" THIS IS SO UNFAIR!" Kristina's shrieks of fury could be heard from two stories up, her fists pounding the walls in a huge temper tantrum. Usually, her mother would come running, responding to her every summoning. The silly woman had her spoilt rotten. But her father, Vlad, was different in many ways. He barely existed. He despised the girl, and thought his wife was out of her mind, spending most of her time on her little brat. And his hatred was mutual. Kristina hated the way he ignored her, never gave her what she wanted. He preferred the diligent, calm Amy with her acceptant tendencies. He hated his own child, yet he found a girl with no blood relation to him favorable. And if he was correct, Kristina was being a spoilt brat because Amy had needed the toilet when she wanted to commence her daily prepping for school." DADDY! AMY"S HOGGING THE BATHROOM!" Yep. Of course she was. Or rather, using it for an important reason. What'd Kristina expect her to do? Go pee in the yard? Stupid girl." DADDY! I'M BEING SERIOUS HERE!AMY'S BEEN IN THERE FOR 15 MINUTES!" Man, she needed to take a chill pill. He threw down his pen and got up, ready to give Kristina a good telling when Amy told him what had really happened. But unwillingly, his eyes drifted over to the one image of the family sitting on the shelf above. he was in it for once, the missing puzzle piece in any other family photo. The photo had been taken in Roris Park, a small place that was close to their former home in Ireland. He'd thrown out most of their belongings linking them to that time, but he couldn't bring himself to throw out the photo. In a way, that'd be destroying himself along with her. Even after leaving the park and the country behind for Guyana, he still longed for the memories, the life they'd had. But not without Hilary. Without Hilary, there could be no yesterday or tomorrow in Ireland." DADDY! DADDY, PLEA-" Then suddenly a sharp thud jolted him away from the past." What are you two doing own there?" He yelled,dragging himself away down the stairs. The sound of scuffling could be heard clearly, with Kristina shrieking and Amy groaning angrily." You two, what's the meaning of-" he stopped dead in his tracks. The shadow was just visible beneath the slight stream of blood trickling from the bathroom. It didn't process correctly. It had to be a nightmare, he had to wake up now! He despised Kristina for being a spoilt pest, yes, but not like this!" Amy?" For a moment, no answer came. And then a grey tinted arm reached out of the room and clamped around the doorframe. And dragged out a mutilated creature resembling his beloved stepdaughter. She had the same wavy red hair pulled back in a ponytail, but it lacked the usual shine from the sunlight streaming in from the windows. The same gorgeous green eyes, like greenstone, but empty, hollow and starved. Short for a 12 year old, thin, and the same colorful clothes, only torn and ripped. And she was missing an arm. It'd sunken right back into her shoulder. A pathetic scream rang in his ears. Was that him screaming? Growling lowly, the monster dragged herself up, her body as limp as a ragdoll as she moved her limbs around randomly. Learning how to use them.Then, incredibly slow at first,and then increasingly confident, she staggered toward him on unstable legs. Her arms reached for him, her eyes staring past him yet still seeing him." A..Amy. Why?" A sob welled in his throat." WHY? WHAT THE HECK?!" He spun around and sprinted away, gasping in shock and horror. The sudden movement seemed to confuse Amy for a second. But then she quickly recovered and actually began to half-stagger, half-run after him, stumbling and grabbing for support. As he sprinted through the corridors, he hesitated for a moment when he saw Zen lying on his bed, his body curled elegantly across the pillow. Kristina was dead, Amy was a walking horror and he was running for his life. Zen didn't even know what was going on. He opened one amber eye and stared at Vlad with a bored expression. Carefully, he eased himself onto his paws and curved his back in an elegant stretch. His cinnamon colored fur shone in the light. Zen had been the best friend Vlad had always wanted. Lazy and greedy for food, yes, but loyal and friendly at the same time. and then a freezing cold hand tapped his shoulder. With a hiss of alarm, Zen sprinted off as Amy grabbed Vlad's shoulder and threw him against the wall with inhuman strength. She opened her mouth and snarled, showering him with the scent of rot and filth. Her fangs had blood stains still on them, and as she lunged at his skull, he slammed both fists into her mouth. She shrieked in agony and fell back, her eyes wild with rage and pain. He