You'll be the first (and last) to know -
Author: Tasminalice
Rating: NC-17 (language, graphic violence, gore)
Length: 3080 words, approx.
Summary:
They used to have pulses in them
But impulse has made them strong
A Skins-themed apocalyptic story.
A/N: Fourth part of This; Finality. Full author notes, in part 1 (see journal).
My favourite chapter yet. Longer than the rest, if it gets much longer in coming chapters, I'll split into two parts.
--
The next few days were spent in preparation for their raid on the petrol station. Out of everyone, only Cook and Thomas could use the guns well. Since there were three guns; .243 and .303 caliber rifles, and a sawn-off shotgun that Cook had claimed, someone had to learn how to use the .243.
There was a pause, when they asked who it would be.
Effy saw Emily looking at Naomi, seeing desperation.
"I will," she mumbled.
Naomi's eyes widened, and she'd looked away.
"We have a shitload of bullets, you know. There were like, twelve boxes in the bottom of a bag. We can have a practice, Em." Cook grinned, alive with the idea of shooting something.
She smiled tightly. "Maybe later, yeah?"
Naomi got up, and walked forcedly to the slope next to the creek, and slid out of sight. Emily followed her.
"She won't be happy," Effy tilted her head, watched Emily disappear from sight. Naomi would react negatively to Emily's decision to be the third gun-toting member of their group.
That made sense though, Naomi would more than likely want to protect her from whatever it was she herself went through at the other camp. Analyzing this, Effy felt slightly more at ease.
Getting up, she wandered over to a corner of their camp, and lit up her fourth last cigarette.
--
The next few days went by very slowly, no one really felt like doing anything. Emily had been into the woods with Cook, to practice with the .243. She was getting good, apparently, although at first the recoil had been a shock. Cook had set up markings on trees, at which to aim, and all three of them had had goes at target shooting.
Cook was rubbish with the rifles, he claimed to be "cracker with the shotgun." Thomas was decent with the .303, and Emily was a slightly better than him, after the gradual learning curve had kicked in. Effy came to watch a few times, remarking on good shots, but staying quiet most of the time.
They rose with the sun, and pretty much retreated to their tents once it went down. The days were getting shorter, as October was ending. There was usually a brisk, chilly wind about, and their clothing situation was becoming quite desperate.
Katie, of all people, was the quickest to don tracksuit trousers, thermals and old much-loved hoodies.
"Jeans got old fast, yeah? And they were well fucking cold."
The noodles were also fast becoming old. They were edible, yes, but only barely.
The day of the raid, a Thursday, although days and dates were becoming slightly vague and unimportant to them, the weather had turned colder than usual. It was severely overcast, the light was grey and there was a slight mist in the distance.
Effy had woken to Katie's arm wrapped around her upper waist, and she had found she didn't mind.
Stomaching a serving of noodles, they gathered around JJ, who was to be the strategist and communications manager. He'd set up the walkie-talkie set to all transmit to one transceiver, which was to be his, as well as to each other. This meant he could listen in on the two groups of two, which were going to be doing the raiding.
He'd planned it all out, with extensive maps and directions, using his photographic memories of the petrol station. They were all impressed.
"Now, I hope you don't mind, but I've sorted the groups and I think it would be better if only some of us go in, to get the supplies. I know we said not to split up, but - "
"We said to not split up for a reason, JJ. Smaller groups make it easier for them to ...get us," Naomi spluttered, with muted anger.
"I know, but Effy is the driver, Panda and Katie don't know how to fight - sorry, girls," they both shook their heads emphatically, "and I should stay to coordinate. Cook, Thomas and Emily can shoot, and Naomi has killed one of these things before."
Effy heard a sudden intake of breath from Emily.
"Shit. Sorry. Fucking - shouldn't have - okay. Sorry. I'm really - " JJ breathed, trying to stay non-locked on.
Naomi couldn't meet Emily's eyes.
"So what does JJ mean? You were the one that killed it, and didn't tell me?" Emily was incensed, but out of hurt, mostly. "That's why you were angry about me learning to use a gun. Christ Naomi, you could have told me, I would've understood."
"I was going to, Em. I just didn't know how to... put it into words."
"I thought your hands were because you - I don't know, fell over."
Naomi didn't answer, and it led to an awkward silence.
