Mae tried in vain to free her hand from the grasp of the elderly man that had burst through the front door. Many more quickly followed, but he was by far the fastest. He went straight for Mae, grabbing her by the wrist. He was also far stronger than Mae would have imagined. Mae tried as best she could to pry her hand away from the chomping jaws of the old man. She used her free hand to punch the man's hand. She even tried hitting him in the face a few times. To her dismay, her fist bounced off harmlessly as he continued to lower his mouth toward her hand. She watched in terror as his teeth dug into her hand. He bit the area below the pinkie finger and above the wrist, leaving blood to run down her arm.
"AAARGH!" Mae screamed in agony as pain exploded in her hand. She thrashed in a desperate attempt to free herself. Several other zombies were entering the house. Thankfully the dresser was holding a few of them back, but that wouldn't matter if she couldn't break free from his hold. Mae looked back for help. Her heart dropped when she saw no one in sight. She saw the feet of Gregg and Angus as they disappeared into the second floor. She saw Cole lifting Bea to her feet. The two quickly ran from the entryway and into the kitchen. Cole threw open the backdoor and slammed it shut behind them. Germ was nowhere to be seen. She was all alone. She felt as if she were freezing as the realization hit her.
I'm going to die…
"GRRAAGH!" Mae's head jerked to the right when a deep growl came from beside her. Mae watched as the wolf that had fallen down the stairs plunged his claws deep into the eyes of the old man. His head was thrown backwards from the force of the wolf's hand, freeing Mae's hand from his teeth. She could also feel his grip loosen slightly. Seizing the opportunity, Mae punched the man's hand once more and pulled with all her power. Her hand twisted and jerked until she finally slipped out of the vice grip of the elderly zombie. She stumbled backwards, tripping over her own feet. She landed hard on her back, her head narrowly missed the first step. The wolf ripped his claws out of the old man's eye sockets, bringing his right eye and a gush of blood with them. He flicked the disembodied eye off his claw and turned to Mae. He sprinted from the front door and grabbed Mae's arm. He hoisted her to her feet and spun her around.
"C'mon! Hurry!" He yelled as he dragged her up the stairs. Snapping out of the shock, she took control of her feet and began running on her own. They climbed the stairs as fast as they could, only stopping at the first landing when the wolf grabbed her arm again.
"Where do we go?!" He yelled as he glanced down at the entryway. They were now in the house. Some of them went past the stairs and into the kitchen. Most of them were heading straight for them. The closest zombie was just now reaching the stairs. Mae struggled to answer the question. Everything that had just happened was still burned into her mind. She stuttered for a moment before giving an answer.
"We, um… Attic! The roof!" She said in panic. Mae pointed to her bedroom. Gray followed her finger and gave a nod of approval.
"Yeah, okay." He approved. He took her by the hand this time and led her up the stairs. His fingers still dripped blood, but that was the least of Mae's worries. They reached the top of the stairs. Gray pushed Mae toward the window.
"You go first. I'll keep 'em back." He commanded. He stood in front of the attic entrance and grabbed the railing on both sides. Mae wasted no time in getting to the window. She jumped onto the bed and carefully slipped through the hole in the window. The zombies were now climbing the second flight of stairs that led into the attic. Gray waited until the first zombie was directly in front of him before jumping into the air and delivering a harsh two-footed kick to the zombie's chest. The zombie flew back into the next one, knocking back the next, and the next. There was now a pile of zombies struggling to get back to their feet at the base of the attic stairs.
"Your turn!" The black cat shouted from outside the window. Gray quickly moved to the window and deftly slid through it, leaving the zombies scrambling to follow. The pair now sat on the roof just outside of Mae's room. On the other side of them was a vertical thirty-foot drop. The roof slanted up on both sides of the window. It sloped up from there, giving them some space to move around.
"We're still not safe, let's get to the very top." The wolf said with a huff. He moved past Mae and scaled the slanted roof. He looked back at Mae, who was giving him an odd look. "Something wrong?" He asked, trying best to hide the annoyance in his voice.
Mae gulped at the question. This strange guy had just saved her life without a thought for his own safety. He was there for her when no one else was and she didn't even know his name. A strange feeling welled up inside Mae. She couldn't quite tell what it was. It was a mix of admiration, appreciation, shock, and… something else. That something was still unknown to her. The way he looked at her sent shivers down her spine. He held out a hand to her.
"Nope, everything's fine." She gladly accepted his hand. The feeling intensified when their hands interlocked. Mae could feel her face warm up as he pulled her closer. He pulled her up the incline that lead to the rest of the roof. He kept pulling until their faces were about a foot apart. She was looking directly into his dark blue eyes. His own eyes were looking down at something. They widened slowly as he breathed a little harder. What was he looking at?
Mae followed his eyes until she was looking at her hand. There were teeth marks from where the man had bit her. Blood was still seeping from the dark wound. Now that the adrenaline was starting wear off, her hand was stinging with pain. Every movement in her hand caused another jolt of pain. Gray retracted his hand and he backed away slightly.
