The Next day
We drive through the city. It's filled with dead bodies and a line of cars stretching from the bridge to the suburbs. Everything we know and love is destroyed. We get out of the car and start walking through the long continuous rows of cars. They've all been abandoned in hopes of being saved. We finally get to the other side and see the FEMA camps just across the road. It looks empty, there's just a banner that says 'FEMA' and nothing else.
Dad goes through the doors first, then he sees the coast is clear and we follow him in. I see a row of dead bodies. They aren't even in the black bags, they're just laying there. I look at my mom, her hand is over her mouth and she's crying. There's bodies everywhere. Grandma was right, they weren't going to save us, they were going to kill us.
"Bastards" My dad says under his breath.
"They're all dead...And FEMA has left, typical"
"Let's just continue to look" I say. They agree and we look around for awhile, finding nothing.
I hear a loud scream. It must be the infected. We back up against a wall and cover ourselves in a tarp so they can't see us. But they figure out were here and it's an all out battle. I grab the pistol grandma gave to me. I'm not sure how to use it but I quickly get the hang of it. I've never seen my mother so strong, so willing to protect. She beats an infected with a wooden 2x4. She wipes off the sweat and grabs a steel pipe off of the ground. My dad shoots round into a group of infected that are chasing after us. When all seems lost, all seems hopeless. A man comes out of the clearing and unloads his magazine in the infected.
"Joel" Mom says.
"Tess" He replies. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We came to find you guys" Dad said, pulling Joel in for a hug.
"Hey, kiddo" Joel ruffles my hair.
"Hey, Joel. Thanks for saving out asses"
"Zoe...Language" Dad says, sighing.
"Relax, Tommy. It's the fucking apocalypse. The last thing she needs to worry about is cursing"
More screams fill the air behind us. "Let's get going" Joel says, heading towards the bridge.
We run back through the parked cars. Behind us, the infected jump over them, it's like they don't even notice the cars there. Dad helps me into the truck, then it's mom, dad and Joel. The infected jump on top of us. They're beating their fists against the truck, trying to break in.
"Tommy, let's get the fuck out of here!" Joel yells.
Before I'm able to get my seat belt on, dad takes off down the road. I fly Joel's lap and he laughs slightly.
"Hang on"
"I'll try" I said quietly.
"Where are we headed" He asked.
"To mom's" Dad replied.
"Jesus...I'm glad she's still alive"
"She's fine. There's a bunch of survivors there"
We finally get back to the house. Grandma is waiting. I can tell she's hoping we brought good news, luckily we did...But we didn't bring back the kids...or Clara. Joel gets out of the truck. He runs to her and she instantly wraps her arms around him, tears running down her cheeks.
"Joel" She says softly. "You're okay"
He smiles. "I'm glad you're alright"
"The kids?" She asks.
He shakes his head and she breaks down in his arms. She couldn't stop crying. Mom and I go inside and prepare a meal for dinner. There's nothing good to make, but we need to eat something. I grab a can of beans and crack it open with a knife.
"Hey" She says.
"Yeah?"
"You did good today, you kept your cool"
"It's who we are now" I say.