The body lay completely still in front of Katharine, blood oozed from the bullet wound in its skull. As Katharine opened her eyes and looked down at the deceased attacker, she gasped.
"Peter….!" Peter Rivers was the Kennedy's elderly next door neighbour who now, with his dressing gown and slippers, had his brain sprayed over the side wall of their house. His wrinkled skin was rotten and peeling off his balding head, his eyes the same cloudy grey as they'd seen of the walker feeding beside the airport.
"Don't worry, that's not Mr. Rivers any more…" The woman who'd fired the gun stated, breaking Katharine from her trembling daze. Lifting her focus she was overwhelmed with a sudden sense of love and security.
"Ivy!" Stood there in the alley beside the house, silhouetted by the low sun was Ivy Kennedy, Katharine's older sister. Where Katharine had more of her fathers' physical traits, Ivy had gained her mothers' beauty and Latin features. Long, wavy, dark brunette hair hung around her shoulders and matching brown eyes peered out seductively at all times, her slightly tanned skin looked glamorous even when it was covered with specks of dried blood and dirt. Even Blake's eyes lit up when he saw her stood there, her pistol still held firmly in her hand. Katharine, jumping over the corpse of her neighbour, grinned as she ran at her sister with arms open wide. As Ivy embraced her sibling, a single tear of joy caressed her strong cheek bone and she squeezed just a little bit tighter to let her sister know she was safe.
Ivy Kennedy was twenty-seven years old and had moved to Kentucky where she worked as a Sheriff's Deputy Police Officer for Cynthiana. She visited home as much as she could and she'd often volunteer to fill in for officers in Atlanta if needs be, but this time she'd come to mix business with pleasure… in a way. She had come home to protect her family. Seeing her standing there in her uniform, Blake felt a lot of things that teenage boys feel but mostly, the badge gave him the same sense of security that Katharine was now feeling.
"Ivy, what's happening? What are those things?" Katharine asked looking back to Peter's unmoving body.
"We don't know Kitty! They've been appearing all over the country and who knows where else." She took a look around the garden behind her before putting her gun away in its holster. "As soon as I heard that it wasn't just in Kentucky, I rushed home to check on you guys. You have no idea how much I worried when I arrived and saw the street like this and nobody here!" Standing in front of Katharine, Ivy smiled and brushed her sisters' hair behind her ears. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you're safe!" Pulling her sister closer she gave her another warm hug.
"Trust me Ivy," Katherine closed her eyes and smiled. "I know." The pair shared the embrace a moment longer before releasing their grasp and Ivy looked to the handsome jock accompanying Katharine. Stepping past her sister, she extended her hand in front of her.
"I'm Ivy." She winked and she shook his hand. "Thanks for looking after her." Blake just blushed at her touch. As he tried to hide his nerves he just nodded a greeting and introduced himself.
"Ivy! We need to get inside!" Katharine had peered down the alley past the others and had spotted a few of the walkers wandering around the gardens close by. Hearing her warning, Ivy lead to youngsters around the back of the house where as predicted Katharine found the spare key and let themselves into the house.
As they entered into the kitchen, Ivy quickly locked the door behind them and pocketed the key. There was nothing spectacular about the Kennedy's house. It was just your average, yet well kept home. Moving over to the sink, Katharine poured herself a glass of water and offered the same to Blake, Ivy sniggered to herself.
"Even when America is literally tearing itself open you still keep your manners." She laughed, receiving an embarrassed glare from her sister telling her not to humiliate her in front of her crush. Blake didn't mind, it seemed like he'd forgotten all about the world outside and was scanning the room as if he was an interior decorator. "Okay, you guys wait here; I'm going to check the house. See if mom left a note or something…" With this, Ivy turned and headed out of the kitchen and down the hall. Katharine looked to Blake and smiled as she wiped the dried tears from her face.
"What a day!" She chuckled.
In the hallway, Ivy checked the table by the mirror for any sign of a note, keys, bags… any indication of whether her parents had been home from work yet. There was nothing, she checked the phone for any message, but a hummed tone was her only find.
"Lines are down." She mumbled to herself as she replaced the receiver. Quickly she scouted the living room, just to make sure she hadn't missed that note and then sprinted up the stairs. Carefully she opened each door, fingers already stroking the grip of her gun in case something was lurking behind. The front and back doors were both locked and there was no sign of any break in, but you could never be too careful. After finding the house was clear, Ivy took a step into her parents' room and slowly looked around, being home usually made her feel warm inside but as she came across a family photo standing atop her mothers' bedside cabinet a cold chill swept over her. Although she'd never show it to Katharine, she knew there was no certainty that her parents were still alive.
