I sat in the living room, remembering, thinking. I couldn't remember the fair after the roller coaster. I sighed, leaned back, and stared at the ceiling. I heard rustling, and sat up. Looking around, the noise came from behind me, I turned around to see Number 1 standing up.
"Hey."
She nodded, and sat next to me. "Do you remember the time before you came here?" She nodded again. "Do you remember it being at an amusement park." She looked at me, and nodded. "So, we all met there, I went with Johnny, and we ran into Daniel and Emma while we were there, the last thing either of us remembered was getting on the new roller coaster..." She grabbed my arm, "Is that the last thing you remember too?" She nodded. "Do you know if we met?" She let go, then looked up at me and nodded. "We did? I can't remember, I don't remember even meeting Evelyn. Let me try and think about it, was it before the roller coaster?" She shook her head, she pointed her arm in a straight line. "Did we meet in the line to the roller coaster?" She nodded again.
"I can't believe we're gonna make it in! Everyone's been saying how it's almost impossible to get in!" Johnny squealed.
"I know! This is so cool!"
A girl with black hair ran past us, and ran into me, dropping her bag. We both bent down to pick it up. She smiled and gathered her belongings, she had on a black tank top, yellow shorts, and black shoes. She ran up to the front of the line, meeting up with her friend.
"She was cute." Johnny said.
"Yeah, she was."
"I remember, you didn't talk then too, are... are you mute?" She shook her head no. "So, you haven't always been this way?" She shook her head no. "It's only been since after you came here?" She nodded. In just five minutes I had learned a lot about her. "If the coaster is the last thing then... maybe it happened then." She laid back, "You know I'm right. I'm just trying to think of when I met Evelyn, I'll ask her tomorrow. This is all starting to come together, but also get more confusing, why are things changing?" She shrugged her shoulders. I yawned. She patted my shoulder and sat up, waving me away. "Are you sure? Did you get enough sleep?" She nodded reassuringly.
I laid against the wall, the saw lying next to me. Sooner or later I drifted off.
"Get up, it's morning." Daniel shook me. Number 1 was helping Evelyn up.
"Are we gonna try to eat some more food?"
"If you wanna try that, be my guest, I ain't getting nauseous like that again." Daniel snickered.
"The more you try, the better it'll be." I grabbed the cracker Daniel left last night, sticking it in my mouth while packing up the bag, slowly chewing.
"How do you feel?" Evelyn asked, leaning against the wall.
"Fine, stomach is trying to reject it, but I'll live."
"Okay, whatever, sooner or later that warm feeling will go away, and you'll be hurling, just don't stand too close to me, let's go." Daniel grabbed his hatchet.
I swung the bag over my shoulder, we started walking to the stairs. I was in the front, Number 1 in the back, "I'll go first."
"Uh, no, I'll go with you. Remember you're stupid rule?" Daniel stood next to me.
"Alright, come on." We headed up, the stairs were worn down. We reached the top, there was some blood on the first door, it was shut. the other doors were open. Daniel waved the two of them up, while I went into the first room.
"Wow, you just don't wanna follow your rules do you?" Daniel snuck up behind me.
"What do you mean?"
"I turned around, and you were gone." Daniel checked the bed.
"Geez, sorry." I checked the closet.
"This is ridiculous." Daniel scoffed.
"What?"
"How we have to check all this shit, why don't we just get really loud, or test to see what kind of senses they actually have?"
"Because that's being careless and we're being safe, we can't just start screaming because then we'd be cornered or something bad. We would've started testing these things but the only ones we've seen are in hordes, except for the first one but we didn't even know what was going on." I stand in front of him.
Before he can answer Evelyn and Number 1 peak their heads in, "We're gonna scan this room that's shut."
"Wait, we'll do that one last, it looks suspicious. First, check the other room." I walk out into the hall.
"Yeah, we weren't even gonna check that room, but we can, it may be dangerous though." Daniel says.
"Obviously," Evelyn said. Her and Number 1 walked into the next room. We checked the bathroom, there was nothing in either rooms. The four of us stood outside the bloody door. I banged on it with my fist. We heard shuffling inside. I nodded to the others and grabbed my saw. Daniel gripping the doorknob, he pushed in and I charged, I stopped dead in my tracks, nearly hitting the door.
"It's locked." Daniel complained.
"Hey, you're the one with the hatchet." Evelyn nudged him.
"Why are we still taking our time with this door, let's just leave," I started, "There really isn't any point to kill them."
Daniel started smashing down on the handle.
"Okay, guess we're doing this," he broke it off, and I heard voices from the room, "Whoa, wait a second. I just heard someone inside."
"Did it sound like one of them?" Evelyn asked.
"No, it sounded... human."
"What?" Daniel kicked in the door, ignoring me completely. There was no one in it. There was a bed, in the corner next to the bed was a club with nails in it, and a dagger. Under the bed was a stash of fresh food, fruit and all the good stuff.
The closet door was shut, along with the master bathroom. Me and Number 1 went to the bathroom door. "Hello?" I asked. Number 1 slapped my arm. "Geez, I just want to see if there is anyone here."
