The Zombie Resistance

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Sara glared at Caine, and I half expected her to stab him. I regretted saying yes. If zombies didn't kill me, Sara would. But I couldn't bring myself to take it back. The thought of being with other people who might protect me was too good.

"Caine, can I talk to you?" Sara said angrily. Caine rolled his eyes.

"We can talk here."

"It's important." Sara dragged Caine by the arm out of the room. I didn't follow, but waited until she closed the door to listen.

"You can't just invite some kid in our group, we don't even know her!" she half-whispered-half-yelled.

"She's all alone, Sara. She's not armed either. What chance does she have alone?" Caine said loudly, and I knew he knew I was listening.

"I don't care! We barely can take care of ourselves! Did you even remember that? Or did you suddenly just forget because some chick showed up!"

"She's looking for her little sister. We're looking for our little brother. Why can't we help each other?" Caine raised his voice even louder, now they were in a heated argument.

"She'll only get in our way! Drag us behind! What will Tom and Becca say? Do you think they'll like another little kid to hunt? No! Don't even answer that, because I know they won't!"

"But why can't we just-"

"No! No Caine! You can't just bring in every stray that crosses our path! I already let Becca come, and I won't let-"

"In case you haven't noticed, Sara, you're not always in charge! I can make decisions too! And I know Becca will be fine with it! So will Tom! Why is it always you against change?! Huh? Can you answer that without throwing a huge hissing fit?" Caine yelled, and there was a hush of quiet. I could hear him breathing loudly.

Sara let out an exasperated sigh.

"God, Caine. I'm not against change. I'm for logic. We can't lug around enough food for all of us, even if we could find enough food for all of us. She doesn't have any weapons-"

"You don't know that."

"Even if she does, what are the chances she knows how to use any? We just got lucky with Tom, and Becca can't fire a rifle to save her life..." Sara lowered her voice, and I couldn't make out what they were saying to each other.

What Sara said made sense. I was another mouth to feed, and I didn't know how to work a gun. Why would they want me? I was just dead weight.

The doorknob jiggled and I bounced away from the door, not letting them know I was listening to their 'private' conversation. Sara's face was beat red, her eyebrows furrowed in anger. Caine mirrored her expression. They looked like twins.

I stared up at Caine, wondering what they had decided. His face was clouded over, and I was unable to read it. Please don't leave me here. I need you. Please don't leave me here.

"Well, Lana," Sara's voice shook with anger, "Caine..." she took in a deep breath, "Caine convinced me to let you stay with us, but only on probation." I felt my face light up. Thank god. Sara glared at me. "But, Lana," she warned.

"Yeah?" I asked, unsure of her tone.

"If the rest of the group doesn't want you, you can't stay with us. You'll have to leave." I nodded eagerly, not wanting to get her even more ticked off.

"Ok, ok I understand."

Caine stepped forward awkwardly. "Lana, I know this is a little weird, but could we all rest here until nightfall?" I looked at him, confused.

"Don't you mean until the morning?" Sara looked at me like I was the stupidest person in the world. I stared at the floor, embarrassed.

"No. Haven't you figured it out yet? Those idiots are afraid of the dark." Sara snarled.

...What was she talking about?

"I- I don't understand. They don't come out at night?" Sara's eyes softened for a minute.

"Well, they don't come out at night." Caine said suddenly.

"How do you know? How could you possibly know?" I whispered, thinking to myself. I hadn't seen any zombies out last night, had I? I didn't think so.

"Were you even out yesterday? Last night?" I shook my head, I had hidden in my parent's room. "We were. During the day, they're swarming like mosquitoes. But at night, they disappear. Where they go, I have no idea. But they're gone at night-"

"So we have to have a place to stay for the day." Caine interrupted. "And now that you're with us, you need to help us. Your house is the most convenient right now. Will you let us stay with you? Please?"

"Yeah, sure. Are, um, the other two coming in? They can, if they want." I murmured, my cheeks still red.

"If that's alright with you." Caine said, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. Sara rolled her eyes.

"God, Caine. Why can't you just say what you want? Lana, we need to stay here, whether you give us your consent or not. And, if you really want to help us, you'll let us stay. We're a group. We come as a group. We don't split up. So if you're not up to it, we'll just stay here and be on our way at night."

I felt my cheeks grow even hotter. Hadn't I just said yes? Why is she trying to trip me up?

"And if you don't think that's fair well-" she started.

"Yes! They can stay! You can all stay!" I yelled, my ears beating. I could feel my eyes welling up in embarrassment. We just met! How does she hate me already?

Sara smirked, and I could tell she was trying to aggravate me. My blush deepened. I hate you. I tried to send her the same telepathic message I was sure she was sending me. I hate you.

"Well, I'll go get them." Caine said, pausing to look between Sara and me. "Lana, do you want to come with me to meet them?" I was happy to go. I did not want to stay all alone with Sara.

"Sure. Let's go."

We walked out of my parent's room together, Sara staring daggers at our backs. He led me to the backyard, where Tom and Becca were waiting. As I passed Maggie's room, I felt the lump in my throat grow. Wiping my eyes, I turned to Caine.

"How did you guys get in here?" I asked, curious.

"The back door was unlocked. We assumed people were here. We were hoping for adults." I could hear the sadness in his voice.

"Have you not seen any grown ups since..." I didn't want to finish my sentence.

"Yeah." he opened the back door, revealing Tom and Becca, who were standing around anxiously. Becca's face lit up when she saw Caine, then contorted to confusion when she saw me.

"Caine! You're alright! Where's Sara?" she turned to me, "Who are you?" it was more of a snarl than a question. I could tell she shared a dislike of random strangers with Sara. Well crap.

"I'm Lana." I muttered. I didn't want to cause any further random hatred. There was a pause in our small group. The boy next to Becca cleared his throat loudly, emphasizing the awkwardness.

"I'm Tom. But Caine probably already told you that." I nodded, eagerly trying to show I liked both of them. I didn't want to give Sara a reason to kick me out. I turned to Becca, expecting her to tell me her name. She didn't. Tom cleared his throat again. "This is Becca. Who's probably psming right now, so forgive her." Caine snorted through his nose.

Becca rolled her eyes and grinned. "Let's just get inside. Lana, is it?" I nodded, pleased she wasn't mad at me for no reason anymore. "We can come in right?"

"Yeah, totally. I don't see why not." She grinned at me and lightly punched my shoulder.

"Thanks, kid. I thought Caine was coming out here to say we had to move on. It's almost morning, you know. Awful dangerous."

"Alright, ladies," Tom nudged us forward into the house, "We should make haste and get inside. Hurry now. Let's go find Sara." We all walked inside, and Caine locked the door behind us. It felt weird, having them all inside my kitchen, like we were just hanging out on a Saturday. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine it.