56Chapter 12
Looking over at Sarah, I asked, "Do you hear that?" I didn't really have to confirm the question, judging from the shocked and curious expression on her face. "Okay, scratch the confirmation stage then…but people? Out here? It's the middle of the day! Aren't they scared some monster or another will see them? I would be…"
A light touch on my arm halted my dazed rambling. "Abby should calm down," Sarah said. "If she is so curious about the matter, perhaps a quick peek around the corner would be in order." I raised an eyebrow, nodding my head in the direction of the sound.
"I don't think that's a good idea…" Warily, I walked to the street corner, sliding along the rough brick wall of a supermarket. I peeked around the corner, barely catching a glimpse of what lay beyond before whipping my head back. "Okay, definitely not a good idea!" My voice sounded weak and strained to my own ears, and Sarah looked up, curiosity written all over her face.
"Someone is there?" she asked, slinking over to my position and creeping around the corner. I shook my head, my grip tightening on the axe I still carried until my knuckles turned a ghastly shade of white.
"I think something would be more appropriate," I hissed, jabbing my finger over my shoulder. Shrinking away from the corner, I gasped in surprise as I bumped into Sarah, my heart jumping wildly. "Can you not stand right behind me? Scare me half to death, why don't you..." I grumbled, folding my arms across my chest.
Sarah chuckled, and I glared. "That was never her intention, Abby," she said. "But there are more pressing things to worry about. What does she think that yelling was?"
"I don't know, but I really don't want to find out," I said, frowning. Maybe it was people in trouble? If it was, it's their trouble. I neither had nor wanted anything to do with other peoples' bad situations.
"Sarah does," my companion whispered from behind me. I flinched, peering around the corner once more. The creature had moved closer, weaving through the parked cars in the lot. I could see a trail of bloodstains leading behind it, disappearing beyond the wall of metal vehicles. Sarah rested a hand on my shoulder, leaning around me for a better view.
"We are not going out there," I growled, but Sarah ignored me, stepping around until she was almost exposed. I peeked around the corner at the car park, but I couldn't see the zombie at all. There were five or six cars in the open space, all stationary and distinctly deserted. I could see rotted vegetables oozing out of a brown paper bag in the back of one of them.
"Abby can stay here," she said. "Sarah hasn't seen the monsters yet, and she wants to see what they look like."
"No, you don't," I hissed, appalled at the thought. "And if you really want to, you're insane. Sarah, they're dangerous, and I don't want to see you get hurt!" I don't think I could bear it if my only friend in this godforsaken place was eaten by zombies, or turned into one. I'd probably go crazy myself.
I happen to be one of those people that need the company of others to get by, and Sarah was the only person I had left in the world to fill that need. My family was all dead and gone, and Sarah's parents had tossed us out of their house, and however much it was for our own survival, it hurt.
I gripped Sarah's wrist, dragging her back behind the cover of the wall. "Please don't," I whispered, trying to keep my voice from choking up. It took a lot of effort to keep from crying, because at that moment my imagination was running wild with thoughts of her dying, and her mangled corpse being left for these- these- these things.
Or even worse, Sarah's body rising from the ground, eyes wide and glassy, blood staining her tattered clothes, dragging itself up to feast on other people. I would rather shoot her myself than see that happen.
"Sarah just wants to look around the corner," she said, a slightly condescending note in her voice, like she was talking to a petulant child.
"Well Abby doesn't care," I hissed, tightening my grip on her arm. "These things are dangerous, Sarah, do you not understand that?" I fell silent, but she didn't respond, just staring at the monster around the corner.
Then she whipped around, eyes wide and shocked. I backed away, ready to run, but she grabbed my arm. Pausing, I cocked my head to one side in a silent question.
"Someone threw a brick at it," she said, dumbfounded. I raised an eyebrow, disbelieving, and made my way over to where she was standing.
"You're kidding," I whispered disbelievingly as I peered over her shoulder, but I was very quickly proved wrong. The sight of a zombie with its brains splattered across the pavement, a red brick smack bang in the middle of its forehead isn't the prettiest sight, let me tell you, but at that moment I felt more like whooping with job than throwing up. "Okay, maybe not joking," I half laughed, half choked as I stared at the mess. "Did you see who pegged it?"
"Sadly, Sarah did not see the culprit, but she has reason to believe they're hiding on the rooftop," she said with a smug smile, looking upwards. I grinned, following her line of sight, seeing the sleeve of a pinstriped jacket poking out from behind the supermarket's giant sign.
"Hey!" I yelled upwards, hoping to catch their attention. "Thanks for killing that thing!" There wasn't an answer, but I wasn't really expecting one. You don't talk to just anyone, nowadays. People can be all kinds of crazy, but unfortunately it's mostly the bad kind. Kind of puts you off meeting new people, knowing they might turn into ravenous cannibals and all.
Kind of puts you off your food, too.
