Dead Horizon

Limited

     Blood splattered on Ember's face and she was on a spree. The boy stepped back because he knew that she could kill the last one, and she did. Her mom looked terrified and checked her for scratches, just when Ellie got up out of the corner to close the door in the back and ran to Jackson and his mother. Evelynn and her boy stayed quiet through this, mostly because she wanted to keep him safe and his eyes covered.

Soon after the tiny herd passed, Sophie handed a bag to Ember that had a cloth in it.

"You could use it, sissy." She said to her, standing with a straight face, in her pink jacket with her mother, still concerned.

"Thank you, baby. "

Ember responded fast. She was trying not to laugh because this was a serious situation, but it was one of Sophie's full sentences that actually made sense and Sophie was talking like Ember, which made it ten times funnier.

They both smiled and were wondering where the rest of the people that were standing behind Ember and the boy a second ago went. The front entrance door was open and Ember shut it, frustrated she let out a sigh and smirked. This was her way of showing her frustration most of the time. Jackson wiped his tears and Ellie did too. After a long time searching for supplies in the basement, the boy with the eyes said to Ember,

"Hi, thank you for um.. Saving my life when we-"

"No problem, dummy. "Ember cut him off.

" My name is...Mateo..."

The boy stuttered. He seemed intrigued by something.

"I'm Ember. "

She responded, uncomfortably.

"Can you check that box over there? Look for anything, bullets, first-aid kit, anything." Ember asked Mateo.

"Yeah, of course. Do you have a bag with you?"

He asked, sheepishly. He knew she didn't have a bag, but he did not want to come off as shy. Ember looked at him and laughed when she pulled the gray-ish bag from under her foot and dangled it in his face.

"Wow I thought we were limited with supplies, but jeez! " Mateo whispered while taking the objects out from the small chest in the corner with a dull light shining against it. Ember and Evelynn rushed over to see what he was talking about.

"Wow! We really do have a lot! Good work."

Evelynn stated after taking a peek.

"Ya, but it ain't going to get us through a whole week. There are seven of us and only two jugs of water, a food basket and one flashlight with a small first-aid kit. "

Ember added. She was not trying to be bratty, but her mother sure thought she was.

"We can make it work, right? Ration everything equally? By the way, I'm Eleanor. But I guess you can call me Ellie."

Ellie spoke up. It was like she took all of the sadness and grief from her little heart and put on a strong suit. It's what her dad would have wanted her to do.

Ember and pretty much everyone else were in severe survival mode. Every little noise they heard, Ember would fastly reach for her pocket knife that she found in the bucket of weapons.

"Yeah, We could do that, Ellie. "

Mateo said while looking at Ember.

"But the question is, how much do we actually have to spare? "

Ember added, staring back at Mateo. She was aggravated by the way Mateo was taking charge in the situation because Ember liked to be in the lead.

"We have enough, but we have to move fast before those things take over the shelter. "

Kate demanded. Every person in the room stared at her in shock. She did not understand why.

"She is right. We have to create a plan and move fast! " Evelynn agreed.

Mateo pulled out a small map book from his blood-covered army bag. He was the same age as Ember so he was not in the army, but his father was. Mateo lost his whole family and watched as they died slowly, but he put on a brave face anyway.

"Here. Let's use this to work out a plan. We need to get from here to the clear land in the next town over. "

"Okay, but do we have a clear path?" Ember looked at him with a look that clearly stated 'I'm out of your league', but he knew that wasn't true.

"Yes, we do Ember. Here, if we take this route to Grove st, turn right and go five miles on foot we can get there in the next few days. "

Mateo put his finger on the map and he traced it along with his words, kind of like he knew what he was doing, but Ember didn't think so good about it.

"I think we should do it! " Ellie shouted. She hasn't really said much but she knew that sooner or later she would have to speak up.

"Ya, I agree with Eleanor. " Kate stated. She dragged Sophie to the corner and started putting the supplies in one bag and clothes in another.

"Well, what about you? You in? "

Mateo asked Ember with a small hand gesture.

"Why not? I guess I'll pack the weapons."

Ember said, staring back at him.

"Wait. Shouldn't we hand out the weapons to everyone? To keep with them in case of an emergency? "

     Ember did nothing but stare at him and grind her teeth in an intimidating way. She could not stand that he was trying to take charge, but mostly because she liked him and she did not have a chance to show it.