“You could use a break” Colonel comments stifling a chuckle, “let’s get some breakfast “ he announces and leads me to the kitchen, I sit at the counter and he passes me a bottle of water and asks how I like my eggs, “cooked usually" I joke and he continues his glare at me “scrambled" I add with a roll of my eyes, he sings a little tune to himself as he cooks and I imagine for a moment what it would have been like to have him around when I was a kid, cooking me breakfast and teaching me self-defence, maybe mum would still be here if he was around, I’m thrown from my thoughts as he places the plate in front of me, the eggs have strips of bacon to make a face, I give him a peculiar look is he trying to be funny? He seems amused with himself.
I eat the breakfast as he watches me drinking a water, the silence is deafening and a little awkward, he’s basically a stranger to me he could have poisoned the food, I regard the food suspiciously for a moment but decide death by breakfast would be a good way to go and continue eating.
“You think a lot don’t you?” he asks and I realise I must be making a million weird faces, “I mean it’s not crickets up there" I shrug, “if you have any about me you can ask" he suggests with a kind smile that seems unusual on his face, “did you ever think about us after you left?” I ask not looking to his face, “every minute of everyday" he answers wearing a sad smile, “do you have those letters mum sent back to you?” he nods “I kept them hoping I’d see you guys again one day” he answers.
“I’m nowhere near ready to even consider myself your daughter, and we’re not going to be all happy family, or anything so get that straight, but could I maybe read the letters?” I ask, he smiles back “of course I’ll drop them at your door after our training, and I don’t expect you to forgive my absence straight away either, there’s no rush with that" he seems like such a kind understanding person, there has to be something he’s not telling me for mum to keep him away from us all these years.
“Let’s get back to it" he says and I follow him back to the room of torment, I endure many more hours of training that include squats, planks, sit ups and anything else the Colonel believes are a good use of my non-existent muscles, finally 9am arrives once again and I get ready to make my escape “that’s enough for today you can go back to your room" I sigh in relief and thank the gods for releasing me from the misery Colonel calls training, “same time tomorrow?” I ask hoping the answer is no, “actually tomorrow a few of us will be going out to get supplies and patrol, we thought you and Sam could come along, so no training" I feel a smile form on my face excited to defeat some potential zombies and get outdoors again, “that sounds great, I’ll ask her if she wants to talk to me" he nods “you guys aren’t friends?” he asks “I nearly killed her boyfriend so not friends would be an understatement" I laugh but feel no humour as I do, “I’m sure she’ll come around, doing some zombie fighting might be just what you guys need" he advises.
“Yeah nothing like fighting for your life to bring a couple of gals closer" I say sarcastically, “yes exactly!” Colonel exclaims but his face quickly falls “oh that was sarcasm wasn’t it?” I try not to laugh at his lack of knowledge at teenage slang, “now you’re getting it pops" I reply as I walk back to my room dragging my tired limbs each step of the way.
Chapter 7
After sleeping into the afternoon I’m woken by a knock at my door and fear it’s Colonel going back on what he said, but I’m relieved but at the same time a little disappointed to find Noah at the door, “oh hi" I greet, “hoping for someone else?” he asks seeming a little offended, I smile “not at all come in" he enters the room gingerly confusing me “how’ve you been, no more episodes?” he asks making it clear why he’s so apprehensive, “nope no murderous tendencies here" I reply but he doesn’t seem to appreciate my humour, “that’s good” he says keeping a serious expression.
“Look I didn’t do it on purpose, I don’t know why I have these episodes but when I do all I can see are zombies, and all I’m trying to do is defend myself" I explain feeling less and less happy he’s come to see me, “I just want to make sure we keep these episodes in check so you don’t hurt anyone else" he frowns, “if you’ve just come here to be judgemental you can get out, I actually thought you were understanding and you got me but I guess not" I stand to my feet crossing my arms, “I’m not trying to be judgemental but I want to keep everyone safe" he explains, “I want everyone to be safe too but I get these episodes when things aren’t going well for me and right now you’re making things not go well" he rolls his eyes at my raised voice.
