Free Turned: A Spine-Chilling Young Adult Apocalyptic Fiction (The Undead Series, Book 1) by Kaylee Rae Page B

stairs.
    “All we can do is sit here, lock the doors, and stand guard until morning. These people who just killed Frank aren’t likely to barge inside knowing we’re in here. They probably thought they could kill him and break into the house while we were sleeping. Thankfully, Em came out to check on Frank and ruined their strategy. Now that we know they’re there, they’re not going to try and sneak in. I’ll stand watch, Retta. You go back to sleep. You have a long day ahead of you.
    “How aren’t you even flustered?” I asked him curiously. “I won’t be able to sleep now knowing there are people out there trying to kill us.”
    “Trust me babe, there’s always going to be someone trying to kill us in this world.”
    “I’m going to go check on Em,” I replied. “I’ll be back down and lay beside you on the couch, but I won’t be able to fall asleep.” Jasper nodded at me, and I started to walk up the stairs. I paused with my right hand on the railing and right foot resting on the first stair.
    “I’m not even sure what to say to her,” I sad halfway to myself and halfway to Jasper. “But I do know what it feels like to lose someone you love.” He glanced over at me. He didn’t like it when I talked about Ethan, and I believed it was out of jealousy. I didn’t finish my thought because I knew it would bother him, so I walked quietly upstairs to find Em, who hovered over the toilet sobbing.
    Her face was pale and her eyes were big and wet like those old Precious Moments dolls my mom used to have sitting around the house. I could smell a foul stench, and I realized that Em had thrown up into the toilet.
    “Can I hug you?” I asked, as I walked over to Em to sit down beside her Indian-style. Em didn’t answer for a moment, then nodded her head. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and laid my head on her back.
    “I’m so sorry,” I said as Em’s body convulsed. I didn’t know if I should talk and share my story or just be there for comfort, so I said nothing for a few moments until Em lifted her head up. Her eyes looked into mine and pleaded me to tell her this wasn’t real and her husband was alive. But I couldn’t, because he was now dead, and she was alone. After a half hour passed, I managed to help carry her into bed so that I could help Jasper.
    “I’m going to go back downstairs to help Jasper watch over everything,” I said. “Please, lay here and get some sleep. I’m going to talk to Jasper about staying with you for a while. Or better yet, you coming with us. Either way, you’re not going to be alone.” With that, I hugged her and walked out of the room to give her time to mourn.

Chapter 7. The Sacrifice
     
    I didn’t imagine that I would have fallen asleep after all that happened, but I finally did after nearly two hours of staring at Jasper’s back as he watched out the window for intruders. I woke up to the delicious smell of coffee, but didn’t see Jasper anywhere. I followed the smell into the kitchen, expecting to see Jasper in there waiting. But he wasn’t in the kitchen. It was Em brewing the coffee. All I could think about was how thankful I was for coffee at that moment because without it, I would have never survived the apocalypse as long as I did.
    Em looked surprisingly good considering all that had happened the night before. Her long fire-red hair was pulled into a ponytail that cascaded down her back. She wore a pair of jeans and a red tank top that had rhinestones at the collar and red sneakers. She had taken time to put makeup on, which was so strange to me because I hadn’t worn makeup in a year. A fresh, inviting, fruity aroma radiated from her presence. What was in front of me did not look like a widow who had just violently lost her husband the night before.
    “Morning, Em,” I said to her as I walked to the kitchen island in the cozy fleece pajamas Em had given me the night before. My hair was on the top of my head in a messy bun, and I