{"id":276,"date":"2013-07-22T03:57:11","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T03:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/?page_id=276"},"modified":"2013-07-22T03:57:11","modified_gmt":"2013-07-22T03:57:11","slug":"chapter-65","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/story\/chapter-65\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 65"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 65<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

When something happens and destroys everything, you think you\u2019ll never get over it.\u00a0 I mean, sure, you\u2019ll never be the same; you\u2019re totally changed by something like that.\u00a0 You feel like you\u2019ll never be able to breathe again.\u00a0 You think that the pain will never stop.<\/i><\/p>\n

Time\u2019s a funny thing.\u00a0 It makes it fade.\u00a0 You fight it; you hold on as tight as you can to that pain.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 So you don\u2019t lose what you loved so much.\u00a0 Because even though it\u2019s not even, like, close to being there anymore, the pain is there, so you know it was real.\u00a0 You feel like, if the pain fades, what you loved is really gone for good.<\/i><\/p>\n

But in time, it does.\u00a0 You can fight it and scream and yell, but the pain still fades.\u00a0 When I think of school, of my sorority sisters, it\u2019s with a smile.\u00a0 When I think about Bradley, it\u2019s with love, and the knowledge that he loved me even as he died.\u00a0 I smile when I think of Mom and Daddy, so happy when they told me I had a new baby sister coming.\u00a0 The tears follow; they always do.\u00a0 But the ache, the overwhelming pain, doesn\u2019t.<\/i><\/p>\n

Things get lost in history.\u00a0 The full story is never told, simply gone through time.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I majored in history; I like the idea of looking for what\u2019s left behind.\u00a0 Only now, I\u2019m what\u2019s left behind.\u00a0 And now the pain\u2019s leaving me, too.\u00a0 Time has that effect, the ability to wash things away.\u00a0 I guess it\u2019s a good thing.\u00a0 Because if this hadn\u2019t happened, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d be here now.\u00a0 I\u2019m different, like everything else.<\/i><\/p>\n

See, I want to live now.<\/i><\/p>\n

That makes all the difference, don\u2019t you think?<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sunday, July 8, 2012<\/b>
\nWeek Twelve<\/i><\/p>\n

Kayleigh smiled as they wandered through the military mall.\u00a0 It was nothing like the malls she was used to.\u00a0 None of the stores she loved the most had a place here.\u00a0 The area was abandoned, empty, and big.\u00a0 It would be creepy, if not for the fact that this was the closest thing to her old life that she\u2019d had since Infernal Friday.<\/p>\n

Their footsteps echoed as they walked.\u00a0 She glanced towards AJ, who watched her carefully.\u00a0 AJ had taken on a more protective stance over her, not in the sense that she couldn\u2019t protect herself, but one that was more brotherly,<\/i> so to speak.\u00a0 It was odd, since the one time she had tried to show affection toward him, when she realized he wasn\u2019t dead or\u2026 otherwise, he\u2019d stiffened up, without a clue of how to handle it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo why do you think you didn\u2019t turn?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHell if I know.\u00a0 But I\u2019d bet my ass on the line that this means none of us will change if we\u2019re bit.\u00a0 Or\u2026 well, fuck, maybe it takes more than one bite for us, since we\u2019re already immune to, like, the basic shit of this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, in other words, you may have just gotten really lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t about to test that theory, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps we\u2019re just immune.\u00a0 The bubonic plague didn\u2019t kill everyone, because some people were just incapable of catching the virus to begin with.\u201d\u00a0 He stared at Kayleigh, in response to her astute remark, and she shrugged.<\/p>\n

And then there was Howie, who was traipsing behind her and the former addict.\u00a0 Howie had been her closest friend in the group since the beginning:\u00a0 haunted by everything around them, the two still clinging tightly to their lives from before.\u00a0 Since Howie\u2019s hemophilia had been revealed, he\u2019d become more relaxed.\u00a0 He still kept the wall around him; still, the wall had been lowered or made easier to climb over, she felt.<\/p>\n

She wished the others could try giving her another chance.\u00a0 Kayleigh knew they still saw her as the girl she\u2019d been when she had arrived.\u00a0 One who wanted to shut them out; one who refused to help.\u00a0 She\u2019d offered to take Gabby shopping with her, in hopes for some girl bonding.\u00a0 It was something she\u2019d been lacking ever since it <\/i>happened.\u00a0 But Gabby had, of course, shunned the offer, and gone with Kevin instead.\u00a0 It stung a bit, because Kayleigh had known why.\u00a0 Maybe, given time, she\u2019d be able to show them she wanted to be an active member of their group now.\u00a0 She wanted the family feeling she knew they could provide.\u00a0 Nothing close to a replacement to her past, of course; nothing could ever do that.\u00a0 But she felt lonely, especially if AJ or Howie weren\u2019t with her.\u00a0 They were the only two she knew did see her differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cKaaaaaayleigh\u2026\u201d AJ\u2019s raspy voice called right beside her ear, causing her to jump.\u00a0 He snickered a bit, as she shot him a pout.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, don\u2019t get mad at me; you should know better.\u00a0 Zombies don\u2019t say names.\u00a0 They just want brains.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a poet, and you didn\u2019t even know it,\u201d Howie remarked dryly, but a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.\u00a0 Slowly, but surely, that businessman armor he wore was beginning to crack.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look happy,\u201d AJ remarked, as they walked along the halls.<\/p>\n

