Chapter 6

'Dead,' Tyler said, hovering the edge of his pocket knife just inches from Lucy's neck. She was frozen with her face a mixture of shock and fright. He stepped back, putting his free hand in his pocket and disappointment was evident on his face. Lucy let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. She nervously looked up at him, waiting for another one of his remarks.

'If you can't last more than a minute in close combat, it will be best you stick to shooting from a distance.' He turned and headed towards where the sienna was parked.

'Wait! One more time,' she pleaded.

'You said that last time,' he dismissively said and kept on walking away.

'I know, I know. It's just too fast and…' she trailed off when he stopped in his tracks. He turned back to her, with an eyebrow raised above the other.

'I've been coming at you with the speed of an average zombie. The zombies that get that close are usually the rabies.' A chill went down her spine. She thought back to that night when Brad nearly got killed before her eyes. She remembered how helpless she was.

'One more time.' There was more determination in her voice but Tyler didn't seem very convinced. It was the third day of his training her and he already got discouraged on the first day. It was simple. She just had to avoid his knife which served as the claws of the zombie, and then push him away and try to kill him. She couldn't even complete the first step. 'Please.'

He sighed and said, 'If I come at you again, I won't hold back. I will cut you if you can't dodge me.' She gulped and after a few seconds, she nodded. Before she could think of the stance to take, Tyler came running at her, his blade glinting in the sunlight. He took a wide swing at her face and she jumped back just in time, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Fear showed in her eyes at the look of murder in Tyler's. His swing at her face made her understand he wasn't playing.

Tyler brought back his hand in another swing and she went low, falling to the ground. He immediately bent low in an attempt to stab her in the arm and she quickly rolled away. She put her knee and palms to the ground and propelled herself up and away just as he lunged at where she was. Her quick movement destabilised her and she struggled to find her footing. Tyler didn't give her a moment to breathe. He turned and came after her again. She backed up against a tree and moved away just as Tyler slashed the tree bark.

She jogged backwards, her pupils dilated, her heartbeat fast and sweat trailing down her back. He jogged quickly towards her and took another swing. It was too fast for her to dodge. She brought her arm up in an attempt to push his hand away but his sheer force sent her to the side and against another tree. Her breaths came out ragged and she desperately put her hands out when he lunged forward, and she grabbed both his hands near the wrists, stopping the blade from getting to her. He stretched his arms out, catching her off guard and he brought himself forward, stopping with his mouth open beside her neck, ready for a bite into her flesh.

The whole world seemed to freeze. The sound of her heaving was the only sound they could hear. Tyler didn't move any further. His hot breath against her neck. Her breathing then slowly became stable and Tyler moved away from her.

'You shove me by my shoulders next time,' he said and she slowly nodded, her throat seeming too dry for her to talk. 'Your hold was too weak. We're going to have to work on your strength.' He closed his pocket knife and put it in his pocket. 'Come on.' With that, he went back to where the others were and she followed behind, still shaken and bruised from her movement.

At night, Lucy felt someone kicking her sleeping bag. She woke up and saw Tyler standing above her, looking impatient. 'Wake up.'

She frowned at him. She looked around and saw a few of the others still sleeping. 'Huh?'

'You're exercising with us, Dave's waiting outside.'

Her mind went back to the day before when he said they were going to work on her strength. She didn't know that meant fewer hours of sleep. She suppressed her grumble so Tyler wouldn't change his mind, and crawled out of her sleeping bag. They both walked out of the small garage they were in and saw a shirtless Dave a small distance away. He was facing them with his hands on his waist like he had been waiting for quite a while. Without his shirt, his muscles were more pronounced. His built chest and rock-hard abs were the first attraction, followed by his muscled arms that must have made Helena feel so safe to be in.

Tyler tugged at his shirt and slowly pulled it off. Lucy immediately became flustered with the thought of her having to pull off her shirt too. The thought left when Tyler didn't say anything and he walked ahead of her to Dave, his body like that of an athlete. The both of them did a handshake and Dave smiled at Lucy when she walked to where they were.

'Glad to see a lady joining us.' She smiled bashfully. Dave raised his hand like he wanted to give her a high-five. She raised her hand too, only for him to wave at someone behind. She turned around to see Brad waving at them.

'Brad's joining us?' she asked in disbelief.

'No,' Tyler answered just as Brad turned and started walking the other way. 'He's going to pray.'

'Pray?'

'He does it every morning,' Dave said. 'He's the reason we pray at all. It was the only way we could get him to start killing zombies.' Dave looked towards the sky and then turned to the road, and Tyler followed. 'Come on, it'll soon be sunrise.' The two of them took off jogging and Lucy joined in shortly.

The first few days she joined them, she couldn't go even a third of the distance they were to cover without collapsing to the ground, breathless. Dave wanted her to take it easy but Tyler was against it. She pushed herself a bit too hard on some days and ended up being sore all over. They got her doing push-ups, squats, crunches, planks, lifts and other exercises to build her overall strength and endurance.

