Shattered (Complete!)

Chapter 4

"I just want to find mum." I whispered, sitting cross legged in my bedroom, upstairs, with Yorik, fast asleep on my bed and Sam, sitting upright next to me.

"I have no clue about what happened to my parents." She muttered. "Are they even alive?"

"Don't worry." I patted her shoulder softly. "We'll find them as well."

It was 8 pm and we had been passing time in my bedroom ever since I saw that girl on my opposite window.

"So who do you think she is?" Sam asked, wiping her tears away.

"I don't know. I've never seen her before. That house belonged to Mr. Smith and he had a baby boy. Not a daughter." I replied, without looking at her.

"Must be a survivor, just like us." She stated plainly.

"Right." I nodded. "Must've taken shelter there and is trapped now."

"Hope she has enough food and water supply."

"Of course, she has them. Otherwise, she would've asked me for resources."

"So we need to make an escape plan." Sam chewed her bottom lip.

I slowly pulled the curtain away and stared outside. The automated streetlights were turned on already. I started counting.

One, Two, Three...

Six zombies.

Where did the rest of them disappear? There were so many of them in the afternoon. It was fortunate enough for us though.

I dropped the curtain back to it's place.

"Six." I said, placing my hand on Yorik's head.

"What? Only six?" Sam was surprised.

"Yes. I'm confused either." I answered.

"Can we just run away now?" She inquired, looking pleased.

"I don't think so that's a good idea. It's night time. It's better to leave in the morning."

Right then, there was a thump on the window right behind me. I was about to scream, but Sam put her palm on my mouth.

"Shh!" She whispered. "Noise attracts them, remember?"

God, she remembered what I'd said earlier.

"Just let me pull the curtain up." She said and pulled it high up.

She stared straight outside for a minute and then nudged at me with her elbow.

I looked up. There was that blonde girl on the opposite window, holding a sheet with black scribbles. I could make out the writings easily due to the bright streetlights.

Sorry if I startled you. That was an empty can. I've a problem. Not much storage of food. :(

She made a sad face.

"See, I told you." Sam whispered.

"Get me the marker and a paper." I ordered Sam who was staring at that Blondie with curiosity.

What's your name? How did you get there? We're planning to run away tomorrow. You in?

She read it and gave us a thumbs up and started writing again.

It's Alicia. I escaped from my home. Everyone's dead back there. Found this place empty. I'm in. Tell me the plan.

"There, there." Sam said again. "Seems to be a brave lass."

Okay. We'll let you know ASAP!

She smiled, nodded and closed the window.

By the time Yorik woke up, I and Sam had already gathered a few cans of roasted peanuts, a pack of chicken nuggets and a jar of mixed fruit jam. Thankfully, we still had enough food stocked in the kitchen.

"What are you girls up to?" He asked, finally, coming downstairs.

"Here," I passed him a can as he sat next to me on the living room couch.

Sam had already lighted a candle and was munching the nuggets.

"Guys, now is the time to plan our escape." She said abruptly. "That girl needs food and our stock won't last for more then four days. I've calculated."

"You mean that girl who you were talking about lately?" Yorik faced me.

"Yes. She said she's running out of food when you were asleep." I answered.

"Okay, so let's figure this out. Where can we move? North, South, East or West?" Sam asked in a weary voice.

"Sam, I'm not sure about that. We don't know what's the condition of the other places. What if it's worse than this?" Yorik replied.

"He's right. We need to act very carefully. Alicia seems to be a brave girl, living alone in a place like this." I said. "Plus, we need to go to mum's office. We need to find her."

Both of them fell silent and stared at me.

"What?" I frowned. "Didn't like the idea, did you?"

"No, Rech. We're just not sure what's the condition of Burks & Burks. The last time, I went to the hospital, the area was full of zombies." Yorik explained.

"And what about Bane?" I frowned. "The poor fellow must be starving."

"We can't do anything about him either." Yorik whispered. "I'm sorry."

I sat slumped on the couch.

"Guys, look, I've an idea." Sam stated suddenly and we stared at her with curious expressions.

"We can go to my grandma's place. She lives in the countryside, right off the Harrison Road, in a cottage, with two of her maids." She said as we listened to her attentively. "We can stay there for a few weeks or even months. She has a small farmland behind the cottage so we can grow our own food crops."

"But we still aren't sure of the zombie hoards." Yorik said.

"Yorik, if we go according to what you're saying, we really will be stuck here forever." She darkly stared at him. "We need to move out. We need to take risks. This world belongs to zombies now."

"And what about my mum?" I asked curtly.

"I'm sorry, Rachel, but I don't think so we're ever gonna find her or even my parents. They're long dead." She said coldly.

"What?" I couldn't stand her statements. "How can you of all the people say this to me? What's gotten into you?"

"This is reality. Do you think she can survive the hoard? Do you? My parents were already affected and the moment I found that, I'd lost all hopes." She said calmly, looking down on the floor.

"Rech, you need to listen to her. The office, the hospital, everything's a mess. I don't think so anyone can stay alive in there." Yorik patted my back softly. "It'll be best to only move on."

I didn't say anything.

How could I defend myself alone while two of my closest people were insisting on moving on? And that girl, Alice, we need to save her, too.

"Okay." I muttered under my breath. "Let's leave tomorrow."

"Stock up as many water bottles and food stuff you can. What are you waiting for?" I crossed my arms and ordered before leaving the room and going to the kitchen.

I could feel their eyes on me.

My exams are almost knocking on my door and hence, I'm finding it difficult to spare some time for writing. I'll be updating Chapter 5 soon. Hoping to get your likes/comments/feedback. It means a lot to me. :)