Rich Kids and Zombies [On Hold]

Chapter Seven: Promise

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E V A N

Evan Law was panicking. 

There was a never-ending roar that echoed in his ears. His palms were sweaty, his fingers wrapped around Estela's, holding on for dear life. He could feel his whole body burning as he ran through the winding aisles, not really knowing where he was going, just wanting to get away. Bile rose in his throat as the growling and snapping of the monsters behind his grew in volume. 

This was not supposed to happen.

This was supposed to be a holiday. An escape from his parents and the divorce that seemed to drag on forever. It was supposed to be an opportunity to forget, to have fun for once, to spend time with Estela away from all of the drama.

They had talked about going away for a long, long time. Estela had wanted to leave the country, but Evan's father forbid it. He could still hear the anger in his father's voice when he had suggested the idea of going to Mexico for a week. "What, so you can get drunk and get high with that Spanish whore of yours? Don't you know her kind are all gang members, anyways?"

Evan was wise enough to know when to drop a subject, and Mexico was never brought up again. Estela had shrugged when Evan relayed his father's words to her, but he could tell she was hurt, like so many others times she had been by his father."Hey, forget him. He's an asshole."  He had said, wrapping his arms around her as they sat in his car, watching the sun set. "I love you, you know that?"

Estela had smiled. He had loved that smile then, and he still loved it now. It seemed to make everything wrong with the world melt away. "I know, Evan. I know."

He felt his breath quicken in his throat as he pulled Estela closer to him. Her expression was one of fear and confusion, but also held a type of stubborn determination. He watched as she grabbed a can of corn from the shelves and tossed it, hard, at the creatures behind her. It hit one of them on the head, and bounced off with a spray of blood. The creature stumbled slightly, but kept going.

Evan turned a corner, and screeched to a stop. His heart leapt into his chest as he saw two of the three creatures coming towards them from the other end of the aisle, snapping and snarling. 

They were trapped.

He didn't think, just grabbed whatever was nearest to him, which turned out to be a non-stick frying pan. Evan let go of Estela's hand and, ignoring her cries of "Evan, wait!", leapt towards the monsters. With every ounce of strength in his body, he swung the pan, and felt his arms shake as the sound of metal striking flesh echoed in his ears.

One of the creatures stumbled back and dropped to the floor, but the other continued to advance. It used to be a man, but his human features were unrecognisable, as they had been replaced by a mess of crimson blood. He stopped, heaving, trying to catch a breath. 

Everything was happening so fast. His head hurt. His heart was pounding.

Vaguely, behind him, he registered Estela fighting against the other monster. She held a wooden cutting board in one hand and a silver carving knife in the other, and was yelling at it, taunting it. "Come at me, you bitch!" Her voice was shrill. "Just try me!"

Evan smiled, his thoughts a blur. That's my girl.

But there was no time to rest. As the remaining creature stumbled forward, Evan attacked once more. There was another crunch as he hit the creature with the pan, and then another, and then another. He saw red as the creature finally went down, but he didn't stop. He couldn't. 

He hit it, again.

And again.

And again.

The handle snapped off of the pan, but Evan barely registered it. He dropped the handle and used his fists, plummeting the monster's face. He remembered Estela's smile and the sound of her laugh, their dreams and ambitions. 

"We can still go to Mexico someday." Evan had said in the car. "One day, when I leave home, I'll drive you down there. It'll be everything we wanted it to be."

Estela had looked up at him, eyes soft and full of love. "Promise?"

"Promise."

A guttural scream tore itself from his throat as he slammed his fists into the monster's head again. There was a crack of bone, a burst of pain, and Evan finally dropped, heaving, unto the ground. Behind him, he heard the slash of a knife and another thud, and then Estela's voice piercing his ears. "Oh my god, Evan! Are you okay?"

He felt Estela's shaking hands wrap around his neck, slick with sweat, and he couldn't help himself. He burst into tears, grabbing her, holding her close, breathing for the first time in what felt like forever. 

"It's okay," she kissed him, softly, on the lips, and her voice suddenly broke. "Oh my god, we're okay."

They stayed there for a long time, holding each other tightly. As they broke away, Evan managed a small, shaky smile, and, looking back at the monster Estela had killed, whispered, "Promise me you'd keep that badassery up?"

Estela chuckled, "Promise."

They stood, Evan picking up the iron handle of the pan and slipping it into his pocket, while Estela grabbed her knife. "Now," said Evan, looking out into the crowd of monsters still milling about outside of the store. "How are we going to get out of here?"

Approximately two seconds later, the glass doors of the store shattered as a black Range Rover ploughed through the creatures and into the supermarket. Estela screamed as the window wound open, and a boy screamed, "Get in, get in!"

Evan grabbed Estela's hand as they sprinted towards the car, flinging open the door and squeezing into the backseat with two other girls. 

"Where's Veronica?" The boy yelled at them, the same time as the smaller girl started screaming, "They're coming, Nathan!"

"Veronica's dead!" Estela said, slamming the door shut. "We have to go!"

The driver looked at them, wide-eyed and frozen, until the girl with chocolate skin slapped him on the side of the head. "Drive, Nathan, goddamnit! There's nothing we can do." 

Her words seemed to shock the driver - Nathan - back to life, and Evan felt Estela grab him as the car backed out of the store, rolling over the crushed corpses of the creatures, before peeling away and onto the road. As they drove, Evan watched as the airport burned, thick tendrils of smoke blanketing the sky. 

"Oh my god," Nathan's voice was shaking, and Evan could see that he was crying. "Veronica's..." he couldn't get the last word out.

"She had a twisted ankle. When those things got in, she couldn't run. We had to leave her." Estela's voice was matter-of-fact, but Evan could feel that her hands were trembling. He closed his eyes, remembering how Veronica had latched on to Trinity, refusing to let her go, as the creatures closed in. He remembered their screams as he ran. 

He shuddered, and then opened his eyes, watching the world pass by through the windows.

"So what do we do?" The small, mousy-haired girl who sat in the far corner said.

Evan waited for an answer, but there was none.