Author’s note:
Reading my original story Decay before this one is recommended but not essential just for context. I hope you enjoy! Link to Decay below:
My boots thumped through the dark forest, only the pale moonlight lighting my way through the trees. I clumsily stumbled, catching myself against an oak tree, looking up to see it seem to groan in anger, its branches looming over me like they wanted to ensnare me. I quickly pushed away from the bark, little grains of wood embedding their way into my skin, my heart hammering against my ribcage as I fled only to have my foot snag on something, sending me hurtling towards the fern-cushioned ground with a hollow thud. I groaned painfully, spitting out a leaf that had found its way into my mouth when I heard it. Hooves. Tapping their way towards me.
I quickly flipped myself over to see what was pursuing me, rapidly scanning between the darkness of the trees with shallow breaths, only to have my worst fear confirmed.
There she was, stepping elegantly out between two thick stumps. Foam dripping from her mouth, a bullet wound soaking her fur a deep crimson. Eyes crazed with revenge.
I let out a loud scream, attempting to jump up on to my feet only to look down and see vines had wound themselves around my arms and legs, keeping me firmly in place.
The deer walked closer, emitting an unnatural hiss. She loomed over me, spittle dripping onto my faded jeans. I screamed so much my throat felt like it was on fire, twisting and turning in a desperate bid to free myself.
Her lips turned up into a human-like smile as her front hooves stomped at each side of my head. She bent over slowly, sharp teeth digging into my flesh.
With a loud wail, I shot up into a seated position in my bed, clutching at my neck.
“Shut up!” My sister cried from the bedroom next door, hammering on my wall. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself. I ran a hand through my sweat-soaked hair, waiting for my heartbeat to slow.
Just another nightmare. Another nightmare about her.
“Ron, you look like crap” My dad commented across the kitchen table, the early morning rays of sun highlighting the greys in his hair.
“Swear!” My little brother yelled through a mouthful of pancake.
“Sorry, you look like poop” my dad chuckled.
“Thanks dad” I sighed, pushing my own syrup-soaked pancakes around my plate.
“He was screaming again last night. So annoying” My sister Annie interjected, rolling her eyes at me. Her friend, Nicola giggled before adding on
“You know how scary it is being woken up by a scream?”
“More nightmares?” My dad’s thick brows furrowed in concern, “You sure you don’t need to go see a doctor?”
“What so I can end up being sectioned in hospital like uncle Tommy? No thanks” I sighed in response, twirling my fork into the half-eaten pancake.
“You’re both crazy” Annie retorted as she stood up, taking her and Nicola’s plates to the sink.
“It really happened!” I yelled, voice cracking, “It-“
“Ron! Lower your voice! You’re scaring your grandma” Dad boomed in response. I glanced over to grandma who, surely enough, had her pale wide eyes on me in an expression of shock.
“Uh, sorry grandma.”
It had happened though. A few weeks ago, uncle and I had gone out hunting. We lived in a remote area in the middle of the forest, around a half-an-hour drive from the nearest town so it always worked out cheaper to grow and hunt as much of our own food as possible to save on fuel. He was training me up as having another capable hunter in the family would increase our chances of eating rabbit pie or juicy venison rather than having store-bought (and often expensive) chicken for our dinners. Hunting was never really my thing though. I preferred to draw the animals, not hurt them. I hated this. But uncle Tommy in his old-fashioned ways thought as a young man, I should learn such a skill.
“Get down” He hissed at me, crouching on the leaf-scattered grass “Look.”
I squatted next to my uncle, peering through some bushes to see a clearing where a small herd of deer grazed, the sunshine highlighting their coats of fur a pretty golden hue. Beautiful. I wish I had my sketch-pad. But unfortunately, we were here for a different reason today.
“Here” The gruff man said, pushing the rifle into my hands.
“Uncle, do I have to?” I whispered back in protest.
“You ain’t never gonna learn unless you actually do it, boy” He responded with a hint of impatience in his voice. “Now, there ain’t any bucks so aim for that doe there. The one on its own.”
I sighed, lifting the rifle shakily and looking through the scope.
“Aim for its head or heart. Then it won’t try to get away.”
