We made it to Springfield, Illinois. Murphy was attached to his baby and I was honestly surprised that it made it this long. It only drank sugar water and slept. Not much for a newborn baby to survive on.
But that wasn't concerning me at this point. I was more concerned about the small horde we had stepped into. We were split up, but still in the same area. 10K and I took a spot in the main section of the town and took a spot on top of a car.
10K grabbed his slingshot and aimed at a zombie a few feet away. I kicked away a zombie that was reaching for my ankle. I almost fell, but I caught myself.
I heard 10K's slingshot snap as he let good the band. A gear flew out and hit the zombie straight between the eyes. He turned around and took out another zombie that was coming towards us. He gave me a smirk as I mouthed; "Wow." at him.
Warren and Vasquez made their way over to us, taking out a few zombies that got in their way. 10K and I continued killing the zombies that reached for us.
"Let me out!" Doc screamed.
We all looked in the direction of Doc's screams, but we couldn't figure out where he was. And then I saw a bus next to the car and saw the door moving.
Addy and Warren rushed over to the bus to help get the door open, which they did. Doc stumbled out with Lucy in his arms.
What was inside the bus was a shock. A dozen or more Abraham Lincoln's came stumbling out.
10K and I hopped off the car and ran over to help. Warren ran off with Lucy after Doc tossed her to Addy who then tossed her to Warren.
10K took out an Abraham and looked confused. I rushed in front of Doc and cut off a zombies head, saving his life.
One by one we took out the Abraham's before a zombie with a giant penny tied to his head. 10K hit the penny, making the zombie look over at him. Then he took him out, blood splattering all over the penny.
—
Lucy was crying. A deep cry that was loud. I was worried that she would attract more zombies.
Doc picked up a top hot from a dead zombie and put it on his head. "This was so wrong," He mumbled.
Lucy continued crying. Murphy ran over to Warren with his arms outstretched.
"I'll take her now." He said eagerly. "Adorable, isn't she?"
"Thought you didn't like babies." Warren said.
"I never said that," Murphy replied. "She's daddy's precious little angel, aren't you?" He cooed at Lucy. He baby talked his baby while we all watched, wondering where the hard ass Murphy went.
—
We made our way into a forest. It was pretty and green. We found a place with a bunch of rocks a and run down shack that looked like it had been burnt down. Everyone except Murphy and Cassandra sat around a big rock. Murphy and Cassandra sat far away by an old rusty car.
10K went out fishing. I wanted to go with him, but he convinced me to stay with everyone else.
"Hey," Doc whispered. "Is anybody else worried about that baby?"
"I don't know whether to be worried for that baby or afraid of that baby. You see the way she attacks Z's?" Warren replied.
"That baby," Vasquez started. "And I use the word loosely, is gonna get us all killed."
"Bro, she's a baby. Relax." Addy joined in.
"Yeah, a baby sprung from Murphy's loins." Doc added.
"She's not just a baby," Warren said. "She's something else. She could grow up to be the savior of the human race or the queen of destruction. And we need to find out which, and do what we got to do." She finished before walking off.
We followed her to a different spot of rocks. We sharpened our weapons and just talked. It wasn't anything specific, just random small talk.
A twig snapped and 10K appeared through the shack, holding a chain of fish.
"Caught some trout." He said, holding up the fish.
"Kid, you are a fishing guru." Doc said, impressed. "What's your secret?"
"Be one with the fish." 10K replied.
Addy and I giggled. 10K walked over to me while fist bumping Warren.
"Well I got some foil in here somewhere. We're gonna fry one of them bad boys up." Doc said.
10K crouched next to me. His eyes were locked on Murphy and Cassandra. Cassandra was rubbing Murphy's feet.
"Hey, we gotta get a look at that baby." Warren whispered.
"Yeah, well good luck," Addy replied. "Super Dad over there won't let anybody touch her. I'm guessing he's afraid we're gonna leave her behind." Addy looked around since it grew quiet. "Which isn't something that we're actually considering doing, right?"
Warren smirked. "Something tells me she's gonna outlive us all."
Addy and Doc nodded, agreeing. So did I. I mean, Murphy was immune to the zombie virus, so maybe his daughter inherited that immunity.
"Where's Vasquez?" Warren asked.
"I passed him in the woods," 10K answered. "Heading south toward town."
Warren got a disapproving look on her face. "I'm gonna find out where he keeps disappearing to. You four see if you can't get that baby away from Murphy."
Doc and Addy nodded. Addy handed Warren a scope and then she left.
—
"We need a distraction or something." I said. "A way to get Murphy to hand over Lucy."
"Or to get him alone," Addy said.
"How? Cassandra won't leave his side." 10K pointed out, anger in his voice.
Addy had a pondering look on her face. "Doc, why don't you act like you can give a check up on her."
"Yeah, Yeah. Okay." Doc said. He stood up and wandered off to Murphy.
After a few minutes Addy, 10K, And I joined Doc. Murphy was trying to yank something out of Lucy's mouth. He got it, but sent Lucy off on a temper tantrum.
