When I wake up I get up and immediately go to Ace's bedroom assuming Nico would want me to watch Ace so he could do whatever he did normally, when I walk in I see Nico sitting in the rocking chair and Ace laying on his small twin bed.
"Morning" Nico said, turning to face me
"Morning" I replied
"So Ace and I were thinking and we can't stay here," Nico said
"Why can't we stay here?" I ask confused
"We're not safe here, whoever those guys are they knew that we're here and I can only assume that they don't work alone" Nico continued. Shit, he was right.
"Okay well, where do you suggest we go?" I question
"We don't know yet, but we were thinking that we can take the guys SUV and hopefully we can find somewhere safe, we also need to get supplies," Ace said, Ace looked better than he did before but he still wasn't 100%
"We also have to teach you how to use a gun, Ace has some hunting rifles we can use" Nico suggested
I nodded not wanting to do it but knowing that it was necessary and could save my life, so I pushed my fears down and got Nico to show how to use a gun
The next few days were spent with me at a small homemade gun range and shooting some Lurkers with Ace resting while Nico went back and forth between us. But the gun practice was helping and I was getting quite good at it if I do say so myself, shooting Lurkers wasn't scary anymore which was great seeing as killing Lurkers was necessary to survive
Ace was feeling better and started getting up out of bed, Nico and I told him not to do too much seeing as we wanted him to get better not worse, he listened and was careful not to overdo it. We looked through the cabin to see if there was anything useful we could bring with us, there wasn't much, a few small snacks, rifles and some blankets are all we took with us.
We all got into the SUV with Nico behind the wheel and Ace with me in the back. We decided we would check a few stores for supplies and if we see a good house we'd stop and spend the night, not wanting to chance being seen, whether it was by Lurkers or more of those scary men looking for me, we weren't sure why they wanted me in particular but Nico and Ace swore that they wouldn't let anything happen to me which I thought was sweet
Luckily we had a car so we didn't have to worry about walking or coming face to face with a Lurker without a weapon. This time we were prepared, with guns and a few kitchen knives, lucky for me Nico trained me with both. Feeling slightly nervous but also trying not to let myself shut down again I attempted to mentally prepare myself for the worst situation I could think of.
It didn't take long to get into the city as this car was fully stocked on gas and if we needed some we had a few jerry cans with us. We slowly drove through the city roads passing by wandering Lurkers searching for food
The first thing we decided to look for was a place to stay since it would be easier to get supplies if we took everything out of the SUV so there would be more room.
we wanted something simple that wouldn't draw to much attention as now we know Lurkers aren't the only things hunting us, we saw a good-sized house not to close to the main roads but big enough for all of us to have our own space
Nico and I got out of the car along with Ace
"Nope, you're staying in the car," Nico told Ace
"What the hell, why?" Ace asked
"We don't need you hurting yourself again dude, you finally got better" Nico explained
Ace understood what Nico was saying but still hated the idea of Nico and I going into a house that for all we know could be filled with Lurkers
"We'll be careful" I promise
"Fine" He gave in. Ace trusted us not to get hurt which was laughable. I put on a brave face but on the inside, I was freaking out, my heart pounded against my ribs as I tried my best not to let my anxiety show.
Nico nodded to me and I nodded back showing that we were both ready, as we walked up to the front door
Now, this house looked huge with at least two floors, probably at least five bedrooms and three bathrooms, and that's just a guess from what I've seen on the outside.
The house looked old, maybe fifteen years old, the bright red brick was crumbling but only on the edges, the door was a dark oak. The house was beautiful, it was the kind of house that a big family would live in. A happy beautiful wife with a handsome husband who were high school sweethearts, they would have four beautiful kids who were also happy, they would play with each other under the big oak tree in front of the house as their parents watched happily from the patio.
I wish I had a family like that.
Getting back to the task at hand, Nico stood beside the door,
"Well see if it unlocked if not we break it down, then we make noise that way if there are any Lurkers inside they come to us, and then we stab them" Nico concluded, I nodded and gulped as Nico reached for the doorknob. He slowly turned the doorknob and swung the door open, well it was unlocked. He took a few careful steps inside with me following closely behind, he looked at a lamp and before I could say anything he threw the glass lamp onto the floor, the lamp collided with the floor with a smash. So I guess that's how we're testing if there are any Lurkers in the house.
We listened for a few seconds before a Lurker came tumbling down the large staircase on our right, Nico was quick to take the small female Lurker out. We waited for a minute before feeling safe enough to explore the house. Nico and I stayed together knowing there's safety in numbers as we walked through the house. On the left of the door was the living room, a large light grey couch sat in front of a 55" flat screen tv that hung over a beautiful fireplace, it looked cozy and comfortable, beside the living room was a door frame that led to a kitchen. The kitchen was immaculate, with granite countertops with an island sitting in between the counters, the stove looked old which was confusing since everything else in the house seemed new
That's when I got an idea, I went over to the stove to check if my thoughts were correct
"Zac, what are you doing?" Nico asked from behind me,
"It's a gas stove," I say happily, Nico looked confused. I guess he didn't know what a gas stove was
"A gas stove doesn't run on power, it runs on propane" I explained "that means we can have hot food again" I continued
"What, that's awesome!" He said with excitement, we went back to searching the house after we got out our excitement, yeah all it takes to make me happy now is a gas stove.
