To Be A Killer

Chapter 39: You're Not Sorry

"I had to."

"Liar!"

Hands grab at her wrist, pushing her back, slamming her against the wall with fire and fury.

"Get off me!"

"Murderer!"

Nails that have grown too long slice into her cheek, and Singer hisses in pain.

"You killed her!"

"She was bitten! I had to!" She manages to push Julia off of her, and Elijah places a hand on his sister's shoulder to keep her from attacking her again.

They all stand around her, shocked. Singer's just given the news-the lie she created about Jessica's death. She shot her, but not because she was bitten. No. She shot her because she was trading food and supplies for drugs. She was willing to let everyone starve if it meant she got her hit. Singer couldn't let that happen. She promised her mother she'd keep Katelyn safe.

She has to keep Katelyn safe.

She did what she had to do to keep Katelyn safe.

"You-you could've let us say goodbye!" Julia shouts, and Singer snarls as she wipes away the trickling blood.

"She was changing, quickly. I didn't have time to bring her back so we could have a tearful goodbye. We don't even have time for this argument. We need to leave. More zombies are arriving because of the sounds of the gunshot and the smell of... a body. And we're just standing here, out in the open, with me now bleeding." Singer straightens her posture, eyes gleaming with a maturity a twelve-year-old shouldn't have. "We have to leave."

"She's right," Wes says. He squints as he looks down the street. The sun has yet to rise, so the world is still stuck in the darkness of night, but he can see them coming. He knows they're coming. "There's more of them than there are us. We can't stay here."

"You're only siding with her because you hated my sister," Julia cries, angry tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Of course, we hated her," Tori cuts in. "She shot our brother in cold blood. He wasn't infected with the zombie virus; He still had a chance."

Katelyn grabs Singer's arm, her eyes wide as she watches the blurry, dark figures get closer and closer. The older sibling gets the message, and she grabs the small bag that contains what little food they've managed to scavenge, and starts walking. They other follow her brisk pace, but they don't stop their bickering. No, they're too angry, too upset to do that.

Singer can almost see the fire in their eyes-the hurt, the grief, the pain. She looks behind her. Some of the undead have turned off, heading towards the house that contains Jessica's body. They smell the blood, the death...

But some of them still follow after us-maybe ten zoms. Singer can't tell. It's so dark. They're still too far away to tell. Let's keep it that way. She doesn't want any casualties-she doesn't need anymore casualties.

But they won't lose them, not yet. The smell of her blood along with the sounds of anger and deceit keep them interested, keep them following.

"Jessica did a bad thing, but-but she shouldn't have-" Elijah starts, but Wesley is quick to cut him off,

"Did a bad thing? She was stealing food. She murdered my brother when he still had a chance."

"Singer killed your mom, and she got your dad killed and your sister died trying to kill her," Julia spats, and Singer's heart clenches at the look of pain that flashes across Wesley's blue eyes.