𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐔𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 - 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘐𝘐

16: The Beginning of the End XII

The Beginning of the End
Part 12

She was fully concentrated on her search.

That was, until a piercing scram rang out, throwing a wrench in her ability to stay focused.

Susie's heart dropped at the sound, her mind racing as she charged towards the place she'd left her brothers. She's first come to the front door of the house, growing confused when the door was still shut firmly. The screaming continued, relentlessly beating against her ears as she panicked and tried desperately to figure out where the shouts were coming from.

She spun on her heel, sprinting around the side of the house, her gun already drawn and raised to eye level, more than ready to kill anything that could be frightening her brothers.

When she reached the source, she felt all the spirit remaining in her soul shatter into pieces.

Luke was pinned, a monster on top of him.

Susie let out a sob, pulling the trigger of her gun and sending the undead creature to the ground. She charged forward, tossing the corpse off of her brother and collapsing by his side. He was crying, his screams having subsided.

"Susie? Susie help me," he cried, his bloodied hands reaching out for her.

Susie just cried, easing him into her lap and leaning her forehead against his.

"Susie? Luke?"

Susie stiffened at the voice.

Liam.

The other boy was leaning out the window that Susie had been certain was boarded up sufficiently.

The boys had somehow loosened it enough to throw it open and attract the attention of a monster. Susie could hardly breathe. She knew she should've been teaching the boys to fight, to take down the dead. But there had never been a good time, and Susie would not be putting them into life-threatening situations for the purposes of training.

As soon as the window was open, as soon as they were exposed, they hadn't stood a chance.

"Stay inside, Liam," Susie called, shushing Luke's cries and smoothing his hair back. Her hands and her clothes were sticky with her brother's blood and his own clothes had been turned red.

"Susie," Luke's little voice was cracked and his breaths were heaving. He was getting close to the end, his eyes beginning to lose their light.

"It's gonna be okay, Luke, it's gonna be okay, alright?" Susie whispered, "I love you, buddy, I love you so so much."

"I love you, Susie," Luke said, "please- help me, please."

"I'm gonna help you, Luke. I'm right here, I'm gonna help you," Susie promised. She drew her knife, pressing it just beneath the base of his skull. His little body was twitching, his sobs shooting deep into Susie's ears, he was in so much pain.

"I love you so much, Luke," she repeated, "I'm gonna make it all better, buddy, I promise. Just close your eyes for me, close your eyes and think about mommy and daddy and Jake."

Luke nodded weakly, his short hair scratching against the blade that was sitting so close to his head, just out of his sight.

Susie leaned down again, pressing a soft kiss to the boy's forehead, she hummed a soft tune, hoping to ease the stress in her brother's body and gently slid her blade into the back of his head. His frantic motions stopped, his cries going silent.

"I love you, Luke," Susie said softly, "I'm sorry."

"Susie?"

"Stay inside, Liam."

--------

Susie had buried her brother alone. She'd left Liam inside. She didn't have the heart to make him watch. She also didn't trust herself to be able to protect him outside the house. Not when she was like this, not when he wasn't able to fight.

She had reboarded the window from the outside before she'd set off to lay Luke in the ground. She couldn't afford to lose both of them in the same day. Liam was upset, yelling all the profanities he knew at his sister when she forced him to stay indoors.

Susie couldn't help but feel like she deserved it. She'd killed her brother. The same way she'd killed her parents and Jake. She was a monster. Liam should hate her.

When she finally stepped back inside- alone- Liam ran at her, attacking her with his small fists. Susie just took it, letting him get his anger out before he fell against her, cries tearing through him.

"Where's Luke? Where is he? Susie, where is he!" Liam was shouting at her, and for once, she didn't chide him for being too loud, she didn't tell him he had to be quiet to keep away the monsters, she didn't cover his mouth in anger and exhaustion. She just let him yell.

"Where did you leave him? We have to go get him!" Liam made for the front door, but Susie held him fast, pulling him down to the floor with her. He gave up after a moment, falling limp in Susie's arms. She couldn't help but compare this feeling to that of Luke going limp in her arms. The boy had died right there, taken by a knife in her own hand. 'Liam is alive', she found herself thinking. Reminding herself that his body's limpness was related to his sadness and not another death that struck a deep gash in her soul. A tally mark, memorializing a count of the blood she'd spilled.

"Is he gone? Like mommy and daddy and Jake?" Liam asked.

"Yeah. He is."

"Forever?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

Susie was taken aback by her brother's response. But only for a moment. The boy was in shock, that's why he had such a strange reaction. That's what she told herself, at least. He was in shock. Just like her. Nothing more, and nothing less.

"Are we gonna leave, Susie?" Liam asked, looking up at her, his eyes having gone a dull shade of green, one that didn't quite fit his face, one that didn't look the same as they had just that morning. Of course, they hadn't really changed color, they had just lost their life. The dullness was one she imagined had taken over her own hazel eyes, a loss of life, a loss of will to keep going. A loss of innocence.

"Yeah, we're gonna leave."

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It's been a while! I have been just a little bit busy and got a bit behind, sorry to anyone who's was awaiting an update! This here is the last chapter of part 3, and the next one will be the beginning of part 4! Super excited for it, and hoping to stay more on track this time around. I'm gonna take one or two more weeks break after this chapter before beginning the next part, but please stay tuned, I'm hoping to get at least something up early. Maybe a quick little sneak peak or a snippet of things to come! Anyways, thank you to anyone reading this, it makes me super happy when I upload this book and I hope it makes y'all happy reading!

Love,
Lynn <3