“Why are you holding that?”
Shelby looks down at the toy. She had almost forgotten she was still holding it.
“I was going to give it to Matteo. I thought he would like it.” Shelby explains.
“He doesn't need toys. It’ll only distract him.”
Shelby looks confused, “He’s just a kid. What’s wrong with giving him this?”
Linda steps forward, “It’s a distraction! I’m telling you that he doesn't need it… so why are you still holding it?”
Shelby feels uncomfortable, “Sorry… I was just trying to help.”
“We don’t need your help…”
Linda turns and begins to walk back toward the storage room to find her son. Shelby can’t believe what she just heard. Normally, she wouldn't confront someone like this, but she is truly upset.
“You don’t need our help? If it weren't for us, you and your kids would be dead. We saved you. We are the only reason you are still alive.”
Linda stops in her tracks. She feels intimidated by Shelby. She wants to feel the superiority, but she's insecure deep down. Linda wants to show the rest of the group that she is really the one with power. She slowly turns around and looks at Shelby. The two of them stare at each other for a moment. Shelby hasn't seen the dreadful look on Linda’s face before. Now Shelby is the one who feels intimidated.
Linda walks back over to Shelby and stops closer than she normally would. Linda looks down at the toy still in Shelby’s hand.
“Why are you still holding that? Hmm?”
Linda reaches down and takes the toy right out from Shelby's grasp. Neither of them does anything other than look at each other. They both feel the tension now. Linda turns and walks back. She feels anger deep down, but she knows that she's just putting on a show. She isn't the type of person to take any kind of confrontational action. Shelby watches Linda walk back to the storage room. She is not happy with Linda's attitude.
Matteo sits near Sydney as she rests on a blanket. The two of them are laughing about something. They have been speaking as Shelby and Linda had been outside the room. Linda frantically storms into the storage room. She was afraid when she heard laughing. She hasn't seen her son smiling and laughing in a very long time. Usually she would be happy at the sight of this, but it’s a shock to her. Matteo and Sydney turn to face Linda who is still standing in the doorway.
Linda walks in with a shocked look on her face, “What’s going on?”
Sydney looks surprised at her hostility, “We’re just talking…”
Linda becomes angry. A part of her feels jealous towards Sydney. She hasn't been able to make her son feel joy for a long time. Matteo looks innocently at his mother. He doesn't understand why she looks angry.
“What's wrong, Mom?”
“Come here… now!” Linda demands from her son.
Matteo is quick to get up and go to Linda. He is afraid of his mother whenever she is angry. Sydney is shocked by this. She feels attacked. She was just trying to pass the time and put a smile on the kids face. She doesn't understand what Linda’s problem is.
Matteo walks up to Linda, still confused and afraid by her anger. She looks down at him, ready to scold him, but she says nothing. She quickly realizes how hostile she is being toward Sydney and Shelby. She doesn't really have any reason to, and she begins to feel embarrassed. Matteo looks at his Mom as the anger leaves her eyes. He becomes comfortable now and notices the toy in her hand. Matteo smiles as his imagination runs with all sorts of ideas.
“Is that for me?” Matteo asks.
Linda looks down at the toy. Just like Shelby, she too forgot about it in her hand. She remembers what she told Shelby about the toy, but she also doesn't want to disappoint her son. She was never good at saying no to her children and seeing him happy is starting to control her emotion. Linda hesitates, but inevitably nods to her son. Matteo smiles again and subtly takes the toy from her hand. He looks at it closely and walks away. Just like that, Matteo is distracted and drawn into a false reality. All the things kids think about pop back into his mind. For a long time, all he thought about were the people that he knew who died, but now, he is only thinking about superheroes.
Linda smiles as she watches her son get lost in a world of innocence. She feels like she made him happy, and a sense of optimism crosses her mind. She sees hope that her son can still have some sort of childhood. She was right about one thing though; the toy is a distraction.
