Surviving the Undead

Chapter 5

When I woke up in the morning everyone else was still asleep. Vanessa and Luke had taken the floor to my right since I was on the bed, and Aidan and James were sprawled out on the left.

I sat up cautiously, in fear that my head would explode with pain. A dull ache remained, but nothing more. I sighed in relief; I'd be able to start travelling today after all. As I gazed at their sleeping faces I realized it would be cruel to leave without an explanation. I would leave a note on the kitchen table.

Trying not to make any noise, I grabbed my backpack and then slid off the edge of the bed. I tip-toed over James, and tried to do the same to Aidan. My toe caught on his blankets, and I stumbled forwards. I managed to prevent myself from falling, but Aidan stirred.

His eyes blinked open, and he whispered, "Elle? Where are you going?"

Without answering him, I strode into the hallway. My pace increased when I heard him jump up behind me. He quickly caught up to me, grabbing my wrist and turning me around. "Elle, what's going on?" he asked, his soft green eyes questioning.

I sighed. "I'm leaving," I told him.

"Right now?" he asked, sounding concerned. "Are you sure that's a good idea, with your head and all?"

"Why do you care?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"I don't want to see you get hurt, Elle," he said quietly, sliding his hand down my wrist to grasp my hand. I looked up at him with confused eyes. Why was he being nice to me? "Please, wait for everyone to get up so we can talk about this."

I nodded my head dumbly, lost in his eyes. A noise from the doorway jerked me back to reality. I let Aidan's hand drop like it was on fire. What was getting into me lately? I must be going soft.

"Everything okay?" asked James, poking his head out of the doorway.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Well, I guess I'm just going to go get changed..." I turned and went into the first room I saw, which turned out to be a bedroom. I placed my backpack on the bed and started rummaging through it. The room felt hot and muggy, so I decided on a white tank top with black cotton shorts. After weaving my hair into a long braid, I headed downstairs.

When I walked into the room, all eyes turned to me.

"Why do you want to leave?" asked Luke. Apparently Aidan had not only woken everyone up, but he had also told them that I wanted to leave. I shot a glare at Aidan. He was probably just doing this to make things harder for me.

"I have something I need to do," I responded, crossing my arms.

James cleared his throat and said, "Well, whatever you have to do will have to wait. After yesterday, you can't leave. If you collapse, no one will be around to help you." I narrowed my eyes. So he was on Aidan's side.

"You can't stop me," I said simply. "I need to do this."

"Please, Elle," said Luke. "I'm begging you to at least wait until tomorrow. Whatever you need to do can wait another day."

"I've waited too long already," I stated.

"One more day won't make a big difference, then," said Luke. "Come on, just wait one more day. We can get stuff together for your journey. Where are you going anyway?"

I considered refusing to tell them, but then I realized that would probably just make them follow me again. "I'm going to Milford," I said.

"That's a journey of at least a few days, probably more," said James. "You need more rest before you set out on a journey like that."