{"id":214,"date":"2013-07-21T13:15:42","date_gmt":"2013-07-21T13:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/?page_id=214"},"modified":"2013-07-21T13:15:42","modified_gmt":"2013-07-21T13:15:42","slug":"chapter-39","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/story\/chapter-39\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 39"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 39<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

I already said I liked control.<\/i><\/p>\n

I also like when people know their place.\u00a0 That sounds stuck up, but it\u2019s true.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not the leader, don\u2019t try to boss me around.\u00a0 If I run things better, don\u2019t try to overstep me.\u00a0 Don\u2019t assume you know me; don\u2019t pretend you know why I do things.\u00a0 There are a lot of things people don\u2019t know about me.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot of things the others assumed about me.<\/i><\/p>\n

There are always reasons for my choices; there should always be reasons behind everything you do.\u00a0 That\u2019s why, even though I had passed out, even though AJ had said we were leaving, we didn\u2019t leave immediately.\u00a0 I had reasons for it.\u00a0 I had a plan, an idea.\u00a0 You should never run off of chaos; you should run on organized decisions.<\/i><\/p>\n

Reading this, I can see why Kayleigh teases me about being anal.\u00a0 But what I\u2019m saying is still true.\u00a0 It all goes back to that control, and I like that because it gives organization; it gives reasoning to the world.\u00a0 With the way the world is today, we could use all the organization we can get.\u00a0 Not people like AJ trying to just go with it and making it all worse by overstepping me.<\/i><\/p>\n

People need to know their place.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Sunday, April 15, 2012<\/b>
\n10:05 a.m.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to go!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a way out of here?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m okay\u2026 I\u2019m okay\u2026 I\u2019m okay\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Howie felt like pulling his hair out in a mixture of fear, fury, and frustration.\u00a0 They\u2019d found the undead roaming outside hours before.\u00a0 Well, the other two had.\u00a0 Howie, from reasons he didn\u2019t wish to think about, had passed out.\u00a0 When he\u2019d come to only a short while later, he\u2019d found Kayleigh in the middle of a panic attack and AJ throwing their stuff together, getting ready to go.\u00a0 For the past five hours, they\u2019d been arguing about how to handle this, while Kayleigh was in her own little world on the hotel bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t believe this shit.\u00a0 Zombies are all over the damn place, and what do we do?\u00a0 We wait for you to take a damn bath.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, who knows how long the water will be on?\u00a0 Besides, they didn\u2019t find us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYET!\u00a0 You rich, snobby dumbass!\u00a0 They\u2019re gonna get in here soon; there\u2019s only so many rooms to burst into.\u00a0 And now we have more to try to get by than we did before!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m okay\u2026 I\u2019m okay\u2026 I\u2019m okay\u2026\u201d\u00a0 The two continued to ignore their other companion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they\u2019d go away once day broke.\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ slapped a hand to his forehead irritably and rolled his eyes.\u00a0 Howie ignored the look that followed that clearly showed the other man thought Howard was an idiot, something he knew to be the furthest from the truth.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s fucking VAMPIRES,<\/i> you moron!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I\u2019m sorry \u2013 next time the world ends, I\u2019ll make sure to keep better track of horror movie trivia!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if you\u2019d listened to me, we\u2019d have our asses out of here by now!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTOP IT!\u201d they heard Kayleigh finally shout, before resuming her former position.\u00a0 Her knees were held close to her chest, and she rocked slowly back and forth on the bed.\u00a0 Howie liked Kayleigh; she wasn\u2019t too bad, it seemed.\u00a0 Though sometimes she got annoying, usually her pep was refreshing in a way he\u2019d never admit.\u00a0 The biggest problem with her was that, in times of stress, she completely fell apart.\u00a0 And it seemed to always happen at the worst times possible, like right then, when the noises were becoming too close for comfort and they\u2019d decided it was time to leave.<\/p>\n

