Brave Tomorrow

World of Mattresses

Ronnie's P.O.V

I wondered about every human face I've ever seen in my life. I wondered about all the brown eyes, freckled faces, and crooked smiles. I wondered about the girl with lavender hair I noticed on my bike ride home the other day. She was sitting by a lake and doodling in a small black journal, singing to herself in Spanish while doing so. She paused for a moment and gazed up at me with her narrow hazel eyes. I smiled as I rode on by, and she returned the favor and continued singing. Hazel- just like my dad. Thoughts of my family began to whirl around my brain. Did they know that I loved them? When was the last time I said it? Before this moment, I would always consider myself as independent and distant, but boy, I am, and have always been, a needy piece of shit.

I hear a shriek, and am brought back to the situation at hand- or what is left of it. I tear my eyes off the magnificent sunset to see Lena standing over Hector with a gun and Claudia staring at Hector's unmoving body with tears staining her face.

Tara snatches the gun from Lena and places it on the floor. "What have you done?!"

"A few hours into the end of the world and Lena has already gotten used to killing people." Ben scoffs. Everyone glares at him.

"What was I supposed to do, let him chomp Claudia's face off?!" Lena clenches her jaw and shuts her eyes, like she was trying not to beat the shit out of Ben.

"Well, no, but now that gunshot is gonna attract them all to US," Shane says, sighing.

"No one was talking to you, Shane." Calvin chimes in.

"A living, breathing person, a person that we knew, was just killed in front of us, monstrous infected things are just outside this building, and you're arguing like little kids!" Tara interrupts angrily. "You're all are being ridiculous and irrational. Let's focus on important things like getting out of here and finding our families."

Everyone stops and draws their attention to Tara, who begins passing out orders with a new found confidence. Darren, Shane, and Lena start collecting useful supplies and putting them in some drawstring backpacks that Calvin found in the back. Without any orders, Claudia takes Bella and Hector and covers their bodies with spare newspapers, found at the back of the room by Darren.

While everyone is busy following commands, I jump over the counter and grab the big, black, old telephone buried under a frantically scattered pile of paperwork. My heart is beating as I reach over and grab the handle, a surge of panic running through my calm exterior.

I press the phone into my ear, hoping- no praying- for a dial tone. There is none. The last prospect of contacting my family vanishes into thin air. I set the phone down and stare at it in disbelief. No. No. No.

I'm so lost in my newfound discovery, that when a firm hand clamps down on my shoulder I swivel around, knocking a jar of pencils over, causing them to roll over the already dirty floor.

But it was just Tara, so startled that she removes her hand from my shoulder. "Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!".

I shoot her a look, my heart beat becoming steady again. "You didn't scare me," I say, frowning. Tara raises an eyebrow, or tries to anyway, and looks pointedly over at the telephone. I follow her gaze, unwavering, as she gives me an almost wounded look. "I tried the phone already. They're all down".

She gives a heavy sigh and I don't know what to say.

Suddenly a loud crash from the front of the store interrupts us, and we both swivel around, our eyes wide in alarm.

But it's just Darren, his face red as he knocks over a shelf.

"Sorry!," he calls out, and I mutter a curse under my breath.