The Sturniolos' Assistant

Chapter 19: Ambitious

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading my story! This chapter is a continuation of the first chapter. We finally made it!

As soon as Matt said that the vampires could play mind tricks, I knew we were in for it. Obviously, I wasn't expecting rainbows and unicorns, but zombies? They're already vampires... isn't that kind of like a hat on a hat? I mean we're dealing with zombies here and they seem real, but I know they just want us to believe it's real. So, am I fighting the air right now? Or did they raise their victims from the dead to try and stop us from calling for help? We couldn't get a signal anyway and we were right under the cell tower. We walked up and down that area trying to get a signal until the sun set and zombies started coming out of the dirt. Whether or not these zombies are real... this sucks.

I told Matt to drive to the maintenance building. I know Jack wanted to stay away from all this supernatural shit, but I didn't know where else to go. I hope he lets us hide out there, if we even make it there. Chris and Nick are trying to lift the cart out of the sand pit while Matt hits the gas. Sam has been in the bed of the cart like a good boy this whole time, barking occasionally to warn me when a zombie is coming if I don't see it.

I whack a zombie on the head with the shovel. With the small amount of light I have, I can see that these aren't new zombies. They're old, decaying zombies that are falling apart, but can somehow move fast. I hear more coming our way, and I'm quick to knock them out so they don't go anywhere near the Sturniolos, but when I eliminate one, I swear five more come after me. It looks like the boys almost got the cart out of the sand. I hope they hurry because I can't hold them off much longer.

"Ah!" Nick screams and punches the zombie coming at him. There are too many zombies coming my way and now they've made it to the cart. I run back to Nick, Matt, and Chris, and watch as the zombies surround us.

All of a sudden, a shotgun goes off, killing the zombie that's in front of me. Then it hits the other zombies around, giving us enough a chance to get into the cart. Matt drives us out of the sand pit. The headlights on the cart shine on Jack holding a shotgun in front of his building.

"C'mon," he yells and motions for us to get inside. He shoots zombies that are in our way, giving Matt a chance to drive straight to Jack's building. Sam jumps out of the cart first and we follow him inside. Jack shuts the doors and locks all his complicated locks. The zombies bang into the doors and all around the building.

"They can't get in, right?" Matt asks.

"We'll find out soon enough," Jack says. I pull back the curtains on a small window and see the zombies trying to break in. The banging and disgusting sounds of the zombies drown out the sound of my heart beating. Fighting zombies in a video game is one thing but fighting them in real life is tiring and stressful. My blood pressure is probably so high right now, I wouldn't be surprised if I had a heart attack.

Jack opens up a hidden closet with weapons. Just as he's about to hand us something to defend ourselves with, the noise from outside stops. I check the window again and see nothing but grass.

"They're done playing games now. They're on their way," Jack says. "Take your pick." He gestures to his weapons. I walk up to Jack while the boys are choosing what they want.

"Why are you helping us?" I ask. I'm glad he is, but I'm still mad that he never did anything to help anyone else here. If he's trapped here, how did he get these weapons? He must have someone who's supplying him with things off the island, and yet, people still come here and die.

"I guess I didn't want to be a coward anymore." He gives me a small smile. I'm about to say something, but then he pulls me away and lowers his voice. "Look, you were right, I am a coward. And I have been for years, but you finally snapped me out of it."

"Why me?" I ask.

"You remind me of my sister. You're smart and caring and you clearly don't take crap from anyone. My sister and I came here together. The vampires wanted to turn her, but by the time I figured it out, it was too late for her. They played their mind tricks on me, making it seem like I was fighting fifty vampires all at once, and when I finally staked one of them." Jack paused and looked down. "It was my sister. After that, I didn't want to be anywhere near those bloodsuckers. I couldn't bring myself to do anything after my sister died and when I saw you, I don't know. It was like seeing my sister again and part of me wanted to warn you but another part of me wanted to stay out of it. So, I'm sorry for being shitty and withholding, but I'll try to make it up by finally killing the rest of the vampires."

After hearing Jack's background story, everything makes sense. I feel sorry for him, losing his sister like that and being trapped here all alone. Even though he can't turn back time and help the other guests who had fallen victim to the vampires, I'm grateful that he'll be fighting with us.

"Thank you," I say. Jack walks over to the weapons and hands me something that looks like an ax but with a longer blade. Chris picked out a crossbow, Nick grabbed a wooden staff, and Matt took a belt of daggers and stakes. Jack starts assigning us to stand guard in front of doors and windows. Jack is guarding the door we came through, Chris is in front of the fireplace, and Nick is by the back door on the first level. Matt and I are on the second floor, watching over the long window that covers most of the hallway.

I hear Jack explaining how to reload the crossbow to Chris and how Nick should use the staff. Matt and I are watching the window in silence, weapons in hand, waiting for the vampires to come out. I can tell he's nervous. I mean we're about to fight vampires, who wouldn't be?

"Can I say something before we're eaten alive by vampires?" Matt asks in a low voice.

"Don't say that. We're going to make it out of here." I turn toward him but keep glancing back at the window.

"We don't know what's going to happen and I don't want to die without getting something off of my chest."

My heart starts beating faster and I turn back to Matt. If he's going to say what I think he's going to say, then the vampires can wait. He takes a few steps closer to me.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you about the vampires. I'm sorry none of us believed you. And I'm sorry if we made you feel like you were crazy." He's fidgeting with the dagger in his hand and looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn't. My stomach drops a little. 

"Thank you." I give him a small smile. Now it's my turn to get something off of my chest since we could actually die tonight. Everything is on the line right now. My hands are shaking, and the ax feels too heavy to hold during this confession. I set it down and take a deep breath. "Matt, I-"

Matt drops the dagger and walks up to me with urgency, until there's no space between us. He hesitates a little, but I wrap my hands around his neck to let him know I want this to happen, too. He places his hands on my cheeks and our lips meet in the middle.

His lips are soft and light on mine at first, and then our lips work quicker, like we're making up for lost time. My fingers lace through his hair. He leaves one hand on my cheek while the other hand travels down to my waist, pulling me closer. We're kissing each other like this will be the last time we ever kiss. We pause for a beat, out of breath. I hold his face in my hands close enough where our noses are touching. He traces my bottom lip with his thumb. My eyes are still closed, trying to bring myself back to reality.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he whispers. "I'm sorry I waited this long."

"Me too," I whisper back. I slowly open my eyes and see Matt's adorable eyes staring back at me. We're both smiling. I feel so giddy right now I can't help but laugh which makes Matt laugh. It was a perfect moment. And I've never been happier.

Then we hear the wind whip back and forth. The vampires are flying toward us. Matt and I break apart and grab our weapons. We search for the vampires in the night sky, readying ourselves for their arrival.