Miles away from Maradoit, a jet with the name Walton emblazoned on its side heads in the direction of Maleny.In the lounge, Sybil and an unfamiliar young man sat in silence while the numerous bodyguards sat away from them.The young man’s hands were twitching as they opened and closed in a fist.“Calm down,” Sybil said without looking at the young man.“He will get what is coming to him. We will find him, and you will get your revenge,” she said as she turned towards him.“No punishment would be enough for that bastard,” the young man said in a familiar, hate-filled voice.“Oh?” Sybil said as she raised her eyebrows regally. “Should we go back then? I will tell..."“You know that was not what I meant. It took my uncle a while before he allowed me to come. And only on the condition that you come with me. He would never let me come back if we went back now.”“That is because he knew that I have more sense than you,” Sybil said arrogantly with a mocking smile. “Look what happened the la
Adam was too late.Layla was pulling up front when he got to the bus.He almost got knocked out by the front door as Ryan jumped out with the gun at the ready.“The dog. It is tearing at her. It... Fuck! I can't shoot her!"Adam pulled the side door open.Those who seemed to have been frozen in place by shock quickly tried to rush out of the door, blocking Adam’s path.“Stay put!” Adam shouted as he nudged someone aside.“The dog is biting everybody, mommy!” A kid screamed.Adam’s eyes were on his sister.She was pinned down by Bo.The dog was biting her over and over again, while Lisa was hitting it with everything she could get her hands on.Neck pillow she grabbed from someone.A kid’s game toyAnything at all!“He won’t let go!” She was screaming over and over again, tears streaming down her face as she grabbed random things to hit Bo with.The dog stayed glued to Nina, tearing at her throat!“Bo!” Adam shouted as he nudged Lisa aside.The dog turned his bloody face toward Adam.S
The man rose in the same distorted way that Adam had seen too many times already.“Oh fuck!” Adam muttered as he raised his sword.Before he could slice the man, though, the latter slumped to the floor and lay still.“What the…” A thud and another scream from Lisa made Adam turn towards the back.Nina was on the floor as well.She lay as still as the man on the floor.“What is going on?” he asked no one in particular.“I don’t know!” Lisa shouted with her eyes still fixed on Nina.Her bloodied hands were shaking as she continued, “One moment, she was... she was... changing into one of those things! And now... now she is like that!” She said hysterically.Adam looked toward Sophia.Wide-eyed and blood-stained as well, she merely nodded.“I don’t understand it,” she muttered almost to herself. “The dog bit her. The dog is…”“I need you two to go outside. Go outside now and get Mom here.”“But…”“Just go, Lisa,” Adam said hastily.She nodded without hesitation and went outside with Sop
“What are you going to do?"Lisa whispered to Adam.She had asked the same question multiple times already.And Adam still had only one answer: “I will think of something.”“But…”“Lisa, you will wake her up,” Caleb said from behind.Adam had no idea how he could remain so calm.He supposes a man of his dad's age and experience has had enough time to master the art of patience.Adam couldn’t relate.At the moment, he felt like railing at the world.He felt like getting out of the car and slashing every single zombie he could see into ribbons.He felt like he should check on Nina and ask her if the rope was too tight.He would have loved to ask her how she was feeling.What did the sickness feel like?He would have liked to ask the universe why Nina couldn’t have the same luck that he had.Instead, he drove.He drove as thoughts ran through his mind.He drove as his mother remained unconscious in the back while Jeremy held the vial and his father administered what was needed.He drove
The girl was not on the bus! When the road was wide enough for Adam to overtake the bus without using the horn, He signaled to Carlisle to stop the bus. The search was quick and the result was disheartening. The kid was not on the bus! A wild guess made them check the van as well but she was not there. Instead, something more shocking was discovered. The skin tone of Nina and the man was changing. It is more grayish than fair at the moment. They were both snapping and snarling as the van door was opened. There was no longer any doubt about their fates. “Tough luck,” Layla said as she stared at Nina. “Mind your fucking business!” Adam snapped at her. He shut the van door tightly and turned away from her. “I was not being a bitch, you know. She was nice to me,” she said as she followed Adam to where the others were. They had seen a drive-in rest area right after Carlisle confirmed that the girl was not in the bus. The rest area was deserted yet it looked intact. At least
Adam could have broken down the door.But then he thought of the fact that they would need the door locked that night if they were staying there.So he ran to the back.There was a key left in the lock, so he hurriedly opened it and rushed towards the van.Layla was talking to his parents.Adam changed directions and rushed to where they were.“What is it? Are they here again?” Marriane asked anxiously.“What? Who? No!” Adam answered as he looked from his parent's expressionless face to Layla's.“What was she telling you?” he asked.“That you wanted us to stay here for the night?” Lisa answered while looking from Layla to Adam. "Was she lying? Is something wrong?""No, nothing. Oh, yes. We can stay here for now. We will leave as early as possible tomorrow morning. There are things to eat inside too,” Adam answered.“Good, let me help your mother inside,” Caleb said as he urged his wife up from where she was perched.“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Adam muttered heatedly to
Ryan and Carlisle did the honours.Adam couldn’t bring himself to shoot Nina, even though he knew there was nothing of her left in the snarling beast eager to claw his brains out.Ryan did the shooting.Together with Carlisle, he organized men to dig graves on the patch of land behind the rest areas.The two bodies were buried there.It was long past midnight before they finished.The rest area was as quiet as a graveyard when they came in.Though a few people, mostly kids, were asleep, nobody could muster enough energy and enthusiasm to say anything.Lisa and Layla were sitting away from the others. Layla’s arms were wrapped around Lisa’s as she shuddered lightly from time to time.Caleb had a faraway look on his face as he held his unconscious wife.Marriane was out for most of the night.Just as dawn was approaching, she woke up groggily.The first thing she said was, “It wasn’t a dream, was it?”Caleb shook his head dejectedly.Marriane looked over at Lisa, who was staring listle
Marriane wouldn’t stop apologising to Yoshi.She was the one who grabbed Yoshi and stopped him from leaping to his death.The boy’s whitened face had stared mutedly at her as she apologised over and over again.Tears ran down her face until mucus from her nose joined it yet she seemed not to be able to stop herself from apologising.No amount of pacification from Caleb could stop her.She was alternatively apologising to Yoshi and to Nina.“My baby, I am sorry,” she would say suddenly, then clutch Yoshi to her side to apologise again.At long last, she fell asleep.Right next to Yoshi, who had slept beside her.She refused to eat anything all day, despite Adam and Caleb’s persuasion.“This would affect her health more,” Caleb said after staring out into the night for minutes after his wife fell asleep.Adam had nothing to say.He had no consolation to give because he was dealing with his own grief as well.Still, he said, “She is a strong woman. She…”“She is a woman who just lost her