Kayleigh shrugged, tucking a dark strand of hair behind her ear. \u00a0She felt the split ends and wished suddenly that one of them was a former hair stylist.\u00a0 It was a trivial need, but it would have been nice.\u00a0 Even though the spot that had been bare, thanks to a member of the undead, had grown back, it was uneven and bugged her more than the split ends themselves.\u00a0 \u201cI guess.\u00a0 I dunno, this is nothing like the malls I loved to crawl, but it\u2019s weird \u2013 still feels like home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howie eyed her.\u00a0 \u201cSomething can feel like home to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot completely, but it\u2019s still a mall.\u00a0 It\u2019s\u2026 I don\u2019t know\u2026 familiar, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n

They walked silently.\u00a0 Kayleigh\u2019s attention focused in on the stores, of course.\u00a0 They passed a GameStop and, oddly, she walked in.\u00a0 She would have ignored the shop if the world had been the place it once was.\u00a0 Now?\u00a0 Now it was a sign of normality, that one thing she\u2019d never possess again.\u00a0 She checked out the games.\u00a0 The Wii 2.0 had just come out a few months before April thirteenth.\u00a0 She remembered a lot of the fraternity boys had been hyped up about it.\u00a0 Kayleigh didn\u2019t really get the hype; she\u2019d never been into video games, not even as a kid.\u00a0 She picked up a case, glancing at it without true interest.\u00a0 Final Fantasy XXI,<\/i> the case read, and she flipped it over.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou a gamer?\u201d AJ asked, breaking gently into her reverie.\u00a0 He sounded surprised, and to be fair, she couldn\u2019t blame him.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t seem the type, from what he knew of her, and he was right \u2013 she wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo\u2026 but maybe I will be now,\u201d she remarked softly.\u00a0 It\u2019d be a good distraction, if nothing else.\u00a0 Something to help fill the hours was becoming a necessity, since she wasn\u2019t one of the main zombie hunters (not that she ever wanted to be), and they were out of the church.\u00a0 Currently, she was using the time to redecorate the home she shared with Howie and AJ, and watching seasons of The OC<\/i> on DVD when she needed breaks from that.\u00a0 As much as she loved the angst of the brooding Ryan Atwood, the wit of geeky Seth Cohen, and the ease at which she could always relate to Summer, it wasn\u2019t enough to fill the void.\u00a0 Maybe nothing would be.\u00a0 She\u2019d try everything before deciding that, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll bring this with us,\u201d Howie replied, grabbing a game console.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll give us something else to focus on, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three strolled out, AJ in the lead.\u00a0 Kayleigh glanced around once more, trying to spot the next store she wanted to check out.\u00a0 Her eyes lit up when they rested upon the sign above the entrance to a furniture store.\u00a0 Howie stared at her, a brow raised.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t think you\u2019re getting us to carry a couch back to the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNooooo\u2026 but we can redecorate!\u00a0 We can get, like, pictures to hang, lamps, that sort of thing.\u00a0 Oh my God, then maybe later, we can totally see if we can\u2019t get some paint, try to really add some personality to this drab place\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ laughed, shoving her forward with a smirk.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, okay, we get it.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want the place to look like it still belongs to the people currently known as the undead.\u201d<\/p>\n

She bit her lip as they entered the store.\u00a0 \u201cIt just feels a bit creepy living there, knowing it belonged to the people in the pictures, and knowing they\u2019re all\u2026 well, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two men simply nodded as she glanced around.\u00a0 There were various pieces:\u00a0 lamps, tables, bed frames, wardrobes, the basics of any good store of that type.\u00a0 Kayleigh walked around in a bit of a daze, touching the railing of a crib as she let her eyes close.\u00a0 She could almost hear her mother singing as they set up the new nursery during her winter break.\u00a0 She sniffed, trying to remember the exact scent of her father\u2019s aftershave, for he would come up behind her mother, wrapping his arms around her from behind.\u00a0 She\u2019d come down the halls, peeking in on them with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cKayleigh?\u201d\u00a0 They would turn and watch her with loving eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cKayleigh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKayleigh, you\u2019re gonna have us come back here with the truck so we can bring some of this stuff back, I bet.\u00a0 Am I right?\u201d\u00a0 Howie\u2019s eyes skipped back towards her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d she asked, sounding a bit dazed and confused, as the daydream drifted away.<\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNever mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kayleigh just nodded, looking around when she realized they were now missing a member of their trio.\u00a0 She weaved and bobbed amongst the furniture.\u00a0 \u201cAJ?\u201d<\/p>\n

