Journal of the Undead (Book 1): Littleville Uprising (14 page)

“I am so sorry, Emma.”

She could not focus on what he was saying. Her bewildered heart throbbed just like it did the day he told her he loved her. Jillian’s shrill voice was in the back of her mind shrieking,
Don’t be stupid; stay away from him!
Yet she could also hear his words echoing in her brain,
Emma, I love you,
followed by her own proclamation of love. As if there weren’t enough voices in her head, Jessica’s revelation that
Evan is only with you because Matt paid him
joined the swirling vortex of sound clips playing in her mind. She no longer knew what to believe. Slowly returning to reality, Emma tried to concentrate on what Evan was saying.

“I never meant to hurt you, Em.” Again, Evan was cut off.

“But I’m gonna hurt you,” Jake sneered as he shoved Evan away. “Are you stupid or something? How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from my girl?”

“
Your
girl?”

“How much are you getting paid this
time, Stone? There must be a new bet to get her back.”

The look on Emma’s face told Jake he’d pushed the right button. She stiffened and took a step backwards.

“You knew about that?”

“Of course, baby. Everyone knows about that.” Jake’s confident reply filled Emma with dread. “It makes no difference to me though.”

Jake had just heard the story that morning but he was sure that he could use it to get exactly what he wanted from Emma. He roughly grabbed her and planted a kiss squarely on her mouth. Only it was not a tender first kiss; he was staking a claim.

Emma’s thoughts turned to the absurd.
It’s like he’s marking his territory. I guess I should be glad he’s not a dog or he would have peed on me.

Noticing that Emma did not object to being manhandled, Evan walked away. He recognized the crushing blow of defeat. He was too late and now Emma was gone. Glancing back, Evan saw Jake’s lips crushing down again on Emma’s and his hands hovering just above the hem of her short skirt.

When Jake kissed her again, Emma realized that she felt nothing. Evan’s kisses had sent tingles racing up and down her spine and her head had spun at a dizzying pace. Her heart had pounded and her skin had flushed at Evan’s touch, but with Jake she felt numb.

Fate is cruel
, Emma decided as she scurried off to class. Completely blocking out the lesson, Emma deliberated on her situation. Jake’s new habit of calling her ‘baby’ irritated her.
Is his head so crammed with football plays and crude jokes that he can’t remember my name
? Sadly, she had no other choice. Without Jake, she would be a social pariah. Not that she minded being alone, but being mercilessly mocked every day was something Emma hoped to avoid.

After school, Jake walked Emma to practice to make sure she had no further contact with Evan. Her earlier encounter was, in Jake’s opinion, too close for comfort, but now he had her right where he wanted her: humbled by the knowledge that everyone knew about the bet. He was certain that Emma would be eager to do
anything
he wanted.

“So, babe; Saturday. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

He didn’t ask her out; he told her.

Emma started to jog over to the practice field when Jake called her back. “Hey! Aren’t you forgetting something?”

In response to Emma’s questioning look, he pointed to his lips and puckered. Obediently, Emma returned, rose to her tiptoes and gave Jake a kiss.

“That’s better. Now you can go.”

Emma shook her head in disbelief as she joined the other girls. They were all giggling with delight over her kiss. If one more person told her how lucky she was, Emma was certain she would puke.

***

Evan read the same sentence three times before finally tossing his book on the nightstand. He hadn’t been able to focus on anything except his hatred for Jake. Sighing, he clicked on the television and grabbed his journal.

I don’t know what she sees in him. He’s nothing but an overgrown, barely educated Neanderthal. Just hearing him say her name makes me want to puke. Hell, he doesn’t even say Emma; he calls her ‘Baby.’ Could he be any more disgusting? I wish …
Evan set his pen down. His wishes could fill the entire book. Frustrated, he reached for the remote and turned up the volume.

“
We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news from your Channel Nine News Team. I’m Tom Albright and this is Meredith Cannes. Tonight, ten are dead, fourteen wounded, and at least six missing after a rampage of terror gripped the Collegeville area. One of the wounded, Ted McKinney, said his attackers bit him and ate his flesh. Be on the lookout for two males and one female described as …
”

Evan hit mute and grabbed his cell phone. He was on his honor not to use it until his grounding was up, but it was an emergency.
It’s happening
, Evan thought,
everything Doc wrote about in his book is happening again. I’ve got to warn Matt.
His text messages to Matt explained what he’d seen on the news and described a proposed course of action. As soon as they wrapped up, he deleted the messages from his phone and slipped it back into his desk.

***

Saturday afternoon, Emma rushed home to shower and change for her date. She had tried on and rejected about a half-dozen outfits before calling to Jillian for help. As Jillian riffled through Emma’s closet, she pried for information.

“So where are you going tonight?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“A rookie mistake. Next time, ask. It’s easier to pick an outfit when you know where you’re going. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Jake Cole,” Emma said blandly.

Jillian was pleased with her protégé but also concerned.

“Emma, come sit down for a second.” She patted the space beside her on Emma’s bed. “Jake is a senior. He’s captain of the football team and he’s popular. He might expect certain
things,
so just be careful. Okay? Don’t ruin your life by getting knocked-up at sixteen. Oh, and don’t shave your legs! You’ll be less likely to let things go too far if you don’t shave your legs.”

“Are you insane?” Matt was walking by and overheard. “Don’t shave your legs? That’s the advice you give her? How about keep your clothes on and your legs crossed! Or better yet, don’t go! He’s only interested in one thing anyway. Emma, it’s not too late to patch things up with Evan.”

