Quarantine

Midnight

I moved closer to Charles' shoulder, careful not to bump him. The deathly quiet had started to get to me, and I couldn't sleep any more. I slid myself to a sitting position, and watched as Charles stirred slightly in his sleep.

He's so cute, so.... at peace.

I stretched my sleepy legs awake, and felt the familiar tingle run through them. I scratched at an itch that was starting to be annoying, and felt my fingernails satisfyingly rub the shirts fabric against my skin. I rubbed my eyes as they adjusted to the partially dark room. Light from the full moon filtered through the window up front, and then less of it came through the small glass window on the sliding door.

I moved over to the bucket of crowbars, and tried to pick one up. I picked one that seemed free of making noise, and stopped only once to stifle a cough. My head felt drowsy, and my throat raw, but was otherwise fine.

I stepped over Charles' prone body, and slid the door open softly. The door slid smoothly, and I sat in the drivers seat that was facing the road. There was a small frost starting to develop on the windows, and I was already getting cold. I slid the door closed to keep Charles warm in the back.

I glanced at the rear view mirror, and saw the cluttered cars on the bridge. It was still a lonely sight, but I was glad that there was no rotters moving around here. I fiddled with my shirts neck rim while glancing outside. I had barely noticed the changing of the leaves, and now all of them were scattered across the ground.

The trees were standing proudly, and seemed defiant against their stark nakedness. I took a breath in, and exhaled; watching my breath mist slightly.

It's gonna be really chilly outside.

I leaned over to the second seat, and picked up my crowbar. Then, I opened up the drivers door and stepped out into the freezing cold night air.

I was breathless in two ways. First, the cold had knocked the breath out of me, and second was because of the sky. Thousands of stars filled up the night, and I was awestruck by its beauty.

If I hadn't been so amazed by the stars I would have heard the guns hammer click. I felt a barrel being pressed into my temple.

"If you move, you die." A young voice of a man floated to me like a whisper.

"Don't worry. I'm not stupid." I called back just as quiet.

I didn't even raise my hands, and no voices told me to. I turned around to find three others pressed against the vans side. One was a middle aged woman gripping a young girls shoulder tightly. A pistol was clutched in her other hand, and it was shaking to badly for her to really be able to do anything.

The third person was another man, but seemed slightly older than the one who was pointing the gun at me. They all seemed scared, I could see it in the kids eyes. The other man looked into the van window, and pointed a really familiar looking assault rifle at the door.

"Hey, you. Where'd you get that rifle?" I didn't know if it was coincidence, or fate.

I glanced at the girl, and she seemed to be the right age, but nearly two months have passed since then.

The man looked at me. "I got it from someone a long time ago. I doubt they're still alive." The voice sounded familiar.

He has green eyes...

I looked at the girl again, and then back at the man. "We can't let those monsters get us...."

The man seemed baffled at my words. "What are you saying?"

I finished my sentence. "Do it for mommy."

I looked at him before saying anything else. He was confused still.

"Your wife isn't here. She died in a car crash." I pointed at the man.

"How'd you know that?" He pointed the gun at me.

The woman spoke up. "It was probably a lucky guess. He's messing with you."

"No, I'm not." I continued talking to the man. "Your daughter was trapped in the back seat. You managed to pull yourself out of the van. A kid approached you from behind with that rifle, and offered you help. He got your daughter out before the car caught on fire. She was crying because mom was still in there. You said, 'We can't let the monsters get us. Do it for mommy.'"

His eyes widened as I finished talking. "How in the world are you still alive? I thought you'd be dead by now."

The younger man lowered the glock from my face, and glanced at the older man. "You know this kid?"

Everyone seemed slightly at ease now, but then the woman spoke up. "Hello! Undead horde isn't gonna let us chat all night."

I glanced at them both. "You mean Rotters? Where?"

The man I knew responded. "They're moving through the woods. Turns out someone tried locking them up in a salvage yard, but that big storm a couple nights ago tore down the fence. They've been moving this direction ever since, and we've been trying to stay ahead of them while moving to their flank."

I couldn't see which way the threat was from. "Which direction again?"

The woman answered my Again with disdain. "From Topeka. We were going to hole up in a fast food place, but some crazy person shot at us screaming about keeping some rose alive."

I laughed at that, and she asked me why. "That crazy persons name is Jackson, and he kicked me out. Rose is his girlfriend who might die in this weather. By the way, I'm not alone. There's one more inside the van, the back."

They all glanced at me, even the child who was crying silently. "Oh. Don't worry. He's not crazy. We just stayed in it to get out of the rain. I think we can squeeze in if I wake him first.... and explain all this."

The man I knew nodded. "My name is Brent so you know. My daughters name is Megan."

I replied while opening the door to the cab. "Mine is Ethan. My friend inside is named Charles."

With that, I slid open the door to see his sleeping body.

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The memories! Do you remember the man, and his daughter?

Bet you didn't expect that did you? No you didn't!!

Plot twist of the century award goes to yours truly. No, seriously. Whoever's named Yours Truly better claim this reward.

Enjoy, and find out what happens next in..... you guessed it, the next chapter!!!!