The Infected

[3] The Infected

Chapter 3

I woke up, though it felt as though I was still in a dream. Had a zombie invasion really begun? Or was I just imagining it?

Then I realized I was still in a tree. Oh.

My mouth was completely dry, which made sense, as it was exceedingly hot. A wretched scent overwhelmed my senses as I noticed the temperature. It was as though the scent awakened me from my dreamlike state. It could only be the scent of the living dead.

"Water," I thought, then opened my backpack and brought the flask of water to my dry lips. After a couple of seconds, I realized that I would need to save some for later. Who knew when we would find more water?

After I tried to place the water as neatly as possible back into my bag, I decided to try the phone again. Maybe, just maybe, since I was elevated a bit, the phone would work. I had Sasha on speed dial, so I pressed the three key and placed the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I heard Sasha's voice answer in a soft whisper.

"Sasha? It's me! Celia!" I said, thrilled at hearing her gentle voice. It was a nice change from Mark's harsh commands.

"Celia! You're okay! Where are you?"

"I am roughly five miles from your house, where are you?"

"I'm at my house. We set up a sort of fortress by bringing the food and water upstairs, and then destroying the stairs."

Of course. Sasha was my Asian friend, who came from a ridiculously intelligent family.

"Can I stay with you for a while?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course, you're my best friend."

"Thank you so much!" I said, then paused. What about Mark? Even though he was a little weird, if it weren't for him I'd be dead.

"Hey, Sasha," I said, "I met this guy named Mark, and I pretty much owe him my life. I'll tell you about it later. He's headed for his cousin's house, but do you think he could stay for a little while, maybe? I'd really like to pay him back."

"I'm sure it will be fine. If he saved your life, then we owe him, as well."

I breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced back over at Mark. He was sleeping on the branch adjacent to mine. I saw him stir a bit, so I figured we would be off soon.

"Thank you so much, Sash. I don't know what I would do without you," I said truthfully.

"It's really no problem. We just went shopping two days ago, so we're loaded with water, and you know how big our house is."

Oh, Sasha. Always so thoughtful and giving.

"I can't thank you enough," I said, then heard a bone-chilling moan. The heavy footsteps thudded along, growing louder with every second that passed.

"Sasha-" I began, then stopped, terrified.

"Celia? What is it?"

"I.. It... Zombie.." I couldn't put together a coherent sentence. The creature was thudding along, about twenty feet from the tree. My hands were shaking.

"I'll... call you back," I managed to stutter, then dropped the phone. Luckily, it fell back into the backpack.

I didn't notice, of course, because the undead demon had brought some friends.

"Mark?" I said, my voice cracking slightly from fear.

He stirred a little. Where was the experienced, alert boy I met yesterday?

I could NOT do this alone.

"MARK!" I whisper-screamed, then gently kicked his leg.

"Mmm.." was all he said. The infected ones were gaining on the tree. It wouldn't be long until they were just ten feet away.

"Mark!!" I said in a voice a little over a whisper. I gave him one last nudge, and, at last, he woke up.

"What is it?" he grumbled, still a lite groggy.

"THEY'RE COMING!" I said, a little loudly, but not to the point of yelling. I was panicking as they were about seven feet away.

I heard him curse, then quickly take out his gun. What had happened to mine?

While he activated the silencer, I quickly scanned the area. Then I spotted it.

It was on the ground. "Seriously?" I thought, frustrated.

Mark's gun was ready, and he did not hesitate to shoot the monster in the head. Nor did he hesitate to shoot the monster's little friends. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it. As I said, he was a little strange. However, he had just saved me, yet again. I was starting to grow tired of being his little damsel in distress. I could do stuff for myself, I thought. I would not complain, though, because I'd prefer to stay alive.

Next time, though, I was going to be prepared.

"That was way to close," Mark said, after the zombies were destroyed.

"I tried waking you up! You're a really heavy sleeper, okay?"

He mumbled something, then put his gun away.

I sighed, got my backpack, and jumped down.

"Thanks for killing them, though," I said, then picked up my fallen gun. I soon heard Mark jump down.

"No problem," he said, then took a drink from his bottle. I jumped a little as I felt something touch me from behind.

I quickly turned around, then felt like an idiot. It was only a branch.

Though I prayed he hadn't seen, I soon heard Mark laughing. He probably thought I was a total idiot. After a few moments, his laughter ceased, and he became serious once more.

"We'd better keep moving," he said, though he still looked a little tired.

I nodded, then remembered about Sasha.

"How far away is your cousin's house?" I asked.

"It's pretty far out there."

"Are you sure he's going to be there?"

Silence.

He was staring at the ground, thinking.

"I can only hope."

"Okay, well, I was able to call Sasha before you woke up, and she said that you could stay at her house for a while... If you want?"

"Uh, sure, that would be cool. Only for a little while, though. If I wouldn't be too much trouble," he said, thoughtfully.

"She said it would be fine," I said, then smiled a little.

"Alright, let's go," he said, returning my smile, and began walking. I followed close behind him, careful to stay quiet.

In the silence that followed, I wondered how he became so experienced and knew all the stuff he did. There had not been any zombie attacks in the past seventeen or eighteen years. Never, actually. I decided that I would ask him when we got to Sasha's house.