Annihilation

Chapter 10 - Never Put A Baby In The Corner

ELIAS' P.O.V

Lyndi's death took an obvious toll on the group, especially Tatiana. We're going to make it through this though. We have no choice but to make it - if we don't, we die the way she did. And none of us want that.

"How far away is the radio station?" Dyson asks in a bored tone. We've been travelling for quite a while; all of us are itching to walk for a few minutes, stretch our limbs, breathe in the fresh air - or whatever air lurks outside.

"Couple hours," Lucien replies. "It might be a good idea to find somewhere to sleep first." He stares out the window into the abandoned streets around us, sighing as he spots a small gathering of zombies. "We need to find somewhere there aren't any zombies around," he adds, turning right. We all nod in response and continue to sit in silence, peering through the tinted windows.

What seems like hours later we find an abandoned building - in all honesty, it's been about twenty minutes.

Making sure no undead creatures are in sight, Lucien edges the car as close to the door as possible before we quickly clamber out one side - with our weapons drawn. I clutch one of my knives to my chest as we peer through the now open door, cautiously stepping through, wary of a possible assault from slowly rotting hands. Moments pass in undisturbed silence and I let out the breath I had been holding, suddenly in desperate need of air.

We slowly explore through the building, making sure we don't separate at any point. It's a small home with two bedrooms, along with a baby’s room containing a mass of child's toys and a large crib in the corner; the fact that a baby lived here that is most likely dead now seems to upset me.

I choke back a gag as a wretched smell drifts to my nose, causing my eyes to water. Looking around quickly, I spot a mangled smile beneath the crib. My eyes widen and I back away slowly as the rotting child crawls from the darkness below the crib, the sadistic look in its eyes not disappearing. "Uh... Tatiana?" I mutter nervously as she walks into the room behind me. "I need assistance."

"What's that smell?" She asks in a confused tone before gasping and staring in shock at the undead baby. "What do we do?" She whispers in an urgent rush of words. Swiftly, I push her back towards the entrance to the room and follow her out, shutting the door just in time to hear an audible thump at the base of the door followed by a childish giggle.

Flipping the lock on the outside of the door, I back away as fast as I can with Tatiana at my side, not hesitating to search for the others. They need to be informed about the baby. Wait, why didn't I kill it immediately? God, I'm so stupid sometimes

Lucien appears from around the corner, an abashed look crossing his face before he stares at us, trying to figure out the dismal looks we've acquired. "What's gotten you two so wound up?" Lucien asks with a concerned expression on his face.

"Nothing much," I mutter, not knowing what to do. "Some sort of zombie baby is locked up in the nursery." The point is so matter of fact, it's weird to say out loud; Tatiana nods at a frowning Lucien.

"It definitely can't get out?"

"I don't think so," I sigh, looking back towards the thumping from the door. "The lock seems pretty secure. We shouldn't stay here longer than we have to though." My breath is caught up in my throat as I look back at Lucien.

Lucien just nods, walking away from the two of us in the direction of the nursery. Of course, the two of us follow him and wait outside of the room, despite the shaking of my legs. He grunts as he grips one of the cabinets and drags it across the hallway, drowning out the groans of the death inside that room. "Just in case," Lucien points out, receiving a nod from me. "Nobody wants to kill an infant, even if it's undead."