UnEarthed

Chapter 9

Rob enters the team's house and sees Max slouched on the couch watching the television so he plops down next to him. "What are you watching?"

 "I don't know... some stupid reality show." Looking at the door, Max notices Rob is the only one who came in. "Where's Kenzy?" 

"She didn't want to come." Rob's tone is discouraging. 

"Oh." Max sighs. "I guess zombie hunting was too over-whelming for her."

 "I don't think that's it, Max. That girl has a lot of inner demons she's battling." Rob says, suddenly confused as to why he is defending her. 

"I guess that means we keep following her?" asks an also confused Max.

 "No, that means we leave her alone for now." Rob stands abruptly from the couch and leaves the room. "We head out early tomorrow morning on a hunt. Are you ready?"

 "Always am." Max answers with a surge of confidence. Hunting zombies has never scared him too terribly. He has gotten so comfortable with it that he is startingto enjoy it. 

"Maybe we should hit the barn for some practice. Get the others and meet me out there." Rob does not wait for a response before walking out the door. 

"Jeez. What did Kenzy say to him?" Max asks himself. Hopping up from the couch, he turns off the television and jolts up the stairs where he knocks on Hopes door. "Rob wants us in the barn." Running down to the basement, he opens the door and shouts, "Trojan! Barn!" 

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It is late the next night and the air is so still, not a leaf on a single tree dares to sway. It is quiet... almost too quiet. Rob, Hope, Trojan and Max climb out of the Mustang and look around the empty parking lot. Sitting in front of them is an old, busted up warehouse. Faded white letters read "Chuck's Boot Supply" across the front. 

"Are you sure this is the place?" Hope asks Rob, praying his answer is no.Hope hates zombie hunting. She hates fighting and even though she is well aware of her anger issues, she has good reason. A group of zombies attacked her mother, father and little sister. Then, she had to kill them. She was a cheerleader, a freshman in college and knew nothing about being tough. Walking in to see a bloody massacre in her house nearly destroyed her. That is when she met Rob and Trojan. They saved her. They were also new at killing zombies but they took Hope in and taught her all they knew. Something that night changed in Hope. A piece of her soul died with her parents and now, the boys are the only family she knows.

 "Yeah, I'm sure." Rob answers in a discouraging tone. He too hates his profession but does it every day without complaining.

 "Damn... okay, so what's the plan?" Hope asks, eyes glued to the warehouse.

 "Well, if my source is correct, there is a whole colony of zombies in there. If we just burst in with weapons drawn, we will lose." Trojan answers. 

"We'll throw a grenade in first. That should kill most of them. Then we'll go in after the dust clears and finish the rest." Rob says with a stern tone. His fierceness and lack of emotion is what makes him the perfect leader. He is focused. He knows the zombies need to be destroyed and never leaves a job unfinished. Hope, Max and Trojan fear him, but in a respectful way.Max pulls a black bag off his shoulders, sets it on the ground, unzips it and pulls out a green grenade. "This is our last grenade, Rob."

 "Then, we better not mess this up." Rob answers and grabs the grenade. "You all stay here. I'll toss in the grenade and run back. Have your weapons ready." He walks up to the building. There is a small hole in the wall so he peeks in and sees a large mass of zombies feasting on animal and human bodies. They are tossed all over the room like they were put there before the zombies arrived. He spots a busted window 15 feet up. After taking a deep breath, he pulls the pin and throws the grenade through the window like a football. He makes it back to the team just as the building explodes.