Daniel swung the closet door open, nothing was in there. "Nothing, so either it's in the bathroom, or you just imagined it." Daniel sat on the bed and pulled out an apple.
"I don't want to start talking only to find out that it's zombies or even nothing at all, I'll look like an idiot."
"Just start." Evelyn stood above Daniel.
"Okay," I sigh and turn to the door, "Hello? Um... I don't know if you're in there or not, but, we're not here to hurt you."
"Unless you're zombies!" Daniel hollers with an apple in his mouth.
"Yeah. Um. There is four of us out here, I also don't know how many of you there are, I'm also hoping that I'm not just talking to the bathroom," While talking I reach for the doorknob, before I can twist it, someone runs to the door and locks it, "So, I'm not crazy."
"Someone is actually in there?" Daniel stands up.
All four of us were standing around the bathroom door. "I'm Alex, my friends are Daniel, Evelyn, and Number 1, I have no clue who you are, but, if you've been through all the stuff we've been through, and I don't just mean the zombies, you'd understand why we're so excited to know someone is here."
No answer, "Maybe they're like Number 1 and just don't talk." Daniel laughed at his own joke.
"I don't give a shit who you are, get the fuck out." A guy's voice came from the bathroom.
"We aren't going anywhere, why are you locked in there?" Daniel yelled.
"Why the fuck do you think?" He yelled.
"You're a little bitch?" Daniel asked.
"Daniel!" Evelyn yelled.
"What, it was a genuine question."
"What the fuck do you people want?" He asked.
"We were just looking for a place to hide out for the night. And for some food." Evelyn sat down on the bed.
"Well you can't have any of my food. You had your place for the night, I'm done trusting people in this shit, so get the fuck out before I shoot you!"
"Geez man, calm your shit." Daniel snickered.
"Doesn't this scenario seem kinda, familiar?" I asked Number 1, "You know, when I was trying to lure Emma out of the corner." Number 1 grinned and nodded.
"Why else are you here?" he asked.
"Well, we're also looking for survivors, of, whatever this is." I answered.
"Well, you found one, so leave."
"We wanted to take them with us."
"As lovely as you all are, I'm pretty content here, I only leave to get food. Again, leave now."
"Alright, we're leaving." I waved us all out, Daniel scoffing, trying to grab his apple. We stood next to the bed and shut the door, waiting for him to come out. The door clicked and swung open after twenty so minutes, Daniel getting impatient.
He walked out, he had on a tee-shirt and a black jacket, blue shorts and brown hiker boots, and a cloth covering his eyes. He walked right past us. Maneuvering around the bed. He reached under the bed and pulled out the food box. Reached in and pulled out a bag of chips, sitting against the closet door, I took one step and his head shot up.
"You're still here!" He yelled and stood up. "Why! I told you to leave."
"Funny how you just now noticed." Daniel grabbed his apple and chomped down.
"Now you know why I was hiding don't you smart ass."
"Yeah, you're blind." Daniel scoffed.
"Dani. You really need to stop being such a dick!" Evelyn scolded him, "We're sorry we didn't leave, but, we just wanted to talk."
"We've been talking, I've talked quite enough today!"
"Listen! We just haven't seen any people other than us, So excuse us for not leaving the comforts of your room!" I yelled.
"Just what do you want then?"
"Who are you?" I asked.
He didn't answer for a while, "Anthony, or Tony, whatever you prefer."
"Sup." Daniel chowed down another bite.
"Stop eating my food." Anthony said.
"Why are you hiding out in here, Tony?" Evelyn asked.
"Why do you think? How long do you think I would last out there by myself, I had friends for a while, but, well you can see how that worked out. They're gone, along with the pricks who came by, taking my food and my weapons, beating me up, I stood behind the locked door while they were killed out in the hallway, using my weapons to defend themselves. Jackasses."
"Okay." Evelyn looked at us.
"You're welcome to come with us, we're fighting our way through this, and don't worry, you wouldn't slow us down." I walked over to him, "We have a bag, we can pack your food, and you could pick which weapon you want, one of yours or one of ours, we really just want to help."
"That's great. But, I just, don't want to go out there again. Unless I absolutely need to."
"What kind of circumstance would that be?" Daniel finished off his apple.
"Depends." Anthony walks over to the food box, and puts it on the bed.
"On what?" Evelyn asked.
"Well, things like, if I'm out of food, or if they invade my house, or if strangers come in and force me out, ya know."
"Yeah, so, will you come?" I ask.
"Didn't I just tell you, no."
"Yeah, but you also said if strangers come in and force you out."
"What, are you gonna force me out?"
"God dammit, do you want to die here, or do you want to fight, it's that simple Tony!" Daniel yelled.
"It's not that simple, you don't know the shit I've been through!"
"You don't know the shit we've been through, let alone these two!" Daniel pointed at us.
"Fine, I'll do it, I'll come with you psychopaths!"
"Great, pack up your food, grab your club, and let's go." Daniel started moving the food into the bag.
"Now?"
"Yeah, we need to get going." Evelyn grabbed the dagger.
