RDN: Couldnt bring myself to stop with zombies, so instead i decided o try this. Its an old one i had for ages in my com.
Chapter 1: Getting To Know You
Slipping back out of his sleep, Dan's first reaction went to staring at the door. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the boards were still in place. They had done well, fortifying the old mini-mart. He had half expected to wake and see them all around him, clawing at him with their semi-decaying fingers. He glanced at the clock and only then remembered that it was busted. He guessed it had been at most an hour or two.
Looking over at the others, he was surprised to see that she had lasted the day. He had doubted she would live for long but she had proved him wrong. Still he doubted her survival.
He got up and went over to them. There were five, including himself, left alive. And they had been lucky, lucky to find each other just before they had found them. He could still recall that moment, when they stumbled upon each other one by one.
It had been difficult, to tell the difference that is. Whether or not they could risk stopping to find out if it was safe to talk to them. Or whether they should have just turned around and ran like hell. They had to decide, whether or not the person was a survivor, or a survivor in the process of becoming something else…
The injured woman shifted, the bleeding had stopped but it made almost no difference. She had been lying motionless on the floor since they laid her there. The other three were quiet and sat against the wall.
" How long has it been?" His voice seemed to echo through the room, or more specifically, the space behind the counter. He took note of this and realized that it had been stupid to settle so near to the doors. But it had been a rush, the second they had entered the building; they immediately took to boarding up all the doors and windows.
The mart had actually been his idea. He figured that they would probably last longer there than anywhere else and damn was he right. Sure the place was a mess, he had expected that. But at least there was still food and enough water to last.
" Two hours," came the reply. It was from one of the woman. Her hair was a tangled mess and her voice was shaky. It was only the second time Dan had ever heard her speak. "Have they found us?" She was referring to the assholes prowling around outside. "No," He was about to say 'not yet' but decided that that would start off the other woman. She was near hysterical when they found her. And a hysterical woman was the last thing they needed now. "No, they haven't"
She looked at him with eyes that looked dead. Dead with fear and sadness. Dan felt that he could understand that though. It had been sudden. One minute you're watching TV in your cheap, out of date apartment, and the next the reporter you're watching on the news is being eaten by some guy - together with everyone else in the background that added to the screaming.
Must've freaked out the whole damn country. He stopped to consider. Shit, it must've freaked out the whole damn world.
He decided that it was about time to rouse the others. He started with the guy. He looked like he was in his early twenties. He had been alert before and thankfully he still was. He got up and tried to ask the same from the woman.
Dan went to the other, the one who had spoken earlier. She was afraid but did as she was told. There was no use asking anything of the injured woman, she hardly had enough energy to even sit up. Looking back to the man and woman, he began to think.
Their situation was far from good.
He stood up and went cautiously out from behind the counter. Cautiously because he didn't want their hiding place revealed to those…
He put that out of his mind.
Just be quiet he thought to himself. He observed his surroundings. He realized that the mart was not so small after all.
There was a stairway leading up to a second level at the far end of the room. Several shelves were still standing, apart from two, which had fallen over each other.
A thump on the ground made him whirl around and duck behind the nearest shelve. From the cracks between the boards, he could almost make out one of them passing by, oblivious to their presence that was so close.
He knew one was not a problem; they could easily have brought it down. The problem was when it began trying to get in. Its sudden attention to something would attract others. And others would attract more, and together they'd start pounding and doing god-knows-what just to get inside.
And when they did, for they would, that would be the end. It was similar to when a fish was put into a bottle and thrown into an octopus tank. The second it was found, it was as good as doomed.
It passed.
Dan let out sigh of relief and stood up. He noticed the others had huddled together in fear. He signaled to them and they relaxed. The man got up and walked to him, cautious like he had been.
"How many do you think is out there?"
"Out where?"
"The mart."
"I reckon at least a dozen or so. These bastards tend to come in packs." Dan studied him for a second.
" How old are you anyway?'
"Eighteen, I'm Steven by the way."
"Really? I'm Daniel. But Dan for short."
