PROJECT ANDERSON

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: ANDIE

As soon as we opened the door for the second bedroom...I regretted it.

The smell was putrid, like if someone had killed a deer and left it in the sun for two months before they decided to stuff the poor thing.

"There's defiantly something dead in there." Jesse said as he looked into the room. "Maybe you should stay out here, there's no reason for Ash to have to see this."

"I'm brave, I think I can handle it." Ashley protested from my back.

"You are brave Ashichu, but I want to protect your innocence a little longer." I said with a small laugh.

The truth was I didn't want her to experience what I did, especially not at such a tender age.

But I also knew that it was bound to happen eventually...

"I'm going in, wish me luck." Jesse said as he walked into the room.

"Just don't let them bite you and you should be fine." I said from the doorway.

"Well unless they can eat without a brain or heart, then I think I'm good." Jesse said as he looked behind the door.

"From my experience of watching  a lot of zombie movies, they kind of need their brain." I said as I stepped into the room and peeked behind the stained wood door.

There were three small bodies huddled in the corner of the room.

Ones heart was removed and discarded without care by a wooden dresser by the closet door.

Another's brains were so mangled and decayed that it resembled a bowl of moldy mashed potatoes...and the last one, well there wasn't much left of them.

He was eating his own children for months before we showed up...not only that he discarded their bodies like they meant nothing to him.

I know that he was a Romero, but he was still a person at some point; so I was going to treat him like one...all of them.

"We need to bury them before we leave." I said as I walked out of the room before Ashley could get a good look at the bodies.

"Alright, its the least we could do I guess." Jesse said before following behind me.

"Close the door...I don't want to see them anymore." I said softly as I looked over to him, "Ashley do you want to go lay down while we check the last room?"

I felt her body tense against my back, she was scared and I didn't blame her at all.

"Its okay Ashichu, you don't have to if you don't want too." I said with a small smile, before heading down to the third and final room.

"Andie maybe we should just go back downstairs." Jesse suggested as he took my hand in his.

"Why are you scared?" I teased.

"No, I just thought that it would be a better idea than going into the room, just to find another body." Jesse said as he squeezed my hand.

"You don't know that there's another body." I said as we continued down the hall. "Did you see a woman or another man in the pictures downstairs, because I didn't."

"No, but -"

"Then the other room should be as empty as the first one." I interjected before stopping in front of another large wooden door.

"Why do you never listen to me?" Jesse asked as he opened the door.

"Oh honey, you should know me well enough to know that I don't listen to anyone." I answered before walking into the room.