After the Storm

Helena slowly rolled over and put her back to Leon. She held her own breath as she listened to his, but the rain muffled much of the sound. He was fast asleep. Helena watched the lightening as it flashed through the two-by-fours. The sight was almost normal; the boards could have been curtains. She tried to think of times before zombies and viruses, but quickly realized that she lived little of her life without them.

She only let herself think of Deborah for second. She still couldn't believe she was gone. Deborah. Her baby sister. The "cute Harper sister". Helena always envied her sister for being naïve. Deborah saw only the good in the world. Helena was always too hard on herself.

Absent mindedly, Helena fingered the stone that brushed her collarbone. It had been a gift from her sister on Helena's fifteenth birthday. Their mother helped Deborah pick it out. She anxiously watched as her older sister unwrapped the tiny box, and breathed a sigh of relief when Helena's eyes lit up.

"It's beautiful, Debby!" She threw her arms about Deborah's tiny body.

"Mom helped me pick it out." She was twelve then. Helena could feel Deborah's ribs when she held her. Their mother always talked about how thin they both were.

"Eat up that cake before your father gets home and eats it all." Their mother wore a yellow sundress with scalloped pockets. She dressed much older than she really was. She had Helena when she was young – not much than Helena was then – but their mother loved her daughters equally. She carefully cut the cake, making sure now to destroy the lavender icing that said "Happy 15th Helena!" in perfect script.

Helena squeezed her eyes shut and threw the memory deep into her subconscious. She had other things to worry about now. She sat up in bed and pulled the thin sheet over her breasts. She had no reason to be embarrassed by her nakedness, but the rough texture comforted her skin. She looked around the room the two were in. The only light in the room was from the moonlight that shone through their two-by-four curtains, and from beneath the bedroom door.

The walls were covered with pictures of the family that only lived here weeks – maybe even days – before she and Leon found the empty shell of a house and claimed it as their own – for the time being. The family had taken precautions and nailed up all the windows and doors besides the back door that was heavily armed with padlocks. But for some reason they ran off anyway. Hopefully they ran far away from Tall Oaks with little hope that they could ever return.

The pair found the house in a deserted area outside the city. The area may have already been sterilized because the neighborhood streets weren't filled with pieces of loose flesh and moaning bodies. Everything was quiet. Maybe even too quiet, but the pair needed a place to rest.

The back door was unlocked with the keys sitting on the countertop right next to it. Wherever this family has fled to, they certainly weren't coming back. Helena checked up upstairs while Leon checked the first floor. They checked the basement and garage together. Thankfully, they found nothing but a few dead rats that died while trying to climb through the piping. They could breathe easy for now.

Helena watched the light below the door. They left the hall light on so if they did have any unexpected guests, they hoped to catch their shadows before they found a way inside the locked door.

Leon stirred in his sleep, but didn't wake. She stared at the stubble that lined his hard chin. Leon was such a mystery to her. He was several years older than her and was part of the original Raccoon City incident. She wondered what kinds of nightmares haunted his dreams. He was a brick wall which she had no idea how to break down. Sometimes he came off serious and other times sweet. He cared more about others than he did his own well-being. He never spoke of any family. Maybe the only reason he still fought this war was for the chance that future generations could live without zombies and viruses.