"Alex was the most loving person I've ever known. When I told him I don't believe in marriage, he accepted it — he didn't try to change me. Instead, he gave me this military tag as a sign of our love. Bought me a chain for it and I've cherished it since."
Christie spoke amongst the group that stood around the two graves. Her dark eyes filled with tears once more as she examined the tag that hang on the chain around her neck. As I stood there, it finally hit me.
The human race is mostly gone and this world will never be the same again.
"Alex accepted Milo as his own and made sure to be the positive role model Milo needed. I know wherever our souls go, Milo is in good hands with Alex." Barry added through tears.
When Kara apologized to Christie, Christie shunned her. Maybe it's because she's mourning or maybe, just maybe she feels it's our fault.
And I don't blame her.
"I hate to say it but it's possible we're better off on our own," Kara suggested warily. "Everything has been chaos since we got here. Nothing is right."
"Nothing is right anywhere, Kara! Did you see it out there? There's not a damn soul on those streets. It's all dead people and if we were on our own we sure as shit wouldn't have a fucking chance."
I immediately regretted snapping at Kara but all the stress built up to the point where I needed somewhere to put it. I don't feel right eating here, using their resources or taking their space. I wished more than anything that we could be out on our own.
"You need to calm the Hell down, Jake. It isn't so far fetched if we could find somewhere like this place — somewhere with a lot of land and storage for supplies. You're just scared and I get that but I'll be damned if you take it out on me."
When I walked downstairs, Courtney was cooking in the kitchen.
"I'm trying to use up the freezer food before the electric goes. I'm making gravy burgers and mashed potatoes if you're interested."
Without stopping, I walked right by her and out the door as I muttered the words "I've taken enough from your family."
"Hey, kid." Vick greeted me from where he stood outside near the farming area.
"I'm not a kid, Vick. Stop calling me that."
"Only a kid would act this way when they're upset." Vick snipped in response, "we passed an empty grocery store on the way out to the city. We're going to have to head there and grab as much as we can before the electric goes out and the produce spoils."
Another suicide mission? Really?
"Going out to the city is a lost cause. We lost Alex back there," I argued. "I know we have to do whatever helps us survive but this isn't it. Not going on suicide runs everyday."
"We're doing this for Barry. He helped us and I'll be damned if we become the reason he loses everything. We lose our lives out there and we still lived longer than we would have if we hadn't gotten taken in by Barry."
I began to wonder if Kara was right about leaving. We're risking our lives to bring supplies back that aren't even ours. Last time it was Alex, this time it could be one of us.
Grrrgghhh.. rrrr....
A zombie approached on the other side of the farm fence and Vick quickly slugged it with his axe.
"Zombies don't usually come out here." I stated, "huh. Must've been a wanderer."
Little did I know, the zombie was just a warning of what's to come.
_
We now drove back out to the city in order to visit a grocery store. My gut told me that this wasn't the right thing to do but I accepted that I don't have a choice anymore. This isn't the world we all knew. I have nothing without Barry's roof over my head.
"I came to this grocery store when all hell broke loose," Vick explained as he clenched the steering wheel. "Saw they already shut down before any riots could break out. As long as nobody got inside, it should still be untouched."
I gulped warily before finally asking, "And what if somebody did get in?"
"Then hopefully they're not in there anymore."
We traveled in the old pick up that was filled with Kara, Vick, Christie and I. I hated that we didn't have more people, more heads to put together. If we had more survivors with us, Alex probably wouldn't have died.
"Oh, someone got in here alright," Kara examined the glass front door of the building that was now shattered. "Cut themselves good getting inside, too."
Vick bent down to examine the blood stained glass. "The blood is fresh. At least they paved the way for us. C'mon."
Vick stepped through the doorway, narrowly avoiding getting cut by the remaining glass that still lingered in the door frame.
"You sure this isn't infected blood?" I questioned as I stepped through to the inside of the store.
"Don't know. Might want to avoid getting it on you." Vick warned simply.
Christie trailed behind me, carefully stepping through the bloody door frame and following closely.
I held a baseball bat that Vick modified by hammering ring shank nails into it. I examined it, somewhat pleased by how wicked the weapon is. Part of me wanted to try it out but part of me hoped I wouldn't have to use it.
"Well, goddamn," Christie huffed as she observed the produce that surrounded us. "This place is barely touched. The owner did good locking it up before shit got crazy."
"Grab a couple shopping carts and make this quick," Vick advised as he picked a buggy out. "We can't be in here too long."
Rrrrggghhhh....
A growl from several feet away caused me to turn immediately. I met the gaze of an infected man sith an extremely damaged arm dangling from him. This man — he must've been the one who let himself inside.
"This man is the one who broke in," Vick nodded to the zombie who shuffled feet away. "He paved the way for us. Probably didn't have a way in — could've been running from zombies, people, or just needed shelter. We benefited from his loss."
The expression on Kara's face said it all. I've known her for so long that her thoughts are clear to me — and right now her face says she can't stand what's happened to the world around us.
I stepped over and wrapped my arm around her.
"We have to put him down." Christie stated hawkishly. "He did this, he helped us. We can't let him walk around like this."
"You're right." Vick agreed before pulling his pocket knife.
Before Vick could do anything, I approached the man as I raised my baseball bat and he reached out for me.
I took a deep breath and before I swung, I stared directly into the infected man's eyes and spoke two words.
