Dead But Not Gone

The Hard Way

There was a mall not too far from us and Xander thought we'd be able to find way more supplies for the supply run today. He brought a group consisting of me, him, Star, Hazel, and Alessandra. Mike wanted to stay behind to be temporary leader.

"You sure you can handle this?" Xander asked him.

"X, you're only gonna be gone for a couple hours. I'll manage." Replied Mike.

Fast forward to now. We're walking in the woods because Xander said it was a shortcut to the Garden State Plaza, a mall that was extremely popular in Paramus before the unthinkable happened.

I got used to going on these little expeditions. The areas seemed more familiar than foreign now. Walking through these woods made me appreciate nature more than before. The sunlight dripped down my head with honey and I felt the warmth of the sun enveloping me in its arms. It was beautiful.

However, this beautiful sight was interrupted by a large group of Deads. They were blocking our way. They turned their rotting heads towards us and shuffled towards us, saliva escaping their cracked lips.

"Fuck." Xander shout whispered.

He took Hazel and Star and ran to the left. When I tried to follow, a Dead caught me off guard. I killed it and looked around for Aless. She wasn't around. The Deads were getting closer so I decided to run past them. One almost grabbed me but I brushed it off.

I got away from the abnormal abundance of Deads and took cover behind a tree. I was out of breath and coughed a little bit. Then I realized something: I was alone. A weird mix of fright and discomfort shifted around in my chest and I started to panic.

Are they dead? I asked myself repeatedly.

I ignored that thought and pressed forward. As I got further away from our last location, I bumped into somebody who had a gun drawn.

It was Alessandra.

"Oh thank God," I exhaled, "You're okay."

"Jesus Christ, Derek, you scared the shit out of me. I almost killed you!" She retorted.

"It wouldn't be the first time." I joked.

"Have you seen the others?"

"No."

"Shit. Let's keep moving. I saw a small cabin not to far from here." Alessandra shared.

I nodded in agreement and we walked to the cabin in the woods.

As we got closer, I noticed the cabin looked almost perfect. It looked like nobody stood there, let alone live there. We moved up the small steps and got to the front door. Alessandra knocked and when she didn't get a response from someone, dead or alive, she opened it. I followed her inside and saw a beautiful interior. Nice couches were set up in the middle of the living room. There was a bear floor mat and paintings decorated the wooden walls. My mouth opened in a "O" shape and Aless noticed.

"It's nice, huh?" She questioned while looking in the cabinets of the kitchen that was directly next to the living room.

I sat down on the couch. "It's amazing! I can't wait til Xander and the others see this."

Alessandra couldn't find anything in the kitchen and took a seat next to me.

"So uh, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." Alessandra started with a look of peace.

"Hmm? And what is this message?"

"Well, I remember I wanted to kill you when Star brought you to our home. I didn't trust you at all. And since then, you've proved your loyalty countless times. You saved my life, saved Hazel's life, and established peace with Machton. I'm glad to say I don't hate you anymore. In fact, I stopped hating you a while ago. I trust you, Derek. And I'm glad you didn't fuck us over." She confessed.