"So, um," JJ cleared his throat. " I set it up so that Cook and Naomi were together, with the shorter-ranged weapons, they will be team one. Thomas and Emily are team two, with the carbines. Team two would sweep the forecourt and the shop. They'd get supplies, a first aid kit would be good. Have a look around for more weapons whilst you're there too.
"Whilst they're doing this, team two will break through the door to the attached house next to the shop, and grab clothes and blankets. Oh, we'll set you up with bags to put stuff in. Thomas and Naomi will be in charge of their radios for each respective teams. Questions?"
Another silence.
"What happens if we get attacked?" Emily asked the question the others were too frightened to.
"You fight, or you run, princess," Cook interrupted JJ, who looked like he was about to break into a lecture on the dynamics of zombie-killing.
Emily nodded solemnly, before asking an easier question.
"So. When are we leaving?"
--
The walk to the car was tense, there was hardly any talking. Partly it was that they wanted to be as quiet as possible, not to alert anything near them, and they couldn't really think of anything to say.
Emily and Thomas went ahead, once they were near where they had left Effy's mum's car, and scoped out the site before the others reached it. The rifle was heavy Emily's hands, but after days of practice, running, crouching, firing from the prone position, she was mostly used to it. Using the walkie-talkies for the first time was strange, and Emily accidentally left the push to talk mode on longer than she should have, but it went well.
Both the rifles had magnification sights on them, which made the stakeout easier, as they didn't have to get as close. Emily's stomach felt as heavy as lead, Thomas looked calm and focused.
After doing a thorough check of the surrounding area, they spoke to JJ via radio, and told the rest of them it was safe to come through.
"That really was Rambo, Em." Katie smiled at her twin. It was strange to get a compliment for something she felt so unnatural doing.
Emily almost smiled back, but caught a glimpse of the unrestricted relief on Naomi's face when she came through the undergrowth. Emily ran over, the hunting rifle slung over her shoulder, and pulled her into a hug.
"Don't look too worried, yeah? I can handle myself. Got a big gun. I'm set," she smiled.
Naomi laughed, but it didn't reach her eyes.
--
They decided to wheel the car down the small road that lead out of the woods, more out of paranoia than logical thinking. The idea was that it would make less noise, although they sacrificed speed and the option of a quick getaway.
Once out of the forest, and onto the gravel road, they all piled in. It was so similar to the drive in, Effy couldn't help but feel a slight pang of deja vu.
It was equally painful when Cook sat behind the passenger seat, where Freddie had once sat. Effy had swallowed the lump in her throat, and beside her, Katie became uncharacteristically still and sombre. The rest of the group felt it as well; they were silent, not looking anywhere near Cook.
The first thing that Effy noticed about the outside world, was the noise, or lack thereof.
On the main road, there should have been cars driving up and down, but here there was nothing. The buildings had no lights on in them, and no one was in sight. In the far distance, off towards Bristol, several columns of smoke were rising lazily.
Slightly further along was a crashed car, it's bonnet mangled against a telephone pole. A crimson blood splatter decorated the windscreen. Effy drove on, not wanting to linger.
Two more cars had collided, and had left their smashed bodies covering more than half the road. Driving around carefully, Effy almost missed the sight behind the cars.
A zombie, or whatever it was, was leaning over a human body, and making a mess of its entrails. The thing had its back to the car, and only looked around when Cook slammed his door, walked around the back, pumping the shotgun.
Before it could react, Cook pulled the trigger, blowing the majority of it's head off.
Katie retched, and Effy had a hard time controlling her gag reflex as well.
The corpse of the zombie was covered in blood and tissue, probably the majority not being it's own. Effy could make out the remains of a white shirt and black pants, that were stained horribly.
Cook got back in the car, breathing heavily. He reloaded the shotgun and placed it at his feet.
"That's what we're dealing with, then," he said, his voice cracking. "Let's get moving, Ef."
No one talked after that.
An uneasy feeling had settled in the pit of Effy's stomach.
--
Standing on the forecourt, as plain as day, was a zombie in a blue t-shirt with a large dark stain down the front. He was the owner of only half a jaw. The other half was dangling near his collarbone, he seemed quite oblivious.
Effy had pulled up to the station with the right side of the car facing the pumps. Without prompting or hesitation, Emily rolled down the window, moved position so she was kneeling on her seat, and took aim. With a loud crack, small red hole appeared in it's forehead.
After checking over the rest of the front of the petrol station, JJ handed over the hiking packs and walkie-talkies to the teams.
