Regan Wolfrom - Catholic Guilt and the Joy of Hating Men

I took off my shirt, trying not to dwell on the sweat stains on my sports bra. I did my best to remember first aid, wrapping the wound as tightly as I could.

“You girls should start running around a little,” Kathleen said. “Spread out.”

“Are you going to get me out of here or what?” Fallon asked.

“We don’t need you anymore.”

“I’ll kill you, Shannard.”

“That’s not how it works, Fallon. Being killed by a zombie doesn’t make you a zombie… it makes you dead.”

Fallon sat down on the ground. “I’m not going to run and hide,” he said.

“Whatever, Fallon. I don’t really care, as long as you’re dead and eaten at the end of this.”

I saw Fallon looking at one of the handguns lying on the ground. I knew what was coming.

He somersaulted towards the gun.

The man with the assault rifle started shooting.

Fallon stopped moving.

“Now go on, girls,” Kathleen said. “Get moving.”

I helped Julia up, her arm wrapped along my shoulders. She was unable to use her right leg, but working together she and I were able to get her hopping on her left.

We walked together as a group, along the fence, moving away from Kathleen and the assault rifle while trying not to get any closer to the oncoming zombies. But there wasn’t really anywhere to go. With Julia we were slower than they were.

“We need to make a run for the front entrance,” Tiara said. “Maybe one or two of us will get through.”

“What about Julia?” sayra asked.

“We need to run.”

“No,” I said. “We should make a run for the horses. We’ll have a better chance on horseback.”

I helped Julia over the fence into the nearest paddock, and a couple of old mares walked up to greet us.

I boosted Julia up on one of the mares. She groaned from the pain, but she was able to hold on.

“I’ve never ridden a horse,” sayra said as she came up behind.

“It’s easier than you think to ride a horse,” I said. “It’s only near impossible to ride one well. I’ll help you.”

I knelt down on one knee beside the other mare and made a step with both of my hands.

“Climb up,” I said.

sayra hesitated for a moment, but then she stepped into my hands and I boosted her up. She almost went over the far side of the horse’s back, but she soon steadied herself.

Tiara and Cadance both climbed onto mounts of their own, Tiara hopping on from a jump and Cadance awkwardly climbing up the front of a Trakehner. I managed to find a quarterhorse, a short little chestnut that stood out among the taller warmbloods. I hopped on, and we started trotting our horses along the fence. If we were lucky we’d reach the stables.

We were circling around the macoutes , but they’d been watching us, shifting direction and heading toward the stables as well. They weren’t mindless; they were matching our moves.

“We’re going to make it,” Julia said.

“We need to speed up,” I said. I brought my quarterhorse up to a gallop.

The other horses did the same, with or without being cued by their riders; no horse wants to be the one that’s left behind.

I heard a scream, and turned to see sayra fall; she was clear of the mare’s hooves, but I knew she wouldn’t be able to catch her horse or get back on.

I didn’t know enough about riding bareback to turn around and help her. I’d have to either get off my horse or leave her.

There was no way I’d be able to help her and still outrun the macoutes .

I started slowing my horse.

“I’ve got her,” Tiara said. “Just keep going.”

She brought her horse around and pulled sayra up.

“They’re too close,” I said. “They’ll catch us when we dismount.”

“Then we don’t dismount,” Cadance said. “We need to ride up the stable aisles. There should be enough clearance.”

“Should be?”

She brought her horse up to the front and kept pushing, arriving first at the stable door. She leaned over and pulled it open, still straddling her horse. She moved on to the stable beside it, as Julia’s horse was catching up.

“That’s good, Cadance,” I said. “Now ride up the aisle.”

She took her horse into the stable, slowing down to a trot.

Julia’s horse hesitated, but eventually followed.

I waited for Tiara and sayra.

The zombies had caught up to them.

“Keep going,” I called out. “You can make it.”

Tiara swung her right leg over and threw herself off the horse.

The macoutes swarmed her. Her horse broke free with sayra on its back, trotting toward the stable.

Tiara didn’t get back up. She was screaming.

I knew sayra would make it inside. I had to see if I could save Tiara.

I couldn’t see what was happening to her; I took a few steps forward. She was crying, shrieking… and then it stopped.

I saw it; the macoutes were feeding on her.

I slowly started back toward the stable door, hoping they wouldn’t notice me.

But one of them was watching me. Then another.

I turned to run.

I reached the door and started to pull.

I felt a hand grab my shoulder.

One of the macoutes threw me to the ground. More of them surrounded me.

They had me pinned, but not one had bitten me.

A macoute stuck his face against my neck and sniffed.

“Just do it,” I said. “Just fucking eat me.”

But they didn’t.

They slowly climbed off of me. They still surrounded me, but as I pushed past them toward the stable they didn’t try to stop me.

I finished opening the door and walked inside, closing it behind me. The macoutes did not follow.

Cadance led us into the hallway to the front door. We found the shotgun lying on the concrete floor. There was no sign of Pouchon.

“Where’s Tiara?” Cadance asked as she swiped her keycard.

“She didn’t make it,” I said.

She nodded. “Just like Rarity. But you made it, somehow.”

“I don’t know why, Cadance. They let me go.”

“Maybe they just hate my family so much they wanted to see you make it out of here.”

She pushed open the door and stepped outside.

The three of us followed behind, Julia clutching onto my shoulder.

I didn’t notice that Kathleen was out there waiting for us. Kathleen and the man with the assault rifle. And Gary, too, still looking a little dazed. And another guy, with yet another assault rifle.

“It feels like you cheated,” Kathleen said.

“Where’s Mike?” I asked.

“He’s dead, thanks.”

“We’re not going back in there,” I said. “You might as well just shoot us.”

“She doesn’t speak for all of us,” Cadance said. “I don’t want you to shoot me.”

“No one needs to be shot,” Kathleen said. “The test was a success.”

“But they made it out,” Gary said. “How is that a success?”

“Shut up. Tell me, girls… did you feel terrorized?”

“Uh, yeah,” Cadance said.

“And the macoutes did eat your sister…”

“Both her sisters,” Gary said.

“Again, Gary. Shut up.” She looked over to me. “Tell me, Amanda, do you feel that these zombies would be effective as an instrument of terror?”

“Yes,” I said. “Your parents would be so proud of you.”

“Good. Then there’s no need to feed more of you to the macoutes . Why that’s a waste of good breeding stock.” She turned to Gary. “Restrain them.”

“With what?” he asked.

“With the plasticuffs… in your jacket pocket… remember?”

Gary bound our wrists behind our backs, starting with me.