Living on Borrowed Time

Chapter Three

David knocks on Johnny's door as I stand behind him, looking out for biters. After a few seconds Sammy opens the door.

"Hey guys." Sammy slightly smiles, but then stops smiling when she sees the condition I'm in. "...my god. What happened Bruce?" She asks.

"Can we discuss this inside perhaps?" I say.

"Of course, of course. Come in." She shuts the door behind us, locking both locks. I set my backpack and the rifle beside the door.

"Bruce you look terrible. What happened?"

"Supply run." I reply, wincing with a grunt as I gently slide my jacket off. "I don't mean to come here like this before dinner but... I think I need medical attention."

"Yeah... sure." She says. "Have a seat. I'll go tell Johnny to take over dinner." She walks off. I unbutton my shirt, sliding it off with another grunt. Through the mirror on the wall I can see David staring at me with a concerned look.

"What?" I question, tossing my shirt on top of my pack.

"You're bleeding." He says.

"Where?"

"Everywhere." He replies. Sammy walks back into the room with her medical kit and gasps.

"Jesus Bruce. There's glass all over your back." She exclaims.

"I know, I can feel it." I pull a chair out from the dining room table and turn it around, sitting on it with my arms resting on the back.

"You're in worse condition than I expected. This is going to take a little while." She says, wiping down a pair of tweezers with an alcohol pad.

"Here we go." She warns me, beginning to pull the tiny glass shards out one at a time.

As she goes on I can feel the glass pulling my skin along with it as they come out.

"Ah." I grunt. My back feels wet from all of the droplets of blood dripping from the tiny holes.

"Damn Bruce." Johnny walks in. "You gone and beat yourself up before dinner?"

"We were attacked by biters." I say.

"Next door?"

"No, no." I wince as more glass is being pulled. "We were searching that big yellow house over on Brook Street."

"Bills place? That thing is a mansion." He says.

"We got overwhelmed. They were everywhere." I explain.

"There was like 50 of em." David adds. Johnny just chuckles.

"Just about." I give Johnny a serious look. "There had to have been about 30 to 40 biters."

"40?" Sammy says, shocked.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Johnny questions.

"I don't know. They came from the treeline." I tell them as Sammy finishes with the glass and starts wiping up the blood with gauze.

"Maybe they're starting to wander from the city." David suggests.

"That's very possible." Sammy says. Sammy then dabs one of the gauze in peroxide, dabbing it in the tiny holes.

"Sounds like you got lucky." Johnny says.

"We did..." I look down at my hands, then up at the mirror. "If I wasn't wearing my backpack I would have got bitten... luckily it only chewed off a piece from my pack."

"Glad it turned out the way it did." Johnny replies. "Anyways... dinner will be done in about ten." He walks off into the kitchen. After what seems like a long silence Sammy speaks.

"You know... Johnny has really taken a liking to you guys. Not like he has to other people; before this I mean. I'm not sure what it is but... he does like you guys." Sammy tells us.

"Thanks, Sammy...we like you guys too. You're different. On the other hand you guys are the only other people around to like." I chuckle.

"Alright. Let me just stitch up a few of these larger holes and you'll be good to go." She says, pulling out her needle.

"I really appreciate this Sammy... really." I thank her.

"Well, I am a doctor. It's kinda my job." She chuckles. "...no problem." I look over into the living room and see David sitting on the couch, reading one of Johnny's comic books. I sigh.

"I shouldn't have brought him with." I say. "I nearly got him killed."

"He doesn't really seem shaken up about it." She looks over. "It couldn't have been that hard on him."

"Yeah... he's a tough kid, but if things would have gone even a little bit differently... we wouldn't have made it out." I say.

"OK..." She says, closing her kit. "Just try not to stretch or turn too much or the stitches might tear."

"Here, this should fit." Johnny walks in, tossing me a fresh white t-shirt.

"Thanks guys."

           .            .           .

"The spaghetti is good guys, thanks." David says.

"You're welcome. Just glad you guys came over." Sammy replies. "Although, this would be better with a nice glass of wine." I look down at my right hand, at the cut from the bottle, then laugh.

"Something funny?" Sammy smirks.

"No, its just... just before we were attacked I was holding a bottle of wine in my hands... before I knew it I was smashing it over a biters head, the one that nearly bit my back." I explain.

"Hmm..." She says. "Waste of a perfectly good bottle."

"It was kinda cool tho..." David adds. "When he hit the biter with it I mean."

"Is that so?" Johnny laughs. Suddenly there's a quiet bang on the front door. A biter trying to get in. Everybody goes silent, then, after a moment, Johnny speaks up.

"Well, it was nice while it lasted." He stands, quietly pushing his chair back and grabbing his plate and cup. "Bruce, you mind helping me in the kitchen?" He asks.

"Yeah, sure." I stand.

"Sammy, why don't you go show David my comics. The good ones." Johnny suggests. She just nods. I grab their plates and head into the kitchen with Johnny.

"You know, I've been thinking a lot lately, and I'm sure you have been too." Johnny says.

"That depends, thinking about what exactly?"

"About the outside world..." He replies, leaning against the counter. "If there really is nobody coming, we're living on borrowed time here."

"Yeah, I've realized this. That's why I've been going out on supply runs, but that hasn't been very promising." I add.

"I think you know what we need to do... now, I don't like it just as much as Sammy, but it's what we need to do to survive." Johnny explains.

"I know, I've thought this over many times, but will Sammy agree?" I ask.

"She doesn't have a choice... if we stay here we die. If the biters don't kill us we'll eventually die of dehydration and starvation." He says.

"If anything, I think we should try to find others... survivors I mean. More numbers would make us stronger against the biters, and more efficient when scavenging." I tell him.

"Yeah, but..." He sighs. "Can you trust people in a world like this? I mean, I'm on board but... we're gonna have to stay sharp as a needle at all times out there, at least until we find a secure spot."

"So it's a plan..." I say. "Or at least the start of one."

"Just give me another day at least, lemme talk to Sammy." He says.

"Of course." I pat him on the shoulder. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah..." He stares down into the sink.