Chapter 11

'Uh, you guys?' Emily said, staring terrified at the zombies who stopped jogging fast and began running to them. Brad turned the key again and like the last half-dozen times, the engine loudly stuttered. He hit the rim of the wheel in frustration and opened his door.

'I'm going to need you all to buy me some time,' he said, got down and ran over to the bonnet. Emily watched in fear as the others jumped off the cargo bed. She held the handle of her shovel tightly and her breathing became hard.

Ruby and Dave rushed over to Brad's side to keep him safe while the rest of them faced the zombies head-on. The zombies charged at them and the fight began. Lucy raised her axe high and brought it down on the head of the zombie which charged at her first. There was a large crunching sound and the zombie went limp and fell. She put her foot on its chest and brought out her axe, leaving its skull split in two and its brain matter visible. She raised her axe high again and swung it at the face of another zombie. It fell to the ground, motionless.

Tyler ran at the zombie closest to him with his sickle raised high and to the side and impaled its head through its eyeball. The zombie fell back on impact but got suspended on the sickle. Tyler put up his leg and pushed the dead zombie away from his weapon and its eyeball was left on the toe of the sickle. Helena aimed her knife and threw it with great force at the zombie that was running straight at her. It was pushed back by the force and landed on the ground. She ran over to it, pulled out her weapon and dug it into the temple of the zombie that ran up next to her.

Emily tried but failed to calm her breathing as the others faced off against the zombies. She put one leg over the front panel of the cargo bed and put the other over, falling to the ground as she hopped off. She stood up from the ground and held her shovel tighter. The scarred and peeling faces of the zombies in front of them terrified her. Nervous sweat slid down her forehead and her eyes darted to and fro as zombies were mutilated before her.

'Work, work!' Brad shouted, hitting the car battery. Ruby pulled out her hedge shear from the face of the zombie she just brought down and turned to Brad.

'We can't keep this up for much longer,' she said with worry lines on her forehead.

'I know. Go try it out,' he said, nodding to the driver's seat. Ruby turned to Dave and he gave her a brief nod as he drove his knife up the cheek of a zombie and to its brain.

'I can handle things here, go!'

She ran to the driver's seat and turned the key but the truck stuttered again. Brad let out a cry of frustration and fear and went back to work on the engine.

A zombie swiped at Tyler's arm and he let out a groan of pain before driving his sickle through its ear. Emily's eyebrows went up in worry and fear, knowing that she would still get hurt even though she had a weapon. A zombie made its way past Tyler and charged at Emily. She moved backwards, her eyes wide and her weapon suddenly felt non-existent. Helena quickly turned around, jumped on the zombie and drove her knife through the back of its skull.

'What are you doing?!' she angrily shouted at Emily, heaving. Emily looked up at two shrieking zombies making their way towards Helena. Helena followed Emily's line of vision and immediately stood up but the zombies were too close. Her knife was knocked off her hand and one of the zombies wrestled with her, snapping at her neck. The other zombie continued running, facing Emily. Emily's weapon fell from her fingers. Her fear got the best of her and she turned around and ran away.

Helena tried pushing the zombie wrestling with her away but it only pushed back. She let out a high-pitched scream and Lucy pulled her axe from the cheekbone of a zombie and turned around. She ran to her and brought her axe down on the zombie. It slumped, dead and Helena fell on the ground, turning away from Lucy. Emily looked back as she ran and saw the zombie mere inches from her. Her eyes went wide in shock and fear. She turned around and rose her arms as if to push the zombie back when it suddenly stopped. Emily's shoulders heaved as she panted and the zombie just stared at her.

The loud sound of an axe chopping through flesh was made as Lucy swung her weapon at the zombie in front of Emily. Lucy looked at the dead zombie, panting and confused. The engine then roared to life and Brad gave a cry of victory. Lucy turned away from the zombie, her mind more focused on them escaping. They all ran back to the truck with some zombies still chasing after them. Lucy got into the passenger's seat beside Ruby in the driver's seat and the rest jumped into the cargo bed. Ruby stepped on the gas and the vehicle took off.

Helena panted heavily, looking down at the blood on her hands as Ruby drove them down the road. Dave turned to her, concerned. They were all exhausted but she seemed different.

