Act 1

Chapter 9

The house was desolate; desolate and alone. Even with its four beating hearts still inside of its confines it felt more like a cemetery, just a mourning ground for all their lost memories. The survivors stayed apart at first, sticking to their own separate corners of the house, keeping their own visages of hope to themselves.

After the first few days of waiting, Coleen crept into the room that Tanya had been locked in since the phone call, and slid into bed with her. They slept and talked and reconnected on a plane of friendship that had long been lost, scattered in their constantly growing lives. They didn't emerge from that room until Tommy knocked on the door, asking if they were still alive.

They found seats on the couch that the family whom used to live there probably shared many a good time on, and Tommy put in a movie. The power was still on and the previous inhabitants had a plethora of movies to choose from so they flipped the lights off, curled up under several blankets and glared past the movie as it played across the screen.

James was still outside. Tommy had been out there for a good majority of the past few days talking to him, but he seemed set on sitting on the small awning, shooting at anything that tried to climb the wooden stairs. During the movie though, he came in, placing a large dresser in front of the door and plopping down in between Tommy and Tanya on the couch.

Drifting into sleep seemed all too easy for them as James went first, followed by Tanya on his shoulder. James snored quite loud as did Tanya but Tommy and Coleen sat quietly, their eyes glued to the TV even if they weren't really watching it. Coleen's eyes closed and sleep took hold of her momentarily.

It felt like only a few seconds, but she awoke to being sat down on the bed she had been sleeping in for their entire four day stay in the house. It was almost midnight, which meant that it had been way more than 'only a few seconds', and she saw that it was Tommy who had carried her to the bed.

He was standing in the doorway, his hand on the light switch as if he was going to turn it off but his eyes were glued to her. She shifted and he flicked the switch off, but he sat there for a moment longer. Coleen felt like she should say something, but she didn't know what. He began to turn and she threw all caution to the wind.

"Tommy?" She asked in her half sleepy daze. He had stopped his turn and was again facing Coleen from the doorway, his hands tucked into his faded jeans.

"Yeah Coleen," He said it almost in a whisper. "It's me."

"Where have you been?" Her voice sounded tired and whiny as she rolled over onto her side, her body now facing the doorway in which Tommy stood. He walked over to the bed and her hand reached out, trying to grab his, but it fell just short. Luckily he caught hers, interlacing his sun warmed fingers with her ice chilled ones.

"It's a long story." His voice sounded so distant, like the voice she heard when he talked to her in dreams.

"I've got time." Coleen was sure it didn't come out as clear as she would have hoped, but she was exhausted. Tommy slid into bed next to her, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders and wrapping his arm around her. She felt a warming sensation roll over her, almost as if the sun was rising in the room, as she pushed herself up against him, hugging the arm that was currently over her stomach.

"Go to sleep." He whispered it again, like he had done so many times before, both in dreams and before he left. "I'll still be here in the morning."

Coleen made another whiny sound and Tommy was sure that she was trying to say "you don't know that for sure mister" so instead of arguing he just tucked the blanket in under her and laid his head down next to hers. She rolled her body over, using the last of her strength, and looked into his eyes before closing them one last time.

"Sweet Dreams." He whispered before the coma-like state of sleep covered her like the blanket had, and embraced her as gently as he had. She would not dream, her brain was too beaten from nightmares to allow her to dream, and she didn't mind.

Tanya hadn't planned on being awoken at six thirty in the morning, but then again, she also didn't plan on an infectious outbreak rivaling that of "Dawn of the Dead" to be unleashed on the town she had lived in for her entire life. She wouldn't have been shaken awake if it weren't for James though. She had fallen asleep leaning on his shoulder, so when he got up she fell to the arm of the couch.

She would have complained but there wasn't a point. After standing up James went to the bathroom and when he returned he shook Tanya's shoulder, so either way she would have been awake at six thirty. Sadly it was the first time since she graduated from high school almost a year ago.

No dreams were on the brink of her memory and she took that as a good sign, because if there were any they most likely would have been nightmares. Visions of creatures with blood dripping from their fangs, and claws so sharp they could tear her to shreds in a matter of seconds, flashed in her head and she began to wish she hadn't even thought about dreams, or nightmares.

She chuckled a little though remembering what Tommy had used to say to her when she'd smile. He'd always get this weird smirk on his face and he'd squint his eyes a little, as if trying to figure out what she was doing exactly. Then he'd go back to his normal expression and say "don't flash your fangs at me" before they both broke into laughter. Remembering that pushed the bad memories out and she suddenly had the urge to talk to Tommy, to find out what the hell he had been doing and why he came back now.

