Rise of the Dead

Chapter 8: The Unknown Grasp

"With every physical pain, my moral fibre unravels a little." ~ Mason Cooley

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Josh steps forward quickly, eager to volunteer for whatever training I'm proposing, and walks over to me. 

"I want you to run at me," I say simply, "you know, as if you were a zombie," I joke playfully to which Josh nods.

"Ok, on three," Amelia broadcasts into the bitter morning air, "One, two, three!"

Josh comes running straight towards me and I roll my eyes at his simplistic approach. I wait until he's a few meters away before crouch down and stick my leg to the side tripping him over, he goes tumbling to the ground with a thud but I cushion his fall, grabbing his arm awkwardly. Josh shrugs me off, clearly irritated as I crouch beside him.

"First lesson, never go for the obvious attack it's all they know," I state, my voice echoing in the crisp morning air.

I stand straight back up and walk away from him with my back turned, daring him to follow me. I hear him running behind me, the footsteps edging closer; I wait until I feel the blade of the knife on my throat. 

"Ha! Got y-" Josh starts, but is cut off as I pull him quickly to the floor- landing with a thud. He groans quietly and I smile down at him innocently, a small chuckle escaping my lips.

"Lesson two, don't be arrogant," I say giving Toby a pointed look, although he just mocks salutes me with the smirk still pulling at his face. 

I invite the others over and hand out the knives, encouraging them to throw them at logs and other makeshift targets. We continue training for another hour and I start to feel sweat trickle down the back of my neck, the sun now high in the cloudless sky. I smile at Sophie who's sending punches my way and place a hand on her shoulder, signalling a break in the exercise. We walk towards the main group and they gather around our panting bodies, their cheeks tinted red as they breathe heavily.

"I think that's enough for today, we should get some rest now," I suggest.

"I'm going to cool off in the lake," Amelia states, her eyes drinking up the glistening water. 

The others murmur in approval, making their way into the house. I scan the lake closely, chewing my lip, before deciding it can't cause too much harm- we haven't seen a zombie all day. I jog to catch up and follow the group into the house to go and get changed, my legs aching after hours of training. Once I've made it to my room, I rummage around in the bottom of my wardrobe until I find a turquoise swimsuit, I change in silence before going to meet the others out the front of the house. I lead them to the huge lake with the sun warming my skin in a way that signals summer is fast approaching, I welcome the thought eagerly with the cold only adding to our current problems.

The others rush into the cool water, splashing each other in the process; I stare them for a minute before slowly dropping my towel. I look up to see Josh staring at me and I blush, jogging into the water to join them. The cool water envelopes me in its comforting arms and I stretch forward, enjoying the feeling of being weightless.

I emerge from thoughts and glance across the water, looking around at the others laughing carelessly, is it possible to be happy in the middle of a zombie apocalypse? Times like this could convince me there's nothing wrong with the world, that I'm just on holiday with my friends. But I know too well that the imminent threat is still lurking, waiting to attack at any moment. I swim over to Josh and smile, the water ripling around me. 

"Having fun?" I ask with a beaming smile.

He pauses before speaking, his eyes meeting mine.

"Do you know how I could make it better?" he questions, his voice light and carefree. I swallow loudly before shaking my head, my eyes scanning his face. "This," he whispers.