Dan smiled a little. He had almost came to a conclusion that they would live in silence for the rest of their lives, or till they were eaten, but now things were starting to shape up. The sound of choking and the gurgling of blood cut his thoughts short. He looked over to the woman on the floor and saw that she was coughing up a pool of blood through her mouth and choking heavily. Her eyes were wide and her clothes were soaked red. The two other women had begun crying and shrank back as far as they could until there was no room left. The dying woman coughed out another spurt of blood and they screamed, wailing. Dan and Steven both watched, knowing there was nothing they could do.
The injured, now dying woman continued coughing out blood, which had begun to spread across the floor. Then silently, Dan and Steven watched as she went still and quiet. The only sounds left to be heard were the sobs and wails of the women, now huddled close together with their legs pulled tightly to their chest and their faces streaked with tears.
Daniel sighed; he knew they'd have to get rid of the body. He turned to Steven, who looked at him. The look on the boy's face told him he understood.
"Think you're up to it?"
"…There's not much of a choice is there?" Steven said as he glanced at the women. They were of no help for now. He sighed; this was one of the things he had dreaded ever since he came to his senses.
"We can't just leave her there anyway…"
There was silence between them for what seemed like a long time. There were times when you had to try something to know how it felt like, but obviously handling the dead was not the most pleasant of them all. Finally, Dan broke the tension.
"Lets do this." He said staring at the lifeless body. Without looking up, Steven nodded and they moved towards the body.
Dan studied the body, careful not to step in the blood that had collected in a pool on the ground. He touched her arm and quickly pulled back his hand. Her skin, now pale, was freezing. Her wound was open but no blood flowed from the huge gaping hole in her stomach.
Steven stood behind him. "Do you think we should…you know, wrap her up? It'll make it easier to carry her." He suggested nervously. Dan nodded grimly. "But to where is the question." They both stopped to consider the options. The problem was there were little. One of the women looked up, "How…how about the roof?" Daniel and Steven stared at her. "Throw her off the roof?" Dan was surprised by her suggestion. He was glad that she was finally beginning to speak but to simply suggest they throw a dead woman off a roof standing fifteen to twenty feet above the ground, Daniel figured there was a lot about her they didn't know.
"There isn't another option besides that." She said. Dan knew she was right and sent Steven to find something to cover up the body.
It took them almost half an hour to carry the body up to the second floor and up the stairs to the roof. Her body was heavy and sifts and the floor - littered with cans and boxes - only made it more difficult. But finally they made it to the roof door. Resting the body against the wall, both men stopped to catch their breath. "You ready for this?" Daniel asked. He was beginning to feel uneasy about what he was going to do. Steven must have felt the same. "Nope." He replied.
"Me neither, lets do this." Dan said. After a few kicks, the door opened and they dragged the body out, keeping low in case any of them saw them from below. Looking down the edge, Dan couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. Falling stiffly down from the building, the dead looking up at you, before crashing smack down on top of it and breaking its bloody head. What a sight! Lifting the corpse onto the ledge, Dan and Steven couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt creeping up on them.
"Is it our fault?" Steven asked.
"That she died? I'd like to think not." Dan replied. "Do you think we should say something?"
"I don't know… I've never been one for words." Steven replied.
"Neither have I." Dan agreed grimly.
"Can… can we just get this over with?" Dan and Steven turned to see the same woman who had prompted them into throwing the corpse off the roof standing by the roof door, her arms wrapped around herself. Dan and Steven looked at each other and back at the woman.
"I'm…April. April Johnson." She said.
"Did you know her?" Dan asked, gesturing to the dead lady. She didn't reply. Instead, she walked to the corpse and kicked it over the edge. Dan and Steven stared in shocked.
"So long, bitch." April said grimly as the body fell, spinning. "And I did know her."
"What was her name?" Steven asked, trying to contain his shock.
"…Margaret Johnson." She replied. This time, both Dan and Steven's face fell.
"You mean she was-" Dan started but April cut him off.
"My sister, yes." April said.