When The Dead Came 2 (2 page)

“Look
then, genius, and tell me again that she was in the process of
changing.” Keith glared at her then walked up toward the dead
body, he checked her arms and legs, then noticed her back. All the
skin and some of her flesh was gone, her skin looked to have been
torn off judging by the ragged edges. And the back of her head was
also torn open, bits of her brains visible. He backed up and Holly
shoved the gun at him,” told you.” She walked back toward
the fire and told Jenny what happened.

While
lying out in the grass late that night, the fire out now, Jenny
awakened suddenly to the familiar sound of a helicopter flying by.
“Wake up,” she urged the other two.

“What,”
Keith asked her then he looked up, Holly doing so too and they seen a
helicopter flying over them, flashing blue and red lights as it
headed east. They began waving, noticing it wasn't stopping or even
noticed them. Jenny slumped back down on the ground, watching the
plane distancing itself from them like they were diseased.

“We're
never going to get help,” she whined. Holly looked at her and
felt the same too, fearing they wouldn't be able to make it alone
like this much longer.

Alex
rushed Avery inside the building, shutting the damaged door
instantly. They stood there, taking a moment for breathing when Alex
gestured at her,” we need to block this door.”

“Block
it with furniture,” she asked, looking at him. He looked at her
then up at the stairs.

“Alright,
that'll have to do,” he began to search the first floor but
didn't find much at all, the Emergency Exit was already barricaded.
The two survivors made their way up stairs and searched each room,
bringing down odds and ends of furniture. They teamworked with a
large couch, Alex almost losing his footing when coming down stairs.

Next
they searched the third floor, each room not really having much. They
came to the room at the end of the hall and began searching there.
While looking around, Avery stepped on something that squeaked and
she looked down, seeing a rubber duck. She knelt down and picked it
up, looking at the friendly duck with the dark, dead eyes. Staring at
the duck, she suddenly heard a child screaming. Standing up, she
rushed down the short hall and checked the first room, but didn't see
anyone, just a queen sized bed, dresser, and a small tv on a wooden
crate. Sheheard a baby begin crying and checked the room at the end
of the hall, rushing in, she stopped. The room was empty too. Kids
toys and baby toys everywhere. Avery looked at the bed with pink and
white striped sheets and pillows, no one there. She noticed a blood
stained raggedy Anne doll next to the pillows.

She
made her way over toward the bright pink crib and looked in, also
empty. She looked down at the wooden beams and noticed blood
splotches all over it, instantly saddening her. Avery looked at the
walls, also colored a bright tone, not pink but yellow. Along the
walls were little paintings a young child had done, likely around the
age of 4 or possibly 5. Small handprints on colorful construction
paper, taped or tacked up. She noticed the baby clothes scattered on
the floor in front of the closet door. Her eyes began watering,
images coming to mind of what could possibly have happened to this
family. She took down a painting of a crooked kitten, looking at it.

“Avery,”
she jumped and looked back at the door, Alex standing there. He began
looking around too before looking at her again,” c'mon, help me
with this kitchen table, then we should be done.” She nodded
and instead of putting the painting down, she folded it and tucked
the child's painting in her back pocket, leaving the depressing room
behind.

Joining
Alex in the kitchen, he worked on moving the four dining chairs aside
as she looked around, seeing a family photo up on the refridgerator.
A blonde woman with bright blue eyes, likely in her early 30s,
smiling along with a man as old as the woman, light brown hair and
green eyes. And there were the two kids, a little blonde girl with
green eyes, smiling a toothless grin and the little baby, blue eyes
and blonde too, wearing a little purple onesie dress with butterfly
patterns. She took the photo down and walked back toward the table.

“Avery,”
Alex repeated, then looked up at her, seeing her holding a photo,”
what are you doing?”

“Nothing,”
she helped him with lifting the table, still holding the photo as
they made their way out of the apartment, down the hall, and down the
flight of stairs to the first floor, blocking the doorway with one
final furniture piece.

