Page 39 of Cora

“You wanna fucking help me out here?” Isaac asked, “Or are you three girls going to continue standing there and gossiping?”

“Sorry, bro,” Trent said, “we’re not getting anywhere near this. You’re on your own.”

Isaac stared at them for a few more seconds before turning back to me. His irritation melted away, replaced by puppy dog eyes. “Please, Cora? If you get used to going outside again, you can help us hunt. You know these woods better than we do. You know the habits of the animals. I don’t think I’ll be able to get us enough meat for winter without your help.”

He was good. Really good. My hands fell to my sides as I considered his words. He wasn’t wrong. I didn’t doubt that I was better at hunting than him, but that didn’t mean I had to go outside right now. I skirted around the back of the couch tostay out of arm’s reach of him and slipped through the wall of men to get my iPad. As I returned to the living room, I typed my message to him and pressed play.

“You have a point. I will try to start getting outside more, but not today. I’ve already had a full day of new and not entirely fun experiences today. I’m not interested in having any more.”

Isaac smiled and nodded his head. “You’re right, Princess. You have had a full day. Promise me you will try over the next few days, though.”

“I promise.”

“Good girl,” Isaac replied. He approached me and briefly kissed my lips before turning to Remi and Derrick. “And as for you two fucks who were betting against me,” he growled playfully as he lunged for them both and managed to get them into a headlock.

I squealed with glee, laughing as I ducked out of their way before I got caught up in the scuffle. Looking back at them, I saw they were frozen in shock as they stared at me. It took several seconds to realize why. My hands flew over my mouth. I had made a noise! Actual, proper noise! It wasn’t much, just a squeal, but it was huge compared to the standard!

“You all heard that, right?” Derrick asked, his head still trapped in Isaac’s arm.

“We heard it,” Trent confirmed. “Try to say something, Cora.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. What was I supposed to say?

“Anything you want,” Remi urged.

Hi. My entire body drooped when nothing came out. For a moment, I thought I was cured, that I could be normal again. But I can’t. It’s just a sick joke the universe played on me. I dropped to my knees and hung my head, my tears falling freely into my lap. It wasn’t more than a few seconds before I was surrounded by my men and lifted into their laps.

“Don’t cry, Princess,” Isaac crooned, pulling my head to his shoulder and gently rocking me. “This is a good thing. It means there is hope. That you’ll be able to speak again one day; it’s just going to take some time.”

“He’s right, Cora,” Derrick said, linking his fingers through mine. “Your vocal cords are out of practice. Keep trying to use them, and you’ll get your voice back.”

I snuggled into them. I knew they were right. I just had to be patient.

“We can sit here all day, Cora,” Derrick said from outside. He had pulled out a lounge chair from one of the sheds and was laying on it in his boxers in the sun. Trent sat beside him on a blanket in the grass. On a small table between them sat a giant bowl of freshly picked blackberries. I hadn’t had a blackberry in three years. I loved harvesting wild berries from the surrounding forest growing up. My mouth watered as I watched Derrick toss another one into his mouth.

“We can,” Trent said, selecting a berry from the bowl, “but I don’t think the blackberries will last that long. You better come get some before we eat them all.” He bit into the plump berry, its juice trailing down his chin. “They’re the perfect amount of sweet and tart, too.”

Jerks. The both of them! It had been a couple of days since I promised Isaac that I would work on going outside, and in my defense, I had, but with little progress. The blackberries were Trent and Derrick’s idea to bait me into coming outside. I’d be impressed if I wasn’t annoyed that it was working. Because I wasstanding in the doorway, teetering on the edge, just about ready to take my first step.

“Come on, Ghost Girl,” Derrick urged. “I know you can do it.”

With a deep breath, I took my first step toward them. I was outside! I was still under the porch covering, but I was outside. I slowly moved toward the sunlight and those berries, feeling increasingly proud of myself. Just as I was about to step off the porch, the growling sound of a zombie reached my ears. I froze as it came around the corner of the house, headed straight for Derrick and Trent.

“Shit!” Trent said, jumping to his feet and grabbing his knife. “He has friends!”

I looked on in horror as two more came into view. Derrick stood beside Trent in only his boxers, and together, they moved toward the first zombie, working as a team to take them down. When three more appeared, I was able to force my limbs to unfreeze and ran back into the house for my gun. This is why it isn’t safe to go outside! I grabbed my pistol off the kitchen table and stomped outside and into the yard. All timidness left me when faced with losing my men. I aimed at the closest zombie.

“No, Cora!” Trent shouted as I squeezed the trigger.

The bullet blew through the zombie’s neck, but, to my horror, it didn’t kill him. It felt like they were moving in slow motion as the remaining three zombies turned toward me, including the one I had just shot. Oh, fuck me. Time resumed its normal speed as they stumbled toward me.

“Headshots, Cora!” Derrick shouted. “Shoot them in the fucking head!”

That I could do. I aimed at the first zombie again, and this time, when I fired, he crumbled to the ground. I quickly shot the remaining two, putting them down as well.

Derrick and Trent were rubbing their chests and breathing heavily as they looked at me with slightly panicked looks.

“Never bring a gun to a knife fight unless there aren’t any other options,” Derrick rasped. “And always shoot or stab them in the head. It’s the only way to kill them.”

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