The rain splatters against the windshield as the wipers swish back and forth. It's been five years since the initial outbreak of the Fungal Plague. In the backseat is my six year old brother. He's leaning his head against the cold glass window, his breath fogging it. His dirty brown hair hung just below his eyes, he needs it cut but I'm no cosmetologist. After out parents succumbed to the plague, I was left to look after Riley. We're on our way to our grandmothers house. She lives deep in the woods, someplace the Runners and Clickers wouldn't bother going. We turned down a bumpy dirt road, it was more mud than dirt since it hasn't stopped raining since Tuesday and right now, it's Saturday. The bumps awoke Riley. He stretched and smiled.
"Are we almost there, Zoe?" He asked.
"Yeah, just about" I replied.
We finally made it. She lived in a log cabin and was surrounded by smaller cabins. I put the car in park and grabbed the bags out of the back seat. Riley jumped out of the car and ran up to our grandma as she walked out of her house. Her hair has gotten long and white and more wrinkles are visible on her soft skin but she's still skinny and fit.
"Riley!" She said happily. "I missed you. Zoe, come give your grandma a hug"
I giggled a bit and lugged the bags up a small hill. "It's nice to see you again, Gran"
"How've you been?" She asked.
"Alright...We're still alive aren't we?"
10:30 PM.
We sat gathered around a table, eating beans and soup. They had running electric here which was a big step up from the rationed electric in the city. They also had hot running water, it felt graceful on my skin.
"How's the Infected situation around here?" I asked as Riley dozed off on the couch.
"Well ya know. There's always an Infected every now and then"
There was screams outside and my grandma instantly grabbed her gun and I grabbed my pistol and picked Riley up off the couch an hid him under the steps. A pack of Runners and Clickers littered the soaked ground outside. My grandma eased her way outside and crouched down on the porch, I did the same. A Runner came screaming around the side off the house and attacked my side of the porch. We were forced to run to the the middle of the yard where a whole group of other people were. I scream, a boys scream rang in my ears. I looked at my grandma and sprinted back to the house. I busted through the door. A clicker dug it's teeth into Riley's neck.
"Get off of him you fucker!" I grabbed a knife off of the counter and stabbed it into the Clicker's head over and over until it finally loosened it's grip on his neck. The blood soaked my face, my whole entire body. I grabbed him into my arms and watched the blood pour out of his mouth.
"Is he?" My grandma asks as she walks in, holstering her gun.
"Yeah..." I say softly. "He got bit" I let the tears slid down my cheeks. I told my parents I would take care of him, I failed them and I failed him.