Dave kept teaching her how to shoot better and chipped in some self-defence tips, while Tyler was fully about close combat. He focused on her push, her shoves, her kicks, her dodges, her use of the environment and her ability to make anything a weapon. He got frustrated with her several times when she didn't follow his instructions well enough or when her push was too weak. A few weeks of her pushing herself hard passed and he began to notice significant improvement.

'Are you ready?' Tyler asked with his pocket knife in his right hand and another small knife in his left. Lucy breathed in deeply, closing her eyes and readying herself. She breathed out slowly and opened her eyes.

'Ye—' but Tyler had already closed the gap between them. He made a diagonal swing at her from the bottom left and she quickly jumped back and to the side. While his body was still tilted to the right side, she clasped her hands and attempted to hit his head but he immediately bent low. With the knife in his left hand, he swung at her torso. He was too close for her to weave away so she brought her clasped hands down on his left hand, deflecting the impact.

She jumped back to create space between them and he lunged at her with his hands up and wide. She brought up her hands and knocked both his hands away. He attempted to come at her neck with his mouth wide open but she already had her knee up. She tilted backwards and kicked him square in his chest, sending him stumbling back.

Tyler regained his footing and a smirk formed on his lips. He quickly came at her again, swinging at her neck. She went low and did a front roll over to his side. She brought up her knees and forcefully propelled them onto his shin, destabilising him. She quickly got up from the ground and lunged forward to tackle him but his right arm swung at her face which pushed her backwards and sent her back to the ground.

He came down on her but she was able to quickly roll away. She scrambled to her feet and backed up against a tree, breathing heavily. He came after her quickly and she extended her arms out and pushed him away from his shoulders. He moved back a step then lunged at her again. She held him by the shoulders, stopping him. He pushed himself forward and her elbows began to bend. Just as he rose his left hand to cut her, she threw her head back and head-butted him.

He stumbled back in a daze and she quickly used the opportunity to jump on him and knock him down. She felt around the ground and her hand found a rock. She picked it up, raised it high and speedily brought it down, stopping it mere inches from his face.

'Dead,' she gasped out. Tyler gulped and breathed hard, seeing the rock hovering above his face. She threw the rock away and Tyler chuckled lowly. He propped himself up by the elbows and faced her.

'Very nice reflexes, Lucy. Well done.' He smiled proudly at her. She smiled back, still gasping. She looked into his icy blue eyes and saw a warmth she hadn't seen before. Her cheeks began to heat up when she realised she was still sitting on him with her legs on either side of his waist. She quickly pushed herself off him and he stood up after her, with that proud smile still on his face.

That proud smile was now replaced with a scowl. Lucy's eyebrows went up in worry and fear as he turned from her and went back into the house. She quickly stood up and the zombies in front of her became agitated. Their growls could be heard as they began to limp forward fast and she quickly went into the house.

'Wake up! Wake up!' Tyler shouted and their eyes snapped open almost at the same time. 'Zombies out front,' he said, taking hold of an armchair and pushing it to the door. Ruby sprung to her feet and went to help him push the chair while the rest began loading their guns. A loud thud came from the door as zombies began to bang on it just as Tyler and Ruby set the heavy armchair in front of it.

'What happened?' Brad asked, fear evident in his voice. Tyler glared at Lucy and her look of culpability made everyone else understand.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' she pleaded but no one was listening. Louder bangs came from the door and then there was a sudden sound of glass shattering as a zombie's head broke into the window next to it. Lucy let out a short scream and Helena harshly told her to shut up. She pointed the gun at the zombie at the window and shot it dead but more zombies started bringing their ugly heads in. The door came off its hinges and hands came in through the open space, pushing the armchair away.

Dave searched behind him for a way for them to escape. Helena and Brad let open their fire at the zombies that began to crawl in through the window while Tyler and Ruby focused on the ones at the door. Lucy shakily reached for her gun, the fear that she just endangered everyone overwhelming her. She breathed in deeply, remembering Dave's teaching on keeping her cool. She aimed at a zombie from the window and shot it down.

She got ready to fire again when Dave's voice came from behind. 'Everybody, out the back door! Helena, you're with me!' They all stopped their shooting and ran towards the exit while Helena and Dave continued shooting at the zombies so the others could get out safely. The zombies broke down the front door and began to rush inside in their numbers. Helena and Dave kept shooting at them but had to be moving back to keep a safe distance from the zombies.

The others got into the kitchen, where the backdoor was and headed straight for it. Helena and Dave walked backwards into the kitchen after them. The magazine of the gun in Helena's hand got empty but a zombie limping quickly toward her stopped her from reloading. She quickly grabbed two knives from a table beside her and threw one at its head, nailing it on its forehead. The zombie fell to the ground just as she reloaded.

