“Faith!” I heard Ryan calling.
“Oh my god you’re safe!” I heard Dominika cry. She ran over, but stopped suddenly, right in front of him. “Oh my god, no please fucking no.” I heard her say.
“What is it?” I asked, running over. At first, it looked like a misshapen mass, but as I got closer, I realized it was Harley, burned and badly wounded. “HARLEY! OH MY GOD!” I heard people running over, but I didn’t care. I needed to make sure he was okay. I heard screaming; probably Dusk; but I didn’t lose focus. I placed my hand over his throat and on his chest, both places which had no burns. “Ryan, don’t move, don’t even breathe. He stood perfectly still, and I could feel a slight tremor at his throat, and the faint rise and fall of his chest. “He’s alive.” I said. “He’s alive, but needs first aid.” I looked at Ryan. “Good job, you rescued him.” A thought occurred to me.”Where’s Amy?” I asked Ryan. He wordlessly pointed back to an area behind him. “Dusk, Eli, come with me. Everyone else, stay here.” We ran over, and saw-we saw something that I swear, till the day I die, I will never forget. We saw Amy, lying in a pool of her own blood. She had a chunk missing from her leg, and had several gunshot wounds to the torso.
“Oh. My. GOD!” Dusk cried. I felt tears in my eyes, and I leaned unsteadily into Eli’s chest. I felt him put his strong arms around me, and felt him burying his head in my hair.
“Oh no, Amy…” I whimpered sadly. “She’s-she’s gone.” I was reluctant to do so, but I pulled myself from Eli’s grasp. He held onto my hand though, and we both approached Amy’s motionless body with caution.
“I need to see if she’s gonna… You know.” I said to Eli. He nodded his face unnaturally white. I leaned towards him, kissed him, and then turned back to Amy, pulling a short knife from my belt.
“Babe.” Eli said, “Look.” He was pointing to her hand. A pistol-Harley’s pistol, to be exact, was loosely in her hand- and then we saw it. The hole in the side of her head.
“NO!” I shouted, burying my head in Eli’s chest, even as I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks. “NO NO NO!”
One and a half hours later
We made it to the Middle School. We had to move really slow, because Harley was really badly wounded, and could not be moved too much. We had to leave Amy on the highway, because no one was strong enough to carry her all the way here. After entering, Harley was rushed to the nurse’s office. During her time here, Phoenix managed to get an IV in here, so we hooked him up to that. I heard it was difficult to lie him down comfortably, because they had to lie him on his stomach, instead of his back. When I last checked, Phoenix and Lance (National Guard Medic and an EMT, respectively) were working on his wounds. Eli had his cut cleaned and bandaged, and so did Christina and Dusk. I looked around, and I saw that everyone seemed okay, so I finally sat down. “Amy… Harley…” I thought to myself. I could feel myself tearing up, and I decided to not hold it back anymore. I let the tears flow; flow right over my cheeks and onto the ground. “I can’t…” I whispered. “I just can’t…”
I felt someone sit down beside me, and put their arms around me. It was Eli.
“It’s alright babe.” he whispered, stroking my hair, “It’s alright.” I leaned against him, still crying. We sat there for a few minutes, until I heard someone shouting.
“IT’S YOUR FAULT! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HIM!” Christina shouted.
“I did my best!” Ryan yelled back.
“Oh, did you?” We heard the sound of flesh smacking flesh, she must’ve hit him. “Then why is it, that HE’S LYING THERE, DYING, ON A BED, AND YOU ARE HERE, PERFECTLY FINE!?” she roared back.
“Whoa whoa, put that down!” he yelled, sounding panicked.
We ran over, and we saw Ryan being backed up against the wall by Christina, who was holding Harley’s favorite weapon, his Colt, up to Ryan’s stomach.
“Christina! Don’t!” shouted Dusk. We saw her pull the hammer of the weapon back.
“YOU ESCAPED THE FIGHT WITHOUT INJURY! YOU WILL NOT LEAVE HERE WITHOUT IT!” Christina roared.
“No! Don’t!” I yelled, running towards her.
