First Steps | A Zombie Apocalypse Story (Completed)

Day 13.0

Clarissa

It had gotten dark the night before, and although I agreed with Paxton that we would've been back before dark, we were already too far away. We spent the night in one of the abandoned homes that we came across that seemed relatively secure and safe. I offered to have early morning duty, watching out for anything outside the vicinity of the home. One good thing about being up this early is that it gives me the chance to watch the sunrise.  

I've always thought sunrises were prettier than sunsets. Taylor would always argue that sunsets were more beautiful due to the warm colors contained in the sight. I would always go for the argument that the cool hues in sunrises made them more unique, and therefore prettier. I press against my forehead, my knees close to my torso, and my arms wrapped around my legs. I continue to look at the floor. What am I doing? Talking like he is dead? He can't be dead, my heart won't allow me to believe it. But he might as well be since the likelihood of me finding him is slim. A yawn manages to escape my lips. 

It is a bizarre thought, the idea that this disease, virus-whatever it is-will never allow things to return to normal, even if we find a vaccine. There has already been too much damage. The looting, the death, the walking corpses. I mean, I'm wearing some black cargo pants and a t-shirt from some random individual's drawers. It makes it a little easier since there are no photos identifying who might've lived here. 

The world, despite the beautiful sunrise of blue and pink hues, feels dull. 

"Hi, uh, Clarissa?" I turn my head only to meet the eyes of Bobby. He lets off a very nervous aura about him. 

"Yeah, Bobby?" He hesitates to sit beside me, so I pat the hardwood floor next to me. He gratefully takes the empty space beside me. 

"I didn't tell my sister that I went with you. You know, Charlie?" He looks down at the ground, fumbling with his fingertips before glancing back at me for a moment. 

"Yeah, Charlie. Are you worried about her?" I glance at him with an empathetic expression before looking back outside, the drawn-out shadows becoming shorter as the sun makes its way up. 

"Yeah. I'm nervous about a guy she is hanging out with. I-I-I mean, we saw him first-hand slam the windowsill down Ms.Linda's neck. She was trying to escape the house. I think she was sick, like what we've been seeing on the news. She didn't deserve that. She's still human, you know?" he explains in a wavering tone, looking at me with watery eyes. "That image haunts me every night." He breaks down, tears falling down his slender face. 

"Hey, come here." I put my arms out for a hug. He turns his body toward me, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I rub his back, soothing him in the best way possible. "You know, once people get sick...  they aren't humans anymore. At least not in the soul. Not with what I've seen. You just can't come back from that," I say quietly, my eyes glossing over at the jarring memory of that man on the street with his guts sprawling out of his battered down body. He pulls away from the hug, rubbing his nose as he sniffles. 

"You really think they aren't human?" I think of a good answer to conjure up before deciding just to be blunt about it. 

"Not with what I saw. Those things can't be." I clench my teeth, standing up. 

"I believe you," he replies firmly, standing up with me. 

I check the time on Taylor's watch, the time reading right around seven. 

"We should get going before it gets warm. Can you begin to wake April and Terry up?" I ask,  picking up my things and putting them into Paxton's bag. He nods and walks away. A shadowy figure slowly approaches the house, one of its legs mangled as it walks near. I take the bat, the gun on my hip in case things get ugly. I open the front door quietly and close it tightly. If I've learned anything from action movies, it is always smart to save your ammo unless you absolutely need to use it.