'Go! I'll cover for you,' Dave said to Helena and with some reluctance Helena turned around and ran to the door, trusting that he would be safe. Dave got a hold of the kitchen table and turned it over in the path of the zombies, slowing them down. He turned around and shut the door after him.

They regrouped at the back of the house and the groans and shrieks of the zombies filled the atmosphere. They had just run away from about a score of zombies inside but they had to dive back into the mob to get to the vehicle. Dave gave a hand signal and they all regrouped just as a few zombies burst open the back door.

Ruby and Dave rushed to man the back, Helena and Brad stayed in front while Tyler and Lucy stayed at the sides, making sure there were no openings in their formation. They moved from the back of the house to the side and a few zombies impatiently waiting to get into the house, saw them. They ran towards the group with their bloodied mouths open to tear off flesh. The sound of bullets flying and shells hitting the floor accompanied the sound of zombies shrieking as they fell to the ground.

They slowly advanced but the ammunition they had on them was getting used up too fast. A zombie leapt at Brad and he knocked it aside with the butt of his gun. He rose his leg up as the zombie hit the wall of the house and fell to the ground and he brought down his boots hard on the zombie's head, cracking its skull open. Another zombie leapt at them and Helena brought out the other knife she had and impaled its skull deeply with it.

The zombies behind got much closer when Dave stopped firing. He grabbed one by its shoulder and sent its head crashing into the wall beside. Its skull broke and blood with brain matter spilt down its face. Ruby reloaded her gun, having taken more than enough ammunition. She went crazy with the zombies, firing with accuracy and near precision.

They got past the side of the house and almost immediately, a zombie leapt for Tyler. He quickly rose his leg and knocked it back with much force into a few other zombies, making them fall like dominos. A zombie got past Helena and charged at Lucy, she pulled the trigger of her gun but no bullet came out. She quickly leaned back, avoiding its swipe and then forcefully drove her gun down at its skull, breaking it in.

There was a loud grunting sound as two zombies tackled Helena down and her knife flew off her fingers. Dave immediately turned to help her, leaving Ruby to man the back alone. Brad grabbed one of the zombies and flung it off of her while Dave delivered a heavy blow on the other, caving its skull in. Ruby made sounds of distress and Lucy quickly picked up the fallen knife and turned to impale a zombie near Ruby in its chin and up its skull. Tyler pried off a loose piece of wood from the flooring of the house and smashed the head of a zombie close to Ruby with a force much greater than he ever showed when sparring with Lucy. Dave pulled Helena up and they quickly got back to fighting.

The vehicle was just a short distance away and Dave and Helena went on either side of Brad to make sure he got to the vehicle without bothering about the zombies about them. They got to the driver's seat and Brad flung open the door and jumped in. He tried turning on the ignition and the engine made a loud sputtering sound, drawing some zombies to him. Once they saw Dave and Helena still at the side of the vehicle, they rushed towards them, their claw-like fingers outstretched.

Brad tried and tried again and Dave and Helena began to panic, seeing the number of zombies running toward them. The engine finally roared to life and Brad stepped on the gas and swerved the vehicle, running over the zombies near them. Ruby ran out of ammunition just as the engine roared to life. She hastily turned to the vehicle and began running to it with Tyler and Lucy behind her. Dave and Helena got into the vehicle and left the door rolled open for the others. A few zombies that were not run over started making their way into the car. Helena and Dave pushed some away and Brad stepped on the gas, driving away from the zombies and stopping a little further down.

Ruby, Tyler and Lucy picked up the pace and ran to the vehicle, leaving a good distance from the zombies behind them. Ruby and Tyler jumped into the vehicle but just before Lucy could get in, Helena slid the door shut.

Lucy's eyes went wide in fear and she began to bang on the door, pleading for them to let her in. Dave tossed a magazine to her, his eyes hardened. She caught it, even though her hands were trembling and frowned in confusion at him.

'Show us why we should let you in,' he said and her blood ran cold. She looked at the others in desperation but all their eyes were like Dave's and Brad couldn't look at her. She turned around and saw the zombies running to her with murderous intent. She began to hyperventilate as she loaded her gun and aimed at them. Dave's teaching came back to her and with tears in her eyes, she steadied her arms.

She let open her fire, knowing that her life depended on it and gunned down six of them but one had already got too close. It swiped hard at her hands, knocking away her gun. It held her head and shoulder and brought it toward him to bite her. She used the momentum to knock it down and the others sat, unmoving. Her hands felt around and she found a rock. She brought it down on its head and smashed it repeatedly till it became pulp.

The door got slid open just as Ruby let out fire on the zombies that were getting near Lucy. Tyler held her arm and dragged her into the vehicle. 'Don't make us regret it again,' he said. Brad stepped on the gas and they sped off in silence.