Infected the book series Part 1 Chapter 7

Night came too quickly for us. The sun set in a blaze of fire leading to a cool crisp night. The beauty of the stars was something rare for us yet here with the fenced in yard we seemed safe. Safe enough where when night fell on us, we sat under the stars. I kept the door unlocked and brought broken up pieces of wood and lit a nice fire for everyone. I always loved nights like this. There was not a cloud in the sky and each star shimmered and sparkled above the fire that danced and twinkled in a heated exchange of light and sounds of crackling wood. I was probably a pyromaniac when I was little. Crickets whispered to each other in the distance. It was calming and beautiful.
Slowly one by one the group came out and pulled up plastic chairs around the fire. It was the first time we relaxed as a group. Personally I think that there is no better way to relax than by fire.
"So Sam," Matt started off the conversation "How many animals do we have?" Today I counted the animals and separated them into neutered and not neutered.
"We have about 150 animals overall" I started us off. "103 dogs and 47 cats." Everyone smiled but it was a bit too early, "Unfortunately only 30 dogs are not spayed or neutered and only 14 cats." This is a huge problem. We have food but it is not recurring.
"Wait Sam, why is that so bad?" Sean naïvely questioned.
"We need to eat, Sean." Freddie remarked "If a dog is not neutered, then we can not breed it with other dogs and they will be a bit of a waste." Freddie was right. I love that about him. Although there are things he does not know there are a lot of things he does. When Freddie knows something he knows it really well.
"Wait, Sam we can not eat dogs and cats!" Nicole shouts. "They are pets"
"They are unfortunately food" Freddie remarked. Nicole shot him a glare that sent chills down my spine and it was not even directed at me.
"Sam, you can't expect us to eat pets." Sean seemed to be panicking. I chose to keep quiet and watch the fire gracefully dance in a burning tango that licked your face with heat. We did need to eat and I knew that we might not all be happy with how but it was what it was. Life is hard and these dogs would all die without us anyway. I would much rather have they feed us than the Infected. Around me the argument breaks and grows feeding the flames with all important oxygen. I just sat there quietly watching people take sides split up and battle it out. Personally I was not in favor of killing animals. I mean honestly, I love animals; more than people most times. I mean I did bring my own pets.
However, I am also in favor of survival. Unfortunately that means doing something that I am not proud of. I will eat an animal to survive. I will survive.
"Sam!" Nicole forces me back into the argument, "We will not eat dogs!" her voice echoes into the trees disappearing into the dark night.
"Then you won't." I smile at her.
"See Freddie," Nicole grins with some unwarranted idea of self-satisfaction. "Sam is not going to eat anyone's pet."
"Wait, I never said that." The smile on Nicole's face dropped and her head creaked back my way. "I said that you won't if you don't want to. Then you won't eat I guess." The whole group became silent. Their eyes all focused on me. I just sat and watched the fire crackle and spark in the air. "I plan on surviving." My voice is just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Sometimes that means doing something I am not proud of, if you don't want to eat one of the animals then fine don't, but I will." I think my point was made because everyone else just sat there and stared at the fire.
It was tough picking a dog. They were all cute, but I had to be logical about it. The dog could not be too small or too big. Either there will not be enough or there may be too much left over to bring the Infected towards us. I want a neutered dog. This will not kill our population in the long run. Walking through the kennel I felt a sick pain go through my stomach. I could not kill these things. They were cute and I had known a lot of them from when I worked here. I decided on an American Eskimo Dog. His tag said "Snowball: If found please call 7325398756" Snowball was not too small his long white hair stood up on end making him this little puffball with a head that stuck out. He had dark brown eyes and black lips that seemed to be smiling at me. He was my pick.
I opened up the cage and brought the dog outside to the fire. Everyone stood there eyes locked on this dog. He wagged his tail and smiled. I felt my stomach churn and burn. He was a cute innocent animal. "So who is going to do it?" I mutter under my breath. There was an unsaid consensus that no one wanted to do it, not even Freddie who had fought for the cause just a moment ago. Eyes slowly gazed at one another; each of us wondered who would step up. All eyes converged onto Freddie. He looked up and saw he had no choice in the matter and conceded.
"How will I kill the thing?" With in second my bag of knives was outside. Freddie Matt and I perused through the thing, pulling out knives.
"Hey!!" Freddie suddenly gasped "How about this thing" In his hand was the thing of nightmares, mine to be exact. In his hand was a meat cleaver, the blade sat at an even seven inches, and its light brown wooden handle had a few stains of blood splattered across it. Images scrape across my mind creating a slow motion video which shows the image of my parents' death at the hands of a monster. The weapon is evil, a living breathing creature of death. Its shadow haunted my nightmares.
"You can not use that!!" I slapped the demon out of Freddie's hand. The blade falls to the ground with a slight ringing of the blade. Freddie and Matt looked at me like I was crazy. I awkwardly smiled and gave a slightly heavy breath. "What if that blade does not split the vertebra, the poor dog will die in lots of pain." I lied, that had nothing to do with why I did not want them using that meat cleaver, but they bought it none the less. "How about this one?" I hold up a large butcher's knife with a sharp point. Its bright metal shines under the light of the flame. "You can easily snap the vertebra between the tip of the blade." I handed Freddie the large knife. He eyed the thing like some strange new thing. His hand grips the hilt of the knife twisting the blade trying to get a good look at it.
He looked down at Snowball who is sitting watching him with his tail still wagging and tongue hanging out from his mouth. Snowball seemed happy. I held him still as Freddie jabbed the blade into the back of the creature's neck. The red blood began to flow freely across the bright white fur staining it forever. I felt my stomach churn; I am going to throw up. I can feel it rolling up my throat. I dropped the dog and ran into the far corner of the backyard. I threw up in front of everyone, all over the grass. My body trembled and shook. I turned around and looked at the group. They were all still watching Freddie as he clumsily skinned and gutted this animal. I did not watch. I could not bring myself to do it.
After all was said and done we cooked the meat over the fire. Matt threw the skin and other uneatables into the fire. It would get rid of them without drawing the infected in. We all sat around the fire ate and joked, even Nicole ate. Smiles and laughing lit up the night sky. It was honestly wonderful. As the night rolled on and the fire began to dim I noticed something that for me was disheartening to say the least. Freddie and Sarah were sitting close holding each other tightly, even Matt and Nicole had some form of intimacy as they slowly brushed hands. Who did I have; no one I sat alone and watched my plate. I looked up at Ackerman who was still obliviously eating.
"Hey Ackerman, want some pork?" I chuckled at my awkward joke. No one was amused. Pigs were something that we rarely talked about and even I found that joke to be in poor taste. Pigs were the reason we were in this predicament. I take that back humans were the real reason we were here, but pigs were how the Infection spread.
People liked to eat pig; it was the third most consumed meat before the Infection broke out. Pigs were fatty and people did not like that. They did not want any guilt. That is the American way I guess. Rather than change the way they eat or how they live, people wanted to change the food itself. So scientist began genetically altering pigs. Not in major ways. They just wanted to make them leaner, healthier meat. The meat was healthier and people could eat more and there was no guilt.
There were side effects. The destruction of the fat tissues also affected there ability to control there metabolism. The poor creatures could not survive for more than a few years. That was fine though, they only needed a few years before they were slaughtered. The pigs were slow moving and weak, their bodies lumbered listlessly without life or care. Worst of all changes the pigs had a very weak immune system. They tried to overcome this problem with tons of vaccines and antibiotics, but that only made them slower and weaker. These poor things were a sign of the destructive power of man. Yet it seemed not a single person cared. They got their food and there was no guilt.
There was also no sign of the worst thing imaginable living inside these poor creatures. Carnecomiendus, a virus that attacks the brain. It lived in a dormant state inside of the pigs, yet when consumed by humans the virus came to life. It went after several parts of the brain. The virus started with the frontal lobe. It hit like a lobotomy with teeth. The Frontal lobe controlled your ability to make decisions. Without it, nothing is right, and nothing is wrong. The perfect killer, no thoughts, no remorse. The next thing that the virus went after was a small part of the brain called the hypothalamus. Destroying destroys the ability to get full. You will always be hungry. All you know is to feed, on anything. The virus had control and there was nothing you could do but succumb to the pain and become a zombie. It is a horrible painful process as the disease slowly takes over your muscles and tests them out. The result, a large majority of people, no not people; things walking around aimlessly on the hunt for food.
I looked around at the group. There seemed to be an awkward silence in the air.
"So," Matt groaned a loud and obviously fake yawn. "I think it is late and we all need some sleep." He got up and stretched his arms letting out another fake yawn in the process. "Goodnight guys" he smiled as he helped Nicole up from her chair as well.
"Goodnight" She echoed as they walked inside. My eyes caught Sarah's who suddenly rose from her seat.
"Freddie and I are going to call it a night as well." She pulled Freddie up as they also walked into the hospital. Sean and I sat there in the heat of the fire in silence. It was the most awkward silence of our lives. Neither of us wanted to say anything but we both knew something needed to be said.
"Well Sam," Sean's voice awkwardly cracked "I guess it is just you and me here." He looked at me and smiled this halfhearted fake smile. Sean was not the kind of person to just leave someone alone when they are clearly hurting. It was never in his nature. He cared too much.
"Just go to bed Sean, I am fine." In a heartbeat he was gone. I sat there alone and watched the fire dance and crackle in an extravagant display of grace and power. It honestly was a beautiful night, zombies or not. It was gorgeous. I heard the door creak open behind me as Leila and Babe slid through the crack and sat down next to me. Loneliness, I don't know the meaning of the word.
I don't need any woman or girlfriend. I had my lady. I hugged Leila around the neck and lay across the cold concrete watching the stars in the sky. It was beautiful out, no light pollution, every star in the sky glistened along with the Milky Way. The flicker of a single shooting star and the hums of the crickets in the background, it was all so peaceful.
"AHHHH" A shriek rang out in the distant. It sounded like a woman. My body twitched with adrenaline and I was tempted to move. Tempted to do something to help, but I didn't. It was not like I did not care. I just did not want to die for someone who may not even be worth saving. Another shriek shattered the night sky. My eyes closed tightly as the shrieks got louder and louder. I felt something surprising touch my face, a tear. It rolled softly down my cheek. I felt its warm salty fluid slide down and finally get lost in my curly hair. Shriek after shriek sound after sound tears fell.
Then, silence.
I left my eyes closed for another few minutes waiting for one final sound one shriek to let me know it was all over. It never came. I was just laying in the darkness with my eyes closed crying over some girl I did not know like a love sick teenager.
I don't even think I was crying because of her but because that meant there was one less. One less living, one less connection, one less human, there is something upsetting about that.
The fire slowly turned to embers as the night dragged on slowly. I was not ready to go inside but I did not want to stay out here. Leila and Babe slept to my left curled up together in a giant ball. My clock rang 3:27 and it was officially bedtime. I found myself on the floor of the Doctors office a large room with a series of desks and computers photos and books. I fashioned a bed out of a pile of dog beds and towels below me and my blanket and pillow. It did not take long for Cleo to plop herself down next to me. I slowly faded into the black and let the unrest of sleep warm my body.