Howie stretched, rather than fidget.\u00a0 He needed something simple to focus on at the moment so he wouldn\u2019t lose control.\u00a0 It was always about maintaining some form of control so he could be able to cope with whatever was happening to him or even around him.\u00a0 Surely, the same could apply to this, even if it was the complete end to everything he\u2019d once known.\u00a0 If he had control, he could figure out how to handle this, rather than have someone like BJ-AJ-CJ-DJ-whatever-his-name-was take over.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, we need to get out of here.\u201d\u00a0 Moans could be heard off in the not-too-far distance.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuck, they\u2019re in the damn hotel.\u00a0 Maybe they caught our scent or some shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two went to the window and peeked down below.\u00a0 Too many of the undead still roamed the streets to give any thought to trying to use a sheet rope to climb out the hotel.\u00a0 One whiff of them while hanging on a sheet would get the creatures\u2019 attention too quickly.\u00a0 They\u2019d be eaten before they could even touch the ground.\u00a0 The two glanced back at each other while Howie\u2019s mind raced for some semblance of a plan to form in his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to need weapons.\u00a0 If this shit is anything like the movies, we gotta go for the brain or the head.\u00a0 Play it safe that way,\u201d AJ said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, cause we\u2019ve got so many lying around here, BJ,\u201d Howie spat back impatiently.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know my fucking name is AJ, so stop that shit.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have to improvise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see any damn weapons in here,\u201d Howie replied, fed up with the entire situation.\u00a0 How were they supposed to fight their way out if they had absolutely nothing to fight their way out with?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not fucking helping.\u00a0 Get creative, unless you have a better idea!\u201d<\/p>\n

Howie headed into the bathroom in hopes maybe he could find something.\u00a0 Mini shampoos, conditioners, a hairdryer\u2026 nothing actually useful.\u00a0 He sighed; he hated everything at that point.\u00a0 Before all this had happened, he\u2019d have never stayed in a dive like this, anyhow.\u00a0 He eyed the towel rack; AJ had said to get creative.\u00a0 Would this do any good?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s probably cheap\u2026<\/i>\u00a0 But would it get the job done?\u00a0 Break a neck or do enough head damage?\u00a0 Gathering his strength, he tugged at it, groaning till it was eventually forced from the wall.\u00a0 He stumbled back in surprise, ready to wield his weapon.\u00a0 How he\u2019d use it, Howard again wasn\u2019t entirely sure, but it was better than nothing.<\/p>\n

Now to bring Kayleigh back to reality\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

But before he could, another noise brought Howard himself back into the present.<\/p>\n

CRACK!<\/b><\/p>\n

It was followed by moans, booming sets of thundering sounds, and screams coming from the only alive girl in the hotel room.\u00a0 Howard rushed out to see several zombies slowly stumbling over the now-destroyed door, which had been their last defense.\u00a0 AJ was already trying to fight one off as it reached for his skull.\u00a0 Standing there in shock, Howie simply watched it happen, unable to move, and unable to process anything.\u00a0 A complete lack of control.<\/p>\n

AJ was wrestling, struggling with the first creature able to finally stumble through the mess of a doorway.\u00a0 The other two were still unable to get through, as they kept running into each other, showing a complete lack of coordination.\u00a0 The creature kept coming with inhuman force, slamming AJ against the wall as it let out a fearsome groan.\u00a0 AJ growled and shoved it off, pushing himself off the wall in the process.\u00a0 Without a weapon, anyone would be able to tell AJ was trying to improvise as best as he could.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ain\u2019t eating my shit, you bastard!\u201d<\/p>\n

Howie continued to watch.\u00a0 It was almost like the ultimate reality show.\u00a0 No money or shiny, dazzling prizes; the winner either got to live or eat brains, which was simple enough.\u00a0 AJ\u2019s shades were, in the end, tossed off in the struggle and crushed by the creature\u2019s foot.\u00a0 AJ\u2019s eyes narrowed intensely, and he threw the zombie off of him.\u00a0 The zombie flew to the other side of the room, as Kayleigh dodged out of the way, still shrieking shrilly.\u00a0 It landed next to the television, its leg now broken and hindering its ability to rise again for the prey.\u00a0 AJ lunged, thrusting the TV on the creature\u2019s head.\u00a0 It continued to moan unmercifully.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is for breaking my fucking shades!\u201d\u00a0 He kicked the TV still covering the zombie\u2019s head again and again, till they heard a resounding snap beneath it, causing the moans to stop.\u00a0 The zombie was finally still.<\/p>\n

