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Jauntues- Hey, we're back with another chapter.
- Thanks to all that read!
Rigoudon- So without any further ado... On with the story!
Janet's POV
We all woke up, it was about six o'clock according to Liz's watch. We ate some mandarin oranges and some apples we had raided from the fridge. We brushed our teeth with the extra tooth brushes we had found in the storage cupboard in my mom's room. After that, we all packed up the sleeping bags, matches, and blankets, then stuffed them into the car. We had to take out three of the backpacks, they had to be held. Rita, April, and Edelynn volunteered to hold them on their laps. We inspected the house one last time, my sister, brother, and I grabbed small items here and there as a keepsake. I grabbed the watch my mom used to wear and strapped it to my wrist and the blue bandana that I used during paintball. It still had some paint stains, but it was only slightly visible and still useable.
I was walking back to the garage when I bumped into Elizabeth.
"Jake told me what happen with mom." She said. "Are you okay?"
"I thought I told him not to." But, I hugged her. "I should be asking you that."
"I'm okay. I know that it wasn't mommy any more. Mom went to heaven already."
I nodded absent-mindedly.
I released her. "So what are you taking?"
My little sister held up her pink bandana and took out her necklace with a pendent that looked like an E.
"I got yours too." She said.
She took out another necklace from her pocket. It was my J pendent on a small-linked-chain necklace. The original string had broken, so I replaced it with the chain. I noticed that my sister had also taken my wolf bracelet charm and my tiger bracelet charm and modified them so that they would fit on the chain. I smiled at her thoughtfulness.
"Thanks."
My sister smiled and picked up a duffle bag from the floor.
"What's that for?"
My sister smiled wider, "I'm gonna pack your books. You can't wander around without your library!"
I laughed and I let her lead me to the shelves where I kept all my books. Edelynn came in and her eyes bugged out of her head.
"I knew I would love your library, but I didn't know you had this many books!" She chattered excitedly. She was, like me, a book worm.
"Well, we can't take them all. When you choose a book put it in the bag. If you get a book that belongs in a series, do try to pack the whole series. I would hate to be reading a series only to find out I don't get to find out how it ends." I said.
We started packing books. The Harry Potter series was the first to be packed, then the Fablehaven series, then the Inkheart series, then books like; White Fang, Charlotte's Web, The BFG, The Sight and the second book: Fell. Then Dragon Slippers, The Last Dragon, The Golden Goblet, The Hobbit, The Little House on the Prairie series,and as many other books as we could fit.
"Alright, now to shove all of this into the car." I said. After much arranging and rearranging, it all fit.
"Okay everyone, time to go!" I said. Everyone picked up their weapons and carefully placed them close by.
"Now where to?" I asked.
"We can go to my house." Annabel said. "My house has more medical supplies, since my mom is a nurse, she sometimes brings gauze and other medications home on accident."
"Wouldn't she have to return that stuff?" Rita asked.
"No, she told me that once the stuff leaves the hospital then it isn't sterile anymore. She even has to wash her apron a different way just to wear it to the hospital. They are all about sterilizing germs there."
"Well, it makes sense." I said. "Can you give me directions?"
"Yeah, no problem."
The trip didn't take very long. It felt like such a luxury to have a car verses walking everywhere. Surprisingly there weren't many cars on the streets. The freeway was a different story. It was jammed packed with abandon cars, trucks, big-rigs, and vans. It took fifteen minutes to get to Annabel's house. I parked in the driveway and we all got out. Annabel was carrying the "medicine bag". There was a broken window, but there were boards behind it. I took out my pistol and held it to my side, my finger next to the trigger, but not on it. I didn't want to accidentally pull the trigger; even the smartest people can do this. When someone has an itchy trigger finger, stuff goes wrong.
Annabel took the key from around her neck and stuck it in the key hole. She unlocked the door, turned the knob, and pushed the door in. I rushed to her side and held the gun up. Nothing. No surprised, scared raiders in the house, no walkers shambling toward the door. Nothing.
I lowered the pistol and stepped inside. Everyone followed me in. My brother walked to my side and we scanned the house. Checking each room and yelling "All clear!" when there were no signs of life. I was checking a bedroom when my sister screamed. It sounded like it was coming from the smaller bedroom down the hall.
"Liz!" I yelled.
I rushed to the room where I heard my sister. I rounded the corner, grabbed my sister's arm, pretty much threw her behind me, and held the pistol out in front of me. My gun was pointed at a small little girl. She was huddled in a corner, her knees drawn to her chest. She was shaking with fear and tears slid down her dirty cheeks. She had blonde hair and green eyes; she didn't look any older than eight. I lowered my gun.
"Jesus Liz. Are you trying to give us a heart attack?! I thought it was a walker!"
