"I read once that you could drink your own urine." Doc panted, "But all I'm pissin' is dust."
Doc came to sit back down on the sidewalk beside Cassandra, who laid sprawled across the cement.
It was hot, scolding hot and we had run out of water hours ago. We all laid miserably sprawled out in different spots. 10k just laid on the road, sprawled out from exhaustion. Warren sat on the front of our unmovable car, dripping with sweat. I, myself, laid several feet away towards the back of the car. I was completely covered in sweat, my tank top tied into a crop top as I attempted to cool myself down. I was so dehydrated that my tongue was actually dry, like completely dry.
"Water isn't gonna find you just sitting there." Murphy looked at all of us with his hands on his hips. He was clearly not impressed with our exhaustion.
"Why are you so freaking chipper?" Warren asked, glaring at him.
"I've been wondering that myself." Murphy shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe it's 'cause I conserve my precious bodily fluids."
I began to feel the ground shaking underneath me, it wasn't exactly loud but it was definitely there. I even closed my eyes, laying completely flat to ensure that it wasn't just my imagination.
"Do you guys feel that?" I looked at the others, propping myself up on my elbows.
"Oh, what is that?" 10k sat up, "Is that an earthquake?"
"More like a zombie quake." Doc pointed.
Surely enough, as if we weren't already completely exhausted and spent, God decided to throw us yet another curveball. In front of us was the largest group of zombies I think I had ever seen, running directly at us. They were so large that the movement of their feet practically created their own dirt cloud from the constant dirt being tossed into the air.
"Goddamn guys just won't quit." Warren groaned, her head falling down.
"I suggest we run for it." Murphy took off, quickly turning around when he realized that we weren't following behind him, we were far to exhausted.
"Come on, people." Murphy jogged in place, "Pick it up."
"We can't Murphy." I groaned.
"Dehydrated." Warren sighed.
"Hey, come on." Murphy grabbed ahold of the Warren, guiding her to her feet. "Keep movin'"
"Let's go!"
I started to get up, using the car to help me stand up. I looped my arms through the straps of my backpack. Doc pulled a weak Cassandra up, Cassandra practically leaning against Doc as the two of them ran. I turned around, watching as 10k struggled to climb to his feet.
"Come on 10k!"
He looked at me, throwing his bag and his rifle over his shoulder. We both took off running, making sure to keep up with the others. I could feel 10k's fingers interlace with mine as I struggled to keep up. He held my fingers tightly, pulling me along to ensure that I kept up.
"This way!" Warren yelled, standing by the doorway of an abandoned building.
10k practically dragged me inside, the two of us running in behind the others. We scrambled far away from the door. 10k was nearly cutting off the circulation in my hand with how hard he was squeezing. Warren slammed the door shut after letting in some random boy, barricading the door shut.
We all moved away from the door, far to exhausted to continue running. Warren went to sit behind the desk, her head laying down on a stack of papers. Doc sunk back against the desk and I sat down next to him. 10k sprawled across the floor in front of us.
"So that's it?" Murphy scoffed, "We're all just gonna lay down and die?"
None of us responded, the only noises heard was panting and our loud groans.
"Doc!" Murphy gave Doc a rather rough shoved, waking him from his sleeping state.
"Leave him alone Murphy." I glared at him.
"Three days without water, man." Doc whined, "The human body hits the wall."
"There must be thousands of them."
"Millions." Otis corrected, "They're migrating."
Warren's head perked up, "Migrating to where?"
"South for the winter."
"Zs don't like the cold." 10k murmured.
"Kid's got it." Otis nodded his head, "We had a place up in North Dakota, near Fort Yates, it was a quiet little place on the river, couple dozens of us having a go. I mean, zombie bison every once in a while but that was as bad as it got. Then the rumbling started and never stopped."
"Where did all of them come from?" I asked, looking over at Otis. "Why is there so many of them?"
"There was this refugee came in Alberta with over a million people, there was no food or water." Otis explained, "It got ugly, they all turned in a week."
"We should've kept running." Murphy panicked, beginning to pace.
"You couldn't get around them?"
Otis shook his head, 'The herd is miles wide, I mean, it's got a mind of its own. You can't move fast enough to get around it. And every single thing it overruns just adds to its crowd. You know, fast zombies, healthy zombies, like that ones that just got my friend Buck."
When he stopped talking, Otis slide out a silver flask, twisting the lid and taking a large swig. The sound of a liquid sloshing around in a container caught nearly all of our attention.
"Hey, man, you gonna share that with the class."
Otis took another small swig, "It ain't water."
"Pass it around, whatever it is."
Otis leaned forward, handing his flask over to Doc who instantly took a large swig.
"Go easy on it." Otis warned, "Homemade hooch ain't for everyone."
Doc ignored him, taking another small swig.
