Alone

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Alone Page 29

by Prunty, Mercedes


  “Let her go!” a girls voice commanded from behind us and I heard a click of a gun letting us know the safety wasn’t on.

  “Now this is exciting”, Hugh laughed not even hinting at letting me go, then I felt him stiffen as the girl was closer than he expected and had put the gun to his head.

  “I said let her go”, she commanded again.

  Unwillingly he let me go but in doing so he turned quickly and punched the girl in the stomach causing her to fall and setting off her gun by accident. He moved towering above her pointing his gun down at her, “I’ll kill you for trying to stop me”.

  I took my chance and jumped up running for my rifle, it was only a few steps away from me just on the inside of the shop upon reaching it I spun and took aim at his head but I couldn’t shoot as he had picked her up with his gun to her head meaning I might hit her, “Get away from her”, and now I clicked my rifle ready walking strong and steady towards them.

  He laughed again but this time it sounded unsure, he stood and turned to face me and now I could see the girl was the same one from my sisters apartment, but why was she here she should be with her child? “So the two of you think you can take me on do you?”

  “We don’t need to take you on Hugh, we just need to kill you”, and with that I shot him, firstly in the leg so he couldn’t run then I took aim on his head

  “No! Wait”, he pleaded hissing at the pain that was roaring through his leg, blood was spewing all over his hands that he had clasped around it tightly to try and stem the bleeding.

  “Sorry your times up mate”, I said flatly and shot him in the head, he fell back with a wet thud. I would so have to tell Amanda and Monique when I got back that he was gone. Leaning down I retrieved my penknife and wiped the handle to rid it of his touch.

  The girl stood her hair flowing down her shoulders, “You need to come with me, Tanya is hurt!”

  My heart stopped, “How badly?”

  “I’m not sure but she didn’t look too good”, she replied.

  Snatching up mine and Callum’s things from the shop I turned following her, we ran out of the big top and into the blood covered street. Bodies and blood had been torn apart and sprayed everywhere but lucky for us it seemed to be that the worst of the fight was over and either most or all the creatures were dead or gone. Running as fast as we could we were back at the apartment in no time and the girl knocked on the door waiting for us to be let in but there was no reply.

  “Tanya it’s me and Stacie”, the girl Chantelle cried out but still no reply.

  She turned to me with wide eyes, I began kicking and smashing the door until it gave way and we stumbled into the apartment, the child was crying from the bedroom where Chantelle ran in to find he had been placed in his cot.

  “Tanya it’s me Stacie”, I cried out.

  A muffled cry came from the bathroom, we both ran in to find Tanya slumped over the toilet being sick, her skin looked a little green and blood had pooled on the floor from a wound on her arm.

  “Oh my god!” I said rushing to her but she held her arm out to stop me.

  “Don’t come to close, I’m infected!” she cried.

  My whole world came crashing down around me, infected how? “What happened?” I asked her.

  “A creature came at me at the top of some stairs, I thought I just fell and cut my arm on something sharp but on closer inspection it bit me before I fell and because I broke my rib that hurts more and I got confused”, she said.

  “It’s fine I have a cure”, I smiled grabbing my bag and looking inside it but it was gone, the box was gone! “It’s not there”.

  “Stacie this is no time for games I need you to listen”, she said.

  “This isn’t a game I had a cure, I stole it from a doctor at a hospital”, I cried out.

  She just looked at me, “Stacie there is no cure”.

  “No there is, this mad doctor found one, I had it but it’s gone”, I said feeling the panic crash through me, “Who took it?”

  “I did!” a male voice sounded out behind me, turning we all looked to find Danny standing at the bedroom door with Chantelle’s child in his arms, somehow he had snuck in and took him. The look on his face was hurt but angry, “You left our son with her whilst you went out killing our own people Bee!” He pointed to Chantelle.

  Tanya looked saddened by something, a flash of guilt and betrayal crossed her features, “I had to find Stacie”, she whispered.