Infected Book Series Chapter 6 Book 1

All of my stuff was packed into my car when everyone came down to the garage. Most came down with small backpacks with food and small weapons. Matt and Nicole were the second most prepared. That is compared to me. Matt had an old rifle draped across his shoulder. In his hands was a large duffle bag. Nicole also had a duffle bag in her hands. Yet her weapon was just a baseball bat.

Sarah and Freddie each had a bag but did not really have a weapon. I expected as much. Not that they were unprepared but that they chose to rush without packing. I looked at the group and grinned. “Follow me.” I turned and could hear their footsteps, following me. It was a strange orchestra that boomed throughout the main garage, through the doors into the other garage where three sleeping trucks waited to be woken up. I stopped right in front of them and turned towards the group. A smile lit up my face.

“Today we will begin our move.” I start off in a very drill sergeant voice. “You will all need to leave your vehicles here. For transportation, we will be taking these.” I pointed to the powerful creatures behind me. “If there is anything in your car that you need now, is the time to take it.”  I turned and began pacing in a slow melodic step that clicked from heel to toe. “In each truck is a GPS system as well as a queen sized mattress. Every truck has a full tank of gas and moves at 25 miles per gallon.” I looked intently at my vagabond unit. “The address of our next stop is in all of our GPS.” Everyone is looking at me. “What questions are there?” A silence fills the room. Everyone looks at each other, then me.

Finally Nicole steps forward, her hair dangled delicately in curly ribbons that seemed to shine underneath the florescent light.  “Where are we going?” Wow, I gave this whole impressive speech and totally forgot to say where we were going. This being a leader thing is not going to well.

I stutter, I know where we are going but the place just escaped my mind. Their eyes lock on to mine and droplets of sweat begin to bubble on my forehead. “The Doonsfield Animal Hospital” I used to work at the hospital when I was younger. I was a kennel attendant there with my friend.  When the infection broke out, I just stopped showing up. There was no need for me to stay there. I would not put my life at risk for a check that was going to be meaningless to me. They kept calling of course. “Sam please come in, Sam we need you” The last one was just a few days ago but I have not heard from them since then.

“Sam, why are we going there?” Freddie called out from the bunch.

“We need food” I start of regaining my composure “and we need medicine”

“But why not go to a human hospital for medicine that was made for, you know humans” Freddie was relentless, ignorant but relentless.

“I agree with Sam” Matt comes into the conversation. He saved my butt because I honestly had no organized thought to explain why I wouldn’t “The hospital is a breeding ground for the infected. By going there we will encounter too many to fight off. Besides most dog medicines are just a lower dosage than human medicine.” He explained everything I wanted to say perfectly. It was not safe to go to a hospital. Hospitals were given a bad rap during the Infection. It all started with first batch of the Infected.  As most people would they went to the hospital. The doctors tried to help the first batch. Honestly they did. They tried drugs, Adrenaline shots, and brain surgery. Yet the infected still turned. Then they went after the doctors. From there it was all down hill. The doctors were authorized to kill. If someone came in suffering from the symptoms the doctors would say that they were going to help them. Then they would take that person to the back and without second thought the doctor would shoot the victim from point blank, like a dog. The doctors killed without a second thought. The worst of all was Doctor Scott Weinberger. He was the first doctor that killed a victim of the infected. It was after him that all the doctors began the process. It was easy to say that people were outraged.  Doctors would be hunted down. They were beaten. Strung up by their heels and burned. Humanity went after doctors with a sick sadistic mob mentality. Soon the government assigned police officers to doctors. The one doctor who was treated the worst was Dr. Weinberger. A man whose wife was killed at a hospital got drunk and burned down the doctor’s house. Most of his family made it out. His daughter died though. Since then no one has seen the doctor or his family.

“Sam, where are you going to be?” Sarah got my attention pulling me out of the darkness of thoughts. I looked at her and smiled. I had no idea what she was talking about. She looked confused “Sam, where are you going to be?” she repeated loudly and slowly exemplifying each syllable as she spoke.

“Oh, right,” I laugh at myself “I will be taking my car still.” The group all look at me. Their eyes almost stab at me. “So if you need anything get it now.” With that everyone is off flying towards their cars. “Meet back in five minutes” I mumble to myself.

I look down at my feet, not because they are pretty. My mud soaked sneakers are not pretty. I look down because Casey Erik and Kayleigh are still standing there, watching me. I have no desire to look at them. Not because they are not pretty. We are all pretty. If I make eye contact that leaves room for conversation and to be honest, I don’t want that.

“Sammy?” Kayleigh calls to me. I don’t want to look up. “Sammy?” she is poking my arm her fingernail jabbing into my skin leaving small lines along the flesh. “Sammy!”  She shouts into my eardrum knocking me of balance. I glare at her my eyes breathing fire. She smiles and all of my anger fades to gray. In one instant my body feels limp, weak, on the verge of collapse. “You did it Sam!” she says with joy emanating from her face. “You have this amazing potential, just use it,” she continues “you just need to unlock your gift and all the possibilities are yours to grab.” I hate this mushy stuff, but as I know I should; I allow a sliver of a smile touch my lips.

