This is the End (Book 2): Not Dead Yet (11 page)

Jack and I had finished our shift and Earl and Brian had come to relieve us. I was staring at the ceiling of the darkened dining room from the sleeping bag Jack and I had managed to squeeze into.  I couldn’t sleep; thoughts of how we were all going to get out of here were racing through my mind so fast I couldn’t seem to find one to latch onto.  Jack’s arm was draped over my stomach and his light, methodic snoring was keeping pace with my thoughts.  I was scared.  Not for myself, but for all these people I’d somehow become tasked with keeping alive and it was just too much.  I knew I had to be an adult about this, but I still found myself looking around, waiting for an adultier adult to take over.

Soft giggling from the living room caught my attention and I struggled to remove myself from the sleeping bag.  Finally making it to my feet, I tip-toed into the other room to find Chloe playing some sort of clapping game with Johnny.

Hearing me, she looked up and I must have aged a few years in that moment.  Her eyes were big and sparkling with cheerful mischief and she was smiling bigger than I even thought possible.  She looked so beautiful and so young in that moment that I wished I could keep her there forever.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” She asked, tickling Johnny into a laughing fit as he rolled around the floor.

I shook my head and plopped down next to her.  “I feel like I may never sleep again.” I replied, rubbing the back of my head.

She looked at me and nodded before turning back to Johnny.  “I know the feeling.” 

“Chloe?” I started, clearing the amphibians from my throat.

“Mmm?” She answered, still tickling Johnny.

“I’m sorry for everything you and Ty and Roscoe have been through.  I’m sorry your childhood has been stolen and you’ll probably never get to be a real kid again.  If I could put the world back the way it was before all this, I would.” I finished and took a deep breath, heart heavy with my apology.  I knew it wasn’t my fault, but I could feel sorry for her loss all the same.

She turned to study me for a moment, seemingly choosing her words.  Her eyebrows were knit tight in concentration and I started to squirm under her examination.  “It’s not your fault.” She finally said, looking away.

“I know that, but I can still be sorry.  My life was awful at your age and seeing you and Ty together makes me think yours probably wasn’t so bad and I feel bad that it gotten taken away from you.”

Chloe looked back at me and smiled.  “It was boring.  Our parents were hardly ever around and when they were, they just fought.” Her eyes lost their sparkle as she continued. “I miss them.  But I’m glad we met you and Jack; if you hadn’t rescued us, we’d have died up there.”

I looked at the carpet and traced a circle with my fingertip. “Don’t thank me for that; it was all Jack.  I would’ve kept going.”

Placing her hand on my shoulder, “But you didn’t.  You stopped with him and I watched you fight; you rescued us just as much as he did.”

I met her smile and returned it, albeit mine was a bit dimmer.

“Angie, if you could go back and change your life, I mean, how you lived, would you?”

I looked up with surprise.  Out of all the things she could’ve possibly said, that was what I least expected.  I looked back down for a moment and thought hard about what I would say.  After a moment, I met her sea green gaze. “I would’ve tried to make more of an effort to be a part of the world.”

Chloe smiled at me and pulled me in for a hug.  “Better late than never.”

Wrapping my arms around her tiny shoulders, I buried my face in her hair and squeezed for all I was worth.  I’d been hugged more in the last few days than the last few years which made the whole thing even harder.  “I’m glad we found you guys, too.” I whispered into her hair before giving her a final squeeze and pulling away.

Footsteps in the hall caught my attention before we could say any more.  I turned around to see Ty and Bash rounding the corner with Roscoe.  The dog was pacing anxious circles and I knew what that meant.

Ty was suited up in all his gear and heading towards the front door.  I quickly got to my feet and stood in his way.  “We can’t, not while everyone is sleeping!” I chastised, trying to sound as reasonable as possible.  I’d never had to tell anyone what to do and it felt wrong.

“He has to go out, what else can we do?  Let him pee inside?” Ty’s impatience had me looking around frantically, trying to figure out the best way to go about this. 

