Until The End (ON HOLD UNTIL TTWD IS DONE)

"Where are we going to look first?" Zaria asked me from across the old rundown apartment we were... 'borrowing' per say.

"The local supermarket. It's close to us, so we won't have to walk far. There is a bigger chance that there will be left-over food there," I answered.

"I sure hope so. We are running low..." Melodie muttered more to herself than anyone else.

I considered Zaria and Melodie my sisters, though Melodie was actually my sister. I would protect them, no matter what. As the world came crashing around us, we came together and survived together. We have all been through hell and back.

Being some of the few survivors left, it was difficult to live. We had to learn to survive quickly. We were isolated. We hadn't seen other survivors like us in so long. We felt as if we were three of the last remaining human beings walking earth. The rest of mankind? Zombies.

"Layken? You alive?" Melodie asked, snapping her fingers in front of my face, as I looked out the window and down the thirty or so stories to the ground. It was a sunny day. Barely any clouds around. Dust was floating around in the wind below, following the paths of the abandoned streets.

"Yeah. I'm alive. Just tired," I muttered. I grabbed my pack off the table and double checked I had all my belongings. You never knew if you would be coming back, so better safe than sorry to have all of your stuff with you.

"You better not be tired. We all need to keep a high guard on. It's almost sundown. Let's get going," Zaria stated. I nodded in agreement and slung my pack over my shoulders. I reached for my gun, loaded it, and put it in the back of my worn out jeans, under my pack. Melodie opened the run down place's door and stepped into the hallway. She soon disappeared down the dark stairs. Zaria following after her. I looked around the old room and slowly closed the door behind me, careful to make no noise.

I made my way down the flights of stairs. I finally reached the landing in the lobby and walked into the main room. I passed the other two, sitting in the dusty, old couches laying around. I walked up to the sliding glass doors and forced one open. I slid through and held it as Zaria and Melodie slid out after me. We stepped out from under the overhang of the apartment complex and felt the sun touch the pale skin of my worn face. I closed my eyes and tilted my head up towards it, soaking in its warmth. Zaria nudged me.

"Let's go," She muttered, understanding the need to feel warmth on this now cold, dead planet. I began to walk up the streets of what used to be downtown Denver. The windows were all boarded up with wood and what metal scraps people had found lying around when the zombie epidemic started. Doors were painted with the words 'Infected Inside. Keep Out.' Warnings to the people on the outside to stay away.

"The sun is going to set soon," Melodie warned.

"I know. We just have to keep moving. We will be fine," I assured her. She nodded, trusting me.

Night was the most dangerous time to be out and about. It was when the hoards of zombies would search for their next meal. Zombies preferred to move in packs at night. During the day, you would only run into a few stragglers.

"Layken, do you hear that?" Zaria whispered to me. I paused and listened. There was the noise of gnashing teeth and tearing of limbs.

"I do," I whispered back. We crowded together and hurried along in the shadows, watching all around. I led us into an alley as the noise kept getting louder. I peeked around and discovered the source of the noise. Four zombies were huddled together, knelt over what looked as if it was a human.

"Shit..." Melodie whispered.

"Poor beggar ran out of his luck..." Zaria commented. Indeed.

"If we keep to the edge of the buildings and stay in the shadows, we should go unnoticed," I whispered to them. They nodded and followed me as I snaked around the zombies. We got passed unscathed.

The sun was getting even lower in the sky. We had to be getting there soon. We needed to be there soon.

"Look, there it is!" Melodie said and began to jog towards the big building that used to be a supermarket in its former life. Zaria and I jogged after her and we reached the front glass doors as the sun was just about to disappear on the horizon. The doors were jammed closed. I grabbed the edge and pulled with all my might. I cracked it open, and Zaria squeezed in between and helped push it back. We were able to sneak through and I pulled it mostly closed behind us.

"Alright, Zaria, you search left. Melodie, you're on the right. I'll be in the center. Gather all you can," I instructed and we split up to raid for food. I had found a few things here and there on some of the many empty shelves. I reached the back of the store and headed back to the front to wait. I set my pack on the floor and put the little amount of food I had found inside. I heard feet walk up to me. I looked up to see Melodie.

"I couldn't find much, but what I found can hold us a few days," Melodie said to me as we waited for Zaria. I nodded.

"Yeah me too. This place has been wiped dry of anything and everything that used to be here," I stated. Melonie nodded and shuffled her feet. We stood in silence waiting. Then we heard Zaria call out.

"Uhm, guys? You may want to see this..." She called to us. We followed her voice and discovered her on a top shelf, peering out a high window.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You need to see this," she whispered quietly. I climbed up beside her and helped Melodie up and we peeked over the ledge of the window. What I saw was astonishing. It was a hoard of zombies, but none like I have ever seen before. Hoards usually consisted of maybe a dozen zombies, but this, this was a lot more. There had to be hundreds, walking down the street, heading straight for the supermarket.

"We need to get out of here," Melodie said in a panic. I nodded and jumped down, helping the other two down. A window crashed at the back of the store and they were coming in, which was not good. That meant they could smell their next meal. We ran for the front of the store but paused when we saw that the hoard was beginning to surround the whole store. We could hear zombies from inside the store also.

"Ladies, guns. Shoot anything that comes within a foot of you." I instructed, pulling out my gun. I grabbed the door and yanked it open. Melodie slid through and held it open for Zaria and myself. That was when we ran. We dodged zombies single file, trying to save our ammunition. Zaria was leading the way as I followed her and Melodie was behind me. A gunshot rang out behind me. Assuming Melodie had shot a zombie that had gotten too close. We weaved out of the zombie crowd and continued to until we were a safe distance away.

"Everyone okay?" Zaria asked turning around. Her face paled. I turned to look. Melodie was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh my god Melodie!" I cried out and ran back towards the zombie hoard. I could hear another gunshot go off. I looked into the hoard and saw Melodie, gripping her leg and hobbling her way out. She was too far away from me and I couldn't get to her. A zombie soon came up behind her and she went to shoot, but when she pulled the trigger, nothing happened. She fired again, but there was no ammo left in her gun.

"Run!" I screamed at her, causing zombies to put some attention on me. The zombie bit down onto her arm, and another came, sinking his teeth into her neck. I heard a horrible piercing scream come from Melodie. I couldn't watch my sister slowly die. A zombie grabbed my arm and I spun, ready to shoot it, but it was Zaria.

"We need to go. Now." she said. She grabbed my arm and dragged me away, down the dark street, and away from the hoard.
We ran for a while before I couldn't hold it in anymore. I sagged to the ground on my hands and knees in the middle of the abandoned street, and I cried out for my sister. I gagged and dry heaved, while Zaria gently rubbed my back and cried silently beside me. We had just lost our sister.
I slowly got up, calming and attempting to compose myself and that's when I heard it. There was a shuffling coming from the alley way beside us. We both froze and slowly moved away from the alley. A figure came out of the dark alley and walked towards us. We backed up some more. I pulled my gun and had it ready. That was when I noticed it was not walking funny, nor was it making any noise. This being was human, and there wasn't just one of them.

There was five.

*****

Thank you for reading chapter 1 ;D Chapter 2 will be up eventually.

MiaMassacre