What Walks Among Us (book one)

Blindsided

We didn't stick around much longer after that, Adam had left a few sticks in the formation of a W, and I was hoping that if Cody saw it, he'd be able to find us. With each step we took away from the safe house it was like another mile between Cody and the rest of us.

I had to stop thinking about it though, as we soon lost sight of the safe house, and there was no sign of smoke from the direction I was pretty sure the compound was still in. Trish and I walked side by side in relative silence, both of us intent on making sure we weren't jumped by anything harmful.

The days that followed were much the same as the first, give or take a zombie here and there. On the fourth night there was a big rain storm, and Abby got sick. Sam took care of her the best he could, but it was clear that she'd need antibiotics, if she was going to be able to fight it off.

This, combined with the fact that we hadn't seen a town in a few days, had us hurrying, and getting a little sloppy. By the start into the second week Abby was looking worse than any of us were comfortable with, and was too tired to walk on her own anymore. We had to risk going on the main road and following it into a town in the hopes that it would have a pharmacy that hadn't completely been ransacked.

Trish looked at me for a moment before deciding to speak. Her black eye had faded and she looked significantly less menacing without it, "Do you think we'll be able to find something for the little one in this next town?"

I knew what she meant. It was clear as I looked ahead and saw Abby's pale face leaning against her brother's shoulder. She was only going to get worse, and the longer it took to get medicine, the less likely it was that we'd be in time. I thought about my answer as I looked at the road, admitting that I had traveled more with this group of people in the last week or so than I had in my whole life didn't seem like the best reply, so I opted to fib it a little bit.

"There should be a town coming up here soonish," I hope.

It was another two days before we came upon a town, if you could even call it that. It looked as if it had gone to shambles before the apocalypse had even begun. The stores had boarded up signs of closure, and what few houses we saw looked as if they had been looted many, many times. It was getting close to night fall though, so Adam suggested we take a turn down one of the few streets and see if we couldn't find anything that looked hopeful.

I walked a little faster so that I could walk beside Beck up front, and I watched as Courtney fell behind to take my spot next to Trish. It would have been a nice gesture, if Trish would talk to her at all. So far Trish hadn't said a word to the girl, and while I was curious as to why, I figured she had her own reasons.

Houses seemed to just get worse and worse as we walked deeper into the small neighborhood. It wasn't until we began walking up hill did we finally see a half way decent looking house on the corner. I was the last to go inside the grey two story, and I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched.

Inside the house the guys were setting up camp in the living room, while Trish looked through the rooms for any medicines that might have been left behind. I walked quietly through the house, looking at everything that had once made up the home for this family. They had some thirty or so cookbooks that looked as if they'd never been opened, and in the hall I found a family portrait.

I had just lifted my hand up to brush away a bit of dirt from the picture, wanting to see the whole family and not just the daughter who was the only one not covered in dirt and dust beyond recognition, when someone stepped into the hallway.

"Kodi?" Ben asked, leaning against the wall.

With a jump, I turned to look at him, feeling as if I had been caught doing something I wasn't allowed, "Yeah?" I crossed my arms like that's what I had been planning to do in the first place.