Dystopian zombie era

Chapter 28

Scarlett

Coral's shriek rings through my ears as she jumps back off the wall. She's trembling and I don't even want to know what she saw. Storm isn't far away from me and I spot a hammer in his hand. I quickly look away before I can see him bash a zombie's head in.

"More are coming. We need to run." Says Brandon frantically, tugging at his sweater. Storm holds his hand out out me. "Come." He says and I grab his hand before we run through the narrow alleyway. My heart is pounding so fast and I can feel the blood pulsing in my ears.

What's happened defies the law of science. I still can't wrap my mind around it no matter how many possibilities I come up with. Is this time travel? The end of the world? Where is everybody else? Are they all zombies? How did we end up here?

There are so many unanswered questions that run through my mind like a freight train.

"There's no one behind us!" Cries Brandon and Storm looks back. "There's zombies behind us! What do we do?!"

"We need to look for the hospital." I'm already calculating a way to find one. We run past shops and abandoned cars. We stop at a few but none are able to work. We keep running until we come across rows of houses. I spot a double storey  house. "We should go in there before it gets dark."

Storm holds his arm out in front of me and holds the hammer up. "Stay back. I'll investigate to make sure it's safe."

"Hurry." Urges Brandon and I don't need to look back to know there are zombies hot on our trail. Storm enters the house and it takes a few minutes before he ushers us in. Brandon leans against the door and Storm puts his finger to his lips before he slowly walks upstairs.

I don't think we're alone.

Brandon has his back pressed against the door and I hold my breath. Storm's body disappears upstairs and I wait for the sound of screaming. He reappears and wipes sweat off his forehead. "All clear." I let out a sigh of relief.

My eyelids immediately feel heavy and I sit on the couch. I'm glad we've found a house. I desperately need to shower.

Storm sits on a couch opposite me. He drops the hammer on the floor and leans back with his hands behind his head. My eyes rake down his body and I see his shirt sliding up revealing pale skin. I quickly look away and soon feel the heat on my cheeks. "Is it okay if I take a shower?" I ask. Storm nods. "That's actually a good idea."

I don't look for other clothes to wear. It doesn't seem right to do that so I go straight to the bathroom upstairs and undress before stepping into the big shower and opening the water.

I don't bother opening the cold tap and let the warm water run down my body and hair. The bathroom fills with steam fast as I run soap along my body, cleaning myself from filth and dry blood. I haven't felt this good in ages. I rinse the soap off my body and get to washing my hair. It's gotten longer and a few strands get tangled between my fingers. After a while of standing under the hot water, I close the taps and grab a towel before wrapping it around my body.

I can barely see with all the steam and I decide to dress in one of the rooms. I grab my clothes and glasses and unlock the door and open it before walking out into the cold.

I switch the bathroom light off and begin walking before I bump into something. "Oh. Sorry." I look up and stare into Storm's brown eyes.

I watch as his eyes take in my body and I blush hard. I hug the towel tighter against my body.

"Sorry." He repeats. "I was looking for the toilet, I didn't expect you to come out." I shake my head feeling the water drip off my hair and onto the floor. "No it's fine." I keep my head down and scurry past him. The blush doesn't go away until after I'm done dressing and I take a deep breath.

I don't know why I blush whenever I'm around Storm. This isn't the appropriate time.

I squeeze the towel around my hair to dry it before drying myself and putting on my clothes. After that I walk out the room and downstairs. I find Storm in the kitchen. "Where's Brandon?" I ask.

Storm is busy eating an orange. "Asleep on the couch. I might sleep too after this orange." I nod. Sounds like a good idea. "I'll try to get some sleep too."

"What do you think we should do in the morning?" He asks.

"One of us can get onto the rooftop. That way we can look for the hospital."

He nods slowly, thinking it over in his head. "That's actually a good idea."

I know I shouldn't but I blush anyway. "Yeah." We stand there in silence for a few seconds before I speak up. "I guess I'll go sleep now. Make sure the doors are locked okay?" He nods and smiles. "Sleep well Scarlett."

"You too." I turn around and feel my heart beat a little faster as I walk upstairs to an empty room. I close the door slowly and lean against it, closing my eyes. Why does he have to be so attractive?

I push myself off before I walk to the single bed right in the middle of the room. I hope we'll be able to make it to the hospital alive.

And I hope I'll be able to find a cure. I feel the pressure already. I lay down and close my eyes before drifting off to sleep.

~~~

The room is dark when I open my eyes and I sit up in the comfortable bed. I push the blankets off me. Is it still evening?

I rub my eyes and get out of bed before walking to the closed curtains. I open it and rays of sunshine shine on my face. I squint and turn away, walking to the bedside table to grab my glasses. I can see much clearly now and I look out the window. Down below are a few zombies walking around and I shudder.

I wish we could stay here but there's no point in doing that. I put my shoes on and walk downstairs, hearing the stairs creak underneath me. I hear sizzling and find Brandon in the kitchen in front of the stove.

"What are you doing?" I ask him and he turns to me with a smile. "Making pancakes. That's okay right?" I nod. "I guess."

"I used to make 'em for my daughters every morning." I feel a presence behind me and look up at Storm. He's standing awfully close to me and I can't help the feeling of butterflies erupting in the pit of my stomach.

"Wanna go to the roof while he's busy?"

"Oh yeah but I won't be able to-"

He cuts me off with a chuckle. "I'll help you."

My cheeks betray me by heating up and he grabs my hand, leading me upstairs. We walk into a room and he goes to the window, opening it wide. He wiggles his way out first onto the red roof and extends his hand for me to take.

I take a deep breath before I go out the window, holding onto his hand as my feet touch the roof. The wind blows my hair in my face and I hold onto his arm. I'm scared of falling even though I'm no where near the edge but the roof is slanted and I could easily slip. I look up and see various roofs. The view looks wonderful if it weren't for the staggering zombies. "Let's move higher." He tells me and we move slowly up the roof.

I see apartment buildings and push my glasses up my nose, squinting to see any sign of a hospital. "I think that's it." He says pointing in the distance.

Below us, zombies have spotted us and are clawing against the wall. I shudder and follow Storm's finger to see a large white building. I see half of a red cross but I'm certain that's the hospital.

I look through the rows of houses and count how many it takes to get there. "It'll be a long path. What if we don't make it?" I ask looking up at him. "We'll get there. I'm ready to put my life on the line to get you there. As long as you reach the hospital, we should be fine."

The butterflies are having a party in my stomach and I push the glasses up the bridge of my nose before I nod.

We can do this.