Another Way (Editing)

Chapter 3: Finding Others

Donovan smirked at me. “Well, since you asked so nicely, I thought we could form a sort of dynamic duo. Kicking zombie ass and taking names.” He did a one, two punch in the air with his fists. He looked really silly, but it was amusing.

            I raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re kind of strange, you know.” He lowered his hands and look at me as though he was appalled.

            “I’m weird? You’re the one who skewered a squirrel a few days ago and ate it raw. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s just… ” He made a nasty face and I shook my head at him.

            “I couldn’t exactly start a fire to cook it! Not only would it draw attention to me, but it – Wait… a few days ago? How long have you been following me?” I found it extremely difficult to believe that he had been following me for days and I didn’t even know. I wasn’t slipping that bad… at least I hoped I wasn’t.

            “About a week.” He said it nonchalantly, as if it was perfectly normal to stalk someone for a week. I wasn’t sure how I was feeling about this guy. His hotness be damned. If he was a crazy person, I didn’t want anything to do with him. I tried to answer him smoothly, but I was angry at myself for being so unobservant.

            “So, you’ve been watching me for a week?” I said each word slowly as if they tasted foul. “Why didn’t you say anything, or approach me before today?!” I didn’t mean to snap the last bit, but it was getting harder to keep my calm. I took a few deep breaths.

            This time he raised his brows at me but didn’t say anything about my little outburst. “I had to make sure you weren’t totally psychotic like most people I see on the road. A lot of people I run into are mumbling to themselves about the world ending or hacking into a zombie long after it stops moving…” He trailed off, looking haunted. After a couple silent seconds he looked back to me with a small smile. “I had to make sure you weren’t one of those people.”

            I guess I couldn’t be too mad at him. If I were in his position I would probably want to know who I was following too, if I stalked people that is. Admittedly, I was curious about this guy. He was the first living person I had seen in months. I was beginning to worry I would never see one again. Donovan wasn’t only alive, but he was…very entertaining.

            He didn’t seem to care that the world was falling down around us, he simply was, and it was refreshing, to say the least. I stared into his emerald eyes and a question came to mind.

            “Are there any more people with you?” I looked around, knowing no one was there, but I couldn’t keep the hope from surging within me.

            “Not with me. I’ve been searching for survivors for the past few weeks. But, back at base camp we have about twenty people. Well, soon to be twenty-one. Ali is about to have her baby, so…what?” He stopped and looked at me with a confused look. My jaw had dropped after he’d said twenty people. I couldn’t believe it! Twenty people! I felt a laugh catch in my throat. It was the closest I had been to laughing in a long time, yet all I could manage was a relieved sigh.

            “How?” It was a simple question, but it was the most important question that I had ever asked in my life.

            “We built walls. Whenever a zombie came near we would cut off its head and stuck it on a post outside the wall. I know it sounds gruesome, but it works, the more heads we posted around the wall the less the zombies came around. Must be the smell.” Donovan did a sort of half-shrug. I knew I should have been disgusted with the whole head thing, but it really did make sense, and after seeing the things I had in the past couple of years I wasn’t really that squeamish.

            “That’s…amazing. I can’t believe it. All this time I thought I was alone…” We were silent for a little while. I think he was letting me take the news in. Finally, he broke the silence.

            “Do you want to come back with me? Meet everyone? You could even stay with us. If you want.” He sounded hopeful. I was beginning to feel that way, too.

I caught myself.

            I was standing in the middle of the woods with a semi-crazy guy that I didn’t even know. I still wasn’t sure if I could trust him and his words. It would be nice to be around people again, but what if he really was crazy and was making up the whole thing. Still, if he was telling the truth I could maybe relax for a little while. Not have to look over my shoulder at every slight sound. Have a companion when facing a zombie. Miraculously, I hadn’t had to fight a zombie in a while, but that could change easily. The slightest mistake could cost me my life.

            Not that it was much of a life I was living, but it was all I had and I wasn’t going to give up yet. I would do this. For my father’s sake.

            “Alright Donovan. Show me the way.”

            He smiled at me and said, “Call me Ward.”

Hope you are enjoying the story so far! I will update as often as I can!!!

-ZombieCritic1717