Rich Kids and Zombies [On Hold]

Chapter Six: In the Distance

[Banner made by heroesandcons]

~

Z A I R A

Zaira sat with her legs crossed on a soft velvet sofa. To her right, Nathan paced relentlessly, running a hand through his hair with nervous gusto. To her left, Aubrey lay curled up in a ball, not making a sound besides the occasional sniffle.

Outside, the creatures still roamed. They had probably destroyed her Mercedes by now, which left her without any way to return to her home. Her attempts to call Stella on the satellite phones were fruitless, and as the minutes ticked by, she began to find herself getting closer to her breaking point.

"This is such crap, man," Nathan muttered, stopping his pacing for once and rubbing his temples, "We can't just stay here. Veronica needs my help."

"Well, good luck getting to the airport with those things roaming around." With a little detective work using an old directory in Veronica's house, they had managed to find that she was most likely stuck in a Chinese supermarket next to the airport. Not like we'll get to her anyways.

"So what do you want me to do?!" Nathan whirled around, his eyes suddenly blazing. His voice was so sharp and full of anger that even Aubrey stirred from her comatose state, sitting up and staring at him with wide eyes. "Just stay here? Just stay here and let her die?!"

"Then go out and save her, then!" Zaira suddenly found herself on her feet, her palms balled into fists and her volume matching Nathan's. "I'm telling the goddamned truth, so if you want to go out and die, then go right ahead. I don't care."

"Of course you don't." Nathan stormed closer to her, until their faces were inches apart. "You don't care if Veronica dies. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

Zaira slapped him.

The sound of flesh striking flesh plunged the room into absolute silence. Nathan stumbled back, stunned. Aubrey stared at the two of them, mouth agape.

Zaira felt the flames of anger burn through her veins. "How dare you," she whispered. Her voice was icy cold. She could feel her hands beginning to shake. "How dare you even say that, when I left my house, on my own, and saved Aubrey. How dare you say, to my face, that I don't care?" 

She looked back at Aubrey, who was frozen in her position. The sight of the frightened girl's face triggered something inside her, and she let her hands fall back to her sides. 

"I'm sorry." The anger was gone, replaced by a wave of shame. She hadn't lost her temper like that in a long, long time. "I just - I can't..." Her voice trailed off, and she collapsed back onto the couch, suddenly exhausted.

Aubrey moved closer to her, and before she knew it, her body was being engulfed by thin, cold arms as Aubrey gave her a hug. Zaira couldn't help it - she smiled, and gave Aubrey a pat on the head. "Thanks, kid."

"Listen, Zaira," Nathan's voice cut short Aubrey and Zaira's embrace. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to, y'know, get mad like that. I don't usually do that."

"It's fine. And I'm sorry I hit you," Zaira replied. She couldn't help but laugh as she mimicked his line, "I don't usually do that either."

Nathan laughed back, and for the briefest of moments, Zaira forgot about Veronica, about Stella, her family, or that the whole world was dying. Her brown eyes connected with Nathan's hazel ones, and she felt her heartbeat quicken, only slightly. 

Before Zaira could say a word, though, the moment was already over. Aubrey was standing for the first time and Nathan had resumed his pacing.

"Listen, I think I know a way we can get to the supermarket. Veronica has a whole bunch of cars here. If we take a sturdy one, like a Jeep or Range Rover, we might be able to plough through those bastards and get onto the road. We can use a GPS to get there." Nathan looked at Zaira and Aubrey, his eyes suddenly eager. "Guys, you've gotta trust me here. We just step on the accelerator, and go."