Jake and the others flew into the room. My brother was holding his pistol in front of him.
"False alarm, Jake. It's a little girl."
Jake lowered his gun, the others relaxing as well. They pointed their spears downward. They had yet to touch their guns. I didn't mind though. I'd rather them be scared, not knowing how to handle a gun, and not using it; then being scared, not knowing how to handle a gun, and using it anyways.
I knelt down to my knees. "Are you okay? Where are your parents?"
I tried getting a little closer, but she pushed herself against the wall, as if trying to melt into it.
I put down my pistol. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Come on...come on out."
I know that I probably sounded like I was talking to a puppy, but the girl seemed to calm down.
"Look, we're not going to hurt you. Come on out."
The little girl scooted away from the wall. "Who are you?" She croaked. She sounded hoarse.
"I'm Janet. That boy is my brother, Jake, and that girl is my sister, Elizabeth." I said calmly.
"I'm Rita."
"I'm Edelynn."
"I'm April."
"I'm Stephanie."
"And I'm Annabel."
The girl slowly stood up. "I'm...I'm Lily."
"Well, it's nice to meet you Lily. Where are your parents?" I asked.
"Gone." Lily replied with a shudder. "They didn't come back. They left to go get supplies and they haven't come back for two days. I think their...gone."
I nodded, my eyes glazing over with memories of what happen with my mom.
"Can...can I come with you? You seem nice. The other people I've heard come through here sounded mean. They yelled and shot a lot. You're not walkers either."
"I'm not sure." Stephanie said. "We didn't plan on having another person and statistically we don-"
"Of course you can Lily." Rita said, cutting Stephanie off. "We just need another van and walkie-talkies.
"I know where those are." Annabel said.
"How?" Lily asked.
"This is my house. I live...well... lived here." Annabel explained.
Lilly nodded, completely coming out from her corner. She ran over to Rita and gave her a hug. Rita froze, but patted her back. Rita was always the caring one; even in the end of the world she would accept a hug from a complete stranger. Lily released her and then stood awkwardly in the center of all of us.
"Well, um, let's go get the supplies then hole up." Annabel said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah." I said. Lily let me take her hand and we lead her to the kitchen. I gave her a bottle of water and an orange which she started eating ravenously.
"When was the last time you ate?" I laughed. "I've never seen anyone eat so fast."
Lily smiled shyly and slowed her eating down a little. After ten minutes Annabel came around the corner.
"Okay everyone, I've got everything we need. I even got some extra food and more clothes. We are going to have to go to the store or something to get clothes for Lily though."
I nodded. "We can do that. Do you know the closest clothing store?"
"Yeah, I can tell you where to go. We should only take two other people. We can leave the others here to protect the house." Annabel suggested.
"I'll stay here and protect the house. Janet can go with you guys, just so that there is at least one person who knows how to use a gun in both groups." Jake said.
I nodded at his plan. "April, Rita, you guys want to come?"
"Sure." Rita said. April nodded and walked to my side. Annabel, April, and I unloaded some of the supplies from the van. We didn't want to leave and possibly not come back, leaving the others with nothing. We unloaded half the supplies from the van and we decided that we had unloaded enough. We emptied two backpacks and put them in the trunk. We were just about to get in the van when something tapped my arm. It was Lily.
"Can I come with you?" She asked.
I shook my head. "No, I don't know how dangerous it will be. I don't want to lose you just after I met you."
"But if you are going to get clothes I think I should come so you know my size." She said, not disrespectfully.
"She does have a point Jan." April said.
"Alright you can come, but stay close to us." I told Lily.
Lily nodded and hopped into the car between April and Rita. Annabel was sitting in the passenger seat so she could give me directions. The others waved good-bye as we drove off, but quickly scurried back into the house soon after.
We drove at least twenty miles; Annabel giving me directions. The drive was relatively silent, other than the occasional question for or from Lily or Annabel saying "Turn left up ahead." or "Turn right at that corner." or "Keep going straight."
Rita was staring out the window and April was playing slide with Lily. Annabel also kept me updated whether or not she could see any walkers. So far we hadn't seen any, but that didn't mean they weren't out there.
We finally arrived at an outdoor mall. I pulled the car up to the edge of the curb.
"The curb is red." Rita observed.
"Yeah...is that important?" I asked.
"You're not supposed to park at a red curb." Rita said.
I mentally face-palmed, "Rita, this is an apocalypse. I don't think anyone is going to care if I parked here. There aren't even any people here to see, much less care."
"Oh yeah, sorry. That drive and the mall made everything seem normal for once." Rita sighed.