got up and sprinted the way Zen had. He found the cat lying on Kristina's bed, still in the dark." How can you be sleeping at this time?" He scolded playfully. Zen didn't move a muscle. His tail was stiller than a curtain with the windows shut, deprived of it's usual twitch." Come on, boy. We gotta go now!" He flicked the light on. And screamed his lungs out. Zen lay dead on the pillows, his eyes gouged out in a pool of blood and his claws wrenched and dripping with blood." Zen... who..." Then he felt the oddity in the air. he spun around just as Kristina swung the knife. It missed his shoulder by an inch, cutting cloth rather than flesh and burying itself in the wall. with a growl of impatience, she tugged at the knife like a starving wolf feasting. He took that as a sign to run. Leaving his heart in pieces and Zen still lying there, killed by the girl who'd wanted a cat more than anything.He burst out the door and sprinted down the street." Somebody help!" He screeched." Please!" People stared at him, terrified and distressed, and he shrieked for help. And then started running when the two creatures emerged from the house. They bared their teeth at people, and with impressive speed, gave chase, Kristina wielding her knife and blood dripping in a river from Amy's mouth. It was the most hideous sight." Everyone run! Police! POLICE!" people ran left and right, pushing their way out of their cars and running." Laia!" A teenage girl who looked to be in her last school year lay sprawled on the ground, one ridiculous heel snapped horribly. Vlad might've helped, but Kristina instantly pounced upon the poor girl, her eyes wild with excitement as she dug the knife into her prey. Laia's screeches were obvious, but she was obviously beyond help. Her weeping friend was dragged along by a tall, serious looking girl along with the crowd. And then Laia's body started twitching crazily, and Vlad watched as her form twisted and changed. As she staggered to her feet, people started screaming, her friends especially. Her body was horribly mutilated, but she was faster than either of the first. She moved rapidly towards the crowd who'd stopped to watch, while Amy ran towards the strangest looking house on the block, her eyes crazy with hunger. It'd been empty for sometime, and was overgrown with weeds. No one had ever been in there. Which is been proven a terrible mistake. She emerged with a revolver in hand. And started shooting. People were screaming like a hoard of elephants now. He turned and sprinted, shoving through the crowd. One man fell and was trampled under the mob. Easy kill for the zombies. One zombie smashed it's way into a store that was overly pricey and had terrible staff. It picked up a book and then actually started reading it. They still possessed intelligence. In every zombie movie he'd seen as a teenager, all the undead seemed capable of was stumbling around killing people horribly. He was now wishing that life was a movie like that. Kristina followed, a thin trail of blood running down her eyeball. Probably from the struggle with Laia. Without warning, a cold hand seized his neck and yanked at it, an inhuman snarl sending putrid breath wafting into his nostrils. Something wet dripped onto his shoulder, red and thick. Amy bared her fangs, almost smiling, and slowly approached his bare neck, opening her jaw wide enough to bite the whole thing off. It felt like being hit by a blizzard. He grabbed at her fingers, trying to pry them from his neck. His eyes were so wide it felt as if they were going to pop out. And then her grip loosened around his neck, her fingers relaxing in a stiff, lifeless sort of way. Wrenching them off, he turned around, afraid of what he might see. Amy was screeching in rage and agony, blood dripping from her joint where her arm would've been." Don't just stand there, mate!" A tall, young looking man with bleached blonde hair and dark brown eyes looked down at him, holding a reddened axe." This isn't a time to stand around gawping when you're at death's door! They're everywhere, ya hear? We can't hang around!" It was true. Even as he was standing there limply, people were shrieking and struggling for their lives against the zombies. One small girl with doleful blue eyes and dark brown hair was caught in the grip of a large zombie, who he recognized as one of the rude shop employees, wrenching her arm right around while she screeched and sobbed and kicked at him. He averted his gaze, but he could still hear the rip as it tore off completely, and the poor child's frenzied shrieks." We need to get these people to safety, mate." The burly man continued, his eyes so focused on Vlad that it felt like there was a hole burnt into his