I slowly tilted the scope down towards the doe’s chest, the soft wind blowing her fur ever so slightly. I hated doing this.
“Now, just like I showed you. Take a deep breath and squeeze the trigger” He instructed, blue eyes fixated on the animal in front of us. With a wince, I did as he said.
Except I missed.
The bullet hit the doe but slightly lower in the ribs. She let out a pained cry, the entire herd scattering into the trees as she galloped after them, trying to keep up. My guts twisted in guilt, imagining how much pain she must be in.
“God damn it!” Uncle growled, shooting up and pulling me up by my jacket “Let’s go get it.” He plunged through the shrubbery and into the clearing, me following just behind his stocky frame.
“Looks like we’re in luck boy” He said, pointing a short fat finger towards a trail of crimson-stained grass, leading deeper into the forest. We followed the trail hurriedly, finally seeing the creature fallen on her side and unable to get to her feet.
“Damn it Ron, what a shit shot” Uncle growled, inspecting the bullet hole from a few paces away from the deer, “At least make it painless and quick.”
“I’m sorry uncle. I guess I’m not as good as you yet” I stammered, stumbling closer to the injured animal, “Poor thing. I thought it would be easy. What do I do?” The guilt was overwhelming and I just wanted to make sure the deer didn’t feel pain anymore.
“Well ya need to put it out of its misery, boy. A clean shot to the neck should do it.”
“This is horrible” I murmured, sucking in a shaky breath through my teeth, walking over and squatting next to the deer, looking into her scared dark eyes.
“What did ya expect? Sunshine and rainbows? This is where your meat comes from.” Uncle Tommy growled. “Make it quick.”
I pressed the gun into the neck of the deer gently, tearing up a little as I did so.
“Sorry little deer.” I squeezed the trigger.
I knew I’d hit my mark this time. Even I wasn’t that poor of a shot. But still, after a soft bleat, the deer looked up at me with those frightened eyes blinking at me. My blood ran cold.
“What the fuck?” I wailed, falling backwards into a small dry leaf pile, “Uncle! It’s still blinking at me!”
“God damn it boy! Give it ere!” Uncle snatched the gun from my shaking hands, stepping over me to get closer to the seemingly immortal deer, ““Can’t even trust ya to finish the job.”
I shook violently as I watched him, icy dread flowing through my body. This was not normal. This was how horror movies started. But still, I watched with bated breath, hoping with every fiber of my being that I had just made another stupid mistake and that uncle could put it out of its misery. That this would turn out to be another ordinary hunt. I heard the loud bang, staring at the back of my uncle with wide eyes.
To my horror, he uttered “This… ain’t normal.” He stood quickly, stumbling over me with shaky legs. “We need to go.” I had never seen that expression on my uncle’s face before. Until that moment, I didn’t even think he could experience fear.
So we ran all the way back to our cabin, not even stopping for a breath the entire way back. An unsuccessful hunt and an unbelievable story. Everyone looked shocked to see our pale faces and our arms empty of a carcass. Uncle Tommy rarely returned home until he had what he wanted.
We tried explaining to our family what had happened but of course they didn’t believe us. I can’t say that I blame them. I wouldn’t believe me. But still, what happened with that deer that day took its toll on both Uncle Tommy and I. Not just what happened but rather the consequences. My brain would often turn over the idea of there being a zombie deer out there, hungry and angry with thoughts of revenge, looking for me. I would wake on a nightly basis crying and screaming, my forehead clammy with sweat from the nightmares.
And my uncle? He was catatonic. Dad had no choice but to take him to hospital where they detained him under the mental health act. Hopefully he would be feeling better soon.
I was broken away from my thoughts at the sound of my grandma muttering to herself as she always did these days.
“I love mice but I wish they wouldn’t steal all my coins. What do they need them for? I give them all the cheese they need” She chuckled to herself, staring down at the empty wooden floor. Grandma’s mental health had been deteriorating for quite some time now, we would often find her babbling to herself during the day or wandering the cabin during the night. At least the one positive here is that her physical health seemed just fine. With my clumsy legs, I ended up falling down way more than she did.
