The girl pointed toward the front where the driver side is. Jenny crawled up to it and grabbed the kit, then crawled back to the girl. She took out the gauze, first using her sanitation wipes to clean her gunshot wound, and then wrapping it. She gave the girl the kit," Here, keep this in your backpack," the girl put the kit in her purple, pink, and black bag," What's your name?"
"Laura," she said in a whisper.
"Okay, we're gonna leave the bus," Jenny told her," we're gonna be doing a lot of running.”
“But those monsters are going to get us,” the little girl whined,” I don’t think I can.” Jenny oddly knew how the girl felt, because that’s what she had said to her father before he died. The little girl was like her, except she had blond hair and blue eyes.
“We’ll make it, I made it,” the little girl looked down at Jenny’s wounded leg with doubt,” do you know how to swing a weapon or anything?” The girl nodded a little. “Good, 'cause once we find some weapons, we're gonna need to do a lot of that. C'mon," she said softly and the two of them climbed out of the bus, the little girl gripping her backpack. Looking around, Jenny nodded," Alright, don't worry, I'll keep you safe, let's go." The two of them began to roam the streets, in search of weapons as cautiously as possible. Jenny smiled inside, thinking that if the others could see her now, she would be showing them just how to rescue survivors the right way.
In the tunnel, Holly watched the dark haired guy sharpen a machete," How long do we have to stay here?"
"Probably as long as they're alive," Keith whispered to her, drinking the alcohol. Evan walked over to them and knelt down in front of Avery.
"So," he began, pausing," how did you and your friends manage to make it this far? Without getting bit, scratched or anything? I'm sure you've lost people along the way."
"Yes," she paused and sniffed.
"Tell me about it," he said,” Charles enjoys hearing how others made it.”
"We came from Colorado," Avery itched her nose," Alex and his brother, Justin, saved Holly, Keith, and I. We went to Lubbock, Texas, where we found Jenny, Joel, and Zackary. And while in Lubbock, we were attacked by a few people who took our vehicle and was demanding our money. Later down the line, we stopped in Topeka, where we met a scientist, named Pherson. Alec Pherson;" just then, the chestnut haired guy stopped reading a novel he had jacked from a store, and looked over, his heart racing," And while he told us everything about what happened, a group of people tried breaking into the hotel and attracted zombies. We lost Joel, Zackary, Justin, and Pherson there." Evan examined her then the others.
"What about those bandages on your friend there," he gestured at Keith.
"We were beaten," Keith answered,” just like she said.” Avery caught a hint of sarcasm in his tone and he took a drink from his beer.
"Yeah, we got beaten and robbed at a Wal Mart in Texas," Avery added,” Keith was shot, Alex thrown through a glass door or window. The rest of us beaten or pistol whipped.”
"Did the scientist tell you anything important?" Cut in the chestnut haired guy. They sat in silence until Keith spoke up.
"There's no cure," he said.
"Of course not," Lucinda said, arms crossed," There's never a cure until way later when it's too late." She rubbed her eyes.
"It began in the desert," Alex said, catching everyone’s attention,” out in Nevada, which we don't know where exactly. He told us that a guy in charge of the project made him and others create a virus, inject it into a few living people and dead bodies, and release the living people out into the world while they kept the dead bodies there with them to study. New York City's blocked off, which is where all the higher ranked people in the U.S. have gone for sanctuary."
"He also mentioned that those left of the government of each country are planning on dropping bombs everywhere, thinking it'll kill off most of them," Keith said.
"And they think that'll help,” Evan mumbled, standing back up.
"We've noticed something else," Alex said," when Avery and I were in hiding. The zombies are evolving, mutating. And those bombs dropping are gonna kill us if we're unlucky enough. We need to get to a safer place."
"We're all gonna die either way," the chestnut haired guy said with a shrug," so what's the point of even trying to survive."