  “What about me? Did you think to look for me the father of your son?” he asked her, then it dawned on me. When she said earlier she couldn’t leave it was because she had a child not because she didn’t really want to leave.

  “Look do we have to do this now?” I asked him, “She needs the cure I need it back now”.

  He just looked at me and ignored what I said, “You didn’t even think about me did you? All you wanted to do was find your precious sister, the one who has caused all of this, caused you to get bitten”.

  I shook my head, “No it wasn’t I didn’t let the creatures in”.

  “Then explain how they made it through our barricades? You were evil enough to take out Craig when he was harmless and now your sister, the one who kept you safe all that time ago is hurt”, he sneered.

  “Harmless? I wouldn’t call him that! He was going to rape me and maybe kill me turning me into one of his demented dolls”, I said, I looked over to Tanya and I could see she was too tired for this, “Tanya please believe me I would never do anything to hurt you”.

  In her eyes I could tell she knew I was telling the truth but for the sake of her son she made out to Danny she had sided with him, “It does seem a little coincidental you turn up and this happens Stacie”.

  Danny looked pleased that the poor woman he had hounded for so long was siding with him and not her long lost sibling, “Looks like you lose”.

  “No you will be the one to lose if you don’t give her the cure, the mother of your child will die unless you go and get it”, I snapped at him.

  My words did nothing to him, he didn’t flinch or anything, “Then so be it if it means stopping you from having her”.

  I heard Tanya sigh out in pain from her wounds and his words.

  “You can’t mean that? She gave you a child, who’s going to look after him when you’re trying to sort your people out?” I asked him.

  “Chantelle of course, she has practically raised my son anyway. Yes Tanya gave birth to him but she wanted to be the Queen of all this”, his hands swept the room meaning to show their holding ground, “So she took a back seat from him, made this young girl become his surrogate mother, if she’s gone it’s no big loss to me”.

  “So Chantelle you’re the one that really cares for him?” I asked her.

  She nodded not knowing what else to do.

  “Then take the child so we can discuss what to do now”, I said to her.

  She looked at Danny, “What is there to discuss?” he asked me.

  “About what we do about me and my sister, I mean I’m sure you won’t want me running round in your smaller group. I’m too much trouble for you and well Tanya you will need to dispose of her one way or another so we need to do this but not in front of your child”, I replied.

  “Well you certainly don’t sound like the sweet little sister I thought you would be”, he snarled.

  “She’s changed and so have I”, I said pointing to my sister, hoping he would fall for this.

  “Shame I think we could have used someone like you in the guns”, he smiled passing the little boy over to Chantelle.

  Before he could do anything I lunged forward using my gun like a bat which I had become quite good at doing now, this did take him by surprise making him stumble over some broken bits of furniture, “Run, get to the big tent we’ll meet you there”, I shouted to Chantelle who quickly snatched up a bag and a small teddy which looked vaguely familiar. It was the teddy Tanya had waited to grab back at the old farmhouse before Danny took her.

>   Danny tried to grab her as she fled but I jumped on top of him punching him in the face but my tiny fists didn’t do much damage it just infuriated him. He threw me off punching me in the stomach and winding me, he then turned the tables jumping on me and landing a blow to my head, I saw stars in my vision and felt the darkness trying to pull at me.

  “Stop it!” Tanya called out trying to stand but she was too weak and fell down to her knees with a hard crunch.

  Danny paused momentarily as he watched the woman he almost loved struggle to get to us, with him slightly distracted I flicked out the pen knife and stabbed it into his gut. He flew off me immediately clenching his stomach in pain, I took no chances and lifted Tanya to her feet racing as fast as we could out of the door. Her steps where heavy and pained and with every step down the stair case she almost fell taking me with her but I held my ground keeping her upright. We were only half way down when Danny came storming out the apartment screaming for my blood, his rage was not that of the infection but that of anger that me turning up had turned his whole world upside down.