Anyway, I should really hit myself over the head when I start rambling. It might make me stop, but it might also give me a concussion before I do.
"Come on," I muttered to my companion, "let's go. There's nothing more we need here, and we should get out of the city before its dark." The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky with beautiful stripes of colour, spreading across the azure surface like blood soaking into a tissue. Okay, maybe a bit of a gross analogy, but it works. I seemed to have gore on the mind, which didn't surprise me, but thinking of other things is good too.
"Yes, Sarah hardly wants to be caught after dark with these things," she responded, taking a step around the corner, making a beeline for the road leading out of the parking lot. I turned around, giving one last lingering glance over my shoulder at that bit of sleeve I could still see poking out from behind the sign. Whoever had pegged that monster in the forehead sure wasn't very good at hiding if they still hadn't moved.
"Wait!" A voice cried as I took a step to leave, making me stop, turning like lightening to look at the pale face peeking from behind the cover of a giant 'K'.
"What?" I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. If this guy didn't want to talk to us before, why now? Sarah and I really needed to get moving before it got dark and we became perfect targets for the freaky things roaming this place. "If you want to talk, tag along with us, we really need to get moving before sundown."
The blonde head ducked back behind the sign, and I heard the sounds of people arguing, which was interesting. So, more than one, probably two and maybe three people were up there, all hiding out together? This couldn't be good.
"Come on Sarah," I said, taking a few steps towards the road. She nodded, glancing behind us before looking at me, tilting her head in that direction. "Are they following us?" I asked, keeping my voice to a whisper. She nodded again, and I kept walking. Even with the warning, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand touched my shoulder. Whipping around, I instinctively took a few more steps away from the pair, wanting space between us in case something went wrong.
One was about my height, though he looked a little older, in his early twenties at most. He was the one with the suit, which was – upon further inspection – a very dark green with faint purple pinstripes. He wore a matching shirt, though stained with grime and dust, and dark grey fingerless gloves. My eyes wandered up to his face, and I almost broke out into helpless wails of laughter at the expression there. Calm down, Abby, now is not the time for hysterics, I scolded myself, taking a deep breath. The man had light blonde hair, almost down to his shoulders, dead straight and wispy, with grey eyes and odd, angular features. I wouldn't have said he was handsome, but he certainly was striking.
His companion was very different, choosing to wear a plain jumper and a pair of pants, his dark hair trimmed short, brown eyes glowering at me from an unhappy face. He looked a little older, early to mid-twenties, and I had to tilt my head back to look at him, he was that tall. They certainly made a funny pair, I decided, looking back at the first man, who at this point was smiling nervously, wringing his gloved hands while he waited for us to speak.
"Uh, hi," I muttered, cursing my mysterious inability to speak. The instant some people I don't know show up, I can't think of anything to say. Typical Abby, just typical, not that I really minded. They were just strangers, why should I care?
Because they might be able to help you? A voice in the back of my mind whispered. I shoved the thought away with a grimace, knowing that there was nothing any two people could do, unless they could somehow eradicate a sudden and mysterious plague.
"Hey there," the short guy squeaked, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing at his nerves. It wasn't like I was going to eat him, though the axe hanging at my side might say otherwise, and the same with Sarah's meet cleaver, which was hanging from her hand quite threateningly.
"Hello," she whispered, eyeing them with a calculating stare. It looked like she was measuring them up for the slaughter, something I wasn't sure I liked about that look of hers. Ah well, nothing much I could do, right? They'd just have to endure being creeped out.
"Don't mind Sarah," I said, nudging her with my elbow. She sent a little glare my way for that comment which I chose to ignore. "She doesn't bite. Much." Oops, there was another annoyed look, must have said something wrong. "I'm Avalbane, but call me Abby," I said, glancing around the parking lot. We'd really have to get moving soon if we didn't want to be seen. It's always easier for them to find you if you stay in one place, something I certainly wasn't planning on doing for much longer. "And you are…?"
"Avery," the tall man said, his tone sour and voice gravelly. It didn't sound like he'd used it in a while, or like he'd just been shouting. Either way, I didn't particularly want to find out the cause of his hesitance in speaking. "This idiot is Jeremiah," he finished, pointing to the blonde. Well, if the amount of venom in the way he said that was indicative of anything, I think it was yelling that had made his voice hoarse.
"Nice to meet you," I responded before gesturing over my shoulder. "Now if you two gentlemen would like to chat while we walk, I think we should get out of this place before dark. It's when all the evil creatures come out, you see."
A/N: Wow, it's been almost half a year since I last worked on this, which I am sooooo sorry about. I've been having some real-life troubles lately, namely depression and school work, both of which have cut my time and inspiration beyond belief. However, I am not going to give up on this story, because it is my baby, and I love it and want to see it finished.
I don't know how long the next chapter is going to take, seeing as I'm going overseas for three weeks, but it is going to come eventually. Thank you to all the people that haven't given up on this silly little story 3