I turn around and find Riley lying on the ground, unconscious. Gwen is lifting her head on her arm. I rush towards her, worriedly wondering what just happened. I crouch down and notice Riley’s red lips turning pale, and sweat dampening her skin. I study her entire body, trying to find out what has caused this. Her hand rests on her stomach and I immediately figured out what it is.
“Guys, help me out.” I plead, taking off my backpack and jacket. Mark and Stephen come forth, and then I turn, offering my back for Riley.
They understand what’s going on, and then they take off Riley’s stuff from her and place her on my back, her arms over my shoulders. I stand up, grasping her thighs to keep her from falling. This may be an obstacle but our friends need to understand that we should keep going or else we’ll be caught. Especially that I mentioned the zombies are following us by our scents so it’s not unexpected to be seeing them behind us any moment now.
Stephen carries my backpack, and Nathalie puts my jacket on Riley. Ysa takes care of her things and then we start walking again. Riley’s not that heavy, though. She has the weight of a child despite having the body of an adult, but she weighs like she hasn’t eaten anything. Probably that’s because we didn’t have a proper meal, we just ate anything that was on the shelves. We never really cooked some really good food unless Adam and Ivan would do that work. Well, just Adam now.
I didn’t witness Josh locking Ivan out, but it just hurt me knowing Josh has been good to me and Riley and he still had done it. He had done it to my friend. I remember how mad I was at Ivan when he told me he had feelings for Riley, and I said he should stay away from her. Though I know he wouldn’t do that because he was stubborn, and he had the spirit to fight with me for the girl we like. I couldn’t blame him. Riley, in our eyes, is an angel. I thought my mind was playing with me when I saw her—denied even, that I fell for her at first sight—but when Ivan told me he had felt the same thing, I was… relieved. Well, at the same time, jealous.
I noticed how the two became so close to each other that Ivan was the first one who saw her smile before I could. And at that moment, I knew I had competition.
I told him to stop seeing her because I knew she was mine, or else it would cost him our friendship. Yeah, I admit I wished for him to be gone, but then, when I saw him turning into one of those monsters, I feel like I should be the one to be blamed for it. I thought I could live my life without him, having his sister by my side, crying every night because she misses him. I can’t live with that. I can’t see my friends hurting. We were supposed to be together until we’d grown our hairs white. We don’t deserve this.
Gwen doesn’t deserve this.
If we could just ever take our revenge on these bungholes, we would.
I would.
For my friends and for Ivan.
I can’t take this crap any longer. We have to do something far better than find a safe place. Well, for now, we need to, because one of us has lost consciousness, and I’m carrying her on my back. For now, the responsibility of protecting herself falls on me.
At a near distance, we can finally see some lights on the road. Small buildings and houses line up side by side. I announce, “Alright, let’s find a good place to stay in for tonight. Might be one of these houses.”
“Or that building.” Nathalie points up to an eerily dark building.
I glare at her in confusion. “Why would you want us to stay in a dark place?
“Beats me. I just have a good feeling about it.”
“You’re being impulsive,” Lenore retorts.
“As an assassin, I would pick that one too,” Dan says, looking above. “It’s a good place for snipers.”
“And zombies,” Mark adds.
“We should just look around for a house, yeah? It’s way safer,” I reply. Though no one really wants to spend the night up in a dark building—potentially full of zombies.
“Okay, let’s separate and take five minutes to search for a clear house but not too far away from here, and then we come back,” Stephen commands. “Nathalie, stay with Bucky.”
Nathalie nods, and everyone else scatters through the alleys. I lift my chin as I tell them, “Guys, be careful.”
“She’s still asleep?” Nathalie asks, probably touching Riley’s hair.
“Yeah, thanks to you. This is the second time.” I roll my eyes.
“Hey!” She hisses. “It’s not like I did it on purpose. I was aiming for her arm.”
“A kick in the arm? That doesn’t sound right. You don’t kick in the arm.”
“But I was. I would have if she hadn’t moved her head onto where her arm was.”
“I don’t believe you.” I ignore her and look down the street and yet I still don’t notice any sign of zombies. But I don’t feel comfortable being here outside. “I think you had a reason you chose the building. Why?”
“Meh.” She shrugs. “I remember this town. Dad and I went hunting in its thick woods. That building used to be open for public amusement, but the company suffered bankruptcy, so they had to shut it down.”
“So it should still be closed by now, right?”
“Yeah. Wanna check it out?”
“Sure, but only when they come back.”
“Alright, but am I really the reason she fainted again?”
I smirk. “You hope so?”
“What? No!” She punches me in my arm.
“Ow! That hurt!” The pain almost made me lose my grip on Riley’s thigh. I toss her up slightly to adjust her, and she begins to weigh more than earlier.
“Is she heavy? Well, judging by her collarbone, I think she weighs like a feather.”
I chuckle, looking down at my feet as I kick a pebble. “I just want to keep doing this all night.”
“You are a creep, you know that? I’m starting to think you were also like this when we were still getting to know each other.”
“To you?” I scoff. “I think no one will ever carry you upon their backs, Nathalie. Like ever. You’re a crapload of red hair.”
She pinches my arm, making me yelp in pain. She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. “You should be thankful, I treated you as a brother, though you’re always being a jerk to me.”
My frown fades as a smile replaces it. “Thank you. I’m always grateful.”
Loud footsteps disturb us as our friends are coming back.
“We didn’t find one,” Lenore announces, panting. “Every house is filled with bloody zombies.”
“We’re not safe around here, they’re everywhere,” Adam adds.
“We saw a horde outside, too,” Stephen then arrives with Finn and Brahm.
“Us, too,” Ysa says, Katy and Josh following her.
“You’ve seen a horde? All of you?” Nathalie asks.
“Yeah,” they answer almost all at once.
“Different hordes?”
They nod their heads.
“And they’re not even moving,” Mark replies.
I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“They’re not doing anything, they’re just… standing.” Finn answers.
“They’re like forming a circle or something,” Aaliyah adds.
“A circle?”
“It’s like they’re… worshiping,” Dan adds, furrowing his eyebrows.
“That’s weird.”
“Everything is, Bucky.” Nathalie glances at me.
“So, if there were some on the streets, then there are some in the houses, too.”
They affirm again.
“I suppose each of them is a family?” Edward suggests.
“Could be, yeah.”
“Well, I suppose we have no choice but to find out if that building has opened for the zombies.” Nathalie points up to the building.
“It’s still dark.” Kirby comments.
“We’ve got flashlights, we can see something.”