"Easy man, come on, it's gotta last me."
Doc clicked his tongue, tasting the liquid, "Anti-freeze and..." He smacked his tongue again.
"Castor oil." Otis added.
The sound of groaning and loud groaning zombies gained all of our attention, including Warren's who was practically asleep. They had all begun to pile in front of the door, the only thing you could see out the window was zombies.
"We've got to get out of here." Otis panicked, grasping his gun.
Murphy walked up to the window, "He's right."
"Okay, this room isn't secure." Warren stood up, "We got to find some place more secure."
Murphy went and opened a door leading to a back room. I slowly stood up, every fiber in my body pleading with me to stay there. However, with the number of zombies growing at the door I knew that was only a death wish. I bent down, grabbing 10k by the arm. He groaned at me at first but when I tugged the next time he decided to comply. He slowly climbed to his feet, tossing his arm lazily over my shoulder.
"Jesus, you're heavy." I groaned, practically carrying 10k's entire weight.
"Are you calling me fat?"
"Little bit ya." I smirked.
10k smirked as I helped sit (more so flop), in front of the metal lockers. He casually laid back, his head resting against the metal.
"Nuh-uh, no way. This place is a death trap." Otis moaned, sticking his head out in the doorway.
His head quickly popped back inside when zombies broke through the first door, glass shattering everywhere. Murphy quickly slammed the door shut, standing in front of it to prevent in from opening.
"I wonder where they're all going." Murphy stated.
"Nowhere." Otis scoffed, "They're zombies."
"Be glad they don't have a leader." Murphy mumbled. He turned to look at Warren, "Now what?"
Warren shrugged her shoulders, "We wait them out."
"We can't just stay here and wait to die." Murphy argued.
10k sat forward, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked back at the lockers, "Do you hear that, or is that just in my head?"
We all stayed quiet for a few seconds, making the scratching noises coming from the lockers much more audible.
"I hope it's rats."
10k slowly got up to his knees, "I think it's coming in here."
"Oh damn!" Doc groaned, sitting up, "How's a guy supposed to relax with all that going on?"
Doc walked over the lockers while Cassandra came to stand by me. 10k slowly crouched, pulling his knife out.
"I'll open it, you pike it." Doc instructed, walking over to the doors.
10k nodded his head, moving closer to the locker door. Doc firmly gripped the handle while 10k gripped his knife.
"One...Two..Three."
Doc ripped open the door, 10k ready to pounce...at absolutely nothing. The locker was completely empty but the scratching and groaning was still there.
"I think it's coming from this one." 10k gestured to the one above it.
Doc nodded, the two of them going back to their original stance. Doc grabbed the handle, once again repeating the countdown and ripping the door open. Except this time this one wasn't empty. An ugly green zombie came popping out, growling and snapping its jaws. It reached for 10k first before realizing that Doc was a much easier target.
"Kill it! Just kill it!" Otis cried.
Warren came forward, placing the gun against its head and pulling the trigger. Blood and brains scattered everywhere. Warren shoved the Z back into the locker, slamming the door behind it.
"They're coming in!" Otis whispered, the Zs now pounding at the door.
"We have to get inside!" Warren demanded, "We don't have another choice!"
"There's not enough." Murphy pointed out.
Warren looked between Cassandra and I, her eyes lingering on me. She bent down, opening the first locker, pulling out the empty drawer. She sized it up, looking back at the two of us.
"You two are small enough." Warren stated, "If you lay on your sides, you can fit."
Cassandra and I looked at each other, "I don't know."
Warren sighed, "We don't have much of a choice."
"Is it to late to say I have a fear of small spaces?" I groaned.
Warren looked at me, "That's a fear you're going to have to get over girl."
I looked back at the drawer, mentally groaning at the thought about being stuffed inside such a tiny compartment. But the loud banging of the Zs reminded just how much I didn't want to be eaten alive. Cassandra laid down first, scooting over as far as she could to make room for me. I let out a shaky breath as I laid down beside her, trying my best to not freak out.
"You're going to be fine." Warren whispered, almost sensing my panic.
I nodded my head, taking in a deep breath before 10k and Warren started to slide us into the compartment. My heart nearly skipped a few bits as the cool metal scraped against my back.
"It'll be ok." 10k mouthed before slamming the door shut.
Now encased in complete and total darkness the true panic began to set in. Ever since I was younger I had been afraid of small spaces, I made sure to avoid them at all costs. Unfortunately when it comes to the zombie apocalypse there was no exceptions to your fears. We had to face them each and everyday in order to survive. I have done so many things to survive but this couldn't be one of them.
"Carley?"
I could hear Cassandra, I could feel her touching my shoulder and shaking me. I didn't have the strength to respond, everything...every part of my body grew heavy. I could feel my body but I could not control it. The panic started to take over, my breath growing more shallow. My eyes grew blurry, my eyelids becoming unbearably heavy.
