'I want you to do it,' Troy said to Dom with a sad yet determined look on his face. We each said our goodbye's and walked away while Dom took care of Troy, I held Tessa as we walked, she was still crying hysterically. We got about ten minutes up the road before Dom joined us, Tessa let go of me and walked next to him. I think she needed to be close to some one that she had known before the outbreak, we walked in silence for the rest of the day. We were all lost in our thoughts, Troy may have been a hotheaded stubborn old man but he was still one of us.
Though as harsh as it sounded I wasn't going to miss him getting on my nerves, I felt sorry for Tessa as he was the only family she had left. I hoped that having Dom here would make her mourning a little easier though I doubted it.
We came to a small town not too far from the lab, we found a house on the edge of the town to stay for the night. We found that the windows had already been boarded up so all we had to do was secure the exits. Tessa stayed with Dom. Brooke, Delilah and I slept in one room while Frankie and Jensen shared the living room. I made a mental note that the next place we came across I would give Frankie and Jensen the bedroom. It's a good thing we were all so skinny, otherwise we wouldn't have fitted in the bed.
'Do you think Tessa will be alright?' Brooke asked as she got in the bed.
'I think it'll be rough for a while but I think she'll get through it,' I replied laying down.
'How much further till we get to the lab?' Delilah asked.
'Well providing that there are no more walker herds we should be able to get there tomorrow afternoon.'
Surely our luck couldn't be that bad as to come across that horror twice in twenty-four hours. As I lay down I couldn't help but think of Dom, he had been strong today. Not many people could kill their best friend. I hoped that Tessa would be alright. In my half-asleep state I thought about Dom and how different he was to most people we had met. For him to have lived in this world for six years and never have killed anyone was a miracle, yet there was a part of me that envied him for it. I couldn't remember how many people I had killed since all this began, I lost count after the first dozen.
Dom had a knack for making us laugh, just like Tamara I thought sadly. I couldn't help but think of Frankie's dream, while I hadn't had a chance to talk to her about it, I had my own confusing thoughts on the matter.
It wasn't hard to believe that Tamara could be alive, but then again it could just be my own wishful thinking. As I thought about it I tried to remain impartial which I had to admit was hard, Frankie's dreams had never been wrong and while I detested the thought of something like that happening to Frankie, I had to think that there was a reason for her dream. Especially after what the cannibal leader had said about them hunting that other girl, sadly we were not in a position to go and find her. All I could hope for if Tamara was still alive is that she came back to us in one piece though the guilt of not looking for her was getting to me. As I fell into a deep slumber one last image of Tamara's face flashed through my mind.
I was woken up in the morning by Frankie coming into the bedroom and shouting for us to get up.
'There's biters at the door, move, now!' She shouted. I quickly got up and put my shoes on, I grabbed my bag and knife then ran downstairs. Tessa and Dom were at the front door trying not to let them through, Brooke and I joined them while Delilah, Jensen and Frankie went out the back door to try and take the corpses out. I couldn't see exactly how many there were but there was a fair few, I could hear the others shouting outside. Their shouting caused the biters to turn and head their way, I let go of the door and ran out the back to help them.
There was seven dead heads outside, I could see that they had taken care of two of them. I grabbed one that was trying to bite Delilah and pulled it away while she stabbed it in the head, blood splattered and went all over her. I dropped that one and went to help Frankie who was being cornered by two, Tessa, Brooke and Dom came running out to help us. It took all of us to take them down, like so many we had encountered in the last few months it took a lot to kill them. They were so strong, that it used up the last of our strength to finish them off, we all slumped down in the living room feeling very tired.
Frankie had got some water and passed the large bottle around, we all took a swig. I was so thankful to still have her alive, she was wise beyond her years and fast acting in an emergency.
'Where did they come from?' I asked when I could catch my breath.
'I don't know, me and Jensen were sitting in the living room when we heard the moans,' she replied while holding Jensen's hand.
'I think we need to hurry up and get to the laboratory,' Delilah said sounding exhausted.
'You're right, I think we need to get a move on. It's getting too dangerous being out here in the open,' I replied wanting to leave. We gathered our things and made our way towards the lab, the sun was shining but it wasn't too warm. We didn't have much trouble getting to the lab, I was thankful of the beautiful, quiet scenery I saw as we walked. I loved seeing the countryside and the sight before me made me think of my home, we weren't that far away from it. Many times I had to restrain myself from asking to go back, it had been a safe haven for so long and I would give anything to go home.
We needed to get to the lab, we had to see if Finn and Faye were okay not only that Morgan said she was close to a cure. If she could develop a vaccine to the virus, it would save so many lives. I just hoped that they were alright, it had been a while since we had spoken to them.
We walked along the country road in silence, I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice when Frankie stopped dead in front of me.
We had come to a school on the outskirts of a small village called Triangle, the schools gates were reinforced, inside them appeared to be safe, but that wasn't what everyone was staring at. Positioned in a perfect line were eleven bodies, men, women and children. They had all been stabbed in the head, that was not what bothered us. It was how they were positioned almost like someone was sending a message. Next to the bodies of the people were small animals, a few rabbits, a couple of mice, also laid out in a perfect line.
