Zomb-Pocalypse 6

Chapter Five

"Why did you even come then if you're just giving up?" I accuse him, my anger boiling over as I struggle to fight back the tears that want to fall. I see Ryan glance at my cheeks, and a look of horror spreads over his face. He doesn't want to see me cry any more than I want him to.

"I don't want to fight with you, Jane." He says softly, "We didn't know it would be like this. It's hell out there," He motions towards the window where the dead have taken over.

"I know," I say as I burst into tears and turn my back on him. He isn't wrong, the whole place is dangerous, but there is no escaping it; we're smack dab in the middle.

"It's too many to fight and too many to outrun. We don't have a vehicle or heavy weaponry." Ryan shrugs helplessly. I start to open my mouth to mention the armory, but he shakes his head. "We can't make it there, Jane; it's too dangerous."

My tears fall even more at his words, "That's where Silas is," I tell him, and Ryan starts to look a little bit like he could cry himself.

"Silas wouldn't want this for you," He tells me, and I know he's right because Silas told me already to go back to the cabin, but I'm not telling Ryan that. "There's no dishonor in giving up," He says softly, and my entire being rejects the idea.

"He wouldn't leave us," I argue instead, and Ryan grins a little at this, and I stare at him like he's crazy for laughing at a time like this.

"Well... he might leave me," He says candidly, and I can tell it's his attempt at a joke to lighten the mood, but it falls flat. "There isn't anybody left to fight," He says instead when I don't so much as crack a smile. "We're completely on our own; we haven't even heard gunfire since this morning." He points out, and it's the first time I've realized that.

"They don't have guns, Ryan!" I point out, and Ryan shrugs.

"Who knows," He finally says, not really arguing but not acknowledging my point either. "The guy next door has a gun," He points out, and he isn't wrong, but Rob seems like he's the minority around here.

His words do scare me, though, because of the ring of truth to them, other than the guy next door, we haven't seen another human being in a while, not a live one anyway. There isn't any gunfire, no screaming, and nobody driving around. "There's always a chance," I tell him, refusing to give up.

"I don't know," Ryan finally acknowledges in a defeated tone. "The zombies are everywhere; it's hard to know."

His words make me stand up straighter as an idea hits me. It's so fast that Ryan visibly startles at my sudden movement.

"You're right!" I say, making Ryan look confused. "The zombies are everywhere." I reiterate his words causing him to shake his head.

"I'm sorry, Jane, I think you're going to have to spell it out for me." He says apologetically.

"What if they weren't everywhere? What if they were all in one spot?" I continue, but still, his brows furrow in confusion.

"How would we do that?" Ryan asks, and I know it won't be in any way he's going to like.

"I think we need to lure them to a spot. Lots of noise, maybe light something on fire." I suggest as the ideas come to me so fast, I'm just spitballing, throwing things out there.

I see Ryan's jaw go slack.

"You want to light something on fire and attract ALL the zombies?" Ryan asks me, already frowning at the idea.

I don't let myself think about it before answering. "Yeah, I do."

"I don't think it will work." He says with almost no hesitation, and now it's my turn to frown. I don't think he even gave more than a second of thought before naysaying my idea.