Read They Walk Online

Authors: Amy Lunderman

Tags: #Young Adult, #Lang:en, #They Walk

They Walk (4 page)

BOOK: They Walk
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Laughing, he says “I got lucky; the roads were empty for a first. So I made it home with just enough time to pretty myself up for you.”

Raising my hand that’s not holding the drink, I place it on his chest. He’s soft and warm, and his heart speeds up when I touch him. Licking my lips, I lift my eyes and lean towards him. He’s leaning closer into me, and we are a breath apart when a small plastic ball smacks him in the side of his head. Laughing I pull back, Matt glares over at Austin.

Who is holding pong balls and laughing with a group of guys.

Matt steps away from me and picks the ball off the floor, I notice the muscles of his arms straining against his shirt and I wish we hadn’t been interrupted. Then I think that the drinks are getting to me more than I thought. He stands back up, and pulling his arm back chucks the ball back to Austin. He easily steps aside to avoid to being hit, and waves Matt over to him. The other guys are making catcalls and rude jesters at us, and I hide behind Matts back feeling my face heat up. This of course sends the guys roaring, and clapping in approval.

This is one reason I avoid pda, Matt’s friends are like dogs with a bone.

Turning back to me, Matt takes my hand and starts to lead me out of the kitchen the way we came in. As we slink by, Austin slaps his hand on Matts shoulder and holds him in place.


We need your opinion on something Mattie. The boys and I are about to start a pong match and we can’t decide if it’ll be strip or regular. What do you and your girl think?” Austin says.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Matt, I can see his face reddening and I know my face is still on fire. They all hackle at our embarrassment, and I can feel Matt tense beneath my hand. He’s about to say something, when there is a loud screeching sound from outside. It’s quickly followed by a roaring crunching sound and glass shattering.

The whole house shutter’s as the ground shakes from an impact.

Everyone in the kitchen stops whatever they were doing and freezes. The music that was just blaring a booming techno song gets turned off. In the silence of the house, a car horn can be heard outside. It’s grating and continuous, and I lean into Matt who holds me tightly.

He looks to Austin, who instantly walks out into the living room, looking not so happy.

His group of friends trail after him, and we can’t help but to follow too. The dancing had stopped, and everyone is either staring out the window or at Austin. He stops at the main bay window, shaking his head he clenches his hands into fists.


Shit. My dad is going to lose it.” He grunts as he continues to stare out the window.

Being held back by Matt, I peak around the group in front of me to see out the window too. What I see makes me gasp in surprise. The blaring horn is coming from a car imbedded into the side of a tree in the yard. From the looks of things, someone lost control of the car and rammed into all our parked ones. It must have been going fast, because it flipped and hit some of the other cars before crashing into the tree. No one moves in the living room, we’re all looking to Austin to make the first move, this being his house and all. Even though I don’t know him very well, I can see he’s torn. Wanting to make sure no one was seriously hurt.

Then on the other hand not wanting to help so he won’t get busted, a minor drinking isn’t exactly legal.

The group from outback must have heard the commotion, because they begin to migrate to the front lawn. They’re jumbled together in a group of twenty; they are still in swim suits and dripping wet. I don’t see Claire or Brian with them, and wonder if they are still outback. In front of me, Austin sighs and he beckons some of his friends to follow him. As they walk to the front door, a guy I remembers name being Kyle, calls over his shoulder for anyone to call 911. We all appear hesitant, not wanting the first person to be the nark. But then a guy in the back of our crowd gets out his cellphone.

As soon as Austin opens the front door, the horn is almost defining. But under it you can almost hear another noise; it takes my brain a moment to place it. When I do, I realize it’s a scratching noise. As in someone from inside the car is scratching at the windows. That must mean whoever is in the car, is more hurt than anyone would think, and they’re trapped. Austin’s group must have realized this at the same time, because they rush out the door not even closing it behind them and down the front steps.

I feel a light feathered touch on my arm not around Matt, and I jump.

Looking beside me, it’s Dan with Maria.


What’s going on out there?” he asks.

