The Fight to Survive

Chapter 2: Trapped

Chapter 2:

It was around noon when the group left their shelter for good. They had each packed a backpack full of food, medicine, ammunition, and water. They were all uncertain. Even if the place they heard of on the radio was real, there was no exact way of finding it. And getting there wouldn't be easy. It was a long way until they reached Vermont. On foot it could take them weeks, and that's if things went perfectly. The thing Nick was most concerned about was water. They all had guns, and they could all fight off walkers, however if they ran out of water, it would be hard to make it the rest of the way. And Richard couldn't do much in the way of purification on the road. In the back of the group, Alec and Ashby were talking.
"This is definitely the right move. We would've gotten killed staying back there." Ashby said.
"We still could. It's not necessarily safe out here." Alec replied.
In front of them, Noah and Brian were discussing guns, trying to keep their mind off of things. Richard walked alone, fidgeting with a handheld radio and trying to get it to work. And in the front of the group, Nick and Kelsey walked next to each other.
"If we make it, it could be nice. We could settle down. Not have to sleep with one eye open every fucking night." Nick said.
"We can't get our hopes up. We have to make it there first." Kelsey said.
Nick knew she had a good point. He was thinking too far ahead. He should have his mind on where he was. As he was thinking this, he looked up and stopped the group in its tracks. They had reached the end of the road they were walking on, and ahead of them was an open field leading to the woods. However, the field was covered in about two dozen walkers.
"We need to get through there. Is everyone ready for this?" Nick asked, raising his M4. Everyone in the back nodded, checking their weapons. Kelsey was armed with a Tavor 21 assault rifle, Noah had a custom built AR-15, Brian had a Remington 870 shotgun, Alec had an M40 with a good scope, so he could hit targets from a distance, Ashby had two pistols, an M9 and a 1911, and Richard had an AK- 47. They were all ready, but Richard had a better idea than just running into it.
"Wait a minute. I have a plan." Richard said.
He took his backpack off and kneeled down, quickly pulling out a flare which he had managed to make himself.
"I knew this would end up coming in handy." He said as he pulled a lighter out, lit the flare, and threw it towards the field. It landed and the biters were instantly attracted to it.
"Now!" Nick said.
Everyone raised their guns and charged, shooting every walker they saw. They knew that the noise may attract more, but they hadn't been able to scavenge as many melee weapons as they needed, and with a group this size they didn't want to get too close, because there was a greater possibility of getting overrun. Noah and Alec had broken off from the main group, each taking a side and shooting down walkers left and right as if it was nothing more than simple target practice, nailing headshots without a second thought. Richard, Ashby, and Brian moved forward, pummeling through the crowd and shooting any walker that dared to get close to them. This tactic kept the walkers off of them and allowed them to keep moving through the horde. Kelsey and Nick stood back to back, moving forward together and defending each other on every side. This is how they tended to do it, working as a team to get the job done. Their minds were on the situation at hand, but also on each other. They were determined to keep each other safe through all of this. They had each other to live for and neither of them planned on losing the other. When the shooting stopped, and the field was once more filled with silence, all of the walkers were dead. Blood covered the ground as if it was a child's coloring book, and they had been scribbling red all over the green grass. Nick paused for a minute to think about the fact that these had all once been people. Living, breathing people just like him. But not anymore. Now they were nothing but corpses. Corpses who wanted them dead. Nick pushed the thought from his head. Everyone was alright, and that's what mattered now. Not the past. It was those thoughts that got people killed, or drove them crazy.
"Good job guys." Noah said as he gave Alec a High Five.
"Let's go through those woods. Maybe we can find some shelter. It's getting dark." Nick said.
Richard, who had been looking at the map, said "there should be a development on the other side of those trees. We could clear a house and stay the night there. Maybe scavenge some supplies. Hell we may even be able to find a car."
"I would love to sleep in a bed that's not as shitty as the ones at that motel." Alec said with a chuckle.
"Hey at least we had beds." Ashby said.
"Any bed is better than no bed!" Said Kelsey.
"Alright, development it is! Let's hope it's not overrun." Nick said as the group resumed their earlier formation. Kelsey wrapped her arms around Nick's left arm as they walked. She smiled up at him when he looked down at her, and he kissed her on the head, thinking to himself that he was the luckiest man left in this god forsaken world.
As the group kept walking through the woods, they didn't see any walkers. They heard the occasional moan, but it was always from far away, and it never posed any threat to them. By the time they burst through the other side of the woods and into a back yard, the sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow over the landscape. Everyone was pleasantly surprised when they stepped from the woods to see that the neighborhood looked basically untouched. There weren't any walkers in sight. The nearly identical homes were lined up, showing no sign of damage or looting. It was as if the whole place hadn't been touched by the apocalypse that had destroyed nearly everything else.
"This is a good sign." Noah said as he looked around.
"We can stay the night in one of these houses. Get started in the morning. Maybe scavenge a little before heading out. It seems safe enough, as long as we're careful." Nick said.
Everyone approached the nearest house. It was nice, fit for an upper middle class family. Nick knew the development. He'd driven by it a few times before. But he never imagined he would be staying there under these circumstances. As Nick and Kelsey approached the glass door that led into the house, the rest of the group split up, making sure the area was clear. Noah and Brian went up front, their guns raised incase they ran into any trouble. The other three scattered around the back and side of the house, checking for any signs of people, either alive or dead. After a minute, they all joined Nick and Kelsey by the door.
"It's all clear. There's no walkers around." Alec said.
"None in the front either." Brian confirmed.
"Alright. Get your guns ready, there may be some in the house." Nick said.
He knocked three times on the glass door, making a loud noise which would've drawn any walkers inside the house towards the door. Nothing happened. There was only silence. After pausing for a moment, Nick nodded. Noah reached and pulled at the door, it was locked, but the lock wasn't very strong, and another hard pull opened the door right up. Everyone moved into the house quickly and methodically, staying in groups to ensure that everyone was safe. Nick and Kelsey went down the nearest stairs to the basement. It was nice, finished, and had a couple of couches for people to sleep on. Most importantly, there were no walkers. Not in the basement anyways. Upstairs, Noah and Brian had cleared the main floor, not seeing anything dangerous. They had, however, managed to find an abundance of food and water. It looked like the place must have been stocked right before the outbreak.
"Why wouldn't someone take this shit during the evacuation. Look, gallons of water, canned food, there's even some military food in here. It looks like they were prepared, but why not take it with them?" Noah said, a confused look on his face.
Brian tried to think of a logical explanation to this. "Maybe he died before he left. The body might be upstairs." He said.
As he did, Richard, Alec, and Ashby came back down from checking the upper floor. "Nope. No body up there. No walkers in sight either. It's completely cleared out" Alec said.