Cannibals

Chapter 21

~~~ Josh's P.O.V. ~~~

The walk to the store took a while, what with Arianna's broken leg and all, but it was nice to see when Mike got there and could hold the rest of his children. What really surprised me though, was seeing Mackenzie among Arianna's group of survivors. I'd known her from my childhood. She instantly recognized me and gave me a small hug.

Arianna saw this and asked, "You guys know each other?"

"Yeah," I answered. "We've known each other since we were kids. We lived in the same neighborhood actually."

"I'm glad you guys could see each other again then."

I looked at Mackenzie. I already knew what she wanted to ask. I could see it in her eyes. I wasn't sure I wanted to answer though.

"My family," Mackenzie finally got out. I just stared for a moment. Though the news wouldn't be what she might expect, it was still pretty bad. "They're dead aren't they?" Again I just stared. "You have to tell me Josh!"

"They aren't dead," I replied. Her eyes lit up for a second. "But it's still not good news. I'm sorry Mackenzie. They didn't want to stay. They thought everyone inside was dead and that the government was lying." I looked away from her. "They left. Right as the infection got out. And they don't plan on coming back."

I looked at her to see her reaction. I could see she was devistated, but I could also see that she didn't exactly seemed surprised. It was a sad sight to see, but I myself wasn't surprised when her family first brought it up. I tried convincing them as best I could for them to stay here but they wouldn't listen to reason. Arianna took Mackenzie in her arms as she began crying. Arianna also didn't seemed surprised. They must be good friends if Arianna knows Mackenzie's family.

"This is our base for now," Arianna said, trying to change the subject. "We were at the school till this morning. We don't have much food anymore. It all got burned. But Marissa took a group to the police station and we have plenty of ammunition."

I took a look at the piles of guns and bullets that littered the floor. It was quite impressive and almost made me rethink how many people I should have brought with me. But very few of my people were trained to even hold a gun. We would need time for training if I brought more of them with me and I was willing to bet Arianna and her group didn't want to wait that long to rescue their friend. Nor did I. Though I fully trust Angelica to take charge while Mike and I where away, she is an ill woman and didn't need the stress for too long. She is an incredibly strong woman though, which was why I left things to her.

"It's impressive," I stated. "Have any of you ever used a gun?"

"Yes," came a reply. I looked at the teenager who answered. "A few of us have. We had to." He then had a far off look in his eyes.

"Josh, this is Alex," Arianna introduced. "Alex, this is Josh. He's going to help us save Seth."

I shook Alex's hand. I could see scares running around his wrists like he had been restrained. This must be the guy Derc tortured. Arianna began introducing everyone in her group to Mike and I. Then I asked her to finish telling about their time in the quarantine.

~~~ Arianna's P.O.V. ~~~

By the time I finished telling Josh everything we'd encountered, (him, my dad, and I discussed everything in the manager's office of the Food Lion we were in) I could see my dad's rage had grown quite scary. Josh seemed cool and collected the entire time though, just taking everything in. Almost like he was writing notes, except he didn't have any paper to write it on. He sat and thought for a while. His silence was beginning to bug me, but I tried staying as calm as he looked.