PetrA

Chapter twelve: Gemma

Sitting alone in a dark hallway staring at a door with only a candle could have been worse. Gemma listened to the sounds of the house trying to ignore the hammering girl who seemed to get weaker by the second. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she would turn. The hours ticked by and soon, three hours had gone by, Gemma stood from her spot before the door and walked up the stairs, the weak banging and calls for help from the girl still haunting her ears. She'd stopped the knocking only an hour earlier replacing her moans for help with screeching and clicking noises. The door had stopped making noises and so had the air around her. She walked up and checked the rooms until she found her own room. She pushed the door open and walked over to Henrik who slept on his stomach. She poked him in the side, "Wake up, you have to stand guard downstairs." She said loudly in his ear. He sat up groggily staring at her. "Already?" She nodded, "You better stay awake. There's one of those things right outside the house." His eyes became more alert as she said it. "The girl, she turned?" Gemma nodded. "About an hour ago. So be careful not to make a sound when you sit down there." He nodded and left the room. Gemma took his bed, since it was already warm and she could use the little sleep she'll get.

Gemma don't remember when she fell asleep. However, she woke when Henrik came back into the room. "Is Joachim down there awake?" She asked. Henrik stopped in the middle of the room, "Yes. Why wouldn't he?" Gemma sat up in the bed and looked at him in the dark. "I don't trust him, and I certainly do not like him. None of us do." Henrik blinked at her confused. "At least, Daniel, Ellie and I don't." She laid back down in the bed and listened to him puzzle around the room getting into the bed. "If you don't mind. Why don't you like him?" Gemma sighed and stared at the ceiling. "We all have our reasons." She let it be at that, and Henrik didn't press for a better answer. He must have known the meaning behind her words.

Gemma didn't fall asleep after that, so about an hour later she silently slipped out of the room and walked down the hallway. Quietly she walked from room to room checking on them all. When she opened the door to Ellie she couldn't help but smile. Quietly she closed the door again and sat down in the window looking down at the front door from above. The girl who'd knocked on their door for hours now lumbered around on the fields. She hoped that her screeches wouldn't attract more of them.