PetrA

Chapter twenty-eight: Gemma

Gemma saw some zombies only a few metres away from Cody, Kim and her falling out of nowhere. Her eyes darted around trying to find the source, it wasn't until she heard the faint bang of guns being fired she looked up at the buildings. Ellie was kneeling in a window that had been smashed to pieces with a gun in her hands shooting. On either side of her was Henrik and Joachim doing the same. A zombie head exploded right in front of Gemma and she stared one last time at Ellie. Gemma wondered where Ellie had learned to shoot, much less operate such a large gun, but there wasn't much time to marvel over it as they slowly pressed themselves towards the bikes. "Get on!" Cody yelled. He and Kim had already mounted two of the bikes and kicked them to life. Gemma quickly jumped on behind Cody, and they sped off running down dead people as they went. They took crazy turns in such speed Gemma was sure they'd crash any given second. Soon the streets seemed to slowly empty of dead people and they arrived in a deserted neighbourhood.

Playgrounds passed them as they were still taking sharp turns at high speed, the engines roaring in the silence. Finally, they stopped just outside a small house with a rather large garden. "What about Ellie and the others?" Gemma asked her head spinning. Kim made a face, "We'll just have to hope they'll make it." Cody said already working on getting the front door open. After a while, the door opened and Cody grumbled something Gemma didn't quite catch. They carefully searched the house before allowing themselves to relax. At least the best you can relax when the whole world has turned into a bad replica of the Walking Dead. They let their bags slump to the floor of the small living room. Gemma pulled all curtains and shut the shutters, she even made sure that the windows were closed and locked. Luckily, there wasn't a second floor, nor a basement. The house didn't even have an attic. It made Gemma somewhat calmer to know there wasn't any places nasty surprises could get them.

"Let's look through what we have in the bags." Cody said opening his bag and pulling things out. Luckily, they had one of the tents and some food from Ellie's house. It wasn't much, but it would last for a couple of days, maybe a week if they were careful. However, they only had one sleeping bag and they didn't have any torches. Fine with me... Gemma thought quietly, that way they didn't have to worry about being found by light. "You can take the sleeping bag; I'll find some blankets." Kim said looking around. Gemma studied him as he started to look around for a blanket or something he could sleep with.

Gemma felt a pang of guilt as she thought about Ellie, and the others. They had fled without them, and she had absolutely no idea if Daniel, got out of there with Gordon. Heck she didn't even know if Ellie was okay, even if she had been up in that building shooting, Gemma was still worried. Who knows what's hidden in there? "We had to, Gem. I'm sure Ellie's holding up. She's not alone, and she's tough." Cody said as if he could read her mind. "Tougher than I thought." He muttered. "What about Daniel and Gordon then? Ellie will break if he dies." Cody stared at the wall of the opposite side of the room. "I'm sure he'll be alright, he's with Daniel, isn't he?" But Gemma wasn't so sure if she believed it. She knew that her friends had backbone, but would it be enough? Cody put his arms around her carefully as if she'd bite him too.

But Gemma was too tired to resist and it felt kind of good having someone there. Her eyes moved to Kim who sat on the couch with a blanket over his legs staring out of a crack in the curtain. Now she felt sorry for him too. The guilt washed over her and all she wanted to do was cry. How would she ever see her friends again? "Don't cry." Cody said quietly pulling her onto his lap as he rocked her back and forth, rubbing her back soothingly. It was as if Gemma suddenly understood what effect Kim had on Ellie. He was the only one capable of calming her down. All of a sudden, the guilt feeling doubled once again, and Gemma had a hard time keeping it together. How was it fair that she had Cody here, when Kim sat there all alone missing Ellie, and most likely the other way around too.

Gemma must have fallen asleep, because she woke up on a bed tucked into the sleeping bag. Taking a glance around it was completely dark. It took a while before her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Silently she slipped out of the sleeping bag and paddled into the hallway. "She'll be alright. I know she will, Ellie's not one to give up." Cody's voice said. "I know, but they're everywhere. One false move and..." Kim's voice trembled, as he couldn't finish the sentence. "We'll find her." Gemma said startling both boys. Gemma found it hard to believe the sight in front of her. Kim sat curled on the couch with a blanket around him. Cody was on the floor playing with a candle. It looked so normal, Gemma almost wanted to believe that they were back home telling ghost stories during a black out, and the outside world would still be the same old boring place they'd grown up in. She wanted so badly to believe that it was just a regular weekend where she'd spend time with her friends, and that the others would be there soon. Even Joachim, albeit how annoying and how much she didn't like him.

Cody had wrapped his arms around her without her noticing it. "As you said, we'll find them, and it'll be alright." He said. Gemma peeked at Kim who looked away from them, she stepped out of Cody's arms. "I don't think it's a good idea..." She mentioned between them. Cody nodded, as he understood what she meant, "I just don't think it's fair when Ellie's not here." She looked at the clock on the wall, "Maybe we should get some sleep, we'll figure it out tomorrow." She glanced at Kim, "You can take the bed if you want to." He looked at them and shook his head. "No, I'll sleep on the couch." Gemma started to protest, but he just gave her a look, and she understood why. "Maybe I should..." He shook his head again, "No, go with Gemma. I'll be fine. I will alert you if something happens." Gemma tugged on Cody's arm and pulled him after her. "I think he wants to be alone." She said closing the bedroom door behind them. Sadly, it was the only bedroom in the house, and there was only one bed. Gemma sighed and crawled onto the bed, she had to zip the sleeping bag open so they both could be under it.