The Zombie Resistance

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Gun shots are pretty loud. Like ear numbingly loud. Like ears ringingly for twenty minutes loud. So is crying, at least when it's five, hormonal, exhausted, scared, sobbing teenagers. Especially when one of them just got attacked by a zombie.

Needless to say, by the time my ears stopped ringing and my eyes were swollen, we had made some noise. It made sense that we would attract some more unwelcome visitors.

"Oh my God. Oh my God."

"I-I-I almost died. I almost died!"

"We're all going to die."

I attempted to swallow the huge lump that had formed in my throat, but it stuck. I felt around blindly for the lamp post I had used as a weapon, only to realize it was still in my hand. Sara stared at the gun silently, not one tear shed, unlike the rest of us. She was the strong one, yet again.

"We have to go." Sara whispered, and I heard her give out a ragged breath.

"We have to go!" Sara yelled. The room was quiet then, a hush that left us all staring at her. She coughed, her chest rattling. "M-more could be coming at any moment!" She screamed.

"I feel sick." Tom whispered. We stared at him. Save for a few scratches on his neck, he was fine. His ears turned red. "I almost died!"

"But you're alright, you'll be fine." Becca said, kneeling beside him, brushing his hair aside, smearing his sweat off to the side of his forehead. Tom shuddered.

"I almost died..." he trailed off, his eyes filling with tears. He swallowed and stared at the corpse that was only a few feet away from any of us. Then he puked.

"Ah gross man!" Caine yelled, backing away. Becca looked at Caine, her gaze filled with pure venom.

"He just survived a zombie attack! No thanks to you, you dumb ass!" Becca stood up, letting Tom's head crash to the ground. "You pussy! You didn't shoot! And you thought I was weak!"

My hands curled up in fists. Oh hell no. We were not having another fight. I was not ready for all this drama part two.

"Becca!" I said, my voice even.

"What?!" she gave me an exasperated look.

"We have been through a lot today. I know it's been rough. But seriously, please, just stop. We don't need this right now."

I saw ten different expressions cross her face in under five seconds. Anger, denial, sadness, seething rage.

"Alright. Fine." Becca spit, sitting back down. She started attending to Tom again.

Caine cleared his throat slowly, almost as if he were going to apologize. But he just sat beside Sara, and I was left alone to be the fifth wheel. I sat down, rubbing my eyes, barely hearing their discussions.

"Caine, we need to get out of here."

"Tom? Are you alright?"

"Why should we leave?"

"Tom?"

"Did you not just see that zombie attack us!"

"That was just one, stop worrying so much, Sara."

"You couldn't even shoot that one! We're putting everyone at risk by staying here!"

"Thomas? Answer me."

"We need to leave."

"We'll be fine."

"Tom! Someone come help me!"

I snapped my head up, looking towards Becca. She kneeled over Tom, staring in horror. Caine and Sara raced over to them. I stood up, feeling dizzy.

"I can't... I can't... my neck... Becca... please..."

"Tom! Oh my god..."

Tom was paper white and struggling to breathe. The zombie's nails had dug into his neck much deeper than we had thought. The cuts had turned a sick shade of green, making me want to vomit. His thick hair was matted down, soaked with sweat.

"Holy shi.... my neck..." he tried to choke out his sentence, and it almost sounded as if he was trying to be funny, because he got out a gargled laugh. My nose burned. I didn't know Tom well, but I couldn't let him die.

"Tom, no!" Becca pressed herself into him.

"Becca... I'm... scared... please... don't..." Tom's mouth continued to move, but nothing came out. He stared up at Becca, and she gripped his hand tightly.

Becca looked up from Tom, her eyes shifting like mad. She looked at us, we were watching the spectacle like it was a movie or a soap opera. We knew we couldn't stop this from happening. We were powerless. We were just kids.

"Please, help him." she whispered. Tears fell off her face onto Tom's. "Help him, please. Please."

Sara looked down at the pair, squatting beside Becca, rubbing her back.

"We can't. We can't. You have to know that." Sara closed her eyes. "Whatever this is, we can't stop it."

Tom gazed up at Becca, his eyes barely seeing. He looked terrified.

A low groan broke me away from Tom. From the window I could see a zombie, another, and another. They weren't moving slowly, either.

"Um," I yelled, "There's zombies out there, like multiple, like more than one old grandma!"

Sara stood up immediately, her gaze following mine. Caine stood open mouthed, staring at the zombies who were slowly surrounding the house.

"Oh shit...." Sara whispered. She turned to Becca, pulling on her arm. "Becca, Becca we have to go. Now."

"No!" she screamed. "We can't leave Tom! Help me!" she tried to pull Tom up, and he moaned in pain.

"Listen to me Becca!" Sara's voice was filled with urgency. "We have to leave. Tom is going to die, and if we don't go now, we're going to die with him."

"No! Leave me with him! I can't just let him die alone!" She buried her head in his chest, sobbing.

Sara stood there, pulling on Becca, while Caine and I watched. I felt like screaming in frustration.

"Becca," Tom whimpered, "I don't want to die."

Becca howled, her sobs sounding inhuman. "Don't worry, Thomas. I'm not going to let you. I'm right here." She held his hand as the rash spread across his neck.

"Becca, we need to go." Sara whispered, tugging lightly. She pulled Becca to her feet. Tom stared wildly up at us. Tears pooled in his eyes as he clutched his neck.

"Please, help me." He followed Sara's arm as she grabbed the pistol she had used to shoot the zombie. Becca turned. He let out a strangled cry. "Please I'm-" He didn't finish as Sara pulled the trigger and shot him.