She could hear Howard falling in step behind her.\u00a0 Suddenly, she stopped.\u00a0 Howie, right on her heels, almost stumbled into her at her abrupt halt.\u00a0 Kayleigh wasn\u2019t sure herself why she had stopped.\u00a0 Maybe it was simply instinct.\u00a0 And while she wasn\u2019t the most adept at listening to it, compared to the others, she had learned to try and operate by it.\u00a0 It was something they\u2019d all come to learn.\u00a0 Howie said nothing, and she felt he sensed the same thing.\u00a0 Odd, yet soft noises resounded in the distance.\u00a0 They were footsteps, and they were uneven.\u00a0 Uneven footsteps were never a good sign anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to get AJ and go find Kevin.\u201d<\/p>\n

She moved slowly again, trying to find AJ, but without making too much noise.\u00a0 \u201cI know\u2026 are you armed?\u201d\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t and was definitely regretting it right then.\u00a0 Even though her distaste for guns had lessoned, and even though she had grown accustomed to using them to kill zombies any time she needed to, she still hated carrying them if she didn\u2019t have to.\u00a0 Despite Kevin\u2019s warnings to always be prepared, she\u2019d made sure to always \u201cforget\u201d her gun once it became evident that the base was clear.<\/p>\n

Or at least evident that they believed<\/i> the base was clear.<\/p>\n

A moan echoed through the empty store, coming from behind.\u00a0 The two turned, as several zombies meandered clumsily in their direction.\u00a0 Some looked to be civilian, wandered in from reanimating in the neighborhood, most likely.\u00a0 Others were in uniform.\u00a0 As time went on, the decomposition had furthered, though still not at the pace a plain corpse that hadn\u2019t reanimated would have rotten.\u00a0 Maggots were beginning to attack the flesh now; she could see several crawling through a large hole in the frontrunner\u2019s cheek.\u00a0 The eyes had become completely milky white now; she couldn\u2019t even see what color the irises had once been.\u00a0 The skin was now a pale yellow and beginning to peel from the rotting flesh along the cranium.\u00a0 The hair hung from the head and appeared to be loosening, as if it were a wig, when really, it was just the skin that was starting to slacken.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 I\u2019m not armed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kayleigh began to back away slowly, as they advanced.\u00a0 Her voice shook as she spoke.\u00a0 It had been awhile since she\u2019d been this scared.\u00a0 She felt vulnerable again, helpless because of her stupid choice to remain unarmed.\u00a0 \u201cNeither am I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s a good thing I<\/i> know how to get creative, then, isn\u2019t it?\u201d AJ announced from behind them.\u00a0 He grabbed a lamp as he ran up to them, passed them, and almost dived into the zombies.<\/p>\n

\u201cBatter up!\u201d\u00a0 He swung the heavy, metal lamp at the one closest to them, connecting squarely with the jaw.\u00a0 The creature flew through the air and crashed through a glass table not too far away.\u00a0 He turned and eyed Howie and Kayleigh, who watched him in a shocked stupor.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t just stand there; help me clear out the fuckers before more show up!\u201d<\/p>\n

There were still several advancing, including the one AJ had knocked through the table, as the brain hadn\u2019t been destroyed.\u00a0 It had been undeniably slowed down and injured, though, if she wanted to look at the silver lining of their advancing grey clouds.\u00a0 Howard spotted a frame; inside were antique swords that Kayleigh hoped weren\u2019t just for decoration.\u00a0 The zombies came closer, and AJ tried to bash another\u2019s head in before the other one came back.\u00a0 While Howie struggled to get the swords, Kayleigh looked around desperately for a weapon.<\/p>\n

A lamp?\u00a0 I\u2019m not strong enough to kill it with one.<\/i><\/p>\n

A vase?\u00a0 It\u2019s not strong enough to kill it.\u00a0 Even if I did hit it hard enough, it\u2019d shatter.<\/i><\/p>\n

A chair?\u00a0 It\u2019s a zombie, not a vampire; I\u2019m not going to get anywhere with that.\u00a0 It won\u2019t trip it up or bash in the brains.<\/i><\/p>\n