Thoughts racing, I pictured the backyard in my mind.  They had a 6 foot privacy fence, so the whole thing was closed in but it had been dark last night and I had no way of knowing if there were any entry points.  Plus the only way to get there was the completely boarded up sliding glass door.  The front yard would be easier to get to, but it was wide open.  Looking towards the sunlight streaking around the cracks of the wood over the windows, I knew it had to be just after dawn, which would make us all sitting targets.

“Ok, here’s the plan,” I started, alternating my stare between all 3 kids.  “Chloe,” I said turning to her.  “Take the rifle with the scope and head up to the roof.  Climb out of the attic window and angle yourself towards the front yard.  Try to keep as much of your body as you can hidden.”

She nodded before taking the gun off my back and making her way upstairs.  Turning back to the boys, “We’ll give her 3 minutes and then go out the front door.” Ty and Bash nodded as Ty busied himself checking his ammo and making sure his safety was off while Bash kept his attention on his watch.

I stood there, anxiously checking the guns on my side holsters, knowing that they would be my last resort.  If we were attacked, I would need my sword more since it would be quieter.

“Time.” Bash’s announced caught me so off guard I nearly hit the roof when I jumped.

“Ok, let’s go. But stay behind me and stay very quiet.”  I gave my order firmly and we marched towards the front door.  I looked down at Johnny, who was still sitting by the fireplace, staring up at us questioningly.

“Johnny, go see if mommy’s awake,” Bash said quietly to his little brother as we started to walk by.  I looked back in time to see to the kid nod solemnly and race up the stairs without a sound.

Taking a deep breath and holding it, I stopped at the door and motioned for the boys to wait.  Slowly turning the lock, I pulled the door open just enough for my eye to see a sliver of the yard.  Tuning out the heartbeats, I pressed my ear to the crack in the door and listened for all I was worth.  There was nothing.  No birds, no crickets, no traffic.  There were also no sounds of shuffling feet or gurgling moans, so I knew we were still alone.

Pulling the door open a little wider, I poked my head out, only to find what my ears had; nothing.  The sun was shining, which made the dew on the grass sparkle like emeralds and I could tell it was going to be another hot, muggy day.

Stepping out, I held my sword up and tried to look in all directions at once.  Creeping slowly down the porch, I felt Roscoe brush against me as he pulled Ty out of the door; Bash keeping up the rear near the door. 

Watching Ty, he led Roscoe to the nearest patch of grass and we all waited for him while keeping an eye on the neighborhood.  I didn’t like it; it was too quiet.  We were still in the heart of the city and there should’ve been more people.  Well, more zombies, at least.

Roscoe had apparently finished his business and was walking back towards the front door when he suddenly stopped and stood very still.  Fuck, he must’ve heard something.

I crept around him and Ty, motioning for them all to go back inside.  I waited until I saw the door close behind the boys before I crept further into the yard, looking up when the sun glinting off the rifle in Chloe’s hand caught my eye.  I nodded at her and motioned for her to go back inside before continuing to the street.

My heart had pretty much stopped beating as I tried to catch whatever it was that Roscoe had.  Eyes frantic, I turned circles inspecting the area, but there was nothing besides the houses and cars and the bodies we’d killed last night.

Suddenly I felt a vibration under my foot.  Kneeling down, I laid myself down on the pavement and put my ear to it.  A soft, rhythmic rumbling was pounding up at me, increasing in intensity with every beat.

Jumping up, I ran back inside and slid into the dining room, nearly crushing Jack as I fell on him.  “Jack! Jack, wake up!”  I shook his shoulders and waited for him to crack an eye open at me.

He frowned at me and tried to sit up with me still sitting on top of him and rubbed his eyes. “Jesus, Angie, what is it?”