We had moved in here with her and uncle Tommy once she started showing signs of being sick. Dad loved his family deeply so there was no hesitation. This did mean that my younger brother Danny and my teenage sister Annie had to be homeschooled now, something that my sister was not happy about. I’d already graduated so I didn’t need to worry about that, spending most of my time entertaining my little rascal of a brother and looking after grandma while dad went into town to work and uncle Tommy usually went hunting or lazed around with a beer. Well… at least he used to. This was our lives now and I found myself okay with that for the most part.
A deep rumble shook me slightly as my eyes wandered towards the window, dark light seeping in through the reinforcing wooden planks across the glass. The storm was here. It had started raining a while back, thick clouds blotting out the sun and the pattering of raindrops gradually speeding up into a constant thrum. The harsh wind started not long after the rain did, it now whistling strongly against the wooden walls of our cabin. A storm was scheduled and it appeared it was going to be a big one.
My little brother shot into the room, running into my arms as he whimpered.
“Hey Danny, it’s okay” I soothed gently, stroking his soft brown hair, “I know it sounds scary out there but I promise it won’t hurt you.” He buried his small face in my neck with a sniff as Dad entered the room, drawing the curtains closed.
“I know what will cheer you up kiddo, how about we have a big sleepover tonight? We’ll get some blankets and pillows and sleep together in here all night” Dad smiled at Danny.
“Nicola too?” He sniffed, turning to look at dad through wet lashes. He had taken a shine to Annie’s friend, always winning guests over with his childish charm.
“Nicola too. I think I should be able to persuade them” Dad laughed, “Speaking of…”
We heard two sets of footsteps approach the room as Annie burst in angrily, long wavy hair swinging across her face, “Daaad my reception’s gone!” She held up her red-cased smartphone in earnest.
“Already?” Dad’s eyebrows raised as he looked to his own phone only to see what his daughter had said was correct. With a sigh, he continued “The winds are pretty strong… Great. Nevermind, who needs phones when we have a super fun day of pizza and board games to look forward to?”
“Yay pizza!” Danny cried, jumping up and down, tears seemingly all dried up now. Annie just sighed, tossing her phone on to the end table by grandma’s chair.
“I’m assuming this is non-negotiable?”
“Yep” Dad grinned, “Go get some blankets. No snacks until after dinner.”
The day melted into evening as the storm raged outside. Dad popped in every now and again to ensure we were all okay in between him reinforcing the windows with any wood we had spare. Luckily wood is easy to come by in a forest and dad had made sure to stock up in the days leading up to the storm.
“Hah, I win again!” Nicola cheered, tucking her tight black curls behind an ear as she grinned, “Why am I so good at this?”
“In the next round, can we be on a team together?” Danny begged, pulling at her sleeve, “I wanna win too!”
“Of course little man” She grinned, offering him a high-five which he enthusiastically reciprocated.
“Hey, where’s grandma?” I asked my sister when I noticed her chair was empty. Annie just shrugged in response as she shuffled the playing cards.
I stood up, stretching out my back before walking through bottom floor of our decent-sized cabin. We didn’t like leaving grandma alone for too long due to her sickness. As I walked, the sound of the howling wind outside seemed to grow, turning my stomach slightly. Was it supposed to be this loud from inside the house? Despite only being made of wood, the integrity of the walls was strong, reinforced with several layers of hardwood to withstand storms such as these, or so uncle Tommy had said when we first moved in. Surely it-
My thoughts halted in their tracks when I reached the entryway to the kitchen. The back door was wide open, swinging and banging in the wind. My heart leapt into my throat imagining grandma out in that storm. I immediately sprinted to the doorway, the screams of the wind assaulting my ears as my eyes scanned for grandma.
It took me a few seconds but I finally saw her. Her frame was huddled against the wind, green cardigan wrapped tightly around her in an attempt to stay warm. She was shuffling against the wind towards the treeline.
“Grandma, no!” I yelled, heart peaking with adrenaline.
“Get dad!” I screamed as loud as my lungs would allow, facing back towards the direction of my siblings, “Grandma’s outside!” I could only hope they heard me as I didn’t have time to go find him myself. I needed to get grandma to safety.