I hear everybody return to the room. They begin packing the clothes and supplies into their new trucks. Each one moves with haste like ants working in an organized row of chaos. I turn and there is everyone. My ragtag gang of survivors stand before prepared for the future, something I fear. Everyone takes their place in their trucks and turn the key. The three engines roared to life filling the room with a sound that bounced off of the gray cement. Casey and Erik pulled open the large garage door releasing the trucks into the bright white sun. Just like that they were gone.

I stood there alone with Kayleigh, Erik and Casey.

“Thank you guys so much” I start off. “Are you sure you don’t want to join us?”

“Sam, that is your plan” Casey earnestly says “This is ours.” He looks up at me. “This is where we shall stay.”

“You need to catch up to your group Sam” Kayleigh reminds me. “Go.” I begin to walk towards my car. Leila, Cleo, and Babe are all sitting waiting for me. “Don’t forget to call us Sam!” Kayleigh is mothering me. I still blame hormones.

“Yes, mommy.” I snicker. She turns bright red and Erik jabs me in the arm. He seems more embarrassed than she is. I laugh and get into the car, turn the key and I follow my group into the beautiful sun.

The sky is blue and there is not a cloud to damper this day. The undead wander along the streets looking for meals. I weave through the bodies trying to catch the group moving in the distance. They seem to be getting closer to me. As I begin to pull up I realize that they have stopped to wait for me. I take my place at the front of the pack. We drive hastily through the side streets until finally we hit route 9. It was nothing like the side streets which sit empty of everything. Route 9 was a graveyard of cars. All of which were void of life. Doors that have torn open and broken glass litter the ground. Blood and dead bodies splatter windshields and mirrors.

We need to tread lightly through this area. We do not have the equipment to fix these trucks. I slow down to a near snails crawl as I slide my car through the debris. I can clearly see the facial expression of every dead body that lie in their final resting place. It makes me sick physically nauseous, not because these are dead bodies but it is the fact that all of the corpses share the same expression, fear. They all shared the fear that death brought to them. Fear that just like that their lives became a pointless waste and there was nothing that anyone could do.

I watch the trucks rumble in my rear view mirror. In the distance we can see the giant blue and white sign shining in the sky. “Doonsfield Animal Hospital.” It was a relatively small building with a bright pink walls and a blue roof. The parking lot is void of all life. The only thing that sits there are three cars I recognize each of them. The first one is a dark green S.U.V that sits in the front of the parking lot, in the “preferred” parking area. In the back sits two cars one is a white car. It is small and boxy. I know it was my friend’s car. I always thought the car was stupid looking, but she loved it. The one next to it was a dark black car. It was small and the back was plastered with bright bumper stickers about animal cruelty. My favorite one was a small white one with a gray pit-bull puppy on it that read out “Love-a-bull” it was so funny I forgot to laugh. I can not stand stupid stuff like that.

I stop my car in the back of the parking lot. I sit in the car thinking. Around me the footsteps of the infected clap heavily on the ground. My phone becomes a blaze of thumbs and keyboards. “Sarah and Nicole take point on top of the trucks, with rifles. Sean Freddie Matt and I will head in.” Send. Within minutes there was a wave of movement from the trucks. Sarah and Nicole are dutifully standing atop the vehicles. Matt, Sean, and Freddie are now outside my window. I open up the door and pop the trunk. A gun shot goes off behind us and we all jump a little bit. Sarah took the first shot. I can not see what she was aiming at or if she hit it but there was no time to worry. I pull out my war hammers and that was it.

“Sam don’t you want your scythe?” Freddie looks at my project. He caresses it like he wants to use it.

“I have something special for this.” I smile slyly.

“Well could I use-“Freddie begins. I send him a look that shuts him up immediately. Sean and I are the only ones with real weapons. Matt has a baseball bat and pistol. Freddie is unarmed. I think we have some stuff inside so Freddie will be fine.

We all moved towards the fence. Behind us another gunshot rings out. All of us cringe at the sound then keep moving. The gate unhinges easily opening up into a field of cement and grass. I close and lock the gate behind me. The large yard is empty of all life. There is a stump in the corner from where a small tree used to stand. Behind us another gunshot but this one seems closer. I turn and see Sarah firing into the distance. The large pink door to the inside is locked. Next to it is what I am really looking for. A small three foot aluminum pipe with an iron end sits next to the door. It was once a pooper scooper. Yet while I worked there it became one of my projects to pass the time. I took the end and flattened it creating an axe like figure, which I sharpened when the hospital was closed on Sundays.

I pick it up and it wraps around my fingers in the familiar quality that it once held. Freddie looks at it.

“I will use this” He smiles as he holds up an old wooden pole with a small iron butt. The wood seems warped and rotted through time, but who was I to stop Freddie… the leader right. Why would I want to stop Freddie?

“Okay guys,” I begin this little huddle to make sure the Infected don’t hear our plan “We don’t have enough ammo to be firing bullets all willy-nilly. So try to save your bullets” My unit turns and faces the door. It is locked with an electronic keypad on its left. The metallic pad surrounded black plastic numbers. I push in my old business code and a familiar buzz pops out. Sean pulls the door open hard.

A gun shot goes off from real close. We all open our eyes and lying on the ground in a pool of rusty brown blood is an infected. The creature that is now twitching on the ground in a puddle of its own rust was once my friend. Her baby blue scrubs have red blood on them, her blood. She was bitten on the back of her shoulder by another infected. My guess is that the other two suffered from the same fate. I walk in and the booming orchestra of barking blinds my ears. All of the doors are locked. My guess is that she was the last one. I look around the hallway creating the mental image of what happened in my eyes.

She was working with my boss and “Mr. Pit-bull” when odds are my boss was bitten. After she turned, my boss went after my friend. By the trail of blood that drips throughout the back hall, I guess that as soon as my friend was bitten she ran back here to the kennel, with her blood dripping through the halls. She wanted to protect the animals. She always wanted to protect the animals. By the way it was spread out it looked like she went and locked herself in the hall as well as keeping the animals away from her. She had isolated herself so that she could protect the hospital.

Such a noble and heroic act.

Stupid.

Trying to save everything will get you killed. Protect yourself and protect what you love, nothing else matters. I moved to the locked door that leads into the main building. It seemed jammed. I pulled on it hard but there was nothing. Freddie Came and tried with me. The door still held fast.

Smash!

The sharp edge of the war hammer flew into the door handle. I could hear the locks break. I take another hard swing and the door begins to creak open. We walked out into the main hallway. The walls here were a light green with cheap paintings of dogs and cats spread throughout them. The tacky upbeat feel was meant for tours so we could convince people that we are not part of some large corporation. The floor was like a brown paint splattered with red dots of blood. The halls were empty devoid of all movement or life. The sound of ravage eating skims down the hallway from the staff lounge, like a hungry animal going to work on a fresh kill. We all found ourselves standing waiting for what will inevitably come. A booming sound of heavy steps flash down the hall until, it finally appeared. This large monstrosity of an Infected, lumbers around the corner. My boss, a large lady with long flowing blonde hair now tangled into knots and pulls. Her glasses lay half on with shattered lenses and frames. Fat rolls down her sides showing a bite mark on her side, covered with dirt and food.

Blood flows from her body destroying the cliché design of her dark blue scrubs with puppies and kittens. The tattered mess that was once a human stands idle with a blank expression behind large glassy eyes surrounded by bright red rings. It ran towards us flopping and blundering with outstretched arms. Freddie ran to meet it, swinging his old decrepit stick hard against the creature’s cheek. The wood splinters send shards flying across the hall. It did not phase this large infected, flabby face absorbed most of the impact. Freddie did not break her jaw; he did not knock her over. This Infected just took the blow and kept moving. Freddie panicked and swung again with the broken piece. It still did not do anything to stop this beast. He backed up as this creature came closer and closer towards him. My body began to rush with adrenaline and I ran towards this large zombie.