'Helena, you alright?'

She sharply turned to him, her eyes wide and glassy, and that was when he noticed the large and bloody bite mark on her neck. 'I've been… bit,' she said, her voice breaking and fear completely clouding her face.

Dave's eyes went wide and he slowly shook his head in disbelief. He crawled over to her and cupped her face in his hands. 'No, no, no,' he whispered.

'Helena,' Brad said with tears welling up in his eyes.

'I'm sorry,' Helena said as she sniffed in and her breathing became irregular. 'I shouldn't have… come in.'

Dave hushed her, holding her face close to his and keeping eye contact. 'Don't say that.'

Ruby gripped the rim of the wheel tightly. She stared at the road in a state of shock, unblinking and her mouth was hung open, her smile gone. Lucy was turned on her seat and she had her eyes on Helena. Her mind went back to all those times the people around her turned and she couldn't keep her tears from falling.

'Please,' Helena said, gasping for air. She was turning pale due to the blood loss and the virus in her nerves and she began to lose her strength. 'Kill me.'

Emily brought her hands to her face and she began to sob. Tyler sat still, a sad look on his face, knowing what was to come.

'Please,' Helena repeated, a tear sliding down her face. Dave squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head and tears slid down his face. 'I don't want… to turn... into them,' Helena whispered, her vision blurring as her eyes began to turn white.

She couldn't see Dave in front of her anymore. She saw her parents smiling at her as if to welcome her home. She saw her students in class, seated still and silently, not wanting to anger her. She saw herself in the mirror, a frown on her face and wanting to get away from the life she lived. She saw herself running in that traffic for that life she thought so little of. She saw herself fighting, getting hurt and surviving. She saw the last survivor of her first group with her, getting killed after he was bitten. She saw herself getting held closely by Dave as he comforted her. She saw herself smiling with Dave and finally creating a bond she didn't want to lose for anything. She saw herself getting to the safe house at Alka which she always imagined, and then, she saw nothing.

Dave had his knife in his hand and its blade was dug deep into Helena's temple. Her body went limp and he slowly brought her closer and held onto her tightly. He looked at her face with blood around the blade of the knife that was still in her head and his lips trembled. He choked back a sob, his eyes red and all the time he spent with her came back to him in painful memories.

'Helena,' he called out, burying her face in his neck.

Brad closed his eyes and tears slid down his face. He joined his hands together and began to mutter a prayer of safe passage for Helena. Tyler looked away from Helena's lifeless body and his mind went back to the first person that died in their group and the events that followed. Ruby sniffed in and sighed, her eyes on the rear-view mirror. She tried but failed to blink her tears away. Helena may not have been her favourite person but she couldn't just say to herself that the months she spent with her didn't mean anything.

A silence passed over the group. Dave ordered Ruby to stop the vehicle a few miles after and he painstakingly dug up the earth with the hoe they had picked up from the lake house. It was barely three feet deep but he had worked beyond his limit. He carried Helena with one hand under her knees and the other, under her back. He lay her gently in her grave like he would lay a sleeping baby down.

They all stood around her grave, looking sadly at her.

'Goodbye Helena,' Brad said, beginning the goodbyes. 'Rest in peace.' He took a handful of soil and poured it on her legs.

'Goodbye Helena,' Lucy said with a tear-stained face. 'You were an amazing teacher and a strong person. I won't forget you.' She followed suit after Brad.

'Goodbye, Helena,' Emily said. She had only known Helena for a short time but, one thing she knew was that she was strong; stronger than Emily thought she'd ever be. She then poured her handful of soil on her torso.

'Goodbye, Helena,' Ruby said, standing beside Dave. 'I'm glad you're resting away from this chaos.'

'Goodbye, Helena,' Tyler said with his eyes away from her face.

'Goodbye, Helena. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you,' Dave sadly said. Ruby sympathetically looked at him, she reached out to give him a comforting touch but then he said, 'I love you.' She brought her hand back down and let it rest at her side, looking away. Dave then slowly poured his handful of soil onto her.

