Tonight The World Dies by Amber White Page B

said.
    “How about with Billie then?” He asked. “The kids are nice to her.”
    I considered it for a moment. “What would you want in return?”
    “For you to be a little nicer to me. Don’t hit me again, ok?” He said.
    “Fine. You get me out of this hell hole, and I won’t hit you again unless you really, really deserve it.” I said.
    “That’s good enough for me.” He smiled and walked back out.
    Andy was true to his word. I was removed from Mary’s and Elizabeth’s room, briefly examined in Bobby’s lab where my wounds were cleaned and disinfected, and tied up in the girl’s room on the opposite side from Billie.
    “What happened to you?” Billie asked, wide eyed.
    “Those freaks whipped me.” I said.
    I was exhausted, bloody, and sore. Though I was glad to finally see one of my friends again, all I wanted to do was sleep.
    “What the hell? We need to get out of here!” Billie said.
    “I know.” I yawned. “But I need some rest first.”
    After a few minutes, when I had dozed and snapped awake again, hearing the footfalls of someone wandering around upstairs, thinking I was going to be whipped again then settling back down, I asked Billie:
    “Still think Todd is hot after all this?”
    “What?” She asked. “No, I stopped being interested after he stabbed his zombie girl. Tortured emo types aren’t my thing.”
    I laughed, a little delirious. I had missed her quirky comments; her unusual personality, especially when I had been surrounded by broken ones, myself included.
    That night, when everyone else was playing a board game in the living room, Andy came up to visit me.
    “How are you?” He asked.
    “Ever have one of those days where you want to set someone’s face on fire and put it out with a fork?” I asked.
    “No.” He said.
    “Oh, well that’s the day I’m having.”
    He laughed. “Here, I brought you and your friends some water.” He held up four water bottles.
    “Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked.
    “Because I think you’re hot and because if I was in your situation, I would hope someone would help me out too.”
    I did not understand him. I gave all the signs of disinterest, even going so far as to be cruel at times, and he came back for more. He was starting to grow on me, but a pain in the ass by any other name was still a MacGarret.
    Life was a lot easier in the children’s room. They mostly played outside, which gave us the opportunity to talk. The girls would occasionally bring us little snacks in addition to our two small meals a day, in exchange for us playing games with them and telling them stories.
    I didn’t have to say there long before Bobby was ready for me. Todd, Steven, and Sparky surrounded me, Steven and Sparky carried me downstairs while Todd pointed a rifle at my head, warning me not to move.
    In the basement, Brennan held the zombie away from the door in the cell by a rope around its neck. Steven and Sparky dumped me inside before quickly retreating and locking the door behind them.
     
     
     
    Chapter sixteen
     
    Brennan let loose some slack on the rope and the zombie lurched forward, its blank eyes fixed on me. There was nowhere for me to run, and no weapons for me to use.
    I dodged this way and that, desperately fleeing its grasp, but it was catching on.
    “You can’t do this to me!” I screamed.
    My captors ignored me.
    The zombie shambled forward again, inching closer. With no other option, I reached up to snap its neck. My hands wound through its arms and onto its face. It struggled, leaning backward and grabbing onto my arms, digging into my soft flesh with boney, unfeeling fingers, jagged scratches trailing after it. It thrashed its head back and forth, trying to throw me off. It worked. For a moment my hands were vulnerable, and it bit me, hard.
    I shrieked. Blood poured from the wound, spilling out onto the floor; it felt like my hand was in a vice. The zombie tumbled backward, eyes wide in shock. Brennan had yanked the