head." All these people are going to die crying out for their lost family and friends. We need to take charge and hold the zombies off. Those two girls were ya daughters, right? The first two zombies? Well, me and you have nothing more to lose. Which gives us the power to act accordingly. If people want to commit suicide, they might as well make it count. Eh?" Vlad stared up at him. He was obviously a civilian, but he was what people really needed in this world. Brave, strong, determined. He was by far the person that Vlad would usually look up to." Give me a hammer, mate. Any hammer." Dragging himself to his feet, Vlad straightened himself and held his hand out. Grinning, the burly man pulled a hammer from his belt and lowered it into his palm." Name's Doug. You?" His gap toothed grin had a scary resemblance to Vlad's own father, and he instantly respected Doug as a man of heart rather than looks." Vlad. Soon to be the impaler." Wielding his hammer, he followed Doug towards the terrified crowd. A brown haired fireman with dead brown eyes charged him, and Doug swung his hammer. It smashed right through it's chest and through bone, emerging on the other side with the zombie's inners and blood splattered across it. Including the pizza it'd had not long ago." Vlad, mate, ain't that a bit over the top?" Even Doug was turning slightly green at the sight of it as the zombie slumped to the ground, nearly dragging Vlad down with it before he yanked the hammer out." Everyone!" Doug yelled as he defended an old lady who looked like the next zombie," get away right now! Alert the authorities! We'll hold the line over here!" The little girl zombie from earlier looked up at him with her now cold eyes and lunged at him. Doug swung his hammer and smashed her head right off, although he was visibly upset by his actions. The head rolled down the street, and was almost squashed flat by a foot as more zombies approached. The crowd finally seemed to come to their senses. Screaming and shoving, they ran for the hills. Wherever the road would take them. Which would one day be deep underground.
" Dani? Dani! Dani, talk to me!" Just how long had this gone on already? Man, Petra needs to stop jumping around. Some people just can't take an obvious hint." Dani! Dani! Dani! Dan-" what the heck. If I don't answer, she'll give me an even bigger headache than before. Which is hard to accomplish, seeing as my head is buzzing with storm clouds." What?" I snarled at her, hoping she'd back off. Unfortunately, Petra happens to be adept at ignoring any hostility in the air." Did you hear about the new kid? Connor filled me in! Turns out he's as lame as he looks! He can't run or catch a ball and he's not super strong. He's stupid too. An all out loser, right? Apparently, he suffers from some disorder..." she trailed off as I turned to face her, revealing my expression. Her eyes widened guiltily." Oh god, sorry, I didn't mean...your hand...oh god, can you make it stop twitching?" I need a new best friend. Preferably one who can keep her mouth shut for 30 seconds." His name?" The question appeared to startle Petra. She probably expected me to walk off and start ignoring her again." Something along the lines of Hephaestus. I think it's spelt differently though. His parents have some serious issues, eh? I mean, a god of fire? That guy? Don't make me laugh. Don't hang around with him. He's on the bottom level." Levels again. I didn't know how it worked in other schools, but in our school, we had levels of popularity. Six of them. The top level students decide which level someone belonged in, and also have the ability to move people up and down. I started in the second top level. The top level was considered the best of the levels, but the second top level were still up there. It wasn't until she met Petra. Damn, Petra. Fourth week of the year and she comes prancing into the room, turning heads with her good looks and making friends with just about everyone. She got into the top level that easily. It made me want to be sick. I was popular, and people thought I was cool, but they tended to keep their distance. I had a tendency to hit them when they came within arm reach. Not on purpose though. On the first day, she make the mistake of prancing right up to me, all wide evening blue eyes and silky gold hair, saying that her name was Petra Murdock and that she had just moved to the Bahamas and how wonderful it was to be there and how lovely it was to meet me. Yep. It was the sickening performance I'd ever seen. All she ever seemed to talk about was herself. She yabbered on and on to me for a couple of minutes. It felt like hours. I didn't listen to half of it. I didn't answer her questions. It wasn't