We left the kitchen and saw a door that led to a room underneath the stairs. We made our way to it and Nico put his ear to the door to make sure it was safe.
"There's something in there," he said, I nodded and got ready. He slowly opened the door with a creak. I could hear the high pitch scream only a Lurker could make, but when we walked into the room we saw that the Lurker was tied to the bed.
It was writhing around as it heard us walk in,
"What do we do?" I ask not being too sure what to do in this situation
"We kill it," Nico said as he watched towards the bed, which only made the Lurker squirm more trying to grab and take a bite out of Nico. With each step the Lurker only grew more excited, Nico took out his knife and didn't waste any time driving the large knife into the weak, decaying skull of the Lurker. The Lurker stopped moving, lying completely still, it was dead.
We leave the room and go upstairs and do that same thing, checking each room not leaving anything unturned not wanting any unexpected guests. While searching we found a map of the city, listing stores and other useful things we might end up needing.
After searching the rest of the house and not finding anything we go back out to the car and start unpacking.
"Did you find anything?" Ace asked as he stepping outside of the car
"Two Lurkers, easy take out" I explained
Ace nodded obviously wanting to help with taking things inside
"you're not helping, If you put too much stress on it it might come back with a vengeance" I added quickly while laughing a little, Ace rolled his eyes and walked towards the house, I chuckled softly at him.
Once we unpacked the car and Ace was done throwing his tantrum we grabbed the map and thought of the best place to go and get supplies. We agreed to go to a local superstore that wasn't too big but big enough to have the supplies we're looking for.
I get into the passenger seat with Ace behind me and Nico driving, like usual. As Nico drove I gave him directions, with how big the city is it took us thirty minutes to get to the store, there were abandoned cars scattered around the parking lot
"We should check them for gas" I heard Nico say as he exited the car, Nico and I agreed that Ace should come inside to get some new clothes as his old shirt was used to absorb the blood from his bullet wound on the bottom left of his torso.
Ace and I got out of the car as Nico ran back and forth to each car as I handed Ace a knife to protect himself. Once Nico was finished looking for gas we prepared to go into the store.
We walked up to the big glass doors and I tugged on the handle, the door swung open and a small ding came from the door telling whatever was in the store that someone was here, just like at the house we stayed at the door waiting to see if any Lurkers would come running.
Just as I suspected two Lurkers came running from the back of the store, Ace took my place at the door as I readied myself. Nico and I decided not to use guns as they were loud and would only draw more attention to us. As the Lurkers got closer it was easier to see their hungry eyes as reached for us. They were animalistic.
Nico took his Lurker down easily, I hesitated as the creature got closer and closer. I was scared, damn it, I wasn't supposed to be scared. As the Lurkers cold rotting fingers grazed my arm I threw the small frail creature to the ground, stomping on its mushy skull. Its skull broke like glass shattering on concrete with little left other than black oozing blood and small bits of its decaying brain.
I fought the urge to be sick as I focused on the task at hand
"That was badass," Nico chuckled cleaning off his knife on the Lurkers ripped clothes
"Let's just get this over with," I said turning and walking into the store
The store was dark, the only light illuminating the store was from the small windows. We walked throughout the aisles looking for anything we thought might be useful, Nico stopped at the food aisle as Ace and I aren't picky and will eat just about anything.
I walked towards the clothing aisle knowing I would probably need more, how do I put this appropriate clothes for the current situation. I grabbed a few shirts, jeans and a jean jacket as well as a few more jackets, I walked towards where they kept the shoes, my sneakers were covered in blood as well as my ankle, I would need to get shoes that went above my ankle. I looked for about ten minutes before I found a pair of fake leather boots that came up to just above my ankle
I went back to the clothing aisle and began to change, I had gotten my pants and new shoes on before I heard a noise behind me
"It's just me" I heard Ace's deep voice say as he came into view "you look good shirtless" he continued, no words left my mouth as I thought about what he said. I look good shirtless?
I turn my back to him and pull my shirt over my head and slipping the jean jacket over my skinny arms
I turn around, my nose almost hitting Ace in the face. How'd he get so close? My breath was heavy as his eyes looked into mine. They looked different this time, they looked loving. I wasn't sure what was happening but I knew that I liked it, slowly his face got closer and closer. Soon I was able to feel his warm breath against my lips, what the hell is he doing? I then felt his soft lips connect with mine, he slowly pulled away with a smile on his face, his gorgeous green eyes still locked with mine. He slowly turned away from me and left me standing in the middle of the clothing aisle completely in shock.
I could feel the blood rush to my face lighting it up like a Christmas tree. Did that just happen?
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