"Catch!" Her hands went up quick to catch the fully loaded gun that James had tossed toward her."Go wake up Tommy and Coleen. We have to go." She didn't question him; James always seemed to know what he was talking about.

The door to the bedroom Coleen had been staying in was slightly ajar and Tanya pushed it open with the butt of the gun. She half expected to see that creature from her nightmarish visions, but instead she saw Tommy pressed up against the wall and Coleen lying up against him, her arm hanging over his chest and her hand playing with the hair on his arm.

"Coleen?" She whispered it, even though she knew she was awake. It made Coleen jump and she rolled over faster than Tanya had ever seen someone roll over before. "James says we have to go."

"Why?" Unlike Tanya, Coleen was willing to question James' opinion.

"Dunno, just wake Tommy up and come out here." Tanya turned and exited the doorway before Coleen could say anything else.

Coleen rolled over again, placing her hand on Tommy's shoulder. She didn't want to wake him, he had only just gotten to sleep a few hours ago, but what Tanya said sounded urgent. She supposed anything would sound urgent at a time like this, in a place like this. In a situation such as the one they were in. She shook his shoulder, calling his name quietly into his ear.

No noise, only sight. It was a limited sight though, one that only showed pain, a sharp emotional pain that struck deep in the core of his brain. His eyes saw her, Taylor, being attacked over and over again, her body being mangled beyond recognition a few times, every time actually. Her blood was being splashed on his hands in the bucket loads, lathering them like those of a murderer.

He watched her mouth tear open but he could not hear the screams that came from it, nor could he hear the screams of the creatures that were tearing at her. There was no sound, and it was because of the headphones in his ears, they blocked it all out acting like a soundproof barrier for his head. No matter how badly he wanted to rip them from his ears he couldn't, they stayed locked in place as if there were invisible hands pressing against his ears.

"Tommy," A soft, almost too quiet, voice entered his seemingly closed off ears. "Tommy, wake up."

He couldn't quite recognize the voice, the screaming of the creatures began to seep into his ears along with it and they meshed together in a sort of indistinct harmony that made him want to rip his ears from his head. Taylor's voice began to scream too, adding to the chaos that we know as sound.

"Tommy," There it was again, almost begging for him.

"Thomas," Everything went quiet again, his head blocking out all sound and waiting for the voice to sound off. "Wake up Thomas."

The first thing he saw when his eyes pried open was the pink coated wall and the little rainbow stickers that dotted it. The first thing he felt though, which happened to be the only thing he wanted to feel, was Coleen's hand on his shoulder, rubbing it slowly as if it would jolt him awake. He rolled over and found himself starring straight into her eyes, those explosive blue eyes. The nightmare melted away as if she were draining it from him with that stare.

"Coleen?" He asked, not even realizing how out of breath he was. "Where am I?"

"You're with me." Her face changed from that of non-credited happiness, to one of un-extensive worry as the rubbing of his shoulder became a little quicker as if it would ease his fright. "It was just a dream, its ok."

He looked away and up at the ceiling, his chest rising at a fast pace. Coleen could almost feel the fear radiating from him, bursting forth like an atomic explosion from his brain. Her hand went out and touched his chest, the feverous heartbeat soaking through his shirt onto her cold palm, and his breathing went still for a moment, his heart rate dropping dramatically.

"James says we have to go." She said it in a whisper as if he were still sleeping. "It sounded urgent." She reminded herself, again, that everything seemed urgent and it drove her crazy.

Tommy just nodded his head and closed his eyes, placing his on-fucking-fire hand on hers. It almost burned her, but she didn't move it, she only squeezed hoping that she would cool him down like she was always able to do. She was worried now, more so than she had been, and she really just wanted Tommy to comfort her. But that can't happen when he needs the comforting, when he needs the help.

"We should go then." He said it in a ghostly voice that echoed back to the nights when they stayed on the phone till they could both hardly think let along make coherent words. Coleen just nodded as she looked towards his fading eyes. "After you."

Coleen obliged, sliding off the bed and hopping up onto her still shoed feet. Tommy followed, the color returning to his skin and the heat dying down a bit, reduced now to just a warmth that made Coleen feel a bit less worried. That worry returned though when they both stepped out into the darkened living room and James tossed them each a gun saying that they had to leave, and quickly.