A branch snapping in the distance made both of us freeze.
"Crap," I whispered as I quickly pulled my gun up, aiming toward the sound.Another sound from a different direction forced Thomas to whip around with his gun raised. We were back to back."What do we have here? I think this is my lucky day." A stocky man with a gray beard stood at the edge of the trees with a crossbow pointed directly at Thomas."I suggest you lower your weapon. We're not here to harm anyone, we just want some water." Thomas pressed his back to mine as I examined the trees for Gray Beard's companions.Was I supposed to shoot them or let them live? Human life was important, but I knew I would have to kill them if they posed a threat.Gray Beard let out a thunderous laugh, causing both of us to stiffen. "Boy, there ain't no way I'm doing something so stupid. How about you lower your gun?"Thomas didn't falter. "I don't think I've seen you before. You from around here?"""I've got bad news, and I've got worse news." Thomas charged inside and started moving furniture to block the front door.I tried to prop myself up on my elbows, but my entire back screamed at me, so I settled for turning my head toward him. "What's the bad news?"Metal scraped over the wood floor as Thomas pushed a large shelf. "Well, the bastard that shot you might've saved our lives."Rage sliced through me as my back burned again. Gray Beard was the reason I nearly died. I hated that man for shooting me.Why couldn't we meet ordinary people that were trying to survive like us?We'd been stuck in this small house for just over a day. Somehow I wasn't dead yet, but I was still in excruciating pain."Don't get all pissed off." Thomas's plea snapped me out of my thoughts. "I hate that fucker too, but I need you to keep your head on straight. Did you hear what I said?"He was right. I needed to be smart. Something was obviously going on.My ang
Suzie"They are too coming back!" I screamed at Derek and his psycho girlfriend. "Grant, tell them."Grant's hands rubbed my shoulders from behind the couch. "Der, we don't know if they're gone for good. Casey and Thomas are smart. They're still alive, and they could show up anytime. We need to wait a few more days.""I hear you," Derek jingled something in his pocket as he paced around the living room. "But they've been gone for over a week, and we're nearly out of water and a bunch of other things. We have to get provisions. I can go with Matt and Celia—""No. No way." Andrea held her hips as she shook her head. "If something happens to you, then I'll be left with your little brother and her."Grant's hands stopped massaging and squeezed. "What's that supposed to mean?"Andrea scoffed and barely glanced at Grant before she threw her hands up. "It doesn't mean anything, I just don't want t
Casey"But Seb, I need some more," Andrea whined.I assumed the kitchen was empty, but I was wrong. Derek and Andrea were sitting at the kitchen table."No. We're almost out. You had your cup of water earlier. You can have another one later." Derek whispered."It's not fair. She got four yesterday. I want four too." Andrea was complaining about how much water I drank yesterday.I wanted to laugh. She was the reason we had to deal with such strict water conservation. I'd had four cups of water, but my body needed it. I was healing.Fighting the urge to turn around and go back to my room, I continued limping toward the kitchen with Mindy in my arms. I just needed to grab the food, and then Mindy and I could sit on the couch for a little while.Coming home was fantastic, but being locked inside for forty-eight hours straight was brutal, especially after sitting in a closet for ove
Early the next morning, I sat on the couch with Mindy and Suzie anxiously waiting as everyone prepared to go looting.I hated that I couldn't go. My injury was still painfully healing, but I understood, and there were a lot of things we needed, especially water. I would just have to sit this one out.Everyone was still in their rooms getting ready when Thomas stopped in front of us to say goodbye.He picked Mindy up and held her above his head for their famous slobber kiss.Suzie and I laughed."Be good for Sissy and Momma, Munchkin." Thomas kissed her head and handed her back to Suzie. "You need to help your sister, Squirt. She's still in bad shape."Suzie quirked her head to the side and frowned. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'm not a little kid. I know what to do."Thomas gave her a crooked grin. "I know. I'm just making sure."Suzie shook her head. "Whatever."Grant sat down next to Suzie to tie his shoes.Suzie watched G
SuzieHuddled beneath a blanket with Mindy, I tried to listen to what was going on above us. We were hiding at the far end of the trailer on a tarp that held all the extra supplies Thomas and Casey stored down here.Aside from the night my parents died, this was probably the worst I'd felt in my whole life. This entire situation scared me to death.Hating that Casey was all alone, I did my best to cover Mindy's ears with the thick blanket so she wouldn't cry from any loud sounds. Mindy was my number one priority. I had to make sure she stayed safe.Casey yelled at the men until I heard gunshots. Crap. Did she get shot?I heard footsteps run to the back of the trailer as I let out a deep breath. Casey was okay.Was she going to run? I probably would if I was her. These men sounded awful.No. Casey wouldn't do that. She was the strongest person in the world. She would never leave us.Trut