I took a shuddery breath and plunged outside onto the wet grass, the wind feeling like it could blow my body away at any moment. I fought against nature, taking a few steps forward, eyes on my grandmother when I noticed she wasn’t alone.
Grandma had a soft smile on her face. One hand wrapped around herself in an attempt to keep her cardigan in place, her other pale hand reached out towards something.
An icy-cold shock shot through my body when I realised what she was reaching towards.
A herd of deer. At a very short glance through the streaks of heavy rain, they looked innocent enough. But any study over a split-second would show you there was something wrong. Very wrong.
The three does were in different stages of decomposition. Flesh hung loosely from their frames, tufts of fur missing from their bodies. They were more red than brown, coagulated blood gunking up the small amounts of fur they still had. The one on the right was missing half its head, rain pummelling on something resembling red mash inside its skull. Light pink foam dribbled from open, snarling mouths.
My hands shook and my legs felt weak. I had the sudden overwhelming urge to vomit, realising my worst nightmare was coming true.
It seemed to happen in slow-motion. I saw grandma’s fingertips reach the muzzle of the closest deer, fingers lightly scraping against a bloody, pus-covered nose. The doe immediately reacted, lifting its head and chomping straight through my grandmother’s fingers with a hungry growl.
“Grandma!” I yelled in horror as she screamed, falling to the ground and clutching her hand to her chest. I almost jumped out of my skin when I was suddenly pulled backwards, my dad’s tall frame moving into my line of vision.
“Get back inside! Don’t look!” Dad shouted, grey hair already soaked from the storm as he sprinted towards my grandmother’s shaking frame. I scrambled backwards, feet slipping in the mud, not wanting to take my eyes off the threat outside.
The deer were on her in moments, crowding around in a frenzy, two even snapping at each other in desperation. I saw one sink its teeth into the top of my grandmother’s head, ripping off a large chunk of hair and flesh with a large spatter of blood. Red soaked the grass as grandma fell to her side.
Tears streamed down my face as my foot finally made contact with the doorframe, sending me stumbling inside. I caught myself on the wall, desperately blinking through my tears to see dad attempting to fight the hungry monsters off in an attempt to save his mother. They snarled and kicked with extreme aggression, one of them ignoring him entirely as its head plunged into my grandmother’s torso, long strings of viscera spraying out over its ears.
I could hear dad’s cry of pain even over the storm as he pushed against one of the deer with all his might. He was too distracted to see the small foul thing approach him.
It had definitely once been a fawn, little legs now black with rot. The back of its neck was missing, its head lulling from side to side as a slow trickle of what could only be pus dripped down its body, joining the clumps of blood in its fur. It sunk its teeth into my father’s leg, tossing its head to the side with a strength it shouldn’t have in that state of decomposition, tearing away strings of tendon and muscle. He shrieked in agony.
I didn’t even think. I immediately sprinted back out into the storm, desperately trying to keep my footing on the slippery grass. I noticed the smell before I reached the herd, a foul sickly-sweet stink rising off the bodies of the deer. A cloud of flies clung to each of them, their buzzing prevalent even through the howls of the storm. I fought against the rising bile in my throat as I reached my father, delivering a swift kick to the smaller monster as I grabbed my dad around his chest and dragged him backwards. He stumbled, miraculously not falling over as he held on to my shoulder for support. I dragged him back towards the safety of our home as fast as I could against the still raging wind and his now useless leg. He hissed through his teeth with every limp.
Finally I managed to get him inside, quickly turning to slam the door. But as I did so, my eyes moved towards movement in the treeline.
She was here.
She stepped out, dark eyes baring into my own. She had no fur left, her body a pale veiny pink, bloated and broken. My eyes glanced over her body and I noticed her stomach had split open, shiny intestines dragging on the floor behind her. The skin on her face was now completely gone, a deer skull with bulging eyes glaring at me.
I couldn’t hold it in this time. A spurt of vomit escaped my lips as I slammed the door.
“W-What’s going on?” Annie stammered from behind me.
“Keep- Keep Danny away!” I yelled between heaves of puke, ruining my new sneakers as I fumbled blindly to lock the door.
