We Are Risen

Chapter Ten

It was starting to get dark by the time we found a house to stay the night in. It was a fairly large house just off the road we were on, hidden by some trees. It was a white two-story, with blue trim and a wrap-around porch. We pulled up close to the house and we got out of the truck. I looked back at Toby and Ally, who was climbing off the bike.

"We can stay here for the night," I told them. "Although I think somebody should keep watch. We can take turns after about two hours."

I turned in a circle and scanned the perimeter. "We should check the house."

They all nodded and we slowly walked up the porch steps and up to the door. I slowly turned the handle, finding it unlocked.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Ally asked. "This is someone's house."

I didn't answer, instead opting to open the door. The house was completely dark, and I couldn't see anything. I rapped my knuckles on the door-frame. 

"Honey, I'm home!" I called out, causing Toby to snort and hide his face in his jacket sleeve.

Nothing emerged from the darkness to greet us and I sighed in relief. "It's clear."

I glanced at Toby, and he was looking at me with a sad look on his face, so I looked away. I reached for the lights, but Ally put a hand on my arm. 

"Is that a good idea?" she asked me in a hushed tone. "What if the biters see the light and swarm the house?"

"Well, how will we see if there are no lights?" I asked her. 

She seemed to realize, and that's when Bryson spoke up. 

"We can cover all the windows," he suggested. 

We all agreed that was probably the best idea, and we went on a hunt for blankets so we could cover the windows. We all decided to stay upstairs because we'd all rather possibly break a bone than get eaten in our sleep. Bryson and Dirk barricaded all the doors with furniture downstairs. Ally, Toby, and I found blankets in a hall closet and went to work covering all the upstairs windows. I turned on the lights, and we all sat down in the middle of the bedroom floor and took out some cans of beans. Since we didn't have enough blankets or anything to cover the windows down there, we couldn't heat up our food, so we ended up spooning cold beans out of the cans. 

While we ate, I couldn't help but think about my mother. A sick, heavy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach as I thought of how I found her. She never deserved that, she deserved to live a long and happy life, and instead she died a brutal, painful death. Steve probably made her suffer. The only reason I put up with the horrible things he did to me was so he wouldn't hurt her. I failed in keeping her safe. He had threatened to kill her if I told anybody about the things he did to me. Thinking about all the things he did to me, it made me shudder in disgust. 

About a year ago in the summer, he locked me down in the basement for days. I had to go to the hospital because I had a massive heat stroke. There is no air conditioning or heat in the basement, and it got so stuffy I couldn't breathe. My mom was trying to sneak some food to me, and she found me having a seizure on the floor in a puddle of my own vomit, and she called an ambulance.

I broke myself from that train of thought, setting my beans aside. Toby gave me a strange look, but I waved it off. I felt like I was about to burst into tears, so I just laid out my knapsack on the ground and told them I'd take first watch for the night to make sure nothing attacked the house. While we were searching the house, we found a door leading to the attic, and you could get onto this balcony that leads out front. From that balcony, you can climb onto the roof, so I had a vantage point from all sides.