It was early morning, yet the heat from the sun already beat down on the group. Making the task at hand for the survivors that much harder. Sweat stinging, blurring their vision as they prowled the city streets, climbing over broken down cars and dead bodies. The smell of rancid meat clung heavily in the air, tinged with recently extinguished fires.
"Be careful. This one is still alive." Britney said as she cautiously stepped over its hand - which was pinned underneath a car door. It frantically tried in vain to grab a piece of her. Oliver followed behind her, pressing his booted foot down onto the window - it gave way with a muffled crunch - and a satisfying smashing sound of the infected's head yielding to the pressure.
"It sure is an awful mess." Britney commented, taking in the scene of destruction before them. - "Our city wasn' this bad."
Oliver made a low whistle of surprise. "Once order gives way to chaos, everything else falls by the wayside." He paused. "Wonder how other cities have made out?"
"Mankind didn't go out in a bang, we went out in a sorry whimper." Max swallowed, holding back tears he didn't know he had. "Thousands of years of progress. The invention of the wheel. An accidental discovery of penicillin. And mastering travel by sea, air and land. Yet we are wiped out by some killer mystery plague that no scientist could have prepared for."
The cop grimaced. "We aren't all wiped out yet. Heck, if there's still fight in me. In you. In Oliver. There has to be more of us out there, clawin' to survive. We'll pull ourselves back. We have before and we will now. Don't say you heard the fat lady before she's even started singin'."
Britney started walking and the rest followed, all on alert. Max couldn't stop the small smile that crept over his face. Britney had spunk! At least that's what his dad would have said. And he would have been right too. She was strong and brave and Max had yet to see her back down from any challenge that had come their way.
"Oh. My. Gosh, Max. Quit being such a Debbie Downer. Mr. All Doom and Gloom. We're alive and we're not going anywhere. You risked your life just to find me." Skylar smirked at her brother. "You're a descendant of those thousands of years of human ingenuity and you didn't give up. Like Britney said, it's not over until it's over."
Oliver could relate to what Max was saying. He had his own moment of doubt while trapped in that stairwell back at the school. But he had dug down deep. Refused to roll over and die. He chose to live instead. But he wasn't ready to share that with everyone present. His eyes landed on Henry and he glared at the man for a few seconds.
"I think it might be a good idea to check the cars. We're sure to find Aspirin, antiseptic and possibly a few bottles of water." He suggested.
"Or the dead." Henry retorted.
"Yeah but they'll be slow. We could take them out with no problem."
"Just be careful." Britney warned.
Oliver cautiously peered through the windows of each car that they passed before his eyes fell upon a blue duffle bag. The contents had spilled; crackers, soups, some canned fruits and vegetables and more. He was about to reach inside the broken window when a lurker rose up from the back seat, snarling, trying to grab onto him. Instinctively he jumped back.
Henry clucked his teeth in amusement. "Didn't I say be careful." Britney scolded.
Oliver's cheeks turned a light pink from embarrassment but he quickly pushed it aside. Retrieving his knife, he moved back to the car, the lurker had managed to pull its torso into the window. He plunged the weapon into its skull and it stopped moving.
He shoved the contents back into the bag, zipped it closed, "Max, heads up." Oliver tossed the bag to Max before he caught it with a thump.
"What's in this thing." Max said with a chuckle before slipping it on over his head.
The small group continued on down the street, stopping and retrieving items whenever they spotted them. Oliver walked at a steady pace ahead of Max and Skylar. Britney was in the lead and Henry tagged along side.
"I'm glad we're not covered in tomato juice anymore." Skylar had hurried to catch up with Oliver. "Though I will say it made my skin pretty smooth."
He smiled and she matched it.
"How's your head?"
"I don't have a miagraine. So that's always good in my book."
"We'll make sure to find some pain killers just in case. Also some more bandages. That'll need to be rewrapped soon."
"I still owe you a thank you for kind of saving my life."
"It's what I'm supposed to do. Besides it wasn't like I did a good job. Joy still died and that other guy got bitten."
"That did happen but there was nothing you could do about that. You still executed a good plan and it saved seven other people."
"I don't know. It's hard to feel accomplished with so much blood shed." Oliver kept his head straight, making sure to avoid eye contact. He felt ashamed.
"I wish I could tell you something that would make you feel better but what do I know. I've never had someone's life depend on me before. I do know that I'm here because you're a brave leader and as far as I'm concerned, you did exactly what you promised. That doesn't bring back the people we lost but that also doesn't make you a bad person."
Oliver finally looked in Skylar's direction, taking her in for a minute before letting off a sigh and smiling. She seemed so optimistic about everything. It was a good quality to have. To be aware of all the bad but still somehow find solace in the good.
"Thank you. Your words are very kind."
"They're kind and true." She nudged Oliver and they both started laughing. Max did a fast jog to catch up to the two. He placed one arm around each of their shoulders.
"What are we talking about guys?"
*****
A few hours walking in the midday heat was torture. They were hungry, thirsty, and drenched in sweat.
"What I wouldn't give for a nice cool downpour right about now." Britney looked at Skylar and smiled. "Yeah, that does sound nice right about now."
"Can't help with the rain but we can at least drink. Let's take a water break here." Oliver suggested taking in the abandoned gas station. Who knew. Maybe they'd be able to scavange a few things that others hadn't taken yet.