Then it hit her.\u00a0 Her pearl necklace.\u00a0 The pearls her father had given her for her sixteenth birthday.\u00a0 She could remember the moment perfectly.\u00a0 But right then wasn\u2019t the time to reminisce, as Howie still was struggling to tear apart the frame and the cover that he\u2019d learned clearly wasn\u2019t<\/i> glass as he had assumed.\u00a0 AJ was swinging around the lamp, but he wasn\u2019t as reckless as he\u2019d once been.\u00a0 The bite scare had gotten to him, the same way it had everyone else, even if he wouldn\u2019t admit it.\u00a0 Testing fate was okay to do once, but twice was just crazy, and his behavior supported that theory.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry, Daddy.<\/i>\u00a0 Kayleigh pulled the necklace off roughly, hearing the cord snap.\u00a0 She ran forward, as AJ hit another ghoul upside the head and lost grip of the lamp.\u00a0 She could hear it sliding across the floor, the metal clanging with a tone of finality.\u00a0 Howie was now jumping on the case, doing his damndest to find a weak spot so he could pull out the weapons she knew they desperately needed.\u00a0 AJ backed away, as a couple more zombies came in.\u00a0 The number was almost an even dozen, at this point.<\/p>\n

She threw the pearls along the ground, watching them scatter beneath the creatures\u2019 feet, and pulled Howie along, as he finally kicked the display case aside in disgust.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s go!\u201d<\/p>\n

The three ran out of the store, pushing past the zombies, who were now falling on top of each other, thanks to the pearls tripping them up every step of the way.\u00a0 She could hear the loud moans behind them, as they continued to flee. \u00a0Even though she knew zombies had no emotions and no true cognition at all, they sounded as if they were moans of frustration at their prey getting away.\u00a0 As the trio raced through the mall, the noise they made roused more members of the undead from their dormancy inside the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get the hell out of here, and maybe we\u2019ll run into Kevin when he comes out!\u00a0 I ain\u2019t being a breakfast burrito for these fuckers again!\u201d AJ announced, as he made a swift turn towards the double doors of the main entrance of the building.\u00a0 Kayleigh simply followed; she trusted AJ\u2019s judgment and knew, if nothing else, that alone could keep her safe.<\/p>\n

They burst through the doors, none of them looking forward.\u00a0 Their lines of vision were focused on what was pursuing them, rather than what was ahead of them.\u00a0 It was for this reason that Kayleigh was surprised when she felt herself slam into a body in front of her.\u00a0 She screamed as she fell over and knew now that this thing<\/i> would have a chance to eat her, as its comrades had Nick\u2019s poor dog.\u00a0 She screamed and flailed, ready to beat whatever she landed on off.\u00a0 It reached for her hands, and she batted them away angrily.\u00a0 She wasn\u2019t going to go down without a fight.\u00a0 No, this time, she was ready to fight back, ready to show that she wasn\u2019t going to just lie down and die.\u00a0 She looked down to see the rotting face of\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2026 Kevin, who stared at her in bewilderment.\u00a0 No zombie.\u00a0 No decomposing remnants of a face.\u00a0 It was just Kevin, their leader, the man they all had come to rely on.\u00a0 That was who she was trying to fight off, for no good reason.\u00a0 Not a zombie.\u00a0 Gabby was still standing, smirking.\u00a0 AJ was laughing, as was Howard, but in a more dignified manner.\u00a0 Her cheeks grew warm, and she climbed off Kevin quickly, holding out a hand to help him up as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2026\u201d he said, as he brushed himself off calmly.\u00a0 \u201cYou ran into some trouble, too, I take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYep.\u00a0 I feel like an idiot for not remembering my guns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all thought the base was clear!\u201d Gabby piped up.<\/p>\n

Kevin sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWell, let\u2019s go load up, so we can come back and try to clear this place out.\u00a0 Hopefully, the others aren\u2019t having any trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kayleigh silently agreed.\u00a0 In spite of all the arguments and the frustrations, she really did care a lot about everyone in the group.\u00a0 She prayed that they were having the carefree day they deserved and that Nick, Riley, Gretchen, and Brian didn\u2019t run into the same familiar visitors that they had.\u00a0 She stared at the doors now; no zombies were coming out.\u00a0 For the moment, anyway, they\u2019d lost them.\u00a0 Finally, she let herself breathe easy once more.\u00a0 She wondered if she\u2019d ever be able to truly let herself feel completely safe again.<\/p>\n

Deep down, she knew the answer.\u00a0 Probably not.<\/i><\/p>\n

Even in the blistering July heat and thick humidity, she found herself shivering.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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Chapter 65 When something happens and destroys everything, you think you\u2019ll never get over it.\u00a0 I mean, sure, you\u2019ll never be the same; you\u2019re totally changed by something like that.\u00a0 You feel like you\u2019ll never be able to breathe again.\u00a0 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":65,"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\/276"}],"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=276"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/276\/revisions\/277"}],"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=276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}