Requiem

Chapter Four:

Chapter Four: 

“Abeula always said technology would ruin us.” Sebastian is saying as he jabs at the small flickering flame in front of us with a thin stick. “But I don’t think I believed the crazy old hag until now.” 

“How do you know so much about zombies?” I press, hugging myself to keep warm. It’s chilly; the night time sky casting a thick blanket of cold over everything around us. During our scavenging, we were able to find a long strip of soft yellow beach and now we’ve set up camp. But after today’s events, I doubt any of us will get any sleep. 

I know I won’t. 

Monique sits in between Jasper and I, shivering obnoxiously. Her teeth are chattering so loud that I’m afraid the sound will wake the dead. Sebastian sits across from us, feeding an endless array of damp and dry sticks into the small fire he’d managed to get going earlier. Jasper simply doodles in the sand with a stick. 

Sebastian’s eyes lock onto my face, expression stony. 

He seems to be even more evasive than he normally is, his dark eyes shifting between the three of us coldly. Monique and I return his stare evenly, wishing desperately for a blanket, and try to rub some heat back into my blue-tainted arms. 

“Carlos expected it.” He says finally, through gritted teeth. 

Monique then lets out a clipped laugh. “That stupid idiot?” She scoffs, shaking her head, “I guess it’s pretty useful now, so I can’t say much.”

“You won’t say anything.” He snarls at her. 

For the first time I’ve stepped into this zombie infested world, I’m actually truly terrified to the core. Every cell in my body is frozen with fear. From the way all the muscles in his body tighten, coiling like snakes ready to attack, to the nasty mean expression on his face, Sebastian is incredibly scary. 

But Monique is unfazed. 

I have to give her major props for that. She simply shoots him a swift, piercing glare and twists around in her seat to face the dark ocean, grumbling, “Whatever. You know it’s true.” 

Jasper presses his lips together tightly, warily eyeing Sebastian, and I glance over at him. We share a brief wide-eyed look. “For those of you who don’t know,” Monique grumbles so low I can hardly hear. “Sebastian is in a gang and Carlos is the leader.”

Sebastian lets out a grunt –a warning sound, his eyes flashing dangerously.

“Oh stop it.” I snap at him, a fiery sense of impatience burning through the cold splintering fear. “As far as we know, we’re the last humans alive. It doesn’t matter if you were in a gang, or if Carlos doesn’t want you to tell anybody anything. We need to work together to fend off the zombies and if you have information, we need to know it.” 

“Oh, is that so?” Monique glances back over her shoulder, sending a mean smirk my way. “Aren’t we just a picture perfect preacher now?” 

My eyes narrow. 

Lips parting to retort with something nasty, I pause, catching movement out of the corners of my eyes, and end up staring at Jasper –who is beckoning for us to be silent again. It is as if someone’s laid a blanket over us, filled with the strong desire to be silent. No one moves. 

No one even dares to breathe. 

Jasper’s head is cocked to the side, ear twisted towards the woods, and his hand rests on his gun -waiting. I carefully reach back, fingers winding around the hilt of my sword, and I notice the others silently preparing themselves as well.