Surviving

Chapter 28

Within three days, everything was packed and we were ready to start moving. We left the warehouse in a tight formation, with the younger children surrounded by older ones with guns. Roland, Travis, Melody, and I were in the front, leading the group a shorter way up into the mountains. Since we were walking in a large group, we had to go incredibly slowly.
   
By nightfall, we had made it across town, arriving at a college campus. Due to the groans of the younger children and everyone's achy muscles we decided to camp there for the night.
   
Travis and Roland broke the chain on the door to the recreation center, and we filed inside. The lobby was carpeted and had enough room for everybody to fit with a decent amount of space. Canned food was passed around, and we began to settle down for the night.
Despite the sense of tranquility, we had all forgotten to do one vital thing.

I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until I was jolted awake by a scream. I bolted upright to see people scrambling to pack everything up. I automatically started rolling up my sleeping bag when I saw the cause of the scream: a large group of corpses trying to get through the door. They were walking into the glass doors so hard that the glass was starting to crack. It wouldn't be long until the glass gave way.
In less than a minute everybody was running; it was chaos. But, in the panic some ran to the pool. The room was filled with corpses that filed out as quickly as corpses could go.

"C'mon everybody, let's move!" Roland shouted as the corpses outside broke through the doors. 
   
There was chaos as everybody ran in the same direction, with people getting shoved. I stopped to help the little kids get moving, pushing them forward as they cried and screamed. Travis ran through the crowd and shoved me forward.
   
"Go! I'll help the rest of the kids get through!" he ordered. I followed everybody else, as they rushed through a set of doors into the gym. Roland had gotten the doors outside open, and it wouldn't be long until our whole group was out.

Melody and I herded everybody out the doors. Soon, all the younger kids were through, and Travis came running.

"I'm the last one, shut the doors!" he said, and we closed them as soon as he was out. Roland was there automatically, having somehow found a chain to secure the door closed. Soon, it didn't look like the corpses would be getting out anytime soon.

"Did everyone get out?" Melody asked, and people started looking around. I spotted Billy comforting a group of little children his age and decided to leave him alone. It looked like he was doing his job well.

"Where's Brielle?" a little boy called. He was maybe eight years old.

"Who's Brielle?" I asked him, bending down.

"My sister. She's only four. I can't find her."

My eyes got wide, and I looked towards Travis with confusion. "I thought you said everyone was out."

"I did what I had to do to save the group." He looked down, slightly ashamed.

"You mean to tell us you left a little girl as bait to the corpses?"Melody asked, outraged.

"I gave her a knife and told her to hide. At least that way she had a chance."

"What chance? She's only four!" I exclaimed. I looked around and saw nobody was moving to do anything, which made me even angrier. "Fine. I'm going after her."

"That's stupid! Why would you do that?" Roland looked at me astonished.

"The same reason you would if it were Melody, or I would if it were Billy. Because she's all that little boy has left."

"I'm going too," Melody announced. "I agree wholeheartedly with Adira. And I'm not changing my mind, Roland."

After we got Roland to reluctantly agree, we broke one of the windows. Roland and Travis gave each of us a boost up, and soon we were back into the corpse-infected recreation center.