Surviving

Chapter 16

It had been weeks since our father's death. I had taken over, almost become a mother to Billy, and everything was running pretty smoothly. I had built up my strength getting wood to keep the cabin warm when it got really cold.

It was time for another supply run, but I didn't want to leave Billy unarmed. Not after what happened last time.

"Hey Billy," I said after I entered his room. "I need to go for another supply run."

"Really?" he whined.

"Well, if we want to eat," I sighed. "But I don't want to leave you unarmed. You need to be able to protect yourself." I pulled the gun out of my pocket, already loaded. "There's a slider thing right here, you see?" I asked, pointing at the safety. Push it right before you shoot. Then just aim and pull the trigger."

"Why do I need this?"

"Just in case. I want to make sure you can protect yourself. So, if anyone come in that door that isn't me you can shoot them."

"How will I know it's not you?" His voice was full of concern.

"Let's do a secret knock. Why don't you make one up?" I proposed.

"Okay." He appeared to be in deep thought for a moment and then leaned over to the wall. He knocked on it: three hard and slow, two soft and quick, then three more hard and slow knocks. I mimicked him.

"Did I get it?" I smiled.

"Yeah." He returned the smile.

I got up and started to leave.

"Wait!" Billy cries after me. I turned to look at him. "Promise me you'll come back. I need you to come back."

I left the room, feeling. But if my heart break from the pain in his voice. I grabbed two backpacks and my dagger, leaving the house before I could change my mind about leaving Billy alone. He would be in too much danger if I brought him along.

•••

I go down the same path to get to town and found the grocery store in the same state. Broken into, but still stocked with goods. I filled one of the bags with cans until it was bulging, and then filled the other with bottled water. It felt as if each weighed fifty pounds. I put one on each shoulder, trying not to fall over at first from the sudden increase of weight.

•••

It was night again when I estimated I was about halfway to the cabin. I felt an extreme amount of déjà vu.

A twig snapped, and I spun around with my dagger out. But, I couldn't see anyone or anything. After waiting a few minutes, I started walking again. Though I didn't hear anything else, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed.

I was walking for a decent amount of time when I heard the familiar growling of zombies. I looked across the street towards the noise and my heart skipped a beat at what I saw: several zombies coming out of the woods. There were a little more than five, but to many to take down by myself. I turned to the opposite tree line, dropping my stuff and climbing up the first decent tree I found. I would just have to wait this out.

The sounds slowly quieted, one less every few seconds. I held my breath, knowing it didn't sound like they were going away. It sounded as if somebody was taking them down.

I tried to make no noise, hoping whoever it was had not seen me. Maybe they would just leave.

I heard leaves crunch below me and held my breath.

"It's safe to come down now," a male voice called from below. I looked down to see the shadowy figure of another teenager, appearing to be built like a football player. "I'm not going to attack you. I'll be nice if you'll be nice."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" I questioned with slight hesitation.

"I guess you don't." I considered going down, but was still unsure. "I guess I could've taken your stuff and left. But I didn't."

I slowly climbed down, ready to fight if necessary, but unsure of if I would be able to win. Once I reached the base of the tree my hand went automatically to the dagger at my hip, and I slowly turned around to face the stranger.

"See, I'm not trying to attack you," he said, holding his hands up.

"Why were you following me?" I asked.

"You're smarter than I thought." He paused, looking as if he were sizing me up. "I'm part of a group that's trying to survive, and we noticed you in town earlier. I came to invite to join the group."

"Who are you? And why would you want to be nice to me?"

"Well, we're all trying to survive, and that's easiest in groups that can protect each other. My name is Roland. And you are?"

"I'm Adira."

"Are you alone, Adira?"

"Yes," I lied. Before I revealed anything about my brother I needed to make sure I could actually trust him.

"Why are you out here alone? You know it's safer in numbers, right?" Roland raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I was with somebody. But not anymore." I felt a tear try to fall, but I was not going to lose it in front of a stranger.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"Yes."

"Well, go sleep on it. Meet me back here tomorrow if you think you might want to join us."

"How do I know you won't follow me?" It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"I guess you're just gonna have to trust my word that I won't." He smiled.

I picked up my bags, starting back up the road. There was something weird about that encounter. Roland had to have taken down at least some of the zombies, but he wasn't bloody. I didn't even see a weapon on him. How could he have been able to do that alone, especially if he were unarmed? Maybe he had just gotten rid of the weapon before he talked to me. But that still wouldn't explain the lack of blood.

I thought about this for the remainder of the walk to the cabin, which seemed incredibly long. I went up to the door and knocked. Three hard and slow, two soft and quick, and three more hard and slow. I opened the door and closed it, locking the deadbolt.

Billy was there, sleeping on the couch. He had the gun right beside one of his hands. I moved it to the kitchen counter, leaving the three heavy bags there, and went back to Billy. I scooped him up and carried him upstairs to his room, tucking him in.

I went to bed, asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.