Chapter 4
I looked at Courtney, and in a second her nod confirmed my unasked question. We grabbed our weapons, running out of the back door and onto the street, Courtney starting to shoot before we even saw who we were saving. All of my guns were loaded, so I picked them from my clothes and shot them in quick succession, one after the other, before deciding on my two Sawn off Shotguns for primary weapons. Daniella started flinging knives right in the eyes of the moaning Zombies, before rushing to collect them and then using them as melee.
As soon as we had fought our way into the place where we had heard the scream, we found a short, blond haired, girl, around our age, being cornered by Zombies.
“Get down!” Courtney yelled, before shooting at our undead foes.
I followed her lead, and soon we could get the girl safely into our base. Sighing, sweating, and polishing my guns, I listened to Daniella question the new girl, as Courtney already knew her, whilst checking her over for bites.
“Name?”
“Teegan. Yours?”
“Daniella, and that’s Kate. Now, why’re you on your own?”
“I was hiding, from them things, but they found me. I would’ve died if you, Courtney and Kate hadn’t saved me!”
“Nah, don’t mention it. Say, would you like to join our crew? You know Courtney, and we all sort of go around together. Courtney drives the Jeep around back.”
“Courtney drives?” Ha, of course Courtney could drive. She was good at it too.
“Yeah, well, she got us from the Library to here, so I think she’s ok.”
I went back to polishing my guns. Teegan would need weapons, and I wasn’t exactly sure that she would want the bow, as she didn’t seem that talented with it. But that wasn’t to say she didn’t have other talents, just that she didn’t know about them yet if she did.
But there were to be no more worries about Teegan’s weapon, as we had several other bigger problems. One? Well, it couldn’t be the living dead things roaming around outside, could it?
Courtney wanted to move on in the morning, and get to the Library again. It was safe there, and we could stock up on ammo. But, just then, going outside was not advisable, as the dark night had swamped the streets, making it impossible to walk around, let alone dodge the undead.
So, to sleep it was, after a few hours of peace. To be honest, although it may be considered mean and selfish to say this, we were kind of better off without Hannah. We weren’t getting side-tracked by any snide remarks, or getting into massive arguments about hardly anything. We were just… surviving, I suppose.
Things went alright for the night, then, when we woke up, breakfast was a hurried affair, what with us not having much time before the morning fog rolled out of town. Courtney got us up very early, so that we definitely got out at the right time.
Hurrying to the Jeep, Courtney started up the engine as we all got in. Teegan was a little wary of her driving, as she was just twelve, but her worries soon vanished, as Courtney drove almost perfectly in the near darkness of a winter morning.
The large shape of the Library presently revealed itself to us, the banner slightly ripped but still there, with the large black lettering unreadable at that moment in time.
Inside, the scene was a little different than it had been the last time we had entered. The fire was still blazing away, a hot little inferno which warmed the entire room. The bookshelves were still standing, some so tall that they towered over the entire room.
The manager greeted us warmly, remembering our members who were in the original party, asking after Hannah, then inquiring as to the name of our newest member, Teegan.
Teegan was rather shocked by the changes that had come over the Library, but soon adjusted and accepted that we weren’t going to be doing any reading.
Teegan, Daniella, Courtney and I were talking, getting to know each other properly, when the subject of pets came along. I told the group about my Springer Spaniel, Molly, and Courtney told us about Lacy, her British Bulldog, and Buddy, her Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of guilt washed over me, and, just by looking at Courtney, I could tell that she was feeling it too. We had forgotten about our pets.
But Daniella, just as passionate about animals as she was about other humans, told us that we needed to rescue them. I mean, I had a little sister, but she wasn’t as important as Molly, my beloved pet.
My house was nearest, so Courtney and I decided to go alone, leaving Teegan and Daniella in the safety and comfort of the Library.
However, upon entering my house, I wished that I had never came in. It was a mess. The walls were caked in blood and dirt, the furniture strewn around the rooms, but the most upsetting thing had to be the corpses of my mother and sister, lying still and stone cold on the floor. There must have been survivors in here, I thought, and they must have killed them.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I must’ve cried for about a minute, before hearing a faint yapping... Molly! I stirred myself quickly, rushing to the sound. It came from the garage, where Molly was always locked in, thanks to my Dad. Upon opening the door, a brown and white bundle of fur and a tongue jumped on me, licking me clean and panting. It was Molly! My faithful Springer Spaniel was back at my side once more!
I wasted no time in packing up her things, including food and her collapsible cage, before we went off quickly, Molly tugging away at the lead. She was an energetic dog, always up for anything, even killing Zombies, as they smelt like food to her. But I restrained her, as one bite from the Zombie would put an end to my adored pet.
Next on the list was Courtney’s house, a little further up the road. Her house was in a bit of a better state than mine, with most of the furniture intact and in the right places, and less blood on the walls, but the place was still a bit of a mess.
We had a bit more trouble then, as Courtney was forced to shoot her Zombified mum, but, luckily, we didn’t see her sister or brother. I gave her a minute or two to calm down, before we continued our search for the two dogs.
We found them in the kitchen, scratching and whining. Buddy went crazy when he saw Molly, barking and jumping everywhere, but Lacy was more reserved, coming over as if to formally introduce herself. Molly and Lacy must’ve became friends, as they tended to walk around shoulder to shoulder, and nothing could separate them.
Getting their leads and food was easy, and we were soon heading back to the Library, where the three dog’s presence cheered everyone up. They ran around, and sat by your feet, and they reminded you what you were surviving for. It renewed our will to live, our ability to love, and brought me and Courtney closer, in our friendship, than ever.
We loaded the cages into the back of the Jeep, before coming back into the Library and feeding the exuberant dogs, making them calm down a little. Courtney and I slept a little easier that night, with our dogs snuggled into us and our guilt gone.
However, saying that, the dogs may have been the reason we went to sleep well, but they definitely woke us up in the morning! Loud yapping, barking and snorting interrupted our almost perfect sleep, making us jump to our feet before realising that we were in no danger.
Breakfast for us was cereal and a little milk, with some bread and butter, as well as a few biscuits, as the food supplies had just started coming in more regularly, so the Library had more food to share around.
Courtney wanted to make a proper move, though, not just hopping around Ashton, ‘like bloody frogs’, but right out of Ashton, out of Wigan. Courtney wanted to go to London.