The Zombie Resistance

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Lani! Lani! Come pay wit me! Pay wit me!" Maggie yelled from across the yard. It was perfect outside, and Maggie was taking advantage of it. Mom and Dad were out shopping so I was babysitting her.

"Lani! Come pay wit me! Pease?" she yelled again. I stood up, stretching out of the lawn chair. Maggie was at the edge of the fence, crouching down, playing with worms. I walked over to her, enjoying the sensation of the warm sun on my shoulders. Maggie grinned up at me, something cupped in her hands.

"What's that in your hands, mi sol?" I asked, smoothing her frizzy black hair that was a mirror image of mine.

"Worms. Worms. Worms!" she sang. I laughed and grabbed one out of her hand.

"Should we eat one, Maggie? I'm hungry!" She looked up, and stared past me in horror.

"Lani? Lani?" she whispered in a too small voice. I looked behind my shoulder slowly, scared of the look on her face. Nothing was behind me. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned back to Maggie.

"There's nothing there, Maggie. What's wron-" I drew in a quick breath. Maggie was gone, and replacing her was Tina's horrified face. Her neck had a huge hole that was bleeding heavily, and her face was tinted white. Her fingers were outstretched towards mine.

"Lana! Lana! Help me! Help me!"

"Tina? Oh my god, Tina!" I screamed, trying to get to her. My running felt sluggish. Blood dripped down onto my shoes, and I collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Tina kept on reaching out toward me, begging for help.

"Lana! Lana! Help me! Oh god, help me!"

"I'm sorry, I can't! I'm so sorry!" I screamed, pushing my head into my palms, trying to get her image out of my head, but it only enhanced it.

"You let me die, Lana."

I looked up to her, my whole body shaking. But Tina was gone. Maggie was back. She didn't seem to see me, and was backing away from a pack of zombie children. Her mouth was wide open, silently screaming.

"Maggie! Maggie! No! Get away from her!" I tried to move, to fight, to get them away from her, but I was rooted to the ground. Maggie then looked to me, struggling to figure out why I wasn't saving her.

"Mommy! Daddy! Ellie! Hep me! Pease!" she screamed, each word stabbing my ears.

"I'm here, Maggie! Come here! I'll help you! I can't get to you! Come to me!" I screamed, reaching out for her. She ignored me and started to plead to the zombies.

"Don't come closer. I'll- I'll tell my big sissy, and she's gonna beat you up." she said, her voice hard. I felt a swell of despair.

"Sissy! Hep me!" she screamed and tripped, falling head first into the ground. The zombies descended onto her.

"No! Maggie! Mommy! Daddy! Help!" I screamed, sitting bolt upright in bed. Tears were streaming down my face, and I sobbed into the pillow. "Someone help me... Please... I don't know what to do."

I was alone. The zombie apocalypse had come, and I was all by myself. My mom and dad were probably dead or one of them. My sister too.

I cried again, out of the sheer unfairness of it all. I didn't want to die. I should kill myself. At least then I would die the way I wanted to.

I heard the floorboards groan from downstairs. What? Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

"Don't freak out. Get a grip." I whispered, pinching my arm, trying to calm myself down. "Okay now, find a hiding spot." I pushed myself out of the warm bed and went to the closet. It was the perfect hiding spot in hide and seek, so I should be fine. It's also pitch black in the closet. There's no way any zombie could see me. I'd be fine. I'd be fine.

The floor creaked again, and I could hear them trudging up the stairs. I held my breath. Calm down, calm down. They won't check the closet. Zombies are stupid, remember? I heard every little thing they did. I hated it. Either they'd leave or they'd find me eventually. Maybe they knew, and were waiting. Oh god...

"Caine, there's no one here. Let's just raid this house and move on." A girl's voice said. They can talk? No! That's a human. Oh my god!

"Sara, we have to check. What if there's a kid or a baby? We can't let it die." Another voice answered her, this time it was male.

"Too bad. We've got our own problems. Hurry up, Tom and Becca are still waiting outside. You know it's dangerous out there."

I began to crawl out of the closet, as I was about to open the door, the boy opened it for me, blinding me with his flashlight. I gasped with pain and shielded my eyes. He yelped and jumped back.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" I yelled, and it clicked off.

"Caine? Are you alright? Did you find someone?" the girl, Sara, asked cautiously.

"I'm fine! I found a girl! Come here!" he shouted across the hall, and Sara ran up to us. She looked at me suspiciously. I stared at them, wide-eyed.

"Hello. My name's Caine. This is Sara. Who are you?" He asked, just as Sara tackled me. I landed to the floor with a thud, and my breath was knocked away. The sharp blade of a large knife pressed against my throat.

"Who are you?" Sara whispered viciously. I pressed myself against the floor, trying to evade the knife. She snarled angrily. "I'll ask you one more time," she yelled, pressing the knife further into me, and pricks of blood dripped out of my neck, "Who are you?"

"Lana! My- my name's Lana! Get off of me!" I gasped, and tried to push her off with little luck. She was a good head taller than me and heavier.

"Jesus, Sara! Calm down! What's your problem? She's not one of them!" Caine said, holding Sara by the hair. I wriggled away from them, wiping the small trail of blood going down my neck.

"No, Caine! You calm down! How do you know whether or not she was one of them? It's only been a day! How do we know if they can talk or not? They look just like us! Why not talk just like us!" she said, spitting into his face.

"Excuse me," I said, my voice only a squeak, "I-I-I'm not a zombie. I got away from them. Please help me!" Caine set Sara down and helped me up. Once I got up, I could fully see them. They were probably two years older than I was, and they were both taller than me. Caine was handsome, he had blonde hair and a crooked nose, but it suited him. Sara had straight hair, the kind I had always envied, and she had a perfect figure. They were both heavily armed with knives and Caine had a pistol. They were intimidating.

Caine cleared his throat, and I realized I had been staring too long. My cheeks grew red with embarrassment.

"Well, Lana, like I said, I'm Caine and this is Sara. Um, do you have, uh, anyone with you? Any siblings lurking in the closets?" he laughed at his joke, and I felt my eyes well up with tears.

"I have a sister."

"That's great! Where is she? I don't want to hurt her. When I saw you, I almost shot you in the head!"

I stared at Caine, not wanting to answer him. A lump grew in my throat.

"She's- she's," I swallowed my cries. Stop being such a wimp. "I don't know where she is." Caine nodded. I saw a flash of emotion go across Sara's face, but it disappeared as fast as it came. She took Caine's hand tightly.

"Lana, would you like to come with us? It's just the four of us, but we could always use another member." I stared at him, perplexed. He had a group prepared already? How could he?

"How do you already have a group? How could you-"

"Lana, what's your decision? Either you come with us, or we'll just raid your house and be on our way." Sara said, and I felt myself shrink against her gaze. Stop being such a wimp.

Caine rolled his eyes playfully and nudged Sara's ribs.

"She's just kidding, Lana. We really wouldn't rob you blind. But, I really think you should come with us. It's safer in numbers." That way, if zombies come, most of us can escape. I could read in between the lines, they would probably use me as bait to get away. Caine shifted his weight awkwardly. "We'll help you find your sister, too. We're all looking for our family."

"Alright, I'll join your group."