Naomi grabbed Emily's hand and linked their fingers together.
"Be careful, yeah?" she said urgently.
Emily nodded, kissed her softly on the cheek, and pressed their foreheads together.
"See you soon."
--
As soon as she was out of the car, Emily's peripheral vision picked something up.
Turning, she motioned to Thomas.
"There," she pointed. "You take the left, I'll get the right."
Two zombies were plodding clumsily towards them, about fifty metres away. One had blood pouring down the side of it's head, the other was lacking a left hand.
Thomas and Emily simultaneously raised their rifles and shot them down.
"We must hurry," Thomas said, looking around.
Emily watched Naomi's blonde hair disappear into the house. She nodded, and jogged towards the shop.
--
Cook went in first, shotgun low. Naomi followed him, machete in her hand.
Had this been any other situation, Naomi would've thought him sexist, but considering the circumstances, he was welcome to go first.
The interior was dark and ruined, only a small amount of light made it through the drawn curtains. There was a stink that permeated everything. Tables were turned over, pictures were smashed. Naomi wondered what kind of struggle had gone on here.
They moved through a entrance hall, into a sitting room. The smell was worse in here. A small noise was coming from around the corner.
Quietly walking over to the corner, Cook allowed himself the tiniest of peeks. Naomi's heart was running a thousand times faster than natural, the same rush in the back of her skull made it hard to hear anything.
Cook turned back to her, and put his finger to his lips, before creeping around the corner.
A few seconds later, a bang that sounded hugely loud to Naomi's senses, and a thump, was heard.
Cook came back around, grimacing.
A small burst of static came through from the transceiver at Naomi's belt, making her jump.
" - heard that, team one. Are you alright?"
Naomi pressed the button and spoke.
"Yes Jay, we're fine. Over."
Cook reloaded his shotgun, and they proceeded cautiously through the decimated house.
--
Opening the door to the petrol station shop, Emily warily scanned the interior, her rifle against her shoulder. It was empty, and the lack of human presence made the space seem eery and forsaken.
"We should check out that back room, yeah?" Emily nodded at the door behind the counter marked 'Private'.
Thomas flipped up the counter door, and stood with his back to the wall. After a count, he kicked the door in, Emily following him.
The room was empty of people and things resembling people, only occupied by dusty cans on shelves, and a rusty bicycle.
After surveying the back garden out a grimey window, Emily turned to see Thomas holding a small handgun, and a box of magazines, inspecting them.
"Ours?"
"They are now."
He pocketed them, before going back into the main store.
Setting the bag down on the counter, Emily began piling goods into it. She grabbed heaps of non-perishable cans and water bottles, before reaching up and getting several packets of fags. Thomas stood in the doorway, his foot wedging it, keeping it open.
"The rest of them okay?" Emily asked whilst jogging around the store, picking up things she missed.
"Yes. Effy is filling up her car. Your sister is calmer than I thought she'd be."
Emily smiled at that, and pulled the zip shut on her bag.
"Swap." Thomas pulled his bag off and got the rest of the cans, as well as a few more lighters and a bottle of car oil.
Emily took over his position, and immediately spotted three zombies rushing towards the car.
"Thomas. Trouble."
--
Naomi and Cook hadn't had any more run-ins with flesh-eaters. They had picked up several woollen blankets from an airing cupboard, and another sleeping bag from a deserted bedroom. Creeping along the hallway on the second floor, they approached what looked like a bathroom.
"Jesus, that smell is definitely coming from in there."
Naomi didn't mean to catch a glimpse of the sight inside, but her eyes wandered, and she blanched.
A rotting body lay inside the door, obviously ravaged by something hungry. It was in a pool of dried blood, it's eyes were blank, staring. She didn't look too close, before shutting the door quietly. The smell remained.
"Fucking hell, Naomi. Look at this."
She followed his voice, and reached a master bedroom. Another horrible smell was coming from it.
Two corpses lay on the bed, peacefully. If Naomi hadn't known better, she would have guessed they were sleeping. It was disturbing in a way she couldn't begin to describe. Cook picked up a small bottle from their bedside table.
"Sleeping pills. And alcohol," he said, gesturing at an empty brandy bottle.
"Jesus." Naomi felt tears prick at her eyes.
Another wave of static.
" - headed towards us, get back here, now."
Cook and Naomi's eyes met. He pushed her towards the door.
"Ladies first," he was grinning maniacally.
