Chapter 7: Family

Watching your own sister get murdered is an unforgiveable sin. A haunting regret that may even send you to the grave. 

My eyes fixed on the scene with such ferocity that I didn't register myself getting closer to them.

What is this tightening of my chest? I have never felt like this before. This rush of emotion. 

I arched my knee mid-run and landed a sickening blow against its skull. The bone crunched satisfactorily against my feet. The creature reeled from the impact, stopping inches from Mil's face. With its side wide open, I landed another kick on its torso. This time, the creature was sent rolling away from her.

With hurried efforts, I managed to pull the mortified Mil to her feet. Her bleary gaze landed on me. I couldn't begin to decipher the rush of emotions flooding through her.

Fresh tears bubbled in her eyes as they met mine. I gulped the heavy feeling in my chest. We weren't safe yet.

"Emily, we need to go!" I yelled in her face. A mistake, really.

The downed creature's head swiftly whipped in the direction of the sound. Its rabid, bloodshot eyes met mine. With renewed vigor, it began scurrying towards us.

I grabbed Mil's hand and pushed her behind me. The creature rapidly stumbled to its feet while its hungry glare never left us. A loud snarl escaped its lips as it dashed forward. It was really simple now.

There was no way we were escaping this.

Ah, we couldn't, that is. 

Reaching a bit closer, it launched into a wide jump aimed straight for me. 

Resignation filled me. My hands shot for its neck as it tackled me to the ground.

The impact of falling straight on my back blinded me for a moment. I groaned loudly in pain. The creature bared its teeth at me trying desperately to get near me. But I kept my grip firmly tight against its neck.

It snarled wickedly in my face. Mr. Klum wasn't the fairest tool in the shed. But this monstrosity looked nothing like the man. Its brown hair was now laced with crimson.

Brown eyes reflected a level of rage and hunger that I didn't think I'd ever see in a human. It struggled against my hold violently. It even tried to bite my hands, but my thumb came to rest against his jaw and stopped him.

My arms were on fire. This creature was just simply too strong, and I haven't exercised nearly enough to have the necessary strength or stamina to hold it off.

"Lar!" Mil's screams registered. "Oh god." She gasped behind us. I couldn't look at her in fear of letting the creature advance. I cursed silently.

I guess I wouldn't be able to look at Emily as I bid her farewell.

"Emily! Listen to me!" My own cold tone surprised me. 

The creature doubled down on its efforts at the sound. "R-Run!" I felt my fingers slipping from its neck. The blood flowing down its head was slowly pooling at my arms and loosening my grip.

"You need to run! Now!" I yelled out. Mil's gasp wasn't exactly what I was expecting. No words came from her. When her footsteps began receding, I could feel my heart constricting. 

The backdoor opened with a cold click and her footsteps drowned out under the creature's groans and snarl. I could feel its grip tightening around my shoulders, almost digging into my skin. It knew.

It's kind of ridiculous. I wanted her to run. To survive. But I couldn't believe that I was left alone to face this creature. My eyes burned with the tears lining them. The creature's face was getting blurry.

I don't wanna die. My grip was loosening.  I turned away. Not exactly big on getting eaten alive.

Well, my life wasn't much to begin with. At least Emily will live a good life. About as good a life one can live in a Zombie Apocalypse. Or whatever they name this creature.

It's better than me who would never be able to-

The creature's neck slipped from my fingers, and I readied myself. 

A loud roar erupted from behind me. A circular silver bar bashed straight against the creature's skull producing another squelching scraunch. The creature roared as it reeled backwards. The silver rod glinted with crimson fluid only inches from my face.

I glanced up and found the panting figure of Mil standing just above my head. The glare marked on her face portrayed a fury I had never witnessed. Yet, tears freely flowed down her cheeks.

"Get off my brother!" She roared fiercely, arching another brilliant swing. The edge of the bar connected straight to the creature's forehead. It keeled backwards from the force.

This was my chance. I threw the creature off and sent it tumbling to the side.

My legs were mush from the sheer rush of adrenaline. I stumbled over the railings but managed to stand up. 

As my gaze landed on Mil, I noticed the stark, teary glare fixated on me. I dodged the scathing look and turned towards the flimsy metal bar. A small dent formed near its end giving it the imperfect shape of a spear.

Perfect.

