The Walking Dead: Clear Conscience
Chapter 2: Godsend
"Que pasa hijo? What's wrong?"… My blurred vision focused on the worried face of my young son, Louis.
"Mama, didn't you hear the gunshots? Papa and Mr. Noah haven't returned from their run. I'm scared!"…his tiny hands gripping tightly at my dirty t-shirt. I placed my hands on his to calm him down.
"Louis, where's your sister? Where's Eliza?"
"Right here Mama! I'm keeping watch."…to my relief her voice rang out like a shotgun across the hallway. I could make out her silhouette down the corridor. She was peeking out the second floor window of the warehouse that became our temporary home. Her slim twelve year old frame crouched down as she held a handgun firmly in her hands. She was ready to defend her family. It felt good to see my child ready to face the dangers this new world was presenting to her. Gabriel and I decided from the beginning of this outbreak that our children would be prepared to defend themselves in any situation. At the same time it made me sick to my stomach to watch their childhood and innocence slip away.
I held Louis under my right arm as I made my way towards Eliza.
"How long have they been gone? Why didn't you wake me sooner?"…I was mad at myself for slipping into a deep sleep. Although I've been running on empty making sure everyone was fed and kept safe, there's no excuse for me letting down my guard. Now we were stuck in a situation with the men missing and the three of us held up in this old warehouse. Panic started to set in.
"Wait! I see a shadow coming around the corner of that building across the street!"…Louis pointed at the dusty glass window to the street below. I glared through one of the broken glass panes and saw the long shadow cast by the descending sun. The shadow staggered left and right as it grew even longer. I knew by the way it was moving that it was a walker. Our bodies tensed up with anticipation. We held our breath as the rotting corpse made its way around the corner of the building. Eliza prepared to shoot it. I gently motioned for her to put down the gun as I signaled them to keep quiet.
"The shot will only bring more of them."…I whispered to my children as we watched the creature approaching our "home".
There was no sign of Gabriel or Noah. Noah was a camper we picked up on our travels. He jumped out of the bushes and helped us fend off a group of walkers with his trusty pickaxe. We didn't ask too many questions. In our eyes he was a Godsend that day. Without him we would have suffered casualties for sure. Now my husband and our guardian angel were missing. Possibly devoured by the hell spawned demons!
Once again my blood boiled with rage as I thought of how my little nap had turned the tide on my family. I snatched the gun out of Eliza's hands and stood square in front of the window and aimed at the walker's head. My finger squeezed ever so tightly at the trigger. I was focusing all my anger into this one shot. I fantasied blow its head clean off the torso and watching it roll across the street. In a blink of an eye the creature was out of my sight. I shook my head and refocused on the walker sprawled on the ground with a familiar pickaxe imbedded in the back of its decomposing skull.
We all cheered as the figures of Gabriel and Noah came running around the bend. My husband looked up at us holding a backpack full of supplies and waving his baseball bat in the air as Noah recovered his weapon.
Eliza sprung down the stairs to unlock the steel doors that kept us safe. Louis hurried down the stairs after her anxious to see what his dad brought back from the run. I just stood there looking out the window as the fallen walker bled out across the street. I could see a few more in the distance as the sun began to set. I let out a sigh. We had survived another day but the night brings a whole different set of challenges. I heard my husband's voice call out for me. A slight smile came across my face. How wonderful it is to hear his sweet voice… how could I ever live without it?