"Where exactly do you all need to go?" Anthony picked up his club.
"Well, we don't really know, anywhere, away from here I suppose. We just, feel like we have to get going." I swung the bag over my shoulder.
"You people are gonna kill me, if not steal all my food and leave me behind." Anthony sat down on the bed.
Number 1 walked around the bed and sat next to him, putting her hand on his, "That's Number 1, she doesn't talk, she's been here the longest, the first one to get abducted." Evelyn stood next to Daniel by the door.
"Abducted?"
"Oh, well, yeah. Um." I muttered.
"You mean, you guys, have seen the, things other than the zombies?"
"Don't tell me you were too?" Daniel sighed.
"Yeah, I was Number 18. At least that's what my friend told me."
"Great, so now we can all be crazy together." Evelyn laughed.
"As warm and fuzzy as this is, can we go now." Daniel opened the door.
"You ready, Tony?" Evelyn asked.
"I suppose."
"Great let's go, Number 1, you ready?" Number 1 grabbed her hammer, and nodded, "Great, I'll go first, Number 1, you'll be next to me, Tony will go next, Dani and Eve stay in the back." I walked down the stairs, "We blocked the front, is there a back door?"
"Just the garage door." Tony strided down the steps.
"Well we originally came from there so, no thanks." Daniel stood at the top of the stairs.
"So, we just have to move the stuff blocking the door, silently." Evelyn said.
"Exactly." I nodded.
We walked over to the door, Dani and I picked up the TV set, and moved it across the floor, the door slid open, we stopped dead in our tracks, the door knob had been broken off, and the wind had pulled it open. We sighed and put it down. I picked up my saw and opened the door, Number 1 stuck out her head and and waved us through. Tony slowly walked out of the house.
"Are you alright?" Daniel asked.
"I suppose, just not used to leaving for no reason."
"There is a reason, we're getting out of this place, hopefully everything will change again and it'll be somewhere safer." Evelyn cheered.
"If you think about it, when it changed, it got worse, so what if, everytime it changes, it gets worse than the last time?" Tony stood in the front yard.
"I don't wanna think about it that way. Let's go to the right. Go straight until we hit a main road. Then follow that until we reach like downtown or something. What city are we in anyway?" I ask.
"You think I know." Daniel laughed.
"Let's just go." Tony sighed.
We walked down the street, we reached a dead end, and we were gonna go left, but it was packed with zombies, so we went to the right. We walked for a while, just going straight. Eventually we hit a main street, and followed that, we walked around the tall buildings.
"Are we?" Evelyn started.
"Boston Massachusetts." Daniel answered.
"Where it all started." I continued.
"Let's go." Daniel said.
We maneuvered around town, "Should we be going inside some off this places?" Tony asked, "I mean, we could be finding things useful to us."
"Yeah, I was just about to say that we should go into this next one." I answered.
It was a large building, a business most likely. So far we were lucky when moving around the zombies, I looked into the windows, it had three of them walking around. "Let's just go in silently, and let's each take on one, while the others watch our backs and jump in if we need help." I tell them.
"I'll take the one closest to us, you guys can decide the rest." Daniel pointed out.
"I'll take the further back one, Number 1 you can get the other one, that work?" I grab the door.
They all nod, "Sure, 'cause I know exactly what you guys are talking about." Anthony snickered.
I opened the door, and a small bell rang, the three zombies stopped moving, and turned their heads towards us, they started sprinting. I jumped in, and smashed the saw down on its head. Daniel jumped in and kicked it down, bringing his hatched down into its skull. Anthony jumped over the corpse, swung his club back, and smashed the skull of the closest one. Jumping up and bringing it down on the next one.
"Damn!" Daniel laughed.
"What?" Tony turned around.
"Damn." Daniel repeated.
"You're pretty good." Evelyn closed the door behind her.
"At least for now we don't have to worry about any of them being close by." Daniel said.
Number 1 whistled from across the room, and waved us towards her. We walked over to her.
"What do you think could be in here?" Evelyn asked.
"I have no idea." Daniel said.
"What building is this anyway?" I asked.
"Probably just another business building." Anthony said.
We reached the stairs. I looked through the small window in the door. "There is some in there."
"How many?"
"Four, that I can see, maybe more up the stairs. Let's try to actually not make noise this time."
"That was just bad luck, what kind of business building has a bell over the door anyway?" Anthony asked.
"The stupid ones." Daniel peaked into the window with me.
"Let's just go." Evelyn said.
Number 1 tapped my shoulder, she was looking behind her, we hadn't noticed the hallway, and it was packed with zombies. Daniel and everyone else turned around.
"We just have to be silent, no more talking." I whispered.
"What are we looking at?" Anthony whispered.
"A pack of them, down a hallway we didn't even notice." Daniel answered.
"At least it proves that they can't see us." Evelyn said.
"Shh. Eve, try to whisper." Daniel scolded, he turned around and was face to face with a zombie standing on the other side of the door. He let out a scream, the entire area went silent, the horde stopped shuffling, we stopped breathing. The horde all turned and looked our direction.