Deep Freeze

>>>9<<<

"Hear that?" Joelle whispered.

"Please, anyone! Help me!"

"Let's go." Leslie jumped up, Her blonde hair fell into her face. She smoothed it back, with a click of her tongue. She then started off towards the front door.

"Wait!" Joelle shouted abruptly, waking the others.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" Sam murmured sleepily.

"Is there zombies?" Johnny whimpered. He huddled up next to Kate, who was the only one still sleeping.

"Stay here guys, we'll check it out." Leslie replied.
Wayne stood up as well, rubbing his forehead.

"I'll come with y'all." He stated.

Leslie, Wayne, and Joelle sprinted outside. The house's lawn was illuminated by the moonlight, giving it an eerie appearance.
It cast shadows upon the grass, which danced along to the sound of crickets chirping.

At least the bugs weren't zombie-fied....

"Help!" A man hung upside-down from a tree. A rope was attached around his ankle, suspending him about three feet off the ground.

"How'd this happen?" Leslie ran up to the obviously frightened man. He grabbed her shoulder, and shook her slightly.

"Get me down! Please!" He cried.
"They're gonna come back!"

"Calm down," Leslie said sternly.
"Who's after you?"

"I-I-I don't k-know who they are! Just please help me!"

"Alright, um... We need something to cut this rope with." Leslie sighed.

"Hurry, please! They said they'd kill me, when they come back!"

"I'll go try to find a knife or something," said Leslie. "Stay with him, and try to calm him down."

"Will do." Wayne replied.

"Hey, hey!" Joelle succeeded in getting the man's attention.
"You're okay... What's your name?"

"Ezekiel... P-p-please-"

"We're gonna help you," Joelle said, trying to comfort him.
"Don't be afraid, no one's gonna hurt you."

"B-but-"

Joelle cut him off, again.
"You're fine. Don't worry."

Ezekiel stayed quiet, until Leslie returned with a knife from the house.
"Hurry!" He whimpered. His blue eyes locked with Leslie's.

"Quiet down," Wayne whispered. "Or the rotters might find us."

"Rotters?"

"Zombies... Rotters... Walkers... Whatever you wanna call 'em."

Leslie shivered. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined that the dead would rise, with the sole mission of satisfying their unending hunger.

Maybe she was dreaming.

Or not.

Wayne and Joelle caught Ezekiel, when Leslie finished sawing through the rope, so he wouldn't fall on his head.
He uttered a quiet 'thank you' before Leslie, Wayne, and Joelle led him back to the quaint little house.

"So," Leslie smiled. It was nearly sunrise, and everyone was now awake. After Ezekiel had calmed down, she decided to question him.
"Who was after you?"

"Probably them same bitches that took all our stuff." Sam exclaimed. "We had all kinds of useful shit, but they stole it."

Leslie tossed a scolding glare at him, before returning her attention to Ezekiel.
"Do you know who they were?"

"I..." Ezekiel seemed hesitant. "The one guy's name was Andrew... That's all I know."

"Well he's a dick." Sam interrupted.
"Like me right now, cause I didn't get no sleep." He murmured, from his spot on the floor. He leaned against the wall.

"You also can't speak in English, so shut up." Leslie snapped, and Sam frowned.

"And you can't talk without ordering people around." Sam retorted. His hazel eyes silently challenged her-in an intense gaze.

"You-" Leslie mumbled, tripping over her own words.

"Yeah, you got nothin'." Sam smirked triumphantly.
"I win!... Case closed." His smile changed to a less hostile one, one with playfulness radiating from it.

Why are the cute guys always annoying?
Leslie thought to herself.

"Whatever," she croaked out, feeling like there was a lump in her throat.

"So," Wayne interrupted. "Should we continue on to Atlanta?"

"We need supplies... And a car or something." Leslie murmured, not totally focused.

"We need a vehicle that runs on diesel." Sam said, his tone was serious for once.
"Gasoline don't last as long, it can go bad in a couple months. We wouldn't be able to store any fuel."

"True, and who knows what we'll encounter on the journey." Kate added.

"Zombies!" Johnny shrieked, startling all the adults.

He was still sleeping, and it appeared he was having a nightmare.

"Poor kid." Kate sighed.

Crash!

Johnny's dream was coming true...

***Author's note****

Favorite character so far? ;)

~Alexia