Saving Chloe

Chapter Eleven

That night, I couldn't sleep. My mind kept replaying Martin's words over and over. The Second Movement had arrived, the Wave being the First Movement which not only shook the world but seemed to have infected the elderly and disabled. If you believed Martin's theory on the Crazies not being alien and this was all just a human reaction. And now we have to be fearful of the Creature. I thought they could've been Invaders in disguise, but Calen didn't agree with me.

Why would they infect themselves? he'd asked.

What if they're not really infected? I'd answered. Just pretending to be infected.

Or what if they really are just all crazy like this?

Shaking my head, I knew he was wrong. I'd replayed the Johnny Waters incident over and over. There was no way they were like this naturally. Not from the look on Johnny Waters face. I knew this for a fact. Okay, so it was an assumption but I felt like I knew I was right. But I really didn't have the time to think about it all, because my bedroom door was opening.

I sat upright immediately, looking into the darkness trying to see who was standing at my door. My heartbeat quickened, my breathing ragged, and my body shaking. I felt fear, even though I didn't even know what it was I searching for in the dark. And then it was gone. My whole body sagged with relief even though I couldn't see a damn thing but shadows. My bedroom door was still ajar, so I knew whatever was there either moved on or was still standing over there.

Slowly pulling the blankets off of me, I tried not to make any sound as I slowly rose out of bed. The whole bed creaked, as if wanting to give me away to the intruder. I didn't stop though, maybe I'd frighten it from all the noise I made. Or get Calen's attention about something being off. Joshua might wake up and come searching through the house. I'd feel safer if it were him and not me. But I couldn't be quite sure which way the intruder went-

Chloe's door was open. She never leaves it open while she's asleep, because she's a light sleeper and can't handle any noise. So the intruder was left with two options: 1) sneak its way into Chloe's room to off her, or 2) go quietly downstairs, through the front door, and silently lock it on its way out without disturbing anyone else. Well, I'm betting her didn't go with the nicer option. So I crept along the wall, down the hallway, and taking a deep breath right outside Chloe's room. My hands pushed open the door a little farther, since whoever had gone through had to slip in sideways. A loud, well seemed loud to me in the quietness of this house, creak jolted all my bones into discontinuing immediately. My eyes blinked, trying to adjust to the low light from the moon shining through the cracks of the wooden planks, apparently we still haven't fixed them.

My first theory was somehow a Creature got past Calen's inspection and snuck into the house unnoticed, even with the doors locked and windows boarded up. But I highly doubt this is what happened. My second theory was the Creature was one of us, someone I knew. Calen wouldn't have shot someone we knew, right? Unless he never saw anyone outside and this intruder came from inside. Or it was simply Calen playing a practical joke about being aware, but I highly doubt he'd do something this stupid. Or Calen could have become a Creature.

I don't know why, but just the thought of losing him to insanity scared me the most. But I couldn't back down. Not because I was afraid, oh, I am deathly afraid as to what will happen next. But I had to make sure Chloe was still alive, still safe and sound, and still asleep. She couldn't know what was going on.

Suddenly, the shadow moved right above her bed. The Creature was tall, around six foot if not more. Too tall to be Calen. Not too tall to be Joshua. Mom was barely over five foot, definitely not her. Couldn't be me, I was standing right here and my height never even reached five foot. Couldn't be Chloe, she was still asleep in her bed, and she is tall but she isn't six foot tall.