Free End of the Line by Lara Frater Page B

Mindy started crying again. Annemarie held her in her arms while she wept, careful not to touch the blood. I decided not to chastise Annemarie. Losing her best friend was going to be enough. We were all looking over Mindy that I almost forgot Eli.
                  “Tanya,” I paused, looking over Eli’s body as it began to twitch. “Eli. He was killed by the girl.”
                  Tanya went over to the body and shot it once through the head. The sound echoed for a few seconds and silenced the room. The silence broken with Mindy’s sobbing. We didn’t like to waste bullets, but for one of our own, they got it quickly. I was glad I brought in Tanya, she might be a hardass, but that made her useful. She had no qualms about taking out the kid. I wanted to apologize for thinking she robbed the pharmacy.
                  I had a bad thought, glad that Eli was looking after the girl and not Maddie. 
                  Jake, still missing his shirt, went to Mindy and touched her shoulder gently. He grabbed the hand that wasn’t wounded.
                  “Mindy—“ he paused. “ You know what has to happen.”              
                  “No,” she said, but she looked weak and pale. Already she was almost white as sheet. First signs of the zombie virus. She would be dead in a few hours, and then she would rise anywhere from a minute to an hour. “No, I’m not going to be one of them. Just wait a little while, ok ay, maybe nothing will happen.”
                  “Let’s go to the roof, Princess is there now. She’ll make it quick,” Jake said, his voice, soothing.
                  “No! she yelled. “I’m not having that fucking coldhearted bitch kill me.”
                  “Sweetheart,” Harlan said. “I’ll do it. It will be quick, promise.”
                  “No,” she said. “No one is killing me. Help me up.”
                  Jake and Anne marie helped her off the floor.
                  “Now, give me a gun. Give me a fucking gun.”
                  I nodded at Tanya who handed her gun to Mindy. Instead of pointing the gun to herself, she pointed it at me. Her hands were shaky. I felt no fear at having the gun pointed at me. Not even a moment. I almost welcomed it but I knew Mindy, knew that her ex-husband took everything and she didn’t fight back. I knew she wasn’t going to shoot me.
                  “I should fucking kill you.”
                  “What will that achieve?” I asked. “It won’t save you.”
                  “You’re nothing-- you’re nothing like Abe. Abe saved me you didn’t.” Her voice was as shaky as her hands. No one in the room seemed to think Mindy would shoot me but Annemarie and Jake took a few steps back.
                  “I didn’t ask Abe to kill himself and I didn’t ask to be in charge.”
                  “You’re a lousy leader, we all think so.”
                  “Then I’ll give it to anyone. Anyone who wants it,” I looked at Dave. “Dave you want to be in charge?”
                  Dave didn’t respond. He looked like he wanted to fade into the shadows. No one else in the room said anything, leaving me to Mindy’s wrath. I didn’t blame them. Mindy needed to focus her anger and I was a good enough target.
                  “You don’t get it, Nurse Ratchet,” she said. “You don’t. Abe could lead but he realized the world wasn’t coming back. You cope because you don’t care about us, except maybe your fag and fattie.”
                  “Mindy— “ I said, ignoring her slurs. Jim didn’t seem fazed but he didn’t say anything which was unusual for him. “I care about all of you. All I want is for all of us to