"Ready for another day?" Silas asks and I nod even though another day of combing the river for any sign of my Dad, Jack, or Ryan, is the last thing I want to be doing. I just want to find them already so we can go home.
We step outside to the snarl of a zombie. My knife is already in my hand, but Silas reaches him first and spikes him through the temple. The zombie drops like a sack of potatoes and I barely spare it a glance as I step over its body. The days have been unseasonably warm and I try not to breathe in the scent of rotten flesh- I've been spoiled by the cold weather and the frozen zombies back home.
We head towards the sound of roaring water and it's a short walk down the bank. The house we stayed in was practically right on the river's edge and was probably somebody's vacation home before the outbreak happened- it had a really nice deck that overlooked the water, and I'd spent a lot of time out there last night staring towards the darkened river, hoping to see or hear some sign of the others until Silas finally made me go inside.
I start to imagine what kind of lives the people who owned the house might've had before. I'd stared at their smiling faces in the photographs lined up on the mantle, and they'd looked so happy- it's too depressing though because their probably dead, so I force myself to think about nothing instead and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Silas isn't chatty either as we reach the bank. The sound of the water is nice, but I can't let myself enjoy it too much since it's the main reason I can't find my Dad. It also masks the moans of the dead, which is a pain in the ass and really dangerous. We've had more than one zombie come charging out of the trees at us, and not heard it until it was practically breathing down our backs.
"Let's continue in the same direction as yesterday." Silas says and I let out a grunt of agreement as I adjust the straps on my backpack. It's been feeling heavier and heavier every day I spend trudging up and down the river bank, even though it's actually getting lighter since we're using up more and more of our supplies. We've looked through the houses we've stayed in, but there's almost nothing useable left. Silas thinks scouts from Louisville have already scavenged this whole area. Perhaps if we find a place off the beaten path, and away from the river- we would have more of a chance to restock, but it's barely even a blip on my radar right now. I just want to find Dad and the others.
It rained the night before, so the ground is wet and soupy and I wince as I pull my boot out of the soggy muck and it lets out a noise that I can only describe as a disturbing slurp. The sky is gray and as if on cue, the clouds open up and it starts to rain again. Silas digs in his bag and pulls out two cheap, clear plastic ponchos and hands one to me. I shake it out and throw it on over my head, and it's loose enough to cover my backpack too.
Even with the rain slicker on, it's wet and cold and miserable and the plastic keeps making a crinkling sound, setting my teeth on edge with each rattle.
We walk all morning and my teeth are chattering by the time Silas stops for 'lunch'. He hands me another granola bar and I try not to wince. "Maybe we should stop for the day?" He suggests and I look at him sharply. I know it's raining, but it's unlike Silas to give up because of a little wet and cold.
He's looking at me with concern on his face. Oh. He's worried about me; this has nothing to do with him needing a rest or being wet and cold. I force my blue lips to stop shaking and give him a small smile. "I think we should keep going." I tell him and he purses his lips as he stares at me considering. Finally he nods and pops the rest of his granola bar into his mouth. I notice that his is the plain gross granola kind and that the one he gave me has chocolate. I feel my annoyance at him melt away. It's not his fault that we're in this situation- he's just trying to take care of me like he always does.
Chapter One
Start from the beginning