"I'm not going down without a fight," Nick said out loud," I'd rather be out there killing as many of those zombies as I can before I die than just sitting here waiting on being killed." No one else spoke for a while, until Lucinda spoke up.
"...Maybe we should go out there," she said to her group.
"Are you kidding me??" Charles said, raising his eyebrows," what makes you think it's safe out there compared to in here?"
"For one, we can't help people while sitting in here, waiting to be bombed. There could be survivors out there hiding in their basements or attics. There could be children out there. Babies. Even you, Charles, lost your fiancée and two year old son... Don't you want to fight for them??" Charles just stared at Lucinda, and the pain came back, he turned away to think.
"Maybe we can find Jenny too," Holly said to them.
"What makes you think she's still alive," Jeff asked, looking at her. Holly just looked at him then turned away. No one else spoke, Alex and his group looked at one another, the others whispering amongst themselves while Trevor stood to himself, continuing with working on the knives. Later on, everyone was preparing to go to sleep, claiming areas and the chestnut haired guy walked up to Holly.
"Did Pherson tell you more?" He handed Holly a beer, ignoring the fact that she was under 21 years.
"He told us," she paused to take a drink," he has a brother. Somewhere here in Ohio. He told Alex's brother, Justin, that his brother's name is Drew." She took another drink.
"What happened to him?"
"He's dead," she answered bluntly,” he remained behind and likely got eaten or bit then turned.” She looked at him since he was now silent, and realizing the look on his face, it all added up and she lowered the beer bottle,"... You're Drew?"
"Yeah," he paused and shrugged, trying to not seem so sad," Life goes on." And they both drank their beer. He changed the subject," Aren't you under age?"
"Oh I am underage, but it doesn't mean this is my first time drinking beer," she took another swig," I used to party a lot with my boyfriend." And she shrugged," but vodka... That's a different story. I’m avoiding that." Alex walked over toward Avery and sat down.
"...They lost Jenny," he told her.
"I know," she responded," I assumed that instantly when we were brought in here and she wasn’t here." Alex looked at her then down at the ground.
"You sure you don't want a drink?"
"I'm good, I think I'd rather be free of alcohol at all times. It's really not the best timing to even start either." Alex stood back up, stumbling a little.
"You're loss, Ave," he slurred and smiled at her before walking away, almost falling over.
"Lights out," Charles announced," let's get some rest, then in the morning, we'll go looking for your little friend. If she's even alive." Nick shut the little lamps off with one handheld switch, leaving the tunnels in complete darkness.
Avery woke up, thinking she heard a noise, but instead could only hear someone snoring. Likely someone in the other group. She rolled over onto her left side, facing the wall and just laid there, no longer feeling the need to sleep. She wasn’t sure if they should trust these people. But it seemed like Alex was trusting them.
67 feet from where she was lying, Trevor also laid there, staring up at the dark ceiling, hardly getting to sleep either.
"Everyone gather around," Charles said. Once it hit around 10, just like Trevor had told Avery, everyone was waking up and getting prepared," today we're going out there in two groups, more or less. Look for supplies and ammo if possible."
"Wait, I thought you said we were gonna look for Jenny?" Keith asked.
"If you come across
her while doing the errands."
"So you just lied to us then," he argued back," you just wanted us to do your groups dirty work then." Holly shook her head slowly, Keith’s voice causing her temples to ache.
"If the little dumb ass hadn't ran away then you wouldn't be needing to have her as another work priority," Charles responded then looked at the others," how about two groups with six. Will, Lucinda, Drew, and I will go. Evan, Nick, Trevor, and Jeff will be a group too."
"We get to be on our own?" Alex asked. Charles chuckled.
"Hell no, you," he gestured at Keith," and you tall chick, come with us. The short girl and you go with them. Ya'll listen and do as you're told by the four of them, got it," he looked over at Jeff," give them a couple weapons." Jeff gave the new comers a .44 magnum each, a knife, and extra ammo plus a bag for any supplies found. The two groups left the safe zone, stepping outside to a grey sky. Holly shut her eyes, feeling blinded and the headache worsening by it. Charles led his group in the truck while the other group took the paddy wagon. Charles' group went left as the other group traveled right, both vehicles parting ways.