“There’s no need to get loud and bitchy-" he tries to argue “get out!” I demand my fists shaking by my sides, “I do own this house, so I should be the one-" he starts to fire back and is interrupted by a familiar voice “she told you to leave" Colonel chimes in appearing from the hall, Noah huffs in response “sure Colonel" and just like that he’s gone.
“You okay?” he asks concern in his voice, “I’ll be fine" I sigh flipping down on my bed backwards, “I brought you something" he announces I look up to see him producing the letters he promised and something else in a decorative box, “ooh I get a present for training?” I ask he shakes his head, “actually this is something I was going to give you on your 15th birthday but I wasn’t there so call it a late birthday gift" he chuckles, I pull the ribbon on the box and open the lid, “ooh it’s a knife" I say enthusiastically, “I thought it would be helpful for tomorrow, I mean giving you of all people a weapon might be a mistake but if anyone asks you found it" he winks I smile back in appreciation and admire the shiny metal.
“I’ll leave these here for you, make sure to eat and drink plenty today for tomorrow" he says and starts walking to the door, “thanks for before" I mumble he turns towards me again “ hmm?” he asks, “with Noah thanks for helping me out, I think you’re actually the only one not treating me differently after what I did” he takes a seat at my desk, “I don't judge people on what they can’t control, you show people respect so you should receive the same respect" he tells me, “I misjudged you" I tell him as he stands once again “it’s hard to judge something you don’t know” he says with a kind smile and then he’s gone again.
I spend the rest of the day reading the letters one by one, taking in everything he had to say and learning more of the father I never knew existed, a man I believed to be awful as he left our family and never looked back, but in reality a kind man doing what he thought was best for his family and not being allowed to see us by my mother, I start to question what would make her keep our father away from us, and why she never told us the truth of why he wasn’t with us, we never knew who he was or what he looked like, just that he wasn’t around and didn’t want to be.
The Colonel’s POV
I leave April’s room feeling more positive that we could have a relationship as father and daughter and catch up on all the years we lost, and hopefully soon I can start connecting with Damon too, I notice Noah as I walk back downstairs “Noah" I greet with a frown “Colonel" he greets back in the same manner, “I hope I don’t have to tell you how you spoke to me was rude earlier" he huffs with his arms crossed, I raise an eyebrow “and I hope I don’t have to tell you the way you were treating my daughter was very disrespectful especially after all she’s been through" I fire back trying hard to keep my anger inside, “this is my house I’ll speak to her however I like!” he shouts and I can no longer keep my composure I grab him by his shirt and slam him into the wall “watch your tone boy, you’re starting to sound very entitled, I’ll say this for the last time treat my daughter with the respect she deserves or-" I warn, “or what? You won’t do a thing old man" he interrupts with a smug smile, but a moment after he speaks, he regrets his words, I pull back my fist to land a punch to his eye.
“Shit!” he shouts clutching his eye, “I hear you speak to anyone like this again you won’t have a tongue to speak with" he just nods and scampers away, hopefully I knocked his ego a little bit so he can start showing respect.
The next morning much later than my usual wake up time myself and a few others get ready to head out, we meet in the kitchen to collect weapons for the journey, Sam, myself, Colonel, and a few people I haven’t got to know yet, a girl a similar age to myself, as well as a boy a little older and Noah who has a black eye which shocks me, I turn to the girl “what did he do to his eye?” I ask her “apparently he walked into a door" she laughs, “I’m Valerie by the way" she smiles, “April" I smile back, she seems sweet with her ginger curls and a dimple in her cheek wearing a sweet smile.
I can’t hide my smile at Noah’s black eye but find it bizarre a door could cause such an injury, I look to Colonel who is rubbing his fist and winks at me when he catches me looking his way, I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing, karma at its best.