"Great. You happy now?" Murphy snapped. He threw the thing Lucy was chewing on at Doc. A finger.
"Look, Murphy," Doc started. "Nobody's saying you're a bad father. We just think it'd be a good idea to, you know, give the baby a little check up. That's all."
"There is nothing wrong with little LuLu and since when are you a pediatrician, huh?" Murphy snapped.
"Murphy," Addy said. "She's just had sugar water to eat. Let doc have a quick look at her."
"She looks fine to me." Murphy growled, rocking Lucy.
"Takes a village." Doc said.
Murphy stood up and looked at all four of us. "I don't know what you're up to. But I don't like it."
Murphy walked away, Cassandra at his heels. The rest of were close behind.
"Stop following me!" Murphy yelled, turning around.
"We're not following you!" Doc lied.
"You're afraid of her. Afraid of what she might become. What we might become. Don't forget, I've seen now you treat babies." Murphy said.
"And we've seen how you treat humans." 10K growled. I touched his arm and his eyes rested on Cassandra.
"I'm not gonna let you hurt her." Murphy said, holding Lucy away from us. Lucy started whimpering. "We're going for a little walk. Make sure they stay here," Murphy told Cassandra. "Nobody leaves."
"Nobody leaves." Cassandra repeated. It was the first time I'd heard her talk since Murphy bit her. She sounded like she smoked for over 50 years.
"Where do you think you're going?" Addy asked, walking after Murphy.
Cassandra stood in her way, growling.
"Someplace safe from people like you." Murphy answered.
Murphy stormed off. Addy and Cassandra locked eyes, staring into each other's souls.
Like Cassandra even had one anymore.
—
"I think we gotta go after him." Addy said. "He shouldn't be out there alone. Especially not with the baby."
"What about little miss sunshine over there? He told her to stop us." Doc said.
We all looked over at her. She was crouched in a pouncing position and had her locked on all of us.
"She can't stop all of us at once." 10K pointed out.
We all looked him as if he were bitten by a zombie.
"I dunno. I think we should wait for Warren and Vasquez they'll be here soon." Doc said.
"Yeah, but we don't even know where they are." Addy answered. "And what if something happens to the baby? Or Murphy? He didn't take any food for the baby. Why would he not take food for the baby?"
"He wouldn't do that, would he?" Doc asked.
10K raised his eyebrows and pushed his lower lip out.
"We don't know what he's capable of. He's more zombie than he is human."
"We know that." I said. "Have you seen the way he's been acting lately? And using zombies as his friends?"
"He's getting out of control. And now with Lucy here, he might do even more crazy stunts that could get us all in danger." Addy replied.
We all glanced at each other. We had to do something about this. But it wasn't going to be easy.
—
"There's four of us, and one of her. If she tries to stop us," 10K paused. "We'll do what we have to do."
"What does that mean?" Addy asked.
"She's not Cassandra. Not anymore." 10K replied.
"I don't know, man. She is getting weirder. You've seen how strong she is." Doc said.
"She would not hurt us. Not really." Addy argued.
"I wouldn't be so sure." Doc answered.
My heart broke. Thinking about having to mercy Cassandra would break me.
"We all run in different directions," 10K planned. "She'll grab one of us, and the other three can go look for Murphy."
We took that as our plan. Addy cleared her throat and stood up. We all followed her example.
"All right. We're doing this." Addy whispered.
"I hope she doesn't overreact and do something crazy." Doc whispered.
Cassandra shifted, as she sensed we were about to do something.
"Now." Addy whispered.
We all ran. I ran one way, 10K ran another, Doc ran the opposite way, and Addy ran opposite of him.
I ran as fast as I could, dodging tree branches and roots. It felt like an intense game of Tag Hide-n-go-Seek. I tired not looking behind me, the fear of looking back and seeing Cassandra right behind me was a nightmare.
All of a sudden, Addy's blood curdling scream rang through the forest. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned towards the sound of her screaming and ran towards it. I bumped into 10K and Doc along the way.
"Cassandra! Stop it!" Doc yelled.
Once Cassandra heard his voice she let go of Addy. Addy stumbled into our arms.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Doc yelled.
"Nobody leaves." She growled.
"I told you, it's not her." 10K said.
I brushed the leaves and pine needles off of Addy's clothes and glanced up at Cassandra. If she was willing to hurt Addy, what else was she capable of doing?
—
We went back to our spot. A small circle of rocks in the shade. Addy lost the feeling in her arm after Cassandra pinned it behind her back.
10K took out his knife and twiddle it in his hands, a furious look on his face. I touched his arm, but he didn't look at me.
"How's the arm?" Doc asked.
"Feelings starting to come back." Addy answered.
"What are we going about it?" 10K asked, referring to Cassandra. "Can't just stay here. Who knows what Murphy's up to."
"Could we try talking to her?" Doc asked.
"I don't think she's in a talking mood." Addy said.
"She'll talk to me." 10K said, setting his knife down. He pulled out his gun and sat it down next to his knife. He swung his vest off his shoulders and stood up. The amount of confidence he had made my heart race.