CaseyMy head was pounding, and my tongue was sandpaper against the roof of my mouth. Why was I so achy? My back burned as I wiggled, realizing my hands were tied behind my back."Piggy? You awakey?" That high-pitched voice hurt my ears.Where was I?My fingers trembled behind my back as my head pounded harder. I wanted to move to protect myself better, but I knew something wasn't right, so I did my best not to move, which was a difficult task since I was positioned awkwardly on my side against a solid cold floor."Little Piggy?" He poked my shoulder."Leave her alone, Waldo." A gruff voice interjected."But she's shaking. I'm pretty sure she's awake." Waldo replied in a normal male voice.That's when it all came back to me. These were the men that blew up the trailer door. Somehow I'd been knocked out from the explosion.Suzie and Mindy had been under the trailer. Did they make
Thomas"None of us have slept in days, Dude. Don't you think we should get some sleep before we head out?" Derek eyed me warily, the dark circles under his eyes mirroring mine. "I want to get Casey back just as bad as you do—""Do you?" I yelled as I sifted through our haul, searching for the military container full of tear gas, explosives, and gas masks. "Because if you did, then you wouldn't be asking such a stupid question.""You really love her, don't you?" Derek pointed at the box hidden under the massive bag of baby supplies as he set a box on the ground."Of course, I fucking do. I can't believe you're asking me that right now!" My brow knotted as I threw an evil glare at Derek. It took every bit of my self-control to force back the raging need to punch him in the face.Derek grabbed a box, angrily yanking it out of my way. "I knew you liked Casey, but I thought she was just another one o
CaseyAs we made our way across the school, one thing became clear as day—the high school was trashed.What had once been a reasonably clean establishment was now a huge trash bin. Among the random boxes and trash that littered the floor, plastic chairs, desks, tables, and shelving haphazardly lined the halls. Each classroom appeared to be occupied, but I couldn't be sure since someone covered the small rectangular windows.Jordon's thick muscles tightened around me as I tried a little too hard to see into the only open door. The room in question used to be the computer lab, but now it resembled a control room of sorts. There were dozens of thick cables covering the floor."What's in there?" I fought the need to ask him to turn back so I could see what was inside."Don't ask questions like that." Jordon's words were cold and resolute.What a dick.How in the hell was I supposed to get any informat
"Anyone else wanna play the next round?" Miranda asked as she gathered cards."I'll play. You wanna play, Bae?" Matt pulled Celia toward the table."Wanna give Su her gifts?" I whispered to Thomas.He nodded and tugged me toward the living room. "Alone? Or with everyone else.""Alone." I knew if we did it alone, the gift would be more meaningful. "Su, come here.""Yeah?" Suzie walked into the living room."We have birthday gifts for you," I said."You do?" With wide eyes, Suzie glanced between us."Thomas first," I said.Releasing my hand, Thomas pulled a small pouch out of his pocket. "Squirt, you need to know I'm always gonna be here. I hate thinking about horrible shit, but if anything ever happens to your sister or if one day she smartens up and leaves my dumbass, I want you to know I'm always gonna be here for you. You'll always be my little sister, no matter what."Suzie's sapphire eyes sparkled in the candlelight as her face m
A mouthwatering aroma wafted out of the house as I ascended the back steps. Jett must've heard me coming because he started whining at the door before Miranda opened it."Back up, Jett," Miranda tried to hold Jett inside with her foot. "Everything alright? Y'all have been out there for a hot minute.""Yeah, we're good." Pushing back the desire to tell her about Joey's latest bullshit, I laughed at Jett's eagerness to see me. "You can let him out."Miranda moved her foot, letting Jett run. He yelped as he bounded toward me."Case?" Suzie rushed out behind Jett. "Are you okay? I heard you needed stitches."Kneeling to catch Jett before he ran down the stairs, I scratched his head. "Yeah. Do they look okay?"Miranda clicked on her tiny flashlight and moved in my direction, shining the light at my ear. Both she and Suzie hissed."That good, huh?" I chuckled as I grabbed Jett and stood."I'm no doctor, but it looks like Thomas knows what he's doing
Just as the barn door opened, a shadow darted from the cellar to the office."What was that?" I whispered as I clicked on my flashlight."I hope it's not what I think." Thomas's tone was angry as he put his gun away and flicked on his flashlight before barging into the office.I rushed in after him with my gun raised."Well, looky who it is," Thomas said sarcastically.Joey's dark hair hung over one eye. His other eye was wide with fear as he stared up at Thomas from behind the desk. He was sitting on the floor, holding the front of his shirt like a baby. Pre-packaged goods of all sorts were poking out of his makeshift basket."Empty it on the desk." Thomas said.Joey sighed in defeat and stood, unloading the contents of his shirt onto the desktop. Candy and snacks of all kinds fell out.Thomas and I looked over the pile of junk food. Everyone wanted this stuff, but since they were in such high demand, we were only permitted one selection per
