Don't Whistle Past the Graveyard

Ch. Thirty-Five

I sat between Sacha and Shane as we drove, watching in amusement when Viktoria eventually ended up sharing half her pineapple with Kyle after all.

For as prickly as she seems, Vik is actually a sweetheart at her core. But only if she likes you.

The snow started to fall a little thicker, and Shane kept looking at the SUV following us. Speaking almost to himself, he said, "He hits my truck and I'll kill him."

I turned to find that Brayden was kind of tailgating Shane, and wondered if this was going to end bloody. I made a mental note to make sure that it was Kyle or Sacha with Brayden on watch tonight. I didn't trust Brayden to behave himself if he was alone with Shane, and didn't particularly want to wake up to a body tomorrow morning.

Shane eventually found a house that he seemed to feel pretty good about. We drove around to the back where the cars would be shielded from the road by the house. Shane parked and said, "Raleigh, you and Sacha go clear the house. We'll get the stuff together."

Sacha and I nodded and went to the back door. I watched as he picked the lock and said, "Where did you learn to do this? I keep meaning to ask you."

He shrugged and, with a small grin, said, "YouTube."

I laughed and took out my flashlight, looking for any signs of disturbance. Whispering I asked, "Okay, so I guess the real question is why'd you learn to do it?"

Sacha opened one of the cabinets in the kitchen, frowning when he found it empty, and he turned back around. As he trailed me up the steps he said, "For fun. My friends and I would break in to empty houses in the neighborhood sometimes."

We walked along the hall and he looked at me nervously, like he thought I would disapprove. Maybe I should have, but it was more amusing than anything. When I didn't immediately say something, he defended, "We didn't steal or anything. It was just fun to break in."

"Oh, sure," I said with a small smile, cautiously cracking open a door. I laughed and Sacha seemed to relax a little. Not thinking, I said, "I'm sure your parents just loved that."

I closed my eyes briefly and turned to him, wanting to apologize, but he just shook his head, a grin spreading slowly over his face. Opening another door to check the room, he said, "I never got caught."

This startled another laugh from me, but it was immediately silenced when we heard a dull thump coming from the last door. I reached for my machete, but Sacha tapped my wrist and shook his head, pointing to himself. I raised my eyebrow but went down the hall, grabbing the doorknob.

There was another thud and Sacha held his knife up, ready. When he nodded, I opened the door slowly.

We weren't expecting two zombies.

The first lumbered after Sacha, and I grimaced at how tall it was. I was watching Sacha, ready to help if he got in trouble when something slammed against the half-closed door, knocking the wind from me.

I stumbled back until I fetched up against the wall, my hands pressed into another zombie's chest, trying to keep its teeth away from anything vital. Sacha shouted and I looked up just in time to watch as he and his zombie tumbled down the stairs.

"Son of a bitch!" I muttered, the other zombie still snapping its teeth at me. My knife was in my pocket, the machete hanging off my belt. The problem was that I'd have to reach down to grab it, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to hold the zombie off me with just one arm. She was a lot bigger than me.

My hand slid upward, the dead skin giving and slipping under my palm. I gagged as my fingers jammed into rotten flesh, puncturing the soft skin under the jaw.