Free The Awakened by Sara Elizabeth Santana Page A

that you’re alone.”
    I had started running around the apartment, locking windows and shutting off lights. “Ash is here, Dad. I’m not alone.”
    “Oh, thank god,” he said. “Shit. Zoey. I have to go.” There were sounds of crashing and gunfire in the background. “I love you.”
    “Dad? Dad!” I looked at the screen. Call ended. “Shit.” I shoved it in my back pocket and flipped another switch off.
    “Zoey!” Ash yelled. “Get over here.”
    I ran back to him. He had moved to the window and was staring out of it. “Where is Madison?”
    “Out there,” he pointed, sounding disgusted. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
    I glanced out the window and was nearly sick myself. Madison had someone pinned on the ground, and was bent over them. “Is she…is she…”
    “I think so,” Ash said, looking away.
    I didn’t hesitate. I yanked the door open and went bounding down the stairs, intent on stopping Madison at any cost. Her teeth, her newly sharpened teeth, were sunk deep into someone’s neck, someone who was so covered in blood that I couldn’t even tell who it was. I grabbed her arms and pulled hard, away from the body that now lay limp on the ground. I looked away but not before I saw chunk of flesh missing from the person’s neck, and blood gathering in a puddle on the pavement. Madison struggled in my arms, her small hands reaching out for her prey.
    “I’m hungry. I’m so hungry,” she wailed. “Let me go.”
    “No, Madison,” I said, struggling, as she pulled harder against my grip. “This isn’t you.” I had a brief thought of Madison’s strict vegetarianism and how ironic it all seemed now.
    “I just want to eat, please, oh god, I want to eat.” Her limbs started flailing all over the place, making it more difficult for me to keep a grip on her.
    The contents of my stomach turned and it was a miracle that I didn’t puke right then and there. She was hungry, for human flesh, just like a zombie. My dad had said zombie over the phone but I couldn’t believe it until now. She looked like Madison and sounded like Madison, but there were the eyes, the sharp teeth, the skin tone and the effort she was making to sink her teeth into someone’s flesh.
    Madison’s teeth came sinking down on my hand, like little needles piercing my skin. I yelled out in pain, letting her go, but she stayed firmly attached to me, starting to rip into my flesh. My eyes went blind for a moment as the pain ripped through me. I did the only thing I could think of doing, and I fired the gun.
    She stopped, shocked as the bullet went sinking into her stomach but she didn’t pause. In fact, it seemed to make her angrier, and she moaned a little this time, sounding a little happier. I aimed again, and this time the bullet went straight through her head. She faltered and stared at me for a long moment before she keeled over.
    “Oh god,” I said, falling to my knees and cradling her in my arms. Dark red blood that was nearly black was gushing out of her wounds, and her eyes stared up at the sky, unseeing, as black as the deepest night, so unlike the beautiful eyes I had known before. “Maddie, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Tears were gushing down my cheeks, and for a moment, the pain in my hand felt like nothing, nothing compared to the pain of losing Madison again. I had shot her in defense, but I had aimed to kill, and now she was dead.
    “Z, you need to let her go,” Ash said, suddenly at my side.
    “No,” I said, my grip on Madison tightening.
    “You’re bleeding; we need to get you inside and stop it.”
    “I don’t care,” I wailed. “I don’t care. I killed her. I killed my best friend.”
    “Zoey, we need to go now. ”
    I looked up at him and saw that he was staring over my shoulder. I turned and my heart started pounding harder in my chest. I picked up the gun that I had tossed aside. There were at least a dozen people heading right toward us. They were a far enough distance away,