Yet, as AJ paused to catch his breath, and Howie came back to reality yet again, he knew they weren\u2019t safe yet.\u00a0 With an almost Amazon-styled yell, Howard ran at the other zombie that had finally entered the room, slamming his towel rack through its eye.\u00a0 Immediately, it slumped to the ground, lifeless as it should be.<\/p>\n

A third one followed.\u00a0 This time AJ was ready, grabbing the lamp from the nightstand.\u00a0 He tossed off the shade hurriedly, and in the fashion Howie had done so, slammed it directly at its eye.\u00a0 The light bulb shattered against the creature\u2019s face, and the metal rod following the bulb met its mark, stopping any more attempts to reach AJ.<\/p>\n

Howie looked at AJ and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, so we do need to get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kayleigh was still panicking, screaming for the empty world to hear.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t rocking anymore; she was just standing nearby the bathroom door, staring at the wreckage and corpses in utter shock and disbelief at all that was around her.\u00a0 AJ sighed as he picked up his now-shattered sunglasses, while Howie went to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cKayleigh, calm down, they\u2019re dead!\u201d\u00a0 A pause.\u00a0 \u201cAgain.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wouldn\u2019t calm down.\u00a0 Shaking Howard away, she wrapped her arms around herself.\u00a0 Howie shook her, trying to get her to focus.\u00a0 AJ shoved Howie aside after tossing the useless shades to the floor.\u00a0 \u201cLet me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, and what are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

A hand slapped Kayleigh forcefully across the face.\u00a0 The shock of it made her stare up at the two men, and AJ smirked.\u00a0 \u201cJust that.\u00a0 Now we gotta get the hell out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded in agreement.\u00a0 \u201cJust follow me then.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three made their way out the door, and when the moans began once again, they ran in the opposite direction.\u00a0 They raced around the back end of the hotel, down the stairway, and into the courtyard.\u00a0 There was a gate surrounding them now and a simple, yet inviting pool to meet them.\u00a0 Howard glanced back to see more of the undead following them, having picked up their scent, as AJ had said they would.<\/p>\n

It irritated him that the tattooed man had been right, again<\/i>.<\/p>\n

They should have left when they had first risen.<\/p>\n

The sun shone down on them happily, showing no signs of the horrors that had been released upon them, upon the world.\u00a0 The sky was crystal clear, and it was the type of day even Howard would have enjoyed, before<\/i>.\u00a0 But there was no time for useless thoughts such as this.\u00a0 The three continued running to the end of the courtyard, Howard leading the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow the hell are we going to get anywhere, oh fearless leader?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?!\u201d Howie yelled, chancing a quick look at AJ, who was becoming more and more aggravating by the second.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we\u2019re fucked without weapons and<\/i> a car.\u00a0 And the car\u2019s back fucking there, you moron!\u201d<\/p>\n

Realization slammed into him like the icy storms of winter attacking the countryside.\u00a0 His blood ran cold at what that meant.\u00a0 He skidded to a stop as all of this processed in his business-built mind.\u00a0 The three turned to see the several more of the living dead making their way towards them in their paced, slow, yet haunting shuffle.<\/p>\n

It was actually Kayleigh who reacted first when they finally got close.\u00a0 Rather than kill the zombie with anything around her, she shoved it headfirst into the swimming pool.\u00a0 It seemed to Howie to be a bit silly, till he noticed the zombie simply wandering the bottom \u2013 not drowning, not swimming, and not even attempting to get out.\u00a0 It just wandered, as it did on dry land.<\/p>\n

