Pushing Up Gravestones - Pushing Up Gravestones – Chapter 36

It had taken them close to a week to get to the farm. Casey
and George had been dead worried; their daughter had been missing during a
zombie apocalypse, they only thought of the worst. Denise was still their
little girl, in their eyes she was vulnerable, and she needed their
protection.  But they couldn’t have been
more proud when she and her new friends walked through the gates of the farm.
She clearly had her Uncle Bob’s gift when it came to survival and she had
shared it with others in her quest to get to safety. She was finally here.

After the kids took a well needed bath, Casey took the girls
to her room to check for injuries while George took Rory to a spare room.  She started with her daughter, inspecting her
body for any sign of injury or illness but only came up with minor scratches
and bruises, to which she tended with care. Denise smiled gratefully at her
mother and gave her a hug, taking her place on the back of the bed, while Casey
checked the other girls.

Ferrah came next, as little Tina needed to be reassured
there was nothing to fear, it was just a check-up.  The small girl shared the fear of many of her
peers so Casey understood, as it was something she faced every day. She let the
girl watch her carefully and answered all of her questions as she took care of
Ferrah, whom like her daughter, didn’t have any severe injuries except the bite
mark on her neck.

Casey told Ferrah to wait for her to take a look at Tina, so
she could examine the girl before she caused her to panic from the mention of
the bite. She kept a close eye on the girl, waiting for her to show symptoms as
she examined Tina.

Tina smiles as the woman examines her; Casey reminds her of
her mother. She tends to her injuries with care and warns her before applying
any medicine that will sting. But she doesn’t miss the pause or the worry in
her eyes when she sees the old, almost healed bite that caused Tina so many
nightmares. She was so scared but now she’s brave, because she is strong and
alive. And those words are enough to put a childish smile on her face when
Casey asks Denise, the only unbitten girl, to leave the room.

“It’s ok, mom; they’re immune. They’ve been bitten for a
while now. They’ve had no symptoms whatsoever.” Denise explains to her mom.
Casey looks at the bitten girls carefully; they have no trace of zombie
symptoms. In fact, after their bath both look gleeful and alive. But her
medical training says otherwise, causing suspicion to take over, along with
curiosity and hope. Maybe, there is a cure.

“If so, there must be a cure. I can try to make an antidote
with their blood.” Casey says to her girls with a hopeful smile on her face.
“We can save everyone if it works.” The girls smile, Tina jumps up and down on
the bed. The others laugh at her joy and at the relief from their possible
salvation.

“I’ll go tell dad we need to capture one.” Says Denise and
walks out the door.

Casey smiles at the girls and explain them what she’ll need
for the antidote. Tina smiles when the syringe penetrates her skin to draw
blood, because now she is a hero, not a vulnerable little girl. Her dreams of
growing up are coming true.

#

After a little bit of planning, Denise, Rory, George and
Uncle Bob set a trap to catch a zombie for the experiment. They hid behind one
of Uncle Bob’s old trucks parked outside the farm and waited to ambush the
zombie, and use one of Uncle Bob’s secret formulas to incapacitate it.

They wait an hour before they hear the sound of footsteps
heading their way. George rises to shoot it but pauses under the curious gazes
of Denise and Rory. They also rose, ready to back him up and shoot but came
face to face with a young boy, about the same age as Tina, with a big bite mark
on his neck. He looked infected; his face was red and sweaty from the fever and
his eyes full of fear.  He stopped when
he saw them and lifted his hands in defense.

“Hello. What is your name?” Asked Denise, slowly as to not
frighten him.

“Lucas.” Came his answer, his voice faltering at the end.

“Lucas, if you let us tie you, we might know a way to cure
you.” Denise said, slowly approaching him.

“Ok.” Said Lucas shyly holding his hands out for Denise.

She tied him up and together they took him inside where
Casey finally had an antidote ready. Lucas was getting worse by the second; he
had reached the rage stage and was scaring the girls so with Uncle Bob’s orders
Rory took all of them out of the room, minus Denise. She watched as her mom
gave him the shot and he slowly turned back to normal. The fever lessened and
he looked more like a young healthy boy every second.

“How do you feel Lucas?” Casey asked the young boy after a
few minutes.

He smiled and answered. “Alive.”

Lucas asked if he could go and play with the girls now.
George hesitated yet allowed him to go, Denise right behind him. But before she
left, Denise was stopped by her father. He handed her a gun and told her to
keep an eye on him. She looked terrified but still nodded.

#

Lucas and Tina ran around the fields playing tag while
Ferrah and Denise watched. They had been playing tag for close to two hours now
and Denise felt a lot better keeping watch. She almost knew he wouldn’t turn
that they’d be alright. So after another fifteen minutes she turned to Ferrah,
started chatting completely forgetting about Tina and the possibly dangerous
young boy.

That is until she heard a scream.

Denise grabbed her gun, knowing what she feared had
happened. Tina came running at her Lucas in tow, clearly a zombie. Luckily the
young girl was fast and she had gotten away fine.

Denise didn’t even hesitate; she raised her gun and pulled
the trigger.

It was as if everything around her slowed down. She saw the
bullet hit Lucas, on the shoulder, then fired again. Repeatedly, until she was
sure she had hit her target.

And she had.

But she watched each one hit him. She watched him bleed and
his rage grew.  Her hands shook and a
tear fell on the gun, she didn’t even know she was crying. Tina clutched her
waist; she could see Ferrah trying to ply the young girl from her. She shot
again, this time hitting his neck. Ferrah lifted Tina and got away to a safe
distance where she couldn’t watch her new friend die. Denise shot again, this
time she got him right on the head, between the eyes.

Lucas’ eyes rolled to the back of his head. He, now a lot
more lifeless than before, looked right at her with blank eyes. She shivered
realizing what she had done. No matter how just the action was, she felt
disgusted.

He hit the ground, dead.

She had killed.

It was over.