"Dude. Stop." Abi spoke up, clearing her throat while Chester's smoke surrounded her face. "Abs... It's a cigarette. I can't help it."
"Yeah, but try at least. I can't scout with smoke in my face, Chest." She spoke out, her eyes were red from hunting all day. They needed to eat. Chester was starting to bring up cannibalism. The prick. He knew they were in that kind of situation. It was wrong. It was disgusting.
Chester could see the pity look she gave him. He sighed. "If mom were here, she'd suggest-"
"Fuck what she says. She's dead. She's one of them now." Abi hated hearing about their mother. What was worse, she blamed her mother for starting all of this.
"She couldn't bring us to one of the camps, Abigail. They only allow married families there nowadays. They would rather keep corruption out."
"So now being fatherless is like being one of those things? They could've opened the gate, Chester. Instead, they shot at us." She remembered being hugged by her mother as Sean grabbed Chester for cover. Sean was her dad's friend. When their father died, he stepped in. Their mother didn't marry him or anything. He just helped them. But that noise. The gunshots. Fuck. It was all she could think of. That noise attracted those fuckers.
Now here they were, looking for supplies.
"Don't trip." Chester spoke out, his voice raspy from smoking. "Trip and-"
"You're dead. I know, Chester. I ain't stupid." Abi responded, pulling out the small board they came across. They always come across this board. It had to be pulled out to open the gate to the town. They knew this place was abandoned. It was their usual spot to raid. Sometimes, it's great to have a place to go.
Sometimes, it isn't.
"Shit. We've run this river dry, Abigail. Sean's gonna have us running around all day until there's nothing left in us." Chester was scared shitless. Abigail was too. She didn't like the idea of relocating. It made them vulnerable. It made them available.
"I'm gonna go look around some more. See if maybe someone came through and died here. If I holler, come find me."
Chester watched his big sister leave his sight. Fear rose higher in him, it was now poking at his throat. He decided it was best that she did what she thought was best. Just like he was going to do then. He pulled his gun up and entered a local pharmacy.
Abigail saw the usual dead bodies, dead zombies, decapitated bodies. She knew they were actually dead. She kept walking until she heard a door banging.
"Help!"
She heard the voice, it belonged to a female. She couldn't go searching for it. Sean told them if someone calls for help, they're already dead. They can't be rescued.
But this woman.
She sounded like she could be rescued.
Abigail ran towards the source, her pistol in her right hand, her knife in the other. "Help me please!"
She inhaled a deep sigh and knocked on the door quietly. "M'am... Please tell me you're ok. I can't open this door until I know you are ok." Her voice was shaky, but when she heard the muffled yes, she kicked the door down.
The woman was not ok. Not at all.
Abigail gasped, seeing a half of a torso in front of her. The woman was covered in blood and she looked like her legs had been chopped off. "I thought you said you were ok?" Abigail asked, holding her pistol. Ready to shoot.
"I didn't lie to you!" The woman said in a shaky voice. "I said I was ok, because if I didn't... you wouldn't help my son!"
A small boy, about 5ish, was on a cot, sleeping. He seemed wrong. Off in every single way. It's hard to believe that a young boy can survive this.
"He's autistic... He can't survive here. He doesn't talk much, he only walks and draws. I am not going to make it, but he needs to at least know that he's ok with other people..."
"You're insane if you think an autistic child would survive this world."
"No I'm not!" The lady replied, angry. "He is a wonderful boy... I need you to make him survive! Please!"
When Abigail looked over again, she noticed the kid staring right at her.
Abigail glared at the woman, then looked at Chester. He walked in at the last minute. She held the gun at the woman's head. "Get the boy out of here. Now. I can't let him see this."
Abigail watched the kid leave, then looked at her. "What's his name?"
"James..."
"I'll tell James you said goodbye." She cocked the gun, pointing it right at her head. "You're dead anyways." Then shot it.