“Freddie duck” I shout swinging my home grown battle axe into the creature’s neck. Blood sprays out of the wound covering the wall discoloring the paint. Even then the creature is still moving towards me. The strike did not seem to affect the creature at all. My body is telling me to run but my mind says to fight. I pull at the blade but it does not budge. Franticly I pull on the aluminum shaft until finally the hinge bends and snaps.

I look at the aluminum pole that now sits in my hand. The blade is still embedded in the Infected’s thick neck. The monster grabs me; I swing at the creatures face. I hear the cheek crack and swing it again; another crack of the bones. I look at the pole which has become bent out of shape. There is no point holding onto it. I drop it and begin to back up slowly from this creature.

Suddenly a gunshot pops off from behind me. I open my eyes and sitting in the center of this monstrosity’s forehead. I pull out a war-hammer and strike the gunshot wound, smashing the skull wide open. The decapitated body stumbles and falls backwards hitting the ground hard splashing a puddle of blood across the hall.

Sean is standing at the opposite end with his pistol out locked in position. His face exudes cocky victory. His teeth sparkle with his eyes.

“What happened, Sam? Have you forgotten how to kill that quickly?” He was not talking about the Infected that that covered the walls behind me; he was not that cocky. He was talking about Ryan; he was still upset about our lost friend. There was no point in me responding to him. “Sam, you seemed to have no problem killing Ryan.” He begins walking towards me with a slow and deliberate pace. “He was not even an Infected and you had no problem…”

I had no patience for Sean, not now. His little vengeance monologue was nothing but counter productive. His rage had totally blinded him from small infected behind him. Its short spiky black hair waivered as rusty brown blood dripped from his mouth down his chin and stubbly facial hair onto his blood soaked scrubs. It crept slowly behind Sean ready to pounce onto his back. Without words I pointed my pistol at Sean. His eyes widened, was I going to shoot him no. Did it look like I was; of course. With a bang the bullet fired out of the barrel sending a small stream of smoke sliding out of the barrel. It flew just beyond Sean and hit the Infected knocking it backwards.

Thud! Matt’s bat finished the job crushing the skull of the Infected. Silence filled the building. No one seemed like they wanted to be the first one to speak. The tension of death was almost palpable like I could just grab it. Even the dogs stopped barking.

“Matt, text the girls to come inside” I began to walk towards the back door to unlock it. Sean just stood there flabbergasted, in one moment our eyes caught each other. I could see my reflection in his eyes. My face seemed cold, there seemed to be no emotion flowing from my face. This was the first time I saw myself, honestly saw myself. Kayleigh was right. I had changed. Now I am lying to myself trying to be this strong military leader and I am not that either. I am Sam and that is all I should be.

“Sean I guess we are even now, aren’t we.” I chuckle. He stares back at me and there just seems to be no joy, no mood to joke. He looks around at Matt Freddie and me.  Then he just walked off.

“There s just no pleasing him, is there Sam?” Freddie blurts out. I could not help but laugh. I heard a hard knock on the back door. I walked to the back and push my ear up to the door. It did not sound like a bunch of demonic creatures of the undead trying to get into the hospital to eat our flesh. I pull heavy pink door open and in walk Sarah and Nicole. Their rifles dangled delicately from their shoulders. They looked around and listened to the excited barking of the dogs.

Dog! I forgot Leila in the car. I grabbed Nicole by the wrist and we ran back outside.

“Sam! What are you doing?” She shouts as I pull on her wrist.

“I need to get my animals” I shout back as I stop in front of the closed gate. I opened the gate and pushed the trunk opener. Leila hopped out with her leash dragging across the asphalt. I grabbed Cleo and gently toss her into the bag. Like a good cat she lands on her feet. I zipped up the bag and threw it onto my back.

A shot rings out; I look at Nicole who is still holding her gun in form as a thin stream of smoke goes off. She looked back and her expression told me to hurry up. Another shot followed by another. The Infected are coming closer. I reach deep into the trunk and pull out the light blue box containing one unhappy cat. I grab my woodpecker scythe and reach up and close the trunk. Another loud bang of Nicole’s rifle flies out.

Then another.

A third.

Click. She looks at the gun confused. She is out of ammo. I look up and a swarm of, the infected are slowly coming towards us. “Run!” I shout at Nicole still trying to shoot the empty gun. She begins backing up slowly still trying to work the gun. “Hurry, Nicole!” She watches me waddle with all the weight on my back and arms slowing me down. She chases me down and grabs Babe from me trying to help me out. On our right a zombie has gotten too close for comfort. It’s body is tall and lanky like an awkward teenage basketball player with bloody brown cuts all over it’s face. Its vibrant green shirt is caked with dirt and other matter all mixed together to form this disgusting mess.

It does not stand a chance. One swing from my massive scythe catches this creature’s side not puncturing anything but knocking it off balance. The infected stumbles and before I can finish my attack the butt of Nicole’s riffle smashes into the zombie’s face. I can hear the jaw and nose shatter as blood flows like a river out onto its dirty green shirt. The infected lets out a loud screech silenced quickly by the woodpecker scythe.

Nicole has already opened the gate and I rush through. The gate closes behind me and I find myself lying on the cold concrete with the heavy bag on top of me, crushing me. I don’t want to move, or get up. Just let me stay here for a moment.

“Sam you are the only one with the code.” Nicole reminded me. I roll over onto my side and pull myself up. Leila is in my face, I can not help but smile at her. She licks my face and I get up put my code into the door. The door lets out a gentle ring and we walk in.

Safe, for now we are safe.

Infected the series Book 1 chapter 5

The skies opened up releasing drops of water, spraying along the windshield as my truck pulls into the warehouse garage. The flood lights from the ceiling shined brightly on the car. It was blinding. I stop the car on the cold gray cement and step out. The door behind me closes. Sean jumps out on the other side. We look around the large grey room. The walls reek of a dreary corporate hell. There are rusty iron stairs to my left, the railing has fallen off and lays across the floor in a puddle. At the top there is a light which I could notice from below.

“SAM, GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT!”  Suddenly blasts from the speakers in the ceiling. The voice is the familiar deep tone of Casey which echoes across the hall breaking into my ear drums. I look towards the light and cautiously begin to walk up the stairs holding tightly to the wall. Behind me Sean is clanking and smashing his way up the stairs. At the top of the stairs there is a large glass window shows a small office with the lights on. The walls are a gross yellow that is neither bright nor dull but almost dirty. There is a desk pushed up against the glass window, behind it sits a dirty leather chair that is facing the door, on the other side of the room. I tap the glass with the butt end of the woodpecker scythe. The chair slowly rotates towards us. Casey is sitting in it His body relaxing up along the back of the chair; he is wearing a tight black tank top with a small hole along the side and old tattered jeans. Casey’s hair has grown longer and his bangs are hanging on the side of his face which has a huge grin on it. Casey never smiled when he was happy; this was a smug smile of a cruel self satisfaction. In his eyes we were here to stay. His eyes sparkled behind his hair that gave you a clear image into his mind. He is pointing at the bronze metallic door to my left.

Sean pushes hard on it but it is does not budge. I look at Casey he is still sitting there eyes glistening and a large smile on his face. I sigh and look at the bronze colored doorknob there is a small hole on the door knob that was installed as a safety precaution. If the police needed to get in they could easily pick the lock. I could probably pick it with a shoelace like when I was a kid. I pull of my shoe and shove the auklet into the hole. The door releases a low click. I turn the knob and fling the door wide open. Casey turns to me clapping slowly and sarcastically.

