Insanity

Five

Alex sat against the wall near the window. The next thing I knew a mutant broke through the window and the boards that covered the window and went after Alex.

I stood up and grabbed my machete. I ran the the mutant. It tore her throat out and blood was pooling onto the floor. I froze as it ran at me. Will beat me to killing it. A bullet went straight through the mutant's skull. Megan ran to Alex. She leaned over her body and sobbed. I stood there not knowing what to do. Ivan and Will stood there awkwardly as Megan continued to cry. I went to a bedroom and pulled a sheet off the bed. I brought it to the living room. I was about to go put it over Alex. Ivan grabbed my shoulder. I turned to look at him. He shook his head at me. I sighed. I set the sheet on the couch. I went and put a hand on Megan's shoulder. She glared up at me. "What?"she snapped. "I was thinking that we should... Have a funeral for Alex," I said. Her facial expression softened. She nodded. I grabbed the sheet and wrapped Alex's body in it. Will and Ivan picked her up and brought her outside. They set her in the grass. We all dug the grave for her body and buried her. Ivan, Will, and I went in the house. Megan stood outside looking at the dirt that was Alex's grave. I sighed. "What are we gonna do about her?" Will asked. "I don't know, but we need to get moving," I said. Ivan nodded agreeing with me. Will walked outside and stood next to Megan. They were talking when she pulled her gun on him. I ran outside, machete in hand. "We're not leaving," she growled. "Hey let's not be hasty," I said trying to calm her down. She pointed the gun at me. "What if I shoot you too?" she asked angrily. "No none of that," Will said. Tears slid down her cheeks. "I know. You're grieving over her, but if we don't leave we'll be dead too," I said trying to get her to put the gun down. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and put the gun down. Will took the gun from her hand. I sighed. "I know it's hard, but we really should get going," I said. She nodded.

We walked back inside. I grabbed my bow and arrows. I sheathed my machete. Ivan and Megan sat in the living room talking. He was still trying to calm her down completely. I walked into the kids room and grabbed a backpack. It was red with a Pokemon on it. I smiled. Christian and I always played Pokemon together. I shook my head trying not to think about him. I went into the kitchen and threw canned food into the backpack. I grabbed some sharp knives and put them in there too. Will walked in. "Where are all the knives?" he asked. I pointed at my backpack. He nodded. He handed me a few blankets. I put my bow and the blankets in the trunk. I kept the backpack on me though. I walked back inside. "Anything else we might need?" I asked everyone. The think for a moment and shake their heads. Will walks out of the room. I look at Ivan confused. He shrugged. Megan hasn't said anything for awhile. Probably still thinking about Alex. Will walks back in and hands me more arrows. "Where did you get these?" I asked. "They were in the parents bedroom. Along with a few other guns and some bullets, but I already put those in the trunk," he said. "Are we ready to leave now?" Ivan asked impatiently. Will nodded. We all got in the car. Ivan and Megan sat in the back. She just looked out the window and said nothing.

"Its all your fault," she said after about an hour of pure silence. "Huh?" I asked her. "It's all your fault," she said again. "It's no one's fault," Will said. "Ash could have saved her, but she froze," Megan argued. I looked down at my hands uncomfortably. "It's not her fault," Will argued back. "Guys, stop fighting," Ivan said. "No. It is her fault. If she hadn't froze Alex would be alive," Megan said loudly. I still said nothing. "It wasn't anyone's fault," Will growled. "Shut up!" I yelled. It got quiet. "It was my fault. Megan's right, if I hadn't froze Alex would be alive," I said. "See?" Megan asked. "She even admits it." I sighed. Megan went back to looking out the window. Ivan sighed and grabbed a blanket, closing his eyes and going to sleep. Megan did the same. I just stared out the window. That's the second person who's death is your fault. A tear slipped down my cheek. I could feel Will's gaze on me. "It's not your fault, she just wants someone to blame," he said. "No," I said. "She's right, if I hadn't froze I could have saved her," I said not looking at him. "Stop that," he said. "What?" I asked. "Stop blaming yourself. Its not your fault," he said. I nodded and looked over at him. He just looked at the road.

"Your fault," people were saying. I looked around me. Megan and Christian stood infront of me. "It's all your fault," Megan said. "Yeah Ash, it's all your fault," Christian said. "It's your fault for Alex's death," Megan said. "It's your fault for my death," Christian said. "No!" I yelled. "Its not my fault!" I ran away from them. They just kept appearing infront of me. "Stop!" I yelled. They shifted into mutants. I screamed. I pushed one back as the other toppled on top of me. I tried crawling out from under it. The other mutant tore at my arm ripping out muscles and shoving them I their mouth. I screamed. The one on top of me tried biting my face. I pushed it off of me.and got up. The ran at me full speed. I closed my eyes waiting for the impact that never came.

My eyes fluttered open. I looked around. We were still in the car. It was dark out and we weren't moving. "Where are we?" I asked sleepily. "On the side of a dirt road. I can't drive anymore and we're all tired so we'll start back up again in the morning," Will said. I nodded and put my head against the window staring out. Megan and Ivan were still passed out in the back seat. "You okay?" Will asked. "I'm fine. Why?" I asked. "You don't seem fine. You talk a lot in your sleep about a guy. What's his name? Charlie? Collin? I don't know, something like that," Will said. "Christian," I whispered. "What?" Will asked. "His name was Christian. He was my brother. He died saving me," I said quietly. "Oh," Will said not pressing any further. I fell asleep after a while of thinking.

The next morning, we were back on the road. "So, where are we going exactly?" I asked. "My grandparents had a large farm down this road. I used to visit every summer and help out," Will said. I nodded and looked out at the passing trees. I could feel Megan's gaze burning into the back of my head. "What?" I snapped looking back at her. She looked at me coldly and mouthed 'your fault' then went back to looking out the window. Ivan just stared out the window not saying a word.

We pulled up and a large farmhouse. It was a tan color and had a huge garage next to it. Will parked the car and we got out. I left my bow in the car, but I had my machete on me. Will and Megan went to check out the house while Ivan and I went into the garage. I kicked open the door and Ivan went in before me. We looked around. No mutants.

We heard a loud crash from the house. We looked at each other and bolted for the house. We ran in the front door. Ivan ran upstairs while I checked the ground floor. I looked around in the kitchen, living room, and computer room. Ivan came back downstairs and shook his head at me. "Where are they?" I asked quietly. He shrugged and we both looked at the basement door. He looked at me. I nodded once. We slowly and quietly walked toward the door. I kicked it open and we walked down the creaky stairs. The only thing you could hear was the click-clacking of mine and Ivan's boots.

I hear people whispering. "I can't see jack shit down here," Ivan whispered. "Yeah I know," I whisper back. We continue walking into another room in the basement. The whispers are getting closer as we walk forward.

A hand grabs my shoulder and another goes around my mouth. The hand around my mouth had a cloth in it. I've seen enough movies to know there is chloroform on the cloth. I hold my breath. "Com'on sweetie, you'll have to breath sometime," a voice rings in my ear.