Undead // Matty Healy // George Daniel

#3

Brodies P.O.V

Two blurs hurtle past us, knocking Ava off her feet. I spin round and raise my gun, pointing it at the short ones head. It's convenient, his height. The other's so tall my arms would ache within seconds. He shoots me a glare, my gun doesn't lower. Who do these strangers think they are? They could be bitten for all we know.

Ava stretches across the floor, reaching for her gun, clearly still winded from the fall. The tall one's leg manages to get there before her, not a surprise, they're practically longer than my whole body.

"What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Doing?" He spits, smirking a little. The short one keeps quiet, the centre of his head right behind the x on my scope. His hands slowly gravitate upwards, surrendering under my glare. The tall one's smile subsides. Ava leaps upwards and throws a mean stare through glassy eyes at the men. I know she wishes it was her father, I know she's not ready to accept he's dead. Neither am I. 

"Who are you and why are you in my house? Since when was it ok for people to just barge in? We're not giving you any food! Get OUT!" Ava began whispering harshly. She grabs the tall man by his shirt and begins physically moving him back to the door. Her height is similar to his, it's  an unspoken agreement I'd take care of this one as she puts the other in place. My fingers are still tight around the trigger. The man at the end of the barrel frowns sadly. 

"We can't go back outside, don't you know there are fucking zombies out there? We don't need food. Just let us rest." He has a calm voice, a light accent, something I can't work out. Ava's jaw tenses as she glances from one stranger to the other. 

"Didn't you hear? I said get the fuck out." Her voice wobbles but it's thick with irritation. I watch her and second guess her. She's always been protective over the house, but she's not even giving the boys a chance. Maybe they can help us, maybe they have a car.

I stare into his eyes. For a moment I'm captivated, and then I shoot him a sly smile. 

"Do you have anything? To give us? It's not like you're gonna pay rent, or are you?" 

"Brodie" Ava whispers sharply.

"How did you get here?" I brush off her comment. 

"We were drving round, looking for a place or somewhere secure. We saw the house through the trees."

I glance at Ava, her eyes still smoldering blue circles, burning into the tall boy's own. He glares back. 

"If we can use your car, whenever we need, you can stay. Only for a few days." I don't have time to lower my gun or ask the strangers their name's, Ava's hand is tight around my wrist dragging me into the kitchen area. She's holding her gun with just one hand, and I wonder where she's found the strength. 

"What the fuck was that? They're strangers."

"Strangers who have a car."

"They're no-"

"They're unarmed. They're harmless, tired kids like us. Just for a few days to use them, I promise they won't be with us for long. What if we were them? They're like, our age..."

Ava huffs but nods and clutches the gun to her chest. I follow her back out to where the boys stand. The dark haired one, the one I dealt with, stands with his head lowered, hair hanging loose all over the place and shirt material clutched between his fingers. The other, the tall guy, leans against the wall with his head thrown back. Ava clears her throat.

The both snap their heads in our direction and look at us with raised eyebrows. It's now I see how tired they look, how exhausted they are, how pale their skin is. I can't help but feel pity. When did they last eat? Was their family killed too? 

"Uh, I'm Matty, this is George, by the way." The dark haired boy gestures to himself and then his friend. I nod, opening my mouth to do to the same, but Ava cuts in.

"Ok. You can sleep in the front room tonight. We have rooms." She says, a hint of annoyance prominent in her voice. "And I sleep with a gun, so don't even try anything."  Her scowl is the last thing I see before she disappears into the hallway and leaves me alone. With these two ridiculously ill-looking strangers. 

"Um.. I'm Brodie, by the way. shes Ava..."