Hollow Graves (Lesbian Story)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Blood rushed to my lungs, inhaling deeply. I'd snapped out of a nightmare. The sheets were soaking wet. My head ached like I'd hit it hard.
Shutting my eyes tight I rubbed my hand over my head. Blindly, I slid out of bed, my legs giving out under me. Dropping to the floor, I lifted onto my hands and knees. "Fuck," I groaned.
I heard footsteps from a distance. I was about to order Madison away, knowing it would be her when an ache in my abdomen made me shudder out a throaty cry. Pain jabbed from my abdomen up to my head. Body ache was a serious thing.
Hands pressed at my shoulders. I winced, skin burning from the pain.
Opening my eyes, Madison crouched beside me. "Tris." She looked scared and unsure of what to do. I could not hear anymore words. My mind was completely blanked.
The pulse in her neck jumped and like a snake striking, I reacted.
Teeth sank into Madison's neck as she screamed. I could tell she screamed by the vibration of her vocals. I did not care. I wanted flesh. I wanted to kill with my bare teeth.
Someone shook me. I leaped
Forward screaming out my displeasure. Sweat covered my body.
"Tris. You all right? You were having a nightmare."
I looked around first as if suddenly we were being watched. "Bad dream," I grumbled.
"No kidding." Madison stood up. "I will make breakfast and then we can go on with what we discussed last night."
Right. Our plan.

~

For the next two days we'd taught the girls how to protect themselves better. It was easy going out in the day time compared to at night.
I'd run ahead and scout the area, letting them come through. Truth was, I needed help. More eyes to search for anyone connected to Donald.
Maybe Donald himself, would see the girls as bait and approach. We didn't necessarily tell the girls they were bait. Madison explained to her daughter and the two girls we needed their help.
They were good at keeping quiet when walkers strolled by as if heading somewhere important.
"We should head back?" I suggested. It was almost four. It would be dark in another hour and a half. I didn't want to risk being trapped at a corner for an hour. We'd seen two small herds of walkers. Waiting for herds to pass by was like waiting at a red light for a train to cross over. Shit happened and I didn't want them to move into my neighborhood. We'd be screwed then.
Madison nodded.
She impressed me. Not a faint spark of fear that kept her hesitant. She was brave and courageous. Madison had always been a strong person to me.
I winced from a stench reacting a few seconds quicker than a normal human being should have the ability to do.
Brennon screamed as a walker grabbed at her ankles, it's head inches from syncing its deteriorating and abhorrent teeth into her. The walker was crawling from underneath the car we leaned next to.
I slammed my knife downward at the walkers head in time to save her from a bad bite.
Madison snatched Brennon, squeezing her tight.
"Mom, I'm all right." Brennan pulled away. There was tears threatening to fall from Brennon's eyes though she held in strong.
Another walker bumped into the other end of the car.
Our cover was definitely blown.
"Let's get the Fuck out."
As we headed back to the house, I twisted around the car deciding to take out the walker. No sense in letting it walk around to possibly kill someone else.
Making it back to the house, Madison and I took turns killing walkers. We did not want them close to the house to follow us.
I checked the house making sure we weren't compromised. "All clear."
"You three. Please clean up and its quiet time for the next hour while I and Tris think."
"Y'all think a lot," Brennon said.
"No kidding," I said mockingly. "Look how we're still safe because of quiet time?"
Madison frowned at my sarcasm.
"Up stairs," Madison ordered one last time.
They ran up.
I thought I'd be unaffected hearing my parents growls by now. I cleaned my hands off in the sink, digging blood from my fingernails. My parents were down in the basement, festering and empty inside. They'd gotten on my nerves plenty of times. Never accepted my sexuality, but I still loved them. Many times I wanted to disown myself from them. If it wasn't for Christian, I would have long ago.
I'd be on that beach right now with my friends, fighting zombies in bathing suits instead.
"Tris. You are zoning out on me." Madison placed her hand on my shoulder. I shivered involuntarily, forcing myself to look up at her. "You've been scrubbing your hands for nearly ten minutes."
Frowning, I looked down at my hands. My fingers were raw and wrinkled. I shook my head, clearing my mind. Turning off the water Madison handed me a paper towel.
"You okay?"
I nodded, prematurely. Taking a long breath I winced from the stench of my parents. It was getting worse. Madison should have been smelling them by now. She was being too nice not to say so.
"What's bothering you?"
"You...right now," I said, harshly. I was pushing her away. She was trying to get into my head. A skill she utilize with me when she use to babysit me.
"Okay," she said, cautiously. "I'll back off."
I said nothing. I felt bad for being mean but I also felt more safe not sharing my thoughts.
I stood in the kitchen for another several minutes, contemplating. My parents growls were buzzing in my ears. A dead chorus.
Impulsively, I grabbed my knife heading for the basement. Opening the door I took one step in. I only had about two more steps before I would have to make the choice of leaping down the hole I created or jumping across.
"Tris," Madison called out.
"I know you can smell them," is what I said. "I've been smelling them the moment I came back to this house. And I can't stand to hear them anymore."
My skin formed chills. My breath cold against my lips. I was angry. Squeezing my knife tight, I stared over at my zombie parents running up the stairs, trying to do a leap to me like a toddler trying to jump. It was pathetic.
"They're your parents," was all Madison said.
One tear fell from my eye. I grimaced making my final decision. I no longer wanted to have them suffer. If I'd turned, I would want to be taken out. Not roaming around and possibly harming innocent people. My parents would have never survived this new world. Their Christian beliefs would have hindered them from killing a walker. I'm glad they died this way.
"Tris..." Madison said again.
"They are not my parents. Not anymore." I leaped down the hole, hearing Madison scream my name.
My father came at me first like a cat coming fast and repetitively. My mother followed right behind. My muscles tightened, heart pounding dangerously slow. My humanity dissolved, I was left with the dark part of me.
The last time I'd faced my parents, I'd lost. Leaping to one side, I'd dodged my zombie father.
I danced around my parents as playing dodgeball. My zombie mother came at me full speed and as if I'd been a trained athlete, I ran up the wall doing a backfill. I landed at my zombie mother's backside, grabbing her by the hair. I swung her around in time to block my zombie father from attacking me.
I could feel the roots of her hair tearing. Everything decayed with time.
Mentally telling God to accept my mother's soul into heaven, I slid my blade into the back of my mother's head.
She dropped to the floor as my zombie father tackled me into the wall.
His teeth came dangerously close to tearing through my neck. I held him back by his shoulders. I tried twisting my hand away while fighting for distance. My zombie father grabbed onto my shirt by the arms, forcing himself closer to me. His teeth grinded, rusted together. I could almost hear the sound of his teeth crunching together. The sound gnawed in my mind. I couldn't take it much longer.
With one last source of energy boost I shoved my zombie father as far away as I could. He stumbled only two steps back and I slammed my blade into his temple right when he lunged back for me.
His eyes on my and lifeless, my zombie father was no more. He dropped to the ground, officially dead beside my mother. I knew they'd be now at peace together.
Grabbing my knife from his skull, I blindly headed up the stairs leaping across. Nearly bumping into Madison, I paused.
She said nothing only stepping aside for me to pass.

