Surviving the Undead

Chapter 4

When I woke up I still felt tired, so I decided to roll over and get some more sleep. As I turned onto my side, a throbbing pain in my forehead erupted. I gasped in pain and threw my hand to my forehead. Memories came flooding back to me. Falling, seeing my hand covered in blood... The figures. Who were they?

My eyes shot open as I gazed frantically around the room. My room. How did I get back to my house? My gaze focused on the door as a figure walked through it. They did a double-take as they noticed me staring at them.

His face broke out into a wide grin. "Glad to see you awake," said James. He came over and sat down beside me on the bed, so close that we were touching. I was too tired and in too much pain to care.

"What happened?" I managed to croak.

"You tell me," he said in an amused tone. "All of a sudden you freaked out, tripped, and bashed your head on the pavement. Good thing Luke and I were there."

I started to nod, but then had a thought. "Wait... Why were you and Luke there?"

He grinned. "I know you're going to be mad, but... We followed you home. Luke wanted to make sure you were safe, and I offered to come along."

I groaned. Why did everyone think I needed protecting? "I freaked out because I felt someone following me. The plan was to turn quickly and catch them. So I would have been fine, if it wasn't for you two bozos."

"You know, you could just say thank you," he teased.

I growled and moved to hit him in the arm, but as soon as my head left the pillow I was met with another intense round of pain. My hand moved back to my forehead.

"Let me see," said James, gently moving my hand off of my forehead. "Well, it looks a lot better stitched up than it did gaping open."

"You stitched up my forehead?" I asked incredulously.

"Don't worry, I know how," he assured me. "I used to want to be a doctor."

I relaxed a bit. I'd know for sure whether or not he did a good job when I looked in the mirror. "I wanted to be a doctor, too," I admitted.

"Yeah, I know. Luke told me how you fixed his shoulder for him," he said. "You know, even though you push everyone away, I can tell you have a big heart." He squeezed my hand, which I hadn't noticed he was still holding.

I snatched my hand away, just as Luke walked into the room.

"Hey Elle! Glad you woke up," he said with a relieved smile. I returned the smile, wincing as my forehead throbbed.

James handed me some Advil and a bottle of water. "Here, this should help a bit."

"Thanks, tips," I said sarcastically. "I had no idea Advil would help my headache." I quickly downed the Advil with half of the bottle of water.

He just grinned at me and said, "Glad to be of service."

"Is it okay if I light some candles, Elle? It's getting dark outside," asked Luke, already holding a candle and a box of matches.

I went to nod my agreement, but thought better of it and said, "Sure."

"You should probably have this, too," said James, tossing a granola bar onto the bed beside me. My stomach rumbled at the sight of food. I tore open the wrapper and ate the whole thing in three bites.

"Won't everyone be wondering why you two aren't back yet?" I asked.

"No, that's why I was gone. I was telling them what happened, and that we'd be spending the night at your house," explained Luke.