Zomb-Pocalypse 4

Chapter Four

"What in the hell did you do that for?" My Dad screams at Jack, and I can tell it's all he can do not to reach over and knock Jack on his ass. The only thing stopping him is that Jack still has one hand on Megan.

"Hal, I know what you're thinking, but you have to believe me. That punch is going to hurt a hell of a lot less than being awake for what I'm going to do next." Jack explains calmly and in a messed up way, he makes sense.

"You should've warned us." Ryan hedges and Jack lets out an annoyed huff.

"Are we going to get this done, or are we going to screw around until she wakes up again. I didn't exactly enjoy punching a teenage girl in the face, you know." Jack shouts in exasperation and that decides it for me. I reach over to where he's tossed his knife back into the alcohol, when Megan started struggling, and hand it to him.

"Do it." I tell him, putting my complete trust in him­- it's not like we have a lot of options.

Jack looks to Ryan and my Dad to make sure they aren't going to be any trouble and they both shake their heads and take a step back. Jack washes up again and uses the hand sanitizer, and then begins gently prodding at Megan's wound with his fingertips until he finally locates the bullet. "I don't think it's too deep... and it doesn't feel like the bullet exploded on impact." He tells us with a sigh of relief. "We got lucky- I don't think it hit anything vital." I can't help myself, my jaw drops. Silly me, here I'd thought the worst thing about this situation was Megan getting shot. I didn't even know bullets could explode once they hit you.

I'm doing pretty well, up until Jack starts using his knife to dig the bullet out. I'm not proud of myself, but I have to turn away. I scan the horizon instead, anxiety gnawing a hole in my stomach. I'm worried about Megan, even though she's sometimes a know-it-all, and I'm terrified that more of the bad guys are going to show up looking for their friends, and we'll just be standing here in the middle of the road, easy pickings.

I glance towards the wrecked truck not that far away and feel sick. Today was supposed to be fun, but I guess I was deluding myself. I don't honestly think fun exists anymore, not since the zombies.

Jack starts stitching Megan's wound closed after he tosses the bullet out onto the tailgate. I walk over and scoop it up out of morbid curiosity, ignoring the bug eyed look my Dad sends me. Its mushroom shaped, and mostly covered in Megan's blood, but I can also see traces of copper and lead visible through the gore. I carefully wrap it in a piece of gauze and slip it inside my jacket pocket for safe keeping.

Megan is still unconscious, and so pale that she honestly looks kind of dead, and I resist the urge to check for a pulse- Jack has everything handled, I remind myself. "That should hold until we can get back to the cabin." Jack says finally stepping back and rinsing off his bloody fingers. "We need to get her back inside the cab and warm her up. The cold probably helped slow the bleeding, but we need to get this girl warmed up now." He says as he gently leans in and scoops Megan up in his arms. I run ahead and open the door and he lays her down across the seat, taking off his own jacket and using it as a blanket. "Will you ride back here with her and make sure she doesn't fall off the seat?" Jack asks me, and I nod, climbing in and perching myself on the tiny bit of seat that's left.

"Of course."

"I'm riding with you guys." Ryan says firmly, already climbing into the front seat even before Jack nods his permission. "If we get attacked again you guys are going to need someone who can cover you." He explains as Dad climbs back into the driver's seat, and I force myself to swallow my irritation. It's true, I'm not the best person with a gun, but I'm getting better every day, and I think I did okay in a pinch.