World of the Dead

Dreaded Discovery

Quinn's breaths began to come out short and fast as she stared at the coat. She couldn't take her eyes off it; she barely blinked as she stood frozen in place. Every horrible possibility rushed through her mind. Images of Kevin being torn apart or bitten or shot rushed through her mind in a terrible stream of blood and gore.

Tears rushed to her eyes and blurred her vision, but she furiously blinked them away. She could not have a breakdown right now. Kevin was hurt. He needed her help, and he needed it fast.

Ripping her eyes away, she noticed the red splatters on the grass, forming a crude trail leading to the house. Her mind began to show her the horrific possibilities, and she shoved them away again. 

Focus. You need to keep it together. She picked up the coat and began to walk towards the house. It might not even be his blood. She approached the porch, taking in the smears of blood trailing up the four steps. He might've been grabbed, then got his coat yanked off. There was blood all over the brass doorknob; it was mostly dry but some still stuck to her hand. He's going to be fine. He has to be.

The door let out a protesting squeal as Quinn pushed it open. The smell of dust, mold, and garbage greeted her immediately, making her nose wrinkle and itch. It was dim and eerie as she walked in.  A flight of stairs was to her right and in front of her was a short hallway with pictures hung against the floral wallpaper. She could see a few doorways into other rooms, most likely the kitchen and dining area. Her skin crawled as she moved past the smiling pictures, knowing that the family was either dead or barely surviving like her. She tried to ignore their frozen smiles and hurried by them.

It was quiet. A stark difference from how it was on the streets with all the dead snarling and screaming. It was a relief. It also smelled slightly better, though the scent of rotting food was still very prevalent. But that was how it was in every house, so she got used to it quickly.

The floor squeaked under her, making her wince. It was dead silent and felt empty, but she had been wrong about these things before. It was shocking how quiet the infected could be at times, staying completely still until they perceive their prey. More than once, Quinn had been ambushed after assuming she was safe. Now she was paranoid and even the slightest sound sent her heart racing.

Pausing at a door that was ajar, she listened for any movement or sound. Quieting her breathing as much as possible, the unnerving silence settled around her. The bat was gripped so tightly in her hands that it shook slightly. She waited for any sort of sound to come from the room.

Silence.

Fully pushing open the door, she found herself staring into a library. Or what used to be one; the bookshelves had been picked clean, the books most likely used for fire starters. The remaining books were stripped of their pages and tossed carelessly on the floor. Oddly, a table lamp was near one of the shelves, shattered. It was too far away from a plugin to have belonged there, so it must have been thrown. There were two chairs, but one was pushed over and the other facing a strange angle. On the white carpet was a dried blood stain, which trailed in a path towards the closet.

 Fuck that, Quinn thought, backing out of the room and softly closing the door. There was no chance the blood was Kevin's, it was too old, so she wasn't going to bother seeing another dead person. 

After checking two more rooms, one being a small bathroom and the other being what looked to be a guest bedroom from how neutral the remaining decor was, she entered the kitchen. It was dim and as usual, ransacked. But on the floor were two wrappers. She picked one up, it was a protein bar package. While it could've been a coincidence, the fact that it was the same brand and flavor she had found, and that Kevin's coat had been on the front lawn left little doubt in her mind that he was there.