Survivors

The Trip

My mind was running at a hundred miles an hour. "What am I going to do?" I kept asking myself. I can't lose them too. I can't lose them. But how am I supposed to save them, the only family I have left? I cant fail them. Not again. My thoughts were on a loop, repeating the same thing over and over again like a scratched record."Umm.. Max?, You ok?" Lexi asked. "Uhh... yeah. Im fine; we gotta think of something fast. Those things are attracted to noise right? Maybe I could draw them towards me while you sneak around them and warn my brothers." I said. "But Max..." I interrupted, " Its the only way. I'll use my machete and kill as many as I can. They're up the road about two blocks to your left. There are a few cars making a circle around them; cant miss it. Now follow my lead and when you see an opening, go. I'll be right behind you"
"You sure about this?" She asked, with a questioning look. "Yeah I'll be fine". I gotta admit, I dont think I believed that myself. I was scared senseless but what other choice did I have? I jumped up from my crouching position, machete at hand, and began to yell. "Hey, over here!!! Fresh meat right this way you ugly sacks of shit!!! Come and get me!!!" I started banging on the cars with the machete and jumped on top of one, yelling at the top of my lungs. To my relief, most of them began to take notice. However, a big portion of them were still headed towards the direction Lexi went. "Shit" I mumbled. My instincts kicked in and I began to jump from car to car until I reached the few that were wondering off. They saw me and the rest was history."That's right come this way, you sorry fucks. Who wants breakfast?!?! Come and get it, I'm all yours". I was running out of cars so I had to think fast. Jumping off the car, I began leading them towards a different street, slashing heads off as I moved. How easy this has become. It's like second nature. I wasn't going to let the rest of my family die. We've been through so much, been to so many places to just let these shitheads end it all. I still blamed myself for what happened to my parents and my younger siblings. If saving them meant dying then I'd welcome it with open arms. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice that I had reached the end of the street. My arm was killing me but I kept slashing and pushing.
Once I made sure I was at the end of the street, I looked for the nearest car to hide in. I checked four cars before I found one that was unlocked and secured. I hopped inside and made sure not to slam the door so hard and attract the wave right back to me. I made sure I was concealed enough so that the dead wouldn't see me. As I sat there, all alone, I began to think about the past. How things have changed in just 6 months. How many have died and how I had survived for this long. How many of my friends and family have left before me. Me; the high school dropout worked at burger king trying to survive another day. Me. I have to admit; this whole disaster, for lack of a better, has taken a toll on me and at times I have questioned myself. The thought of suicide has also popped up as well. Even before this whole thing happened. Only difference between now and then is that I had a family. Now, I wouldn't know what to do if I was all alone. I always told myself I have to stay alive for those I still have left. But what about once their gone? What then? I know it's just a matter of time before we're history. We're just avoiding the inevitable.
   This whole being a loser thing isn't  new to me. All my life I've lived off of pity from others, not really how I could turn my life around and be the feel good story for my friends. As I kept reminiscing in the past, I caught a glimpse of the outside with the corner of my eye. The multitude outside was beginning to thin out. There were very few of them now  that I decided on coming out and try to make my way towards my brothers. I did just that and when I got to the place where we had setup camp, it was deserted. Intuitively, I began to fear the worst. I looked around to see if there were any traces that might lead me to any place they may have hidden in. "Max?! Shit man, u okay?" Michael asked, with relief in his voice. "Uhh... yeah I'm fine. Where's JT? He okay?!" I asked, bracing for the worst. "Relax Bro. He's okay. Little shaken up but otherwise he's fine. I got 'em watching over this girl we just met. Came out of nowhere". "Her name is Alexia." I intervened. "She's straight. I sent her over when I saw the wave coming this way. Where is she anyway?" I asked, anxiously. "She's over at our hiding spot. She didn't want to come back out here; Afraid a few of them might come back I suppose. What's ur read on her?" JT asked. "Where were u hiding?" I pressed on, ignoring his question.
  With a puzzled expression, he looked at me and said, " she's with JT. Why, what's wrong?" "I dont fully trust her. She's a bit weird and I was keeping and eye on her. Let's go find her, keep ur gun ready but do not use it unless its necessary. Lead the way." We started walking up the street from where the camp was set up. My brother was leading the way. We must have walked less then 2 blocks before we reached this nice looking building. It was small with a few of the windows still intact and a few others missing. Must have been 5 or 6 floors high, counting the ones that were missing. Looked like some sort of explosion blew the top off, not strong enough to knock the building down completely. We came to a halt right in front of the glass door, which actually looked more like a frame than a door due to the glass being partially shattered. "This is it" Michael said. "Here's the deal; I'm going inside to make sure everything is ok. Stay behind me a bit in case things go awry. If you hear anything, come running. I'll do the same if something happens out here." I began to make my way through the dark hallway, the only source of light coming through some of the broken windows inside of the rooms I passed by. "JT? Where are you man? Im alive, just give me a sign bro." Silence. I reached the end of the hall. I pressed my back against the wall and peeked down the left side of it, making sure it was safe. I holstered my gun and pulled my knife out. I kept going, calling my brothers name once every 5 minutes.
  As I reached the end of this hallway, I heard a "thud" in one of the rooms opposite the wall I was standing against. As I got closer, the thudding grew progressively louder. I pulled my gun out, safety off. "JT?" I whispered. "Is that you man?" I hadn't noticed my hand shaking until I heard the clicking of the gun. The tapping continued, only louder as I got closer to the door. My heart was racing, palms so sweaty that the handle of the gun was so soaked, I could barely grip it. I holstered it, wiped my hand dry on my shirt, and kept my knife out. I put my ear to the door, listening for any sort of sign of danger or that it was in fact my brother in there. I whispered my brother's name again with the same result: nothing but the repeated "thud, thud thud" sound. I began to open the door, slowly, giving myself a chance to avoid any threats. I opened the door. And I slumped to my knees in disbelief.