--
Emily had picked the first two off in three shots, whilst Thomas frantically stuffed the rest of the supplies into his bag. She could see Effy looking back and forth, panic etched in her face between the field to their left, slowly filling with oncoming zombies, and Emily, who was standing in the door.
"Come on, Thomas," she gritted her teeth. Come on, Nay.
She shot several more, the closest to the petrol station, before Thomas laid his hand on her arm and she jogged out the door, onto the forecourt. As she ran, Emily took a set of bullets and loaded the cartridge.
Taking places either side of the car, Emily and Thomas took up positions, and began to pick off zombies that were making their way towards them. They were a roiling mass of bodies, deformed and writhing. The sheer numbers overwhelmed her, they were coming from as far back as Emily could see.
She took the walkie-talkie from her belt and held the button.
"Naomi, you need to hurry. Because there is a fuckload of zombies that would like to munch on the rest of us. And," she paused, breathing hard, "because I love you."
Emily was smiling now, smiling and firing. They had nearly reached the fence bordering the road.
--
Naomi sprinted down the upstairs hall, before taking the steps four at a time, her long legs keeping her from falling. She could hear Cook behind her, but the loudest thing right now was a howl that was spreading throughout her body.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she jumped off the last one - right into a human form.
Cook bellowed as she knocked it over, barely giving the zombie a thought, before re-drawing her machete and slicing the top of it's head open. She ran on, hardly noticing the large bang behind her, signifying the shotgun blast.
Through the sitting room, before the static once again made her stop.
Pulling it out, trying to decipher it through the thumping in her chest, she recognized Emily's voice.
" - munch... - of us." The white noise made it almost impossible to hear. " And... - I love you."
The roaring howl intensified, until it was the only thing she could feel, let alone hear. Her heart, beating like crazy, swelled and ignited. This, she thought.
Naomi burst through the front door, Cook on her heels.
She dashed to the car, aware that the rest of them were yelling at her, but not hearing the words they were saying.
Emily was kneeling on the far side of the bonnet. Naomi pushed the rifle from her shoulder, watched Emily's eyes come alight.
Pulled her in, pressed her lips to her own. Felt her heart ignite, and stay aflame.
"I love you, too," she whispered, as the horde broke over the road.
--
Rating: NC-17 (language, graphic violence, gore)
Length: 3080 words, approx.
Summary:
They used to have pulses in them
But impulse has made them strong
A Skins-themed apocalyptic story.
A/N: Fourth part of This; Finality. Full author notes, in part 1 (see journal).
My favourite chapter yet. Longer than the rest, if it gets much longer in coming chapters, I'll split into two parts.
--
The next few days were spent in preparation for their raid on the petrol station. Out of everyone, only Cook and Thomas could use the guns well. Since there were three guns; .243 and .303 caliber rifles, and a sawn-off shotgun that Cook had claimed, someone had to learn how to use the .243.
There was a pause, when they asked who it would be.
Effy saw Emily looking at Naomi, seeing desperation.
"I will," she mumbled.
Naomi's eyes widened, and she'd looked away.
"We have a shitload of bullets, you know. There were like, twelve boxes in the bottom of a bag. We can have a practice, Em." Cook grinned, alive with the idea of shooting something.
She smiled tightly. "Maybe later, yeah?"
Naomi got up, and walked forcedly to the slope next to the creek, and slid out of sight. Emily followed her.
"She won't be happy," Effy tilted her head, watched Emily disappear from sight. Naomi would react negatively to Emily's decision to be the third gun-toting member of their group.
That made sense though, Naomi would more than likely want to protect her from whatever it was she herself went through at the other camp. Analyzing this, Effy felt slightly more at ease.
Getting up, she wandered over to a corner of their camp, and lit up her fourth last cigarette.
--
The next few days went by very slowly, no one really felt like doing anything. Emily had been into the woods with Cook, to practice with the .243. She was getting good, apparently, although at first the recoil had been a shock. Cook had set up markings on trees, at which to aim, and all three of them had had goes at target shooting.
Cook was rubbish with the rifles, he claimed to be "cracker with the shotgun." Thomas was decent with the .303, and Emily was a slightly better than him, after the gradual learning curve had kicked in. Effy came to watch a few times, remarking on good shots, but staying quiet most of the time.
They rose with the sun, and pretty much retreated to their tents once it went down. The days were getting shorter, as October was ending. There was usually a brisk, chilly wind about, and their clothing situation was becoming quite desperate.
