Part 6

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With much of the food inside and kept preserved, Julia and Natalie were the ones to ration out the food, finding they had more than enough for little more than two weeks. That is, if none of them gorged themselves greedily. Clarise swore more than willingly, Trent didn't seem to mind, but Opal whimpered as she sniffed the frozen bacon in the freezer.

"You'll get some. Don't worry." Natalie kissed Opal's wet black nose before scratching behind her ears. "That's my good girl." Opal didn't yip, but she did lick Natalie's cheeks. Natalie stood tall--she was about Julia's height-and looked to her sister. "That was really brave. What you did." She looked distant. "I don't think I'd be able to do such a thing like that. I'd be . . . what would grandpa have called it? Oh, I'd be shaking in my boots."

"You don't wear boots. I do." Julia smiled, then pulled Natalie into a hug. "You're so brave, Natalie. Don't doubt yourself, you hear me?" Julia raised an eyebrow. "When we begin to doubt, all hell can break loose, and we don't want that."

Natalie nodded slowly. "Okay," she finally said.

Julia and Natalie gasped in silently when they heard a slight rattling of the back door. Immediately, Julia grabbed a kitchen knife and pulled Natalie behind her.

"Where are Austin and Trent and Clarise?" Natalie asked quietly, her voice tremoring. "They shouldn't make noise!" she whisper-shouted.

"They're upstairs being quiet." Julia's knuckles went white as she gripped the knife hard. "Stay here or come with me... but be ready to run if the dead break in." Julia's blue eyes met Natalie's green ones, and she nodded quickly, swallowing hard.

The two girls approached the door, but neither got too close to be noticed. The door rattling continued, and Natalie had the intense desire to bite her nails--she didn't though. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Julia's was, too, but she had a better grip on herself.

"I so want to crack my knuckles right now..." Julia admitted to her sister. It was a nervous tick of Julia's, cracking her knuckles loudly in moments of stress--really, who could blame her in the damned zombie apocalypse?

"Don't!" Natalie's throat went dry. "They could hear you--hear us!" Her face went paler than Julia's, her green eyes grey now. She shook in her shoes, wanting to muster all and any courage she could.

"I won't let them hurt you--any of you." Julia was whispering, now moving to one of the other blockaded windows. Peering outside, she saw three of the dead in the backyard--none of them could see her, so she felt fortunate for about two seconds... then she realized who the zombies were.

"Is it anyone we know?" Natalie squeaked.

Julia nodded once, face turning dead pale. She didn't say a word, even as Natalie asked who it was. Once, then twice.

"We need to go upstairs. You need to make sure Austin, Trent, and Clarise don't see this." Quiet as mice, Julia took Natalie's hand and quietly hurried from the back door. Shoes off, you could barely hear the pitter-patter of socked feet going up the carpeted stairs and down the carpeted hall too.

"Julia, were they--" Natalie choked on her words, tears in her eyes.

"Don't tell Trent or Clarise. They won't understand the mercy that we... that I need to give them." Julia's blue eyes were teary too. "I have a few bullets left, and dad and mom need to be released. Clarise won't understand--perhaps less than Trent could."

"Austin told you last night... about mom and dad, didn't he?" Natalie wet her lips, and Julia nodded once.

"Yeah" was all Julia said. "Yeah, he did."

"Then mercy mom and dad." Natalie sniffled, blinking back tears. "Best bet for a good sight would be in mom and dad's bedroom."

"Distract the others." Julia wet her lips, then chewed on her bottom lip. The two sisters went to different rooms, and Julia checked her ammunition in the gun--barrel and everything else. She went into the bedroom and stared at the framed photos on the wall. There were dozens of pictures her mom took, a few from their wedding.

There was a photo that Julia loved, one from her parents' wedding. The mere look of the photo was enough to bring a few fallen tears from Julia's eyes. She brushed them away, thinking about going to Hell for doing what she felt she had to do--did anyone ever say giving mercy to zombies wasn't hard? Julia's mom--in the picture--was standing amongst the greenery of a garden with Julia's dad right next to her. The photo was perfect, then Julia's eyes traveled to the other five photographs surrounding the first--there was a picture of Julia as a newborn, then Natalie, Austin, Trent, and then Clarise.

"Sorry, mom and dad." Julia took in a breath, looked out the window, saw her parents, and gave them both mercy. It was the hardest thing Julia ever did and would ever have to do. "I love you both..." she whispered to herself, the gunshots echoing in her mind.

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