"No no stay with me." Cassandra pleaded.
But I couldn't
Soon I was surrounded by complete and total darkness.
Flashback-Carley Age 6
"You rotten brats!" Vincent screamed, his voice echoing through the small trailer. He seized the two young girls by their arms, gripping them hard enough to leave bruises. "I am about tired of this shit!"
"We're sorry." Jenna cried, "It won't happen again."
"Yeah yeah." He muttered as he dragged the two girls down the hallway.
In the far back of the trailer was a rather small closet, hardly large enough to fit a grown adult into. Vincent had made sure to clear out whatever small junk was in there and convert it into a 'timeout' closet. It came in handy to them whenever they thought the children were misbehaving. Which really depended on if they two of them were high or going through withdrawals. When they were withdrawing the wind could blow and they'd shove them in there without any warning. Unfortunately for the girls that was for the case today's punishment. Vincent had blown his whole disability check which meant that there was no more money for drugs. All the girls did was ask for seconds...after not eating a meal for almost an entire day.
"You should be grateful you even get to eat!"
The two girls did nothing but cry, either one of them to afraid to say anything. When he wasn't in the mood to shove them in the closet, Vincent didn't have an issue when it came to finding something to punish them with. A belt, tv remote, wooden spoon, charge...the list could really go on.
"Pleas don't!" Carley pleaded.
Vincent didn't listen or he probably didn't care, the withdrawals pretty much making him annoyed at whatever isn't a drug. He opened the door to the close without saying another work. He shoved Jenna first, sending her stumbling from the force of the shove. He shoved Carley in afterwards with the same amount of force he did Jenna. Except for Jenna was seven years older than Jenna which mean that the force did more to the younger girl.
"Ow!" Carley screamed as her body smacked against the hard drywall.
"You two can come out when we say you can." Vincent closed and locked the door without saying anything else. He even ignored the two girls' desperate pleas.
The two of them sat in complete and total darkness while they sobbed. The darkness only made Carley cry harder, her sobs racking through her body violently. Carley had never cared for being in small spaces but with this new recent punishment, her mother or Vincent would leave the two of them locked in here for hours at a time. The fear, for obvious reasons, had began to grow worst.
"It's ok Lee." Jenna whispered, wiping away her own tears. "At least he didn't use the belt."
"Yeah." Carley said weakly, "But Jenny I'm really scared."
Jenna scooted closer to her younger sister, wrapping an arm around her shaking body.
"Shhh." Jenna hugged Carley against her, "It's ok, I'm here with you."
Carley continued to cry while Jenna held back her tears. Despite how badly Jenna wanted to cry she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew the second the balled her eyes out like she so deeply wanted to that it would only send Carley into hysterics. She knew she needed to be strong for her.
"It's dark." Carley whimpered, "I'm scared."
"You're gonna be ok."
"It's going to be ok."
But it wasn't.
"I don't know what happened." I heard a female voice speak, "She just blacked out, started talking about someone named Jenny."
I could hear someone sigh, "Jenny is her sister...I'm guessing she probably had some sort of flashback."
It was Doc.
"Flashback of what?" I could hear Warren ask.
"You see, Carley's mother was-"
"Shut up Doc." I said, opening my heavy eyelids as I looked at him, weakly smiling. "I can and will fight you."
I could see Doc smiling at me, his hand clamping down on my shoulder, "Hey kid, how are you feeling?"
"Just peachy."
"Let's ask the more important question." Murphy kneeled beside Doc, "Why were you in Juvie?"
I looked over at Murphy, "Which time?"
"Oh hell." Murphy murmured as he stood up.
Doc just laughed, "There she is."
As my vision slowly and surely became more and more clearer I could see pretty much everything now. Warren and Doc were crouched down in front me. Cassandra and 10k were seated at a small table, Cassandra eating a small handle of something while 10k had turned around to focus on me. After my rather snide comment about juvie, Murphy moved to the other side of the table, looking at me rather wearily.
"So I guess you weren't really kidding about the whole being afraid of small places thing?" Warren asked.
"You think?"
Warren chuckled, handing me a jug of water, "I'll keep that in mind for next time."
I took a large swig of water, letting the cool water roll down my throat. After three days without water it almost felt to good to be true. Warren smiled at me as she clamped her hand down on my shoulder, giving me a soft squeeze before she stood up. Warren walked back to the small table, sitting down beside Cassandra. Doc moved to sit next to me, handing me a small handful of goldfish.
"Here, this will probably help make you feel better."
I popped a few of them into my mouth instantly, "I'm not to sure about that."
Doc sighed, "I wish I could help you kid."
"I'll be fine Doc." I lied.
"Are you sure?" He questioned.
"Yeah."