The Shallow Places (ON HOLD)

Chapter Five

After a long and agonizing three hours in the car, I awoke again to find that we were stopping at a gas station. It was deserted, obviously, but something about it made my stomach flip and twist. Something didn't feel right about this place, especially because I didn't know where we were. We must be getting close to wherever we were going by now.

If it were under any other circumstances other than these, I would not be travelling with three boys I didn't know, but judging by the fact that New York City was again a haven for flesh-eating beasts, I figured I was better off. With no family, no home, no supplies, I figured that this was the prime option.

Owen craned his neck towards me and asked, "Do you want anything?" Of course, I was hungry. My stomach felt as if it was going to drop out of my body and my blood sugar was low. Maybe the feeling was just hunger, but then again, something was amiss. Something was out of context. The feeling was like part of an incomplete puzzle.

I didn't know what time it was. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and frowned, "Don't you think you should check it out first? There might be..." I didn't have to finish my sentence; they all knew what I meant. Eli shuddered at the thought.

Owen rolled his eyes, "If there were Flesheaters around, they would've come out to get us by now."

I shook my head, "Don't you know? They're afraid of the sun."

I felt superior in that moment. I knew something that Owen didn't. And I was sure that he absolutely detested it. But if what I said was true, why did that horde attack their truck in the city? It must have been because they hadn't had a decent meal in years. And for the boys to waltz into the Stillwalkers' domain, acting like they were superior, was probably the most foolish of choices to make.

Nolan eyed me suspiciously as Owen ignored my remark, starting towards the shack of the station. The light in the shack was flickering. I was surprised that there was still power, as the city power grid was shut off long ago. That must mean that someone was around this area recently, since the power would've had to have been turned on manually...

"Someone should go with him," Nolan said, and I agreed. The two of us agreed on something for once.

"I'll go," I said, but Eli refused.

"You aren't going in there," he protested, "You're probably right. I'll go." He flashed me a shy smile and jogged after Owen. Eli had the cold feet of the group, as he was easily frightened, but who wouldn't be when there was the constant threat of being served as an all-you-can-eat human buffet? I was surprised when he offered to be the one to go after Owen.

That left Nolan and I alone. "You're going in there, aren't you?" he whispered, and I winked in his direction. It was funny; the one that hated me the most was the one that knew me the best. "Well, I'm coming too then. The guys would kill me if they knew I let you go in there without protest." He sighed. I knew he thought I was a nuisance.

I smiled. Even if he didn't like me, Nolan was nice to have around. He was the only one of the bunch that wasn't afraid of anything. He didn't think; he acted. He was rash in his decisions, which aided him in being a supreme choice zombie-killer. I was glad to have him on my side.

Nolan handed me a .44 Magnum AutoMag pistol; manufactured in the United States. It wasn't my choice in weaponry, but it would do; any weapon was better than no weapon at all. We got out of the car and made our way up to the shack.

I let Nolan go in first, swinging the door shut behind me. There was limited visible light, but my eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness. He turned around and placed a finger to his lips, signaling for me to remain quiet, and ushered me forward. I held my pistol high and moved forward into the darkness. "Owen?" I whispered. No response. "Eli?" Again, no response. I was starting to get worried.

A large hand clasped over my mouth and I started to kick and holler, but to no avail; they were stronger. I craned my neck to see that Owen had a hold of me. "Shh," he whispered and pointed to a silhouette a few feet away. It was staggering aimlessly in a slow motion, and it groaned in anguish. A Stillwalker.

There was another contour I could make out--the silhouette of a boy, but I could also see the outline of a gun. It was either Eli or Nolan. The boy turned his head and one of the flickering fluorescents above was dancing light on his face. It was Eli. His eyes were wild and fearful and he didn't see as the Stillwalker made his move on him. Eli screamed and starting firing aimlessly at the moving target. Another silhouette surfaced and it too had a limp. There were two of them and Eli was cornered. One of them lunged at Eli and he struggled to keep his distance.

I wasted no time. I kicked to struggle free from Owen's grasp and I screamed, "Hey!" The Stillwalkers turned their gaze on me and I held my pistol steady. I had never fired a gun before. Relax, I told myself. It couldn't be that hard. Besides, they were moving slow. The Stillwalker closest to me opened and closed his mouth and it almost looked as if he was smiling maliciously. His flesh was mostly unscathed, except for the gaping bite mark on his neck. He was a new Stillwalker; he was probably infected just a few weeks ago.

I held the gun with both hands to refrain from quivering as I exhaled slowly through my lips. I trained my eyes on the target, blocking out everything else. I pulled the trigger and it sent the bullet spiraling into the eye of the first Stillwalker. I wanted to scream with joy, but it wasn't time to celebrate just yet. There was still another.

"Eli, behind you!" I called, and Eli spun on his heel, but he was slow to react.

Nolan appeared suddenly and fired, catching the Stillwalker in the ear on the side of its' head. The area exploded into a mess of blood and guts as it fell. He nodded at me and I knew that was his way of acknowledgement for my good shot. I was still standing with the pistol held at the ready, and my body was stiff.

Eli rubbed his neck slowly and eyed Nolan awkwardly, "Thanks." I ran into Eli's arms and he groaned at the impact.

"I thought you were going to die," I confessed, squeezing him even tighter. He didn't respond.

Owen caught my eye as he stood up; his mouth was gaping and he shifted uncomfortably. I could see those gears turning again as he analyzed what just happened. He frowned at me and he looked depressed. "I guess I probably should have listened to you," he told me, though he didn't sound like he wanted to admit it.

I distanced myself from Eli, and smiled at Owen, "It's okay now." There was a feeling of tension in the room, and I hoped that by putting distance between Eli and I, I would be able to break that tension.

"No, it's not," Eli argued. His voice was almost robotic. He was staring at nothing in the distance.

"What do you mean?" I asked, alarm rising in my voice. I shook him forcefully as I tried to get him to spit out whatever he was thinking. My heart was pounding hard and I could feel it throughout my body. There was a throbbing in my head as I thought of the worst possible outcome. No, it couldn't be true...

He looked down at his left shoulder and his face went pale. I noticed the blood at once, as the stench was overwhelming in my nostrils. "I-I think..." He tried to smile at me, but his face fell, "I think I've been bitten."

Author's note: The picture on the side is a hypothetical photo of what kinds of hordes of zombies you would run into, in the case of a real-life zombie apocalypse. These hordes are subject, but not limited, to major cities such as: Chicago, Miami, or in Gabrielle's case, New York City. She would've run into these types of hordes early on in the infection, but strangely, she was able to survive using isolation tactics and never letting her guard down. However, in this story, I started it in the middle, when things were much calmer, which had Gabrielle convinced that it was okay to let loose a little. Not in a zombie apocalypse, Gabrielle. Everyone knows that.