  I tried my hardest to try and get Tanya to move faster down the stairs but it wasn’t happening she was too weak, I stopped her and made her lean against a wall. He was rushing down when I took aim, I let the shot ring out and it just missed him by a hairs breath, he jumped the last few steps aiming for me so I moved at the last second and as he landed I swiped the gun round bashing him in the head. He didn’t take long to recover and jumped at me knocking me over the railing off the middle floor, the fall wasn’t that far down and luckily I landed in a bush. A few twigs dug into my skin which stung but I had no time to look at them as he was jumping from the railing to where I lay, I rolled out of the way just as his feet crashed into where I had been a few milliseconds before.

  I got up and tried to run at the same time hoping to get some distance between me and him but I could hear his heavy steps rushing behind mine and I knew he was fast. Looking up I spotted my reflection in one of the apartment windows and I could just make out his behind me, he was getting closer. Running straight to the window I slowed letting him catch up just as he did I used the reflection so I knew when to move, I saw his arms reached for me and I dropped down, he didn’t have time to register my movement so he kept going falling over me, then as he fell I stood using my body to throw his weight against him and he crashed into the window.

  I stood from my kneeling position slowly and edged towards the window that he had just fallen through, I kept my gun aimed just in case he tried to make any sudden movements. Leaning over I saw that he hadn’t stayed down long and that he had already moved and was hiding in the darkness. I noticed though that he must be wounded as the shattered glass was covered in fresh blood.

  “Danny look we can stop this. If you just tell me where the cure is then I can give it to Tanya no one has to die”, I spoke still peering in trying to find him.

  I heard him laugh from somewhere inside, “Why don’t you come and get it”.

  “I’m not stupid Danny I’m not walking in there for you. You can come out to me”, I replied.

  He didn’t reply which made me wonder what he was planning in there but before I had time to think I spotted a shimmer of light coming right at me, spinning out the way I watched as a large shard of glass which had broken from the window came flying at me and smashed noisily on the ground. Not bothering to look to aim I shoved the gun inside and shot out a few rounds, I heard him cry out in shock then from the flash of the round I spotted him running for cover behind a chest of drawers. I jumped into the room and headed for him keeping the gun aimed at the drawers.

  “Just give me the cure Danny”, I demanded, “Or I’ll shoot”.

  “I’m not stupid either girly you think I’m going to hand it over for you to just shoot me anyway?” he said.

  I stayed silent he had a point, would I hand something over if I knew I was going to die anyway?

  A scream caught my attention, a scream I recognised even though I hadn’t heard it for a long time, Tanya! I leapt out of the flat leaving Danny to his own devices, looking up to the stairs where I left her I expected to see her but she wasn’t there, instead she had crawled down to the bottom of the stairs where a creature now had a hold of her, it’s teeth had torn into her flesh on her shoulder tearing chunks of meat from her.

  “NOOO!” I screamed not wasting a second I took aim and shot the creature in the head just a few centimetres from hers. It’s head exploded on impacted and it fell to her feet in a crumpled bloody mess. Running to her I just caught her as she fell next to it.

  She coughed hard and brought up blood, “Stacie…You have to find Cain…you have to look after my son!”

  “No you’re going to be fine”, I hoped, “Does Danny have a room like an office or base where he would have kept the cure?” I asked her.

  She shook her head, “He’s lying he doesn’t have your cure”.

  “He must have it was in my bag before I came and now it’s gone, please Tanya it could save you”, I pleaded.

  “She’s right I don’t have your cure”, Danny said from behind me, I had almost forgotten about him.

  “Lair!” I shouted shoving him as he came close to us.

  “I don’t have it, I lied to you because I wanted you to feel like crap, I wanted you to feel like shit because you were going to lose your sister”, he snapped.

  “Danny”, she wheezed beside us, “Please stop all this, help my sister and find our son and live a better life. You don’t have to live like this anymore, like an arsehole you could be just normal. She can help you be normal, Cain can help you be normal”.

  “You know I can’t live like that”, he said.

  “Why not?” she asked him.

  “Because of the others, who will keep them in check?” he asked.