“Move something in front of the door now!” Dad boomed from on the floor, pointing towards the kitchen table, “That!”
I sprang forward, almost slipping on my vomit as I grabbed at the table, Nicola running over to help me push it into place, wedging it against the door. I could hear Danny’s muffled wailing from my sister’s arms.
“Dad! What’s happening?” She yelled, voice cracking in fear.
“She’s here” I panted, wiping my mouth with a sleeve, “She’s… She’s here.”
***
“I can’t believe this is real… It makes no logical sense” Annie murmured quietly, flames from the fireplace giving her hair a bright sheen. She looked over her shoulder to me, hugging her legs tightly to her chest, “I just… can’t believe it.”
“To think I could be in France with my parents right now” Nicola sniffled, wiping away tears with the back of her sleeve.
I looked over at them both on the floor, trying to offer a weak smile before turning my attention back to dad who was laid out on the sofa, asleep.
“Why did you want to stay here instead anyway?” I asked softly, taking out the scissors from the First Aid kit and slowly snipping through the crimson-soaked bindings on my father’s leg, “Who passes up a vacation?”
“I don’t like flying” Nicola said before chuckling weakly, “To think stupid stuff like heights used to scare me.” I heard her resume her soft weeping, burying her face in her hands.
I could smell the wound before I’d finished unravelling it. Dad’s leg had swollen double in size, the missing chunk of flesh from his calf shiny and an angry red with visible teeth-shaped gouge marks. Blood still trickled from the wound but at least it was no longer a constant stream. I winced, gritting my teeth as I ever so gently cleaned the wound, trying my best not to wake dad. If you’d told me this time yesterday I’d be playing nurse to dad’s zombie-bitten leg I would tell you you’re an idiot. I had such a weak stomach. Annie was usually the best at this stuff but since everything had happened, she’d done nothing but sit in front of the fire.
I let out a sigh of relief as I finished bandaging up dad’s injury, wiping my hands on my already stained shirt.
“Still no cell service?” I asked.
“Obviously not, stupid. The storm’s still going” Annie retorted. At least she was speaking to me now, that was an improvement.
I rolled my eyes, touching the back of my hand to dad’s burning forehead.
“Okay I was just-“
I was thrown off the sofa in an instant, hitting my backbone against the chair my brother was sleeping on.
“Will you fucking shut up?!” Dad yelled, his voice deeper and more gravelly than I’d ever heard it. My eyes widened in shock at his sudden outburst. He’d never hit me before.
Danny squealed as he was jostled from sleep.
“S-sorry dad, I was just-“
Dad turned his face to meet my eyes, his own once gentle eyes now bloodshot and angry. His face was unnaturally pale, his hair stuck to his clammy forehead with a layer of sweat. Then he softened.
“I’m sorry, Ron. Not sure what’s wrong with me. So hungry” He groaned, turning his head back towards the plush backing of the sofa, “Get me something to eat would you?”
“Y-Yeah of course” I stammered, shakily getting to my feet. What the fuck had just happened?
My sister had turned to look at me, a deeply concerned expression on her face.
“I’ll come with you” She said. Nicola moved over to Danny as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes while we exited the room.
“What do we do now?” She asked slowly as we walked through the house, a baseball bat swinging at my side just in case.
“What do you mean? We wait for the storm to pass and call for help obviously” I responded, glancing into her hazel eyes which were still so full of fear.
“Not that… about dad.”
“We keep looking after him until paramedics arrive?” I furrowed my brow and shook my head at her. What did she expect me to say?
“What if he… you know… turns” She stammered, biting at her lip.
“He won’t.”
“How do you know that? We have no idea how this works!”
“Exactly!” I scowled, “He might be fine!”
“All I’m saying is we can’t be stupid about this, Ron. We have to be smart” She said in an uncharacteristically soothing voice.
“And we will be” I responded, finally reaching the kitchen and grabbing some food for dad. Snacks would have to do as the power went out a while back.
“But for now, can we not-“
She shushed me before I finished my sentence, her eyes wide and staring at the back door. It took me a second to understand why. There was a sound of snuffling under the door, a shadow of something looming on the other side. And if I listened carefully enough, I could hear the constant patter of light hooves moving steadily around the outside of the house.