“BANG!” the gun went off as she pulled the trigger, shooting him in the stomach. He collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. Behind me, I could hear a motor revving, and Dominika shouting.
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” Figuring she was going to punch Christina, I moved out of the way. What actually happened shocked me. Dominika, holding a chainsaw, charged forward, and slammed it onto Christina’s head, spraying blood and chunks of brain everywhere. We all stared, shocked. Dominika continued to move the weapon until Christina’s head was cut clean in half. She lifted her weapon, and shut the motor down by pulling the mouthpiece out (Wait, that was her Trombone?) and she swung it across her back. “Help me here!” she shouted, putting one of Ryan’s arms around her. Jade stepped forward, and she helped Dominika carry Ryan to the “Medical Bay.” I stared at the lifeless body on the floor.
Eli stepped forward, and said, “Help me.” Jon and Dusk stepped forward, and helped him carry Christina outside to be buried.
I stood there, alone. Harley and Ryan were wounded, Amy and Christina were dead. Phoenix and Lance were desperately fighting to save Harley, and no doubt Dominika and Jade were doing the same for Ryan. Dusk, Jon, and Eli were outside, and I was standing here, useless, staring at the brain tissue on the ground. With a sob, I fled to the girls’ bathroom, seeking solitude.
About an Hour later
“Fay?” someone called. I lifted my head off of my knees. “Faith?” I recognized the voice. It was Eli.
“I’m in here.” I called shakily. He entered, and looked at me. I was sitting in the corner, with my knees tucked against my chest. Undoubtedly my face was red too, from all of the crying.
He wordlessly sat down next to me, hugged me, and began to stroke my hair. “We buried her outside.”
“Why did she shoot him?” I asked. “She was always so fucking stubborn when it came to Harley, but why did she have to go all fanatical? Why couldn’t she believe that Ryan couldn’t do anything else?”
I felt him shake his head. “You know the answer, Fay. She couldn’t process that Harley was injured, and Ryan wasn’t.”
I sobbed. “Faith.” he said, lifting my chin up so he could see my face. “It’s all going to be okay.” With that, he kissed me, and, as I kissed him back, I hoped. I hoped that everything would be okay. I hope that my Eli would be safe, because if something happened to him, I don’t know what I would do with myself. And as I felt his arms wrap around my middle, I knew. I knew that if someone hurt him, I would hurt them. They would not live to see another day, and once I avenged him, I would join him in Heaven. Why? Because no one touches him.
No.
One.
Touches.
My.
Eli.
HARLEY’S POV
I woke with a burning pain on my back, and a searing, throbbing pain in my leg.
“Where am I?” I asked weakly.
“He’s awake!” I heard Phoenix cry. I heard footsteps running towards me. “Oh my god I thought I was going to lose you!” I could hear her voice shaking.
“What happened to me?” I asked. “Last thing I remember was shoving Ryan, and jumping forward as a rocket came towards us. After that, just darkness and pain. Where am I? And is Ryan okay?”
“Ryan is alright, just worried about you. You have burns all over your back, and a large piece of debris from the explosion impaled you in the upper thigh. As for what happened, it seems that, while you were able to push Ryan away, you were affected by the extreme heat from the explosion.” She said. “Oh, and you are in the nurse’s office in the Middle School.”
“Oh okay. Was anyone else injured?”
“I’m not going to-”
I interrupted her. “Phoenix, these people have been under my charge for two months. Please, tell me what how they are.”
She sighed, and someone from my other side spoke.
“Oh hey, I didn’t notice you there.” I said.
“That’s alright bro. Now, Jon, Jade, Faith, and Dominika were unharmed also. Eli was grazed in the leg by a bullet, and Christina and Dusk have cuts on their arms. Otherwise, they are unharmed.”
I did a quick head count. “Okay and what about Amy?” My question was greeted by silence. “Guys, what about Amy?”
It was Phoenix who spoke. “Lance, get the hyoscine ready.” She waited for him to stop moving beside me before she spoke again. “Harley, Amy died. It seems she was bitten by the dead, and then was shot. She ended her own life with a Colt 1911 model pistol.”
I got quiet, and whispered, “That’s mine.”
“What?” Phoenix asked.