~

I'd been in my room for most the night. After cleaning myself off, I had nothing better to do than feel depressive. I'd killed my parents. What was left of them. I felt mixed feelings. I knew it was the right thing to do.
Christian could not come back home to them like they were. Someone had to make the choice and it would have been me from the beginning. I would bury them by early morning in our backyard.
Finding nothing better to do, I needed to burn some energy. I began with sit-ups moving onto pushups. My body felt strong. At my hundredth pushup, I could hear Madison coming up the stairs. She'd left me alone most the night. It was close to eleven. We'd kept candles lite to a bare minimum. Didn't want to draw attention to ourselves.
A quiet knock and Madison opened the door without giving me a chance to welcome her in. I leaped to my feet, her eyes studying me. I was smart not to take off my shirt. She was dubious to my bites and I wanted it to stay that way.
I grabbed my cup of water, drinking most of it.
Madison looked me in the eyes hesitant, dropping down to my body before turning away all together. She focused her attention onto my old high school trophies from my basketball and volleyball years. "You were always a great athlete. In shape." She turned back studying me cautiously. "But...you were never that good."
I smirked, pressing my hand against my chest. "I'm offended."
"No joking around," Madison said. "You were...strong. You leaped from that stairwell with ease. Far faster than I can explain to myself. So, I'm asking you."
I frowned, diverting her question to my grief. "I just killed my parents and I can't find my brother. Can you just...not question me right now?"
Madison held her hands up. "Okay. I'm sorry."
She turned, walking away.
"Madison," I called out. She turned staying quiet. "I'm thankful to have you here. I can't explain everything that's going on with me, but I'm glad you're here. You've helped."
Giving me a warm smile made the stress in my chest ease.
"See you in the morning."
I nodded. "Goodnight."