Katie, of all people, was the quickest to don tracksuit trousers, thermals and old much-loved hoodies.
"Jeans got old fast, yeah? And they were well fucking cold."
The noodles were also fast becoming old. They were edible, yes, but only barely.
The day of the raid, a Thursday, although days and dates were becoming slightly vague and unimportant to them, the weather had turned colder than usual. It was severely overcast, the light was grey and there was a slight mist in the distance.
Effy had woken to Katie's arm wrapped around her upper waist, and she had found she didn't mind.
Stomaching a serving of noodles, they gathered around JJ, who was to be the strategist and communications manager. He'd set up the walkie-talkie set to all transmit to one transceiver, which was to be his, as well as to each other. This meant he could listen in on the two groups of two, which were going to be doing the raiding.
He'd planned it all out, with extensive maps and directions, using his photographic memories of the petrol station. They were all impressed.
"Now, I hope you don't mind, but I've sorted the groups and I think it would be better if only some of us go in, to get the supplies. I know we said not to split up, but - "
"We said to not split up for a reason, JJ. Smaller groups make it easier for them to ...get us," Naomi spluttered, with muted anger.
"I know, but Effy is the driver, Panda and Katie don't know how to fight - sorry, girls," they both shook their heads emphatically, "and I should stay to coordinate. Cook, Thomas and Emily can shoot, and Naomi has killed one of these things before."
Effy heard a sudden intake of breath from Emily.
"Shit. Sorry. Fucking - shouldn't have - okay. Sorry. I'm really - " JJ breathed, trying to stay non-locked on.
Naomi couldn't meet Emily's eyes.
"So what does JJ mean? You were the one that killed it, and didn't tell me?" Emily was incensed, but out of hurt, mostly. "That's why you were angry about me learning to use a gun. Christ Naomi, you could have told me, I would've understood."
"I was going to, Em. I just didn't know how to... put it into words."
"I thought your hands were because you - I don't know, fell over."
Naomi didn't answer, and it led to an awkward silence.
"So, um," JJ cleared his throat. " I set it up so that Cook and Naomi were together, with the shorter-ranged weapons, they will be team one. Thomas and Emily are team two, with the carbines. Team two would sweep the forecourt and the shop. They'd get supplies, a first aid kit would be good. Have a look around for more weapons whilst you're there too.
"Whilst they're doing this, team two will break through the door to the attached house next to the shop, and grab clothes and blankets. Oh, we'll set you up with bags to put stuff in. Thomas and Naomi will be in charge of their radios for each respective teams. Questions?"
Another silence.
"What happens if we get attacked?" Emily asked the question the others were too frightened to.
"You fight, or you run, princess," Cook interrupted JJ, who looked like he was about to break into a lecture on the dynamics of zombie-killing.
Emily nodded solemnly, before asking an easier question.
"So. When are we leaving?"
--
The walk to the car was tense, there was hardly any talking. Partly it was that they wanted to be as quiet as possible, not to alert anything near them, and they couldn't really think of anything to say.
Emily and Thomas went ahead, once they were near where they had left Effy's mum's car, and scoped out the site before the others reached it. The rifle was heavy Emily's hands, but after days of practice, running, crouching, firing from the prone position, she was mostly used to it. Using the walkie-talkies for the first time was strange, and Emily accidentally left the push to talk mode on longer than she should have, but it went well.
Both the rifles had magnification sights on them, which made the stakeout easier, as they didn't have to get as close. Emily's stomach felt as heavy as lead, Thomas looked calm and focused.
After doing a thorough check of the surrounding area, they spoke to JJ via radio, and told the rest of them it was safe to come through.
"That really was Rambo, Em." Katie smiled at her twin. It was strange to get a compliment for something she felt so unnatural doing.
Emily almost smiled back, but caught a glimpse of the unrestricted relief on Naomi's face when she came through the undergrowth. Emily ran over, the hunting rifle slung over her shoulder, and pulled her into a hug.
"Don't look too worried, yeah? I can handle myself. Got a big gun. I'm set," she smiled.
Naomi laughed, but it didn't reach her eyes.
--
They decided to wheel the car down the small road that lead out of the woods, more out of paranoia than logical thinking. The idea was that it would make less noise, although they sacrificed speed and the option of a quick getaway.
Once out of the forest, and onto the gravel road, they all piled in. It was so similar to the drive in, Effy couldn't help but feel a slight pang of deja vu.
