Immune-ish

Chapter Seven

EVA:

The alarm sounds again and the entire world seems to stop in expectance of what they are going to say. "Thank you for your patience as we take care of the situation," the speaker says. "The breach has been fixed and all are free to leave your homes once more." It repeats the message and then turns off with a click.

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and let's their shoulders relax. Except me. If they have taken care of the breach, that either means Max is actually dead or he's out in the forest. I'm not sure which would be worse at this point.

I look up at Miss Hampson, as she has been silent. She stares out the window with a look of terror on her face, her hands trembling. I am about to say something, but-

Miss Hampson lets out a terrible scream and everyone jumps back.

My first thought as I whip my head around is, Oh, crap! I forgot to lock the window again! But it shouldn't matter, they cleared the town. Or at least that's what they told us. Apparently, they were wrong.

I hear the zombie before I see him. Wiping my tears, I stand up so I can see what we're dealing with. He is tall, muscular, and angry-looking. His moans, muffled through the window, are deep and sorrowful. He speed-walks toward the window, but stops before colliding. He is intelligent compared to some, a sign of his newness.

My voice is back now that I'm all out of tears. "Sophie," I whisper-shout, "run. Out the back door. Get home!" I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt.

Sophie shakes her head and doesn't move, the stubborn girl, but Miss Hampson does with a squeal. She grabs Sophie by the arm and yanks her to the kitchen and out the back door after undoing the locks.

The information of the situation finally sinks in at the worst possible moment and it hits me hard and fast: the officials were wrong. In school, we were told to listen to the officials no matter what, that they were always right. Just the fact that they were wrong, even just this once, is enough to make me question my entire education. What else have I been lied to about?

Still in shock at my sudden realization, I watch as my dad and brother unhook their swords from their belts and prepare to fight just as the zombie pushes the window open simply. He climbs inside easily because his muscles haven't deteriorated much yet and the window is low to the ground. I'm too scared to move.

Heath attacks first, but the zombie is much more intelligent than he anticipated. The creature moves its arm and Heath's sword misses, barely slicing off the tip of the zombie's finger. The dead man keeps advancing and hits Heath's sword out of his hand when he swipes his arms through the air. The weapon falls and slices a bit out of Heath's leg. He's always been overdramatic so he goes down.

I back away into the corner of the room and watch as my dad takes a swing at the zombie, making contact with his arm. It sinks deep in and gets wedged in the bone. When my father yanks on the blade, it doesn't budge. He's dug too far into the bone without making it all the way through. The zombie advances closer to my father and pins him against the wall, as if he doesn't notice the sword buried in his arm and the black goo seeping out around it. The dead man moans and leans closer to my father, biting him on the neck. He takes a large chunk of skin out of my father's throat and chews it slowly, as if savoring it. My dad doesn't even make a noise; he has accepted his fate.

I slap both my hands over my mouth to suppress a scream. My brother and father have been taken down by a single zombie. Fear will be their down fall.

The zombie still hasn't noticed my mother nor I when he bends down to infect Heath.

"No!" I scream unable to will my legs to move. I hate my brother at times, but I still love him and I can't watch any more of my family die.

The zombie man turns his head towards me, his probably-unseeing eyes bore into me. Our gazes are locked, then he suddenly turns around and bites Heath in the thigh. Heath screams and groans, grabbing his thigh and squeezing it to stop the bleeding. My heart starts to pound. He'll come after me and my mother next.