I expected some kind of happy and joyous welcome yet from Casey that was not the case. “Yo” was all he said to me. No hug, no handshake or high five, I did not even get a fist pump. Casey’s eyes catch Sean. He is silently sizing Ackerman up in case a fight was ever to break out between the two. Casey’s eyes stop at the kitana dangling from Sean’s hip. Without word or expression Casey bypasses me and unsheathes Sean’s blade. I feel Sean’s temperature silently rise. He never let anyone touch his blades and he did not even know Casey. “Nice blade” Ackerman’s eyes bulge behind his glasses. He looked at me expecting me to  do something for him.

“Casey this is Sean Ackerman” was all I could muster up to say.

“Hey, nice blade” Casey mumbles not really interested in the person as much as the blade which he so eloquently twisted in his hand. “Here, I approve” Casey hands the blade to Ackerman; who snatches it away fearing Casey would change his mind. This way” Casey walks abruptly towards the wooden door in the back of the room. Sean sends me a glare that is screaming to kill Casey. I ignore it and follow Casey out the door and down the stairs to another gray cement room. In the center of the room were a series of couches arm chairs and tables gathered into a tight circle. Casey silently leads us towards the group of chairs. Each person in the chair slowly comes into view. Matt is sitting on the couch closest to us his back is facing us. Next to him is a girl with hair that is long and dark that curls up tightly around itself. She is sitting on the other side of the couch leaning up against the arm rest. I do not need to see her face; her tan body tells me that she is simply Nicole Maldonado, Matt’s girlfriend. They never seemed to be dating mainly because Matt was never one for public displays of affection. In public they acted like friends, which is what they have been for many years. It was not until the Infection broke out that they came together. When Nicole’s parents were killed she went to live with Matt and his family. Since then they were inseparable. I was not surprised to see her here. She was tall and quite beautiful.  She was not someone you would expect to have spent most of her life studying self defense and earning a black belt. Her personality was vibrant and bubbly with a hint of wit and social satire. Matt has always been the opposite of her. He was quiet and more often than not reserved. On the couch to the left of them is Sarah, her short body and leaned up against Freddie’s shoulder, Sarah and Freddie were very close. They had already dated for a year before the infected broke out. They lived together in Sarah’s house for a while. Freddie was about my height but much more tan his dark body and long hair reflected that of Sarah who was short and was about as pale as a dead body, she kept her hair just beyond her shoulders. Freddie’s is flung around Sarah’s body pulling her close as he lays his head atop hers. Finally farthest from the group is Erik lounging listlessly along the couch, his hair sits along his forehead just above his eyes pale blue eyes. He is focused on Kayleigh, who appears to be asleep resting her head on his lap. If there were ever a couple to publicly be intimate it was these two. Erik looked up at me and gave a thin smile. The smile portrayed the thought “I would get up and shake your hand but there is dead weight on my legs.” I smile back at him. Everyone begins to slowly notice my existence and introductions and “hellos” ensue. Hugs are something I missed from the old days. I was always a big hugger and when you live alone there are very few people to hug, none actually.

A big yawn comes from Kayleigh’s chair she slowly rises and stretches throwing her large chest into the air. Erik was obviously looking subtlety is not his strong suit. She lets out a heavy groan and rubs her eyes open.

“Sammy!!” She squeals to life lunging from the couch towards me, latching onto my neck and knocking me to the ground. “How have you been?” she pulls me up from the ground by my wrist. “Sammy what happened to your hand?” she points to my right hand that is riddled with tiny scabs and cuts. The image of the madman who lives in my reflection comes into view.

“Nothing” I pull my hand away covering it with my other hand. Kayleigh is staring at me concerned, her face is a pinkish red as if she is about to cry. I hate seeing girls cry. It makes me feel like I have done something wrong. “No, no, I am fine, don’t even worry about it. I just fell earlier today that is all.”  I give a goofy, toothy grin. She smiles back.

The sound of barking echoes from over my shoulder. It is Leila. I forgot about her and the animals in the car. “Excuse me!” shout down towards the group, half way up the stairs. Leila rarely barked. Something must have gone wrong. I pass through the office where Casey sat and stand at the top of the iron stairs. Leila is barking loudly. I run down the stairs and pop the trunk. She sat on the edge of trunk and looked at me. Her eyes seemed frantic. I calm her stroking her head gently. She jumped out almost wrapped herself around my legs. Somehow Leila always had the ability to make me smile. I look up as Cleo comes lumbering over to the edge and half jumps half falls out landing on the ground only to prop her body back up and go onto her merry way. I was not going to see her for the rest of the night but I knew that in the morning she would magically be right there nestled into my side. I then grab Babe. He is complaining about his box I can hear him purr loudly. I pop the locks and in a flash of black fur he is off to explore his new surroundings. Babe will be back in an hour after he has gotten himself into every nook and cranny of this place. Actually make it two hours, I joke to myself.

I closed the trunk and something strange caught my attention. I noticed a motorcycle in the corner. I swear it was not here when I came in. I walk over to it, Leila’s chain dangles behind me. It is a bright red with the word Yamaha, boldly written on the side. I reach out and touch it. It is still warm. The bike seems relatively new, I can still clearly see my reflection in the engine.

“Sam!” Kayleigh is behind me. I did not even hear here walk don the stairs. In turn with a goofy grin on my face. “Save the crap.” She says her face is a bright red. “What is the matter?” she says, “you seem…” there is a long pause. I can see what she wants to say. The word she is looking for is, depressed, suicidal, “different” Kayleigh never wanted to hurt anyone’s feelings. It was never in her to be mean to a friend.

“What do you mean?” I smile at her. “Nothing is different”

“Sam, you used to smile and be happy” Kayleigh started. “You seemed to almost light up a room but now…” there was that long pause again where Kayleigh knew what she wanted to say but would never actually do it. “You seem like you are lying to us. Almost like every smile is pasted on and fake.” She is getting closer to me. I back up feeling for the motorcycle behind me, but there is nothing there. I turn. The motorcycle disappeared. It was just there I saw it felt it. My mind must have been playing tricks. It seems to happen more frequently. The less I sleep the more mind plays with my emotions stringing me along like some kind of toy. The screams of my nightmares appear in front of my eyes only to vanish into the darkness. “Sam!!” I turn around. Kayleigh is staring at me. My face is red and drenched with cool trickles of sweat running down my cheeks. My heart is racing and lungs pounding with each labored breath. I look at Kayleigh. It is the first time I have really looked at her. I notice a slight bump protruding from her stomach.

She is pregnant. My body shakes and I collapse on the ground in a fit of exasperation.

“To be honest Kayleigh,” I say. “I have not been sleeping well” I look at her without my mask. For the first time in a long time someone could see how I really feel. My face is a haggard mess of wrinkles and anxiety, held together by large purple bags that engulf my eyes. I lean my head on my knees and sigh heavily. “How is it you are so calm, so relaxed?” I look up at her, her eyes are glassy almost as if she as about to cry again. I can’t stand to see her like this.

“I trust Erik to protect me, just like the people in there trust you to protect them” She gives me a look that sends chills down my spine. “They trust you to be there for them just like Erik and Casey are here for me.”

“But who gave me that power?

“They did, they knew you would be there for them.”

“What if I fail, what if I am not good enough for them how can they trust me so much?” Kayleigh sits down next to me her body emanates this warmth that seems to envelope me; it is both calming and terrifying. My eyes catch hers. Suddenly she slaps me on the back of the head.

“You won’t! That is why they trust you.” She stands up and looks at me her eyes caring yet almost furious. I blame hormones. “Now go to bed sleep” she points in a motherly fashion towards the stairs. I get up and pull my bag from the car. She leads Leila and me up the stairs back towards the common room. It is empty now. It seems that everyone has already gone to sleep. The room is dark and empty, it echoes’ with every step that rolls through the room.

I follow Kayleigh through the halls to a large metal door; it is a light aluminum which ruffles as Kayleigh pulls the door wide open. She reaches into the dark sliding her hand up against the wall until she flips the switch. The florescent lights ignite the room. It is almost blinding yet when everything fades I see a room packed with boxes and old containers that held what appeared to be trash. In the front of the small compartment was an old queen sized bed. The mattress was old yet seemed comfortable enough to enjoy. Leila was quick to jump up and make herself quite at home. I pulled my blanket and pillow out of my bag, and laid them across the bed. I fell into them and watched the dust cloud arise around me.

