Author's Note: Thank you so much to my reviewers, as well as my newest favoriters/followers. It's nice to pick up where we left off :) Enjoy!

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Refugee

Chapter Seventeen

As soon as we pulled into Katie's gravel driveway, it didn't take either of us long to realize that something was wrong. Katie's car was parked crookedly in the driveway, only inches from her house as if she had tried to get as closely to the front door as possible, and both of the front doors of the car had been left open.

Before we got out, I looked around the neighborhood as far as I could see. It looked as though it had been abandoned. Most of the driveways were empty and it was eerily quiet. I listened to the sound of a sharp breeze howling through the tall tree tops surrounding the neighborhood. I began to feel very uneasy. This is like one a them scenes from a scary movie.

"Stay in the truck. I'll check around the place."

"I don't want to stay here by myself." She had the same uneasy feeling written all over her face.

"Just lock the doors when I get out. I'll be back in a couple minutes."

She nervously bit her lip and nodded her head. I rubbed her knuckle with the pad of my thumb for only a second before I got out and shut the door behind me. I heard them lock immediately.

I scanned the yard and the immediate surrounding area quickly as made my way towards Katie's car. I glanced inside, checking for any sign of perhaps a struggle or an accident but saw nothing. I did notice two phones in the cup-holder. Upon further inspection, I noticed the keys had been left in the car. I turned it in the ignition and heard a loud sputter. Battery's dead. This thing was runnin' fer a while.

If I didn't feel nervous before, I certainly did now.

I made my way to the front porch, up the steps and to the front door. I turned the handle to find the door unlocked. Hesitantly, I went inside.

I looked around at the tidy living room and kitchen. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and I began to wonder if maybe they were havin' a little fun in the backyard and had forgotten about the car being on. It didn't exactly make sense in my head, but maybe that's what happened.

Suddenly, I heard a moan coming from the back of the house. I made my way there, checking all of the rooms along the way, only to find them empty. Lastly, I came up to the only door I hadn't checked. Unlike all the rest, the door was open. I could hear a very unpleasant, indescribable noise coming from inside. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. "K-Katie? Jimmy?" My voice cracked as I stepped inside.

I was soon greeted by my dead best friend and a total stranger tearing Katie apart, viciously devouring her insides. "Oh, fuck." I clasped my hand over my mouth and slowly backed myself into the hallway. But not before I was spotted. The two zombies let out a horrifying growl and leapt to their feet. By that time, I was already halfway out the house, running as fast as my legs would carry me.

I hit the front porch and screamed to high heaven for Molly to unlock the truck. She looked startled from what I could see through the windshield. By the time I got to the car, the door was unlocked and I jumped in as quickly as I could, just as the dead jolted down the stairs behind me.

"Go! Molly, fuckin' go!" She took one quick look at two dead men chasing after me and I pushed her shoulder. "I said fuckin' go or we're gonna be dinner!"

Thankfully, she did as she was told and backed out of the driveway, quick as a Nascar driver and we sped on down the road.

My heart was racing as I watched the men in the rear-view, still running after us. I exhaled loudly and looked over at Molly, who was looking absolutely terrified.

"Was that Jimmy?" She breathed heavily.

I nodded my head and buried my face in the sweating palms of my hands. I fought like hell to keep myself from getting' upset in front of a woman, but I didn't fight hard enough. Before I knew it I was sobbing into my hands. My best friend-best friend since elementary school-was dead. Dead and gone and turned into some fuckin' monster that he never deserved to be. I never even got to say "goodbye".

I let myself mourn for only a brief moment and Molly put her small hand on my shoulder for comfort. She didn't say a word until a couple minutes later, after I had pulled myself together and wiped my eyes with the sleeves of my jacket.

"Did you see Katie in there?" She asked as if she already knew the answer.

"Yeah." I sniffled.

She nodded her head once and fought back tears of her own as I dialed Merle's number into my phone.

.::.

I shifted my tired and heavy blue eyes at the clock on the wall. 11:29pm.

I had been lying on Molly's couch watching some late night talk shows for the past two hours. Molly had gone to bed a little over an hour ago, and Merle was snoring heavily next to me. Molly had invited him over after I told him the news of Jimmy's death. At first he fought it, but she got on the phone with him herself and begged for him to stay the night. She said she would feel better if the three of us were together and she knew everyone was safe. I guess I couldn't really blame her.

This just ain't my fuckin' day. I muttered mentally as I shut off the television and closed my eyes. After a few minutes, I was unable to push the images of my best friend's reanimated corpse eatin' on Katie like she was a piece a beef jerkey out of my head. I rubbed my eyes in frustration. All I wanted to do was fall asleep just like everyone else. I wanted to forget this awful fuckin' day had ever happened and I wanted to move on with the rest of my anticipatedly fucked up life.

I counted sheep. Got to 34 before I said fuck it and tried thinkin' a something else. Like that king-sized bed with the big, heavy comforter at a hotel I stayed at with Merle and Jimmy in Marietta a year or two back. Comfiest damn thing I ever slept on. However, that didn't work either.

After weighing a few more options, I finally decided to just go get a glass of water from the kitchen. I could really go for a fuckin' smoke right now but ain't no way in hell I'm going outside. Safer in here.

I eagerly gulped down the cool, refreshing liquid and wiped a spill from the corners of my mouth. I glanced over at the kitchen table at the dead flowers in a colorful vase. I thought of Molly and wondered why she was holdin' on to a dead bouquet, and then I realized that they had probably been from her husband. She never liked to talk about him, and I didn't see no point in bringin' him up.

I felt a strong and sudden urge to be next to her. We had both had a rough life from what I figured, and we were sure as hell in for a rough future.

My mind began to wander. Where to, I ain't sure in the slightest. But after a moment or two I set my cup in the sink and found myself making my way down the hall to her bedroom.

She had left the door halfway open, and there wasn't hardly enough light to see but a few feet in front of me. I could make out her bed frame from the glow of the moon outside of her window, and I soon eased myself into bed next to her. I was surprised to find that she didn't notice, and I listened to the faint hum of a quiet snore. I had to stifle a chuckle.

I eagerly inhaled her scent on the pillowcase and closed my eyes, drifting off to another world. A better one.