Blood - A Zombie Apocalypse Novel

Dealing with it

We were silent for the rest of the trip. Our minds needed time to wrap around the realization we had just reached. Jacob didn’t slow down as such, but he did seem to be driving more smoothly. He seemed to have worked himself into a rhythm, just going through to motions automatically whilst his mind was elsewhere. Like a zombie.

The actual undead fell further and further behind until we could barely see them. A few reappeared every known and again, but we kept a fair distance between us.

We parked a few streets over and walked the rest of the way, utilizing walkways when we could. The zombies would flock to the last place the car was heard, so it was important to keep it far enough away from Mandy’s safe house.

The key to the house was perched on top of the doorframe. Post infection no one was particularly concerned about security. If a zombie was trying to get inside your house, a well hidden key wouldn’t affect whether or not they could open the door. Few zombies could even turn a doorknob, let alone unlock a house. And there were enough supplies lying around abandoned stores to need to rob anyone.

I smiled when we entered the house. Mandy and I might not have been great friends, but she knew how to prepare a safe house.

Bookshelves covered the entirety of one wall, stacked with enough books to last a lifetime. A portable CD player sat in one corner, a rack of batteries that looked to be swiped straight from a hardware store in another.

The kitchen was full stocked with canned meat, fish and vegetables. Dried fruit sat atop shelves, and the freezer was full of bread and other frozen goods. A large stack of water containers filled another corner of the house. One cupboard was filled entirely with jars of honey.

As well as the usual locks, a thick, sturdy block of wood sat next to the door. The windows weren’t quite thick enough to be bullet proof, but they would not be broken easily. Several gun racks were spread amongst the house, with plenty of ammunition to fill them.

It was the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time.

As I admired our surroundings, Jacob called out for Mandy and searched the rooms. He came back looking dejected.

“Maybe she went out for a walk?” I offered. He and Mandy had been close. They had a similar sort of humor, meaning she was one of the few people he didn’t drive completely insane. Naturally they’d become friends.

He plonked himself down on the nearest sofa, which I couldn’t help notice looked incredibly comfortable. I shook the thought from my head and I noticed the expression on his face. Friends were rare post infection, so I could only imagine the pain of losing one. After already losing so much.

I moved over to the sofa and perched awkwardly on the edge. I ranked my brain for something to say, but words didn’t come. I’d never been great at consoling someone.

“It doesn’t mean she’s dead,” Jacob said, as if he was the one comforting me.

“Nah, definitely not,” I assured him, tapping my foot against the side of the chair to break the silence that followed.

Jacob looked at my foot tapping absent mindedly. He hand his hand held up on his head, as if he gone to scratch it and forgotten it was there.

“She could just be staying somewhere else,” he continued.

“Yeah exactly,” I agreed. “She could have easily just found…somewhere else,” I mumbled. Good going, I told myself. You’re doing a great job of reassuring him. Your input is really valued. Idiot.

“She might have found a group of survivors or something,” he supposed.

I just nodded as my mind failed me. I chewed my lip awkwardly as the silence grew louder. Unsure what to do, I hesitantly raised my hand and gently patted him on the back. I wasn’t the only one to raise an eyebrow at the gesture.

“Um…what are you doing?” Jacob asked, looking mildly crept out. He was clearly feeling as awkward about the situation as I was.

For reasons deluding me, I continued patting. “I…don’t really know,” I told him.

“Okay,” Jacob said, stretching the ‘a’ out for several seconds. We sat there awkwardly for a few more moments.

“Yeah I’m gonna stop now,” I moved my arm away as we both nervously laughed, then laughed again at the discomfort in each others voices.

Then the silence bared down on us once more. I shifted my position slightly, grateful for any excuse for an activity that didn’t involve talking.

“So…” I said after a few more seconds of awkward sitting. “Zombies huh?”

Jacob chuckled, “Zombies.”

I nodded and moved off my uncomfortable perch. The bookshelf provided opportunity to pretend to examine the titles whilst we waited for the next point in the conversation.

“We shouldn’t really be surprised,” I offered, turning slightly.

“Nah,” He agreed. I waited for him to continue, but he stayed silent. Typical of him to leave it to me to make conversation.

“I mean, we’ve already seen dead people come to life. This is just really dead people coming back, right? So why should we be surprised?” I asked.

It was a rhetorical question, but I hoped for an answer all the same. Anything to keep him talking. Now I’d changed to subject I didn’t want to let it drop back to his missing friend. It wasn’t selfish, I just wasn’t good in sad situations. And it’s good to keep people’s mind off their sorrows anyway, wasn’t it?

“Yeah, course.” Jacob nodded.

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. He wasn’t leaving me much to work with.

“So, what now?” I asked. It was a pretty open question, so surely would prompt a response of multiple syllables.

“We continue on,” he answered simply. “What else? It’s no difference really, just different zombies. We deal with it, like we’ve dealt with everything else.”

He said it so matter of factly, and I knew he was right. It wasn’t in our control, none of it was. All we’d done so far was deal with the problems that had faced us. We fought because that’s all there was to do. Live, and work to keep living. We’d faced zombies before, after all. We just had to deal with it.

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Short chapter, I know. But it was the most I could manage. And it's ontime, which I had to work hard for, believe me. Next one will be more interesting I promise. Laptop's still not back sadly, but I'll try get one up in a week regardless. I spoil you, I know xP

It's late, so I'll think up a dedication tomorrow. I just wanted to get it up. Goodnight.