Sydney is a little agitated by Linda’s hostility, but once she sees him playing with the toy, she too can't help but smile. She feels that same optimism. Linda notices Sydney on the floor. Her smile is bright. Linda wonders how she could smile when she is hurt and in pain. She begins to think about the way she's been acting around this new group. She wonders if she is making a mistake, and if she should change. Linda doesn’t have it in her to change or apologize at the very least. She turns to look back at Matteo, but in the corner of her eye, she sees someone in the doorway of the storage room. Linda turns to see Shelby standing in the doorway, just looking at her. Linda sees a look of disappointment and disgust on Shelby's face. She had told her to leave the toy, yet she just gave it to Matteo. She understands why Shelby is mad, but she doesn't plan on doing anything about it. Shelby turns and walks back out into the store. Linda feels intimidated again. She doesn't feel safe anymore with this group, as she feels like they are not all on the same side. Linda looks down at the floor, think about what she should do.
Sydney looks away from Matteo. She begins to think about all the times when she was his age. She remembers how simple life was, and how happy she was. She remembers playing with her sister and brother, and also with Matthew. They all grew up together, so they could experience it all at the same time. Sydney begins to think about Matthew as she lays on the ground. Immense guilt overcomes her. Her mind begins to run wild with all the thoughts of what is happening to her cousin. He could be anywhere, and more haunting, he could be dead. Sydney becomes upset at the thought of this. She was the one who brought him out to drive, so she feels responsible for what happened. But even if she wasn't the reason they were out there, she still cares about him, and would never want anything bad to happen to him. Sydney raises her right hand. On her middle finger is a gold ring that she had been wearing this entire time. She never thought about it until now, but something about the ring feels weird to her. She continues to stare at it, but the thought of her cousins wellbeing quickly pops into her mind once again. She knows she is injured, but she doesn't want to sit around doing nothing. Sydney wants to help her cousin.
Linda snaps back after a long thought. She has made up her mind. She knows how she feels about this new group. Linda walks over to her son, and gently grabs his arm. He looks up at her, confused as to why she is holding him.
“Common. Let’s go talk for a little bit.” Linda says while smiling.
Matteo nods to his Mom. He is a little confused, but he decides to go with her anyways. The two of them leave the room. Sydney watches them leave and begins thinking about how she could help save Matthew.
Linda and Matteo walk out from the storage room. They begin walk away from the room to find a secluded area where they can talk. Linda wants to tell her son some things, but she doesn't want Shelby or Sydney to hear. As they walk, Linda sees Shelby standing near the checkout counter. She has a bandana over her mouth and nose, most likely to block out the smell and any kind of bacteria from the bodies. Shelby looks over at Linda as the two walk away. Shelby still doesn't look happy, but she decides to move on with what she is doing. She bends over and grabs the arms of one of the corpses and begins pulling. She drags the body toward the front door of the store. It is clear to Linda that Shelby is trying to dispose of the bodies.
Linda and Matteo reach a secluded area behind some aisles. They are far enough to have a private conversation with her son, but she is still cautious. She peaks over the aisle and watches Shelby drag the body outside the front door. As soon as sh
e leaves the building, Linda kneels to face her son. She knows she can talk now.
“Listen, Matteo. I don’t trust these people.”
Matteo looks confused, “Why?”
Linda doesn’t know how to answer that. She is quick to respond, “Well… why do you trust them?”
“They saved us… they’re good. Not everyone is bad.”
“I know… not everyone. But you see, these people are just a bunch of kids. They don’t know what they’re doing, and they’re going to get us in trouble.” Linda explains.
“How do you know?”
“Listen… we are not safe. Not here… not anywhere. But the thing is, we’d be safer if we were on our own. Not with these people. It only takes one second for you to die. Just like that… and it’s all over.” Linda says.
Matteo looks down at the ground. He becomes sad as he begins to think about Jacob. He feels guilty for what happened to him. Linda knows this, as she also knows that Matteo is partly responsible. Matteo attracted the group of infected that ended up cornering them in that backyard. She knows that Jacob was bitten because of him, but she doesn't want him to feel guilty.