  “They are all dead now anyway, can’t you just try? For me?” she asked him.

  He shook his head, “No, I’ve done too much to change, people would never accept me”.

  “I accepted you and so can other people…Argh”, she coughed again spluttering more blood, it dribbled down her chin and began to spread like wildfire over her top.

  “You were different, you loved me or at least I thought you did”, he said his voice actually sounded soft with her, like someone different was hiding underneath.

  “I do”, she replied.

  “But I wasn’t the person you came looking for it was her”, he sounded really hurt.

  “Because I know you can look after yourself”, she replied.

  “Oh right and she can’t?” he said, “Look at you how hurt you are this is all her doing, she let the creatures in. She can take care of herself”.

  “Tanya it wasn’t me”, I said again like I had earlier.

  She nodded, “I know it wasn’t you. You came here to save me not hurt me and I can see that if you could have it your way you wouldn’t hurt anyone else either, whether they are good or bad”.

  “Yeah right”, he snapped.

  “If she was this person you have made her out to be then you would be dead already Danny”, Tanya said to him.

  “What?” he said.

  “Look how her aim was shooting that creature that was eating me, she didn’t hesitate she just shot even though I was so close. She is just as deadly as you when she wants to be but she doesn’t choose to use it against people she chooses to use it to help people”, she replied to him.

  He looked me up and down but I think he saw what she said made sense.

  Suddenly Tanya’s eyes rolled back in her head and she started seizing, she fitted violently as the virus worked its way through her body. She began to foam at the mouth and arched her back as it tried to break free and become her. After a moment she stopped staring up at us both breathless and weak.

  “Promise me you don’t have the cure”, I said to him.

  “I promise I don’t have it, I wish I did because I would want to save her. I know you think I’m a bastard, a monster but
I do really care about her”, he said and I could see in his eyes he was telling the truth but the truth hurt as it meant we couldn’t give her the cure and I couldn’t save her. But if he didn’t have it then who did?

  “Help me get her somewhere more comfortable”, I said to him.

  He nodded and picked her up in his arms and carried her back up to the apartment, inside he lay her down on the bed, she was shivering where the fever was taking a strong hold on her but she was conscious and no longer fitting.

  “Danny please help Stacie to find Cain and Chantelle, help them out of here no matter what ok. I love you”, she told him.

  “Ok”.

  I looked at him to see he was welling up the monster really did have a heart. She then turned to me, “Stacie I need you to help Danny look after Cain to bring him up and keep him safe, don’t ever let him forget me”, a lone tear ran down her cheek, “I never got to say goodbye to… h…im”.

  “I will, I promise”, but the sound of her heart breaking was too much for me and I stood and turned away as a few tears flooded my cheeks.

  “Tanya”, I heard him whisper and I knew she was turning, I could hear her growl as I turned.

  She stood up as if her body hadn’t been weakened by wounds and blood loss, her eyes had changed from their normal pretty hue to a menacing rage filled view, she jumped him snapping her jaws in his face like some caged animal.

  “Tanya stop”, he cried out but I knew she was gone she wouldn’t hear him now, I watched as she clawed at him, ripped her nails into his arms. It was surprising how strong people became when they turned, I mean normally she would have been no match for him but now as I looked on he was no match for her. He looked over to me I could see it in his eyes he expected me to help him, he expected me to get her off him, “Do something!”

  “Why?” I asked him, “So you can kill me once I get her off you?”

  His eyes dawned on what I was saying, he knew that I thought once she was gone that he wouldn’t need to keep his promise to her about helping me, it wasn’t in his nature to be so…human. He could now see that I was going to let him die so I could go and find Cain and Chantelle and save them myself and look after them. I didn’t need him and in my eyes if it wasn’t for him none of this would have happened me and Tanya might even still be at the farm with Linda, Arnold and my dad with the other survivors. He came and took them and everything that was good in my life and even now as my sister had become one of the monsters this had been his doing because she wouldn’t have been here she would have been with me.

 

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