The Last Winter

Saturday: All Dead (32)

Michal
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

There's a ringing in my ears that drowns everyone else out.

Veronica is frozen in place. There's a blur of movement to my right as everyone rushes to surround Oriana, but I ignore the commotion and set my eyes on the lethal weapon in the room: the antique pistol that is nestled tightly in Veronica's shaking hands.

I bolt forward while Veronica is still in her stupor and grab the short barrel, jerking it toward the floor before it can hurt anyone else. Veronica squeezes the trigger again out of reflex while we struggle against each other, and a deafening pop! ensues, making everyone jump. My ears snap with a painful burst, and sound floods my hearing: footsteps, hysteric cries, voices, the sounds of Veronica's grunts as she tries to pull the gun from my grasp.

With one final jerk, I wrestle the weapon from her hands and I take a quick step back in defense. I point the gun at her without a second thought, and she puts her hands in the air just as quickly.

"Michal," Terrell says somewhere to my right, and I blink a couple times before lowering the gun.

Veronica gives me a long look, her eyes big and round and full of regret. Only when I watch her approach the crowd around Oriana do I realize that she doesn't have remorse for aiming at Nelia's sister.

She had shot Maggie.

"No," I tell myself quietly, rushing to elbow my way to the front of everyone else.

I hear Veronica burst into a sorrowful cry before I am able to lay my eyes on the scene: Oriana is lying on the floor, blood soaking her neck and clothes and the side of her ghostly white face. More blood, fresher blood, is sprayed across her cheeks. Her eyes are wide with horror.

She's holding Maggie in her arms.

"No!" I hear myself say louder. I feel Nolan's gentle hand on my shoulder.

There's an entry wound in the middle of Maggie's forehead. Small and round. A single river of blood runs down the side of her nose and to her chin. Her eyes are still open, but they are cold and dead.

I feel myself shake uncontrollably. I fall to my knees, and Veronica throws her arms around me and digs her face into my shoulder. I feel wet hot tears soak through my coat sleeve. My vision starts to blur with my own tears, and I feel a sob begin to come up.

She was more than just a cousin, more than a member of the youth group, more than a friend. She was Maggie.

"She just--just jumped in front of me," Oriana chokes out, still in shock.

Terrell bends down and gently takes Maggie out of her arms. He shuts Maggie's eyes with a wave of his hand and slowly lies her down on the floor.

When he looks back up, he trains his gaze on Veronica with a hot, fiery expression.

"You," he spits out through clenched teeth. He springs to his feet and grabs the front of her coat, lifting her up off her own feet. With a quick thrust, he slams Veronica up against the wall and she cries out from the force.

Shocked, I struggle to get up and stop him.

"Are you crazy?" he shouts, apparently no longer afraid that the howlers could hear us. "YOU KILLED MAGGIE!"

"I didn't mean to kill her!" she shouts back, choking on a sob. Tears streak her face, mixing with dried blood and dirt. "She's my sister," she adds in a lower, squeakier voice.

"Right, because killing Oriana was such a great idea," Terrell says viciously.

"You don't need to do this," I tell him, placing a cautious hand on his shoulder.

"If Maggie was bitten, would you have shot her too?" Nolan asks Veronica quietly.

She doesn't respond. Instead, she succumbs to a fit of uncontrollable sobbing.

A howler cries out from somewhere outside, and we fall silent. After a moment, Terrell let's Veronica go, and she slides down to the floor in defeat.

"No more shooting anyone else," he says, turning to me with a glance down at the pistol lying limp in my hand. He raises his voice so everyone can hear him: "We don't have much time. It's not safe here. Listen up, guys. We gotta go."

"Maggie--" Oriana chokes out, but she's unable to complete her sentence.

"Maggie is--dead," Terrell snaps back, his voice cracking. He sighs and rubs his forehead a little. "We gotta go while we still can. If we can make it to the roof, we'll have the high ground. There's only one exit we have to worry about howlers getting through. We can wait up there until dawn, then make our way down the mountain."

I check the cylindrical chamber in the pistol, and I am only able to push it open with some force because of the rust. Two bullets remain. Great.

"If we're quiet, we can make it," Terrell tells us confidently, lifting the wand to his flamethrower. "Let's go. Everyone on your feet."

"Come on," I tell Veronica gently, offering her a helping hand.

She takes it with reluctance, stifling her sobs with some effort. I see Nelia help Oriana up, who can't stop staring at Maggie's unmoving body, as if she'll roll over with a sparkling mischievous grin at any unsuspecting moment.

Maggie is dead.

Before I follow the others and enter the hallway, I look back into the room--at the grimy walls and tattered furniture, cracked floorboards and rotting bones. And everyone who didn't make it.

Eddie. Della. Ralph. Dallas, Vena, Izzy, and...Maggie. Probably Cameron too.

Dead. They're all dead.

How many of us will still be alive when the sun rises?

...........................................

Next chapter: Finding Jacob

"He's gone," Nolan tells me gently, pulling me toward the doors. I'm not sure if he's talking about Terrell or Jacob.

Eight dead. Six alive. Four on the run.

FOUR CHAPTERS LEFT.