"Casey?" Derek whispered.
I tensed, glancing back to find Derek and Thomas standing directly behind me."Damn. Don't do that!" I whisper yelled still holding onto the knob. Frankly, I was afraid if I let go the maniacs would swarm out and shout for their friends.Derek was at my back, carefully taking the two extra guns from me."Hey, you're hurt. I can carry those." I wondered if his eye hurt as bad as it looked."I'll be fine." Derek handed the second gun to Thomas.Thomas wiped the blood off his brow, which appeared to be slowly streaming from his hairline. Thomas grabbed the gun from Derek like he'd held a gun a million times before.They made eye contact and nodded at each other. What was going on?"How are we getting out of here?" I whispered, breaking up their little moment.Derek gently pulled me away from the door, pressing my back to the wall. Thomas moved to take my position at the door.Derek pulled my attention back to him when his hand graThe ride back gave me time to process the events of the night. None of us had anything to say.The reverberation of rubber tires rotating over asphalt haunted the silent cab. I'm not sure what the guys were thinking about, but between Mike, Candi, and the kids, my brain was stuck on instant replay mode.So yeah, fear was taking hold. Not only were we about to see a very sick Mitch, but Derek and I were about to head back to my house while Thomas stayed with his dad... grandpa... crap... how did I not know?"Is Mitch your dad?" I'm sure there was a much better thing to talk about but damn, I needed to get my sanity back somehow. Basic questions seemed like a good place to start.Peeling his gaze off the road, Thomas sent me a quick glance. "Stepdad.""Mitch is a good guy." Derek pulled my hand off my bouncing knee and threaded his fingers through mine. Warm tingles rushed over me.I tightened my hand. His thumb caressed mine. My legs calmed their bounce as I snuggle
SuzieI've never been so mad in my life. Dad gave my bedroom to some strange lady and her family. Yeah, I have a queen sized bed, and Casey only has a twin, but what the heck, Dad? As if giving up my room wasn't enough, Dad instructed me to clean up and prepare his mattress while he washed Mom.Mom... I closed my eyes tight, pushing the fear away. Dad seems to think there's some miracle cure for whatever this is, but I saw a sickness like this on some television show Grant talked me into watching. It wasn't exactly the same, but the people all died and came back to life as zombies. So, in my head, the odds weren't exactly in our favor.Speaking of Grant, he was finally inside my house, but under the circumstances, it really sucked.When I was in fifth grade, boys made fun of me because my ex-BFF told everyone I got my period like it was totally logical to spread the news. I was the first girl in fifth grade to get her period.The day the boys first called me Bloodstai
CaseyWatching my relieved father walk into the house pierced a hole through my heart.I had to face the truth. Mom wasn't going to be okay.Swallowing back the ache in my throat, I approached Derek. "We need to be prepared for what might happen next. I mean, if the medication doesn't work."Derek's gaze swept over my face before he glanced over my shoulder at Matt, then down at my sister. "Don't worry. We'll deal with whatever happens, okay?"Suzie moved to my side, grabbing my hand. It'd been years since Suzie had been so wanting of my attention. With Mom sick and Dad losing his mind to worry, I could only imagine what my sister was going through. She'd also mentioned Grant was getting worse. I squeezed her hand and didn't let go. Suzie was going through a lot. She needed me, and I wouldn't leave her again."What're you guys talking about?" My sister glanced between us as she wiped her eyes.Thomas looped his arm around Derek's neck. "No worries, little sis. Y
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 i
Staring 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