Rise of the Undead

Chapter 10

“Glad you came back to us, cuzo,” Rosa commented as she came to stand beside me.

I’d been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed her moving in my direction. “Hmmm?”

“We thought you were a goner. I–I don’t know what I would have done if we had to . . .”

I patted her shoulder with understanding. “You’d move on.”

“Maybe.”

“Where’s Joe?”

She pointed to the slightly opened front garage door. “He went outside fix to the back window. Snow’s picking up a little, too.”

How is it that I hadn’t heard him walk away? I wondered.

I groaned. “I hate driving in snow.”

Rosa laughed. “It’s not that bad. Well, not yet. Once everyone is ready, we’ll head out for supplies. Eli should be arriving at your house soon. He says the roads are clear, for the most part, though biters have started to appear.”

“We’ll need to be careful, then.”

“Yeah.”

“Cell reception won’t last much longer, you know.”

“Yep, but at least we’ve a means to keep in touch for now.”

I cracked my knuckles and nodded. “You think we’ll make it to the hospital?”

“I do, but we’re going to have to take it nice and slow.”

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “There’s no nice and slow about this, Rose.”

“Heh, yeah, but it’s the thought that counts, no?”

“True.”

The garage door slid up another fraction, cutting off the rest of our conversation. Joe hunkered down onto his haunches, his eyes roving around the room. A look I couldn’t quite fathom settled across his face as his gaze landed on me.

“Ya’ll ready?” he asked.

My brother rolled himself beneath the door’s edge, and hurried over to where I sat. He reached out, and tugged me to my feet, wrapping me in a tight embrace. I stiffened momentarily before allowing myself to sink into his arms.

“I’m honestly glad you’re back, Sis.”

I hugged him to me before taking a step back. “You’d have been fine without me.”

“Don’t know about that, but at least we don’t have to find out.”

“You’re always so dramatic, aren’t you?”

He rolled his eyes at me, and reached out to ruffle my already tangled hair. “Whatever.”

“Why didn’t you come in through the side door?”

His face flushed with color. “Takes too long.”

“Hardly. It’s just a walk away.”

“Those are minutes I could be using to do something else.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup.”

“Then why are you standing here talking to me?”

Joe snorted with feigned derision. “You know, Meg–”

I held up a hand to silence him. “Rose says you’ve been working on the back window.”

“Yeah. Found some clear plastic bags and tape inside the house. Patched it up as best as I could. We can replace it later on.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Joe clapped his hands together to draw everyone’s attention. “Okay, guys. Let’s get a move on it. Pick everything up, and toss the trash in a box. Meg, you want me to drive?”

“Nah.”

“You sure? It’s snowing.”

“I’m sure. I appreciate all you’ve done, kiddo.”

He sighed with relief. “Welcome.”

Joe pulled the garage door up further, and stepped aside as the children began to file out of the room. It amazed me that he was doing his best to be strong in the face of such adversity. We’d lost Mom, Thomas, and several others, yet here we were trying to survive. We had no idea what was waiting for us out there, but we were determined to make the most out of this crazy situation.

The zombies were here to stay. That much was clear. Whatever had caused this epidemic, we did not know. Nonetheless, I’m determined in finding out. There is no way that someone could have knowingly unleashed this plague on the masses. At least, I hoped that wasn’t the case. Sooner or later, the truth would be known, and I wanted to be there once it hit the airwaves. Until then, I’d do my damnedest to keep my family safe, sound, and very much alive.