I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. “The Colt? It’s my gun.” Phoenix and Lance stood there, quiet. That’s when we heard the shouting.
“IT’S YOUR FAULT! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HIM!” Christina shouted.
“Oh no.” I said. I started struggling to get out.
“Harley! Stop!” Phoenix cried. “You are going to hurt yourself even more!”
“-HE’S LYING THERE, DYING, ON A BED, AND YOU ARE HERE, PERFECTLY FINE!?” Christina roared.
“I need to stop that!” I cried, struggling.
“Hold him down!” Lance yelled.
“YOU ESCAPED THE FIGHT WITHOUT INJURY! YOU WILL NOT LEAVE HERE WITHOUT IT!” Christina roared.
Phoenix grabbed my arm, and Lance injected me with something.
“A-a sedative.” I croaked, as my vision dimmed. I only heard one more thing before passing out.
“BANG!”
DUSK’S POV
My name is Dusk Jablonski. And I am burying a friend.
“Alright,” said Eli. “It’s done.” We look at the freshly buried grave, where we had just buried Christina. I walked up to the wall, and I carved ‘CHRISTINA LIGHT KOORBS’ into the wall above her.
“That makes three.” I thought. “Steven, Amy, and Christina.” I felt someone place their arm around me. I looked up and saw Eli.
“You alright?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “I told her that the obsession over Harley would be the end of her. I didn’t mean it literally though.
He shook his head. “We all tried to help her.”
I sighed. “Go check on Faith.” We walked inside. I sat down in front of the nurse’s office, and waited for news about Ryan and Harley. I just-waited. All of my training, and I still was not prepared for the emotional despair that I was feeling. “Basic Training didn’t warn me about this.” I thought.
“Where are they?!” I thought, panicking. I was with Amy and Jon, looking for Harley and his little brother, Steven. “Harley!” I yelled. “Steven! HARLEY!”
“There!” shouted Amy, pointing at a bloody mass on the ground. “Oh no…” she said, realizing what she was saying.
I ran over, swinging my M16 across my back and pulling out my Luger pistol. I knelt beside him, rolled him onto his back, and felt for a pulse. “He’s alive!” I called.
“That’s good. Where’s Steven?” said Jon.
“I’ll ask Harley.” I responded. I began shaking him, saying, “Harley! Get up!”
After a few minutes, I felt him move. “How am I not dead?” He asked me weakly. He looked up at us. “There was a horde…”
“You are covered in blood and zombie guts.” I said “They probably thought you were one of them. Where’s Steven?”
He sat up, and slowly pointed to the body next to him, crying. “Oh no, please no.” I thought. Now, I had no personal connection to Steven, but he was Harley’s last living family member.
“Oh no, that isn’t-” Jon broke off, clearly horrified at what he was seeing. I stood; shocked for a minute, but I could tell Harley needed help. I hugged him.
“Oh Harley I’m so sorry.” I said. “But you need to get up.” He shook his head, refusing. “C’mon man. Get up, please.”
“I just want to die.” He said. “I have nothing left, No family. No home. Nothing.”
Seeing how he had several weapons on him, I needed to convince him otherwise, and quick. “Harley, get up. You do have something to live for. You have us. We are your family, and we depend on you, just as you depend on us. You are our leader man. We need you.” I said, as I carefully took his Colt out of its holster.
“Yeah man, we are here for you.” Amy said. I couldn’t see Jon, but I figured he wasn’t speaking out of horror. Steven was his best friend, after all. Harley still didn’t move though.
Frustrated, I stood up. “Harley Fucking Martinez. Get your ass of the ground.” He looked at me, surprised. Nicer this time, I said “My family is gone, too. But I have you guys. We all love you man.” I stretched my arm out to him. “Get up, please.” He looked at me for a few seconds, and, grasping my arm, he stood. “That’s it dude.”
He looked at me, and then he turned, picked up Steven’s sniper and strapped it across his back. He then picked up his M16 and was about to pick up Steven when Jon stepped forward, swinging his rifle over his back, knelt, and picked Steven up.