She redirected the beam of light from the flashlight away from the back door and we slowly and quietly exited the kitchen, shutting the door firmly behind us.
They were intelligent enough to know we were still in here.
“You should really try to get some more sleep, kid” I said to my younger brother over the few cards in my hands.
“I can’t” He murmured, rubbing his tired eyes, “Too scared.”
“I told you I won’t let anything happen to you” I smiled reassuringly at him. He smiled a little in response, pushing his head against my body for a side-hug.
“I love you, Ron.”
“I love you too little bro” I grinned, ruffling his hair with my spare hand.
And that was the last moment of semi-peace we had because at that moment, dad shot up from the sofa as if his leg was never even injured. His eyes were almost bulging out of his skull and a trail of saliva ran steadily into his coarse beard.
“Dad?” I stammered, standing slowly.
“I… I have to get out of here” He growled, fists raised into his hair as his face contorted. The whites of his eyes were now completely red as if every blood vessel in them had popped.
“Dad, lay back down” Annie’s voice shook as she dropped her cards, eyes firmly glued to dad’s large frame.
“I can’t. I can’t!” He yelled, immediately sprinting out of the room in a flash. I ran after him, the blood turning into ice in my veins as I saw him throw with ease the heavy grandfather clock that was wedged against the front door out of his way. No matter what happened, I couldn’t let him open that door.
“Dad stop!” I yelled in desperation, everyone gathering behind me. Nicola sounded like she was hyperventilating, fast panicked breaths on the back of my neck. I made a quick step forward and the bolt was already off the door.
I dove towards dad, wrapping my arms around his muscular shoulders, using all my strength in an attempt to pull him backwards. He emitted an inhuman snarl, turning and swinging a fist at my jaw. I immediately fell to the floor, eyes watering in pain.
He pinned me to the carpet, pummeling my body and gnashing his teeth for what was probably only a few seconds but felt like a lot longer. Annie let out a cry as she swung the bat, hitting dad across the head. Either she didn’t swing hard enough or he had developed some sort of superpower as he remained conscious.
He turned then, getting up on to his knees and growling as he swiped Annie to the side, sending her crashing into the wall, knocking off a photo frame which smashed into little shards as it made contact with the floor. He quickly got to his feet and once more lunged towards the front door, turning the handle and swinging it open with a loud bang.
My head was spinning and I felt like I was about to lose consciousness. Through squinted eyes I saw dad run out of the front door, screaming from Annie, Nicola and Danny as he did so. I think I could see familiar crimson shapes a few feet away from the door.
“I can’t! They’re here!” Nicola gasped, lunging out the front door after dad in an irrational attempt to get away. Two of the shapes gave chase, Annie screaming after her friend as she stumbled towards the front door, trying to grab at her clothes.
Annie let out a blood-curdling scream as the world went black.
I opened my eyes groggily some time later, the cabin now pitch black and silent apart from the flickering and embers of the fire. I groaned, grasping at my head as I sat up on the blood-stained sofa dad had occupied before. Squinting, I could see my sister’s shape in front of the fire again.
“You’re okay!” Danny cried, leaping into my arms. I hissed as he caught something on the back of my hand.
“Y-yeah I’m fine little bud” I mumbled, one hand around his body and the other grasping my head in an attempt to stop the splitting pain. My whole body ached.
“What happened?”
“Dad left. So did Nicola” Annie said in a monotone voice, still staring into the fire.
“Then?”
“I shut the door and barricaded it again. Dragged you in here” She murmured, still not turning to face me.
“Shit” I mumbled.
“Swear” Danny’s muffled voice came from my chest.
“How long was I out?”
“Not long” Annie responded, finally rising to her feet. When she turned, I noticed her left shoulder was caked in blood, her yellow shirt torn and only hanging to that shoulder by a thread.
“Annie! You’re hurt!” I gasped.
“Yeah. It bit me” She said in an oddly-calm voice, walking towards me, “I guess now you’re awake, it’s my turn.”
“What? Don’t talk like that!” I said, a rush of anger rising in me, “It can’t be long until the storm’s over right?”