I’m not really sure how to answer, and he knows as much as me, so I just shake my head. Maria leans around him, and gives me a nervous smile. I glance up at Matt, but he’s watching the guys outside, so I turn my attention back outside also.

 

 

 

Chapter Six

They made it too the car, Kyle and another guy Adam are at the driver’s side door. The windows are tinted and they can’t see inside. I can barely hear them call out to someone inside, and by their faces no one responds. Austin and his friend Alex, make their way to the passenger side, tapping the windows. Abruptly the horn goes silent. The scratching becomes more persistent, and someone can be heard from inside but the voice is inaudible. Instinctively they all step back and look at each other questioningly. Before anyone can stop him, Kyle sprints up to the driver’s side door and pulls it open. Something heavy falls to the ground, in a sickening clump.

Kyle leaps back, and I get a good look at what it is.

It’s a body, so badly mauled that I can’t tell if it’s male or female. There is blood everywhere, but it seems to ooze from a gaping hole in its chest. It’s so still, I don’t know if it’s alive or dead. I hear shouts of alarm and some screams of horror, but I’m too shocked to do anything. Matt holds me tighter, and I can feel him trembling. Dan pushes his way to the window, while Maria lingers closer to me, she’s pale.

Quickly I look to the tree where the car is stuck, and I wonder how a small crash could cause the damage to the body. That’s when I hear the scratching again, or I should say a slither. Shifting my eyes to the body, I feel hope that maybe it’s alive, but it’s still. The guys around the car are looking inside. Kyle walks closer again, and he bends down to get a better look.

Slowly an arm reaches over the driver’s seat followed by another with his head held low a man pushes across the seat. He must be hurt pretty bad, he’s shacking and making these low gurgling moans. Kyle reaches for him, and the guy raises his head and snaps his teeth at him. His face is covered in blood, and some falls from his mouth. He pushes himself up on his arms, and I notice that his right shoulder is missing a chunk so large I can see bone. Startled, Kyle stands up straight and Adam makes his way closer to him with his posture tense with alarm.

I hear hushed voices of terror all around me, but I don’t understand what’s happening. Why aren’t they helping this stranger, and that’s when I feel it, Fear. He oozes it, like the blood from his mouth. But I can’t take my eyes off this man, who by all appearance killed the driver and might have even caused the accident.

He’s still crawling over the seat, and leans out onto the body below. He hovers over it, and rubs his face in the whole in its chest. The body below him jerks and he stops. Raising his face he looks up like he smells something. Snarling, he leaps off the still jerking body and crashes into Kyle. Who at the last second tried to get out of the way, but only succeeded in throwing himself of balance. He falls to the ground yelling, with the man biting into his throat.

 

 

 

Chapter Seven

Everyone is in an instant frenzy, screaming and yelling. Kyle tries to push the man off him, but he just ends up hitting at the man’s back while he gnaws at him. As Kyle’s cries go weak, Adam is there pulling at the man, and when he doesn’t budge Austin and Alex are suddenly there to help. That’s when I notice something weird. The body that fell from the car, that I thought was dead, is now dragging itself over to the guys around Kyle.

It reaches out its bloody arm and pulls at Adams pant leg. So consumed in helping Kyle, he doesn’t notice until the body is completely upright. He turns at the last second, just in time for it to sink its teeth into his arm. Yelling, he rips his arm away and shoves it off him. It just growls at him and lunges, catching him by surprise they fall to the ground. He’s calling for help, as it tears into his throat. Some of the group from the yard rush over to help him, but he’s already stopped moving.

The thing on him rushes at a thin girl, and I have to look away and back to where Kyle is.

The guys with Kyle are still struggling to dislodge him, when he stops moving. The man pushes back and rushes at the nearest guy, Austin. He goes for his throat, but Austin sees him coming and jumps back. The man still reaches him though, and gets his shoulder instead. Austin pushes the man off him and he takes a chunk of skin with him. He barely has the strength to hold it off, as it lunges for him again, while holding his bleeding shoulder.