Kayleigh laughed as I sat there and choked on the dust. “Well Sam, I am going to let you get comfortable.” She smiles and goes to leave.

“Kayeigh,” I call out from the bed. She turns “Thank you for taking us in on such short notice- oh and congrats on your baby.” I smile. This one is real and natural. I think Kayleigh noticed that and gave me a smile back as she rubbed on her stomach. I closed the door behind her. I found a plug and began charging my phone. Then I sat there on this old bed. There was no sleep. I did not expect any so I just found myself sitting there entrenched in my own thoughts and ideas. I am the leader kept running through my mind whirling with images of me, well leading I guess. There would be no sleep tonight just me and my thoughts. A tingling sensation rushed through my body. I looked at my book-bag which appeared to almost glow with a bright yellow hue. It draws me to it; slowly I pull on the zipper revealing the bible which I threw in just before I left my house. The pages glistened and binding shined I opened book and began to read.

Genesis 1-1 “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.” Time flew by, the night passed singing along in hymns and tales of lions and floods, whales and serpents. The world around me faded to a dark gray only lit by the shining light from the book which I kept close to my eyes. Hours blurred and life disappeared. Until I finally hit the end of Genesis “So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt” I closed the book and looked around the room. Babe had found his way in while I read. I look at my phone sitting in the charger. It was officially five in the morning. It is time for me to head to sleep.

My body suddenly felt weak and listless I dropped the book and felt my head hit the pillow hard against the old mattress sending dust into the air. I did not move sleep came easy that night. There were no nightmares no screaming. There ere no dreams that night. It was a heavy dreamless sleep. The world spun as I stayed there without movement or thought floating a lone in my dark dreamless world and believe it or not, I was happy. Not that it was dark or dreamless but that it was sleep. It was true sleep without any distractions from the outside world.

I woke up at twelve in the afternoon. Gazing around the room through squinting eyes blurring everything into a misty mix of lights and colors like first grade water color painting. I try to sit up but there is something holding my blanket down. Cleo is her girth and glory has made herself quite comfortable pressed up against my stomach. She is sleeping on top of the sheets. Leila is at my feet and Babe is on my pillow. I am a lucky person to have such great pets. We are a pack and to be quite honest Leila is pack leader. I quietly slide out through the covers but they all wake up and see me. Their eyes follow my every action every move each breath is in perfect sync with mine. I pulled out some clothes and threw them on. I swing the door open, the sound of aluminum crumpling in my hand. I stepped out into the hallway. I hear the sounds of the animals rising from the bed.

Each one has a distinct sound letting me know that they have moved without me actually looking. The first one was Cleo, her large body made a heavy thump along the floor as she waddled to my left. After her was Leila the sound of her chain clanged with each step as she made her way over. Finally was babe, who was all but the sound of a bell chiming. He slowly wound his way through Leila’s legs then mine. He did not go near Cleo. He has come to learn that she would immediately hit him across the face with her nails like the many times before.

I smile at my pets as we walk down the hall towards the common room. The smell of eggs rises from the stairs. I look down and Nicole is sitting cooking eggs over a small electric griddle. I knew it was not Kayleigh. She is not really kitchen friendly. Everyone’s eyes turn to me. I sit down next to Casey and leaned my head against his shoulder. I could hear his skin begin to crawl. His face was turning a dark red.

“I missed you last night.” I cried in my most effeminate voice. He got up and moved next to Erik, his eyes still glaring at me with venom. Everyone’s eyes were still locked onto me. Leila barks at e as I lay on the now empty couch. She is standing the walking in place and barking. She has to pee. “Hey Erik” I call out “Do you have a courtyard or something?”

“Yeah” He rises and begins walking towards the garage. I dutifully follow with Leila and the cats with me. Through the halls which have become familiar to me. We marched along through the garage passed my car into another garage. There sat three large trucks. Then finally we entered into a back room. That must have once been the employee lounge. On the right side was a huge glass window that covered the wall. Outside was a small but beautiful courtyard. The green grass surrounded a white gazebo. Erik took his keys off his belt and put them into the bland wooden door that creaked open while rusty flakes fell from the brass brackets. This door had not been opened in years.

Other than the grass and gazebo there was no color in this courtyard. The large concrete walls made it seem like I as walking into a prison yard. All I needed were some barbells and a basketball court. Even then there would still be more color than now. Leila and the cats ran out into the grass. Babe was an outdoor cat before the infection but has never been out much recently for obvious reasons. Now he is running following after Leila as she sniffs around. Erik and Cleo are standing behind me. They both seem to be watching me, waiting for me to do something. I won’t, there is nothing for me out here.

I look at the sky. It is a dark gray creating the image of a ceiling for the room. A droplet falls onto my face and slides down my nose. The smell of heat filled my nose, it was about to pour. The sky erupts in a loud clap of thunder releasing the ocean with water that has travelled the world. Leila looks at the water and runs towards the door with Babe following closely. We rush into the room and close the door behind us locking it. Leila shakes her body spraying water all over Erik. He gives me an angry glare. He was not really an animal person. He was also not much of a speaker. Erik’s actions always spoke louder than his words. So when he gave me the snake eyes I knew he was not in a good mood.

The rain pressed up against the glass each droplet drumming creating a symphony of smashing sound. As we walked through the complex the sounds lowered to a mere whisper.  In the center room everyone was lounging about the couches. Matt and Sean were in the corner talking about something or another while Nicole half read, half listened. Freddie was eating eggs and Sarah was taking some for herself. Casey was of course nowhere to be seen. Kayleigh spread herself along the couch, just lounging.

When Erik and I walked in all the Activity stopped. Even Casey appeared in the room. All eyes were locked on me. They wanted something yet I have nothing to offer. I am one of them.

“Sam, what are we doing today?” Sarah finally says breaking the awkward silence. All of them lean in, all except Kayleigh. She just sits there with her eyes barely making contact with mine. She has a smug look on her face and a content grin gracing her lips.

“Today we will…”  My voice trailed off. I realized that my decision had a huge impact as to whether these people lived or not.  “Today we will leave. I will give each person address for their GPS.” I said, my voice evoked a false confidence but it was enough to drive home the point. “Everyone go pack.” The people frenzied and flurried to life leaving the room an empty mess.

            “Well done” Casey slowly claps from a distance. “Where are you going?”

            “No clue yet” I smiled we each let out a cynical laugh that could be heard through the echoing walls. “But could I ask a favor” Casey does not answer I will ask either way. “Could we maybe borrow those three trucks sitting in the garage?”

            “Take them, they just take up space” He throws the keys from his belt. I catch them and smile like a kid who just got his license. I was so overjoyed I hugged Casey. I could feel him cringe but I did not care I was happy.

Infected the series Book 1 chapter 4

Chapter 4

            “You killed Ryan!” Ackerman shouts, his voice echoing off the walls of the garage. “You killed him without any reason!” he is stepping closer his blade not moving from its point. “Why?” he demands, his word hurt my ears. I try to speak but the words won’t come out. “Why!”

            “I had to” I finally say softly “he was-“ he cuts me off

            “he was our friend!”  he swings wildly at me. “You just murdered him in cold blood!” I move dodging Ackerman’s speedy strikes; he is faster than me; a lot faster. Instinctively I pull my chain whip from my belt and begin swinging it. It whistles lightly in my ear. I hold my ground as he strikes. I catch his blade in my chain and tighten my grip. I pull the blade knocking it aside. I look up and Ackerman had already pulled out his Swiss army knife and was stabbing at me. To compete I pull out the butchers fork and catch his blade.

            “Ackerman stop!” I shout through his blind rage. There was murder in his eyes and I was the target. “He was infected!” I say the silence afterwards overwhelms the room. Sam lowers his blade and looks at me, his eyes showed a mixture of shock and fear. I walk towards Ryan’s dead body and turn it over revealing the bloody bite on the back of his ankle. His blood was still warm and I wanted to throw up as I touched him. I look up at Ackerman, his eyes are watering but it is not a full tear. He was close to Ryan they have known each other for many years; they were like brothers.

