Forgetting the Apocalypse

51. Loss pt. 2

Fredi's Pov*

I used to work in the kitchen back when everything was normal. During that time, we had very specific dress code, especially when it came to our footwear. We had to wear these big hard leathered boots that were a real bitch to break in. that always left my feet swollen, aching and sometimes had a few blisters. When everything went down I made sure that the first thing I did was pack an extra pair of those boots because I thought that they would last longer. I thought it was a solid plan. What I didn't think about was all that walking. All the different terrain and weather conditions and such that would wear down the material much faster than working in a hot kitchen.

There was only so much duct tape could fix. Every step was like stepping on hot coals. There was a large tear on the side of my left shoe that was already to become stained red, no doubt a blister that had popped and was now bleeding. Mara was in the same predicament as me but either her shoes weren't as bad or she could tolerate the pain better than I could. Although she can tolerate any pain better than I could honestly.

Our pace had been slowed so much that I'm sure even my boy Blackie was judging me.

Every time a house came up empty on suitable replacements for us I felt like sobbing. I was holding my breath with the last house, I'd freaking take Crocs at this point. I wanted to, nope, scratch that. I needed to rest.

But life would be too simple if I could.

I don't think we were in the house for more than a minute before we heard the shrieking calls of crawlers. Right away it became a mind over matter situation. There was no time to focus on the pain that shot up both my legs from my feet. I was forcing myself to focus on what I had to do, to avoid any and all distractions that I left Blackie with Kailee as I went searching to see if this house had a back door or a garage.

Frantically looking for anything of use, I knocked into a workbench when I felt them crash into the house. I swear the whole house shook. I could hear them shouting. I wanted to go back and help them but knowing that they were setting the fire in the living room I knew that I would only be getting in the way. Instead, I dig through everything again and find two the perfect items.

A bunch of rags and a couple cans paint thinner. Hastily grabbing them, I run out the back and circle around to the side of the house. I wait and watch as the last of them burst their way through the front door. Praying that they don't smell me or hear me come up behind them, I drench the rags in the thinner and curse myself for not checking my pockets for the lighter. I let panic take over for a second and that's all it took for me to drop one of the cans and for one of the crawlers to turn around.

I didn't even think about it. I just threw the other can right at its face and took off running down the street. The whole mind over matter was really being pushed to its limit every time my feet would hit the pavement trying to get away. I didn't need to turn around to know that it was quickly gaining on me or that I hear more than one of them.

It was a bit of a deja vu feeling as I zipped my way through the houses. Some part of my mind went back to when I woke up in the house with those hungry dogs on my tail. Of course crawlers were not going to be rid of as easily as they were.

Vaulting over one of the fences, I felt my knee pop when rushed into one of the side doors we must have left open and raced up the stairs. Remembering the hole in the wall, I dove right in and squeezed my body through to the other room as fast as I could before one of their hands could grab my ankles.

With luck on my side the wall holds as they their arms and bodies try to fight through the hole. Another jolt of pain radiates from my knee but I focus on that right now. Pulling my shotgun from my back I fire at the bastards that are getting themselves stuck further and further the more that they try to get to me. This made it easier to shoot their thick heads.

I sat there for a moment, trying to steady my breathing and not scream from whatever the fuck I did to my knee and my feet. I just wanted a few moments but I couldn't even have that because as soon as I started hearing a rifle being fired in the distance I was up on my bloody feet and stumbling out the front door. My knee protested with every step I took but hearing them screaming was exactly the push I needed.

Running as fast as I possibly could, I ran back to the last house that was already enguolfed in flames. The screams of the crawlers that were burning alive clashed with Riva shouting at something to get off him, Mara barking out commands to the dogs and Roone lifting a struggling Kailee over his shoulder. She was the loudest of all, calling out for her brother. That's when it hit me. I didn't see him anywhere.

I made the mistake of looking up to the window where they seemed to have dropped down from and saw two crawlers fighting over a piece of an arm as they were burning. The urge to want to empty my stomach was overwhelming. Another shot fired pulls me out of my oncoming hysteria and gets me moving once more.

Painfully rushing to Mara so that I could take Blackie off her hands, I tied his leash to my belt and swung my shotgun foward to guard and pick off the few charred crawlers that were still trying to escape the house along with anything esle that would try to come up behind us.

Riva led the way as we ran from this God forsaken neighborhood. My chest felt as painful as my feet and knee did when I looked ahead and didn't see Boaz. Nor was he coming up behind me as I kept turning around towards the burning house. I knew he was had to be dead otherwise we wouldn't be running in the opposite direction. Otherwise Kailee wouldn't be fighting against Roone to go back.