They
remained in a second floor room together, Alex often looking out the
window in case of any hordes traveling through or possible survivors.
He looked over at Avery and noticed she was looking at the same photo
again. Frowning, he finally spoke up,” what are you doing? Why
are you always looking at that now?” She looked over at him
from where she sat.

“It's
a family's photo I found on the fridge in that last room,” she
looked down at it,” I've never really had any family pictures
to keep. After my parents divorced, my dad left to Aspen while my mom
drank all night and burned all of our family photos. I wish I had one
to carry around with me, maybe it would help relieve all the worrying
and stress of things these days;” she laid down,” family
photos seem to be important to me, doesn't matter who they are, just
that someone notices them and never forgets the families that used to
live in this world, including their kids and pets.”

“So
I take it you're going to start collecting family photos?”

“I
don't know,” she answered, putting the photo in her bag,”
it's just wishful thinking that I still had a family.” The room
became silent.

“Maybe
you'll have a family of your own then one day, or a group to call
family then.” Alex went back to looking out the window after
talking to her, thinking the only family he had was Justin. Just like
Avery, he no longer has anyone to call brother. No one to call
sister, cousin, nephew, niece, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa. And
definitely no one to call his own. Resting his head against the wall,
he shut his eyes and fell asleep.

10
DAYS LATER

The
sun was barely showing through the grey clouds, and the air was warm,
almost humid. No cars could be heard driving along the highway
anymore. No sounds of planes, voices or anything. And yet the only
thing that could be seen right now is an undead, feasting on a dead
body's thigh. The zombie's left eye hung out of its socket, the jeans
and grey shirt it wore were covered in stains, and its cheekbones
were hollowed out. From a short distance, a gun shot echoes and the
head explodes with bits of rotted brains flying out, the body
dropping to the hard ground. "I got it!" Holly shouted out
happily. Holly, Jenny, and Keith walked over toward where the now
completely dead zombie is laid out. Ever since they left Kansas,
they've been staying in the car, trying their best to remain safe,
especially after the episode with Keith and the dead woman. At first
they thought the others were dead just like Joel and Zackary, but
when they noticed the SUV was gone, they got in the Dodge Charger
SRT8 as fast as they could and left to look for the others, after
that, they spent 10 days on the road.

Holly
looked around," oh my gosh," she announced and followed her
gaze. Ahead of them, parked in the road, was the familiar black four
door SUV. The three friends ran up to it and looked in the windows,
not seeing anyone. Keith jerked open the driver door and looked
inside, not seeing any blood and the key was still in the ignition.
Holly opened the trunk door while Jenny looked in the back seats,”
there's no bags here,” Holly said, looking around the corner at
Keith. He walked over and saw nothing in the back aside from empty
buckets that smelled of gas. Holly and Keith looked ahead, seeing the
sign ahead reading Welcome To Cleveland as Jenny followed their
gazes. They could see the buildings in the distance, the city looked
to be on fire, smoke crowding the sky around it. "If we leave
now, we can make it before it gets dark,” Holly spoke softly,
glancing at Keith. He nodded.

"C'mon
then," Keith said to them and led the way back to the car. After
they got in the vehicle, Keith started it up and put it in drive,
beginning their ride into Cleveland.

"Do
you think Justin, Avery, and Alex are there," Jenny asked,
flipping her hair back as she put her grape flavored glittery lip
gloss on.

"They
could be," Keith answered, still keeping his eyes on the road,"
I'm sure we'll find them."

Avery
sat up abruptly, hearing the sounds of gun shots and screams. "
Don't worry about it," Alex said to her while he sat on the
floor, stabbing his knife into the carpet, looking bored.

