Jaxx didn't get a chance to respond.

Sneakers squeaked against the tiles of the pharmacy.

A metal rack clattered to the ground.

Raven rounded the corner, her eyes ablaze with fear.

"Run!"

The others began to file through the staff doors.

Gwynth staggered in behind. She had discarded the crutches, they were slowing her down, but now her leg was aching in protest. The weight of her body was putting pressure on the fractured bones, preventing her from moving quickly to safety.

The bag of medical supplies had been left on the counter, forgotten in the frenzy.

"What's wrong?"

Jaxx's mouth drew into a thin line, his brow furrowed as he stormed towards the door.

Raven grabbed Jaxx by the forearm. Her nails dug into his skin.

"Where are you going? We need to leave!" She hissed.

Jaxx looked over his shoulder.

"Get them in the car," he told Morgana, who fished the keys from her pocket.

"I'm not going without you! Jaxx!" Raven pleaded.

Jaxx grabbed Raven's chin softly, forcing her to look at him.

"I'll be fine."

Raven shook her head adamantly. She didn't want to go; not without Jaxx. What if he was injured? If the zombies killed him? Raven wouldn't be able to live with herself.

The zombie can torn its way through the cage; too hungry to think about self-preservation in that moment. Its remaining arm had been broken, hanging limply at its side, a reminder that the zombie had broken its arm to reach the lock.

The zombie was smart. Raven didn't think it was possible. She had watched the woman die. It only took a few minutes for brain matter to decompose, by the laws of science, anyway.

Nothing about this situation was making sense.

Morgana grabbed Raven by the wrist, dragging her towards the car before she could open her mouth to protest.

The door creaked loudly as it was thrown open.

A nearby zombie turned its head.

Morgana pressed her thumb down on the key, unlocking the car door before she reached it. She swung open the driver door, sliding into the empty seat.

Raven clambered over Morgana's lap into the passenger seat. The door to the passenger seat had been jammed, presumably from a zombie ramming its head into the metal. It wasn't able to be opened, no matter how forcibly Raven tugged on the handle.

"Hurry!" Morgana shouted out the window.

Esther was the third person to reach the car, followed closely by Gwynth, who Esther had held onto in the chaos of the situation. She had meant to grab Katherin's hand, but they had become separated.

Esther was just hoping that Katherin was heading to the car; not running after Jaxx.

"Thanks," Gwynth mumbled as Esther helped her into the car.

Esther shrugged. She didn't like talking to her twin sister, not since their fight those years ago, but it was nice to be appreciated. A simple thanks wouldn't fix their past, though.

Esther wasn't willing to put their differences aside, even in a situation like this. She knew it was childish, but that was the truth. Esther couldn't forgive Gwynth for hurting her so deeply, for trying to prevent her from being happy.

The others piled in the back seat.

Morgana glanced back, mindful of how close the zombies were getting.

"Where's Rosabelle and Katherin? What about Lyria?"

A few shrugged shoulders, a couple of nervous glances to the door.

Morgana nodded to herself, her mouth drawn into a taut line as she contemplated her next move. She had planned to drive around the block and circle back to grab Jaxx, who was able to take care of himself, even in situations as dire as this. But now? Rosabelle hadn't even wanted to go outside, and Katherin was in no position to be fighting zombies.

Morgana made up her mind. She couldn't risk the lives of everyone in the car, just to save a couple of people that she cared about.

"We can't wait for the others," she spoke to no one in particular, before pressing her foot down on the accelerator.

Esther grabbed the handle, intending to leave the car in pursuit of her girlfriend.

The car clicked, locking the doors.

"Let me out!" Esther panicked, pulling on the door handle in desperation.

Morgana clenched her jaw, ignoring Esther's cries. It wouldn't help anyone if she stopped. Esther couldn't fight the zombies on her own. She'd die. That much was certain.

Even if she didn't die, the others would be placed at risk. Someone, Gwynth, would jump out of the car at the first sign of danger to Esther, putting herself in the hands of fate. Morgana couldn't allow that. She wasn't willing to let her friends die, not when it was her fault that Ttod had left them behind.