like I got a chance anyway. The words never stopped. Exasperating? Yes. My hand thought so too. Petra ended up with a bad bruise on the side of her face and tears streaming down her cheeks as she wailed and sobbed. Pathetic? Yep. And the whole class made a huge fuss over her. Damn god, I hated her. Worse? She can back tomorrow, apologizing for any trouble she'd caused me and asking about my 'alien hand'. I didn't say a word to her, but she asked a boy named Jonty to swap desks so she could sit next to me. And Connor. He was part of the top level, and had been rated the hottest guy in school via a poll. And even as the new girl, it was as if she'd purchased him from the store. If another girl even looked at him while she could see it, she'd have a 'little word' to them at an interval. The way she flirted with him constantly from day one amused me, because her feelings were unreciprocated. She probably dreamt of the day when he'd propose to her in a posh restaurant, probably earning millions already, how she'd throw herself into his arms while all the guests clapped, the wedding bells ringing... she was pretty clueless when it came to her own crush, really. I suppose you'd call that cluelessness. Petra certainly wasn't the brightest girl in the class. She mostly just copied off me. Got into the top groups. And in exchange, helped me exercise and got me into the top level. I wish she hadn't now. been respected in popular is great and all, but it also draws attention to me and my hand. The top level isn't a large group in our school. We have about 270 kids here, spread out through 12 classes. Our class was the only one with three members of the top level in it. In fact, about 50% of the classes had no one from the top level. Top levellers barely acknowledged their existence. Low levellers were always trying to scratch their way up. But once you'd got your rating, it was rare to be promoted. And low levellers weren't exactly considered popularity material. In fact, they were more like toys to people like Petra and Connor. I was pretty lucky to end up in the top level, actually. Half the time I have to pin my hand to the desk with my other hand, but there some genuinely interesting people in the group. Apart from me, Petra and Connor from room 10, there was 16 other people. Sometimes the group split in half. Every now and then the groups changed, but my usually crowd consisted of me, Petra, Connor (urg. Why.), Jakob, Anita, Paulie, Natalia, Melaine, Sebastian and Delia. I don't even know how I keep track of their names. I barely ever talk to them anyway. Petra especially natters on to me and tells everyone how awesome I am and blah blah blah. I just listen in and make sure I observe carefully. I have some dirty little secrets on them. I'm just not so mean as to tell them. Mostly. I might if I trusted Petra. Or Connor. Or anyone who I knew. The top levellers aren't always friends. They're in the same group, but there's usually someone who wants you to get the boot. I suspect that both Natalia and Conner want me gone for good. Natalia? Most apathetic person in the group. Arrogant, unreliable and cunning. And the sportiest girl in the school. She certainly has her strengths. Of all the people in the group, she's the least likely to give in. And Connor? We just damn god hate each other. Not that Petra would notice, that moron. Petra's better at sports than being brainy. I hate Petra as a best friend, but I do have a replacement if I need it. Delia is one cool girl. She's fun to be around, hard-working, funny, organised and a general loyalist. She doesn't have a best friend yet, but she's the only person I really ever bother to talk to apart from Petra. Yep. When you got to know them, you could see why they were chosen for the top level. Good looks, strong limbs, intelligence... all that sort of stuff. And personality counts too. Which is partially why I'm still puzzling over how I got in." I feel sorry for him. What sort of parent names their child after the ugliest god in mythology?" Petra's tinkly laugh filled the air, even though it wasn't funny." His parents must suck too. We're so lucky to be special, aren't we?" She gently ran her fingers along my uncontrolled hand, and I tensed, ready for her to run away crying. But it didn't move at all for once. It wasn't something I'd ever seen before. She smiled and grasped it gently, and she dragged me across the playground, yelling a greeting at Delia, Jakob and Paulie on the basketball courts. Petra was dumb and cocky, but she balanced that with loyalty. I guess that's why I've tried to repay that.
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November 2015
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