"Thank you."
When we were ready to leave, I found Vick near the back of the store and pondered what he was up to but he didn't say much about it. I guess everyone gets a little wacky when the world ends.
_
"Couple more roamers showed up again today," Courtney huffed. "They're all coming from the same direction. Something tells me this just isn't a good sign."
"Do they make it over the fence?" I questioned as my brows furrowed.
"No. They just kinda hang around the fence and use their fists to slam on it."
"If they don't make it over the fence, it's not a big deal." I assured although I wasn't completely sure myself. "Just keep killing them through the fence — make sure their teeth and blood don't get anywhere near you."
As I attempted to exit the room, Kara and I bumped into each other and headed outside for patrol duty.
"Jake, I need to know," Kara sighed before continuing. "Why aren't you eating? You're losing so much weight. I'm just wor —"
"I'm eating, Kara. My best guess would be that it's the apocalypse and maintaining a healthy diet isn't exactly number one priority."
The truth is, I don't feel as though I should be eating their food. I barely feel right being here. Since I was a kid, I had to take care of things myself. The dependence I have on Barry is quite frankly nerve wracking to say the least.
"I know why. It's the same reason you wouldn't eat when you couldn't find a job," Kara began to sound more aggressive in tone. "You don't want to be dependent and I get it but now is the time to swallow your goddamn pride and some food along with it."
I went speechless. There's nothing I could say. She's right.
"And I won't let you trade your life for pride. Not when so many people died and didn't have a chance to live. You have the chance and I'm not going to let you throw that away."
"Don't you get it?" I questioned in a harsh, hushed tone. "Without Barry we wouldn't have anything. We wouldn't be here! You can't tell me you feel right eating his food, taking his space and resources as they run dry."
"We got that food on our own today, Jake. Not Barry. You me and Vick. We could do that to live if we needed to but right now we have to stick together. We all just lived through Hell but we're still here."
Rrrrghhhh... rrrr..
More zombies.
I turned my head to notice more than just a few. There were at least ten and they all hung along the fence as they attempted to get in. Some were missing limbs and some still had fresh blood on their lips.
"Kara, go get Barry and Vick!"
She turned to me before running toward the fence as I called out for her to stop. I chased her but there was no stopping her. The zombies got more riled up as she got closer to the fence and she used her knife to stick it right through the fence and into one of their heads.
"See! I got one! We don't need anyone else, Jake! We can do this!"
The fence caved and the zombies fell on top of it. Most of them now crawled toward us.
"No!" I called out. "Kara, get back!"
I attempted to grab her but she slipped out of my grasp. She trudged to the crawlers and before she could put her knife in the skull of one, she slipped in the mud. The zombies now hear a dinner bell and I need to do something.
Without further hesitation, I ran for the one zombie that actually stayed on it's feet during the fall.
Whack!
He went down but he wasn't dead. I used my nail ridden baseball bat to eliminate him once and for all.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots.
I immediately dropped over Kara as my first instinct and laid over her to shield her from gunshots or zombies.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
When I lifted my head, the infected all lay sprawled across the grass, finally at peace and taken out of their misery. I shifted my gaze to Barry and Vick who now stood feet away.
"C'mon, kiddo!" Vick called out as he gripped a hunting rifle. "We have to get back to the house. Now!"
I wondered why he was frantic but then it dawned on me.
Noise attracts the infected. We're in for a Hell of a ride.
It all happened so fast. I reached down to help Kara out of the mud as Barry stared at the two of us firmly. When I shifted my gaze to the broken fence, I noticed figures in the distance. As they got closer, I realized what they were.
"Go! Go! Go!" I grabbed Kara before running as fast as I could into the farm house.
"What are we going to do?" Kara asked breathlessly as she ran alongside me. "We can't go in the house! What if they hear us?"
"We're going to get our shit out of the house and leave. We can't stay here anymore. They're going to tear this place apart as soon as they come through."
There were so many zombies in the distance and they were heading right for the farmhouse. The direction they traveled in was the same as the last few groups of infected — this time, the group was much bigger.
"Courtney! Christie!" I hollered as I ran through the house. "We have to go! Grab your shit!"
The two of them immediately appeared in a panic.
"You're telling me that if we don't leave, we're going to die?" Courtney spat. "I'm not leaving. My dad isn't going to leave."
"Courtney, we have less than ten minutes to get our shit and get the hell out of here. I don't have time to argue —"
"This home has been in our family for a long time. We're staying to defend it. It's what dad wants." Christie chimed in. "He isn't going to leave and neither are we. We will stay to defend the only thing we have left."
"Your dad said that the group is too big," I objected. "Said that the keys are above the spice shelf and to go start the truck up. He'll be right there."
Finally, they agreed to leave. We now have just minutes until this horde arrives and walks right through the broken part of the fence to eat us alive. I ran outside to retrieve Vick and was surprised to find that I was wrong.
They're already here.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Both Vick and Barry used their guns to eliminate some of the zombies that swarmed the farm. The more noise we make, the more infected we attract. We're damned either way.
"Vick! Barry! C'mon!" I called out before whacking an infected woman that approached me. "We have to go now!"
I assured them that the truck was ready and just as we turned around to leave, Barry fought off a few infected because he ran out of ammo. We finally got back to the truck and Barry remained quiet. When Vick continued to pressure him, he finally admitted it.
Barry was bitten.