Casey POVAfter our visitors finally left, we all rushed to get back on track. I barely had time to clean the blood off my face before I hurried outside to get done with the day's to-do list.Since our schedule had been unendingly jam packed, we were all looking forward to the party planned for tonight. Not only did we need some time off, but we were finally celebrating birthdays.For the first time since the virus started, we were going to have a relaxing night and drink alcohol. We didn't have much to look forward to in this new life, and we'd all been working our asses off. The first priority on our list was to finish the fence, and this party was our big reward.The unexpected visit from Waldo and Harold had put our day way behind schedule.Grant and Suzie stayed in the house to watch Mindy, and they were also helping Miranda and Derek with food preparation.Thomas, Matt, and Joey were
Casey POV"Grant, stand guard here. No one gets inside." Thomas said from somewhere under my window as he and Matt jogged toward the front gate."Dada!" Mindy hollered from her playpen.Keeping my gun pointed forward, I twisted and pressed one finger to my lips. "Shh.""Mama ma ma." Mindy's big smile faltered before dropping to her bottom and throwing one of her blocks at the netting.I gave her a warm smile. Thomas had been working with her to say 'mama,' and last week, she finally got it. During his lessons, Thomas hugged me and kissed my cheek to show Mindy that I was Mama. She was growing too fast and was on the verge of walking. I was nervous she would figure out how to escape her playpen soon.Matt and Thomas opened the small gate beside our large vehicle gate. When they both disappeared, my skin crawled.I'd watched the three vehicles approach, but now they were hidden behind th
Suzie POVOver the next few weeks, things were oddly quiet. Don't get me wrong, it was awesome, but it was just weird since we hadn't seen a zombie in days.Digging sucked. It looked easy, but it was tiring, and my hands suffered the consequences. The blisters made it a painful transition, but I didn't get blisters anymore. Now I had calluses."Do you think the zombies went south to the ocean?" Taking a long drink from my water, I studied the clouds in the sky as I tried to catch my breath."No. We're just in between groups." Joey tossed a heap of dirt onto my feet. "They're always right around the corner, headed our way.""What the heck? Don't!" Kicking the dirt off my boots, I aimed for Joey, hitting his knees.Joey's deep laugh filled the trench as he slapped the dirt off his jeans."Joey," Matt warned in a harsh tone before his pickaxe hit the dirt. "Do it again, and you'll be put
The drive home was pleasantly uneventful. For the first time in a long time, it felt like today some angel above was watching over us.Since the Dually had more seating, Joey and Miranda were riding with Grant and Suzie. Our newbies didn't argue or complain as Thomas gave them specific instructions when they were preparing to leave with us, which was a good sign.Joey, albeit heartbroken over his father, stayed silent as he and Miranda quickly loaded more supplies, their belongings, and thoroughly disinfected themselves before loading up for the journey home."Is that Matt?" I pointed to a shadow digging in the yard as we rolled down our long dirt road.Thomas squinted against the late afternoon sun. "Looks like it."Matt glanced up. A huge smile lit up his face as he threw down his shovel, hoisted himself out of the hole, and jogged toward us.The front door swung open, revealing a joyful Celia with our Munchkin in her arms.At the sight of my dau
Casey POVClicking on our flashlights, Miranda led us into the dark store. Dodging a massive stack of empty boxes sitting just inside the door, I nearly walked into a heaping pile of garbage. One bulging trash bag showed that someone had done the same thing and ripped one open. The garbage within was comprised of empty soup cans and food packaging."Be careful." Miranda grimaced before she continued walking without a flashlight. "We don't do much tidyin' up. I tried to organize the store after those military men left, but a couple of days later, a group of college guys broke in and destroyed all my hard work. They got so drunk that one guy forgot to block the entrance and let a group of eaters inside. The guys all died. Well, actually, I think maybe one got away, but they left me with the mess, and I had to kill all the eaters and the guys that came back to life. It was bad. I gave up cleaning anything after that."
Casey POVGiving up on finding gas, I buckled myself into the passenger seat and leaned my head against the window. We passed several random biters staggering aimlessly down the road as I stared into space. This country road was hopeless.As we hit the three-quarter mark toward home, I glanced at the truck's gas gauge, and it was almost empty again. This truck literally guzzled gas.Noticing my worry, the corner of Thomas's lips tipped up. "It's okay, Sweetheart. Like I said before, it's just a truck. We'll drive until it runs out and we'll come back for it someday."I grimaced and nodded. I hated the idea of leaving this truck behind. It was his, and he shouldn't have to lose anything else. Who was I kidding? It was mine too, and I damn sure didn't want to lose it.Even though the dark clouds continued to hold their ominous position, the rain slowed, softening into a sprinkle. That was when a small m