13. Chapter 12: Saved (1/2)

chapter 12: saved

i felt the zombie's warm

eath tickle my face as he laughed, my vision growing darker. "soon, you…will…be –"

suddenly, the weight of his hands choking my neck was removed, and i collapsed into a heap on the ground, unable to keep myself upright. i still couldn't see much, but i heard a loud thud as something crashed nearby me, and the zombie let out a loud "oompf."

i grasped at the spots on my neck where the zombie had been strangling me and began gasping for air, relief flooding through me as my lungs filled with oxygen, my chest rising and falling quickly as my chest burned. my ears had stopped ringing, so now i could clearly hear what sounded like fists pummeling the zombie, and the zombie sighing "oompf" with each impact. and slowly, the black dots dancing before me were clearing up, and i began to see patches of what was happening as my vision was restored to me gradually. first, i could see that the female zombie i had tackled was slouched against the wall, still unconscious, her mouth hanging open. i could see velma awake and leaning against the wall across from me, her glasses sliding down the

idge of her nose once again. and standing beside velma, his arms draped around her shoulders, was shaggy, with scooby cowering and shaking behind shaggy's legs.

shaggy and scooby?!

my

ain hazily recalled that i had left shaggy, scooby, and freddy in the van when i went into the school for velma only 20 minutes ago. what were they doing here now? and where was fred?

my vision finally cleared, i looked to where the zombie who was attacking me was laying, and felt my body jolted with surprise when i saw freddy straddling the zombie as the zombie lay motionless on the ground, flinching every time fred's fist smashed against the zombie's face.

fred saved me – he had saved my life. if fred hadn't tackled the zombie, i would have been passed out in the zombie's arms, awaiting some sort of horrible fate at the hands of a killer. how had he and shaggy known that velma and i were in danger?

coughing and sputtering still for air, i sat up slowly, my back leaning against the wall for support since i still felt too weak to stand on my own. velma and shaggy looked at me from across the hallway, concern in their eyes. still standing behind shaggy, scooby whined softly as his gaze flitted between me and fred, his eyes wide with worry.

fred finally looked up at me from punching the zombie, and our eyes locked. then he stood up and gave the zombie one final, swift kick into the groin. the zombie moaned softly, flinching only slightly in reaction to the pain: it didn't look like he would be moving anytime soon.

fred moved towards me in three quick bounds and lowered himself to the ground where i was sitting, pulling me into his arms and holding me as i continued to cough for air. "daphne, are you all right?! shaggy and scooby and i saw tons of people running and screaming while we were waiting for you outside the school, and when we heard the zombies were in here attacking everyone, we came looking for you and velma!"

for some reason, hearing him speak to me triggered something deep within me and i began crying, my emotions finally flooding through me like water bursting through a dam. i wrapped my arms around fred's neck and pulled him close against me, relieved that i was given another chance to touch him and see him again. fred kept one arm wrapped tight around my back, while his other hand began stroking my hair softly as i sputtered and choked on my tears.

"it's okay, daph – let it all out." fred murmured in a soothing, quiet tone. "i'm here, and i won't let anything happen to you."

i continued sobbing as freddy held me close, his muscular arms squeezing me as i released all of my emotions. his chest felt soft against mine, and i burrowed my face into the crook of his neck, inhaling him there as i had the other day when we collided in the hallway. even though i was nearly killed by a zombie only moments ago, being wrapped in fred's arms made me feel safe and secure, as if nothing could ever touch me as long as he was holding me.

behind fred's shoulder, i could see shaggy approaching us cautiously. "like, hey guys," shaggy said. "i know that daphne is in shock right now, but like, i think those zombies could decide to wake up at any minute, or like, worse yet, we might see more coming at us like any minute now. i think we need to get movin'!"

fred released me, but he kept his hands on my shoulders. "shaggy is right, gang. we need to get out of here and call the police. daphne, velma – are you two okay to run?"

velma straightened up and smiled, "right now, i feel like i can run faster than shaggy and scooby at an all you can eat buffet, freddy. daphne, are you okay?"

all four of them looked at me, their gazes questioning and probing. i knew they were worried after my emotional outburst, but after seeing velma attacked and after i was nearly suffocated at the hands of a zombie, i was growing more apprehensive about this mystery. this wasn't our usual ballgame; we were accustomed to dealing with disgruntled men and women behind cheap masks who were plotting revenge for one petty reason or another. while it was usually scary at the time, the danger was relatively nonexistent; even when one of us was kidnapped, no one had ever tried to seriously hurt us before. now, the threat and the danger was tangibly real, which was evidenced by the zombies' increased violence and the blood stained on their body. and as velma had said earlier, if we didn't find out who was the ring leader of all this madness, there was no reversing the zombies back into citizens, and who knew how long it would be before we were all eaten or killed by zombies?

but i put on a

ave face and smiled in what i hoped was a convincing manner, looking at each member of the gang as i answered. "yea, i feel fine to run – now let's get out of here!"

fred nodded; he clasped his hands in mine, and pulled me to my feet. "i meant what i said, daph – i'll make sure you stay safe, so please don't worry." he squeezed his hand in mine, and in spite of everything, i could feel my cheeks turning red. "c'mon gang, let's get going!"

the five of us began to run down the hallway, clustered together in a tight group. i shuddered as we raced by the unmoving zombie who had tried to strangle me, squeezing fred's hand in mine as we continued running. we raced towards the stairwell and began descending the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. but as soon as we reached the lower level, the sound of screams and cries assailed our ears. scooby yelped and jumped into shaggy's outstretched arms.