The zombies began to swarm the car. Morgana pulled on the steering wheel, tilting the car dangerously to the left. The wheels jumped over the bodies of the undead, crunching bones and devouring flesh.

Ivory covered her heads, sinking deeper into the footwell of the backseat. She couldn't listen to the massacre of human beings, no matter how much they'd changed. It wasn't right, not natural either. They shouldn't be murdering human beings, even if it meant that they were endangering themselves.

A zombie grabbed hold of the back of the car, climbing into the tray of the ute. It slammed its hands against the glass, shaking the car with its force.

"I need a weapon," Gwynth shouted at Raven, hoping that she'd be able to find something in the glove box of the car.

She had lost her knife earlier. It had slipped out of her back pocket when she picked a fight with Jaxx, sliding across the room as she was thrown to the ground. Gwynth hadn't thought much of it then - she was safe in the pharmacy with little to worry about, but now? If she didn't have something to defend herself with, she could die.

Raven nodded. She shoved her hand in the glove box, hoping to grab hold of a wrench, or perhaps, a knife that the others had forgotten earlier.

There was nothing; except the empty bottle of whiskey that had been used to clean Katherin's wound.

It would have to do. Raven passed it back to Gwynth, who shook her head in annoyance.

"Is that really all you have?"

There was another thump.

Then, the unmistakable crack of glass.

Gwynth huffed. The empty bottle would have to do. She doubted it would do much damage, but at least it would distract the zombie from killing her friends, from slaughtering her sister.

"I'm going to need you to unlock the door," Gwynth tapped Morgana on the arm as she shakily rose to her feet.

Morgana took another sharp turn. She nodded, fumbling for the buttons with her right hand.

Gwynth stumbled, hitting her nose against the headrest.

The locks clicked open.

Gwynth wiped her nose with the back of her palm, smearing blood onto her shirt as she made somewhat of an effort to clean up.

"Just - hold onto my shirt, okay?" Gwynth muttered as she leant for the door.

Esther nodded. Her hands shook. She didn't want to watch her sister die, despite the tense relationship between them. Even if Gwynth had hurt her in the past, they were still related by blood. Esther couldn't bear to see Gwynth die in the same way that she hadn't been able to watch Katherin bleed out on the pharmacy counter.

Gwynth opened the door. She latched her broken leg in the car, curling her toes around Esther's seatbelt buckle, before lifting her free leg into the tray of the ute.

The zombie turned its head, ceasing its assault on the car window.

Gwynth waited, the empty bottle raised in anticipation. She needed to hit the zombie in the face, or the shot would be wasted. As far as she knew, zombies didn't feel pain like normal human beings did. She'd need to directly attack the head, use the broken glass to slit the throat of the zombie perhaps, or the zombie would surely kill her and climb into the car.

Gwynth couldn't let that happen.

The zombie stumbled towards Gwynth.

Morgana tugged on the steering wheel again, turning back to the pharmacy. She had diverted the zombies' attention for long enough. If they weren't finished playing hero, then Morgana would have to leave without them. She was just gaining unwanted attention by driving through the neighbourhood.

Gwynth gripped onto the car, her fingertips white as she strained to stay in the car.

The zombie wasn't fairing much better.

Gwynth took her chance.

The tray bowed under Gwynth's weight as she clambered after the zombie.

"Gwynth! No!"

Gwynth barely heard Esther's cries. She felt as if she was underwater as if she was drowning underneath the waves.

The zombie regained its footing. It reached for Gwynth, its hairy knuckles tickling Gwynth's face as it explored her features.

Gwynth smashed the bottle against the zombies head.

The zombies head snapped backwards, though, it didn't seem to notice.

Gwynth wrapped her fingers around a broken shard of glass. The glass was cold against her fingers. Gwynth resisted the urge to clamp her clammy fist around it.

The zombie lurched forward.

Gwynth jabbed the shard into the zombies throat, pulling it through flesh.

Then, Gwynth grabbed the zombie, throwing it over the side of the car. 

Hi everyone!

I'm super sorry for the late update. Things have been crazy here - I'm currently in the middle of moving house and preparing to start grade 12.

Happy reading x