way out of my constricted throat. “Earl… he, uh…Tahoe wouldn’t let go, and I couldn’t…Earl just threw Val over the balcony! He used our sister as a distraction.” I pointed a trembling finger to the pile of zombies where she’d been tossed in. The spot was covered in squirming bodies now, and on the remote chance that she was still alive, there wasn’t a thing we could do to save her.
“ No!” he screamed as sudden realization set in. “Why the hell didn’t you stop them?”
“ I tried!” I shouted, shoving him as hard as I could. “Why would you think I didn’t try!?”
“ Well, you should’ve tried harder!” he said, pushing me back. “For goodness sake, she was our sister, and you just let those jerks—”
“ Hold on now! We both tried everything we could,” Jackie interrupted. “They took us by surprise. The older one, Evan or whatever his name is, almost killed me.”
“ It’s Earl,” I corrected, for it was a name I would never, ever forget.
“ He pushed me over the balcony,” Jackie continued, “but I was able to hold on until Dean helped me back up.”
“ Oh my gosh!” Claire said, throwing her arms around her. “That’s horrible. Are you okay?”
“ I’m fine,” she breathed out.
“ Where’s Val?” Nick bellowed. “Maybe we can still help her.”
I shook my head. “She’s dead, Nick, and even if she weren’t, she’d be torn into pieces by the time we made it down there. There’s nothing you—or anyone, for that matter—can do.” The sudden realization that I was right hurt me more than Nick’s pained expression. My jaw clenched until I thought my bones might snap.
Claire placed a hand on Nick’s back, trying to steady him, but she didn’t say a word.
“ Don’t!” Nick said, violently shrugging her off.
“ I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered, ignoring his command not to touch him. Even though her words were thin and sparse, I could hear the sincerity in her voice.
Nick nodded and kept his head low, and for a second I thought he was choking back tears. Then, letting out a sudden loud yell, like a war cry, he tore away from Claire and began pounding the wall with his fist, threatening revenge on every single one of those cursed things and on the two men who had done such an awful thing, throwing two helpless women over a banister.
I wanted to stop my brother, but there was no chance. Instead, I fought back the urge to join in his cursing. “I’m sorry, man.” My voice trembled, and I felt a tear roll down my face. Even though Jackie wrapped her arm around me to comfort me, I could barely breathe, and the room around me seemed to grow hot.
“ There was nothing we could do,” Jackie said. “You can’t blame anyone for this except Earl and Tahoe.”
“ We gotta go,” Nick whispered, ignoring her. “If we don’t get outta here, we’ll be next. But first there’s something I need to do for Val.” He disappeared into one of the bedrooms and reappeared a minute later with a gas can. Leaning forward, he started pouring it down from the balcony, soaking the zombies below.
I wanted to stop him before he set the house on fire and risked our lives in the process, but his grim expression stopped me.
“ Fire and explosions are fantastic ways to destroy the walking dead.” Grabbing his lighter, he yelled, “Die, you undead suckers! DIE!”
“ Dean!? Nick!?”
At the sound of Val’s muffled scream, we froze, dead cold.
Claire grabbed Nick’s hand. “STOP! Listen…that’s her!”
I leaned over and saw Val crawling out from under the pack, unscathed. What? How is that possible? They didn’t even touch her?
She stumbled through the moaning crowd and over to the table. There, she bravely snatched the keys and held them up high.
I shot Nick a confused look.
He smiled, mirroring my relief that she wasn’t dead.
“ Meet me out back!” she yelled up.
I nodded and pulled Nick’s arm. “How is that possible? She’s still
“ No!” he screamed as sudden realization set in. “Why the hell didn’t you stop them?”
“ I tried!” I shouted, shoving him as hard as I could. “Why would you think I didn’t try!?”
“ Well, you should’ve tried harder!” he said, pushing me back. “For goodness sake, she was our sister, and you just let those jerks—”
“ Hold on now! We both tried everything we could,” Jackie interrupted. “They took us by surprise. The older one, Evan or whatever his name is, almost killed me.”
“ It’s Earl,” I corrected, for it was a name I would never, ever forget.
“ He pushed me over the balcony,” Jackie continued, “but I was able to hold on until Dean helped me back up.”
“ Oh my gosh!” Claire said, throwing her arms around her. “That’s horrible. Are you okay?”
“ I’m fine,” she breathed out.
“ Where’s Val?” Nick bellowed. “Maybe we can still help her.”
I shook my head. “She’s dead, Nick, and even if she weren’t, she’d be torn into pieces by the time we made it down there. There’s nothing you—or anyone, for that matter—can do.” The sudden realization that I was right hurt me more than Nick’s pained expression. My jaw clenched until I thought my bones might snap.
Claire placed a hand on Nick’s back, trying to steady him, but she didn’t say a word.
“ Don’t!” Nick said, violently shrugging her off.
“ I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered, ignoring his command not to touch him. Even though her words were thin and sparse, I could hear the sincerity in her voice.
Nick nodded and kept his head low, and for a second I thought he was choking back tears. Then, letting out a sudden loud yell, like a war cry, he tore away from Claire and began pounding the wall with his fist, threatening revenge on every single one of those cursed things and on the two men who had done such an awful thing, throwing two helpless women over a banister.
I wanted to stop my brother, but there was no chance. Instead, I fought back the urge to join in his cursing. “I’m sorry, man.” My voice trembled, and I felt a tear roll down my face. Even though Jackie wrapped her arm around me to comfort me, I could barely breathe, and the room around me seemed to grow hot.
“ There was nothing we could do,” Jackie said. “You can’t blame anyone for this except Earl and Tahoe.”
“ We gotta go,” Nick whispered, ignoring her. “If we don’t get outta here, we’ll be next. But first there’s something I need to do for Val.” He disappeared into one of the bedrooms and reappeared a minute later with a gas can. Leaning forward, he started pouring it down from the balcony, soaking the zombies below.
I wanted to stop him before he set the house on fire and risked our lives in the process, but his grim expression stopped me.
“ Fire and explosions are fantastic ways to destroy the walking dead.” Grabbing his lighter, he yelled, “Die, you undead suckers! DIE!”
“ Dean!? Nick!?”
At the sound of Val’s muffled scream, we froze, dead cold.
Claire grabbed Nick’s hand. “STOP! Listen…that’s her!”
I leaned over and saw Val crawling out from under the pack, unscathed. What? How is that possible? They didn’t even touch her?
She stumbled through the moaning crowd and over to the table. There, she bravely snatched the keys and held them up high.
I shot Nick a confused look.
He smiled, mirroring my relief that she wasn’t dead.
“ Meet me out back!” she yelled up.
I nodded and pulled Nick’s arm. “How is that possible? She’s still
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