Not The Last {Rough Draft}

Chapter 10: Busting Noses, Specifically Trent's

  "Rise and shine, Astrid!" Trent yelled as he nudges me with his foot.

  "Astrix," I mumbled and sat up slowly. It was pitch black in the room and it wasn't even dawn yet. I could hear Ashley still lightly snoring but it sounded like Van and Jeff were bustling around already.

  "Whatever. Do you want to train or not?" Trent asked. I could hear a click and a dim light flicked on. I looked down at Ashley, who had her blanket over her head and was groaning.

  "Why so early? Why not wait until it's light out?" I asked squinting my eyes. Trent ignored me and walked out of their small sleeping area. I looked at my watch that I had strapped on my left wrist. Of course it was only 4:30. I stood up and nudged Ashley. She groaned again and took the blanket off of her head.

  "Hey, zombie bait," Ashley said when she saw me. She yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

  "Zombie bait, huh?" I asked. I extended my arm to her. She grabbed it and I helped her up.

  "Yeah. It seems like that would be an appropriate nickname for you seeing as of how you were alone for three months. Lots of zombies tried to eat you, right?" Ashley asked.

  "Yeah but they were never smart enough or fast enough to catch me," I said smiling. That was probably the first time I had smiled in a long time.

  Ashley changed into clean clothing. Like actual clean clothing. No blood on them or anything. She tossed me some clothes.

  "Put them on. You will feel better," Ashley said smiling. I nodded a "thank you" and changed into the blue jeans and white tank top. I put on a dark blue tee shirt over it and a black zip up hoodie. Wow, clean clothing. I had been stuck in my blood soaked and ripped clothes for a while now. I put on my tennis shoes and Ashley and I walked to the clearing in the storage room where Trent, Van, and Jeff were waiting.

  "Finally! Come on girls! The sun will be up in a few minutes!" Jeff said. The sun was starting to come up over the hills, casting a gray light on everything. We all walked out of the storage room and to the front of the grocery store. Jeff took out some keys from his pocket and unlocked the doors. We walked into the parking lot of the grocery store. There were no zombies that I could see.

  "Okay, Astrid-"

  "Astrix!" I said angrily interrupting Trent.

  "I am going to fight in hand to hand combat with you to see how well you can fight. Don't be afraid to throw punches. We aren't taking it easy on each other," Trent continued as if I hadn't said anything.

  "I don't plan on it," I grumbled. Ashley cracked a smile and Van shook his head with laughter.

  "Alright, Ashley, Van, dad, step back," Trent said. They backed up at least 10 feet.

  I walked up to Trent. He smiled.

  "Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you," Trent said. He turned his head and winked at Van. I shook my head and threw a punch at Trent. It took him off guard and I got him in the nose. He stumbled back a bit.

  I grinned and Trent came at me, faster then I had expected. He punched but I ducked and swung my leg around, kicking his leg. He half collapsed but was on his feet again almost instantly. I threw my leg up in the air and kicked him in the chest. He fell back a little and I heard Van whistle.

  Trent flew at me faster then I expected and kicked my legs out from underneath of me. I landed on my back hard. Trent positioned his foot over my stomach. I rolled to my right before he could step down. I jumped up quickly and elbowed him in the chest. Trent grabbed my arm and held it behind me at an angle. I held in my cry of agony and kicked my leg up, connecting with his knee. He let go and I got out of his way as he slammed into the concrete. I turned to walk away but felt a hand wrap around my ankle. I tripped but moved my hands to stop myself from smacking into the concrete. I rolled quickly and wrenched myself out of Trent's grasp.