Love and War (On Hold)

Chapter 2: Meeting someone new

I rushed from the room to see a boy who looked about my age, on his back, backing away from two zombies. One was a teen boy, who's flesh was peeling off in some places, the other was a one armed lady moving at snail pace.

"The years have not been kind to you," I muttered as I sent an arrow flying from my bow and into her eye.

Immediately, the zombie dropped to the floor. The second zombie was moving fairly fast. He was covering the distance between the guy and himself quickly. I cocked my bow and sent an arrow flying towards him, hitting him below the knee. He faltered, almost falling, but kept going. It grabbed for the boy's ankle right as I shot an arrow, sending it straight into it's skull.

Blood splattered all over the boy and the wall behind him. Cautiously, I walked over to where he sat. He was breathing hard after his near death experience.

"Were you bitten or scratched?"

The boy shook his head in response, so I offered him my hand, which he took. When he stood up I instantly noticed that he was a good foot taller than me. He had shaggy black hair and piercing violet eyes.

"Because then I would have to kill you, and I've done enough of that for one day," I said as I walked over to the zombies to collect my arrows.

"Uh thanks. If you hadn't helped me then I would have been dead meat... Literally. My name is Will by the way."

"I couldn't just let you get eaten, could I? I'm Jessica, so what are you doing here? I thought I was the only live one left in this hotel."

He hesitated, "um well I was out searching for food for my group when the gruesome two-some chased me into this hotel. We're staying his a house about two or miles down the road from here."

I nodded. I think I saw that house on my way into town.

"So what about you?" He asked, "Why are you here?

"Just passing through, my dad and I are heading to the west coast." I gulped. "I mean I'm heading to the west coast."

I silently cursed myself for giving that away. Will looked at me confused, then his eyes widened in realization. There's no point trying to hide it now.

"Well I can't save everyone," I mumbled.

"Ah, man I'm so sorry," he said sympathetically as he glanced out a nearby window.

"It's getting dark, and you don't really wanna try to make your way back then. I could clear out a room for you if you want?" I offered with a sly smile.

"Uh, yeah thanks. I would do it myself and all, but I don't have anymore weapons."

We then headed back up to the third floor where the room I was staying in was. I opened the door to the room next to mine and cautiously checked it for zombies or bodys. After determining that the room was safe, I left Will and returned to my own room. I took out the two blue rugged supply bags that my dad and I managed to bring with us.

One bag contained a couple of medical equipment we had managed the scavenge along our way. The other contained our dwindling supply of fresh water and food. In one of the side pockets was a dagger and a pistol. The dagger was mine that I usually kept tucked into my boot in case of an emergency. The pistol belonged to my dad. He taught me to use it, of course, but I kept more to my bow.

"Jessie, you need to know how to use what's available to you and bows with arrows are definitely not common," he would say.

I tucked the dagger back into my boot, before rummaging through the second bag for two sandwiches and a bottle of water. I made a mental note to stock up on more supplies as soon as possible. I quietly walked over to the next room. Opening the door, I was surprised to see Will's head pop up from the other side of the bed.

I threw the sandwich onto the bed. "Should I even ask what you were doing?"

His face seemed to change to a shade of pink. "I- I thought you were a zombie ok."

I laughed. "Walkers can't turn doorknob."

"Haha, very funny, not all of us are experts with a bow," he said getting up off the floor and taking a seat on the bed.

I shrugged," I'm no expert."

"Huh, modest too, I haven't seen skill like that since that movie The Hunger Games that came out a few years back."

I rolled my eyes and turned to leave.

"Wait, I'm. Not used to eating alone. Why don't you come join me?"

"Yeah, well you need to get used to it," I said coldly, but found myself walking towards him and taking a seat on the floor across from him.

"So how long are you staying here?" He asked.

I took a bite of my sandwich while I considered his question. I hadn't really given any thought to what I was going to do now that my dad was gone. It was obvious though, that I continue the trip we were taking on my own.

"I won't stay long. I'm probably going to search around town for left over supplies then I'm going to get out of here. If I were you, I'd take my group and do the same. The longer you stay the more zombies there will be."

I didn't tell him about the huge hoard of about 100 or so zombies I had seen heading this way. It would take them a while to get here, giving everyone plenty of time to evacuate the area. If he refused to leave I would tell him then. His group probably didn't know how bad it had gotten in other places also and it's best if everyone has hope, however if they choose to stay I'm not forcing them to leave, nor am I going to stay here As well. It's not my job to look after his group.

He nodded slowly taking another bite of his sandwich. "Where are you heading?"

"The west coast. Zombies can't swim. It'll be safer there."

I wasn't exactly sure whether that last part was the truth or an attempt to reassure myself that it was going to be. He didn't reply and we finished our food in silence. I got up and started to exit the room.

"Ca- can we come with you?" I mean my group and me." He asked.

I was shocked, so I shrugged without turning around. "I'll let you know in the morning."

Back in my room, I thought about what Will had asked. I've never been one to enjoy company much, and the idea of having to look out for more people didn't appeal to me. I didn't want to get to know them, I might start to really like them. Then they would be taken away and I would be powerless to stop it from happening. It's happened before.

My dad and I traveled with a group once. It was only supposed to be for a few days, a week and a half tops, but it our little group lasted longer. I had grown to love them like family, and we took care of each other. I had grown especially fond of a little boy named Charlie.

He was like the little brother I always wanted and he stuck close to my side. I promised him that I would protect him, but how could you guarantee that during the apocalypse. The one day that I had asked Charlie to stay while my dad and I went to scope out the area was the worst mistake of my life.

Somehow, we lost track of time and stayed in one area to long. The hoard of about thirty, that we had spent days trying to escape from, found our camp. I came running back at the sound of little Charlie's screams. When I was almost into the camp, my dad grabbed me and pulled me into a nearby building to escape being seen by the zombies that weren't trying to eat my group.

I watched in horror, from the building's window, as my second family, including Charlie, was being torn limb from limb and eaten. I felt numb as tears rushed down my face. My dad pulled me away from the window and held me until the last of their cries subsided.

We never joined any groups again after that, and I made a promise to myself to never get close to anyone ever again. There was no way to choose who would live and die, and the fact is that I can't save everybody.