The answer Matt got was another door slamming in his face. Cursing under his breath, Matt swore he was going to rip her door off its hinges.

***

When Jake arrived to pick her up, he tapped on the horn and waited inside the car.
Evan would have come to the door,
said the voice in Emma’s head As she climbed into the passenger seat, the voice reminded her,
Evan
would have opened the car door for me
.

The entire evening, she couldn’t help but compare Jake to Evan.
Evan would have paid for my dinner. Evan would have asked me where I wanted to go.
Finally, sick of her inner voice, she reminded herself,
Nothing from Evan was real; it was all just a paid act,
and the voice in her head finally fell silent.

When they returned to her house, Jake parked the car and turned it off. Emma said, “I’m sorry, Jake. I really wasn’t myself tonight. Matt and I got into an argument right before you picked me up.” Emma knew she was stretching the truth. By definition, an argument implied dialogue from
both
parties.

“Aw, babe, c’mere and I’ll make it all better.”

Emma scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder, not understanding that his invitation had a double-meaning. In the blink of an eye, Jake was on top of her. The weight of his body crushed air from her lungs as his hands went wandering. In his fervor, Jake forced his mouth over hers and Emma’s lips felt bruised and swollen.

She asked herself,
Do I stop Jake’s roving hands or try to extract his tongue from my throat
?

Emma saw bright flashes of light that she was convinced came from lack of oxygen. The flickering continued; the porch light flashed spastically. She tapped Jake’s shoulder and pointed toward her house. Catching her breath, the lights flickered again.

“I’m sorry. That’s my dad. I’d better go in.” Emma detangled from Jake’s grasp and hopped out of the car.

Still unnerved after being groped, she scurried to the house.
Man, how many pairs of hands does Jake really have? No way he only has one pair
.
Got to remember to thank Dad for rescuing me from
Dr. Octopus
.

Opening the front door, she giggled, “Daddy, really, was that necessary?”

“Yeah, I’d say it was.”

Matt was standing by the door; the contempt in his voice was unmistakable. He turned on his heels and stormed upstairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

If they hadn’t been fighting, Matt would have found her
Doctor Octopus
reference funny, but Emma didn’t bother to share it. She missed their closeness, that twin bond they’d always shared. Nothing, and no one, had ever come between them before and she’d naively assumed it would always be that way. Her inner voice said,
Just go talk to him
but she feared his rejection most of all.
Obviously he hates me enough to humiliate me in front of the entire school. What’s stopping him from degrading me at home? It’s hopeless. I’ve lost my only friend.

***

Cursing, Emma dragged herself out of bed. She resented having to give up an entire Sunday for the cheer squad’s raffle ticket sale.
I wonder if I could convince Jillian to donate enough money so I don’t have to go.
Traipsing around the mall in her uniform wasn’t the way Emma wanted to spend her day, but there was no foreseeable way to avoid it.

***

After a couple of hours with little to show, Emma sat in the food court sipping a diet cola and heard her name being squealed.

“Emma!” Lucy raced to Emma’s side and threw her arms around her. Laughing, Kate caught up to her a moment later.

“I’m so glad we ran into you, Emma. I was going to call you later. You didn’t RSVP for Lucy’s birthday party.”

“Party?”

“Didn’t you get the invitation? I mailed it last weekend. I’d hoped to give it to you in person but ....”

“It’s this Saturday! You’re coming, right?” Lucy begged.

Emma let out a long sigh for Lucy’s benefit, hiding her relief that she wouldn’t be able to go. “I’ll see what I can do, Lucy. We have a competition Saturday. Our captain said, ‘Nothing, not even death’ was an acceptable excuse to miss it. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.”

Though she hated the thought of disappointing Lucy, she couldn’t imagine spending the day with Evan; not when her feelings were still so obvious. Kate read the conflict on Emma’s face and it made her sad. She bought one of Emma’s raffle tickets and wished her well.

That night, Emma was unable to get Evan and his family out of her mind.

***

Within a few days, the trio of ravenous zombies was joined by others; a few at first then more. The merry band of flesh-eaters had progressively grown in ranks and, since they were slow-moving, they’d quadrupled in number by the second day without attracting much attention. That wasn’t counting those left behind to die, or the victims that had been completely torn apart and unable to follow their creators. The grisly remains of mangled corpses left a blood-soaked trail in their wake and still they pressed on in search of their next meal. With each slow, shuffling step, the monsters edged closer to Littleville.

Along the way, victims that managed to escape with just a bite were flooding the hospitals. Doctors, nurses, and family members were next to feel the agonizing pain of a predator’s teeth ripping flesh, muscle, and tendons from their bodies.

***

“Emma! Where do you think you’re going?” Dr. Wexley bellowed. He hadn’t seen his daughter in days.

“Dad, I told you! I’m going to Tiffany’s to practice.”

“Not tonight! We are having dinner as a family and
you
are part of this family.” He tried to sound firm like his military colleagues but Emma rolled her eyes.

She was sick of explaining every move she made.
He never does this to Matt.
“C’mon. This is a really big week. My first football game is Friday night and Saturday is our competition. I only have two days and I really need to be ready, Daddy. We can have dinner anytime.”

Not waiting for an answer, Emma slipped out the front door and into the car. Matt was used to seeing his sister get her way but, from the look on his father’s face, it was clear Emma was skating on thin ice. Dr. Wexley threw down his napkin and sighed.

“I’m worried about her. She’s always out with these new friends and we never see her anymore. You know, they say that’s a sign of drug use. Matt, do you think Emma could be on drugs?”