When All is Lost

Chapter 55

I met his eyes as he fought to keep the zombie in a headlock. He wasn't scared. He looked determined.

"Get your boots off." When I didn't move fast enough, he added, "Hurry!"

Blindly, I unlaced them with shaking hands and clumsy fingers. I kicked them off haphazardly before I caught on to Ian's idea.

"Get its shoes now," he said through gritted teeth as the thing squirmed in his arms, thrashing about like a wild animal.

I dropped to my knees and began to tug at the things flimsy, slip-on boots. "You're fucking nuts," I told him, shaking my head.

"Don't worry." Ian dodged what could have been a nasty hit to his chin. "I won't let it bite you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," I mumbled under my breath as I got its second boot off. "Try to hold it still."

Ian grimaced. "Yeah, sure. I'll just do that."

The thing kicked out at me but I managed to get a hold of one of its legs. Its other socked foot kicked my shoulder as I slid one of my discarded boots on its foot. I flinched but kept going, tying an ugly knot to ensure the boot stayed on.

I got the second boot on when it managed to kick me with its free foot right in the forehead. My head snapped back and I had to blink a few times to stop seeing stars, but in the end, I got both boots on successfully.

"You okay?" Ian asked sounding equally worried and amused.

My eyes fell on the bottom of the zombie's feet and I could see the carving in the soles. "Yeah. I'm good." Then, a thought dawned on me. "Her face doesn't look like mine."

Ian shot me a look. "It's close enough."

I picked up his mallet, making his brows shoot up. "Kate..." he warned.

"Don't move."

I raised the weapon and brought it down on the zombie's face, careful to not use too much strength. Ian grimaced as I did it two more times.

"Feel better?" he huffed out as I placed the mallet on the ground beside him.

"It was your plan. I'm just trying to help." I shrugged.

"Sure. Good." The thing recovered quickly from my beating and was already tossing itself from one side to the other in Ian's arms. "Think you can wear those?" He added gesturing to the zombie's boots, sounding more and more winded.

"I'll try." I cringed at the idea, but my other choice was likely to be much less pleasant.

I slipped on the boots, noticing immediately that they held no warmth despite having just been worn. The thought made my stomach roll, but I'd simply make it a goal to find better boots as soon as I could.

First, we had to get Ian out of his predicament. He was using his whole body to try and keep the thing under control, but he couldn't hold it forever.

"What can I do?" I asked.

"Open the front door."

"But-"

"Trust me!"

I did. I trusted him as much as a person possibly could, but that didn't mean I wanted to leave him to fight on his own. But it wasn't about my feelings.

The boots pinched my toes as I left Ian to his battle. Winding my way through the dining room, I made it to the front door, unlocked its deadbolt, and opened it.

I could hear Ian and the zombie tussling in the house, but I could also hear the crunching of snow outside. Needing to confirm the situation, I poked my head out to see.