I grabbed the bar from her hands and turned around. The creature was slowly getting up once again. My palms tightened against the metal. It was fairly lengthy giving me the required reach. I took a step forward to adjust my balance. It also made me feel more confident and I don't understand why.

Now, only one question remained. Where to land the blow. I readied the weapon in a stance I had seen countless fictional spearmen hold. The creature had already righted itself and was currently pinning me with a glare of hatred. It roared at me fiercely.

In movies, zombies are really weak against cranial damage. But this metal bar enforced by my puny strength would probably never get through the one of the strongest bones in the human body.

I rounded my gaze on its neck. The creature darted towards me, and I shot the metal bar forward in a piercing line.

The rod stabbed straight through its neck. Muscle and blood squished in a revolting amalgamation as the bar plunged further. 

The force of the creature's tackle forced me to my back foot. The impact was too hard. I was inclining at a faster rate than I could manage. I realized that I was going to fall.

Cold hands came to support my back, pushing me forward. The support helped me right myself. I doubled down with the spear and advanced. The creature jerked with my attempt.

  It struggled violently against the cold metallic end but couldn't get any closer. Its guttural gags and howls slowly lowered.

The menacing snarls morphed into whiny moans. My technique worked. I had lowered my angle of attack so as to pierce the nape of its neck. The creature shook in a final attempt before its arms fell limply to the side.

My panting breaths thronged through the silent hallway. "You did it." Mil whispered from behind me. I swiped the rod back and its body fell to the floor with a dull thud.

I stared at the unmoving figure blankly. I didn't feel anything at the supposed murder. A twinge of relief maybe. But that was it. 

A looming doubt echoed in my mind.

I quickly stabbed the man's skull. The attack stopped roughly on the bone and didn't go through. As expected it was much harder to penetrate the skull. "What are you doing?" Mil questioned as I reiterated my attempt.

"Just making sure." The bone finally snapped, and the rod went straight through. I breathed a sigh of relief as no visible reaction erupted from the creature. It was truly, dead.

The crimson ended rod slipped from my fingers and fell to the floor. The clang of metal meeting wood echoed through the hall.

Mil immediately hugged me from behind. "Thank goodness!" She whispered against my back. She squeezed me tightly and I groaned.

"We should get rid of the body." I advised and Mil separated from me. I turned to her, and she glared at me. Tears began welling up in her eyes. I knew some were pooling near mine as well.

"Don't you ever dare tell me to leave you off to die!" She yelled in my face. I nodded slightly. "Don't you ever." Her tone got desperate, and I could only nod back.

"My aim was to save you. There was no way to escape together." I spouted my analysis. 

"To hell with that!" She roared. Her green eyes were ablaze with determination.

"We will find a way together. But don't you dare trade your life for mine ever again. I will never let my little brother die in front of me."

Her words stirred my heart, but I lowered my gaze. Could I always be this brave? The question lingered on my mind. My first and only instinct has always been to rely on my brain for solutions.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted the dark outline of the zombie's corpse. Was this really a zombie? I had imagined and seen stronger, faster zombies in fiction. But those were only stronger on human impulse.

This one seemed supernatural. With its ability to smell Mil's soap from the ground floor and the raw strength required to break through the door, it could be easily classified as such.

"We need to get rid of it." I muttered coldly. Mil visibly straightened at my words. My hands were still tremoring from the rush of adrenaline. 

I glanced past her. "We can't just put him out the front door. That will attract attention." Mil agreed with a short nod.

I turned towards the corpse. It lay curled against the rigid wall in an awkward bend. The crazed expression on its face had now settled to tranquility.

Yet, I couldn't help but shiver as I picked up its arm. I almost expected him to jump at me. Pulling him by his arm, his body dully dragged against the floor smearing the wood in crimson.

Mil walked ahead and opened the back door. I inhaled strongly before pushing the body straight out of the house. Mil quickly closed the door back.

  I felt a shiver of relief run through my spine. Mil turned towards me. "Thank god we are alive." Her lips trembled to say the words.

  My arms were smeared in blood. Infected blood. I turned towards Mil. "We should probably wash up. Wipe this blood off." I gestured to my arms.

  Her eyes widened slightly but she nodded.

  "You should use my bathroom, so I'll take yours." Before she could say anything, I turned on my heels and walked away.