Sam. Oh god no.

She opened her mouth to shout at him to follow her. Nothing. Frowning, she screamed and yelled at the top of her lungs but it was like her voice was stuck in her throat.

The silence around them was suddenly broken by guttural growls, a familiar sound that struck terror into her heart. As the army of undead marched towards Sam, he just stood there, looking at her through wide, fearful eyes. There was no weapon in his hands and he made no effort to find one.

She looked down, finding a baseball bat in her hands. Her head jerked up again. When she saw the number of undead she was facing, her spirits dropped. There was no fucking way she could kill all of them. Her gaze found Sam again and she gestured to him that she was going to save him. But still no response from him.

The undead were closing in. She had to move fast. Hunching, she made to sprint and pumped her legs-

What??

Panic rose in her chest. She yanked her legs up but they were glued fast to the ground. The undead were surrounding Sam and as she watched on helplessly, they started to eat him alive. He remained silent, only his eyes seemed to plead for help as he stared unblinkingly at her. Her stomach roiling at the sight, she sobbed soundlessly, her bat shaking in her hands.

With one human down, the undead turned their attention to her, their grimy, bloodied hands reaching out for fresh meat. She struggled against the strange force holding her down, recklessly swinging her bat around as she did. She hit one, two, maybe three undead but they just kept on coming from all directions!

Another swing of her bat was stopped by a creepy smiling undead woman and yanked away from her. With no more weapons, she whimpered as they grabbed parts of her body, sinking their teeth into her flesh. A scream hurtled out of her lips and her hands clawed desperately-

                                                                  ~ ~ ~

“Hey! Wake up already!”

Her eyes flew open. Seeing a shadowy figure in her blurry vision, she screamed in fright and threw flailing punches at it. But in seconds, her arms were caught in a steel grip, her body trapped beneath a heavy weight.

“Lou. Wake. Up.”

The sound of her name dispersed the fog over her mind. She blinked a few times, clearing her vision. Grey eyes looked down at her, a grim look on his face. It took her a second to connect the face to a name and immediately, her chest deflated. Her breathing slowly returned to normal, the tension in her body disappeared.

Letting go of her arms, Matt stood up. “Finally you’re awake. You look like shit,” he asked, a tinge of concern in his voice despite the harsh words.

She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her palm. Her hand came away wet with sweat. Her whole body was drenched in it and burning up with heat.

“Yeah it’s just a nightmare,” she murmured as she slowly reoriented herself with reality. Her eyes slowly shifting to Matt, the sight of small red lines on his upper arm brought a worried frown. “Is that…”

He followed her gaze to the scratch marks. “Oh that.” He clicked his tongue. “You were one tough cat in your nightmare.”

She winced. “Sorry.”

Waving a hand in dismissal, he grabbed the backpack and rifle he had left on the wooden floor. “Anyway, just wanted to make sure you were up before I go out and get more wood.”

“Wood?” Her brow furrowed. She swung her legs off the bed and slipped her feet into her boots. “Don’t we have enough in the supply room?”

Matt pointed a finger to the boarded windows. “Not in this weather, no.”

She gulped, a spark of anxiety igniting. She took a step forward towards the windows and peered out through the boards. Snow fell in droves onto the blanket of white covering the ground. It must have been snowing the last couple of hours, judging by its thickness.

He was right, there wouldn’t be enough wood. She pulled on her black knee-length military jacket. “I’m coming with you.”

He scoffed and trudged out of the bedroom with her following close behind. “No, a kid like you would just be a burden out there.”

“Wha-?!” Indignant, she was about to set him straight when he fixed her in a hard gaze.

“Stay here.” His voice was firm and unyielding. Their eyes engaged in a silent battle until his gaze softened. “Just rest. You’ll be safer inside.”

Her expression changing to one of surprise, she watched as he headed for the front door. The view of his back reminded her of Sam, of her dream, of what she felt as she watched him get eaten.

“Hey,” she called out, stopping him before he twisted the doorknob. She dug her hands in her coat’s pockets and cleared her throat as she mustered the words. “I’m sorry… about yesterday.”

“You were right.” She swallowed hard as the ache in her heart deepened. “There was nothing you could have done to save us.”

Matt paused. He turned his head to the side, not quite looking at her, his voice etched with resignation. “There was nothing you could have done too.”