AJ grabbed a patio umbrella and used it to spear a second zombie through the eye, a technique they were coming to find quite handy.\u00a0 Howard grabbed a lawn chair when another came close and bashed it in the head.\u00a0 When its decaying body came back for another attempt, its foul breath filtering into Howie\u2019s nose, he slammed it against its head again and again, till its head was forced against the gate, and he felt something snap.\u00a0 He had not a clue if it was the skull or the neck, nor did he care, as the body collapsed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gotta head to the car!\u201d AJ shouted above the moans and the chaos, shoving another zombie into the pool after he saw Kayleigh do it a second time.<\/p>\n

Deciding to run for it, the three bolted back in the direction from which they had come, using their patio umbrellas or, in Howie\u2019s case, his trusty lawn chair, to slay the undead they came across or, at the very least, shove them out of the way long enough to escape.\u00a0 A sight for sore eyes reached them when Howard\u2019s purple Lexus came into their eye line.\u00a0 It seemed a vision of heaven right then, with all it meant to them.\u00a0 It was a means of escape, a haven, a way to stop fighting.\u00a0 Food was still stockpiled in the trunk.\u00a0 At that moment, the car looked to be everything they could ever want or need, and Howie could kick himself for ever deciding to leave it the night before.<\/p>\n

Pulling his keychain out of his pockets, while holding the chair awkwardly in his attempt to keep running, he aimed the small remote at the car.\u00a0 The doors unlocked, and Kayleigh lunged into the backseat of the car, tears streaming down her face.\u00a0 With a toss of the lawn chair, Howie threw himself inside and struggled to jam his key into the ignition, as AJ entered the car and firmly shut the door behind him.\u00a0 They had little time, because the zombies they had before outrun had now caught up to their prey in their pursuit.\u00a0 Howie seemed completely unable to coordinate himself into the simple task of sticking the right key in the ignition.\u00a0 He kept fumbling, shaking, and the keys kept slipping within his unstable hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cTHE WINDOWS!\u201d Kayleigh screeched.\u00a0 A rotten stink met them again, along with a long hand covered with violet lesions, reaching in through the window and grabbing Kayleigh\u2019s hair.\u00a0 Howie fumbled with his keys, desperately trying to start the car.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn it!\u201d he shouted furiously, when the keys slipped from his trembling fingers and fell to the floor.\u00a0 Beginning to panic himself, he felt around for the keys in terror of what might come if they stayed around much longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet it off!\u00a0 GET IT OFF!\u201d Kayleigh screamed, trying to bat the hand and force it to release her russet hair.\u00a0 AJ rapidly looked around for the buttons in the car.\u00a0 Howie heard him cheer in triumph, signaling his success in finding them.\u00a0 He grabbed the keys and looked up in time to see AJ slam his hand down on the buttons.\u00a0 All of the windows rolled up, and the hand that had been tugging Kayleigh\u2019s head out the window was separated.\u00a0 To their relief, the dead hand was gone, along with a huge chunk of her hair.<\/p>\n

No one said anything.\u00a0 He started the car and floored the gas petal.\u00a0 The cars squealed loudly in protest as they sped away from the hotel, and they were again on their way to their next destination.\u00a0 A glance in the mirror showed Kayleigh with her hand to a plain-to-see bald spot, mourning her loss, as her tears continued to fall.\u00a0 A mix of pity and sadness stirred in Howie, feeling sorry for the poor girl unable to handle any of the madness they had been tossed in only that day.<\/p>\n

It was AJ who broke the silence.\u00a0 \u201cI told you we should\u2019ve left when we saw them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShut up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why you need to listen to others\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShut up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2019re a prime example of society, how it shut out everyone, made people selfish and shallow.\u00a0 That\u2019s why you thrived so damn much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAJ!\u00a0 SHUT UP!\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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Chapter 39 I already said I liked control. I also like when people know their place.\u00a0 That sounds stuck up, but it\u2019s true.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not the leader, don\u2019t try to boss me around.\u00a0 If I run things better, don\u2019t … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":39,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"onecolumn-page.php","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/214"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/214\/revisions\/215"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}