I turned the engine off, took out the key out of the ignition, and got out of the car. I gave one of the empty backpacks to April and took another for myself. I also took out my bow and quiver. I strapped the quiver to my side and made sure my pistol was securely in its holster strapped to my leg. Yep, everything seemed to be in order. I grabbed a dozen arrows and walked over to the others.
"You do know where the clothing stores are, right?" I asked Annabel.
She nodded and started to lead the way. I locked the car. It honked once, but the silence made the honk seem louder. I pulled on my arm guard and finger-tab and nocked an arrow on my bow. Not drawing it, but keeping it in place.
"Do you need all of those?" Annabel asked me, motioning to the arm guard and finger-tab.
"Yeah, the arm guard makes sure that if I release the bow string wrong it won't hit me in the arm and give me a really bad bruise. The finger tab protects my fingers from getting sore or cut it when I am drawing the string." I explained.
Annabel and Rita nodded at my explanation. We started walking into the mall. It was very quiet and we had our eyes peeled for walkers.
"I saw your brother's bow. It looked a lot different from yours. It looked way more mechanical. He didn't wear a finger tab either. He had this clip that was attached to his wrist." Annabel said.
I nodded, "It's because his is a compound bow. It has pulleys on the end. When he draws the bow he is pulling whatever poundage he has it on, but once he gets to a certain length, he is only holding about maybe half of what he pulled. For my bow, I am holding the poundage I am pulling. His bow is what hunters normally use."
Annabel nodded in understanding and we continued on in silence. I noticed that Rita, April, and Annabel all kept their hands on their makeshift spears. I was keeping my and on my arrow. I heard a faint moan. I turned around, but saw nothing. I looked at the others. "Did you guys hear that?"
They shook their heads, but Lily nodded.
"It sounded like a walker." She whispered. She scooted closer to my side.
I heard the moan again, this time a little louder.
I scanned the stores, and saw what was moaning. It was a cashier that had turned. He was stumbling toward us. I drew my bow, taking a deep breath and aiming. I focused on the walker's rotting skull and fired. The arrow flew straight and it went through the walker's nose. It was hit, but not dead...well 'dead dead'.
I drew another arrow and pulled the string back. I focused again and fired. This arrow hit the walker in the forehead. It dropped like a sack of potatoes and didn't even twitch. We approached the body. April even prodded the walker with the butt of her spear. It lay still and did nothing. April lifted her spear away, but suddenly jabbed the knife through the walker's skull. Seeming satisfied she pulled the spear out of its' head.
"Just making sure." She said.
I knelt down and pulled out my arrows, wiping the blood and brain matter on its shirt before putting them back in my quiver.
We continued onward, following Annabel left, right, and then left again, until we got to an Aeropostale.
"Will this do?" Annabel asked me.
"Yeah, this will do." I answered.
We entered the store. One look at the interior and you could see that this place had been raided. Clothes were strewn about all over the floor. The racks they had hung on were tipped over on their sides.
"Stay close to me." I told Lily.
April and Annabel went to the left of the store while Rita, Lily and I went to the right. It was a little hard to find the right clothes, after all they were scattered on the floor. Some even had blood stains on them. Every now and then, though, I would find something that fit her and I would put it in my backpack. We managed to get three shirts and two pants for her. We also found three pairs of socks and a pair of mittens. We met back up with April, Annie, and Rita at the cashier tables. We opened a couple of drawers and found what we were looking for, the key to get the thick tags off of the clothes. It took us some time to do so, but we got it done. Once we were finished we put the clothes in April's backpack.
"Okay, now what do you want to do?" Annabel asked.
I thought for a moment. "We could raid some of the food stores. I know they have them in malls. You know like a See's Candy or something."
Annabel's face lit up. "I know something better."
She took off running out of the store. We ran outside and did our best to keep up with her. Once she stopped, I have to admit, I was disappointed.
"Annabel, this is a discount store, a junk store. I think the only things we're going to get out of this place are a couple of fake guns."
"Look I know it looks bad, but, I remember looking inside of here sometimes. Oh, I can't ruin the surprise, come on. She ran into the store. Then she came running out two walkers on her tail.
"Damn it." I muttered. I quickly slid an arrow into my bow and fired. It hit the walker in the forehead. Rita and April both teamed up and both of them used their spears and plunged them into the second walkers head.
"Jesus Annabel, do you want to die?" I admonished.
"Sorry." She replied. "Can I show you what I wanted you to see before the two walkers?"
I sighed, nodded, and followed her inside. The place didn't look looted. At most it just looked a little disorganized. The only thing that looked in bad shape was the candy stand that was next to the cashier table.
"No, this way!" Annabel said. She was behind some shawls draped over the door frame. I motioned to the others to follow her. We parted the drapes and I smiled in delight. In glass cases and on small pegs on the wall, were daggers, swords, and katanas of various sizes.