Jenny and Laura awakened in the empty Laundromat, seeing it was finally daylight out. “Come on,” Jenny said to the little girl and they got up from the floor, leaving the small building. The two girls ran down the streets, finally mastering the maneuvers of avoiding being seen by the dead. They watched as the undead walked around, a group of them beating on a door to a building, they could hear screams from within. “Keep moving,” Jenny instructed and they ran further down a street. Stopping near an alley, they stood there to take a breath when Jenny noticed a two story house at the end of the block. Thinking it would be the best place to be, she gestured at the girl to follow her and they ran down the street, approaching the house. It was white with a large glass window to their left. Walking up the two steps, Jenny twisted the door knob and they walked in, the door not being locked. Laura shut the door behind them and looked around, smelling something cooking.
“It smells like meat,” Laura said to Jenny,” I don’t like it here.” Jenny looked at the young girl, tugging on her jacket sleeve. Jenny looked around, trying to find the aroma. Walking into the room at the end of the foyer, the two girls walked into a kitchen, seemingly clean. But what they witnessed would scar Laura for the rest of her life and make Jenny question all people from now on. Blood was smeared all over the counter tops, the kitchen island, and on the floor in front of the stove. Hacked up body parts laid out on display for anyone to see. Smoke arose from the stove top, a pan containing cooking meat. And a meat grinder rested on the island. They watched it come out the other end in long strings as a middle aged man stood on the other side, turning the grinder handle while wearing a blood stained apron. He looked up at them and Jenny shoved Laura down the hall.
“Run,” she screamed out and they ran down the hall. The man grabbed his shotgun up and stood out in the hall. He pulled the trigger and the bullet hit the wall near the front door, causing both girls to stop running.
“You forgot to knock,” he said in a menacing tone, reloading the shotgun before walking up toward them, Jenny slowly turning to look at the stranger, fear deep down.
Alex and Avery followed Jeff, Trevor, and Nick into a three story building, it was once a Bed and Breakfast that Jeff knew of, his grandparents always went there every other weekend for breakfast. Nick made his way up stairs,” Alex,” Jeff said,” go with him.” Alex walked up stairs to help Nick, the other three checking the first floor.
“Wouldn’t it make better sense to send someone up to the second floor and someone up to the third floor,” Avery asked, holding the gun.
“I already know what’s up on the third floor,” Jeff responded,” storage or old curtains and furniture. Nothing useful to us.” Avery looked away, studying the paintings hanging along the walls. She studied the nearest one of a woman dressed in a Victorian Era dress, a large white hat with a ruby and a decorative feather. She appeared to be staring off toward the front door of the Bed and Breakfast.
“You like art,” she turned around, seeing Trevor looking at it too.
“Yeah,” she said and then began recalling the day it began. She stopped looking at the painting to not think about it anymore when the phone near the front desk began ringing. She jumped and looked over at it.
“You need to hurry it up,” Jeff said out loud at the stairs,” we have at least two hours before Charles calls us up.” Avery stared at it then Trevor shook his head.
“It’s likely nothing,” he said and turned away. She looked at him and made her way toward the phone. Picking it up, she responded.
“Hello?”
“We need help, please,” a man on the other end begged,” they’re after us.”
“Where are you,” Avery asked. Trevor stood at the nearest table, listening.
“We’re,” the phone began to cut out, static interfering with the conversation. She could no longer make out what he was saying to her, all she could hear now were screams on the other end, the screams cutting out as well.
“What are you doing?” She looked to her left, Jeff took the phone from her and set it back down.
“There was someone on the other end.”
“I doubt that,” he said,” this city lost electric a few days after the zombies came here.” She looked back at the phone and began to feel like she was losing her mind more each day.
