“He saved me,” Violet said quietly. “That first day. He saved me. I…I left him here, and he turned and now he’s dead.”
Matt moved closer, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You did the right thing.”
Violet shook her head.
“Yes, you ended his suffering.” Matt’s voice was insistent, which made Violet feel even worse.
“No. It’s my fault.”
But Matt didn’t understand. He simply pulled her closer to him, enveloping her in a hug. She could feel his heart beating against her chest, and allowed herself one moment to feel safe. Then she pulled away. “I can’t stay.”
“You’re right; we need to get back.”
“No, I can’t stay with you. With any of you. It’s too dangerous.”
Violet watched the confusion spread across his face. “It’s safer if we stay together. You know that.”
“No. It’s safer if I’m alone.” She tucked the knife into her pocket, making the decision then and there, and headed for the door. Matt followed.
“If you leave, I’m coming with you.”
Violet shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. You said it yourself; it’s safer in a group. Go back to the school.”
“If you’re going, I’m going.”
“You can’t leave your friends.”
“Exactly.”
Violet sighed. This was going nowhere. She knew Matt well enough by now to know he wasn’t going to let her just wander out into the zompocolyptic wasteland alone. She also knew she shouldn’t go back to the school to constantly live in fear that she was going to snap and eat someone. But if Matt followed her and died, that would be her fault, too. Or if something happened to the others because they didn’t have enough people? There was no good option. Matt moved closer slowly, as if approaching a deer.
“No matter what, we’ll keep each other safe. I’m not leaving you alone, so tell me where we’re going.”
They went back to the school. What choice did Violet really have? They made their way up to the teachers’ lounge where the others were waiting. Sam and Joe hugged them both, relief on their faces.
“When we realized you were gone…” Joe began.
“Where were you?” asked Sam.
Violet got the feeling the concern in his voice wasn’t solely centered on the two of them. Something else was going on. She looked around. Maggie and Emily were both standing anxiously by the window. Tom was pacing.
“What’s wrong?” Violet asked, the vicious butterflies in her stomach rearing their ugly heads again.
“Our weapons have gone,” Sam muttered.
Violet’s eyes widened, automatically eyeing the table where the bats and other makeshift weapons were usually kept. Matt still had his bat and she had her new knife, but that was it.
“They must’ve gotten them this morning,” Joe began. “After you left. The door was locked before then.”
Guilt washed over Violet. She’d only been back for five minutes, and already something was her fault—she’d left her friends exposed! Joe squeezed her arm reassuringly. “Don’t blame yourself, Vi. It’s not your fault those people can’t be trusted.”
“I shouldn’t have unlocked the door,” she muttered, shaking her head. “It’s my fault the weapons have gone.”
Sam strode toward the door. “Let’s go and get them back.” He turned to Maggie and Emily, “You two stay here. Lock the door behind us.”
Violet tossed over the keys, grateful Sam was letting her come along. Not only was this her fault, but she also wasn’t ready to play damsel in distress while the men dealt with all the problems. Besides which, she didn’t think many damsels spent their days stabbing zombies or eating flesh.
Tom stayed, too, because…well, Violet didn’t really know why. But she was just happy he did.
Matt, Joe, Sam, and Violet headed to the library. The newcomers weren’t there, but they’d certainly left their mark on the place. There was garbage everywhere: chip packets, cans, cartons. The couches had been moved around, and one had been stabbed repeatedly—the stuffing pulled out and thrown all over the floor.
“Looks like they helped themselves to more food after we went to bed,” Joe said, gesturing to the debris. There were also dozens of beer cans, more than Joe had collected from the supermarket.
“They must’ve brought their own alcohol,” Matt suggested, pointing to the men’s backpacks in the corner. Violet moved over to the bags. Most were empty now, but one was almost full to bursting with money. She picked up a handful of bills. “Where did they get all this from?”
“It’s not like they can use it anymore,” Matt replied.
“Guess we missed the party.” Joe emptied out one of the other backpacks. Violet watched as several small, clear plastic bags fell onto the floor. Most were empty, but a couple still contained pills or white powder.
“Seems like it,” Sam agreed. “I’m not sure things are going to be as smooth as we hoped.”
The four of them went to the cafeteria next, where they found Tom, Emily, and Maggie waiting for them. Violet initially assumed they’d come of their own free will, but another look at Emily’s face suggested they’d been forced out. The men were there, too, sitting at the table beside Violet’s friends. And Tom.
John smiled when he saw the others approaching.
“Morning, we’ve been waiting for you. Breakfast?” He gestured to the food on the table. There was a lot—more than was needed. Violet knew well enough that their supplies wouldn’t last long if they didn’t ration them.
“Where are our weapons?” Sam asked. No one spoke for a moment. Violet crossed her arms across her chest in some effort to look as though she wasn’t terrified. But she was.
The smile on John’s face faded a little, but it didn’t disappear. He held eye contact with Sam.
“We didn’t think weapons were necessary.” He nodded at Matt’s bat. “Why don’t you put that down? Wouldn’t want there to be any accidents.” At that moment, Violet was incredibly grateful that her knife was tucked away in the back of her jeans. Sure, it may have been ever so slightly stabbing her every time she moved, but at least John wasn’t about to take it.
