Alone *UNDER CONSTRUCTION*

Chapter Ten: Reunion

That was two days ago.

Now, here I am.

Right now, I'm sitting on a bench at a small park along a creek. The playground's empty, the sky is cloudy, and trash is scattered everywhere. Other than all that, it's actually kind of peaceful here. I chew through a bag of potato chips, sitting out in the chilling breeze. They're a little stale, well past the "Best By" date.

With the food I've got, it should last about four more days. Food is everything these days. If you don't have enough, you're as good as dead unless there's a town or something nearby.

I'm not exactly sure where I am, so I pull out the huge map from my backpack. I trace my finger down the highway I traveled along. According to the map, Woodford is twenty miles back the way I came. There's about two hours of daylight left so I'll rest here for the night.

Great. Looks like I have to sleep in the restrooms. Super. I think there's a dead body in there, though, smells like there is at least. But you know what really sucks? I'm halfway through my roll of toilet paper.

A rustle in some nearby brush kicks me out of my thoughts. A pair of arms reaches out into the open, followed by the entire body of a walker. I can smell its foul stench of decay from here. It's coming straight for me, its teeth snarling and its arms slightly reaching out. I hastily grab my hammer from beside me and walk quickly towards the walker.

I pull my arm back, and use the sharp end of the hammer to gouge it in the top of the skull as it gets in my reach. The walker immediately goes limp and falls to the ground, almost bringing me down with it. With a good yank, the hammer comes cleanly out of the head.

One of these days I'm just going to find a sword or something and just chop off walkers' heads.I'm serious. Actually, now that I think about it, I just could've used the gun Jesse gave me right now. But then, the sound could've attracted more walkers. I am getting so sick of these dumbasses and it's only been four months since the Turn.

Come to think of it, how long is this thing gonna last?

A year? Two years?

All of a sudden, I hear more loud rustling coming from the woods behind the neon colored playground. Then, a blur of gray sprints right past me and pushes open the door to the men's restrooms, hiding inside. I couldn't even tell what that was. It definitely wasn't a walker, but what was it running from? I hear more rustling, and four walkers tumble out of the trees.

Only one sees me, and the rest start heading for the restroom door. I whip my body around and run to my backpack. I dig around in it, until I feel the shape of the pistol Jesse gave me. I yank it out, and aim at the walker's head. I've actually never shot a gun before so this is gonna suck. I pull the trigger, and the bullet totally misses.

Shit.

I growl under my breath and aim to shoot again, and the bullet misses again. The female walker in front of me draws closer, gnashing its teeth. Come on, third time's the charm.

I take a breath and gently squeeze the trigger of the pistol once more. Now, the shot finds its way into the monster's head. It collapses toward the leafy ground into a smelly heap.

Someone inside the restrooms is trapped inside. There's no telling how long he or she is going to be trapped in there. So I'm going to try and save them. I'm not going to let what happened to the woman happen back at that rest stop to whoever's in there. I yell, "Hey!", to the walkers pounding their hands on the restroom door, catching their attention. I pull the trigger of the pistol, and one of the walkers drops dead.

There's only two left now. This should be easy. I then shoot three times, missing twice. The final walker quickly limps toward me. I carefully aim the handgun with both hands, then I pull the trigger. The walker's skull spills darkened blood when the bullet penetrates its cranium, killing it. I catch my breath from all the chaos and lower the gun, heading towards the restrooms and I say aloud, "Whoever's in there, it's okay. You can come out now."

After a few seconds, the door slowly creaks open. Then a young boy appears. A boy with the same brown eyes as me. A boy with the same dark hair as me.

A boy named Anthony Suarez. My brother,

It's him. It's really him.

He stares with wide eyes, his teeth chattering. He wears a dirty navy blue sweater with black pants, a small rucksack across his backside.

As soon as we see each other, our eyes lock for what seems like an eternity. Then he finally asks with a shaky voice, "David?" Then I drop my gun and run over and hug my brother whom I thought was gone.

And I never want to let go.