'Oh my god,' whispered Brooke looking disgusted at the sight.
'Its like a graveyard,' Tessa said, looking close to tears.
'Do we have to go through it?' Jensen asked holding Frankie's hand.
'That is just sick, who would do something like this?' Delilah asked shockingly.
'The army men,' Frankie replied angrily. I took the map off Frankie and looked to see if there was an alternative route we could take, sadly the other route would add a few hours on to our journey and we had to get to the lab as soon as we could.
'Its up to all of us, we can take another route but it would mean adding hours on to our journey,' I said secretly hoping that they would want to take the other route. We debated on what to do, while I didn't want to walk through that graveyard I knew it was our best option. Frankie, Dom and Jensen thought we should go through the graveyard while Tessa, Delilah and Brooke wanted to take the other route. It came down to me I was the deciding vote, I stood thinking for a moment and decided to go through the town. We had to get to the lab quickly, and this was the fastest route.
'This has be the work of those army guys that were after Finn and Faye,' Frankie told me looking worried.
'I just can't believe they'd go this far,' I replied not knowing the answer.
'I hope they're alright,' Brooke said quietly. I hoped so too, I missed both Finn and Faye. They were brave, smart and strong kids. I'd be devastated if anything happened to them. Not only that I wanted to meet Morgan myself, though I understood why she had left her children alone; it still struck me as irresponsible for a mother to do such a thing. I tried not to be judgemental, as I had never been in her situation and given that the fate of the world rests on her shoulders, I couldn't even begin to understand how difficult it must have been.
I just hoped that we weren't too late, I remembered what Finn had said about how to get into the lab. We would
find the entrance underneath a church, we had to walk down a long white hallway until we came to a set of glass doors. Goddess please let them be safe, I prayed silently. I looked upon the faces of dead children and thought of the children I had lost, Tamara and Maggie may not have been my blood but they were still my daughters. I would give anything to see my kids again, I never knew what happened to my other two for all I knew they could still be alive but I dared not hope.
As we passed the bodies laying on the floor, I heard crying coming from inside. I looked at the others who heard it as well.
'It's coming from inside the grounds,' I said.
'It sounds like a child,' Delilah replied sadly.
We walked towards the gates and crying became louder, I called out to the voice and the crying stopped.
'It's alright we're not here to hurt you,' I told whoever it was.
'Do you promise?' Asked the child-like voice.
'I swear it, we just want to help,' I replied softly. The gates opened to reveal a little girl, she looked to be about ten years old with long ginger hair and forest green eyes, her skin was pale but freckled all over. She didn't look starving but she was quite skinny. I heard a gasp from behind me, I turned to look at Frankie who seemed to be in some kind of trance. I knew what was happening, she was having a vision.
'Don't touch her,' I told Jensen.
'She's having a vision isn't she?' Asked Tessa quietly.
'She is, while most of our premonitions happen during our sleep, some of them do come while we're awake. She'll be fine, just let her come out of it in her own time,' I answered.
I turned my attention back to the little girl, who looked so frightened it broke my heart.
'Where are your family?' I asked, fearing the answer.
'Their dead, the men killed them,' she cried.
'Were they army men?' I asked.
She nodded tearfully.
'Will you let us in, please?' I asked her once more.
'O-okay,' she mumbled sadly.
I heard another voice from behind me, Frankie was returning to reality.
'Are you alright?' I asked. 'Y-yeah, I'll erm tell you about it later,' she mumbled.
I nodded as I walked through the gates, the feeling of trepidation grew with each step I took.
'Come in here, I'll show you my room,' the little girl told us.
'What's your name?' Dom asked her.
'Annabelle,' she answered nervously.
Dom knelt down beside her, as we entered the school. 'My names Dom, this lovely lady here is Jade. That girl over there with the white blond hair is Tessa, the really tall girl is Delilah, the tiny lady is Brooke and those two are Frankie and Jensen,' he told her.
'N-nice to meet you all,' she said quietly. We all smiled as led us through the school into an old classroom. The halls were long and rather narrow, but unlike most other places the school hadn't been looted or vandalised. It was still in really good condition, with many of the children's pictures still on the walls. Annabelle's room was large and square, with all the tables and chairs having been pushed up against the walls. There was an old chalkboard on the wall, though there was nothing written on it. Overall this room felt cosy, but I detected something sinister in the air which was probably down to her family being killed. We all sat down on the floor as Annabelle told us about the men who killed her family, I felt her story pulling on my heartstrings. I looked at everyone's faces as they heard her words, most of us looked saddened or horrified but not Frankie. No, she looked suspicious, angry even. It must have had something to do with her vision.
'I'm sorry you had to live through that, but you're safe now. We're going to see some friends who live near here, you could come with us and we would protect you,' Delilah offered.
I saw the look of alarm on Frankie's face, before any of us could get another word in she piped up.
'Annabelle, why don't you show Tessa, Dom and Brooke round while the others and I map out our next move,' she said with such softness that I had thought I imagined the look of alarm on her face.
'Erm, sure come I'll show you the food I have,' Annabelle replied.