Since the walkers started appearing and more and more cases of undead cannibals were reported over the police radio's Ivy had learnt that nobody was safe. They'd even lost a number of officers during the outbreak. As she stared at the cheerful photo framed in her hands, she closed her eyes and held it close to her chest, praying that her mother and father were safe. Or at least not one of the walkers. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and took one final look at her family portrait…and gasped. As she glanced at it, it seemed as though her parents' faces flashed into those of the undead. Frail skin fell from their cheeks, blood smeared across their mouths. Out of shock, Ivy quickly dropped the photo and the frame shattered on the floor.
Hearing the sound of smashing glass upstairs, Katharine rushed to her sister's aide followed swiftly by Blake. As they reached the top of the stairs they found Ivy sitting on the edge of her parents' bed and staring at the broken image. Ivy shook her head and checked her mom's and dad's faces once more. Between the shards of fractured glass, they were fine. Back to their original happy, smiling faces.
"Sorry. I bumped the bedside and this fell off… didn't mean to scare you." Ivy explained to Katharine and Blake. "I just got spooked… that's all." She said as she crouched to begin picking up the pieces of broken glass, careful not to scratch the photo it once held. Katharine just smirked; glad to see that it was nothing but a fallen photo that had 'attacked' her sister. "It's getting dark. I'm going to freshen up a little. It's not a great idea to head out at night, so get some rest, we'll check out mom's and dad's office first thing tomorrow." Ivy said as she passed the others on her way to the bathroom, she noticed Blake looking at the Kennedy family photo lying back on the bedside. "Don't worry kid, we can stop off at your place on the way and get you back with your parents too." She lied, knowing that with the streets like this, very few people would still be sitting at home waiting for someone to ring the doorbell. As the nightmare began, areas of the city were evacuated, people fled and those who didn't… probably didn't make it.
"Thank you." Blake replied politely, he too knew the chances of seeing his parents again were growing slimmer with each second but if he was safe and well, who's to say his parents hadn't found a way to survive too… this was the thought that gave him hope.
"Remember, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves, close the curtains, don't turn on any lights and stay quiet." She kissed her sister on the forehead and gave a comforting squeeze on her shoulder. "Sweet dreams." She wished on her way to the bathroom, knowing that after what they'd seen and the thoughts running through their minds they probably weren't going to get all forty winks tonight if any at all.
Silently, they closed the curtains in the master bedroom and Blake followed Katharine to her bedroom. Following Ivy's orders, they kept the light off and closed the curtains and although their phones were useless without signal, they made decent enough torches so they weren't stumbling around in complete darkness. Blake inspected her room and made a joke about the stuffed animals at the end of her bed which resulted in having a soft lion being thrown at his head. The two of them in their own little room, safe from the world outside continued their flirting and got to know each other quietly as if it were just any other day. As time went on they found themselves perched on the edge of Kitty's bed, comfortably close enough so they could speak in whispers and still hear each other.
"Can I tell you something?" Katharine asked rhetorically. "I've had a huge crush on you ever since I first saw you…" Blake's eyebrows raised and a smile spread across his lips. "Your mom was dropping you off outside of school and as you got out of the car I just couldn't stop staring an-" Kitty's sentence was interrupted as Blake leant forward and gently kissed her. Their lips, warm and suitably wet, pressed against each others as a hand slowly moved up to stroke Katharine's neck. Getting into the moment, she placed a hand on the side of his head and softly ticked his ear. Katharine's phone battery died and as her torch went out, shadows were thrown around the room from Blake's solo light but the couple were too occupied to notice and as the passion continued they eventually found themselves lying together on the bed, spooning sweetly. Katharine pulled Blake's arm over her and he hugged her tightly. Closing their eyes, they prayed for sleep without the nightmares. A touch of romance blossomed in the midst of the horrors outside the house.
Meanwhile, Ivy was rubbing the towel through her damp hair as she stepped out of the shower. Wiping the condensation from the mirror she splashed her face with cold water and grabbed her mother's dressing gown. Grabbing her uniform from the floor she balanced her gun on top of the pile as she made her way through to her parents' room where she'd try and get some sleep, it had been a long day and she guessed tomorrow wasn't going to be any easier. As she folded her uniform neatly and placed it on the chair at the end of the bed, she thought about what was going on outside. "What were these things? Where had they come from? Will we survive?"
She moved to the window and pulled back the curtain just enough to peek out into the street. It was dark and eerie and the moon cast shadows across the road. Over the rooftops on the horizon she could see the City skyscrapers, apartment blocks, offices… some lights were on, other buildings were burning and plumes of black smoke disappeared into the nights sky. A few houses down from where she stood, a small group of walkers devoured some sort of animal; a racoon? A fox? Number 84's pet Labrador? Without a pause, she dropped the curtain back into place and jumped into bed, placing her pistol on top of the family portrait she'd broken earlier. Pulling the duvet over her freshly washed skin, she stopped and smiled… this was her home, her family's home… and this could possibly be the last time she ever got to sleep in a cosy bed with fresh linen and clean hair. This comfort alone was enough to send her into a heavy nap.