Seven Un-Dead

Chapter 23

The seven were gathered around a little campfire on the roof of the random building. They made the little fire in hopes of getting any warmth but the fire didn't get bigger than twenty centimeters into the air, and they knew it would soon burn out if they tried to do anything with it. They had to bare in the cold and then there was the problem of the zombies.

"Who's going on night watch first? Any volunteers?" Jan asked, standing up and moving around to warm up a little more.  

"I'll do it." Eugenio spoke up. The others all looked at him in shock.

"You can't, though. You've just had pretty much the worst nightmare of your life, you can't be alone at night." Nicole gave a comment and immediately stood up. She had a highly determined look on her face and her hands were curled into fists.

"I'll go first." She bravely volunteered. Nobody tried to stop her. Nicole then nodded in understanding that everyone agreed and she knelt back down over her bag to bring out her weapon. The only sound was the zipper of her blue bag opening and the calm crackling of the fire.

"I'll wake you guys up if I need to. Let's hope we don't get too much zombies here." She added and took her seat again.

"How many zombies do you think you can take on?" Maya asked and looked over at Nicole in worry of her getting hurt.

"Ten. Fifteen if needed." Nicole answered.

"Three," Suzzette said and earned a small laugh from the seven. "You were struggling with one, I don't even think you'll bare two."

"Okay, okay," Nicole agreed, blushing a little from embarrassment and the laugh slowly faded out, leaving a smile on the faces of the seven. "I'll call you if there's four zombies here." 

"Three." Suzzette argued back.

"Four." Nicole argued once again.

"Three." Suzzette said, a little bit more angrily. 

"Three." Nicole finally agreed to Suzzette's offer and the tension between the two negotiating girls died down. None of them would be able to calmly fall asleep. It was great to be sleeping under the open sky, with the stars shining down at them and the crickets playing their songs from the bushes beneath. It was like their childhood was coming back again, but this wonderful times would be ruined by zombies. The world would never be at peace again, until they find the cure. If they do...

"Alright, children, get to sleep." Nicole exclaimed, but not too loudly. The others groaned and moved over to their bags, picking out some things to cover them with at night, or to put on a coat. They'd all use their bags as a makeshift pillow, although it wasn't the softest and it wouldn't be easy to fall asleep on that. 

"But mum!" Holly groaned in annoyance. She wanted to keep Nicole some company so she wasn't lonely. After a very long argument between Nicole and Holly, the stubborn girl finally went to sleep, leaving Nicole alone on her night shift. 

Twenty minutes later and everyone was fast asleep. It was only her, the fire, and her own thoughts. The flames kept crackling, rising up and falling back down. She knew that the fire would die out soon, because the only thing that kept it going was her having to blow air on it every five minutes. Only now was she regretting her decision to go on night watch. Below, on the roads of the abandoned town, she could hear something stirring. It caught her attention pretty quickly and she immediately reached for the first object in sight, which luckily was her weapon. The knife's blade glistened in the moonlight and she gripped the leather handle for reassurance. She was alone now and it was all up to her to keep the others safe.

The girl slowly crept to the end of the roof, laying herself down onto the floor to not fall off. She pulled herself over the end of the roof just up to her shoulders so she could have a clear view of what was happening down at the streets. Five zombies were playing with the lamp which stood just outside the entrance of the building they were in. The zombies had a clear chance of coming upstairs and attacking the seven, and Nicole was clearly aware that some could already be climbing up the stairs. Across the street, next to the liquor store, there were a group of zombies walking around, bumping into each other without purpose. Maybe they were drunk.