Once I hit the foyer, I went straight to the kitchen, glancing around for a weapon of any kind. My thoughts were reeling out of control and I couldn't seem to figure out what I was looking for.
It didn't help that Mrs. Cunningham was still screaming bloody murder. The entire neighborhood was probably thinking someone was actually being killed, and they'd be right.Get it together. Come on. What was I looking for?Just as I remembered the best knives were in the dishwasher, Derek ran past me, ripping open drawers, stopping at the cooking utensils. Spatulas and tongs clattered to the floor as he riffled through them."Where're the damn knives?" Thomas opened the drawer full of eating utensils and pulled out a steak knife."Here." I yanked open the dishwasher door and pulled out the lower rack to grab our largest knife. I'd just used it last night to cut veggies for Mom.I held an agonizing sob back as the awful ache cut through my heart. Mom and I had been laughing iStaring blankly at the dead woman, I held my breath, hoping I was wrong. She didn't move.It was my fault.I should've been paying more attention to Mrs. Cunningham rather than watching my guys kill a zombie.I could've worked harder to slow down her bleeding. Yeah, I'd been pressing down really hard, but I should've done more for her."Is she dead?" Dad's voice came from a black hole somewhere in the distance.Tears blurred my vision. Dad had given me one job, and I'd failed.Releasing the hold on her neck wound, blood barely flowed now, trickling down to a huge dark red stain invading her blouse."What're you doing?" Derek's voice coming from the same black hole as Dad's. Tears tumbled down my cheeks. She was dead because I couldn't keep my crap together long enough to keep her alive.Suddenly, Mrs. Cunningham's eyes burst open.I gasped in relief. Mrs. Cunningham was alive. I'd been wrong about the major blood vessel. She would be just fine."Are you
SuzieCasey's screams ripped a hole through my heart as I watched Dad open her ugly bite marks while Derek filled them with alcohol.This was all too much. Mom. Grant. Casey. The sickening scene that played out in my room.As Casey let out another scream, I covered my ears. I couldn't listen anymore. What if she was going through all this just to die?My shoulder hit Thomas as I backed up. His eyes were wide with terror, but when they landed on mine, Thomas gave me a tight grin before he whispered, "Go on. I won't tell anybody."I nodded, trying to hold back my never ending tears. I couldn't help but feel the ball of guilt building inside. She didn't deserve this. Casey was the good one. She did everything right. I'd always been a little envious of how easy everything came to her, but that didn't mean I could stand by and watch her be willingly tortured.Another scream bounced off the bathroom walls.Wand
CaseyLeaning my cheek against the shower tile was the best feeling in the world. It was so much colder than I remembered. It was as if heaven was welcoming me home.My stomach rolled inside and out, and I was back in hell again.I shouldn't have taken a drink of that soda. I didn't know if I should try to sit up and aim for the little shower drain, or if I should try to make it to the toilet.Someone bellowed from far away, ripping through the depths of my painful reality.It sounded like Dad.Another yell tore through the house.I moved to get up, but my energy was completely depleted, and my muscles were weak and mushy.Footsteps pounded outside the door. They vibrated through the floor like frigging wild animals, but no one came in.I could barely separate the cries from the shouts because everything sounded like I was deep inside a pool of white static.My stomach rolled as I tried t
(Three days later)My prison guards made me stay in bed for three days and my room had become my prison, which didn't really matter because I wasn't talking to anyone, anyway.A baby was crying somewhere on the other side of the house, but they never brought her in, and I never cared enough to ask about her.Once I found out my parents were dead, my entire world had dissolved into nothingness.I couldn't help but wonder why I was still alive. In a perfect world, I'd be dead too. Then we would all be together in heaven or wherever it is, we go after we die. Did it matter where they were now? All that mattered was that I was here, and they were there.The bite on my arm was still a solid red scab, and it still hurt. It was probably because of the deep tissue damage, but it was healing, and that's all that mattered."It stinks in here." Suzie's nose wrinkled as she opened
"Will you stay with me? With us?" Derek gently ran his thumb over my cheek before he pressed Mom and Dad's keepsakes into my hand. They were warm from his grip.As I put them in my pocket, I looked into Derek's glassy eyes. His black eye had healed entirely, but his lip still had a small white mark from where it had broken open by the maniac squad jerks.The corner of his mouth tipped up as he waited for my answer.I pressed my forehead to his as I continued to gaze into his eyes. "I'm so sorry."Derek ran a hand down my back. "I know.""I was such a bitch." I closed my eyes as my breathing grew shallow. "Are you sure you want me to stay?"When I reopened my eyes, Derek's grin grew into a smile. "I don't know if I can be away from you. I almost lost you. You're lucky to be alive."I released a breathy chuckle. "I am lucky. I just wish my parents—"Derek shook his head slightly against mine. "You can't think like that. You still have Suzie. You still have... a
"Don't come in any further." Derek stopped Matt from walking past the foyer.Matt was covered in blood, and the blood was barely old enough to be dry. He looked like he'd escaped a war zone.Matt glanced at Thomas. "Is she here?""Matt, I'm okay." I walked into view."Oh my God, Casey. You're alive." Matt released a sob as he reached for me.Both Derek and Thomas moved in front of Matt, blocking me from his view."Dude, no touching! Have you seen yourself?" Derek's bark sounded like he was about to kill Matt. "Better yet, you've seen she's alive. Now, get out!""Derek," I didn't want to step on his toes, but I couldn't just send Matt out there to die. I'd already done that once, and I couldn't do it again.Thomas glanced at me before he jutted his chin toward Matt. "Say what you got to say, Sweetheart. I'm sorry to tell you this, but he has to go."What did that mean? Matt was a cheating jerkface, but he didn't deserve to die for it."No. He doesn't hav
Closing the door behind us, Derek gestured for me to take a seat on my bed. He pulled my desk chair over to sit across from me.Derek inhaled a deep, shaky breath before speaking. "Derek wasn't my name in school, and my hair was much shorter. I used to have my basketball number marked on the back of my head like a lot of the guys. I think I know why you don't remember me. I was older, and we ran in completely different crowds. Plus, I was a Junior, and you were a Freshmen."I searched his face, trying to place him. Freshmen year was the year they diagnosed Mom with cancer. It was the roughest year of my life since her survival odds were so low. Mom's operation to remove the mass had been bad, but the chemo afterward had been even worse.My mother was a cancer survivor going on three years, and an awful virus had taken her from me in one day.Life is a nasty bitch.I'd somehow made it onto Varsity during Freshmen year, but I was so worried about my mother I barely reme
Suzie was right. The cold chili was disgusting, but we still ate our fill.Somehow the guys had found several cans of baby formula for Mindy. She had a few large packages of diapers and wipes too, but not nearly enough to get us through the next month.I was grateful we had enough for a couple of weeks, but it worried me to think about what we would have to do once her supplies ran out.Mindy was currently sitting on my lap eating Cheerios. At least she could eat solids. I didn't know much about babies, but I assumed since they were usually introduced to baby food before they could walk, Cheerios would be okay.After Derek and I emerged from my bedroom, Thomas was doing his best not to ask about the status between us. Thomas assumed something because there were several occasions when I could feel the heat of his eyes on me, and when I'd glance at him, he would look away.I cared about Thomas, but it was too much to wrap my mind around right now. We were friends, and I