RU in? - 1st novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 14 .

Lily

We silently waited. Our weapons were at the ready. The pounding on the doors gradually stopped. The moans from over the house settled down. We let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Both of my parents are dead," Hunter said. "And Grant's mom. We can't give up hope that there are survivors hiding in this house. Let's find them."

He was being so brave and putting his own sorrows aside to help the rest of us. This was not helping my crush.

"Any suggestions on where to start?" Hunter asked Grant.

"That way," Grant pointed to a hallway to the left. Hunter led us as we silently crept to the hallway. We all stepped over the puddles of blood that dotted the carpet.

We came across a closed doorway. There was blood and scuff marks along the door. Hunter knocked quietly and we all held our breaths as we listened. The door opened a crack and an eye peeked through from the other side. The door opened wider and Maria's mother greeted us from the other side.

Maria pushed her way between Grant and Hunter and threw her arms around her mother's neck. She cried into her shoulder. Her mother cried silently with her and patted her head. She wasn't alone. There were three other women in the bathroom that I didn't recognize. They were dressed in a variety of costumes. All of them were too revealing for a zombie apocalypse.

There was a moan from down the hall. A zombie came into the hall and saw us. His moans grew louder and two more zombies showed up behind him. They were all bloody. Moans came from the opposite end of the hall. Three more zombies entered the hall on that end.

"Quick. Hide in here." Maria's mother pulled Maria in, but the bathroom was already crowded. Grant eagerly went into the bathroom, but while Richard and I hesitated wondering if that was the best course, Hunter stepped out in front of us and readied his hunting knife. I readied my ax and Richard readied his own knife.

When Maria saw us, she stepped back out beside me and readied her knife. The zombies at either end rushed us. We stood back to back, Hunter against my back and Richard against Maria's. When Maria's mom saw we were not going in the bathroom she charged out to stand next to her daughter with the toilet plunger in her hands. More zombies came into the hall, but I couldn't spare them a glance as the first zombie was close to me now.

I brought my ax down hard into the top of her head and she collapsed to a heap on the floor. Maria stuck her knife in the eye of the zombie in front of her even as his hands grabbed her arms. She pulled her knife out. Blood squirted from his eye as he fell at her feet.

Hunter and Richard shuffled behind us as they fought off the zombies in front of them. Hunter's back pressed into mine several times. I would have turned to see if he needed help, but Maria's mom was barely holding off the zombie in front of her with the toilet plunger. Both Maria's mom and the zombie held onto the toilet plunger. It was turned on its side and raised in front of both of their faces. The zombie's mouth opened wide and bit one of her fingers.

Maria screamed, her mom screamed as the zombie bit through the finger, chewed it and swallowed it. His head bent for another bite, but Maria stabbed it violently in the temple. Maria's mother looked in horror at the stump where her finger had just been. I grabbed her wrist and pulled it to the carpeted floor. I didn't hesitate as I chopped off the remaining stub with my ax. I just hoped I got to it in time. The ladies in the bathroom pulled her back in and immediately began to wrap her wound.

Maria still screamed as she stuck her knife into the next zombie head. I stood up ready to face the next zombie, but I froze when I saw my own mother in front of me. There was no recognition in her eyes. Her pupils glowed green. Blood dripped from the corners of her open mouth. Her teeth were covered in the red liquid. Her hands gripped my shoulders. Somewhere inside me I was aware of Maria screaming Hunter's name, but I couldn't move, couldn't think as I saw my mom's mouth get ever closer to my face.