“I told you it’s likely nothing,” Trevor said to her and they were joined with Alex and Nick.
“Let’s go,” Jeff ordered and they left the building. Avery curious why Trevor had told her it’s likely nothing in the first place if Jeff hadn’t heard the ringing. The group continued walking down the streets, in search of supplies.
Charles led his group down a trashed alley,” here,” he gestured at Holly and Keith,” my people are going in the search this building.”
“What about us then,” Keith asked him. Charles gestured around, lighting a cigarette.
“Dig through the garbage for anything useful.” Holly dropped her arms down to her sides in fustration while Keith scratched the back of his neck, staring at the dumpster across from them.
“I don't feel good though,” Holly whined to Keith.
“Well then maybe you shouldn't have drank all that beer last night,” he told her and climbed inside the dumpster, Holly huffing before joining him in the foul smelling trash that hasn't been emptied for over a couple months. Charles sat on a few crates, making himself comfortable to enjoy a smoke break, keeping an eye out for zombies and an eye on the two teens. Keith threw out old card board boxes, damaged from likely rain. The day before he, Holly, and Jenny had come to Cleveland, they had been rained upon through the night.
Holly dug around, the smell reaching her and making her stomach turn even more. She moved aside some bags and found herself peering in a torn open bag of molded food. It looked to have been half a burger before it was thrown out; and now there was maggots all over the meat, the buns a disgusting green color and the cheese smelled horribly. Finally not able to stand it, Holly felt the vomit coming and she threw up on the burger. Keith stopped digging.
“Seriously, Holly,” he said and jumped out of the dumpster. She spit out the bits and dry heaved a few times before finally climbing out as well, leaning against the wall.
“At least it was in the dumpster,” she breathed, wanting to get the taste of the alcohol from last night out of her mouth. Will, Lucinda, and Drew came out and looked over at them and Charles, who was still sitting there smoking, silently chuckling to himself at Holly's vomiting moment.
“There's nothing in there worth taking,” Will said to Charles,” just a few home decorating magazines if you want to do some interior decorating of the tunnels.” Drew and Lucinda looked over at the dry heaving and spitting Holly, leaning over. Lucinda gestured.
“What's up with her?”
“She's just hanging over,” Charles said,
putting out the cigarette and standing up,” threw up in the dumpster a moment ago. Let's go.” They began leaving the alley, Will and Charles checking out in the streets first. Drew dug in his bag and handed Holly a bottle of water.]
“Rinse your mouth out,” he told her and they walked on. Holly opened the bottle immediately and poured water in her mouth, waterfalling it then swished around before spitting it out. They walked along the street, their vehicle two blocks down the street.
“Why didn't we take the truck down here instead of leaving it parked way down the street,” Keith asked the SGO members.
“Safety precautions,” Will responded,” it's how we've always done things and we stick to that.” They continued walking when Charles looked down a street to the left of them and noticed the group of undead not far from them.
“We should move on,” Holly mumbled, trying not to alert the undead.
“There's something you need to learn about our group,” Charles began and aimed his gun,” we don't run from them.” Holly and Keith looked at the others in the group, also raising their weapons, and they began firing their guns. Charles stopped and looked at them while the others continued firing,” so to join our group, you either fire back or die.” Holly looked at Keith, while Keith watched the zombies beginning to run toward them. The SGO members stood their ground, stilling firing, taking turns on stopping to reload their clips. Holly looked around, making sure all the gun shots didn't draw attention as she began wondering if Alex and Avery are going through this lesson too.
Minutes passed when finally, the zombies down that particular street, were all gunned down. Keith stared at the dead bodies, laid out in random areas of the street while the SGO continued walking down the street. Holly turned away from the dead bodies, not wanting to throw up again and jogged to catch up with the others. She walked beside Keith,” I think we should leave,” she whispered to him where the others couldn't hear,” I don't feel right about these people.”
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