The fear in my eyes must’ve been pretty spectacular because I barely got a word out before his eyelids shot up and he sat up all the way. “They’re coming, Jack! I don’t know how many but I can hear their steps through the ground and we need to leave, like,
now
!”  Panic was constricting my chest and I struggled to get the words out through it.

He looked at me and I rolled off him so he could stand.  He started strapping on guns so I started to run up the stairs to wake everyone else.

We didn’t have time to be quiet and plan so I started banging wildly on bedroom doors until they were flung open; the people inside staring at me wide-eyed and fully panicked.

“They’re coming, I can hear a fuckload of footsteps headed in our direction and we need to go now!” I got out between deep inhales of fear.

Just like Jack, 3 pairs of eyes stared back at me incredulously as the understanding set in.  I didn’t wait for a reply, just ran back down the stairs and started to pace in the hall just outside of the living room.

Anxiety always made me have to pee, so I took myself to the bathroom.  Done, I rushed back into the hall only slam face first into a chest.

I pulled back and looking up, realized I’d run into Jack.  He grabbed my shoulders, “It’s ok, everyone’s up and getting ready to go.”

“You don’t understand,” I started, looking up at him desperately.  “A whole crowd of feet is going to descend upon us, and I don’t want to find out what those feet are attached to.”

My words were serious, but that didn’t stop the corners of his mouth to twitch but he just nodded.  “We believe you and everyone is moving as fast as we can.”

I took a deep breath and went back to the living room to pace, watching everyone in the house running around frantically while packing.

Earl spotted me and walked towards me purposefully.  “You said a crowd?”

“Yes, sir,” I answered, nodding.

He stood there rubbing the whiskers on his chin for a moment.  “Could you tell what direction they were coming from?”

I shook my head no.  “I can’t be sure, but it sounded like they were coming from the west.”

Earl nodded some more, deep in thought.  Looking back to me, “How are the roads?  Can we drive to the airport?”

Shaking my head again, “No. There’s too many cars jamming the streets, plus the sound of an engine would make us sitting ducks.” I pointed towards the back of the house, “We came out of the woods around back and we came from the interstate, which we figured was the safest place to travel since it’s closed in on the sides and raised up over the busier intersections, but there’s too many cars so we’ll have to walk.”

I watched the muscles working in Earl’s jaw as he contemplated my words.  “They said you’re a force to be reckoned with; is it true?”

I was taken back at his words.  No one had ever called me that before and it scared me that much more having so much faith put in me.  “I don’t know how true that is, but Jack and Ty and Chloe and Roscoe are my family and I’d do anything to keep them safe.”  I looked into his eyes without blinking.  I’d never been more serious about anything in my life and I needed him to understand that too.

After staring each other down a few moments, he nodded and clasped my shoulder.  “Alright.  Let’s go back the way you came.”

He stalked off, calling to Penny and Brian.  They both emerged from the kitchen, arms laden with food.

Earl shook his head at them, “You can’t carry all of that, save your strength for guns.”  With that he walked over the gun cabinet proudly on display in the living room and started pulling out rifles, shotguns and boxes of ammo.  Passing them out to Penny, Brian and Bash, “Alright, we’re going through the woods to the interstate and following it north to the airport.” He turned to cast a glance my way, “Far as Angie can tell, a herd’s comin’ this way from the west and we need to hightail it outta here.”

Brian and Penny looked at me curiously, obviously wondering how I could possibly know that without them being able to hear anything and I felt an embarrassing blush creep up my neck.

They didn’t stop to question me though, just continued to shove food and bullets into the backpacks they had sitting out.  I looked across the room to see Bash stuffing a Spiderman doll into the Spiderman backpack on Johnny’s shoulders and groaned inwardly.  I had forgotten about the kid.  His little face was steeled with determination and I hoped he understood how serious this was.

Brian walked over and scooped Johnny up, placing him on his shoulders.  Looking up at me he said, “Penny’s a better shot than I am.” I smiled at the admission, suddenly glad to have him around.  The last thing we needed was someone trying to take the lead that wasn’t the best shot.