Dead Rising: The Run Aways

Chapter Eight

“Honestly Mitch, It’s no big deal. I deserved it.” I say, as I trail a bit ahead of Mitch, trying to avoid slipping on the wet mud. It’s been a whole day since we left camp and it’s been raining for half the time.

            “I still feel horrible though. I haven’t done that in a while, and, I guess I was a little surprised you said that.” He says, also being cautious of the newly formed mud.

            “You mean you’ve done it before?”

            “Done what?” He asks.

            “Ya know,” I say. “Hit someone.”

            He laughs. “I’m pretty sure everyone has at one point.” His laugh fades.  “But I’ve never hit a girl.”

            I let out a smile. “Glad to be your first.” Then I laugh a little to myself.

            I jump as a bolt of lightening lights up the night sky. I look up and see it glowing on the trees for just a second, then flash away, leaving the sky dark again.

            Mitch lets out a heavy sigh, “We should take a break. My legs are killing me and I’m tired of trying to walk in the mud.”

            I look at our surroundings. “We should have gotten the camp gear. We’re going to freeze.” I grunt.

            “Well,” He says, starting to climb a tree. “Let’s make due with what we have.”

            “Uh Mitch,” I say, “in a thunder storm aren’t we supposed to be the lowest object on the ground. You’re just begging the lightening to strike you.” I put my hands on my hips and watch as he continues to climb up the tree. He stops about halfway and carefully steps on the thickest branch. He sits and lays his head against the base of the tree.

            “Would you rather be wet and on the ground where something could happen, or would you rather be up high and dry, with only a small percentage of a chance of being hit by lightening?” He throws his backpack down. I catch it, and toss it to the side. Then, I fling my bag off too and leave it beside his.

            I grudgingly start climbing the tree. “I can’t believe I’m doing this right now.” I say in puffs.

            I get close and Mitch lets out his hand. I take a hold of it and he flings me over.

            “How is this going to work? There’s not enough room for the both of us.” I state, annoyed and trying not to look down.

            “Yeah there is.” Mitch says with a smile on his face. “Here.”

            He puts his hands around either side of my waist and helps me to sit down right in front of him.

            “There. Now all you have to do is lean back and I’m your personal bed. Home away from home you could say.” He says, laughing at his own lame joke.

            “You’re smooth.” I say, leaning my head back on his chest and looking up.

            “Well, I try.”

            We just sort of lay there for a long time. I’m not sure how long, but a lot of things had the chance to run through my mind.

The first thing is Grace. Her freckles, her huge brown eyes that remind me so much of mom it makes me want to cry, her short hair that always falls in front of her face, and the way her face looked before I left. She had a smile and her eyes were shining. I remember her waving too, her small little hand moving from side to side at me.

            I push those thoughts away because I’m only making myself feel worse.

            Instead, I think about finding her. I have to find her. I don’t even know where to start though, but Mitch seems to. Actually, Mitch seems to know a lot about what has happened. That’s when I decide to ask him.

            “Hey Mitch.” I say suddenly, breaking the long, long silence between us and the night.

            “Mhm?” He grunts sleepily, runs his hand through my hair slowly, and lets it fall.

            “Where exactly are we going? What are we doing?”

            He opens his eyes and sits up a little. “Well, the plan is to go back to that barn. That’s the last place I saw the CDC.”

            “But what if they’re not there? Grace and your dad and your brother I mean. What do we do then?”

            Mitch is silent for a moment.

            “I haven’t thought that far. I honestly don’t know where else they could be though.”

            They could be dead. All of them. We could be chasing nothing.

But, I decide to keep that to myself.

Another moment of silence, but Mitch breaks it this time.

“Why do you keep fighting?”

I look up at him, a little set back by his question.

“Well, for the same reason you do I guess.” I answer.

When I think about it, I really don’t know why I keep fighting.

“I guess I’m just scared to become one of them or to be captured by the CDC and have to do whatever it is they do to people like us. I just want to stay me.”

He nods his head, almost like he accepts my answer.

“Why do you keep fighting?” I ask back.

“I live through this hell everyday now because I just need to see my father’s and my little brother’s faces one more time. If I can do that, then everything in this shitty world will be alright with me, at least for a while.”

“Oh.” I say.

I’m starting to drift off to sleep now, I can feel my eyelids becoming heavy, but I have to ask him one more thing.

“What’s your little brother’s name? You never told me.” I say sleepily.

“Carson.” Mitch says with a genuine smile. “Carson Michael Stevenson.”

I smile. “That’s a cute name.”

Mitch leans down, kisses my forehead lightly, and then leans back against the tree.

“Yeah it is.” He says. “Now let’s get some sleep alright?”