"When you are guilty it is not your sins you hate but yourself." ~ Anthony de Mello
- - -
I splutter in shock at the two girls that sit huddled in front of me, the noise causing one of the girls to look up, recognition gripping me.
"Oh my God, Amelia! Is that you? Are you ok?" I ask hurriedly, pulling her to her feet, as she stares at me in bewilderment with hazy eyes.
Amelia and I are almost as close as me and Josh. She's my other best friend if you like and she means the world to me, my busy mind had pushed her backwards and I had dismissed the idea of her survival straight away.
"Madeline?" she whispers, "is that you?" her voice ragged and cracked, breaking several times as her eyes worriedly scan my face.
"Yeah, Amelia, it is, what are you doing here?" I question her gently, fearful that she'll snap at any moment. A smile breaks onto my face and a sense of undeniable relief twists my empty stomach. She gives me a blank look before parting her cracked lips, her hands trembling in mine.
"I remember that we were running," she says and then glances down at the girl cowering into her dirty side. "That the infected were hunting us and wouldn't stop, God I was so tired Madeline- so weak from hunger and the day of fighting," she whispers, a tear rolling down her cheek and smudging the dirty coat that plasters her sorrowful features.
"I realised we were at the house that we used to come to in the holidays. The zombies had fallen behind a little and so we dived into the lake, my lungs burnt and I couldn't breathe- I thought I was going to die. We crawled into the muddy bank to hide..." she mutters, her words trailing away into silence.
"That's really clever of you Amelia, you did the right thing. We'll look after you now, we'll survive this- I promise," I say sympathetically, squeezing her shoulders with the softest of pressures. I pull a cloth off a table and wipe away the dirt mixed with tears and blood off her petite face, she just stares over my shoulder blankly, her eyes fixated on the twirling jester. Once her face is clear of dirt I pull her into a tight hug, wrapping my aching arms around her weak and shaking frame. After a long silence, I pull away, my eyes falling to her side.
"Who's this?" I enquire, pointing down to the young girl still huddled in the corner.
"She's just someone I picked up on the way, another survivor who lost everything," Amelia explains vaguely.
"Oh hello..." I trail off in an awkward silence, slowly weaving my hands together.
"Sophie," Amelia fills in, a rosy tint returning to her sickly pale cheeks.
"Oh, hello Sophie. It's ok you know, you can take off the sunglasses there aren't any zombies in here!" I say jokily and she slowly takes off her glasses, as she stares up I'm hit by the iciness of her eyes. They are such a piercing blue that they are bordering unnatural.
"I'm Madeline and this is Toby," I say, as Toby nods his head in obviously strained politeness. "My friend Josh is upstairs," I add and see Amelia twitch.
"Josh is here? I thought you were both dead, I haven't been able to contain the worry that's been stabbing me the last few days. I can't believe your both alive," she says hurriedly, a small smile tugging at her lips.
The guilt washes over me, the lack of sickening worry I felt towards Amelia making me feel uncomfortable, I cover up any hesitation quickly and grimace sadly.
"We're together now, that's all that matters," I sympathise.
Amelia comes up and hugs me tightly, a light chime of laughter lacing her voice.
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Rise of the Dead
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