Risen from the Grave

First, but not the last

After Dad had patched up Caleb, we slowly made our way home, Willie supporting his dad whilst me and my dad fought off the infected to clear a path for them. When we finally arrived home, Mom quickly embraced Dad, gently patting my head to acknowledge me. Tía engulfed me in a hug, so I quickly tried to free myself, the sensation of her skin on mine making it feel as though bugs were crawling all over me and I was being drowned in their bugginess- Mom pulled her off me, reminding her I don't like being touched. She immediately apologised, blaming it on her being excited to see me alive. I accepted her apology and turned my attention to introducing Willie and Caleb, explaining how we met them and why they're with us. Tía reprimanded us for trusting strangers with guns while Mom gave us kudos for being so selfless. Dad and I helped Willie lay Caleb down on the couch, propping his leg up on the end. "How is it feeling?"Dad asked, gently touching the skin surrounding the wound.
"Not as painful, but still bad,"Caleb replied honestly, wincing slightly at the contact.
"Rose mijo, make sure we have some more bandages in case we need to change them. Bobby, unpack the canned food and medicine, but leave the bottled water for now,"Dad ordered. Mom hurried off to check the cabinet in the bathroom while I began taking out all the food we collected, stacking them in the corner of the room. Julie gave me a hand, but stopped me for a second.
"You shouldn't have trusted them,"she warned, voice just above a whisper.
"Why? If they wanted to hurt us, they would've already. Willie was alone with me and Dad for ages with a gun,"I defended. "He could've easily shot us."
"He didn't because he needed to know where we were. Now, he can take our supplies and kill us all."
"Where has your faith in humanity gone? Jules, most humans are probably dead, those of us left have to stick together."
"There's nobody left to enforce law. Don't trust anybody." I sighed, rolling my eyes and getting back to unpacking. She stared at me for a moment before returning to the task at hand too.

It felt like the day had passed in a blink. Before I knew it, the sun was setting, and it was becoming night. None of us got changed, there was no point and nobody wanted to be alone upstairs. Caleb and Willie were put in the corner, given a large mattress and two blankets to share, while the rest of us stayed in the middle, yet again in a mess of limbs, cushions and whatever else. It didn't take long for everyone to fall asleep, minus myself and Julie. She was sat upright, glaring in the direction Caleb and Willie were, knife tight in her hand. "Jules, get some sleep,"I whispered, crawling over to her, careful not to step on anybody.
"I can't,"she replied. "Not with armed strangers right over there." I sighed, sitting beside her. "I don't trust them, not one bit."
"And that's fair enough. But they're vulnerable and lost. Their home is gone, Caleb is injured and Willie is clearly scared. They needed our help, and they still do. They'd have to be some seriously cruel people to kill us now, after all we've done for them."
"There are some seriously cruel people in the world, and they could be some of them. I don't trust them, and I never will." I rolled my eyes, glancing over at the two bodies laying close together, one small and fragile, the other large but injured.
"They need our-" I was quickly cut off by the loud sound of banging, groaning and moaning. Everyone else soon woke up too, looking around in fear to find the source of the sound. It was coming from the front door.
"It's them,"Willie explained. "The infected,"he clarified, spotting the confused looks. "They're trying to get in." Panic quickly set in as Tía and Mom tried to gather our supplies and put them in bags, Dad grabbed weapons, Willie helped Caleb up and Julie collected Carlos, taking him under her arm. Dad handed out knives to those who were unarmed and said, "We have to leave, before they break in."
"Where do we go?"Tía asked, "We have nowhere."
"We run,"Julie answered. "We run to the van, pile in and get away, as far as we can. It was never a good idea to stay in the city." I nodded in agreement, rushing up to my room to grab my van keys. I heard the sound of crashing, meaning the door had fallen in and the creatures were coming through. I grabbed the keys and legged it downstairs, helping Mom fight of the infected as we tried to get outside. By the time we were all in the van and catching our breath, the infected had completely taken over our home, but some had followed us outside, trying to scratch the van's walls.
"Ray..."I heard Mom whisper. "I've been... bit..." I froze. My heart started pounding, tears threatening to pour down my cheeks.
"Where, mi amor,"Dad replied, taking her hand.
"My back..." The whole van was silent, when suddenly, Tía screeched, "Where's Carlos?!"

