Death Of Me

i

[DAYS GONE BYE]

I flinch back away from the doors peephole. My neighbor, Jessica, had turned into one of the infected on the first day and hasn't left the area. A large bite mark on her right cheek and her left arm caused her to turn. Her once flawless clear skin was now covered in blood from herself and the person that she had chosen to have as her next 'meal.' Her body was most definitely starting to rot from being dead for more than 2 weeks. I haven't bothered with putting her out of her misery, it hurt too much. Every time I see her I begin to think of her 3 year old son that I used to watch when I had days off.

I turn over to see Arrow reading one of her library books from when she went to school, Jasper is coloring in the coloring book that I had gotten for his birthday, and Caspian is asleep on the couch. I walk over to the kitchen to check on how much supplies we had left and scowl. We only had 8 more cans of ravioli, two sleeves of crackers, and 12 water bottles. We either had to leave or look for more food. Both options were very sketchy and dangerous.

Our apartment was located on the outskirts of the city, pretty close to the quarry that I would always take Caspian, Arrow, and Jasper to whenever we went fishing and camping. I glance over at them again and freeze when the door starts to shake from the banging on it. I quickly grab the handgun my grandfather had gifted to me and turn off the safety, rushing to the door. I look over to Arrow and Jasper and nod. They already knew the drill. If anything would go south, the two would grab their prepacked back packs and start packing up the food. Caspian had woken up due to the noise and had grabbed a knife, coming up next to me. I look out the peephole after nodding at him and gasp.

The infected had gathered next to mine and Jessica's apartments for some reason. The knocking was due to one of them bumping into the door. It was a false alarm but it gave me an excuse for us to go to the quarry. I pull Caspian with me and go into the kitchen, helping the little ones pack. I turn the safety back on, on my gun and put it in my waistband. Caspian puts his knife into his pocket before running quietly to his room to grab his pack. I grab my car keys and rush over to my room to grab my pack. I shove it on before rushing out towards the three of them in front of the back door.

"Be quiet, keep your heads down and stay right behind the person in front of you." I whispered to the two of them, trying to make sure they understood. The formation would be: me, Jasper, Arrow, Caspian. I looked back at Caspian and he nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. I take a deep breath before nodding back and open up the backdoor slowly. I survey the environment surrounding us before my eyes catch my car.

There was hardly any of the infected in the area so I immediately start to walk towards it, making sure I feel Jaspers finger clutching my belt loop. We walk as silently as possible, keeping up a steady pace. We reach my car with surprisingly no encounters, and quickly pile into the car. My car starts on first try and I immediately speed off down the street.

"Venus!" Arrow shouts out, pointing at one of the infected. My eyes widen and I swerve, looking back at her, thinking that something bad had happened.

"Arrow, don't do that!" I hissed out, gaining control of the wheel. "Caspian." He nods and turns back towards them.

"Hey, it's okay, guys. Just calm down and look down at your shoes. I want you to count to 150 and then say my name, okay?" Whenever they would freak out during these past two weeks, we would have them count up to high numbers, sometimes it calmed them down.

Once they were slightly calmed down Caspian turned back to me and shook his head at me. It's clear that he didn't like that I snapped at Arrow. I sigh and keep my eyes on the road.

"We're going to the quarry. I don't think the dead like to go into places like that, especially since the city is loud and had more people to eat." I whisper the last part to Caspian, not wanting the two to hear. Caspian nods and leans his head back into the seat, groaning. He wasn't bit or sick, but the headache that formed from staying up on look out and not sleeping was getting worse. "Get some rest, I'll wake you up if I need you." He nods and closes his eyes, letting his body relax.