“Hey… look at me.” Linda says.
Matteo looks up. He is emotional after thinking about what had happened to Jacob. Linda knows he feels responsible.
“What happened to Jacob had nothing to do with you.”
“He died, Mom. He’s gone.”
Linda becomes emotional as well, “I know. A lot of people are gone now. Dad… your aunt and uncle… your friend Tyler… your cousin. It’s how things are now. We can’t ever know who’s gonna go next, or when. We just have to be ready for it. Someday I’m gonna be gone… and your sister might be too. But you have to stay strong, no matter what happens.” Linda takes a deep breath, “You shouldn't be playing with toys. I wish you could have the same childhood your sister had, but that's not gonna happen. You’re not a kid anymore, Matteo. You can’t be.”
Matteo wipes a tear from his eye. He doesn't want to be referred to as a child, so he tries to act strong. Deep down, he knows he’s a kid, and that he can't handle all this.
“Once your sister gets back… I think we should leave. I think we’ll be safe on our own again.” Linda says.
Matteo doesn't respond. He doesn't know how he feels about leaving, but his Mom is his hero. He trusts her and will do whatever she asks. Linda sees the distress in her son's eyes. She wants to comfort him and make him feel safe.
“Come here.” Linda says with a subtle smile.
She opens her arms wide, welcoming a hug. Matteo sees this and hugs his Mom. She holds him close and rests her head on his shoulder. A tear runs down her cheek as she thinks about what she just told her son.
*****
Shelby lets go of the arms after dragging a few yards away. She looks down at the corpse and sees nothing but death in its eyes. She never stopped to look at an infected close up like this. She is only now seeing how horrifying they truly are. Shelby turns around, ready to walk back to the store to drag another body. Once she sees how far the store is, she stops and thinks.
She sees the subtle light shining through the window, most likely coming from the storage room. Shelby thinks about her sister for a moment. She is extremely lucky with the injury she has. If Sydney was hurt anymore, she would most likely be dead. Shelby knows this, as she knows her own capabilities. She realizes that she was just going to med school before the end of the world. She isn't a doctor or surgeon. She can’t treat extreme wounds; only minor ones. She helped Matthew with his wound, but if it were more serious, there wouldn't be much for her to do.
She begins walking back to the store, but her pace is very slow. She begins to think about the people that are gone now. She thinks about her parents, and her friends. Some of them she never heard from. She wonders if any of them are still alive out there, but she knows that it doesn't matter. She knows she will never see them again. Shelby stops walking again. All this deep thought is bringing out emotion that she had been suppressing. She hadn’t had a second to breathe in a while. She had always been on high alert or had been dealing with some kind of grief. She still is, but now she is all alone.
Shelby begins to cry as she stands in the parking lot. She is surrounded by nothing but darkness. She cries as she thinks about where she is in this life, and where her family is. She can’t help but feel sorrow. She turns and looks over at the vehicles in the parking lot. The sight of the vehicles triggers something in her head. She remembers the events that took place earlier today. She remembers Matthew leaving with her sister in a vehicle. All this makes her realize the severity of their situation.
She stops crying as she thinks about Matthew. It took up until now to realize that he could be in great danger, and that Michael is going out to find him. She only now realizes that her family is tearing itself apart.
*****
Sydney turns and looks out the storage room door. She sees Linda and Matteo walk by, but they are not heading toward the room. She knows she has some time now to make a move. She slowly rolls over onto her side and pushes off the ground. She quickly feels a sharp pain on her hip where the wound is, but she doesn't care. Sydney leans on and uses a nearby counter as support. She gets up to her feet and takes a moment to maintain balance. She is still in pain, but she doesn't plan on stopping here. She looks around the room to see if there is anything of use. She need some kind of weapon to protect herself. All she has is her machete, but it's not enough. She knows she needs some kind of firearm.
