30 Days of Undead Summer [Zombie Challenge]

June 2nd: #FridayFreeForAll

Not an Option

Cora peeked around the corner, swore under her breath. Crouching in her boots on the dirty ground, her eyes were swift over the area. If she counted correctly there were at least six dead ones over the field.

Damn.

She needed to get past the field. Looking back, she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes.

When was the last time she slept?

Too bad closing her eyes wasn't an option. The little girl at her side clutching a raggedy Ann doll would not give her the chance. Cora could see her eyes were becoming bloodshot from the tears she'd been constantly crying. Cora wanted to cry, but once again it wasn't an option.

Returning her attention, she just needed to get across the field. She'd taken out plenty of dead ones along their journey, but not this many. There was always the chance she'd get hurt or her sister would.

That's already happened. I can't afford to go about this slowly. She deserves the last bit of peace this world has to offer.

Sucking in a breath, Cora looked at her sister. Immediately, she turned over her arm. Cora wanted to swear, but it wasn't an option. The mark on her sister's arm was even worst now. It had been a mere six hours since she was bit by a dead one. The teeth had latched on her fleshy arm biting a huge chunk before Cora could ever get to her side. At the time of the bite, Cora was sure she'd die from the blood loss but they managed to wrap her arm up. Instead, she was become dizzy on her feet and her skin was even more pale than usual.

Her once beautiful blonde hair was damp with sweat. Cora knew she didn't have much time. Her sister had chosen to die in a place that was nice instead of the horrible places they'd hunkered down. Cora had come across an old park that had playground equipment as an old bathroom building.

So many dead ones covered the area. She wasn't sure if this would even work. Emptying the field of each dead one was going to take time on her own. Slowly removing her backpack, she pulled out the knives, hatchet, and crowbar she was lucky enough find only a day ago. She'd probably kill for a gun right now but that never did any good. The sound only drew them closer, the last thing she needed at the moment.

"Stay here, Lacy," Cora said, slipping the knives into her pants, the hatchet on her back, and the crowbar in her palm.

Digging into her backpack, she groaned when she realized the walkman was dead, batteries had long died on the trip over. Guess, she'd have to deal. This kind of world just didn't allow for small favors.

Sucking in a breath, Cora moved into the light. Thankfully, she was able to use stealth. As she grew closer, she began to gag. Never did the smell get any better. It was worst than the over garbage or the sewer just down the street. There must have once been more dead ones to accumulate such a horrid stench. Since Cora hadn't eaten in a few hours, she didn't feel the urge immediately empty her stomach. That had happened a few too many times already.

Sneaking up on the closest one, Cora tried her hardest to ignore the moans from the woman. Her hair was falling off her head, her skin was crinkled, showing the bones and what was left of the organs underneath. She turned her nose up at the sight before grabbing a knife. Quickly, before any other one noticed, she pushed the knife into the back of the head ignoring the words from the dead's one's lips.

It took much longer than Cora would have liked to remove each dead one. She didn't like to consider it killing. When she returned to her sister, there was blonde and a bit of guts on her skin and stuck to her boots. Thankfully Lacy had seen much worst, been through much worse.

Carrying Lacy into the bathroom building, they closed and locked the door. Suddenly lacy entered one of the stalls and Cora swore under her breath. Lacy had eaten the last of their food from Cora's bag. The stench in the bathroom wasn't any better. She knew there was probably a real dead one in the back stall that caused the smell. Moving to the sink, the mirror was cracked and broken in many different places. She could barely see her reflection but her eyes shown through the blood that caked her face. Finding some paper towels, she stopped up the sink the best she could and used two water bottles emptying them.

When Lacy finally came out, she was woozy on her feet. Cora had already cleaned up, grabbed another bottle from her bag and helped Lacy to lie down on the tile floor. Cora had promised Lacy she would have a true death. They would get her cleaned up and bury in any place she wanted. Lacy was so disoriented in the past few hours, Cora wasn't sure if she knew where she was.

Cora poured the water bottle over Lacy's face hoping to get rid of some of the sweat. Lacy looked at Cora, smiled, but Cora could see the pain in Lacy's eyes.

"I'm glad I get to die with you. Mom could never have handled it," Lacy whispered, her voice gravely. Her doll had been dropped back outside near their shelter.

Cora chuckled. Thoughts of their mom now were no longer sad. Their mom had died long before this new world took effect. They had been on their own since their father had abandoned them with their grandmother years ago. She had one of the first to bite the bullet.

Silence settled over them both. Cora waiting for her sister to die and Lacy waiting for the bright white light.

"Try to do it before I start to speak. I don't want you to go through that." Lacy stared at her pleadingly.

Cora wasn't sure she could do that. They learned the hard way their brand of dead ones was different. The last words anyone said before they died or turned was the words they muttered for all eternity. Cora had tried to cover Lacy from it but it couldn't be helped. The first dead one Cora had removed was their own grandmother, who couldn't stop repeating she was sorry for taking her own life.

Cora then began to sing a song, a lullaby her mother once sang to her.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word..."

Cora repeated the words, until her sister's eyes fell shut. Tears welled in her eyes and drifted down her cheeks. Lying Lacy's head on the tile floor, she pulled out a knife and picked her back up into her arms. Carrying her outside, sunset would be upon her shortly.

Walking across the once vibrant grass, it had long since died with the rest of the world. Lowering to the grass, Cora looked up at the sky with the white fluffy clouds and tried to remember the last good memory from the world died along with her sister.

"If that mocking...bird...don't ssing..."

Cora looked down to see her sister's eyes had already glazed over. She hadn't kept her promise. Cora was suddenly frozen looking into the dead blue eyes of her little sister. Her voice gruff but still her voice. For a moment, Cora was taken back to the times her sister sang at church. She was one of the best ones in her group of kids that could.

Without thinking, she reached forward to brush the hair from her eyes and that's when Lacy struck. Her teeth latched onto Cora's wrist and bit down. Cora through her head back and screamed from the intense pain, kicked her sister back. Clutching her hair to her chest, blood oozed down her skin through her shirt.

Gripping the knife in her hand, she jammed it into the center of her sister's skull. Just like that she was gone.

Forever.

Cora looked down at her own arm and realized, with startling clarity that she didn't have to walk this world alone after all.

"I'm coming with you, Lacy."

Cora pulled out the only gun she had in her bag. The single gun that Lacy didn't know about because it only had one bullet. Knocking the bullet into the chamber, Cora laid by her sister's body staring up at the clouds, a smile on her face.

Pressing the cool metal flush against the side of her head, she pulled the trigger.

Walking the earth without her sister, wasn't an option.

(This is my first ever piece with Zombies. I had something else in mind at the beginning and it just changed. I know this is over 500 words, probably around 1500 words instead. Like I said, it just got away from me. Hope you enjoyed it.)