"Are...these...real?" I hesitated to ask.
Annabel nodded. "Yeah, I remember coming here a couple of times, just to look at them, pretty neat right? I even know where they keep the sharpeners, I asked the people who worked here one time. Not straight out, of course, but I saw them open a drawer and take out one of the sharpeners"
"Yeah, these are awesome!" Rita exclaimed. She ran up to the glass case and looked at the daggers and what looked to be machetes.
April took her spear and smashed the glass. "Grab whatever you can. One for us and one for the others back at Annabel's house." She said. "Oh and grab the sharpeners as well."
"Are we lucky or what guys. If you think about it this is just too lucky." I said. "We can't hope for everything to go this smoothly."
"Even if it is just luck, just grab the swords. If there're consequences that come with this then we can deal with them later." Rita said.
I nodded and looked at the different swords. There were many daggers and all of them had a very interesting design. One had a green, glassy looking hilt and a curved blade. Another had a steel hilt in the shape of a roaring Chinese dragon. The blade on the dagger was curved as well. I looked at the other shelves and found a dagger that suited me. It was of a simple design. The hilt was just plain steel with a single tribal wolf design etched into it. The blade was straight and was about five inches long. It was an inch and a half wide at the bottom and it transitioned to a point beautifully. It was the perfect weight for me. I'd say it didn't weigh more than a pound. All in all it looked like a medieval dagger.
I took it and grabbed its sheath that lay beside it and tucked it into my backpack. I looked at the swords and quickly decided I wanted a katana. For one it was way lighter than the other swords that were on display and I had an option, I could grab either a one-handed sword or a two-handed sword. I picked up a regular medieval looking sword and swung it a couple of times. I set it down and did the same with a two-handed katana. I repeated this process several times before deciding that the two-handed katana was better since I had more control of the swings and the power in them. The sheath was plain black with a small, silver, pouncing tiger design in the center. It had a strap on it so I could put it on my back. Of course with my bow, quiver, backpack, and new dagger, I was going to have a tough time deciding what I was going to carry and where I could wear it.
"I'm gonna need a belt." I muttered to myself. I put the katana in my backpack along with some other daggers and katanas I had grabbed for the others at the house. I felt a small tap on my back, I turned and it was Lily.
"Can I have this one?" She asked, holding out a pocket knife.
I was a bit confused. "That one?"
Lily nodded. I rubbed the back of my head. "You sure you don't want something...bigger?"
Lilly thought a moment. "I like it. It has a knife and it looks sharp enough to kill a walker."
I held out my hand to take it. "May I?"
Lily handed me the knife. I flicked it out. It looked good; it was long enough to stab a walker in the brain. It pretty much met all requirements of a good knife; after all there isn't much to it.
"Do you know how to use one? How to be responsible with it?" I asked her seriously.
"Yes, I can be responsible with it." She replied.
I sighed. "Okay, you can keep it. You're going to have to show me that you know how to use this. We can practice together, I don't want-"
"Hey Janet! We're going to be able to practice real soon!" Rita shouted.
I ran over to where she stood. She was looking outside the store window. Annabel and April were by her side. I peeked outside and wished I had checked it sooner.
Outside there was a large herd of walkers, shuffling and stumbling around, headed right toward the store.
"We need to get out of here now." April said.
I looked over to Annabel. "Is there a way to the car from here where we don't have to go through that?"
"Yeah, come on." She ran to the back of the store. She stopped at a door. "It might get a little loud."
"What are you-" WEE-WOO WEE-WOO WEE-WOO
"Yep, emergency door alarm. Come on!" She shouted.
We all headed out the door, with me at the rear. The alarm was still sounding and the walker group was closing in on the building. We broke into a run and hoped none of the walkers saw us.
"All right we should be able to get to the parking lot this way." Said Annabel, more to herself than to us.
We didn't stop running until we finally got to the car. I unlocked the car and threw my bow into the car. I took off my arm guard and finger tab and threw them into the car as well. I was just about to put the backpack full of katanas in, when suddenly; something grabbed my ankle and pulled me down.
Jauntues- Da-Da-Daaa!
Aquarius- Well, this was an eventful chapter.
Stephanie- Yeah, only I wasn't in it!
Jauntues- Yeah you were.
Stephanie- Not that much though. How is the story going to go on without my humor and sarcasm?
Boba- It will last. Besides the next chapter... Never-mind I don't want to give spoilers.
Rigoudon- Well, until Chapter 3 then.
Chrily- Until Chapter 3 readers, see ya!
Jauntues- Oh, btw, I will be trying to upload a chapter every Friday. So make sure to review and follow to make sure you don't miss out!