Taut and alert, she laid in bed
with a cell phone in one hand and a candlestick in the other. With her eyes
closed, she listened for the sounds of arrival. She listened for things
signaling Jeff’s return: The rattle of his keys and the wood upon wood struggle
as he displaced and replaced the shelves and drawers used to barricade the
front door. She also listened for the tell-tale sounds of less welcome company. It had been two days
since they’d heard from anyone at all and she was beginning to lose hope. Jeff
had left for food and supplies only a couple hours ago, driving home the fact
that it’d be easier for him to avoid attracting attention if he was alone, but
Joseph and Laura had been gone far longer in their search for more survivors.
The cell phone was on its last bar
and she realized that it’d probably die before she heard from anyone, so she
tossed it the side and sat up. Her eyes were heavy, lack of sleep evident
around the edges. Jeff had urged her to stay awake while he was away and her
mind and body both were paying for it. The previous night’s restlessness had
her tired enough as is.
After
about 5 minutes of staring into the candlelight’s flame and lulling herself
right into a red-orange tinted daydream, she heard the unmistakable jingle of
keys. She started toward the bedroom door, but then she heard one of the
shelves fall over. Jeff was extremely careful, obsessive even. She’d watched
him meticulously place each piece of furniture so the setup would make the
least noise possible when moved. She calmed herself down, thinking he may have
simply slipped.
“Ash…get out.”
She froze. A million thoughts raced through her head. She
couldn’t grab hold of what was going on.
“Out!”
She blew out the candle and grabbed
the stainless .45 off the dresser. She stood away from the door, her back
against the wall next to a boarded up window. She heard a low grunt, followed
by the sound of wood against wood. Then footsteps started up the hall toward
the bedroom. She aimed at the door, gripping the gun just loose enough, just like
Jeff taught her. What could have gone wrong? Jeff wouldn’t have opened the door
with the dead men after him. He would have lost them amongst the other houses
like they talked about......unless he didn’t see it coming. We don’t know how fast
these things really are.
I can’t get bitten by
one of them.
She remembered watching from the
window when all hell broke loose. The people fighting each other for their cars
and the people hit by those same cars. Nothing was worse than the people
getting fed upon. The things would catch them in an iron grip and bite into their
flesh. Then the people would scream and topple over backwards as their life drained from them.
I don't want to change.
She remembered those same people would clumsily stand up and fall into step inciting chaos. They'd attack the same scarred onlookers that had just watched in horror as fathers, mothers, cousins, girlfriends, and mere acquaintances were killed, only to rise up again.
I can't die like that.
She remembered squeezing Jeff's arm while Laura and Joseph made a pact to shoot themselves before having those monsters bite them. She slowly brought the gun to her own temple, her hand shivering uncontrollably.
I won’t die that way
The door slowly began to open.
“Just kid….”
Blam!
