Undead School

Chapter 5: The Zombie Walk

I awoke to Carmen trying to force water down my throat and Rae watching me, concerned. I jolted upward scaring both of them for a second. When they recovered themselves I asked, "What the hell happened?"

"You passed out from exhaustion and dehydration, I believe." Rae said. "Tell me- how much did you sleep last night, and how much water did you drink today?"

I ignored her completely and tried to get off the mat and get back to the group, but Carmen stopped me. "Answer the question, Evelyn." She said and pushed me back down on the mat.

"I didn't grab my water this morning, I didn't have time so I didn't worry about it." I mumbled and look down at my feet. "As for sleep..." I stopped, thinking about how much of a jerk Jason is.

"You can't do this to yourself if you are going to lead us, you know." Rae said and handed me a half full water bottle. I took it and thanked her before she left to go over to Will. Carmen stayed next to me.

"You didn't go out to find survivors did you." She said softly, and then took my hand in hers. "You went to find Evan." I didn't move a muscle because I knew any sort of reaction would sell me out.

"You can share these things with us. We understand..." Carmen whispered, and for once her words didn't calm me. I sat up quickly and tossed the water bottle onto the gym floor.

"You don't understand anything." I said, "My brother is missing- probably dead, and now you are all putting so much faith in me and I don't think I can live up to expectations."

Carmen put her arm around me and smiled. "Everyone is shaken up, and a lot of us have probably lost people to the apocalypse. We aren't expecting anything out of you right now. Put yourself first sometimes."

I wanted to scream, but refrained myself. I didn't want to make a scene. "You act like I've been some selfless hero. I ran off without anyone knowing just to find my brother. While everyone else was helping the group I worked for myself."

Carmen didn't say anything for a long while and then started again. "You have been overworking yourself for everyone. You brought us down here, you fought for our safety twice, not counting saving Kiera. Sometimes you need to take some time for yourself, but don't pity yourself because you think one action is selfish."

I began shaking, and after trying my best to hold in my tears, I cried. Carmen held me while I sobbed, and it felt good, because I had been trying so hard to be strong. After a while Rae came over and brought me some canned peaches for lunch, and I began to panic.

"What time is it?" I asked, wiping away the tears. Rae told me that it was 2:00 and I had been passed out for about five hours. I stood up, and this time nobody stopped me. I went over to the water filter and found Will and Drake working.

The wood that was brought back this morning was already constructed into a platform that held a tote filled with sand, dirt, and gravel. On the bottom was a tightly taped towel holding everything inside.

Thanks to the wood frame, there was enough room below the filter tote to put another tote below and fill it completely with water. "What do you think of our work?" Will asked, clearly proud of himself.

"Oh come on, Will. We already saw her gawking over it, no need to rub it in." Drake said and smiled at me, but the smile seemed strange and unfriendly. I wasn't surprised.

"No, it is great Will. I'll send Carmen out to fetch water tomorrow." I said, and completely ignored Drake, because I knew what he was trying to do. I turned to leave and only got a few steps before Drake put his hand on my shoulder and stopped me.

"Are you seriously letting Kiera stay." He said, and I turned around to face him. "Thanks to her psycho move this morning you just about got killed."