"Shit! You were bitten?!" He hissed, looking Mae directly in the eyes. He looked at her in shock. Mae jumped at his sudden movement.
"What? Oh, um… y-yes?" She mumbled. Sure, she was hurt, but she didn't expect this kind of reaction from someone she didn't even know.
"Goddammit!" He threw his hands up to his head in a way someone would do if they were stressed. "I wasn't quick enough!" He cursed himself in a whisper. It sounded like he meant to say that in his head. He slumped over with an ashamed look on his face.
"What? What's wrong?" Mae asked. She placed her non-bitten hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. She still had no idea what he was going on about. It was only a bite. With time, it should heal fine. There may be a scar or two, but that wasn't a big deal. Scars were cool, after all.
"What do you mean, 'what's wrong'? You were bitten!" He shouted. He didn't mean to shout; the situation must have been getting to him.
"So what? I mean, sure, it hurts and all, but I'm fine!" Mae was starting to get nervous. It seemed he knew something he wasn't telling her.
"…Do you not know what that means?" He asked in a much softer voice. He looked up at her waiting for an answer.
"Getting bitten? No, I don't. If you don't mean being in a bit of pain for a while, that is." She answered. Gray's ears dropped against his head as he prepared to deliver upsetting news.
"Look, if you get bitten, you… turn into one of them." He spoke in a somber tone.
Upon hearing those words, Mae's heart dropped. Her entire body felt cold as his words sank in. She would turn into one of them? Mae didn't want to believe it, but she didn't feel like he was lying.
"First, a fever sets in. Eventually, it immobilizes you. Finally, you... turn into one." He continued his explanation. The extra info wasn't exactly needed, as it only frightened her more, but at least she knew. Mae felt a tear fall from her eye. She tried blinking away any others that wanted out, but she couldn't. She raised her hands and covered her eyes. She rubbed them, also trying to hide her tears.
"Listen, I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but… you're okay for now. We need to focus on what's happening now." He softly grabbed Mae's hand and helped her to her feet.
"Mae!" Gray nearly jumped out of his skin when a loud, somewhat annoying voice came from his left. He turned to see the fox from earlier sitting at the top of the roof. The bear he'd caught a glimpse of when he fell down the stairs sat beside him. "You're alright!" He spoke again.
Mae turned to look at Gregg and Angus, but quickly remembered her wet eyes. She faced away and said nothing. Gregg and Angus noticed her silence.
"Mae? What's wrong?" Angus asked. Gray looked at Mae, expecting her to say something. When he was met with silence, he decided to speak up.
"Stay here and rest, Mae. I'll talk to them." He helped Mae back down into a sitting position. She curled up into a ball and rest her head on her knees. Gray carefully climbed up the roof and took a seat in front of them. Gregg seemed a bit untrusting of him, Gray could see it. If these were Mae's friends, he wouldn't give them any problems.
"What's wrong with her" Angus whispered so Mae couldn't hear him. He didn't want to be insensitive.
"She was bitten." Gray said. He was met with confused looks from the both of them. Realizing he had to explain again, he took a deep breath.
"When you get bitten by one of those things down there, you turn into one of them." Those words were enough to get the point across. He saw their eyes widen in horror as they both looked at Mae.
"What?! Really?" Gregg stuttered in shock.
"Yes, really. The first symptom is a fever. I'd say she has a few hours until then. Eventually, she'll be unable to move. Then… she becomes one of them." He explained. The pair said nothing as they processed the information.
"Well… shit."
Bea grabbed the top of the backyard fence and jumped, throwing a leg over the top and pulling the rest of her body over it. She leaped down onto the ground on the other side. Cole was quick to follow, easily hooping over the fence and landing beside Bea. They both turned back toward the house.
"Goddammit! What should we do?" Cole asked as he began pacing with a hand on his forehead and a hand on his waist. His mind was drawing a blank. He left his best friend to be devoured by those things. He didn't mean to, but everything happened so fast. He helped the first person he saw, which happened to be the blue crocodile beside of him.
"I saw Gregg and Angus run up the stairs, maybe they're still safe. Mae got grabbed by one of them and your friend…" Bea let the sentence hang. She was hoping she wouldn't have to tell him that his friend was probably dead. Hopefully he'd take the hint. Bea wanted to believe that Mae had escaped. Until she found out, she'd suppress any emotions. She was good at that.
Bea's answer only seemed to upset him more. "Crap! Maybe he ran?" Cole tried to remain hopeful. He saw him lying on the ground after helping Bea to her feet, but he left him. His fear got the better of him. It was because of him that his best friend was dead.
"Listen, they could still be alive in there. We have to find a way to get the zombies out of the house." Bea said with authority. She grabbed him by the shoulder to stop his pacing.
"Y-yeah. You're right. What should we do?" Cole asked.
"Well, they respond to sound. We need to find something loud. Do you have a car or something?"