He was gone. That's where all the infected inside our home were. Surrounding his small body, tearing it apart, limb-by-limb, bits of flesh. I leaned back in my seat, trying to process what had just happened. My poor, poor baby brother was gone. And my Mom was on her way out too, the blood seeping through her shirt. Julie was clutching onto her, sobbing into her shoulder. I took a deep breath and started the van, unsure of where I was taking them, but knowing we had to leave. I pulled out of the driveway and started down the road, my eyes blurry. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder, and when I looked in the rear view mirror, I saw Dad, tears in his eyes, giving me as much comfort as he could. Once we were safely away from the house, I pulled over to the side of the road and broke down, putting my head into my hands and just crying. I could hear Tía sobbing in the background, Julie cries drowned out by the sound of a devastated sister. Dad gently lead me to the back, where they were all kneeled in the corner. I sat beside them, trying to stay strong, but unable to stop the waterfall of tears. I embraced Mom, even though I hated the itching feeling the contact gave me, knowing this would be my last chance to do so. "Bobby, it'll be okay,"she comforted, rubbing my back. "You'll be okay."
"I love you, Mom,"I cried into her shoulder before pulling away and wiping the tears.
"I love you too, mija. I love all of you." Julie curled into her side, holding onto her shirt as if she could stop her from leaving. Caleb and Willie were sat at the very back, giving us our space, but offering looks of sorrow and pity. Mom then carefully stood up, passing Julie over to Tía, heading over to Dad and embracing him. She then whispered something into his ear, making his sob silently, holding her tightly. "I don't want you all to see me die,"she said, voice barely above a whisper. "I love you all so so much, keep fighting, okay?" And with that, she opening the door to the van, stepping outside and closing it behind her.
"We should keep moving,"Dad said. I nodded in return. I started making my way towards the wheel, when a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I turned to see Willie.
"I'll drive, you need a moment,"he offered. I smiled, silently thanking him and seating myself with my family again. Willie sat behind the wheel, starting up the van. He continued to drive off, and I spotted the body of my Mom on the side of the road, the knife she had stuck in her head. I turned to face Julie, trying to erase the image from my mind. Carlos and Mom. Gone in an instant.

I don't know how much time passed between losing Mom and Carlos and the van stopping, but it can't have been long. I quickly got up to check on the road, see why Willie had stopped but there was nothing in the way. "Why have you stopped?"I asked, turning to face Willie. He looked pale and tired. "Are you okay?"
"I... we need to get to a hospital..."he panted.
"There'll be nobody there,"Dad replied, confused. "Why?"
"He needs insulin,"Caleb answered, limping towards the front. "All of the shots we had got destroyed, he needs more."
"Did he get a shot yesterday?"
"Yes, he did, early on." Dad nodded, and sat on the passenger chair.
"Okay Willie, we're gonna get to a hospital, there's one not far from here. I'll take over driving, you go lie down in the back, okay?" Willie nodded, getting up from the driver's seat and lying down beside Caleb. Dad took over, and I sat down beside him in the passenger's seat. He started the engine and began driving, taking the next left.
"How long can he go without a shot?"I asked, glancing between Dad and the barely awake Willie in the back.
"Not long, he'll just keep getting weaker and weaker until he dies. But the hospital isn't far,"Dad replied, his eyes glued to the road. I could tell he's still struggling with losing Mom and Carlos.
"I was with her,"I admitted. "I didn't even see her get bit. I should have stopped it."
"You didn't know, hijo. There was nothing any of us could do, for either of them."
"They didn't deserve it."
"I know. But there's nothing we can do about it now. Like your mother said, we have to keep fighting. We'll find more survivors, build a new community. Or maybe there's a military base somewhere, where we can go for safety." I nodded, wishing I had gotten his optimism. I turned my attention to the road, crushed corpses lining the street, houses having their windows smashed, the infected having taken over. There's still hope. There's always hope.