Survival Team: Kill Or Be Killed (**On Hold**)

Chapter Ten: Abby's POV

Sunday: Day 5

 "Chance generally favors the prudent."

                  -Joseph Joubert

“Abby!”

Silence.

“Ugh, Abby!”

More silence.

“Come on, wake up!”

I groaned angrily and rolled onto my back. I was not in the mood for this. How was it morning already?

“Abby please!”

I whined and brought my hands to my face, itching my eyes.

“What,” I mumbled almost incoherently.

“I’m lonely,” Karlee says quietly.

I almost snapped at her for waking me up for that, but considering the current situation I decided to cut her some slack.

“All right, all right,” I grumbled, sitting up slowly.

“Shh,” she shushes me. “You’ll wake up the dude,” she says, pointing to Devon who was lying beside me in my bed.

I pushed the blankets off of me slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements.

After getting out of bed and making it upstairs silently, I could have predicted the first words that tumbled from my little sister’s lips.

“I’m hungry.”

I couldn’t yell or snap at her for that either, we’d only eaten since yesterday at around six. It was now nine in the morning.

“I want pancakes,” she suddenly says, looking at me with tons of hope glossing her light blue eyes.

“I don’t know how to make those…” I said slowly, wincing in preparation for her reaction.

“But Abby!” she whines. “Can you at least try? I’ll help!”

I sigh heavily. We could both be dead tomorrow morning. This could be our last breakfast. My heart raced at that thoughts, and I nodded.

“Yay!” she cheered, getting up from the living room couch and skipping happily into the kitchen.

I soon got up and followed, stopping when I hear footsteps coming up the stairs from my bedroom.

Alicia comes out, looking extremely tired.

“Morning sunshine,” I greet her mockingly with a grin plastered on my face.

“Shut up,” she spits out. “Make me food.”

Devon follows after Alicia out of my bedroom, also looking exhausted. I bring my attention back to Alicia, ignoring how far my heart leapt when I saw Devon.

“Karlee and I were about to make pancakes.”

“I heard my name!” Karlee says and shows up at my side almost instantaneously “We’re making pancakes, make them with us?” Karlee asks, almost begging, while gazing up at Alicia as she awaits  her answer.

“Fine,” Alicia gives in after a few seconds of staring at Karlee. “Only if Devon does too,” she adds, grinning evilly at me, her hazel eyes twinkling with pride and amusement.

Karlee looks pretty awkward but looks at Devon questioningly, her blue eyes also twinkling but with hope and excitement rather than evil and more evil.

“All right,” he says slowly, scratching the back of his neck. I immediately feel bad, he looks so uncomfortable.

“Unless you don’t want to. You don’t have to, really-“

“Oh well!” Alicia cuts in. “He already agreed. Let’s get cookin’!”

~*~

“You think Bi-Wise is open?” my dad jokes.

I get ready to fake a laugh but it comes out real instead.

Bi-Wise was most likely abandoned.

“Hey!” I exclaim as the realization slaps me in the face. “Everything’s free! We can get whatever we want!”

Karlee’s mood instantly shifts as her eyebrows rise and her back straightens out.

“There are zombies roaming around and you think-“

I make an inhuman noise to silence Alicia.

“When are Drake and Josh-“

“Jake,” Alicia cuts me off, clearly not getting my joke, but Devon chuckles slightly.

“Okay,” I say slowly. “When are they going to-“

I’m once again interrupted, but not by Alicia. Or Karlee. Or anyone else; it was a bang on the front door.

My dad shoots up and is instantly at the door, checking to make sure it’s locked.

“You four – downstairs,” my mom orders, pointing to Karlee, Alicia, Devon, and me.

None of us were in any position to decline or resist the demand, so we all rushed into my bedroom downstairs.

“What if they get hurt?” Karlee cries, staring at the door like she’s deciding on whether or not she should run back upstairs.

“You’re not going upstairs. Have you seen those things?” I grabbed her arm and pulled her back, trying not to glare at her.

“They’re nasty,” Alicia agrees. “and not easy to fight. Don’t go up there. I’m sure your parents will be fine.”

“But what if they’re not!” she asks angrily, shooting glares at Alicia and me.

“Then they’re not!” I yell back, losing control and instantly regretting it as her eyes water and her bottom lip trembles.

“Karlee…” I begin and reach for her, but she’s quick to escape my embrace. She sits down in the corner of my room, neither of us bothering to try to stop her tears.

Devon shifts his weight awkwardly and Alicia glares at me before joining Karlee, wrapping her arm around my little sister’s shoulders.

“What are we-“ I begin to ask but am abruptly interrupted by a deafening scream exploding from upstairs.

While I cower and block my ears, Alicia doesn’t hesitate to burst out of my bedroom and up the stairs, visibly determined. Devon follows shortly after and I just crawl beside my sister while her sobs gradually become more clamorous.

“They’re fine, everyone’s okay,” I murmur, trying to soothe her, but I’m only contradicting the loud bangs fulminating from up the stairs.

“Make it stop, make it stop!” she cries, bringing her hands to her ears and squeezing her eyes shut, probably wishing to be somewhere else. I don’t blame her. There’s always somewhere better to be than where you are in the present.

Nothing I say will calm her, so I settle with simply holding her and humming a song that I knew she liked – Sleepyhead by Passion Pit.

With one last piercing crash, the house is silent. I don’t hear footsteps, walking, nothing. Karlee stops crying but her body remains to shiver involuntarily – not from being cold, also.

“Stay here,” I warn her while I rise.

“No!” she calls out even though I’d barely taken a step.

“Karlee,” I almost hiss. “I’ll be fine, I promise.” I put emphasis on the word in hopes that she’ll believe me.

She huffs in defeat and frowns, wiping her eyes. “Hurry."

And I do. I run up the stairs as quickly, and as quietly, as possible before stopping at the doorway. I peek my head into the living room and instantly vomit when I see my mother’s bloody and battered body lying in the middle of the floor.