It was equally painful when Cook sat behind the passenger seat, where Freddie had once sat. Effy had swallowed the lump in her throat, and beside her, Katie became uncharacteristically still and sombre. The rest of the group felt it as well; they were silent, not looking anywhere near Cook.
The first thing that Effy noticed about the outside world, was the noise, or lack thereof.
On the main road, there should have been cars driving up and down, but here there was nothing. The buildings had no lights on in them, and no one was in sight. In the far distance, off towards Bristol, several columns of smoke were rising lazily.
Slightly further along was a crashed car, it's bonnet mangled against a telephone pole. A crimson blood splatter decorated the windscreen. Effy drove on, not wanting to linger.
Two more cars had collided, and had left their smashed bodies covering more than half the road. Driving around carefully, Effy almost missed the sight behind the cars.
A zombie, or whatever it was, was leaning over a human body, and making a mess of its entrails. The thing had its back to the car, and only looked around when Cook slammed his door, walked around the back, pumping the shotgun.
Before it could react, Cook pulled the trigger, blowing the majority of it's head off.
Katie retched, and Effy had a hard time controlling her gag reflex as well.
The corpse of the zombie was covered in blood and tissue, probably the majority not being it's own. Effy could make out the remains of a white shirt and black pants, that were stained horribly.
Cook got back in the car, breathing heavily. He reloaded the shotgun and placed it at his feet.
"That's what we're dealing with, then," he said, his voice cracking. "Let's get moving, Ef."
No one talked after that.
An uneasy feeling had settled in the pit of Effy's stomach.
--
Standing on the forecourt, as plain as day, was a zombie in a blue t-shirt with a large dark stain down the front. He was the owner of only half a jaw. The other half was dangling near his collarbone, he seemed quite oblivious.
Effy had pulled up to the station with the right side of the car facing the pumps. Without prompting or hesitation, Emily rolled down the window, moved position so she was kneeling on her seat, and took aim. With a loud crack, small red hole appeared in it's forehead.
After checking over the rest of the front of the petrol station, JJ handed over the hiking packs and walkie-talkies to the teams.
Naomi grabbed Emily's hand and linked their fingers together.
"Be careful, yeah?" she said urgently.
Emily nodded, kissed her softly on the cheek, and pressed their foreheads together.
"See you soon."
--
As soon as she was out of the car, Emily's peripheral vision picked something up.
Turning, she motioned to Thomas.
"There," she pointed. "You take the left, I'll get the right."
Two zombies were plodding clumsily towards them, about fifty metres away. One had blood pouring down the side of it's head, the other was lacking a left hand.
Thomas and Emily simultaneously raised their rifles and shot them down.
"We must hurry," Thomas said, looking around.
Emily watched Naomi's blonde hair disappear into the house. She nodded, and jogged towards the shop.
--
Cook went in first, shotgun low. Naomi followed him, machete in her hand.
Had this been any other situation, Naomi would've thought him sexist, but considering the circumstances, he was welcome to go first.
The interior was dark and ruined, only a small amount of light made it through the drawn curtains. There was a stink that permeated everything. Tables were turned over, pictures were smashed. Naomi wondered what kind of struggle had gone on here.
They moved through a entrance hall, into a sitting room. The smell was worse in here. A small noise was coming from around the corner.
Quietly walking over to the corner, Cook allowed himself the tiniest of peeks. Naomi's heart was running a thousand times faster than natural, the same rush in the back of her skull made it hard to hear anything.
Cook turned back to her, and put his finger to his lips, before creeping around the corner.
A few seconds later, a bang that sounded hugely loud to Naomi's senses, and a thump, was heard.
Cook came back around, grimacing.
A small burst of static came through from the transceiver at Naomi's belt, making her jump.
" - heard that, team one. Are you alright?"
Naomi pressed the button and spoke.
"Yes Jay, we're fine. Over."
Cook reloaded his shotgun, and they proceeded cautiously through the decimated house.
--
Opening the door to the petrol station shop, Emily warily scanned the interior, her rifle against her shoulder. It was empty, and the lack of human presence made the space seem eery and forsaken.
"We should check out that back room, yeah?" Emily nodded at the door behind the counter marked 'Private'.
Thomas flipped up the counter door, and stood with his back to the wall. After a count, he kicked the door in, Emily following him.