            “We could have helped him Sam.” Ackerman says to me his voice quivers as he speaks

            “No, we couldn’t have” I respond coldly

            “Well we could have tried!” I look at him

            “You know what happens to people who try to cure the infected” he looks down I know what he was thinking about, his parents and sister. That could have been us if we tried to cure Ryan. He knew it was true. I watch him as he looks at the body, his face is red with a mixture of emotions he seems like he is holding in anger and rage as well as tears. He stood there and looked at this body.

            “Ackerman,” I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder. He looks up and steps away. “Sean we have to get out of here” he looks up at the garage door. The sound of the infected banging against the door echoed around the room. I watch Ackerman as he picks up his blades, just to make sure he doesn’t go after me again.

            I grab my chain and wrap it back around my waist. My eyes catch Sean as he walks over to the garage door opener and hits the button. Behind me the garage slides open and light stress across the floor. Sean is standing with his sword drawn ready for battle. I am not looking to die, not for vengeance. I run and push the button closing the door on the undead.

            “Sean what is wrong with you!” I shout at him. He turns and stares at me his eyes  burning with a dark flame.

            “I am going to avenge Ryan,” he declares “open the door now” his decisions sickens me and sets me off.

            “How?” I say getting in his face pushing my force up to the point where I seem much stronger than I am “how are you going to avenge him?” I continue “huh, by dying.” My face is a bright red with rage “You just want to waste your life and waste my time by going and killing yourself,” He looks at me then looks don guilty “then go, go on do it waste your life I don’t really care I will be able to escape easier then”

            “Well I have to do something” he says softly, his voice is heavy as though he is holding back tears.  “He came to us for help and you just killed him.”

            “I did help him, I made sure he did not have to suffer through the pain of becoming infected” I say, my voice is solid “The worst thing is to become infected, Ryan died as a human, and can be remembered for his life as a human.” I walk over to Sean and look him directly in the eyes “you want to avenge him, then live. Just make sure you survive. If not for him for me, so I know I did not waste my time on you” I don’t think he liked my answer but he looked back at me and agreed almost half heartedly. “Now we need to get out.” I say. He turns and begins to walk towards the door into the house. On my way in I grab a large spade with a sharpened edge for breaking ice.

            “What is that for, Sam?’ Ackerman looks at me and realizes I have no major weapon and he only has one blade. His house is a mess clothes and garbage litter the floor, it is a very different scene from what it used to be. Sean’s parents were very neat and when they died I guess he did not care anymore. We walk to the front door and see the most horrific scene ever. Hundreds of the infected are smashing up against the garage door. Suddenly there is a large smash and they have all burst into the garage. I don’t need to be there to see what is going on. They are all grabbing and tearing at Ryan’s corpse. The image is sickening in my mind. The banging begins again but closer this time. I turn and look at Ackerman who is standing stiff eyes locked on the garage door. We hear the wood on the other side peeling and cracking. A large crack appears followed by another suddenly the door bursts open and the undead rush in, in a wave of gory disgust. Blood drips from their mouths’ Ryan’s blood

            “Ackerman, we have to move” I say, he isn’t listening just standing there. I grab him by the arm “Now!!!” I pull him and begin to run towards the basement opening the door and slamming it shut behind us. Ackerman is looking towards the door. Silent watching it as on the other side the undead push to get to us. I look around and find a door. This door leads to outdoor stairs. This is our only exit. I pull on Ackerman and his legs fall out from under him. He falls and hits the floor hard. It almost seems to wake him up suddenly he is up and running towards the door. I follow him and we burst into the light.

            The sun is bright, I run towards the car opening the trunk in front of us there are about ten infected. I move in and swing at the first one smashing in the skull on the side. It hits the floor and my next swing flows into the next stabbing through the throat, decapitating its head from the body. I realize that my weapon is heavy after two swings I am already getting tired. My muscles twinge and then I take a final swing at my third infected and take off half of the face.

            I jump in and watch as Sean takes out the other few with quick slices splitting the vertebrae. He jumps in and I close the trunk behind him. Leila licks him across the face. Sean smiles and pets her. I climb into the front seat and buckle up, Sean follows me and takes the passenger seat.  I turn the ignition and the car roars to life screaming down the street escaping the hoard living in my rearview mirror. I turn to Sean he is looking out the window and I can see his somber tone in the reflection. He would never admit it but he was hurting. I want to console but I know that nothing I will say could help him. I feel sick looking at him. I feel sort of guilty as though maybe it is my fault. That makes me laugh because well it is my fault. My eyes stay on the road and I know what will make Sean smile.

            “Hey Ackerman,” I say waking him up from his self induced stupor. He looks at me, his face was upsetting to look at. It almost made me want to cry. “see that infected” I smile my eyes glistening with a dark rage. He looks at it, a small creature which was once a teenage girl. It stood about five foot two, its face gleaming with a crimson stream of fresh blood dripping from its teeth. He turns and his eyes meet it and they begin to glow with a rage. “Want to see something funny?” He shrugs uncaring mostly because he is focused on the undead in front of the car. I stop the car and look at him. He turns to me almost confused. The infected is in my sights about 30 feet in front of my hood. I grin and hit the gas burning out as hard as I could smashing hard into the infected sending it flying and hitting the ground and sliding across the ground scraping up it’s body. I stop and laugh. I look over and I see a small smile escape from Ackerman’s lips.

            The creature rises up from the ground and begins limping towards the sidewalk. Its body is dripping covered in it’s own blood. I smile and laugh as I smash straight into the creature knocking it over. But I don’t stop this time. I run over the infected stopping on top of the body. Sean looks at me with a dark grin much like mine lighting up his face. I hit the gas burning out over the creature destroying its body. We laugh and leave with renewed vigor.

            “Sean go into my contacts and find Sarah’s number and dial it.” I ask politely. Suddenly the speakers come to life and with the ringing. Suddenly a ruffled voice comes blaring through the speakers.

            “Sam” I lower the volume. The voice is manly; clearly it is not Sarah but her boyfriend Freddie.

            “Hi Freddie is Sarah home?” I ask my voice fake and childish “I was hoping to talk to her.”

            “Well she is in the bathroom” Freddie replies in his own childish voice “she is taking a shower” he giggles at that like a little child. “What is it about” he says still keeping the accent.

            “We…” I want to continue speaking but the words are heavy coming off my tongue I sigh and drop the accent “We are beginning to move” I say the words rush and jumble and I feel sick saying it. I told Sarah when the infection broke out to stay inside and I will come for them when the time is right. Well now is the time.

            I listen to the other end and there is a silence on the other. I can still hear him breathing, his breath seems abnormally fast. Suddenly a ruffling sound blares.

            “What!” a voice comes through the speakers. It is clearly not Freddie, the pitcher is higher and there is a little drawl to the voice. It is Sarah, one of my closest friends from high school. If I did not know her as well as I did I would think she was mad at me.

            “Sorry to interrupt your shower” I say, the sarcasm in my voice is a little obvious. Only a little bit though.

            “What do you want Sam?” her impatience for me is always fun. Unfortunately, this is not the time for games. “Hurry it up!”

            “It is time to move” I say firmly.

            “Where are we going?”  That is a great question. I did not really plan a specific location.

            “We are meeting at the warehouse, I will text you the address.”

            “Ok, I will see you there”

            “Wait!” I stop her from hanging up “I will be late Sean and I have to go somewhere first” I say quickly making sure she hears it all. “Ok no you can hang up” Then the call ended.

            “Sean text Sarah the address on my G.P.S, then call Matt” I command with a smile.

            “Where are we going Sam?” Sean curiously asks

            “That is for me to know and you to find out young apprentice” I turn and a goofy grin bursts through my lips. “Have you texted them and called Matt yet for me?” He hasn’t, my phone is still sitting in the cup holder. I glance at it obviously trying to get Sean to pick up my phone. His eyes catch mine and he submits. I smile at that. With in minutes the phone is ringing over the speakers, I listen intently to the hum of the calling signal waiting for Matt to pick it up.

