ZOMB-POCALYPSE

Chapter Seventeen

"There's too many," Ryan says. I can tell that he doesn't want to disappoint me, but he's being cautious.

"I dunno about that," Silas says, rolling down his window and drawing his weapon from his holster. He aims carefully and starts taking the zombies down one by one. He has to reload two more times, but finally all the zombies in the cul de sac are down, and they aren't getting back up.

"Thanks Silas," I say with a grin.

Ryan frowns. "This doesn't mean more won't come," he warns us.

"That's very true, which is why we should hurry," Silas argues. "Though, being a cul de sac, it's a little bit protected from drawing more in, unless we make noise or something."

I take courage from Silas' words and point out my childhood home. The grass is a little longer, but the rut is still visible where Megan peeled out the day she saved me.

It feels like another lifetime ago. It's kind of crazy to realize that it was only two weeks ago. I was a different person then.

Ryan pulls right up on the lawn so we don't have to walk very far. "Someone should wait in the truck so we can keep an eye out," Ryan says, always the one that's thinking ahead.

"Not it," Silas calls dibs, as he springs out of the truck with a grin, being careful not to slam the door behind him.

Ryan looks like he wants to explode. I stare at him for a moment. I don't want to upset him, but I also don't want to waste precious time, and I am definitely not going to be the one that waits in the truck.

"I'm sorry," I tell him as I follow Silas out of the truck.

I draw my gun from my holster and turn the safety off. Silas already has his out. We jog up the front steps, and Silas tries the door. It's locked.

I frown. I don't remember locking the door when I left, though things had been so surreal. I guess anything is possible. I stare at the door and try to think back. I actually thought I'd left the door wide open when I'd made my run for it.

"Do you have a key?" Silas whispers.

I nod, lifting up the planter by the door. Thankfully, the key is still there. I snatch it up and hand it to Silas.

Silas opens the door as quietly as he can, and we are hit with the stench of decaying zombie right away. Silas lets out a quiet whistle as we both pause in the front entrance, straining to hear if anything is going to come investigate the noise. Nothing moans, groans, growls, thuds, or bumps from inside the house, but the silence is almost worse for my nerves.

I turn to Silas and open my mouth to tell him that maybe this is a bad idea, but he shakes his head at me and puts his fingers to his lips, telling me to be quiet. Then, his attention is back on the house.

Silas quietly shuts the door behind us and we move rapidly from room to room, making sure everything is clear. In the kitchen, we find three zombies on the floor, each with a bullet planted neatly in its head.

"What is going on here?" I ask out loud.

This time Silas doesn't shush me, he shrugs.

"Looks like someone was in here."

That gives me the creeps, though nothing seems overly disturbed or missing. I check the pantry and see that it's mostly cleared out, though there are a few food items left.

"See, it was just someone lookin for supplies," Silas reassures me. I feel a bit like someone robbed us. It's hypocritical, I know, because I've had to go into stranger's houses these past few weeks, and taken their food in order to survive.