Minutes later Lizzie stood over the still corpse of Andrew. Her breathing came in harsh gasps. Sweat poured from her forehead, soaking into the neckline of her t-shirt. The front of her pants were now a solid red-black, wet and heavy with the accumulated blood from both corpses.
Grasping the bat in one trembling hand, weak from exertion, Lizzie clumsily traversed the hallway to her brother's bedroom. No blood on the bed. The white fan-fold closet doors were closed. Lizzie stepped over to the doors, holding the bat high with one hand. The position had no strength, but it was at least threatening and it made her feel better.
She pulled open one door, surprised at the mess inside the closet. Comic books, model cars, boxes, and baseball cards were heaped in a pile on the floor. Clothes haphazardly hung from hangers. The other door folded back, revealing the other half of the barely controlled chaos that was Matt's closet, but there was no Matt.
Lizzie turned, searching the room in vain. She knelt down on both knees and peered under the bed but was unable to see anything because of the quantity of dirty clothes and other items shoved underneath. Standing back up, she sighed, as she did so, the curtain above Matt's bed fluttered. Lizzie stared at the window for a moment and then she smiled. Matt was a smart boy; he probably fled through the window when everything started. She would have done the same if she knew what she knew now. There was no way he could have warned her because Andrew was probably already in his room.
Lizzie went back to the hallway, looked at the corpse lying in the doorway of her bedroom and headed down the stairs. She stepped over the still form of Mr. Brown at the foot of the stairs and headed to the phone. She picked it up and dialed Miranda's number from memory. The phone rang twice before someone picked it up and said "Hello?" in a very quiet voice.
"Miranda?" Lizzie was surprised and overjoyed to hear the voice of her friend.
"Lizzie?" came the hushed voice.
"Miranda, are you okay?" Lizzie's voice broke a little as she felt relief wash over her. One of her best friends and maybe even her brother were still alive. She tried to gloss over her parents in her mind because she didn't want to break down on the phone to Miranda.
"No. Someone's in my house and my parents are gone. What should I do Lizzie?" Miranda's voice was panicked and hurried, even more than normal.
"Stay where you are, I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Whatever you do, keep hidden!" Lizzie dropped the handset back on the receiver. She hefted the bat over her shoulder and headed out into the black morning air.
Avoiding the streetlights and anything else that moved Lizzie worked her way towards Miranda's house. Her mind skittered over the thoughts that filled her mind. Where was Matt? What was going on? Why did she recognize the person in the first frantic phone call? She was over a block away from her house when she first thought of Gordo. She hadn't called Gordo! There was nothing to be done now; she had to go to Miranda.
Slipping in and out of the shadows with a skill she didn't know she had, Lizzie was at Miranda's house in just a few minutes. Like so many other houses she had passed by, the front door was open and all of the lights were off.
Lizzie approached the front door, her body hunched over in an excited state. The blood slicked bat still rested on one shoulder. At the entrance to the home, Lizzie stopped before she went inside. She crouched down and stared into the dark interior. Her mouth opened ever so slightly, catching the faint whiff she remembered from the two dead men in her bedroom. Her hearing sharpened as she calmed her breath, she listened for any sound inside the house. Miranda was almost certainly in her bedroom, probably hiding in the closet. So where were the creature or creatures.
A sound from her right, in the living room, caused Lizzie to focus in on the brief scrape. Lizzie reached inside and flipped the switch for the hallway light and charged into the room at the same time. She saw a single darkened figure in the living room, slowly turning towards her. Her movement was quiet as she dashed across the shag carpet, the bat raised over her head, ready to deliver another lethal series of blows.
Lizzie started her swing when she was two steps away from the creature. She only had a moment to see the face of Miranda's mother before the bat landed with a crunching and cracking sound.
The bat became unbalanced in Lizzie's hands as the top third of the bat had splintered and the remainder of the shattered wood hung from the end. Lizzie stumbled backwards and her knees buckled as she encountered the couch, leaving her sitting on the couch, holding the broken remains of the bat, staring up at what was once Miranda's mother.
Lizzie watched as the once living woman moved towards her. Waiting until Mrs. Sanchez was standing over her, Lizzie pushed herself up from the couch with one hand, and used the other hand to jab upwards with the splintered end of the baseball bat.
The sharp splinters of wood pierced the dead flesh of Mrs. Sanchez under her mouth, pushing inward. Lizzie felt the bat lose its momentum and get lodged in the underside of Mrs. Sanchez's chin. On her feet now, Lizzie held the protruding end of the bat in one hand and used the palm of her hand to drive the bat upwards into Mrs. Sanchez's still moving mouth. Black viscuous fluid flowed down the handle of the bat as Lizzie wrestled with Mrs. Sanchez and the bat, trying to drive the wood deeper and deeper. Lizzie fought off the clawing hands, brushing them away time after time as she continued to jam the bat upwards.
The battling duo fell to the ground as Lizzie tried to get more leverage on her makeshift stake. Lizzie landed on top of Mrs. Sanchez's gore covered body. Jumping to her feet, she took aim and kicked the bat deeper into the skull of the still struggling woman. The jagged end of the bat punched through the back of her skull, dumping the liquified remains inside her head onto the floor. Its eyes still open, black fluids ran from the wounds on its face. Lizzie looked down at the remains of Mrs. Sanchez. Intestines trailed outward from her brutalized abdomen, leading across the room to another corner.
Back on her feet, Lizzie hesitated for a moment before she followed the line of intestines to the darkened corner. There was no surprise in her when she saw the partially consumed remains of a body there. She knew it wasn't Miranda because a mans' chest was exposed in the dim light. Ribs showed through where the flesh had been gnawed to the bone. She couldn't be certain that it was Miranda's father either because like the other corpses she had seen that night, the head was a mess, just a indistinguishable pile of gore at the top of the shoulders.
Turning away, she bounded up the steps to the second floor. She yelled out, "Miranda!" when she reached the small hallway at the top of the stairs. "It's me Lizzie!" Her voice echoed around the rooms. Only one door was shut and it was Mirandas.
Lizzie stood in front of the door and used their secret knock. They had come up with it when they were in their 'spy phase' several years ago. Three short knocks, followed by two long knocks. Rustling sounds came from inside the room, when Lizzie suddenly realized that she didn't have a weapon. She didn't know what condition Miranda was in, or even if it was her in the room. Stepping away, she put herself at an angle with the door and waited.
Slow footsteps crossed the room and the sounds of the lock changing. Lizzie tensed herself to run as fast as she could down the stairs if needed.
A small voice came from behind the now opening door, "Lizzie?"
"Miranda!" Lizzie stepped into the doorway and grabbed Miranda in a hug.
"Lizzie!" Miranda squeaked as Lizzie squeezed her. "Let go!" Miranda squeaked again.
Lizzie let Miranda go to see Miranda gasping for air.
"When did you get so strong?" Miranda said after she caught her breath. She held her hand to her side, still feeling Lizzie's iron grip from moments before.
Lizzie looked at Miranda and cocked her head, "What?" From inside, her inner voice spoke again, just three words. "Everything is different."
"C'mon, we have to get going," Lizzie said. She turned on Miranda and headed towards the stairs.
"Wait, what's happening Lizzie?" Miranda's voice was still coming out higher pitched than normal.
Lizzie turned back towards Miranda. "I don't know, but I know we can't stay here, it's too dangerous. Those things probably heard me downstairs and I think they're attracted to sound. We have to go, get Gordo, and get to the school."
"Why are we going to the school?" Miranda started to follow Lizzie down the stairs.
Lizzie spoke over her shoulder, "I never thought I'd say this, but, we have to help Kate."