            “Hello?” Matt says through the phone, there is music in the background, it sounds like he is driving and I am on speaker phone. There is another person in the car, I don’t ask questions, I honestly don’t really care enough to. I just need to talk to him.

            “Matt, you know where we are going right? I ask

            “Wait, where are you?” That is never a good response, it is the first day of our unit and we are all lost, it is not a good sign. “I was just at your house and your car is gone.”

            “I am on my way towards the Warehouse to meet up with Sarah, Freddie, Kayleigh, Erik, and Casey.” I explain; meet us there I will text you the address” I looked at Sean, he was already texting. I smiled, he learns quickly. “I will be there late; I have to go get something quickly.” Just like the conversation ended like so many before it.

            “Are you going to tell me where we are going now?” Sean asks

            “Probably not” I giggle. He decides it would be easier to stop asking, that was something I liked about him; he usually went with the flow. I guess it is trust; Ackerman trusts me. That evokes a silent grin; he trusts me and I will not let him down. We sit in the silence as I drive around the familiar terrain hitting turns as I bring us to our next location the police station.

            Hen the Infection became bad the police became hunters, they would go out and kill as many as possible. They were also used to protect the doctors in the hospitals. The police were pretty much hired guns up until the end government shut down most police forces disbanded, there was no sense fighting if there was no money involved. They had no incentive to protect the masses. So they went into hiding, protect myself and my family. They were cowards.

I am a coward. That was how I survived as long as I have. The heroes have all died trying to save the world. Only the cowards remain. We sit hiding in our houses protecting ourselves selfishly trying to scratch out some sort of living. The heroes were stupid. They fought to protect cowards like me who did not care if they lived or died. Why would I? I did not know them; I would not die for them. They make guys like me look weak but guys like me are still alive.

“Sam” I hear it is Ackerman, his voice seems miles away. I pull myself out of my daze and turn to him. He is staring at me concerned. I hate that. Do not worry about me, worry about yourself first. Your life is much more important than mine. I look at him and smile. The smile is as fake as any but Ackerman believes it.

“This is us” I point at the old wooden side across the street from us, “Recreational Complex” it reads in a faded yellow coloring. In the back of the complex sits a large building, its bricks tower over the car hiding it in the shadows. Chills run up my spine as I pull the car to the front where the sliding glass doors lay shattered across the concrete pavement. “Someone beat us here” I sigh to Sean “Who would be so mean to beat us here?”

“The police station, what are we here for?”

“Guns Ackerman, guns” I park the car and hop out. The trunk pops open and I pick up my projects. Sean follows me and grabs one of his blades and unsheathes it. He stares at his reflection. I close the trunk and look. The infected are slowly making their way towards us. There is no point to wait and fight we must begin moving. I move towards the broken doors. Glass crackles and breaks under our feet. I walk through the hole in the door avoiding any glass, don’t need any cuts. Sean is close behind me.

The lobby is empty and a cloud of dust fills the air engulfing everything. The haze filled your lungs and with each breath I found myself coughing. I looked through the cloud towards our destination. The large door made of bullet proof glass stood out in front of Sean. The door stood locked with glass still up and frame covered in scratches as though there was once a terrible battle to get inside of it. Behind me the sound of the infected looms closer. Bearing down on our backs, safety is beyond that door. On the side of the door is a panel requesting I.D.

“Sam we don’t have any I.D.” Ackerman complains. He is always so serious it is slightly upsetting to me. I don’t eve dignify his remark with a comment. My mother’s old card does enough. Before the Infection broke out my mother worked for the town, she would move back and forth between her office where she worked during the week and the police station where she worked Sundays. I swipe the card and prepare for a battle. Yet unfortunately beyond the door lies little more than a white hallway with doors and windows upon each side. The silence which lays upon the white walls creates a foreboding feeling as though at any given moment the infected will overwhelm us. My muscles twitch and my body is on edge. At the end of the hallway a large metal door sits open exposing the world to its inner content. I run towards it. The room is dark. To my right a switch brings life to the room in spurts until the whole room is lit exposing the infected crouched over a dead body. It turns to us and screeches trying to keep us away from it’s meal.

            One strike with the woodpeckers scythe ends the creature’s miserable existence. The carcass underneath the creature lays bitten and destroyed exposing tissue and muscle. The body was that of a young man, about twenty years of age if I could guess. He looked strong his muscles now torn and ripped. Just for precaution I stab through the throat breaking the vertebrae. I look up and the walls are almost empty. The places where large guns used to stay now lie bare. There are only a few weapons; about three small pistols, two rifles and one shotgun. I grab all the weapons and give some to Sean.

“I don’t use guns, Sam”

“Well learn, now take this pistol” I say shoving a gun into his pocket. He steps back shocked by my actions. He pulls out the gun in his hand examining the dark metal frame. It is something unfamiliar and new to him. He stares at the alien device and points it at the dead corpse lying on the floor.

“Bang” he pulls the trigger. A loud bang echoes throughout the room. A bullet flies out of the gun hitting the dead corpse in the arm. Ackerman stared at the gun in fear, smoke seeped out of the barrel still hot. He looks terrified, his eyes wider than they have ever been. I doubt he has ever shot a gun before.

I laugh, I laugh loudly; nothing was funny but I feel that laughing is all I could to keep myself moving. Sean begins laughing with me. There we were standing over a dead corpse with a hot gun and laughing. If we can not laugh then what can we do? Are we worse off than the infected? By laughing I keep my humanity and my sanity.

I grab a black ammo bag, it is almost empty. So I grab more ammo from other bags. “Time to go” I throw the bag over Sean’s shoulder. I run out of the room, in the hallway I can see the bullet proof glass door now covered with the infected. Their bodies slam against the glass pounding in an almost rhythmic tune. The glass holds itself well. The easiest way out is not through the infected. I look around and find the closest door and open it. We were in a large kitchen with a fridge and table that still had food laid out across it. The fridge was open and the food in it was destroyed, the shelves a mess. There is a door with a light green paint and gold painted knob. It was like most of the office unimpressive, yet I got a feeling from it as though there was something great, behind it. I pushed on the door and it popped open.

Behind it stood a garage, filled with police cars and trucks. I smiled and began breaking into the windows and pulling out guns and ammo. Most cars had either a pistol or shotgun. We need ammo more than guns. I pull the cars apart grabbing as much as I can.

“Sam, this is great but how are we getting out of here.” Sean asks concerned. I don’t pay attention; too busy. There are windows to smash and honestly I really enjoy it. Finally with everything in tow it is time to leave, through the garage door. This was a pull chain garage. I looked at the chain and silently began to pull. Light did not flow in through the cracks. It was dark out and the clouds blocked out even the smallest star. We are in the back of the building. From here we can see the entire recreational complex, the infected wander around the land below. Hundreds of them walk blindly across the land. They live without purpose or reason. The infected wander the world lost in a sea of their own selfish indulgence, feeding only themselves and the virus. They sicken me.

My eyes follow one in particular, a woman large short in stature hair held high as if it were the only thing that mattered. She was probably like this well before the infection broke out; constantly feeding her ego and selfish desires. She probably tanned every day with her orange taking on a leathery orange tone. I am glad she is infected, the world is better off without her. My body begins to move on instinct. Without knowledge or thought I hold the rifle up through the scope the creature’s head lies in perfect view. I slowly squeeze the trigger with my index finger. “Bang I whisper as the bullet flies out and strikes the zombie in the left side of it’s head tearing through flesh and skull then finally emerging from the opposite side. The creature falls and hits the ground hard. Others flock towards the body for a cheap meal. I watch until the body is destroyed almost entirely.

Afterwards I move towards the car. My body is beginning to feel the strains of constant violence. I need to find shelter for the night, the only place I know of is the warehouse. That is where we will stay; I start the car and pull my away, locked and loaded. Running, always running.