They all covered her up with soil and then left with Tyler taking the wheel and Lucy still in front. Dave sat isolated at the front panel of the cargo bed, mourning his love in silence. Ruby sadly watched him from a distance, giving him space. The rest slowly began to fall asleep with Helena still on their minds.

***

The vehicle sharply went down and then up as it entered a pothole. Lucy woke up from the sudden movement and saw Tyler beside her, his eyes looking tired. He was driving them down an empty dark road with only the headlights as a source of light. She turned around and saw the rest still asleep. Dave slept off where he was at the front panel. Brad was sleeping oddly silently on one side of the cargo bed and Ruby was asleep beside him while Emily was asleep on the other side of the cargo bed.

Lucy looked at Dave sadly, remembering all those times he and Helena were together and how perfect they seemed with each other. She remembered seeing his face at the small funeral they conducted; seeing how hurt and pained he was to lose her. When he said he loved her, she remembered the affair he was having with Ruby. It sounded like he really meant it but what did that mean for Ruby?

The loud sound of the horn blowing brought her out of her thoughts and she turned to see Tyler's head on the steering wheel. The truck began to swerve and she quickly tapped him. His head shot up as his eyes snapped open. He quickly repositioned the car and a groan escaped from his lips.

'I think you should let someone else take over,' Lucy nervously said and he shook his head.

'It's fine, I'm awake. Sorry.'

'Are you sure?' she asked and he let out a loud sigh while running his fingers across his face.

'I'm not sure either you or Emily can drive; Ruby was driving first; Dave is in no state to drive and Brad must still be shaken. I can't even hear him snore.'

'I know the basics!' she retorted and he rose an eyebrow at her.

He looked back at the road and then slowly brought the vehicle to a stop. 'I guess that's good enough.' They both got down and exchanged seats. Lucy lightly pressed down on the accelerator and the car moved slowly. She leaned forward as she drove and held the wheel nervously. 'Easy does it,' Tyler said with his eyes half open. 'Just keep on following this road. Wake me up if you see a fork in it.'

She nodded and then everywhere became quiet once more. After some time, she looked back at Tyler and saw his eyes still half open.

'Aren't you going to sleep?'

He looked down at his feet and held his lips in a thin line. 'I'm worried about Dave.'

She sadly looked away from him and back at the road. 'It's hard losing someone you love. We've lost so many people already and it hurts so much.' Her parents' faces flashed before her eyes, then her aunt's and then Helena's. 'I'm going to miss her, but we will find our way to get back up strong… he will too.'

Tyler slowly shook his head, his fatigue evident. 'It's different this time.' Lucy frowned and he continued. 'We've lost a lot of people in the past. There was a time a lot of us were dying in short intervals… it was really hard on the group.' His eyes were focused on a spot, unblinking, as he relived his experience with the first group of survivors they had.

'Suzanne was the first to die and after, everything changed. We knew the apocalypse could get to us as it did everyone else but we had hope that we survivors would last till the end… till we got to Alka. We were wrong to think that way.

Dave was strong through it all though. He got the rest of us to keep on fighting. He let us understand that there was still hope and that made us stronger' —he paused and looked up at the starry sky— 'he never got as close to anyone as she got to Helena; she was different, and he killed her himself… he's never been that broken about anybody else's death.'

There was a long silence as she thought over what he said. 'Do you think we can encourage him the way he encouraged you all those times?'

'I hope we can… but I'll give him some time to grieve first.'

'What about you?' Lucy asked after a moment. 'How are you taking her loss?'

'I try not to let the deaths get to me. It's Brad you should ask that.'

'Why?' She frowned at him.

'Every death takes a toll on him. It'll take some time for him to get back his cheerful self' —his eyes hardened as a certain memory came back to him— 'he kind of reminds me of William.'

'William?'

'Yeah, every death took a toll on him too, but he was worse' —Tyler rolled his fingers into a fist— 'he couldn't take it anymore; he was too weak. He put his gun to his head and killed himself.'

Lucy's eyes widened in shock. 'You don't think—'

'No,' he cut her off. 'Brad is stronger. At least, he's been strong all this time.'

She heaved a sigh, the thought of someone else dying terrified her. Tyler didn't say anything afterwards and another silence passed over them. By the time Lucy looked back at him, he was already fast asleep.