“If you don’t think we should have weapons, why do you have a gun?” Maggie asked, her voice lacking its usual timid tone. John sighed, then reached into his pocket and took out a handgun. He glanced back at the rest of the group. “We’re all friends here, so I’m sure I’ll never have to use this. Sit down, have some breakfast.” He grinned a yellow smile, gesturing for the group to join him at the table. None of them did.
John frowned. “Sit.”
His tone was serious. Without saying a word, Violet and the others slowly lowered themselves onto the chairs in front of them. Her heart was racing.
“Good.” John sighed. “See how easy that was.” He wasn’t smiling anymore, and he leaned a little into the table. “Now, let’s discuss a few…changes. Things are going to be a bit different around here.”
Sure, Violet, let’s open the gates to five strange men and let them in to the only safe place in town during the zombie apocalypse.
It had been a week since the confrontation with John and the others. Violet had to admit she wished she’d ignored Matt’s request and run away when she had the chance. Sure, she’d be alone. And sure, she’d almost certainly have been eaten alive by now. But at least she wouldn’t have been spending her days cooking, cleaning, and washing the clothes of five men who seemed to have no idea how to get food into their mouths.
No, that wasn’t fair. She didn’t want to leave her friends behind. It didn’t matter they’d barely known each other, or not known each other at all, before the world ended. It didn’t matter they were all one hundred percent alive, and Violet thought she was about fifty percent there. They had become close. It was like she was living with family. And Tom.
John and the others were not part of her family. In fact, Violet knew she would happily chew their faces off without a sec
ond thought. These men had their own way of doing things, and seeing as how they were the ones with the weapons, they were the ones in control. The original group had been split in two and given different jobs accordingly. Maggie, Emily, and Violet had their own routine, which had to be followed every single day. They cooked, cleaned, and washed clothes. It was hardly what Violet would’ve called ‘empowering’ work. The only time they saw Joe, Sam, Matt, or Tom was at meals, when they were made to sit at opposite ends of the table and listen to John and his friends laugh and joke while they ate in silence.
Whenever Violet or the other two finished their chores and were allowed some free time, they had to stay inside, within sight of John or his friends. At night, they slept in a locked classroom, while Matt and the others were shut in the teachers’ lounge. John and his men still had the library.
The routine for Matt, Sam, Joe, and Tom was very different. They spent every moment outside, whatever the weather, patrolling the fences. They had no weapons, of course. Had been told simply to “handle it” if they saw anything. Violet sometimes caught sight of one of them out of the window. How had things changed so much and so quickly?
That morning, everyone ate breakfast together as usual. There wasn’t much food laid out, and John eyed the table disapprovingly.
“Where’s the rest of it?” he asked Violet.
“We have to save some. We don’t have much left.”
He scowled. “Yeah, or maybe you’re keeping more back for yourselves.” His eyes swept across the group before settling on Edd and Vince. “Go check.” They got up and headed for the kitchen, but were back within moments.
“She’s right,” Vince said. “There’s hardly any food.”
John turned back to Violet, and she held his gaze. If anything, she was angrier than he was. It wasn’t her fault he and his men were such pigs. She kept her face hard, imagining what it would be like to chew his big nose clean off. The thought—hideous as it might have been—comforted her immensely.
Eventually, John spoke, addressing the rest of the group. “Well, it appears that we need some more food.” His eyes locked with Sam’s. “You and your friends can go and get some for us.”
Sam seemed unsurprised by John’s proposal, and Violet supposed he’d probably been waiting for it for a while.
“We need the car.”
John shook his head. “No, go on foot.”
“We can’t get much if we’re walking.”
“Improvise. I need that car. Ours is wrecked, and I’m counting on that one if we need to get out of here fast.”
“So we just carry the food?” Sam asked through gritted teeth.
“You’ll just have to find somewhere to put it.”
“I can think of a couple of places,” Joe muttered, and Violet snorted. She tried to cover it with a cough. Luckily, it seemed John hadn’t heard. He kept his gaze fixed on Sam.
Sam looked angry, but eventually nodded. “We’ll need our weapons.”
“Why?” John asked. “Like you said, you’re going to be carrying the food. Don’t want space taken up with a baseball bat.” He grinned, and then held out his hands. “Well? What are you waiting for? No time like the present.”
Violet and the others got to their feet, but John shook his head, gesturing to the women. “No, not you. Sam and his merry men need a reason to come back. Otherwise, you might all just decide to run off into the sunset together.”
Maggie and Emily sat down reluctantly, but Violet remained standing. John raised an eyebrow. “Something on your mind, princess?”
Princess? Let’s see you call me that when I’m chewing your ears off.
“I want to go, too.”
“We can’t all get what we want,” Edd sneered, but John held up a hand to silence him.
“Why? It’s pretty scary out there. It might be too much for a young lady like yourself.”
Violet scowled. “I’ve been out before, on the last supply run. And I was alone outside longer than any of these guys. I can handle myself.”