"What
time is it?" She asked, looking toward the window. Ever since it
began, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get any sleep.
No matter what, the images of what all has happened always come to
her mind during sleep, posing as constant nightmares: the escape from
the school, how her hometown looked, the zombified senior citizens,
cops, and nurses in Lubbock; the beatings they took outside of that
Wal Mart, the drive through Oklahoma, the hotel in Topeka, the
largest horde she's ever seen; the fighting her and Alex did just to
get through Cleveland, and the night they had to try their best to
board up and block the entrance of the building they're in now.

"It's
the afternoon," he responded, twisting the tip of the blade. She
looked at him twisting the knife on the floor before turning away,
looking toward the window, it made her feel nervous when he did that,
made her think he was going to snap any moment.

"Do
you think they'll ever make it in here?"

"Possibly,"
Alex answered her," either way, we gotta move out of here before
it does happen. Maybe we can find a house with a working shower or
bath." Avery sat with her knees drawn up, still feeling
exhausted after the long days running, dodging, and struggling to
find a safe place. They finally found one in what appeared to have
been an apartment building before it happened. The room they remained
in had the kitchen, dining, and living room togther and a small
bedroom. Most of the furniture and appliances in the room were gone
when they found it, only thing remaining behind was a grease caked
stove that didn't work.

“
I miss my dorm room,” Alex said suddenly.

“You
were in college?”

“Yeah,
majoring in accounting. Then I agreed to go on a road trip with
Justin down to Texas to visit our grandmother;” he continued
jabbing the blade in the ground, the carpeting around the area torn
up,” I miss my friends, my Xbox One and video games.”

“I
wish we had a dog,” she found herself saying and he looked over
at her.

The
two friends remained silent then, hearing the death sounds of the
city, being able to hear shouts and gun fire across the city; but a
new sound they hadn't heard in a long time, so close by, alerted
them. Avery and Alex looked at one another and rushed toward the
window to see. They held their guns in case it was scavengers looking
to steal their supplies again. Avery listened patiently, hearing
gunshots and what sound like a car drifting around a corner. It was
coming closer now.

Keith
always enjoyed driving, only because it gave him the chance to run
over the zombies, like a hit and run game, only he gets the chance to
get away with it. Holly, holding the door handle, swallowed the acid
that came up in her throat, revealing how fearful she was over her
friend's driving. When he rounded the corner of a street named Gordon
Ave., Jenny gestured out the window," I saw movement!"

"It's
likely a zombie," Holly bluntly said, looking out the window as
Keith slowed down finally, calming her nerves and she exhaled with
relief.

"No,"
Jenny insisted," do zombies look out windows then back up
instantly??"

"They
do if they wanna eat you," Keith cut in and chuckled. Jenny
shook her head, becoming annoyed at how dense they were making
themselves out to be. He glanced in the back seat at the younger girl
and noticed the look she was making at him. Her arms crossed, eyes
glaring, and her mouth shut tightly in frustration. He looked back at
the road and slammed his right hand down on the shifter. "Alright,
fine, we'll stop and look." He brought the car to a stop in the
middle of the street in front of the building. The three of them
climbed out of the vehicle, cocking their guns and pulling out
knives, and walked up to the blocked entry. Keith examined the piled
up furniture and the door hanging on by a hinge.

"Zombies
don't block themselves in a building," Jenny said after a
moment.

"What
if people blocked it because it's full of zombies?" Holly dared
Jenny to answer back with her know-it-all attitude, apparently
becoming irritated by Jenny's smart ass remarks lately. They remained
silent before Holly added,” go ahead, I dare you to say
something now.”

"Help
me move some of this," Keith interrupted, making sure no
arguments escalated. After Holly turned away, Jenny rolled her eyes,
dropping her arms to the side. “Jenny, stay on look out.”
She turned her back and began watching the empty streets. Holly and
Keith began to move half the debris, as silent as they could or with
the least sounds possible; and when there was enough room to squeeze
through, Keith went first, crouching down to make it through safely.
Checking around first, he waved for the other two to follow, Jenny
going past Holly and going first. After Jenny made her way through,
Holly joined them in the building and looked at the place.