The Dead Walk Among Us

Chapter 19: The Way Back Home

Jake and Alex are asleep in the back.

"I can't believe you left Sam there. She wanted to help us," Sarah says.

"I had to leave her. I had no choice. I didn't want her getting hurt worse than she is," I say. "There is no going back now. We only have one day left until Dave attacks and we are nowhere near Oakwood."

We ran into many problems on the way. First, the van had a flat tire. We fixed it, but then it ran out of gas.

So much time has been lost. I'm afraid we won't make it in time. I'm afraid of arriving and seeing everyone dead. I'm trying as hard as I possibly can to be there for everyone.

"Maybe you should stop for the night," Elizabeth suggests.

"We can't stop...not until we get there," I say.

"At least let me take the wheel. You're exhausted," she says.

"No, even though I am tired, I won't be able to fall asleep."

I just need to keep going. After a few hours, the sun starts rising. The kids wake up.

"Are we close?" Clarissa asks.

"No, we're still pretty far away," Sarah says.

We pass by a sign for a hiking trail. Sarah looks at the map.

"Jade, stop the car now!" she says. I hit the brake.

"What?" I almost yell at her.

"That trail leads right to the summer camp it will be quicker then driving," she says.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" I ask.

"Yeah, look!" she says showing me the map.

It would be quicker. We'd have to walk though. I pull over.

"Let's do it then," I say.

We get out. I grab our bags from the back. We walk through the forest. I can see the walls of the summer camp in the distance. We reach the camp. Melissa lets us in.

"Where is Sam?" she asks.

"She's okay. She is at the camp up north...a group is coming here tomorrow to attack the camp. Derek's men are going to be here soon to help us. We have to fight them," I say.

"We can't win...the walls can only keep zombies out, not people. We have barely any ammo or guns," Melissa says.

"We have help. It's not like we're alone in this,"

I hear trucks pulling up. I go outside. A woman slightly older then me gets it of one of the trucks.

"We're from Derek's group. Is there somewhere you'd like us to be?" she asks.

"I want a few of you to guard the road. That way when Dave shows up they can give us a heads up," I say. "I want some of you to guard the gates and the rest in the camp."

"Got it," she says.

I head back inside the camp. I return to Melissa.

"I'm taking all the elderly and children to a secret safe house we have in the woods. Do you want me to arrange for your kids to be there?" she asks.

Honestly, I can protect them better. I'd also feel better knowing they were with me.

"That's okay. I'll take care of them myself," I say.

I help the others fortify the wall. Nighttime comes faster then usual. When we wake up tomorrow, we have to fight with all we have to keep this place. I miss when it was so much simpler. When we weren't fighting for our lives everyday. The virus didn't just make it harder to have a normal life. It made it harder to be human.

Jake and Alex are too young to know what life was before. All they've know was surviving. Running from the dead. Me, Sarah, Jake, and Alex are sitting in front of a campfire.

"What if we die tomorrow?" Sarah asks.

"Don't say that! Don't even think it," I say.

"Calm down, I was just saying if we die then what happens? Would Dave let the remaining survivors go?"

"He wouldn't. He wants us all dead no matter what and he will stop at nothing to make sure that happens," I say. "We should go to sleep soon. We have to get up early tomorrow,"

I go to our cabin with Jake and Alex.
I lie in bed, unable to fall asleep. Once the sun rises, our lives won't be the same. Even if we manage to fight Dave's group off, there will be people who didn't survive. The walls might be completely wrecked. If that is the case we'd have to find somewhere else to stay. We'd be on the road again.

I hear voices on the radio, sitting on my nightstand. Derek's people are guarding the road, if they see anything they're supposed to call me on the radio.

"I see headlights down the road!" I hear. I jump out of bed and grab the radio.

"Is it Dave?" I ask.

"I can't tell. Wait...it's them!" I hear.
Seconds later, I hear a bang over the radio.

"Hello, Jade. Get ready. We'll be there any minute," Dave's says over the radio.

I run outside. Sarah is still sitting by the fire. Everyone else is sleeping.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"Dave's group is here," I say.

Sarah makes a run for the fire alarm at the other end of the camp. We all agreed that when Dave showed up we'd use the fire alarm to get everyone ready. Soon people emerge from their cabins. I climb the wall. Dave and his people are here.

"I'm giving you one more chance...leave and we won't hurt anyone here," Dave says.

Melissa looks at me. She wants me to say yes to Dave. How can I trust that as soon as we lower our weapons, he won't start firing at us?

"No, we're not going anywhere," I say.

"Jade!" Melissa says.

"Fine, don't say I didn't give you a chance," Dave says.

Bullets fly at us. We shoot back taking five of their people out. An explosion knocks me and Melissa off the wall. There is a hole in the walls. Trucks drive through it. My gun landed feet away from me. I crawl to it. I grab it. Jake and Alex are taking cover by a picnic table.

"Keep your heads down. Where's Clarissa?" I say.

"She was in our cabin," Alex says.

I make a run for the cabin. The door is locked. I kick it open. Dave is holding Clarissa at knife point. He is standing by a window.

"Don't do it!" I say.

I can see Sarah outside pointing a gun at him from far away. Sarah takes the shot through the window. Dave falls over. He was shot in the neck. Clarissa gets behind me. Dave gets up. He seems unfazed by the wound. He steps away from the window. 

I shoot him in the head. It doesn't do a thing. He growls at me. He tackles me. He's acting like a zombie. Clarissa stabs Dave in the head. He finally stops.

"Was he bit?" I ask.

"You don't know, do you?" Clarissa says.

"Know what?"

"If you're partially infected you will eventually turn one day. Sometimes it takes years, but it's months for others."

"You can't tell anyone else about this. I don't need them to know about this. I'll deal with it when that day comes," I say. We head outside. The battle isn't over yet.