We suit up with guns, knives and my trusty bat, with the Colonel’s signal we head out in a group, the morning air is refreshing after only breathing in stale air in the house, Sam appears beside me her normal happy self, “morning April" she greets with a smile, “yeah morning" I reply surprised of her cheery attitude, “Someone’s chipper today" I comment testing the waters “yeah sorry about the other day, I know I was harsh but I was worried about Damon” she explains “yeah it’s fine, I just wasn’t used to see you like that you’ve never acted like that before" she laughs in response, “don’t be silly no one can be happy all the time, everyone has bad days" she says, “yeah I guess, so we’re okay now?” I ask still feeling wary, “of course!” she exclaims wrapping her arms around me, I start to relax a little at the idea her behaviour was a one off.
We exit the gates and travel past the tall trees in the forest, the only sounds are our feet walking through the grass and leaves, the wind rustling the trees and the quiet chatter of the others in the group, but soon is disrupted by groaning sounds echoing through the forests, “be ready everyone!” orders Colonel, we all ready our weapons, guns click, knife are at the ready, and I pull my bat from my bag, a single zombie wades towards us, there’s a gunshot that takes out the zombie in one, “they’re attracted to sound! The guns are for a large amount of them, there’s going to be crowds of them now!” Colonel shouts, a moment later more groan sounds erupt through the forest, and suddenly we’re surrounded by zombies with their outstretched arms and gnashing teeth, I turn to Colonel unsure what to do, “now they’re here use everything you’ve got, don’t let them scratch you or bite you!” Colonel orders, we spread out with weapons ready, bullets fly through the air knocking multiple zombies down, I run forward and bash the zombies with my bat, blood and organs fly hitting me in the face and staining my clothes, the numbers reduce to a large handful of zombies surrounding us now.
All is heard is the growls from the zombies, the sound of our blades and bullets hitting the zombies, and shouts from everyone attacking the zombies, then a sudden scream I recognise to be Sam's scream, I push through to get to her, a zombie is on top of her its teeth gnashing inches away from her face, she continues to scream and tries to push and kick the zombie away but it's no use, its size is too much for her to handle, I rush forwards and swing my bat across the zombies head, blood is splattered and the zombie falls on top of Sam now dead, I help her push its large weight off her and pull her to her feet, "are you okay? It didn’t bite your or anything did it?" I ask searching her for bite marks, she pulls away from me "no I'm fine really, thanks for your help" I nod and hurry back to the others who have finished the other zombies off with no casualties.
Sam's POV
I dust myself off and start walking back to the others, I wince as I feel pain in my arm and roll my sleeve to find the source, hoping the zombies bruised me with its large weight but my eyes widen in horror to see a large bite mark, bloody and sore on my skin, I head towards April ready to tell her what happened but I stop in my tracks, 'if that zombie bit me, that means I'll turn, if they find out they’ll kill me or leave me out here to be killed' I sigh and realise I won’t be able to trust anyone with this.
We all begin to walk into town where there are abandoned shops, I follow quietly worrying about the predicament I have just landed myself into.
The town is empty and quiet, with only the wind whistling occasionally and shaking the trees, we enter the abandoned shops in groups to search for supplies, myself, April and Colonel enter a grocery shop, "stay close girls, we're searching for food, medication, or hygiene products" we both nod to him in agreement and start searching the aisles, I find some tinned food and place it into my bag clenching my teeth to keep from wincing or crying out over my arm, April collects some medication, she and Colonel share a smile which seems bizarre to me, as she stormed out on him a few nights ago.
"When did you and Colonel become close?" I ask trying not to feel jealous of their friendship, "we're not that close, I don’t know it's a bit complicated, he’s my dad you know? And he has been training me so I can control my outbursts and become stronger for outings" she says with a shrug, "you've been training with him?" I ask confused about this sudden development, "I thought you hated him for leaving?" I ask.
"I did, I do but he’s still my dad, I need to give him a real chance to make it up to me, he’s really been trying and I read the letters he wrote to us and we never got, and he’s been there for me when no one else really got what I was going through" she explains, I nod in response and start to understand their relationship a little better, I feel a pang of guilt I hadn’t been there for her more during what's been going on, I've only shown attention to Damon which I need to make up for.
