Infected

Chapter 11

We got the house boarded up right before some infected had arrived. We heard the groans and we all sat quietly until we heard them go away. We made some sleeping arrangements. There were only three queen sized beds. Janet got one, I mean, she's pregnant, we aren't letting her sleep on the floor. James would be sleeping with her, of course. Emma and Penny got the second bed. Te'Aysha was in the third bed before we made arrangements and, frankly, no one had the guts to tell her to get up so she got the third. I was afraid she would be weirded out if I tried to sleep in the same bed with her so I was in a sleeping bag that we found in a closet. The cabin had a small kitchen, two bedrooms, a small washroom, and a livingroom. Not quite like the one back in the facility. The kitchen, fortunately, was stocked with food that we could survive on for awhile.

We got settled where we were to sleep and we all fell asleep pretty quickly. We had had a long day and were exhausted. In the morning, I was awakened by Charlie shaking my shoulder gently.

"What?" I mumble, stretching my body out.

"Come help us outside." He tells me.

"What are you doing outside?" I asked, folding up the sleeping bag.

"You'll see." He says, offering his hand to help me up and I take it. We make eye contact for a second and I break it because I felt awkward. I put the sleeping bag back in the closet and follow Charlie outside. James, Owen, and Dillion were all digging with shovels. They were digging what looked like a circle that surrounded the cabin. The circle that they have started to create was about two feet wide.

"What's this for?" I asked Charlie pointing to the guys digging.

"Infected will fall into this trench if they try to get in this area around the cabin, or the cabin itself. We will make the trench seven feet deep, two feet wide." He explains.

"What if we fall into it?" I half laugh. I them realize that laughing at that probably didn't look good on my part.

"We just need to be careful and jump over it. We will put signs up to warn that the trench is here." He explains. I nod understandingly.

"Where'd you guys find shovels." I point to the shovels the guys were using.

"There's a shed." Charlie points beside the cabin and sure enough, there was a shed. I must have not seem it last night because it was dark.

"C'mon. There's one more for you to use." He takes my hand and tows me along to the shed.

"Why me?" I groan teasingly.

"Because I've already dug a good bit and I need a break. Need to get some food in me. Besides, we have to own up to our side of it and contribute to the group." He grabs the shovel from inside the shed and hands it to me. There were gardening tools in the shed as well. Fertilizer, hoes, seeds, etc. 'That's definitely something we need to start doing if we are indeed staying here. I need to make sure to talk to James about this place being temporary or not.' I thought.

Charlie directs me to the opposite side of the cabin that James and Dillion were working on and I joined Owen, who was working on this side now. Charlie left without saying a word and went toward the cabin. Owen was pouring sweat and his face was bright red and shiny. He dug furiously and it frightened me. The vibes he was giving off weren't good ones. What was he upset about?

"Owen, maybe you should take a break." I suggest gently. He doesn't respond, he just kept digging. I didn't say anything else and just kept digging as well. We worked on the trench for about five minutes and then Te'Aysha walked up to us and stopped in front of Owen. She waited until he looked up at her. She put her hands out to get the shovel from him. He looks at her hands that up at her then back to her hands again. No one will argue with Te'Aysha. Owen lets out a sigh and puts the shovel in her hands and shuffles toward the cabin.

"What's his problem?" I asked Te'Aysha.

She shrugs, " Charlie said it was over something stupid and that I needed to come out here and get him away from you." She tells me while shoving the shovel into the soil. Why get him away from me? Te'Aysha and I exchanged stories while we worked for the next hour. I started getting blisters on my hands and I was pouring sweat. I learned that Te'Aysha was the oldest of five siblings. They were all boys except the youngest.

"That had to be hard to keep your sanity." I say to her.

"Who said I ever had it?" She laughs. We had finally finished out part of the trench and put up the shovels in the shed. Which reminded me again of the gardening tools. I needed to talk to James. I went into the cabin and Emma had a bowl of the blueberries we had picked and she was sprinkling sugar into the bowl. Penny was standing right beside Emma and every time Emma turned her head, Penny popped a blueberry into her mouth. Janet was sitting on a stool at the counter and laughed at Penny when Emma realized what she was doing. We all started laughing. Emma scolded Penny and sent her away.

Penny groaned, "there's nothing to do."

"Go ask around to see if anyone needs your help. You'll be given something to do." Emma tells her whiny daughter.

"But mom." Penny whines as she shuffles to the front door and goes outside to be put to work.

Janet was still laughing.

"It's your fault she's spoiled." Emma accused her sister laughing with her.

"Me?" Janet points to herself in mock shock. "I would never!"

"Oh yeah, you would. She is spoiled because you spoiled her rotten when you babysat for me." Emma says.

Janet rolls her eyes, "Whatever."

We then hear something that makes all of us tense up and get instant chills. We heard Penny scream.

- note from the author of this book,

Sorry this chapter is so short. I'm really tired and I've been saying I was going to update, and I wasn't about to be called a liar! Lol so here ya go. Please let me know of you're enjoying this or not so that I know if I'm wasting my time. Thanks for reading!-