Once they left, it was just Delilah, Jensen, Frankie and I left. I didn't waste much time asking what was wrong.
'There's something wrong with the girl, the vision I had of her. We need to leave, now!' Frankie told us fearfully.
'What do you mean, tell me about the vision. What exactly happened?' I asked sounding more forceful than I meant.
'You won't like it, any of you,' she warned us. 'Don't worry babe, just tell us,' Jensen replied softly. As she told us what she'd seen, it was no wonder that Frankie was suspicious of the little girl. Frankie had seen the girl kill all of the people that were laid of front, she had also seen who the girl would kill next: me.
'So what are you saying?' Delilah asked in shock.
'We have only one option here, we have to kill her,' Frankie replied.
'What?' Delilah said in shock.
'While I know your vision is true, I will not agree to killing a child,' I told her outright.
'But Jade if we don't, you'll die,' she warned me.
'If I'm meant to die, then I will. Whatever path that girl is on, its the universes plan that we can't interfere with,' I replied sternly.
'God damn it Jade, please listen to me,' Frankie pleaded.
I shook my head refusing to agree to what she was asking.
'What about you Jensen, what's your view?' Delilah asked him.
'While I do believe in Frankie's visions I want to make sure we have other proof that this girl is guilty. If she has killed all those people, then yes she has to die,' he answered.
'Fine, I'm going to talk to Tessa, Dom and Brooke. Delilah will you come with me and distract our little serial killer?'
'Sure, no problem. But if she goes for me, I'll kill her,' Delilah replied sternly. They left while Jensen and I just sat in silence not knowing what to do, I couldn't do it, I couldn't tamper with some else's destiny like that, but on the other I wouldn't stop the others from doing what they felt was right.
Chapter 5
Frankie
'Do you really think you can kill a little girl?' Delilah asked.
'You didn't see what I saw, she's no little girl. She'll kill all of us if she gets the chance,' I replied angrily.
'Are you sure, are you one hundred percent sure that you saw her killing her family and then Jade?'
'Yes, I'm sure. Believe me I take no pleasure in this, but I promise if we don't do something we'll all be dead,' I told her sadly.
'How are you going to convince the others, I mean Jade won't change her mind I know that much? But what about Dom and Tessa, can you really see them agreeing to this?'
'I'm going to make Annabelle confess, that way they'll see I'm right,' I answered.
'Alright then, lets go.' It didn't take us long to find the others they were in what used to be the sports hall, Annabelle was giving them some sob story about how she missed playing here with all of her friends. Damn that girls good, I thought. If hadn't been for my vision, I would have been taken with her just like the others.
'Hey, how's it going?' I asked them smiling.
'Good, Annabelle was just telling us about her life before this,' Tessa smiled.
'Delilah can you keep Annabelle company for a moment, I need to talk to the others.'
'Sure thing, boss lady.'
I waited until Delilah and Annabelle had gone, I knew they would have a hard time adjusting to this news but I had to tell them.
'Look I need to talk to you two, about Annabelle and it's not going to be easy,' I told them.
'What is it?' Tessa asked worryingly. I told them about my vision, but left out the part about me thinking we should kill Annabelle. I merely told them that while I knew what I'd seen was the truth, I needed Annabelle to confess in order to know for sure. The looks on their faces made me glad I didn't tell them what I'd told the others.
'I don't like
it, but we do need to know for certain,' Dom agreed. 'Yeah, I just hope you're wrong,' was all Tessa said.
'So do I,' Brooke mumbled.
Just then Delilah and Annabelle came back into the sports hall.
'Listen I think we should all stick to the same room. I know the outside is barricaded but we're new here, we don't know the layout of the school and we've got things to discuss,' I told them softly.
'You're right, come on Annabelle we'll take you back to the classroom,' Dom said happily. Tessa gave me a funny look as if asking what was going on, I just shook my head and gestured to her to follow us back. As we walked back I listened to every lying word Annabelle said, I felt my blood boil. She knew how to play with people, how manipulate them. I loved kids, I really did, I still remember the little girl Emma that I found on my way to Jade's all that time ago. I had not known her very long, but I loved her all the same. It killed me to put her down when she died, and here was another little girl who instead of being normal was a freaking psychopath. It was so damn obvious, I hated that the others couldn't see it. Then again, Dom didn't spend much time with people and up until these last few months Tessa and Brooke had lived in Sanctuary, they were spared the horrific sights I and everyone else had seen. To them Annabelle was just a little girl who needed help, but I knew, I knew that she was just as dangerous as Nathaniel and his men.
We all sat down in the classroom, we got out what food we had and shared it between us. Annabelle grabbed her own food and while we all ate I had to think of a way to get her to confess. If she truly was a psychopath like I suspected, then she would not fear being found out for she would have no remorse.
'So Annabelle, how long have you lived here?' I asked sounding calm.
'Since it all began, my family and a bunch of others stayed here,' she replied between mouthfuls.
'And how long have you been by yourself?'
'Since yesterday morning, t-that's when they died,' she told us stammering.
'Easy Frankie, we don't need to scare the poor girl,' Dom said kindly.
Dead World Rising (Book 3): The Cure Page 5