"No. We came into town on foot." Cole answered.
Bea took a second to think. She still had the rifle slung over her shoulder, which was capable of making some noise. She'd fired off a good bit of the ammo earlier, so she only had a couple shots before it was useless. But was it enough to attract the entire horde? Bea doubted it, considering the amount of noise they made themselves. A car alarm was first on her list, but most cars in the town were lined up going out of the city, and that pretty far away. What could they use? There had to be something!
"Okay, we'll think of something. For now, we should get away from here. We'll circle around the block and find something." Bea said as she motioned down the empty road in front of them.
"Alright, let's go." Cole agreed. The pair took off down the street. They scanned the streets for anything that could be of use. There wasn't a single car in sight. Everyone bolted the second they found out.
Think! THINK! Bea screamed at herself. Her friends needed her!
"There!" Cole shouted, immediately earning Bea's attention. He pointed over a row of houses and into the dark sky. Bea could barely make out the shape of a building. Bea's eyes lit up as she realized it was the church. Sitting at the very top was a gigantic bell. It could easily make a sound loud enough for everyone in town to hear. Perfect!
"Yeah, that'll do. Good thinking." Bea complimented. The pair continued running through the street. The only sound accompanying that of their feet was the distant sound of thunder, giving a grim warning of a coming storm.
Jeremy casually strolled down one of the many silent streets of Possum Springs. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his hoodie as he whistled a tune he had stuck in his head. He whistled the lyrics to the song 'Weird Autumn', which he watched his friends perform a few weeks ago. After the zombies breached the house, he decided to go for a walk. Maybe he'd find something that would help. He really didn't know what it was he was looking for, but if he saw something of interest, he'd check it out. A crack of lightning sounded behind him. The storm was rolling in quickly, and it looked to be a nasty one. He added 'umbrella' to his list of things to look for.
He came upon the hill that lead to the church. He'd always wanted to ring that huge bell…
Meh, maybe on my way back. Germ shrugged and continued his evening stroll. Germ decided to spice things up a bit and make a left at the next intersection. Germ came to a halt after he rounded the corner. His eyes widened slightly in excitement and interest.
"What do we have here?" The street was blocked with seemingly abandoned military Humvees. They blockaded the street, leaving no room for cars or people to slip through. Sure, anyone could just climb over them, but Germ had a feeling these vehicles weren't so abandoned long ago. His main clue being the charred pile of corpses that laid in the center of the street in front of the wall of cars. Each body was riddled with bullet holes. There had to have been at least thirty bodies, each one letting off an extremely unpleasant stench. A variety of insects swarmed the grotesque cluster of cadavers. Germ wasn't really focused on the multitude of mutilated meat, however. His eyes were locked on the cars. They seemed as if the military had just up and left, leaving behind everything inside. Germ was curious as to why they'd do such a thing, but the excitement of finding potential treasure was a far more entertaining thought.
Germ skipped through the street toward the treasure trove. He gracefully avoided any of the several furry and scaly limbs that were strewn about. He landed in front of one of the heavy armored cars. He pulled the handle gently, the car door swung open with ease.
"Hey, something that's actually unlocked! How about that?" Germ couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the situation. Any door that he checked up to this point was locked or blocked. It just happened to be the military vehicle that broke this streak.
Germ poked his head inside. The driver and passenger seat were empty. The keys were missing, which kind of upset Jeremy, but maybe there was something better. He jumped into the passenger seat and leaned around the chair to check the back. His shoulders slumped in disappointment when he saw nothing.
"Geez, no nuke? That's disappointing." Germ hopped out of the car and shut the door behind of him. Maybe one of the other six Humvees had something good in it. Germ continued checking each individual car. Each one raising his hopes that he'd find something, but only to be let down when nothing showed up. Actually, he couldn't quite say he found nothing… He did find a pretty awesome military helmet, which currently sat on top of his head.
He approached the final Humvee. He prayed to the stars that he'd find something. Anything was an improvement at this point, even a chocolate bar. As long as it wasn't another hat, he'd be grateful. He was starting to like the new 'military Jeremy' look.
Something caught Germ's eye. It was a very minor detail, something that most people would have missed. The trunk of the final Humvee was slightly cracked open. Germ forgot to check the trunks of the other cars, mostly because they were shut and didn't catch his eye like this one did.
Germ could feel his heart pick up a bit as the excitement came back. There was something in the trunk of the Humvee, he could feel it.
He rushed over to the car and set his hands on the trunk. He threw opened the trunk and gazed upon what laid inside with amazement. His eyes lit up with joy as he retrieved his prize.
"Now THIS is what I'm talking about!" Germ proclaimed into the cool night air as he held up one of the many bundles of dynamite in victory.
Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited this story. Every alert I get makes me want to write even more. I'd love to hear some ideas if any of you have them. I really don't like asking people to review, but if you see any flaws in my writing, be it grammar or a plot hole, please point it out. Criticism is always welcome. Again, thanks so much!
