The Secret Of The Moonlight

Chapter-14

It was late at night. We had set our camp at the school. I hadn't seen Harry or any of his friends . Ana had told me that all that all of them were busy planning the journey. I still wasn't sure how had their group formed but I felt like i could trust them.

I yawned, feeling pretty tired and headed to the classroom where we had set up sleeping bags. Ana and Bria were sharing the room with me.

I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes, moonlight was shining through the windows. I sat up and massaged my aching neck. I glanced at Ana who was still sleeping soundly. However, Bria's bed was empty.

My throat felt really dry so I decided to go and have a drink at the water cooler. Walking out of the room, I thought about Tess. My heart nearly stopped at the thought of something happening to her. I told myself to quit thinking this way. Mom and Dad were with her, there was nothing to worry about. And yet, I couldn't shake off my fear, every horrible possibility nagged at me.

I saw the light shining out from a door in the corridor. On impulse , I reached out and pushed it open. And froze.

Inside, two people were making out, their bodies pressed hard against each other as they kissed . I recognized Bria's long blonde hair. And a mop of untidy black hair. Axel's hair. Closing the door, I staggered back. They didn't even see me. My mind blanked out.

I was in shock. Leaning back against the wall, I finally let tears slip out. It felt like my heart had broken into little pieces. It hurt. It hurt a lot. I stood there and cried until I felt numb.

Finally, when I felt I couldn't cry anymore, I managed to pull myself together enough to start moving again.

                                 ***

As soon as I opened the tap, water spurted out at top speed. I was about to thrust my hands into it, when I stopped myself. Something wasn't feeling right. A sour smell hung in the air. I leaned in closer to the water. It smelled foul, like something had decayed in it.

I took a step back and slipped into a puddle of water I hadn't noticed before. I stumbled and my elbow crashed into the cooler. A terrible pain erupted in my elbow causing me to grit my teeth hard. Somehow I managed to stand up by gripping the sides of the cooler.

Suddenly something fell with a crash and I jumped.
I looked around and wished I hadn't for on the floor was a corpse. A still recognizable corpse. It was Mr Kinsley, my maths teacher.

I let out a strangled scream and backed away, my heart beating fast. I wanted to look away from the body, but I couldn't. His body hadn't yet completely decomposed and a foul smell was emnating from his body. His lifeless body was sprawled on the floor, a sight which would haunt my nightmares.

I had been so consumed watching the body that I nearly failed to recognize the growl coming from behind me. The hair on the back of my neck prickled.
Turning around I saw a mottled man standing behind me. I froze.

I had no weapon with me so I couldn't fight him. And my elbow stung like crazy. The only sensible option was to run. But the man was blocking my path.
I sat down on the ground. The man came towards me, saliva dripping from his mouth. As soon as he came near me, I sprang up and pushed him as hard as I could. He fell and I jumped over him and ran. He howled and gave chase, but I soon managed to shake him off.

I was shaken. I had managed to outwit the man but only barely. something told me it wouldn't be easy to pull off this stunt again. I had struggled to escape from him and he had looked less mottled than the men I had seen before, and not as strong.

I hurried back to the classroom. Ana had woken up and had repacked our bags.

"Oh you are okay! I was so worried." she said,hugging me.

"I packed your bags. There has been another zombie attack. Eveyone is looking for you."

"Is anyone hurt?"I asked her.

Her expression darkened.

" One of Harry's friends has been bitten. We are hitting the road again tonight."