Bab 12: Elizabeth
I wake up to a cold feeling on my back. It sends me awake quickly, and I sit up suddenly. I become lightheaded, and confused. Maybe sitting up so fast wasn't such a good idea. I look around and take in my surroundings.
There are shelves of goods around me. Grocery store? I slowly stand up, and read the labeling. Generic brands. Ah, a dollar store. How classy. Mark has such great taste.
A shuffle from the front of the store sends panic through me. I can't see past the shelves, and I'm completely unarmed. It could be Mark, or it could be one of those zombies. I peek around the corner, but I still don't see any movement. Slowly, with small steps, I head towards the front of the store. I slow down each time I'm about to pass a shelf, worried someone is on the other side. Hopefully I can just get the hell out of here, far away from them. Back to Mom and Dad.
I'm around the corner from the front shelf, where I thought the noise was coming from. The door is in front of me and I'm tempted to make a dash for it, but it's too risky if I don't know what's on the other side. I peek around the corner and I see a silhouette... eating somebody. This isn't Mark, or Steven. This is a zombie. I'm in a store, alone and unarmed, with a zombie.
I try to lean forward for a closer look, since I haven't gotten to see one this close before. My feet push back against the shelf behind me, and without thinking about my actions, a box falls to the floor. Suddenly I have a very close look of this figure in front of me. Eyes piercing into my soul, I'm frozen. It slowly stands up and stumbles towards me. My body kicks into overdrive, and I push down the shelf.
Mark comes stumbling in behind me. He runs up to the shelf and stabs a knife into the zombie's head. "Damn it," he screamed. "I thought you said this room was clear. We could have killed her!" Steven comes stumbling into the room, beer bottle in hand.
"Look at her, Mark," the words slur from his mouth. "She's fine. Really fine if you ask me." He gives me a drunken wink and I stop myself from vomiting on this already puke-colored tile floor. "Well, still," Mark said. "We're doing this to get back at John. We don't want to kill her or even hurt her." That sends a wave of relief through me but still frightens me that I can't just leave.
The door that was there for me to run through is now blocked by the shelf pinning the zombie to the floor. Steven notices me eyeing the door and blurts out, "You won't be going anywhere, girlie. We've got you for now." Mark laughs. "Stop creeping her out, Steven," he says, "it won't work on her." I guess Mark knows me better than I thought.
A groan emits from the zombie on the floor. Mark rolls his eyes, stoops down while pulling a knife from his side, and stabs it through its head. "See? That's how easy it is," he tells me. "Just make sure to get them in the head and we'll be fine. At least that's what I saw someone else doing on the road and it worked." The sound of glass breaking comes from the back of the store. Mark looks at Steven and they run through the door, leaving me alone again.
Deciding I don't like this option, I run through the door as well and find myself in a big room with shelves of goods in boxes. I don't see Mark or Steven. Nervous, I slowly start walking down the hallway that was made with these shelves. I check the corners before I walk past making sure that the coast is clear. After passing 5 shelves I hear, "Shit!"
Mark runs out into the hallway of shelves about four rows ahead of me. He looks at me, terrified. "We gotta go." Steven comes running after and they start running towards me. "What's going o-" I start to ask, and then I see the group of zombies turning the corner. Heading our way, I start moving my feet too. We reach the doorway and Mark runs into the room. "Close it, close it!" he yells at me. Steven runs up beside me to help. The door is almost shut, but they are getting closer. Fuck.
There's a hand through the door. "I can't shut it all the way!" I yell to Mark. He's looking out the window as I turn around. He walks up and says, "Okay, listen. If we can make it out the door and to the truck, we will be fine. I'm gonna go open the door for you guys, and when I do, let go of the door and run as fast as you can. Got it?"
Adrenaline and panic is pumping through my body as Mark explains his plan. All I can respond with is "okay." Mark heads towards the doors and opens them. "Ready?" he yells. "Go!" I let go of the door, Steven behind me. Without looking, I can already tell that a lot of them have stumbled through the door. The groans will haunt me forever. I can't remove that noise, no matter how hard I try.
My shoes hit the pavement outside, and Mark slams the doors shut. "It won't hold them for long," he yells. "Get to the truck!" We start running towards it, and another group of zombies comes from around the back of the store. "Damn it," Steven says. "They probably split off because we made so much noise. We gotta go n-" Steven stumbles and falls onto the ground. Fucking drunk.
Mark looks back, worried. "Get in the truck," he yells, throwing me the keys. "I'll help him." I run towards the truck. Keys jingling and the moans of the dead are the only sounds that occupy my brain. I unlock it with the key fob and hop into the backseat. Looking out the back window, Mark is helping Steven run as they are headed towards the truck. The zombies are close behind.
Mark opens the passenger door for Steven, and he hops in. Mark runs around the side of the truck and opens the door when I hear thumping at the back. Peeking out the window, I see the zombies trying to climb into the bed. Mark's face is pale as he turns the key over. "GO!" Steven screams at the same time that I do.
The truck accelerates fast, and my head flies back and hits the window. Son of a bitch, again? My bruise from last time was just starting to go away. I look out the window and see that the zombies that were trying to climb onto the truck are now laying on the ground. In a weird way, I guess I owe some thanks to these two assholes for saving my life. Although, they kidnapped me and kicked me in the gut. As much as I would benefit from protection, I need to get away from them. Where the hell is Mom and Dad?
My question is answered as I see the truck accelerating towards me.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone