist, pulling me close to him. I wrap my arms round his neck and bury my face in his shoulder. I haven’t even known Quinn for as long as I have others, and I have already cried more on him than anyone else. But it was nice, knowing he had my back.

 ...

It was a comfortable silence until he spoke up. “I would’ve done the same thing.” I rub my eyes and look up to his face.

“What?”

“I said I would’ve done the same thing.”

I give him a weak smile. It’s the best I can do.

He pulls me close again and I let myself relax against his body.

“My parents became creatures. I managed to run away with my brother but I was too small to get over the wall. He left me.” Quinn’s voice is cracking and his eyes are watering.

That was terrible. I imagined if I was Lou, and my big sister left me because I was too small to get away. I have to stop imagining, because it feels like my heart is being torn out of my chest. So I settle my face against his chest, just breathing. As much as I don't want to feel this way, don't want to enjoy having him so close to me...I can't help it. Any of it. So I just do the unexpected.

I give in.

He smiles hugely at me, as if reading my mind. I grin back.

"We'll get through this, right?" I nod.

"Together?" I nod again.

"Together."