Running in Hell

Chapter 2 - Back With Another

Written by CharlieDog10115

Emily's P.O.V

The van pulled over in field in front of the house. They're back, I thought. Mike, Tyler, and Ella left to go look for supplies, and they've been gone for more than an hour. I was sitting on the porch, while the rest of the group were inside, doing whatever they do when I'm not around. I'm usually never around them; I liked being alone. 

"Emily, are they back?" I heard Serina call out as she shut the door behind her. I nodded, gesturing my hands over to the van as Ella and Tyler exited the vehicle, carrying a brown-haired boy who looked to be about eighteen. One of each of his arms were wrapped around their necks, and he seemed to be unconscious. Mike got out of the driver's seat, carrying a brown bag stuffed with necessities. 

"Who's that?" Serina asked, pointing to the unconscious boy.

"Don't know. He was stupid enough to bump into something. Knocked him flat on his back," Mike said, dropping the bag of supplies on the porch-staircase. My brother wasn't always cheery or happy, with my experiences of living with him. Of course, no one's every cheery or happy when you're living in a state of being forced to survive and avoid them. I don't really know what they are. All I know is that they eat people alive and tear their flesh apart. I've seen it happen...

"Are you sure he's not dead?" Serina asked, horrified as Tyler and Ella plopped him carelessly onto the ground. He grunted.

"That answer your question?" Ella said, poking him with the butt of her shotgun. 

The boy sat on his knees, opening his green eyes. He seemed to be confused, and afraid. He rapidly looked back and forth between the five of us. Mike made a signal to Tyler, and he pinned him down. The boy struggled to break free, though if you're ever restrained by Tyler, you're stuck under him until he gets up. 

"Are you bit?" Tyler asks. If you were bit, you were going to die, and turn into one of "them." Last time a man stumbled upon our house, and he was bit. He died, came back, then tried to kill us. Everyone has been real conscious about new people coming in.

"N-no! I swear!" The boy answered, trembling with each word he spoke.

Tyler stood up, giving the boy room to breath. Mike walked closer to the boy as Tyler stepped back.

"Name and pre-occupation, please," Mike asked him, his shotgun pointed to the boy's head.

"N-Nathan Clark. I was a student at the university. Graduated high-school early," Nathan replied.

Mike nodded, then turned to us, "Take the supplies inside. Serina, Emily,"

My ears perked up at the sound of my name, hope raining down upon me that I could finally do something interesting.

"Go inside. Tell the others about this boy," Mike spat out. 

As I attempted to refuse to this demand, stuttering as I spoke, Serina walked me back inside. Everyone, by that I mean only two people, were sititng on the couch, discussing some things. Ella dropped the bag of supplies on the table, then sat on a chair, making herself relaxed after the tiresome supply run.

"They found a boy. His name is Nathan," Serina told them, "we don't know much about him except that he's... young."

"Great, another useless member," Lexi, one of the few girls in our group, complained. Her blonde hair was so light, you could mistake it for white. 

"Lexi," Lexi's boyfriend, Tanner, nudged her. He was seven years older than her, he being thirty-five and her being twenty-eight. I always found it kind of gross, then again, everything about this world is gross. Those things out there... 

But Serina just sighed as Mike, Tyler, and Nathan came in. Mike gestured for Nathan to take a seat, and so he did.

"This is Nathan, Nathan Clark," Mike introduced him to Lexi and Tanner, who only stared at the boy. Lexi looked as if she were disgusted by him, as he was covered in dirt and blood. Typical of her. 

"He should be treated," Tanner said, "he might have wounds or cuts, and that could cause an infection."

Lexi seemed like she didn't approve of Nathan being cared for, but she said in a sweet-sounding tone, "How nice of you, Tanner! But we don't have the medical materials or whatever you doctors use."

You see, Tanner Adams, owner of the house we were staying in, was a doctor before this chaos happened, which is why I think Lexi is dating him. Though, that money isn't useful now when no shops are open because they're either over-run by those "things" or have been burned down due to the mayhem. He was good looking, too, and don't think I am attracted to him. He's thirty, I'm fourteen. That would be gross. His hair was a dark blonde, almost brown, and his eyes were a greenish-greyish. I guess that's also why Lexi liked him, though I didn't like Lexi. She was rude off the bat when I first met her, as if she hated children in general. I told her I wasn't a child, but I guess adults don't listen to kids.

"We got new supplies, I'm sure Mike, Tyler, and Ella picked up a first-aid kit," Serina said, smiling. I wanted to be like Serina: Nice, even when this whole incident was happening. When Mike and I first arrived here, Serina was the first to welcome us, even when Mike was being a bit rude, and I was being ignorant. Her hair was a dirty blonde, and her eyes were an icy blue, so I thought she was pretty, I guess. Although, her clothes were covered in dirt, which I thought wasn't fair since she got to do a lot of action, and I just sat around the house in the midst of boredom.

"Alright, I'll go check him, you guys go get some rest," Tanner nodded, taking Nathan upstairs for a checkup. 

Just then, Ella came in announcing the food was ready. She had warmed up some canned soup, cooking it with a fire she had made, since the stove wouldn't work. After dinner, we saw Tanner and Nathan sitting in the living room, waiting for us to finish up. I plopped on an empty couch, knowing this would take a while. Medical-related things always took a long time.

"He's fine. No bites or major injuries," Tanner said.

"Yeah, thanks," Nathan said awkwardly, all the attention drawn towards him.

"So, Nathan Clark, huh?" Mike chuckled. "Would you like to stay with us? You seem in pretty good condition for someone who's stayed out in the woods for several weeks alone. I reckon you have great survival skills."

"How did you know I was alone?" Nathan asked suspiciously.

"You had no one with you," Mike shrugged.

"True," Nathan scratched the back of his head, "My parents were at work when the outbreak started. I have no idea if they're alive or not, sadly. So, how did you all meet up, here?"

"Long story, but I guess we'll tell you. Might as well have some bonding time. I'll go first," Serina volunteered, smiling at him.

Sorry if this chapter was a bit slow... I intended it to be sort of an "introduction" for the characters, so you could know about it. Hope I didn't bore you to death!