"Can I tell you something, it's kind of a secret but I want you to know" April nods and turns to me as we continue collecting items, "when I wasn’t acting myself, that sort of happens sometimes, I've got a split personality disorder, one part of me which you know is the part I like and is the main part of me, but there's another side to me which you saw a glimpse of, this side of me is selfish, manipulative and it’s like having an evil twin, it's a side of myself I've hid for the longest time, when I was younger I starting acting like my other self and my parents didn’t understand why I changed to something so negative, they took me to a doctor that prescribed pills to keep it in check, and it works a majority of the time but my other self sometimes slips through the cracks, I never remember what I've done but I wake up with gaps in my memory so I know it took over for a while, if it happens again you need to stay away from me, my other self is a completely different person, she answers to Amaya and can't be trusted, people with split personality usually have more than one but if I have any others I thankfully haven’t shown these yet" April is wide eyed as she processes what I've just told her.
"That actually makes a lot of sense, thanks for trusting me with that" she smiles and grabs my hand squeezing it in reassurance, I smile back and feel relieved that someone else knows about me.
"If we've got enough stuff, then we'd better meet up with the others and head back" Colonel announces, we both follow him out our bags heavy with items we have found.
Sure enough the others we travelled with are waiting outside with full bags, I notice Noah with a black eye which I didn't notice earlier, I turn to April in shock, she stifles a laugh "whatever happened I'm glad of it, he started acting like a real dick, so I'm glad he got put in his place" I nod slowly and scan the area to see if I can figure out who may have inflicted this, everyone seems friendly with him so maybe it's someone who stayed behind, my eyes fall on Colonel who watches Noah closely and when their eyes meet Noah narrows his eyes for a moment then avoids his gaze altogether.
Colonel is much more violent than I thought, if he can do such damage to Noah the head of the house and get away with it what could he do to the rest of us? As these awful thoughts start circling around my head everything starts to go dark and I start fearing Amaya is making another appearance, and before I can warn April or fight her she’s taken over and I'm left alone in the dark again.
Amaya’s POV
I blink and take
in my surroundings, I'm outside in the city with a group of people, there’s one girl I recognise Sam's friend April, she smiles at me and I grin smugly knowing they must have made up, that means she has her trust in me and doesn’t suspect a thing, I catch up with her and flash a sweet smile her way, if I want to take over Sam's life I've got to be discrete.
"Do you want to hang out when we get back, I feel like we haven’t seen each other for ages" April asks and links her arm with mine, "of course doll, we need a real catch up" I giggle, "doll?" She questions, shit I guess she does not do pet names, "I kind of like it" she smiles, and I sigh in relief, "how’s Damon been?" She asks me and I have to wreck my brain to remember which one he is, "Damon? Yeah he's grand" I answer nervously trying to remember who she’s asking about, "I've been visiting him now and again but it's hard to see him like that, I know that's my doing and he doesn’t hate me, he’s my brother but it's hard to trust I won’t hurt him again" she says and a lightbulb goes off in my brain, Damon's the brother that Sam or well me now, is dating.
"He seems to be doing better, he'll be back to normal real soon, a stomach stabbing is hard to recover from" I sigh and glance at her face to see it fall slightly, "but despite that he’s a fighter so he'll be back to normal really soon" I assure her with a sickly sweet smile.
We arrive back to the mansion and I make a mental note to explore every inch of this place, we drop off the items we collected and head upstairs, "let's get dressed and go to the games room" April says excitement dancing in her eyes, I smile and nod in response and we both head off to our separate rooms, I wince in pain suddenly I check my arm to see a sore bite mark and my eyes widen in horror, 'that damn Sam has to go and mess up my plans, how am I going to fix this?!' I think to myself; I go to my room but hear a voice calling for Sam, I check the next room to find Damon smiling, "oh hi" his smile falters "encounter some zombies?" He asks and I realise I'm covered in blood and guts, "yeah I guess so, but I survived" his smile returns again, he beckons me towards him and I sigh and plaster on a smile, "I missed you" he says as he hugs me, I frown and half-heartedly hug him back "yeah missed you too, it felt like I was gone for ever" I scrunch up my face at the fake loving talk, but smile again when he faces me.
Infection Z Page 6