Suddenly, she notices Linda’s handgun on the shelf next to the storage room door. She wonders why Linda doesn’t have it on her, but she doesn't care. Sydney begins to walk with a limp toward the gun, but the pain comes back. She stops walking, clenches her fist as she endures the pain, and mentally prepares herself. Sydney begins walking again, but this time, she doesn't stop. The pain kicks in with every step, but she is fighting it on the inside. She eventually reaches the shelf and takes the hand gun. She unloads the magazine. It is full. She loads the gun and takes the safety off. Sydney is ready now. She has every intention to go out and find her cousin.
Sydney walks through a smaller door that was hidden in the back of the storage room. She doesn't want to leave through the main doors, as she doesn’t want anyone to see her leave. The last thing she wants if for anyone to try and stop her, or worse, try and help. She can’t handle the thought of getting anyone else hurt. She feels that she should just leave, and do the right thing, even if she gets in a worse situation because of it.
Sydney looks around this darker room that she had never been in before. She can’t tell what the room was meant for, but it doesn't matter. It seems pretty much cleared out, and all she cares about is finding a back door to the building. Sydney finds a large door with what used to be an exit sign right above it. The lights don't work, as there is no power in the building. She knows where she has to go next.
Sydney slowly opens the back door of the building, and steps out into the dark night. She holds one hand on her hip to control the pain, and her other hand holds the hand gun. She quickly feels uneasy about what she's doing. She's afraid to be out in the dark like this. She tries to push the emotion back and remembers what she did earlier. She was injured from the crash and still got back to the group. If she could do that, she could do this too.
She slowly begins walking away from the building. She sees a nearby tree line and plans on heading into it. She figures that if she could go through the woods and find a street, she could navigate herself back to the crash site and trail the truck from there. She doesn't want to go the same way that she came, as that would require her to go to the front of the building, and she knows someone may see her.
Sydney continues to walk with the gun in her hand. She takes one step with her bad leg, and accidentally steps on a rock. Her hip leans into the step at an awkward angle, causing unexpected pain. Sydney stops walking and lets out a subtle cry.
She stands there in
pain, but she snaps back once she hears something not too far ahead. Sydney looks up and sees a figure walking in the woods up ahead. She can’t make out what it is, but it is coming closer. She begins to panic. If it’s an infected, she's going to have to kill it. If it’s a person, she doesn't really know what she would do. She takes a few steps back, preparing for whatever comes out of those woods. The figure steps out and reaches the moonlight. Sydney is relieved to see that it's only an infected.
She continues to walk backward, and she quickly holsters the handgun. She doesn't want to shoot the infected, as it would attract the others inside, and possibly more infected from the wilderness. Sydney pulls out her machete and prepares to fight. She steps back and gets fairly close to the wall of the building. The infected nears, and locks onto Sydney. It has every intention to tear her apart with its rotten teeth.
The infected lunges forward, and Sydney swings the machete. She misses the head but strikes the neck. The machete swiftly travels through the skin on the infecteds neck. Blood spills out, but the infected still stands. She knows that she needs to strike the head to kill it. That swing just caused her a lot of pain, so she already is starting to regret this. Sydney pushes herself up against the wall, trying to escape. She has nowhere to go, and the infected continues to pursue. The infected lunges forward again. Sydney panics and holds the machete in front of her. The blade stabs the infected right through its torso. It is still alive, but the blade is preventing it from chomping down on her face. Sydney falls in fear, still holding the machete. The infected falls down with her, still trying to bite. She can’t pull the blade out, so there is only one thing left to do. Sydney reaches back and pulls out Linda’s handgun. She aims it at the infecteds temple and pulls the trigger. The loud gunshot causes ringing in the ear. The bullet travels fast, causing a large exit wound on the infecteds skull. The corpse falls forward onto Sydney. The deadweight causes even more pain for her. She screams and cries for help, as she cannot help herself in any way.
Mankind Page 15