“Paul?” she said again, panic grabbing her soul.

Lucy blinked a few times to see if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Her fingers were growing tired and she readjusted herself, trying to take the weight. Her mind swam dizzily in confusion. She looked down at the monsters reaching for her, then looked back to the hole in the wall where Paul stood just seconds ago.

As Lucy struggled to keep from falling, she kept mumbling the same three words over and over:

“He left me!”

CHAPTER 13 – What I Always Wanted To Do

Lucy could hear the zombies below but forced herself to not to look. What she was hearing frightened her. As if hanging for dear life above a group of flesh eating zombies was not frightening enough, the sound of grunts and groans made it worse. Then she heard what sounded like furniture being moved. Her heart pounded in her ears. If they learned to move furniture, they would be able to climb up and reach her! She screamed and struggled against her twisted foot. She cried and screamed and begged and twisted and cried some more. That’s when she felt it. The hands. The hands reached up and gently touched her waist. So soft was the touch that she froze instantly. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it was going to explode, yet, despite her panic, her muscles had failed her. They would not move; she was frozen with pure, unadulterated fear.

She clenched her eyes tightly in frightened anticipation as she felt something move closer to her head. She could feel its breath in her ear just seconds before she heard, “Shhhhh.”

It took a moment for the sound to register; her brain was thoroughly busy watching her life flash before her clenched eyes.

“I got you,” the voice said lovingly as those gentle hands pushed her upwards.

Her brain was still swimming in confusion, but she managed to wiggle herself free as she pulled herself into the attic. She looked back and saw those same hands grab firmly onto the rafters, and with a grunt, the head and shoulders came into view.

“Michael!” she gasped breathlessly as she threw her arms around him in a crushing hug. “I thought I was the only one left.”

He tentatively put his arms around her to return the hug, and she buried her face in his chest and cried. He stroked her hair lovingly as she sobbed inaudible words. He looked around the attic space, noticing the daylight as it raced in from a giant hole in the wall and illuminated Lauren’s lifeless torso. Michael allowed himself to cry with Lucy.

Composing himself, he looked around again and asked, “Paul?”

Lucy finally raised her head. “He-he left me,” she sobbed.

Michael’s mouth moved, but she could not hear any sounds. Was he muttering some sort of curse,or was he simply left speechless?

Loud banging from below startled them. Lucy let out a small scream.

“Come on,” Michael said, leading her to the hole in the wall.

He stuck his head out and looked around, “This leads to a little roof a few feet below. It looks like you can jump to the ground from there. Just remember to roll when you hit the ground. The last thing you want to do is sprain an ankle. All of those things are inside the house right now, but I don’t think they’ll stay in here much longer.”

Lucy nodded.

“Take this,” Michael pulled the machete from his knapsack and handed it to her.

Lucy looked at the machete then to Michael, confused.

Michael passed her a bottle of water. “It’s the only one I have, so don’t drink it all at once.”

“Michael?” Lucy started to say.

“Now listen,” Michael said, holding her face in his hand, “keep on the road. They don’t move very fast, so you don’t have to keep running and tire yourself out. Just stay ahead of them. If some more come up the road, wait until the last minute, then duck into the woods…”

“Michael?” she repeated.

“Listen, this is important!” he said cutting her off. “Cut into the woods but keep close to the road. As soon as you get around them, go back on the road and run until you are far enough ahead of them. Do you understand?”

“Michael, I…”

“Do you understand?”

“No! No I don’t understand why you are telling me this. Aren’t you coming with me?”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t? I can’t do this by myself. Michael, I need you to…”

“You can do this!” he ordered. “You have to do this!”

She started to cry.

“Lucy, you have to get off this mountain and warn people.”

“Come with me, Michael!” she pleaded

“I can’t go with you, Lucy.”

“Why not?”

Michael didn’t say anything at first; he just held up his hand and pulled back his sleeve revealing a bite mark on his forearm.

“I, I don’t understand,” Lucy sobbed.

“Yes, you do.” Michael forced a smile. “Have you ever watched a zombie movie?”

Lucy looked at him, confused.

“What happens when a zombie bites you?” he asked.

Her eyes opened in horror.

“You don’t know that!” she pleaded, but his index finger touched her lips, and she stopped talking.

“We don’t know that it won’t,” he explained. “And I can’t be around you if it does.”

Lucy looked outside, then back to Michael, tears now running freely down her cheeks. “What are you going to do, Michael?”

Michael looked around the attic and laughed, “I was thinking about maybe putting a hot tub over there…”

Lucy punched him in the arm. “That’s not funny!” she said with teary eyes.

“I’m going to do the one thing I always wanted to do,” he said, the smile now gone from his lips.

“And what’s that?” she sobbed.

“This,” he leaned towards her and kissed her gently on the lips.

Her eyes stared at him for the briefest of moments then slowly closed.

No more words were said after that; there was nothing more to say.

Lucy hugged Michael tightly in silent protest, but he pulled her arms away and without saying a word, begged her to leave so she could survive. There are times in people’s lives when words are not needed. If only people could communicate that well when their lives were not in danger.

They both knew what had to be done. She had to leave; he had to stay. They had already said their goodbyes.

Lucy climbed out of the hole, and Michael eased her down to the ledge below. Her tears were flowing heavy when she rolled on the ground and looked up to Michael.

His eyes filled with tears as he watched the girl he always loved leave that God-forsaken place and run towards safety.

“Be safe,” he whispered as she disappeared around the bend.

Lucy ran from the lab and down the steep road. She wanted to put some distance between her and the zombies. At least, that’s what she was trying to tell herself. The truth was, she just kept going because she didn’t know what else to do. She knew, if she stopped running away from the house, she just might turn around and run back to it, back to Michael. She’d been on the move for over twenty minutes when she saw more of those zombie things coming up the road towards her. She tried to remember what Michael had said, but it was all a blur. The only thing she could remember was his gentle kiss.

“Focus,” she commanded her brain. “What did he say about the woods?”

Her mind raced back over the events. She still could not concentrate, and the new mob of zombies was getting close. Not knowing what else to do, she turned and ran into the woods.

Night came much faster in the trees. She was gasping for air. Her small feet pounded in the grassy forest bed, snapping tiny twigs as she ran deeper into the impossibly dark forest. The quick snapping of twigs below her feet contrasted with the slow, heavy thuds of the dozen zombie things that methodically pursued her.

Where was the road? If only she could find it. She needed to get out of the dense bushes and back onto the road. The laces of her running shoe snagged a low-lying branch and yanked her hard to the ground. Her panicked scream filled the night air as she violently kicked at imaginary hands.