They sought the little shade offered by the cement islands that housed the gas pumps. A few abandoned cars sat silently at the pumps, as if waiting for a long gone gas attendant to top up their tanks.
Max took a long sip of water. It was no longer cool but the relief it offered was wonderful. His throat seemed to absorb the liquid before it hit his stomach. He absently kicked at some loose gravel.
Skylar scanned the inside of the gas station through one of the windows. Nothing moved.
She frowned. "We've hardly ran into any dead. I was expecting there to be quite a bit more for a city this size."
Oliver looked up at her, squinting his eyes to keep out the sun's glare. "Military pretty much took care of them."
"Oh yeah? And how would you know that?" Henry sardonically asked.
Oliver pointed towards the large Humvee tracks on the street. "Well, there's that for starters. And unless this place simply avoided the huge waves of reanimated dead, then I would say our government had something to do with it."
He sniffed the air. "That smoke tells me they also had time to burn as many bodies as possible before moving on."
"Whatever..." the older man waved his bottle of water dismissively at him. "All that matters is the fact that the dead are, well - dead, and there's no military to get in our way." Henry smiled at Britney. "I do enjoy having the long arm of the law by my side though. Especially when they are as pretty as you."
Britney laughed nervously. "Don't let my husband hear you speak that way with me." She winked. "We should check inside the gas station before we start back for the boat."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." The soldier started for the door. "The military killed the dead but they left everything else." He placed his hand on the handle about to pull.
"Wait. -" Skylar explained, - "I think I saw something move inside."
Max moved behind Oliver as Britney guided Skylar and Henry behind him, with her taking up the rear.
Oliver drew his gun - unsure of how many bodies they were dealing with. A knife wouldn't be the best choice in this situation. He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door.
The small golden bell jingled, welcoming them to the store - and letting anyone or anything that lurked in the dark know that they were there.
There was some visibility in the shop due to its wide windows. Oliver's eyes quickly adjusted as he moved inside, Max's eyes doing the same. A thump, as something was knocked off of a shelf and tumbled to the ground drew their attention.
Max held his hand up towards his sister, "Stay back." He whispered.
"Back there, along the drink cases, a shadow." Oliver pointed to the back of the gas station.
"I see it." Max responded with excitement. The way the dark figure moved, he was sure they weren't dead.
"Hey." He hissed, the shadow began to move away, headed to the back office of the store.
"Wait. We're survivors." Max called out, trying to reassure the figure. It stopped, hesitating for a moment before turning and slowly walking towards them. Oliver had lowered his gun but now he raised it, leveling on the possible threat.
She stopped where more light filtered through the windows, holding her hands up in surrender. She didn't want to get shot. Oliver lowered his gun and the girl brushed back her bangs that hung low over her eyes.
Max sucked in a sharp breath, taking in the gash over her left eyebrow. "Are you alright?" His vision traveled the length of her body. She was a timeless beauty, deep rich brown eyes, thick curly hair, warm amber tinted skin, and a pin up model's body. She was exotic. One would have to be blind not to notice her.
Oliver must have thought the same thing, or maybe Max was just lost in thought. But the older - even if only by a few months - of the two cleared his throat. "Sorry about the gun. Just, you have no idea what lurks in a gas station these days."
The new comer raised a perfectly arched brow. She readjusted her pink and white striped top. It was a bit clean for someone fighting for their life. Oliver took in the denim shorts she sported along with some beige sandals. This most definitely wasn't apocalyptic survival clothing.
"Are you by yourself?" He questioned, wearily surveying the store.
"Sexist much?" The girl snapped.
Oliver laughed. "No. Just stating a fact. So answer, are you out here with someone? Or a group?"
"My head's bleeding! If you're not going to offer help then leave me alone." She shouted.
"Listen, you need to lower your voice. If there's any dead still around they'll be attracted by the sound."
"Who are you to tell me anything? I don't know you. You two could by psycho killers who want to rape me then eat my body."
"Hello. Ringing a dinner bell much?" Skylar entered the store, scratching her head in confusion. "Care to fill us in?"
Henry glared. "Who is she...?"
"Do these two belong to you?" The girl pointed at Skylar and Henry.
"If you're asking if I know them, yes. But that still doesn't answer our question."
Skylar brushed past her brother and Oliver, a smile firmly in place.
"Hi. I'm Skylar. That's my brother and his new BFF, Oliver. This other guy is Henry. And that cop is Britney. We were just passing through." She paused, looking the girl up and down. "With all the noise you're making, I'd really like you to stop. Not in the mood to deal with more dead things."
The new comer simply rolled her eyes.
"I'm Cassia. Guess it's nice to meet you." There was an awkward pause as Cassia gave a small grin. "I got seperated from my family a couple of hours ago. I was hoping I would find them here. This was our store." All the hostility that the young woman possessed melted into a pool of emotion as she lowered her gaze, a tear slipping down her soft cheek.
"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. I know how hard it is to be separated from family. Especially now. Maybe you could stay with us, just until you find your family." She glanced back at Max and Oliver, silently pleading with them. And we could help you find them."
"We do have to get back to the boat. We've already been out here for hours and I know Andy isn't going to be too happy. " Britney answered before anyone else. "I was never in the habit of leaving someone behind and I'm not about to start now but we do have to make this quick."