“And then what?” She chuckled softly, now right in front of Danny and I. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, devoid of hope, “They give me a magical cure?”
“I don’t know but there has to be something! You can’t just give up!”
“I can already feel it” She said gently, placing a palm over her wounded shoulder “Deep in me. Like when you know you’re getting the flu just before the symptoms show but worse. My bones ache. I feel so angry. I can’t stop sweating. I’m done.”
She sounded so determined. My pulse peaked as I began to understand what she was saying.
“Annie. I love you. Danny loves you. Please” I begged, trying to meet her gaze. But I could tell her mind was already made up.
I tried to stop her. I really did. Despite all the pain I was in and Danny clinging to me, I was right on her heels as she sprinted up the stairs and locked herself in dad’s room.
The gunshot came quickly after.
I sat there on that old sofa, wiping my tears silently as Danny slept with his head on my lap. In the space of a few hours I had lost my entire family. Well, almost my entire family. I still had Danny.
After what happened, I considered breaking the door down and taking the gun. That would surely be more useful than the baseball bat which I’d propped up next to me. But I didn’t have the strength physically and mentally. I didn’t want to go in there and see her like that.
I didn’t even know she knew the code to the safe. But of course she did. She’d always been so smart.
Uncle Tommy always kept his hunting gear in the shed outside. That was obviously a no-go. Looks like the baseball bat was still my best option.
I stroked Danny’s hair as he slept, trying to keep myself quiet so he could rest when I realised just how red my hand had gotten. Amidst the pain I was in as a result of the beatdown by dad and the emotional toll this past couple of hours had put on me, I hadn’t even noticed.
I pressed against the skin and hissed in pain. The back of my left hand looked swollen and an angry red. I winced, angling my wrist and saw it.
A scrape.
A teeth-shaped scrape.
Fuck.
Dad must have done it during the fight. Maybe I would be okay? Maybe a scrape wasn’t enough to turn me? But looking at the wound, I knew this was just wishful thinking. And now that I was concentrating, I could feel the beginnings of a fever ever-so-slightly working its way into my bones.
I wept harder, covering my mouth with my good hand.
I awoke to Danny shaking me, an expression of panic on his little face. I must have passed out for a while. I would have mentally scolded myself for putting Danny in danger like that but I didn’t have the strength.
I looked around, seeing early morning light reflecting stripes onto the closed curtains. The room looked weird though. The mint-green walls appeared darker, the few embers left of the fire dimmer. I felt awful, feeling sweat pour down the back of my neck.
And then I heard the banging.
I felt the slightest amount of relief, thinking someone had come to save us. Then I heard the snarls and jagged breaths which accompanied the banging, coming from the front door.
Was it dad? Or maybe Nicola? That didn’t matter. All that mattered was keeping my little brother safe.
I raised a finger of my good hand to my lips, gesturing to Danny to stay silent. I stumbled upright, taking him by the hand and leading him as quietly as possible up the stairs. It was hard, I felt like I was losing my sense of balance and it took everything in me just to stay upright. All I wanted to do was sleep.
I led him into my bedroom, closing and sliding the bolt across it as I did so.
“Just to be safe okay?” I whispered to him, forcing a weak smile.
“You don’t look so good” He said, silent tears streaming down his frightened face.
“I know bud. We need to concentrate on keeping you safe, okay?”
I wracked my brain, trying to find a solution to our problems when I realised I could no longer hear the howling wind.
I staggered over to the window, parting the curtains and peering through the wooden planks. The early morning sun was rising and the sky was calm. The storm had passed.
The first ebbs of hope moved through my body and I felt around my pockets, praying I had brought my phone with me. I felt it in my left jeans pocket, pulling it out shakily and checking it.
There was reception!
My hands shaking, I quickly dialed 911 and waited for them to pick up. It took a while, maybe this storm had made more damage than we could see from our cabin.
I collapsed to my knees as I waited, my strength waivering.
Eventually, someone picked up. I explained as calmly as I could that there was a young child with me who needed help and that we were trapped in our cabin by creatures outside. Some sick, angry things. I didn’t say zombies. There was no way they would believe that. But I did emphasise that they needed to get here as quickly as possible and bring as many officers as they could spare.
