Zoe, who now watched her friend's backs, bit the inside of her lip. Her head tilted to the left as her eyes drifted from them to the woman. She looked young, rebellious, like her teenage sister, but tamer. "Miss, who are you?"
Ermintrude snorted."Ermintrude grove."
The children gazed at her, trying to comprehend if she said anything. A buzzing disrupted their hearing. They squinted and leaned toward her.
Ermintude turned her head to study the children. Her eyes zeroed in on their bleeding ears. She stormed toward them with rolling eyes. Great, another thing she will have to fix.
One boy and girl, braver than the rest of their little group, quickly held hands, pressing the others behind them. Their little bodies shook.
As Ermintrude grew closer, black scribble lines slowly leaped from the children. The lines turned into vocabulary only Ermintrude could read. Terror, fear, and bravery formed and zoomed toward her. The squabble lines that formed bravery fell to the asphalt, disappearing into nothing.
The other emotions flew to Ermintude, flowing onto her skin. Her head tilted up as her arms moved to the front of her. Her hands flexed in and out. "Yes..." Her eyes rolled back. "I need more. I am so hungry." Her fangs slowly broke through her gums.
One kid opened their mouth, screaming. The others soon followed afterward.
As the children screamed, zombies emerged from different locations.
Ermintude's head snapped forward. She narrowed her eyes. "They fed me. So now I have to lessen their trauma." She strode forward toward the mass of gathering zombies. Her fangs stood out against her pale pink lips.
Ermintude reached for the first zombie. It lunged at her, and she lunged for it, snapping its neck. She then bit down, pulling back. As she pulled away, a piece of neck skin dangled from her mouth. A dried, powdery-like substance spread into the air. She spat the dried skin out.
Her eyes turned black. She screamed while dropping the zombie. "You taste so horrible. And l am hungry!" Ermintrude charged into the mass, breaking different ones and catching certain others on fire. Her clothes, face, and hair and asphalt were littered with chucks of zombie and their powdery residue.
The children watched with wide eyes until the dull sound of a blaring horn and multiple vehicles caught the children's attention. Some kids gulped. Even through their strained hearing, the roar of the engines echoed.
When the vehicles stopped, the mothers rushed forward. They fawned over their children, noticing something was off. They looked toward the men, who folded their arms looking down at their kids.
The children trembled, looking at their parents.
A dark red truck with high beams pulled close to the developing and decimated horde. Two men exited, one wearing a leather jacket, with a good smile, and had dark eyes. The other tall, close-shaven blonde with blue eyes in a white T-shirt.
The black-haired man raised a gun and fired it.
Ermintrude was still enthralled in her zombie massacre. Until the bang shifted her attention. She narrowed her eyes. The audacity of him to stand so close yet so far away. Draven Rivers. A vampire... Her once-upon-a-time companion. How dare he look so perfect with that smile and tight self.
"Hey, dollface," Draven spoke with a low rumble. "I know we have our issues, and I did fuck your mother."
Ermintrude dropped the zombie she held currently and stormed over. She grabbed him by his arm and swung Draven, revealing his neck.
Draven's eyes widened, and then he felt her fangs. He grimaced.
Ermintrude drunk closing her eyes. Velvety, warm, thin, not enough."Hmmm." She reluctantly pulled away. Her eyes caught sight of the tall, blonde man holding a truck door open for her.
"Hey sugar plum," Tex spoke with a broad smile. " I got this seat for you."
Ermintrude swirled around and immediately stripped down to her bra and underwear. She crawled into the passenger seat Tex offered her.
Tex closed the door and walked over to the driver's side. He slid in, eyeing her up and down. "Cute polish, if you still had it, you could sell it."
Draven climbed in the back, holding his neck. "She's too much for you, Tex."
"A little dirty, but a shower and good food will lighten her up. It helps I didn't bang her momma."
"Tex, you would be playing with more than fire." Draven warned.
Ermintrude turned her head. "Shut it."
"says the woman who ripped my neck open," Said Draven.
She frowned and faced the front.
Tex glanced at the rearview mirror with narrowed eyes before starting the vehicle.
After a few moments, a horde of engines followed them.