Lauren

"Let us find the hours gone missing in the daylight."

I can feel toes. Legs.

A light snaps on, somewhere above me. It's pale. I can feel its warmth from so far away. It's not the sun. But I wish it were.

A streetlight, by our house. I look away down the road. A face is lying next to me. Its cheekbone is jutting beneath its left eye. It stares at me. Distant.

'Lauren.'

I turn to see max stalking through the bodies. He runs to me. Somewhere across the way Josie, with her long blonde plait turns and looks over.

Jumping over rotting corpses she catches up and lugs me over her shoulder.

Mum pulls open the door, she's till scarred from when she fell in search of dad.

Dad.

I scream and kick and claw away from Josie. Hitting the floor with a solid "thud". I crawl to the door.

Max is trying to pull me back by my leg.

By the doormat, I see my father. Several holes are torn in his face.

I turn to my family, horrified on all accounts. A thickset figure marches down the staircase behind mum, then stops a few feet from the bottom. He clutches the banister and looks right at me. I stare across at Josie.

'Lauren…' she says.

It's mum's previous husband. Cornelius 'Con' Perez. I catch his gaze and he looks away.

Suddenly, Max steals my view as he sits up in front of me.

'C'mon, you need to eat.'

'I think I'm gonna' be sick.' I look over his shoulder.

Then pull myself up inside the door. Josie walks over and shuts it.

By the shadow of my memory, I recount the flames that lick at my heels. Looking down, a thick cauldron is boiling over. My feet are dipped in the liquid. My whole body quivers in the blazing waters. My skin peels back, flaying. My teeth are bared wide as the jaw sheds its skin. I don't recognize myself in the vision anymore. Then I'm standing back out on that street, my father walking down towards me. A pistol in my hand.

I can see right down into the barrel. A face looking back up at me. My face. My human face.

Then flames erupt from the tube. Up into my mouth. I catch on fire, and I'm once again a flayed body in the cauldron.

I sit up, lying on the hardwood floor beside my bed, sheets hanging down around me.

It's wrong. I didn't shoot myself in the head. I didn't. I turned the pistol away.

Josie walks in, anxiously looking down at me.

'I shot him.' I blurt inadvertently.

'I know.'

'It burns. Hurts so much.'

'That's because you took the pistol and shot my father in the head. His brains blew onto the sidewalk. The one he took to work everyday.'

'I didn't mean-'

'I'm going to shoot you in the head, Lauren.'

Click.

Josie pulled out a dark weapon. Held it to my head. I could feel the strange tingle as it sent shivers down my back. It was cold on my hot forehead.

The door burst open once again. A silhouetted figure fell through into the room.

'Josie!'

She didn't turn. But tears dripped off her jaw. One by one.

Blam!

The gun fired. The roaring ricocheting through the house…. through my heart.

I watched as the bullet slammed unreservedly into my body. I twisted, contorting unnaturally, and watched as my lifeblood hit the wall.

Josie was on her knees whimpering as Con' stood over her. He was dragging her away.

When they disappeared into the light of the hallway, a lonely figure remained at the door, half hidden around the corner. Max. Then he too was gone.

Mum raced up the stairs, bandages, scissors and pain-killers in hand.

Con' comes in and helps drag me back up onto the bed. I moan in deep agony.

Christ, help me. What life is this? But one where we face our death each day and march beside it. Unless we take it hand in hand we will not see the light of day again. Where I fall now, I live or I die, but I cannot tell the difference anymore.

Max brought a knife to my room, it was thin, with a sharp blade that reflected ever so slightly with the moon. Mum took it, sent him away.

It felt like I was being wrenched around like a ragdoll, and thrust back down onto my bed equally hard.
A jagged piece of metal clinked as it fell onto the floor. The ragged hole in my stomach was numb. Mum wiped the bloody knife on her pants and wrapped bandage after bandage around my waist.

Through the door, an eye seeped through. The keyhole was filled with the brown eye of a child. Max watched as his sister writhed on her bed. A knife in her belly and a gaping bloody wound. Then he watched as she stopped moving, as mum cleaned the wound, dematerializing as his mother slipped quietly back out the door.

