Chapter 9
I ran for what felt like an eternity when I finally heard the Tank's sounds fade into the distance. I slowed down gradually until I found a house to take shelter in. Walking in, barely able to breathe, I set all my things on the floor, collapsing onto the couch. Once I had regained my breath, I sat up took in my surroundings. There was a coffee table in front of me. Looking up, I saw an entertainment center with a TV in the middle. A bunch of family photos littered the room, full of smiling face of people that were most likely dead. I sighed deeply, rubbing my face in exhaustion. I got up and set the photos picture down in their spots. I couldn't look at such happy faces while being in such a miserable world.
I decided to explore the rest of the house – gun in hand- and walked into the kitchen. There was little boy trying to get to the upper cabinets. I put my gun away and slowly walked up behind him.
"Do you need any help?" I asked, gently touching his shoulder. The boy jumped and turned around. He looked no older than eight years old and his big eyes showed nothing but fear. I held up my hands to show that I meant no harm.
"It's okay," I said, backing up a little. "I'm not going to hurt you." I slowly took a step forward. "Where are your parents?" The boy cast his gaze to the floor.
They're dead," he said. I looked at him with shock filled eyes.
"How long?" I asked, mentally slapping myself for asking such a question. The boy stayed quiet. "You don't have to answer. I didn't mean to be so inconsiderate." I slowly knelt down in front of him, wrapping my arms around his tiny body. "I'm so sorry." The boy stiffened for a moment, then wrapped his arms around my neck, crying like crazy. I gently ran my fingers through his hair, my other my other hand up and down his back.
When he stopped crying, we let go of each other. He stepped away from me, wrapping his arms around himself.
"Sorry," he whimpered.
"For what~?" I asked. "You've done nothing wrong~" I stood up and opened the cabinet the boy had been reaching for. "What was it you wanted out of here~?" The boy pointed to a bowl and I got it down for him, handing it to him. He took it from me and walked to the kitchen table, grabbing the box of cereal that was there and started pouring it into said bowl. I grabbed another bowl and two spoons and walked over to the table, sitting across from the boy.
"So what's your name~?" I asked, taking the box after the boy had set it down and pouring the cereal into my bowl. I handed him a spoon and used my spoon to take a bit out my cereal.
"Jackson," the boy said, eating his cereal. I nodded.
"My name's Victoria~" I said. "But everyone called me Tori~" Jackson looked up at me.
"Your mommy and daddy?" he asked.
"And my friends~" I added, looking down with a sad smile. I then felt a small hand touch my shoulder. I looked over to see Jackson standing next to me with a big smile on his face. It was obvious he was trying to cheer me up, so I smiled back, although inside, I was torn into pieces. I placed a hand over his.
"Pretty girls shouldn't frown or look sad," Jackson said. I blushed slightly and chuckled softly.
"I thank you for that compliment, little Jackie~" I mused, ruffling his hair.
"I'm not little!" Jackson huffed. "I'm seven years old! I'm a big kid now!" He put his hands on his hips, a big pout on his face. I chuckled again.
"That may be true~" I smiled. "But you're so cute, you deserve a cute nickname~" Jackson huffed again and crossed his arms, his pout still evident on his face. I ruffled his hair again. "I have a hard time believing no one ever called you Jackie~" Jackson looked down, his pout replaced with a sad look.
""Mommy always did," he said, tears in his eyes. I gave the best gentlest smile I could muster. All of a sudden, I heard a bang in the living room, then a moan.
Shit, I thought. "Jackie, get under the table." I took out my gun, saw him nod and crawl underneath the table, and slowly made my way to the living room with my gun raised. But instead of seeing a common infected, I saw a man, who looked a couple years older than me, leaning against the front door.
"Who are you?!" I shouted, pointing my gun at him. Hey, for all I knew, he was bit and was looking for place to hide while he changed. If that was true, I would have no choice but to kill him, lest he kill both me and Jackson.
"Tori?" I heard. "Is he okay?" I turned around to see Jackson in the doorway.
"Jackie, get back in the kitchen, now!" I shouted. Jackson whimpered, but nodded and ran back into the kitchen. I turned back the man in front of me stand and lunge at me, snapping his jaws at me and trying to bite me. However, I was quicker and shot him in the knee, causing him to go down. I aimed for his head and fired my gun again, hitting my mark dead on. I collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. I got up upon remembering about Jackson and walked into the kitchen.
"Jackie?" I called out softly. "It's okay. You can come now." I heard a door open, turning to see one of lower cabinets open and Jackson climbing out of it. He ran up to me and hugged tightly.
"Are you okay?" he asked, searching all over my body. "He didn't bite you, did he?" I stopped him by grabbing his shoulders.
"I'm fine~" I assured him. "I was able to get him before he was able to get me~" I sat down and pulled him into my arms. That's when I felt pain shoot through my ankle.
"You okay, Tori?" Jackson asked.
"Yeah," I said, looking down at my ankle. I froze. It couldn't be. That son of a bitch bit me!
Oh no! Tori got bitten! Tyler won't like this! And there's also a new character in this story~ I'm also so sorry about the wait~ I didn't have the chapter written out, then I didn't have any chances to update because this library is completely retarded~ I hope you guys can forgive me for the wait~ Anyways, remember to read, review, and enjoy~ See ya~
-Cheshy