Zomb-Pocalypse 6

Chapter Three

We sit in silence for several minutes, both of us straining our ears until the zombies sound like they've all gone further down the alley.

"Good thinking," I whisper, and Ryan nods his head in acknowledgment.

"They didn't seem like they were going to leave, and I didn't want them to see that guy in the window." He explains with a shrug, and I can't help but notice that he's breathing heavily. And it's more than apparent he doesn't take what he did as casually as he's trying to portray.

I guess I'm not the only one feeling more than a bit of strain.

At the mention of the guy in the window, we both look up, but again he isn't there. "Should we?" I ask and know that Ryan is mulling over the same thing.

It goes against my hard and fast rule to avoid people in this apocalypse. I can tell Ryan is thinking it over, but he doesn't get a chance to reply.

Mike lets out a low growl, and we hear the quiet squeak of the back door open; whatever happens next, the decision is being made for us.

The man is standing there with a gun gripped in his hand, at the ready but not pointed directly at us- which only allays my fears slightly.

Ryan instinctively steps in front of me, blocking me from the man with the gun, and I grab Mike's collar as I sense him about to lunge in the direction of the man. Mike pulls me forward, and I smack gracelessly into the back of Ryan, though he doesn't even wobble.

Ryan holds his hands up to show that we aren't intending any harm and takes a tentative step towards the man in the doorway.

The man looks nervous, which makes me feel a little bit better. It's obvious this is no hardened criminal that is used to handling a weapon- not that that same fact doesn't make him equally as dangerous.

If he gets too scared, he might shoot out of fear or by accident.

"Stay here," Ryan murmurs to me as he starts to move steadily forward with his arms still raised.

I ignore him completely and follow him, staying behind him and keeping a firm hand on Mike's collar.

When we reach the steps leading up to the deck, the man finally speaks. "That's far enough." He tells us with only a little bit of a wobble to his voice.

"Please," I say, stepping around Ryan's broad shoulders and into the eye-line of the man with the gun. "We're trying to find our friend, but there are too many of them out here; we need somewhere to stop running and make a plan." The man does not appear to be overly moved by this statement, so I try again.
We have a family that we rescued from a house down the road that needs shelter." I say, pointing over my shoulder at the family that's just now pulling themselves up from beside the fence.

The mystery man from our group has set down the elderly lady and stepped forward, and I just hope he doesn't get us shot. "Rob?" The guy speaks, and the man with the gun looks suddenly ashamed.

"Anthony." He replies in kind with a clipped tone and a slight head nod.

I turn to look at the guy from our group, apparently named Anthony. "Please help us," Anthony begs, his voice breaking a little at the end. I can tell Rob is moved by this, and obviously, they know each other, but he is already shaking his head before Anthony's even done speaking.

"I am sorry about this, but I have a family to protect." He motions back into the house behind him, and my heart sinks into my stomach. "I don't know them." He says, pointing at us, and I jump at the chance to save this.