When Lauren woke, she prayed that the world had changed again, to something else something new.

The sun wrought its passage through her bed and down onto the floor. She dragged herself up and sat with her elbows on the windowsill. It was early morning, but there were no birds.

She pulled her shirt up over her head and found the gauze crusty and dry with her blood. Changing her shirt she called out to her brother.

'Max!' she hailed gingerly.

There was a long pause, before she heard little feet scampering up the stairs. In burst Max carrying a walking stick.

'Laurie,' he said, handing the old wooden cane to her. 'I found this, it was in mum and dad's room.'

Lauren laughed as she caressed the wood. It was rough and coarse.

'C'mon' he squealed. She took his hand and was pulled to her feet. It hurt, but the pain was washed clean by the delight.

He held her hand all the way to the bottom of the stairs, at which he raced around the corner into the living room.

She walked in on Con' and mum lazily sitting across from each other. The big double windows that sat out the front were nailed with wooden board.

'How are you feeling?' mum asked.

'I'm alright' I said hesitantly looking around the room.

'Where's-' a voice cut me off from outside.

'-Oi, Con' I need to borrow your shirt for a sec.' Mum nodded approvingly at him. Con' stood up and shimmied his way past me. He opened the door and a rectangle of light illuminated the hallway for a moment, before he stepped outside.

'mum… why did you?'

'Lauren, don't. It wasn't up to you.'

'But why him? Did you even think about Uncle Crowley or-?'

'-I had to call him. The others are dead… or dying.'

'He can't help us mum.'

'He's got us this far.'

'What, boarding up a few windows and, and who the hell even is that outside?' she said as the drawling voice yelped in surprise and Con' roared at him in anger over some misdeed outside.

'Make sure you bring your shirt.' The man called. His red flannelette hung open several buttons down. He wore old blue jeans and a bright pink vest. He had thick messy blonde hair that tangled down over his eyes.

'I'm not exactly going to forget it am I?' Cornelius yelled back, a little too loud.

'I wouldn't be so sure.'

'You're an idiot, you know that Luther?'

' Yep, now give it here'

Con' was already unbuttoning it. He handed it too him.

'Cheers'

Luther was standing with a broom in one hand and a smoking revolver in the other.

'Wait, give that back.' Cornelius gushed.

'Nup' too late old boy.' He said, reaching down and wiping the blood from his boots. A headless walker lay on the ground beneath him.

Con' whipped out his thick fists and flew down on Luther.

He yowled in shock. 'Hey, I've got a damn revolver.'

'Then try and use it!' he said dourly.

Luther caught the humor of the situation and began to laugh. Con' stood up over Luther's bruised body. He was a thin frame. Picking up his bloodied t-shirt he walked back inside.

Out on the grass, Luther rolled with laughter. 'Cornelius, come on. Fight me then!' he said between fits of pain and amusement.

Con' walked back in, shoving past Lauren who just stared at him. She saw him holding the soiled t-shirt and a smile swept across her features.

'What happened?' mum asked him.

He stomped past her into the kitchen. Turning the tap on, he washed his shirt beneath the surge.

'Redneck antics.'

The moon breathed its way into existence. Lauren snapped up in her bed. She felt her wound suddenly begin to bleed, the pain was cruel. She had to talk to Josie.

Silently, she hobbled her way down to the hallway. The small living room light was on. She turned to peer in, expecting to see her mother reading.

There was fervent whispering. And when she turned she caught her breath.

'Josie?' she whispered.

'Lauren...' Con' was sitting beside her.

'No' Lauren whispered to herself, inaudible to the others. She turned and walked uneasily out. They both rapidly started whispering again.

As she reached the door, a voice called to her from behind. A hand on her shoulder, then Con' struck her square on the skull, sending her reeling.

'Con, no!' Josie squealed just loud enough.

He beat Lauren back down onto the cold wooden floor, giving her a look to melt ice. She got the message. Whatever that was downstairs, she didn't see it.

The final smite came from above, breaking her nose.

'Christ, help me...'