his efforts to scramble away.
“Mommy, nooo! Mommeeee!” His shrieks rose in pitch and intensity as the woman bit into his arm.
Annie took a step toward him, the desire to save him warring with the gut-wrenching fear that was flooding through her. When one of the things drew close enough to brush her with its bloodied fingertips, she ran back to the door of the shop, the boy’s screams stabbing into her heart.
Clutching the handle, she turned it. It stopped halfway, locked from the inside. And the key was hanging from the lock on the other side of the door.
She spun around as hands reached for her, holding her, tearing at her. Teeth sunk into her neck as she was borne to the ground under the weight of reeking bodies. Something tore into her stomach, but soon the unbearable pain faded into blackness.
I woke up—again—in my little sterile room. To my surprise, Gabriel sat in the chair next to the bed. His eyes were shut and I thought he was asleep. He looked haggard, as exhausted as I felt.
Although...
Honestly, I didn’t feel nearly as shitty as I should have. I ached a little, sure, but the fever? Gone. The bite wounds itched, and that was irritating, but shouldn’t they have hurt a lot more?
I poked at the fresh bandage covering the bite on my forearm, resulting in about as much pain as if I’d bruised it sometime in the last couple of days.
This isn’t right.
I began to think about what had happened before my blackout.
Matt.
I didn’t want to go there. So to distract myself, I unhooked the little butterfly clasp holding the bandage in place and slowly unwound what seemed like a large intestine’s length of gauze. I winced and closed my eyes as I revealed the arm itself, prepared for a gaping, ragged hole where the zombie’s teeth had ripped away the flesh.
Giving in to the inevitable, I opened my eyes, and to my surprise the wound wasn’t that bad. I could see tooth marks, sure, but I’d expected a major loss of flesh, and it just wasn’t there.
“You feeling okay?”
I jerked, and Gabriel sat up, eyes open, bloodshot yet still startlingly blue.
“Yeah...” I sat up without any residual light-headedness. “I feel pretty good, actually. I don’t get it.”
Looking uncomfortable, Gabriel got to his feet.
“Professor Fraser will be here in a minute,” he muttered. He opened the door and started to leave.
“Wait.” I regretted it as soon as I said it.
He stopped in the doorway.
“What?”
“What—” I choked, afraid of the question I was about to ask. “What happened to Matt?”
He hesitated. His uncertainty was freaking me out, to the point that I actually missed the egotistical posturing.
“Professor Fraser will explain,” he said. He turned to leave again, then paused and looked back at me.
“I’m really sorry about your boyfriend, Ashley.”
The door shut behind him.
I drank some more ginger ale from the tray on my bedside stand, then lay back. About five minutes later the door opened and Simone entered, bearing a tray which she put on the bed stand. She sat down next to me and gave me an encouraging smile.
“Are you hungry, Ashley?”
I shook my head.
“Not really.” I smelled chicken broth and my stomach growled. Okay, I lied. But I didn’t want to be hungry. Matt was dead. Or should be dead. And somehow the fact that my body still wanted food seemed like a betrayal.
Simone reached out and brushed a lock of hair back from my forehead. The simple kindness of the gesture brought tears to my eyes.
“I know you’re hurting... both physically and emotionally.” She leaned back. “No one should have to go through what you’ve experienced in the last twenty-four hours. But you should try and eat something. You need to get your strength back. And you did lose some blood, you know.”
“I want to call my parents,” I said, trying hard not to cry. Suddenly I wanted to hear my mom’s voice so badly it hurt. Some things didn’t change with age.
“I’m
“Mommy, nooo! Mommeeee!” His shrieks rose in pitch and intensity as the woman bit into his arm.
Annie took a step toward him, the desire to save him warring with the gut-wrenching fear that was flooding through her. When one of the things drew close enough to brush her with its bloodied fingertips, she ran back to the door of the shop, the boy’s screams stabbing into her heart.
Clutching the handle, she turned it. It stopped halfway, locked from the inside. And the key was hanging from the lock on the other side of the door.
She spun around as hands reached for her, holding her, tearing at her. Teeth sunk into her neck as she was borne to the ground under the weight of reeking bodies. Something tore into her stomach, but soon the unbearable pain faded into blackness.
I woke up—again—in my little sterile room. To my surprise, Gabriel sat in the chair next to the bed. His eyes were shut and I thought he was asleep. He looked haggard, as exhausted as I felt.
Although...
Honestly, I didn’t feel nearly as shitty as I should have. I ached a little, sure, but the fever? Gone. The bite wounds itched, and that was irritating, but shouldn’t they have hurt a lot more?
I poked at the fresh bandage covering the bite on my forearm, resulting in about as much pain as if I’d bruised it sometime in the last couple of days.
This isn’t right.
I began to think about what had happened before my blackout.
Matt.
I didn’t want to go there. So to distract myself, I unhooked the little butterfly clasp holding the bandage in place and slowly unwound what seemed like a large intestine’s length of gauze. I winced and closed my eyes as I revealed the arm itself, prepared for a gaping, ragged hole where the zombie’s teeth had ripped away the flesh.
Giving in to the inevitable, I opened my eyes, and to my surprise the wound wasn’t that bad. I could see tooth marks, sure, but I’d expected a major loss of flesh, and it just wasn’t there.
“You feeling okay?”
I jerked, and Gabriel sat up, eyes open, bloodshot yet still startlingly blue.
“Yeah...” I sat up without any residual light-headedness. “I feel pretty good, actually. I don’t get it.”
Looking uncomfortable, Gabriel got to his feet.
“Professor Fraser will be here in a minute,” he muttered. He opened the door and started to leave.
“Wait.” I regretted it as soon as I said it.
He stopped in the doorway.
“What?”
“What—” I choked, afraid of the question I was about to ask. “What happened to Matt?”
He hesitated. His uncertainty was freaking me out, to the point that I actually missed the egotistical posturing.
“Professor Fraser will explain,” he said. He turned to leave again, then paused and looked back at me.
“I’m really sorry about your boyfriend, Ashley.”
The door shut behind him.
I drank some more ginger ale from the tray on my bedside stand, then lay back. About five minutes later the door opened and Simone entered, bearing a tray which she put on the bed stand. She sat down next to me and gave me an encouraging smile.
“Are you hungry, Ashley?”
I shook my head.
“Not really.” I smelled chicken broth and my stomach growled. Okay, I lied. But I didn’t want to be hungry. Matt was dead. Or should be dead. And somehow the fact that my body still wanted food seemed like a betrayal.
Simone reached out and brushed a lock of hair back from my forehead. The simple kindness of the gesture brought tears to my eyes.
“I know you’re hurting... both physically and emotionally.” She leaned back. “No one should have to go through what you’ve experienced in the last twenty-four hours. But you should try and eat something. You need to get your strength back. And you did lose some blood, you know.”
“I want to call my parents,” I said, trying hard not to cry. Suddenly I wanted to hear my mom’s voice so badly it hurt. Some things didn’t change with age.
“I’m
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