Broken Dreams(170)

“I know. But, to be honest, I don’t think I will ever forgive you for this.” He pointed at his arm.

Henry looked down. “I understand. Again, I apologize. I hope you never get as crazed as I did in that moment because there is no way to stop yourself.”

They stopped abruptly when they saw Kellan’s rotting corpse lying in a twisted pile on the ground, still bound to the dining room chair. “Do you think that we should bury him?” asked Nick. He stood over him, with his hands on his hips.

“Bastard doesn’t deserve a proper burial,” Henry growled.

“I agree, but what if one of the girls comes across it?”

“Hmm… How about a tarp? I don’t think I’m up to burying and chopping wood today,” Henry said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“More than likely, there’s a tarp somewhere in the shed.”

Nick rummaged through the shed and found a tarp, a chainsaw, a long-handled axe, and a splitting wedge. They covered Kellan and weighted the edges of the tarp down with landscaping bricks that they took out of his mother’s flower beds.

Afterward, they spotted a dead tree toward the back of the property that looked good for firewood. In silence, they walked over to it. Nick didn’t have much to say to Henry, and Henry wasn’t sure what to even say to Nick. It definitely was an awkward situation.

After they cut down the tree, they decided to drag sections of it toward the house and cut it into smaller pieces there. They got half-way back to the house, dragging the larger portion of the tree, when they heard a high-pitched scream. They looked at one another.

“Was that Elaina?”

“I think so.”

They dropped the trunk. Henry broke out into a full sprint, axe in hand. He grimaced the whole way since his ribs were still out of sorts. Nick followed right behind him. Henry ran past the back of the house, and when he made it to the side, he started yelling, “Elaina! Elaina!”



***



I was coming out of the house to meet Henry and Nick outside because I wanted to help them stack the wood. When I jogged down the front porch steps, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. Then I heard the familiar sound…the signature grumbling, snarling sound an undead makes.

There were four undeads clambering up the driveway and yard. After I expeditiously patted myself down, I realized I was unarmed. I didn’t even have a knife on me. I froze. I was thoroughly convinced that this was the end of me. Elaina Leigh Cooper, the unwed, newly-crowned necrophiliac, shacking up with a half-dead, crossbreed freak. Then I did what every other scared girl does and screamed like a banshee.

I fell to the ground as I was trying to run away. My legs decided to fail me completely, and they wouldn’t allow me to get up. They were just useless limbs, kicking up leaves, unable to find the stability to stand my ass up.

“Elaina! Elaina!” I heard Henry yelling for me as he was coming around the house. Then I felt a set of arms grab me and drag me to the side. I looked up and saw Nick. When I looked back toward Henry, I saw him wielding an axe. He started swinging it at the undeads.

“Help him, Nick!” He ran back into the house, coming back with the wrought iron fireplace poker. Henry already had two down, but they weren’t true dead yet.

“Crush their heads!” he yelled. Nick jammed the poker into the undead’s head and drove it right down through its brain, repeating this action several times until all four were true dead.

The axe made a dull thud when Henry dropped it on the ground. He fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath. Finally, I was able to summon enough strength to run over to him. “Henry! Are you okay?”

He held up his hand. He took a couple deep breaths, trying to gather himself. He stood up straight and rolled his neck and rubbed his temples. “I’ll be fine. Just still a bit sore in the chest.”

“Let’s just get inside before any more come staggering out of nowhere.” I put my arm around Henry’s waist, and helped support him on the way inside of the house. Nick grabbed both of the tools, put them by the door, and fiercely slammed it shut. Henry and I both spun around.

“What the fuck, Elaina? Don’t ever leave the house unarmed again! You could have gotten yourself killed!” Nick was livid. He was pulling at his hair and screaming at me like I was a child. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

“I thought I would come out and help you guys stack the wood since both of you are in need of a fix and refuse to ask me for a vial!” Standing with my hands on my hips, I wasn’t going to allow him to yell at me for what had happened.

“You shouldn’t have fucking left the house in the first place!”