DAY 8
WORLD POPULATION: .7 MILLION
CHAPTER 22
HUNTER
I shoot up, waking in a cold sweat. It's mid-afternoon, and I take a few minute to slow my breathing. I look around the room; Jacob's room was small, barely fitting the small bed in it. I can't see Pepper, but I hear her snorting under my bed. I sit up more, and I hear Max and Billy arguing in whispers. I get up and crack my door open just enough to hear what they are saying.
"Let me tell you right now, if you hurt Hunter in any way, I will beat you so hard that not even your momma could love your face. Got that? And I don't just threaten, I promise." Billy stands taller than Max by a couple inches, so he can lean into Max's face as he lectures him.
"I would never hurt her, I swear," Max traces his fingers into an X over his heart.
Without his bulky black jacket on, Max is actually really thin. He has a camouflage t-shirt on, with his black jeans and combat boots. Although I can't see it right now, I know his stomach has a bandage wrapped around it, because one of the bullets from our escape grazed his left side.
Billy and I finally got around to doing laundry last night, so Billy's Guy Harvey t-shirt is now clean, as well as his blue jeans. I'm happy because I can keep Pepper inside the house. Pepper likes this too, as she can run around and squeal and stretch her adorable pig legs.
The doorbell rings, and Billy answers it. A small group of Evelyn's soldiers stands at the door. Max and I hide from their view. They hand Billy a flier and walk away. Billy closes the door and reads it allowed.
"Under the ordinance of Evelyn Priddam, every household in the city must have at least one representative come to a meeting to discuss the city's future."
"Who put Evelyn in charge?" I ask. Billy shushes me, and continues reading.
"We are one of ten last surviving cities in the world, due to a zombie outbreak, caused by none other than Samantha Jean." I can almost hear Sam complain about her name. Billy's voice caught as he read it.
"Speaking of, our city faces three great threats now: Samantha Jean, Hunter Cinnabar, and Max Blythe. Should you come across any of these public threats, alert the city patrols immediately. Our beloved patrolmen and women have managed to eliminate all of the nuisances, as well as vaccinate the world's current population, using an antidote created by none other than Evelyn Priddam herself."
But the one phrase sticks in my mind. We are one of the last ten surviving cities in the world. Meaning, Sam wiped out the majority of the Earth's population in the course of seven days.