"Get ready to run." He said before walking off.
Doc bent over and started tying his shoes.
"What the hell is he doing?" Addy asked.
"I don't know," Doc replied. "But when someone tells me to get ready to run, I get ready to run."
We turned and watched 10K slowly make his way over to Cassandra. He talked with her for a few seconds before glancing back at us. His eyes gave is the signal to run.
We sprang from our feet and ran. I heard Cassandra hiss and scream, but I didn't dare look back.
A loud roar echoed through the woods. My heart sank as the thoughts of Cassandra doing something terrible to 10K rushed through my head.
"That didn't sound good." Doc said.
"Damn it. Come on." Addy yelled, pulling us along.
"I don't think I can leave 10K back there!" I said.
"Now is not the time, Maddi!" Addy yelled. "10K can handle himself!"
"But what if he can't?!" I yelled.
"Just run!" Addy said.
I sighed and ran after them. I was tempted to run back.
10K POV—
Cassandra pushed me. The amount of force she had was like being hit by a truck. I landed on my back, coughing and gasping for air.
I stood up once I caught my breath. Cassandra's back was to me.
"Cassandra." I said sternly. She whipped around and hissed. She panted before letting out an ear curdling scream.
Then we charged at each other.
—
Cassandra pushed me off the cliff. I fell and landed on with my back. I groaned and felt my whole body go numb. I pulled myself up, my vision was blurred. I saw a red blur crouched in front of me. My vision cleared and it was Cassandra, staring at me with fiery eyes. My vision blurred again, and when it unblurred she was gone. I stood up, wandering around and scanning the area for her.
I saw her, kneeling on a rock and growling at me. She pounced off the rock. I ran, trying to outrun her. But she was faster. I felt her grab me and shove me to the ground. She bashed my head against the ground as she straddled my back. She growled off and I grabbed her. She kicked my face. I pulled her under me and climbed on top of her. She grabbed my face and screamed, managing to flip me over and straddle my lap. She twisted my head to the side with all her force, trying to break my neck.
I reached my ankle and pulled out a knife I hid. I didn't want to do it, but I had to.
I stabbed her in the neck. He grip loosened around my neck. She let out a small gasp and her face went from anger to calm. Her hands fell by head and blood poured out of her mouth and dropped on my face. I looked up into her eyes one last time and saw them change from gold back to brown. She fell to my side, lifeless.
I pulled her off and sat next to her body, my heart breaking and my blood turned cold. I killed her. She was dead.
Maddi POV—
We walked back to the campsite. I was in a rush to find 10K and make sure he was okay. On the way back, we found Warren and Vasquez. Warren had a bandage on her shoulder and Vasquez's shirt was covered in blood. They put up a fight out there.
I knew the moment I walked into the camp, something bad happened. Either 10K was hurt, or Cassandra had killed him. Or something happened to Cassandra.
10K was standing over a big dirt pile, staring at it with an emotionless face. He had blood splattered on his cheeks and running down his mouth.
"What's that?" Doc asked.
"Cassandra." 10K replied in a monotonous voice.
Addy dropped to her knees. "Oh my god." She whispered. "What happened?"
"I did what I had to do." 10K replied.
"You mercied her?" Warren asked.
"She gave me no choice." 10K told her.
"Saw that one coming." Vasquez said.
"She was our friend." Addy snapped.
"No," 10K said. "No, she wasn't. Cassandra was our friend. That wasn't Cassandra."
"It's okay, kid. We understand." Doc said.
"Don't try to make me feel better about it," 10K snapped. "I don't wanna feel better about it. There's nothing to feel better about. Nothing. That's what I want to feel."
"What's going on here?" Murphy's voice demanded. I jumped and walked closer to 10K. "Where's Cassandra?"
"She's dead." Warren answered.
"Dead?" Murphy asked, walking closer to the dirt pile. "How? What happened?"
"I mercied her." 10K responded, pure hatred in his voice.
Murphy stared at him. I imagined Murphy thinking about 10K brains exploding and him eating them.
"You." Murphy snapped. "I gave her life. You had no right to take that away."
"She wasn't human." 10K said. "That wasn't human. Not since you bit her."
Murphy shook his head, a smirk on his face. "3,255."
Murphy lunged at 10K, but I pushed myself in front of him, making Murphy stop in his tracks.
I glared into his eyes, threatening him with just a look. He stared down at me and growled faintly.
"Don't touch him." I growled, our noses touching.
"Where's the baby?" Warren asked, making Murphy take his glare off me.
"You don't have to worry about the baby anymore." Murphy replied.
Murphy stormed off, everyone following him, leaving 10K and I.
I placed a hand on his cheek. His lower lip quivered.
"Hey, it's okay. It's okay." I said.
He buried his head in my neck and cried. I held him, never wanting to let him go.
————
Omg I'm not dead. Here's an update after what, 3 months? Enjoy!
And thank you so much for 7k reads! Words cannot express how grateful I am for you guys! I love you ❤