Battle of Ash

Chapter 14

"An ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death...
Authority was given to them...
to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence
and by the wild beasts of the earth."
Revelation 6:7-8

2017.04.30 20:38
"Actual children." Ash's voice was an awed whisper, her hand twitched out as if to touch the kids before she quickly withdrew it.

The man put a hand on the woman's arm, "It hasn't been easy. We had a daughter, Alyssa... but... well, I'm sure we've all lost people by now."

"I-I'm sorry." Dillon offered sincerely. "I've lost both my parents. I'm Dillon, that's Ash. And this," the cat had leapt out of his backpack, "is Socks. He's not infected, he doesn't carry the parasite."

The man looked at the cat warily. "I'm John, this is Cassie," he motioned to the woman who smiled as one of the boys twitched in his sleep. "The boys are Rufus and Davis. Then we've got-"

"I'm Carlos." He nodded slightly; he was bigger and more muscular than most kids his age, Ash thought.

"Well hello." Dillon offered with an uneasy smile, turning his attention back to the more welcoming demeanor of the mother. "So, if you don't mind me asking; what went wrong?"

"W-we had a plan-" Cassie began defensively. "We had a bug out plan and a back up but-"

"But they got to the streets, they were swarming. We had no idea it would get so bad so fast. They had cornered the boys and Alyssa and... She, she made sure they got to use safely, but... They had begun to change, those people... within seconds." a haunted look crossed over John's face. "Before we knew it, before we could think we were cornered... we fought so hard."

"It's okay." Cassie put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him. She turned her gaze back to Dillon and Ash, switching between the two. "Others had found our first sanctuary. They had turned and we didn't plan for that. We didn't think... and the second had been trapped within the parameters of one of the safety zones. There was no way we would survive an inspection from the Raiders or military or whatever they were claiming to be intact. And the infection rate, even with their patrols and checks, is insanely high."

"It's all gone, isn't it?" John spoke up.

His eyes were dark and heavy; even Carlos looked worn and strained. Ash looked back to Dillon. That same haunted look was floating behind his eyes. It hit her suddenly and it hit her hard. This wasn't the world they were used to. They weren't accustomed or trained for loss; for hardship. For survive or die. They watched friends and family killed, or worse- turned. They lost their internet; their iphones; their simple, sweet routines of school and chores and bitching about parents.

No Call of Duty round or tv show would ever have prepared them for the real thing. The sobering moment fell between the people like a heavy, wet blanket. It hadn't mattered; the tv shows, the movies, the video games. If you died you could restart, if your favorite character bit the bullet you could stop watching.

You couldn't turn off reality though.

"I think it's time to sleep." Cassie offered, watching as everyone settled down, huddled in a group for warmth against the brisk winter night.

"Do you think we'll be alright?" Dillon whispered, huddling next to Ash.

She shook her head, "I can't promise anything." She sniffled then cleared her throat.

"Alright." Dillon nodded, closing his eyes. "I sure am tired though."

Ash cleared her throat again; annoyed at the scratch that seemed to be lodged there. "Then go to sleep."