“We will be there as soon as possible, sir” The man on the phone said.
“How long?” I glanced over at Danny who had found my old childhood bear in my walk-in closet, clutching it to his chest in an act of comfort.
“About an hour.”
“An hour?! No that-“
“Sir the roads are damaged and you are in a remote area. Officers are on their way as fast as they can.”
I hung up the phone, sucking in shaky breaths. Would the front door last an hour? With the increasing sounds of the banging, I didn’t think so. Would I… last an hour?
I took another look at my hand, it now double the size it was. A deep red circled the gouge and it was now leaking a stream of blood and pus. From the look on Danny’s face, it didn’t smell very good either.
Despite the developing fog in my pounding head, I managed to pull together a plan.
“Okay Danny” I sniffed, turning my body towards him “You know how I said I’d always keep you safe?”
“Yeah” He muttered, my old teddy bear tucked beneath his chin.
“Help is coming now but they might be a little while. I need you to trust me.”
He nodded, his face puffy from crying.
“I need you to go into my closet and stay in there until the police come get you. Don’t make a sound until you hear a person say something, okay?”
“But what about you?” His blue eyes widened in panic.
“I… I can’t, bud. I’m sick.”
His tears started again, a big drop running down his reddened cheek.
“And besides, someone needs to sit downstairs and watch the front door” I tried my best to offer him the most sincere smile I could, “I need you to be brave, okay?”
He nodded, running at me and throwing his small arms around my neck.
“I love you” He sobbed. Despite his age, I think deep down he knew what this meant.
“I love you too, kid.”
With that, I made sure he was safely seated in my closet, teddy tucked under one arm and a pile of my clothes for him to lay down on.
I didn’t know what to say at first when it was time to close the door so instead, I put on a brave face and gave him a warm smile.
“Everything is going to be okay” I said with as much confidence as I could muster, looking into his panicked eyes.
And with that, I dragged myself over on my knees and shut the closet door, seeing my brother for what I knew was the last time.
I gritted my teeth, hoisting myself up onto very shaky feet, holding on to the wall for support. What Annie had said was right. It felt like the flu except way worse. My whole body was shaking and I could no longer feel my hand - which by the looks of it, could be a blessing.
I took a deep breath, slowly managing to move my way behind my bed and push it against the closet door, sealing my brother away safely. It wasn’t easy, I felt like I could pass out cold at any moment and with the first heave against it, I had to stop myself from throwing up. But I managed, it was for Danny after all.
With a burst of determination, I threw myself against my bedroom door, sliding the bolt off it before slipping back down on to my knees. I needed to make sure the police would find Danny.
My eyes drifted over to my blue sketch-pad, sitting on my rickety bedside table. On top of it was the tin of pencils I used for my work. I kicked at it with as much strength as I could, the tin wobbling and then falling over with a clatter, pencils scattering everywhere. Once upon a time I would have worried about the lead snapping but things like that no longer mattered. With a few more kicks, my sketch-pad followed suit, landing unceremoniously on my thick bedroom carpet.
Once again using my legs, I brushed the pad and a couple of pencils over to where I could reach them.
Then, with a laborious effort, I creaked my bedroom door open and crawled into the hallway. The thumping at the door was coming as quickly as it had before, the frame now beginning to shudder with every bang. I reached the top of the stairs before I felt like I had no more energy to spare to move.
I hurriedly flipped my pad open to a new page and began to write as neatly as I could.
We shot a deer but it didn’t die and now there are more of them.
I think they’re zombies, they eat flesh and their bites make you sick like them.
My brother is in the closet, please find him and take care of him. We have an aunt who would take him in.
I cried out with effort as I pulled my phone from my pocket, copying down my aunt’s number onto the sheet. The front door had begun to creak with increasing thuds. Like whatever was out there knew I was laid here, helpless.
Danny is 7 and is not bitten. He is very allergic to peanuts.
I let out a quick chuckle at this. Did that even matter right now?
Danny, be brave. You’ve always been such a sweet kid, helping others just like the superheroes you love on TV. Never lose your kindness.
I was weeping now, tears splattering the paper.
I love y
The door swung open.