Harley looked at Jon. “Thank you.” Jon nodded. Harley turned to me and stretched out his hand. “My Colt, please.” I looked at him, and he sighed. “The holster moves when you take the gun out.” He half smiled. “I appreciate what you were doing Dusk. Thank you. But I’m good now. Besides, if I was going to kill myself, I would use the rifles I have. So please my gun.” I handed him the Colt, and he holstered it. “Thank you.”
“Anytime” I said. “Come on, let’s go home.”
I woke up, and looked around. “I must have dozed off.” I thought. I looked to the side, and jumped. Jade was sitting there, staring at me.
“Hey.” She said.
“Stop that! That’s creepy!” I said. She laughed, and I shook my head. “How long was I asleep?”
“About an hour and a half.”
“Shoot! Where are the others?”
“Faith and Eli are in the bathroom. Mika is in the nurse with Phoenix and Lance. Jon is resting in the bubble.”
“Any news on Ryan or Harley?”
She shook her head. “No.”
I sighed. We sat there in silence for a little while, until Dominika walked out.
“Guys.” she said. “We have a problem.”
“What is it?” I asked, standing up.
“We are out of the Aloe-Vera gel.” she said.
“And?” questioned Jade.
“The Aloe-Vera is what we were using on Harley’s back!” Dominika angrily shouted.
“Oh shit.” I said. “What do we do?”
“You two need to go to Rite-Aid. Do not stop, anywhere else.”
“We can get reinforcements though!” exclaimed Jade.
“Yes, and in that time, Harley will be in extreme pain!” Dominika yelled. “Just grab your gear, and get your asses to Rite-Aid and back as quickly as possible.”
I stood. “Alright, you can count on us!” We grabbed our rifles, and left as quickly as possible.
At Rite-Aid
We ran to Rite-Aid as quick as we could. It took us about 15 minutes.
“Okay where is it?” I wondered aloud.
“Here!” called Jade.
“Alright, grab as many as you can!” I called back. “I’ll keep watch!” I was standing by the doors, looking outside, when I heard a loud thump. “Jade?” I called. I crept over to where Jade was, and I saw her there, unconscious. I heard a something moving behind me, and I spun around, lifting my rifle. I saw a flash of brown, and felt something slam into my temple. There was an explosion of white in my eyes, and then I fell to the floor.
KEN’S POV
My name is Kenneth Ramos. And I am getting worried.
“Elmwood is not that far away from the Middle School.” I said to Monte, Eveline, and Jada. “They should be back by now.”
“Relax.
” Jada said. “You’ve been pacing ever since Anthony, Kyanna, and Alex arrived.”
“No, he’s right.” said Monte. “They left this morning. They should be back by now.”
“Something happened.” Eveline fretted. “Ken, what should we do?”
I stood still. “I want Kaytie, William, and Anthony!” They came over.
“What’s wrong?” asked William.
“Harley’s group has been gone too long. I want you guys and Eveline to go search for them. Start by looking at the Middle School.” I pointed at Eveline. “She’s in charge.”
Eveline looked at them. “Get ready, we leave in 10 minutes.” They nodded, and sped off to get prepared. She looked at me. “Why aren’t you coming?”
“Harley left me in charge here.” I reminded her.
She nodded her head. “Alright. We will come back with them quick, I promise.” she hugged me, and went to go prepare.
Monte looked at me. “They are going to be alright man.”
I sighed. “I hope so. I sure do hope so.”
JOSE’S POV
My name is Joselito. And I accidentally knocked out some of my friends.
First, let me tell you about myself. I am seventeen years old. I am of average height, with dark skin and beautiful dark hair. I’ve been told that I have the sexiest of eyes. And I normally do not knock out my friends. Okay, continue.
“Oops.” said Maria. I looked at her and thought, “God, she is so beautiful. I am the luckiest man alive. Her fair, dark skin. That flowing, beautiful dark brown hair. Those lovely eyes…”
“Jose?” she prompted, pointing to the unconscious forms of Dusk and Jade, “Aren’t those your friends?”
“I did not mean to do that.” I said. “I thought they were attackers.
“At least you didn’t kill them babe. That’s what you did to the last ones.”
“Yeah, but those guys shot at you.”
TMD Page 4