The room was empty of people and things resembling people, only occupied by dusty cans on shelves, and a rusty bicycle.
After surveying the back garden out a grimey window, Emily turned to see Thomas holding a small handgun, and a box of magazines, inspecting them.
"Ours?"
"They are now."
He pocketed them, before going back into the main store.
Setting the bag down on the counter, Emily began piling goods into it. She grabbed heaps of non-perishable cans and water bottles, before reaching up and getting several packets of fags. Thomas stood in the doorway, his foot wedging it, keeping it open.
"The rest of them okay?" Emily asked whilst jogging around the store, picking up things she missed.
"Yes. Effy is filling up her car. Your sister is calmer than I thought she'd be."
Emily smiled at that, and pulled the zip shut on her bag.
"Swap." Thomas pulled his bag off and got the rest of the cans, as well as a few more lighters and a bottle of car oil.
Emily took over his position, and immediately spotted three zombies rushing towards the car.
"Thomas. Trouble."
--
Naomi and Cook hadn't had any more run-ins with flesh-eaters. They had picked up several woollen blankets from an airing cupboard, and another sleeping bag from a deserted bedroom. Creeping along the hallway on the second floor, they approached what looked like a bathroom.
"Jesus, that smell is definitely coming from in there."
Naomi didn't mean to catch a glimpse of the sight inside, but her eyes wandered, and she blanched.
A rotting body lay inside the door, obviously ravaged by something hungry. It was in a pool of dried blood, it's eyes were blank, staring. She didn't look too close, before shutting the door quietly. The smell remained.
"Fucking hell, Naomi. Look at this."
She followed his voice, and reached a master bedroom. Another horrible smell was coming from it.
Two corpses lay on the bed, peacefully. If Naomi hadn't known better, she would have guessed they were sleeping. It was disturbing in a way she couldn't begin to describe. Cook picked up a small bottle from their bedside table.
"Sleeping pills. And alcohol," he said, gesturing at an empty brandy bottle.
"Jesus." Naomi felt tears prick at her eyes.
Another wave of static.
" - headed towards us, get back here, now."
Cook and Naomi's eyes met. He pushed her towards the door.
"Ladies first," he was grinning maniacally.
--
Emily had picked the first two off in three shots, whilst Thomas frantically stuffed the rest of the supplies into his bag. She could see Effy looking back and forth, panic etched in her face between the field to their left, slowly filling with oncoming zombies, and Emily, who was standing in the door.
"Come on, Thomas," she gritted her teeth. Come on, Nay.
She shot several more, the closest to the petrol station, before Thomas laid his hand on her arm and she jogged out the door, onto the forecourt. As she ran, Emily took a set of bullets and loaded the cartridge.
Taking places either side of the car, Emily and Thomas took up positions, and began to pick off zombies that were making their way towards them. They were a roiling mass of bodies, deformed and writhing. The sheer numbers overwhelmed her, they were coming from as far back as Emily could see.
She took the walkie-talkie from her belt and held the button.
"Naomi, you need to hurry. Because there is a fuckload of zombies that would like to munch on the rest of us. And," she paused, breathing hard, "because I love you."
Emily was smiling now, smiling and firing. They had nearly reached the fence bordering the road.
--
Naomi sprinted down the upstairs hall, before taking the steps four at a time, her long legs keeping her from falling. She could hear Cook behind her, but the loudest thing right now was a howl that was spreading throughout her body.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she jumped off the last one - right into a human form.
Cook bellowed as she knocked it over, barely giving the zombie a thought, before re-drawing her machete and slicing the top of it's head open. She ran on, hardly noticing the large bang behind her, signifying the shotgun blast.
Through the sitting room, before the static once again made her stop.
Pulling it out, trying to decipher it through the thumping in her chest, she recognized Emily's voice.
" - munch... - of us." The white noise made it almost impossible to hear. " And... - I love you."
The roaring howl intensified, until it was the only thing she could feel, let alone hear. Her heart, beating like crazy, swelled and ignited. This, she thought.
Naomi burst through the front door, Cook on her heels.
She dashed to the car, aware that the rest of them were yelling at her, but not hearing the words they were saying.
Emily was kneeling on the far side of the bonnet. Naomi pushed the rifle from her shoulder, watched Emily's eyes come alight.
Pulled her in, pressed her lips to her own. Felt her heart ignite, and stay aflame.
"I love you, too," she whispered, as the horde broke over the road.
--