Unfortunate

Chapter 3: Beverly

My younger brother Hunter had coughed. Freaking coughed. Our so-called leader didn't take any chances, not anymore. He stopped taking chances a long time ago.

Bang. Shot dead.

Right between the eyes. My brother was six.

Six years old.

It was maybe the first week after it all started. I couldn't exactly tell at this point. Everything kind of blurred together and no one was keeping track of the days. Lisa estimated that it had been about a month now since everything went to hell. It felt like my brother was murdered forever ago.

Things were still pretty crazy those early days, but most people had already died and turned into those.. things. Calling them zombies would make it seem too extreme, but that's basically what they were. People would get bit, die, and then rise up again to join an endless hoard of the undead. They attacked anything that moved, followed the slightest sound and were hungry. Always hungry.

We had been walking through the empty streets in the eastern suburbs of the city in search of sanctuary, but it was probably the most dangerous thing we could have done to this point. But danger doesn't excuse stupidity.

My brother wasn't even sick. He had seasonally allergies which would irritate his throat when he was outside. Most people did, my mother always told me it was something that was super common amount people. 

He coughed, clearing his throat as he normally did. That was the biggest mistake he had made in the short time he had lived. He could have still lived, all of them. 

They could have all lived.

Andrew drew his gun and without a second thought, pulled the trigger.

Mom had fallen to the ground next to my brother's body on the cracked asphalt, her hands muffling her uncontrollable wails, an endless stream of tears rolling down her cheeks. Her body shook as she slumped next to his lifeless body, putting her hands on her little boy and pulling him to her. She rocked back and forth as she wailer, clutching his tiny limp body to her. Her emotions smashed into her like a tidal wave. I covered my mouth with my hands, too shocked to react in any other way. Two men from the group grabbed my mother by the arms and tore Hunter from her, tossing him back on the ground. She screamed and fought as they dragged her away; unable to react, I stood there frozen as I watched this all happen. Another man took my hand and swiftly dragged me away in the attempt to keep the group moving and find shelter.

We never got the chance.

"Think about the safety of the group. Killing one to save 20." The man who had shot my brother said. He tried justifying what he had done, but how can you justify a mistake that caused not only my family, but everyone else pain and suffering.

Little did the man know, shooting my brother Hunter would cause 13 more of us to die because of his stupidity. The shot rang out through the silent neighbourhood. For a few moments, it stayed silent.

 First, it was the shuffling that made our group freeze in the street. The moans started to drift out of houses, from behind fences... 

It had attracted all of them in range. The streets were suddenly full of movement, the dead coming out of back alleys, backyards, and everything in between.

Death surrounded us and we were trapped.

The stupid, careless, reckless son of a moldy cheese biscuit got what he deserved. He was one of the last to die. A dead one caught him off guard as he pushed his girlfriend out in front of him to protect himself. Her terrified screams still haunt me at night.