Deep Freeze

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"Why the fuck did you tell him to kill me?.. do you want me dead or something?" Sam asked, after Leslie had stopped crying.

"I knew he wouldn't kill you." Leslie choked.

"Um," Joelle interjected.
"We need to find something to stop the bleeding, before he dies."

While the adults spoke amongst each other, Johnny stared at the corpses of Tyler and Fred.
The boy's stomach churned, his eyes were glued to the horrifying sight.

"Here, honey, why don't you look at this," Kate handed a magazine to Johnny, attempting to distract him.

Johnny reluctantly took the magazine, and started flipping through it. The smooth, crisp pages brought comfort to him for some reason.

"I found a little first aid kit," Leslie said. She knelt down next to Sam; who was moaning in pain.
She took out a roll of gauze and wound some around Sam's leg.

"Hopefully he doesn't get an infection." Joelle muttered; bringing a worried expression to Sam's face.

"You'll be okay," Leslie said. She rubbed Sam's arm, attempting to comfort him.

"Leslie.. you confuse me," Sam said bluntly.
"One minute you're tellin' someone to kill me, the next you're being all sweet."

Leslie didn't reply. She focused on treating Sam's wound, trying to ignore the fact that her brother was dead, and that she had just killed someone.

"I wanna go home." Johnny whimpered. Tears streamed down his face, and his bottom lip quivered.

"I know, honey." Kate wrapped the boy in a hug. His warm tears fell onto her shirt.

"We should get going." Joelle stated. The sun was peeking over the horizon.

"To where?" Kate asked; still tightly hugging the sobbing Johnny.

"The government probably has a safe zone somewhere, we just gotta find it."

"Alright," Kate bit her lip. "How are we gonna get him out of here?" She nodded to Sam--who was still on the floor.

"We'll help him walk." Said Leslie.

"Let's get some supplies from here first, it's a good sized store." Joelle replied.

"Ok, Johnny?" Kate got Johnny's attention.
"You stay here with Sam, and the rest of us are gonna go find some useful things.. okay?"

Johnny nodded tearfully.

Kate, Joelle, and Leslie, scrambled off to find supplies while Johnny sat next to Sam, on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Johnny asked in concern, due to the fact that Sam was moaning in pain.

"Well.." Sam sighed. "I've never been shot before, and I ain't gonna lie, this really hurts."

Johnny's brow creased, he suddenly got up and started heading for one of the aisles.

"Hey, where you goin' buddy?" Sam called out, but Johnny was nowhere to be seen.

A couple minutes later, he came back with Tylenol in one hand, and a bottle of water in the other.

"My mommy always used to buy this for her headaches," Johnny stated. "Maybe it will help you." He handed the items to Sam.

"Aw, thanks kiddo." Sam smiled at the boy, before taking three of the pills.

Johnny smiled back, and nodded. His cheerful expression faded, as his gaze drifted to the bodies of Tyler and Fred.
His throat constricted, and he strangled a sob. He had never seen something so gruesome.

"You alright, kid?" Sam's voice snapped Johnny out of his daze.
He nodded, then grabbed a magazine--trying to distract himself.

He stared at a nearly naked woman on one of the pages; he was mesmerized.

"She look good, to ya?" Sam chuckled.

Johnny just stared at him; unsure of what to say. Shortly after, the women returned with backpacks and as much basic supplies that they could carry.

"Alright," Leslie said. Her voice was filled with authority.
"Joelle and I will help Sam, and carry as much supplies as possible. Kate and Johnny can carry lighter objects."

"Honestly... you should leave me behind. I'll just slow you down." Sam stated; trying not to sound scared.

"You are right.. but, we shouldn't.. What if you're the last man of reproductive age in the world? We need you alive." Leslie replied. She folded her arms over her chest, and tilted her head slightly.

"Um, well.. I guess I won't need them condoms..."

"What?" Johnny asked.

"Ignore them." Kate said quickly; shooting a scolding glance at the other adults.

"Well, we got another problem." Joelle pointed to the store's front windows. A large horde of undead looking creatures were nearing the store....