Matt nodded. “She’s useful. She’s fast and knows her way around. We could use her.”
Okay, I’m none of those things, but I appreciate the lies.
Violet could tell John didn’t like being told what to do, but he was also no fool. If he thought she would be able to get him more supplies, he almost certainly wouldn’t be stubborn enough to refuse.
Probably.
“Fine,” he relented, gritting his teeth. “But hurry back. We wouldn’t want your friends to worry.” He meant Maggie and Emily.
Violet nodded, giving the two of them a reassuring smile. One that said, We’ll be back, I promise.
The five of them—Violet, Matt, Sam, Joe, and Tom—moved through the streets in silence, none of them feeling safe enough to talk while still in view of the school. Sam led the group past the burned-out house, around the corner, and up the front path of another. The door was locked, but the yard was surrounded by a thick hedge, so it seemed a secure enough place to stop and talk.
“So… this is less than ideal,” Joe drawled. “Violet, I’m starting to think maybe you shouldn’t have let them in.”
“I’m so sorry. I was such an idiot.”
Sam shook his head. “Any one of us would’ve done the same thing,” he said reassuringly. “It was the right thing to do. I guess we just have to realize that people aren’t how they used to be.”
“Maybe they are,” Joe suggested. “There have always been scumbags like that; there just used to be others left to balance it out. They’re probably the ones who died first.”
“Cheerful.” Matt’s sigh was heavy.
“What should we do?” Violet asked, shivering as a bite of wind whipped across her face.
“We should just go,” Tom suggested.
“What do you mean?” Sam asked. “They’ve still got Maggie and Emily; how would we get them back?”
“We wouldn’t. I know you don’t want to hear it, but we have to think about our best chance for survival.”
“Leaving the others behind?” Matt sounded angry. “That’s our best option in your eyes?”
Tom nodded. “They won’t hurt the girls. They’re useful to them.”
“That’s comforting,” Joe muttered sarcastically.
Tom continued. “But we’re not useful, not really. They’ll kill us when they realize that. Better we leave now.” He looked at each of the group for approval, but Joe turned and began to walk back down the path.
“Where are you going?” Sam asked.
“To get the supplies so we can get back.”
Tom’s face flushed red, and he almost spat fire when he spoke. “You’re not even going to finish hearing what I have to say?”
“No. I walked away mid-conversation because your ridiculous, cowardly speech was boring me to death. I suppose my survival instincts kicked in.” Joe threw his hands up. “Leaving Maggie and Emily in that place is not an option, so why are we even talking about it?”
Sam nodded. “He’s right. We have to do what they want. We keep them happy for now while we think of a plan. At the moment, we only have two options: either we leave the school together, or we make them leave.”
“Or we kill them,” Matt added. When everybody focused on him, he shrugged. “Not saying we should, just that it’s an option.”
Sam spotted a shovel against the side of the house and grabbed it. He spoke to Tom. “If you want to go, then go. We won’t stop you. If not, then stop talking and let’s get this done.”
Tom didn’t leave. Violet knew he wouldn’t—he wouldn’t last a day out there on his own.
When they reached the supermarket a while later, they found the shutter around the back completely closed.
“Great,” Matt muttered.
“Let’s try the front,” Sam said.
Several of the huge windows at the front of the store had been smashed, and Violet could tell before they even got inside that the place had been ransacked. She stepped o
ver the broken glass, trying to be quiet. Unfortunately, trying to be quiet when walking over broken glass was the most difficult thing in the world. As they entered, making as much noise as it seemed humanly possible to do, Violet knew the place wasn’t safe anymore. The others saw it, too. No one grabbed a cart. They all just stood silently, listening for sounds of movement.
“Let’s just fill our backpacks and get out,” Sam whispered, and they all headed off in different directions.
So many of the shelves were empty now, and there was food smeared all over the floors. Violet reached for a lone can of tinned tomatoes still on the shelf. Empty.
“What, you just ate the tomatoes and put the can back?” she muttered with a scowl, tossing it away. Sam appeared at Violet’s side.
“This wasn’t just people looking for supplies; they trashed this place on purpose.”
“Why would they do it?” She picked up a can of tuna and put it in her bag.
“For fun?”
Violet sighed, grabbing another tuna can. The liquid inside immediately leaked down her arm and onto her shirt. She groaned.
“That’s just great,” she mumbled, trying to wipe away the fishy water, but only succeeding in spreading it further across the material.
Sam and Violet moved on to the end of the aisle, finding a small stand full of seeds. Violet eyed them for a moment. Most were for growing flowers, but there were a few packs containing vegetable seeds. She took every single one. She had no idea how to grow vegetables—and didn’t know if it was the right season or if they had the right soil—but it would be worth a shot if it meant they could be more self-sufficient.
“Now all we need are some cows.” Sam grinned. “I could go for a cheeseburger right about now.”
“I’m a vegetarian,” Violet replied automatically.
A vegetarian zombie, how ironic.
They turned onto the next aisle, and saw six bikes laid out on the floor. Sam raised an eyebrow. “Wha—”
Alive? Page 11