Welcome to Dead Island

Chapter 6

Erin gazed deep into Aaron's gray eyes, he stared back. She dropped her scissors, walked quickly up to Aaron and slung her arms around him. He felt her cold tears drip down his back as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling tightly. 

Aaron just had to trust that Erin was still a human. He didn't know many zombies that embraced hugs like she did. "You're Australian?" he questioned. She pulled away from the hug. 

"Half. My dad is Australian, my mom is English. I grew up in England,". That explained her English accent.

"Your dad..." Aaron awkwardly looked everywhere but in Erin's eyes. She sensed the fear in his reactions.

"You know him?" she asked, intrigued. 

Aaron whispered under his breath, "Knew,".

"Huh?" 

"No. I didn't. I just ... where are your parents?" he was able to meet her gaze again.

"I-I don't know," she let a collection of tears escape. "What about your's?".

"I dont know,". The short awkward silence was soon broken by a deadly screech. "Damn, I forgot about those,".

"Those," Erin echoed, looking over at the two zombies crawling from the deadly red pool.

"Now might be a good time to tell you I've never killed one of these!" Aaron whimpered, trying, and failing, to look fearless.

"Great. That's great. Neither have I," She trembled as she said it. Reaching down for her scissors, the light caught the face of the once-female zombie. "Lana," She whispered in horror.

"You know - err, knew her?" Aaron asked, readying his, well Erin's dad's machete.

"She's my sister!" she shouted. "I can't kill my sister,".

"I can't kill at all!" Aaron cried. They looked at each other helplessly.

"Then how the hell did you make this far?" She shouted back.

"I just ran, OK? I'm a coward! I just ran...".

"I didn't mean it like that," she frowned, afraid to offend him anymore. "I just mean. How did you survive without killing anything?" she looked at the slowly approaching zombies.

"Obviously, the same way you did," he looked at the machete in his hands. He couldn't tell her that it was her dads. That he had helped him. That he gave himself up for Aaron. That his sacrifice meant someone with no experience would be left to save his daughter. He couldn't do it, Aiden should have known that.

Quinn stood by the strangely logo'd microwave, waiting for his popcorn to pop. The kitchen was a small room with cabinets sat against all of the walls, excluding a small gap for the door. A small wooden table accompanied by four small wooden chairs sat in the center of the small kitchen. The cabinet to the right of the hob, which was one right of the microwave, had been smashed up. He used the planks to board up the windows. 

When the outbreak happened, Quinn was with his family in the restaurant close to his family's cabin, so when everyone panicked, he lost his parents in the rush and returned to the cabin, hoping to find them there. Hope wasn't on his side. When he realised zombies were roaming free, he took it upon himself to attack-proof the cabin, leaving the door on it's latch so he could hear if his family were begging to get in. The only things trying to get in were flesh craving zombies.

Pop. Pop. Pop pop pop pop pop. He pushed the small silver button on the microwave to release the door, the smell of salty popcorn leaked from the microwave and filled the room. "Mmmm," Quinn licked his lips and ran his fingers through his dirty blond hair. 

He moved over to the hob, turned a small knob on the front of it, and waited for it to ignite. Once a small flame was visible on the bottom left ring, he snatched a large knife from a draw below the microwave and placed the blade in the flame. Ever since his dad joined the armed forces, he had been taught survival, defence and attack, though he vowed to his father to never use his attacking skills less the situation demands it, but then it would become self defence.

Aaron and Erin stood in the doorway of Cabin 46.

"Scissors aren't enough to keep these things away," Aaron stated.

"That's easy to say when you're holding a machete,". Aaron rolled his eyes at her comeback. Standing before them both, two zombies. "So neither of us kill?" Erin asked.

"Looks that way, doesn't it,". He brought his machete up to his head, ready to slice. "What is the plan actually?".

"You think I know? Get the hell out of here would be my first idea!". Aaron gave her a, 'No kidding' look, then returned his gaze to the two zombies creeping closer. He looked away,strengthened his grip on the machete, and swung out and down, separating the eyeball-less zombie's arm from it's body. The zombie staggered backwards and Aaron attacked again, slicing it's other arm. 

"See? Helpless," He smiled. He turned back to the zombie, kicked it's chest and watched it tumble down the porch of the cabin, it's blood escaping through the gutters in the stone paving around the pool, and deepening the pool to a darked red.

"Watch out," Erin cried, too late though. Lana turned around, threw her hand at Aaron, sending him flying back towards the pool. He landed on his back with a heavy THUD. Erin turned her attention from Aaron, to Lana. "You bitch," she whispered, staring into the fiery depths of hell that were Lana's eyes.

The zombie that used to be called Lana threw her head back and screeched, ready to attack. Aaron picked up the machete that had stayed in his grip until his impact, and threw it over to Erin, with the words "Catch!" accompanying it. She held her hand out, startled when it landed in her palm. Lana was already moving in on Erin, bearing her ... It's teeth at her. She looked around the room frantically, for something, anything that might stop what she knew she had to do.

"I'm sorry, Lana," Erin whispered. She held the machete up, screwed her eyes up, and with all of her power, swiped straight across in front of her. Aaron watched from his stationary position as a head with ratty black hair tumbled out of the cabin, off of the portch, stopping just a meter away from Aaron. Tears welled up in Erin's eyes as the body in front of her, the body of the sister she once knew, once loved, fell limply before her.

Aaron pushed himself up and ran to Erin's aid. He could see she was hurting inside. But she wasn't angry at Lana for attacking. She was angry at her self. She should have never had to kill her. She should have never let that zombie attack her. It was now that she vowed, from this day forward, Fear was just a weakness. A weakness that she had overcome. A weakness that only the weak felt, and after what she just had to do, Erin was no longer weak. She dropped the machete to the floor, and ran to meet Aaron, who had his arms open, ready for him embrace. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she whimpered into Aaron's chest. She wasn't weak, but she was sad. No, she was inconsolable. But even from the depths of her sorrow, she knew that she had to be strong, and against all distress, she had to keep moving. Swallow the pain and regret, and keep fighting this infection. But for now, she let her tears flow. She deserved that much.