As Alex is about to assist Austin, Kyle sits up. Everyone in the living room takes in a breath, as he turns his head towards Alex who has stopped to stare at him. Kyle reaches for him, and faster than Alex can move, Kyle leans over and bites into his leg. Alex pulls back and knee’s him in the face knocking him back down. Alex is running toward Austin now, and Kyle is already getting to his feet.

When Adam is getting to his feet and attacks the nearest person by biting into them, everyone in the yard erupts into chaos. They are all running in different directions, and yelling for help that will never arrive in time. Some are going to assist they’re friends that are being attacked, but most are running for the cars and trying to leave.

Inside, we seem to having a delayed reaction. As if the mess outside isn’t really real. I feel frozen, not knowing if I should run or hide. I know I should want to help my friends, but my first instinct is to get away. Before I have time to even decide, Dan is running over to the fireplace in the corner I didn’t notice earlier, and grabs for a fire poker. He rushes out the door with Gabe, who is running from behind me. I hardly have time to think that he was so close to me and I didn’t even know when they are already making their way down the steps and into the yard. A guy in trunks covered in blood runs at Dan snapping his teeth, and not hesitating he swings the fire poker and knocks him out of the way.

Screaming I yell to Dan to come back, that it’s not safe.

Matt doesn’t make a move to help him, and he’s holding me too tightly for me to either.

In the seconds it took for me to glance from the window to Dan, the chaos outside multiplied. There are at least twenty dead people running around attacking. Friends are attacking friends, guys are running to they’re cars leaving their girlfriends bloody and screaming. Still leaning against Matt, I reach out my free hand to Maria who is shaking in terror. I might not be able to do much, but I can at least offer comfort.

But before she has a chance to take my hand, Matt pulls me to the door.

 

 

 

Chapter Eight

I resist him, my earlier ideas of leaving forgotten. He holds tight to me, and is almost dragging me out by my arm.


Matt, stop. Are you crazy, where are we going?”

He stops just inside the door, and turns to me. His eyes are frantic and I know he must be terrified. He pulls me too him, and places his hands on my shoulders.


Listen to me Maggie. My car is parked along the road.” He glances behind him, before turning back. “It’s close, but we have to go through those things out there.”

I’m shaking my head no before he even finishes. Is he out of his mind! The guys out there are stronger than us and they got killed. We’d never make it, its suicide.


I know we can make it, I swear. We can’t stay here.”


We can’t leave everyone else behind. It’s not right.” I say.

I look behind me at Maria, and see that she’s as white as a ghost. She catches my eyes, and shakes her head. She starts to back up, implying if we leave, she won’t follow. I haven’t even seen Claire since we came inside, and I pray she’s not out front. The rest of the kids outback are rushing in through the porch door, but I don’t see her amongst them. I can hear the yells of my peers as they struggle to fight those things.


Claire was outback, we have to find her. I can’t just leave and what about my brother?” I try to pull him back into the foyer.

He holds me in place with his hands, and gets this sad look on his face. Raising one hand to my cheek, he shakes his head fiercely.


I’m sorry Maggie,” He grabs my hand now and takes a step backwards. “I just can’t lose you.”

He immediately pulls me through the door. It feels like another world out here. There are screams of pain, surprise, and even action. The lawn even in the dark is already covered in blood, and I can’t turn my eyes from the horror of it all. Someone comes out of the house behind us, and bumps into me trying to go down the steps. I stumble into Matt and we get pushed into the yard faster than I would like. Whatever those things are, they’re fast. As soon as they bite into someone and kill them, they are immediately jumping right back up and are running for the next kill.

Matt doesn’t stop when we hit the lawn, but grips my hand and pulls me forward. He’s moving quickly and I try to keep up, but the chaos around me keeps drawing my attention. Everywhere I look someone is being killed, and then getting back up themselves. We dodge around a girl that has fallen with another girl biting into her stomach, and I hate that we don’t stop to help. As we are making it to the edge of the grass I hear a familiar voice. I turn to the right, and I see Gabe on the other side of the yard.

BOOK: They Walk
11.76Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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