Chapter 8:

Aftermath and Break In's

Jamie sat in the bathroom crying, it had been 3 hours since Duane's mom had died. She remembered how scared she was when they got shunted out of the room where she was, his Mom was a walker and she had been killed. Jamie wasn't stupid… Mom said Morgan killed her but the blood on her hands said otherwise… She was sick of being treated like a child, she was 13 years old she wasn't dumb.

She had been so scared when Duane was shouting and banging on the door, she had eventually convinced to stop by holding his arms down… He was way stronger than her but she managed to calm him down. That is until he heard the wails of his father then he banged even louder, only when her Mom stepped out and told him the news did he stop yelling… Morgan and Duane had been in the upper bedroom next to Duane's Mom since… Jamie had held back tears but let them flow freely now she was by herself.

The reason was this made her realise that so many people where dead. Kassi was dead, Duane's Mom was dead and all the teachers were dead… Her Dad was dead… She had held it in since the beginning but now was her time, Mom and Billy were asleep in the other room and Jamie needed this time to herself.

She remembered before the beginning how she saw the world. She thought you could be anything you wanted to be and that everybody was nice underneath… She remembered how she thought Mickey Harris was the cutest boy in school, how she would always be friends with her BFF Tanya and become an actress and get a boyfriend and marry him… Have kids… Live a full life.

That wasn't an option anymore… She had realised this when she saw her own mother walk out of that bedroom, coated in blood and lying to her face. That was the moment when she realised that the old world was gone, that the world she wanted to grow up in was destroyed and she had to fight for the rest of her life, a heavy burden on a 13 year old girl.

That was why she was crying, however she knew she couldn't hide in the bathroom until morning, she wiped away the remaining rogue tears and walked outside, Mom and Billy were still asleep next to each other, both looking very serene. She slipped past them into the kitchen. She wanted some water to wet her scratchy throat after a day of running and screaming.

10 minutes later she sat on the couch in the front room with the water in hand. It had been several days since the 'apocalypse' had begun, since then she considered herself stronger from her few experiences, she thought she could handle anything… that was until she saw Kassi's brains being spread across the road, she had nearly puked then and there but had kept it down, she was proud of herself for doing so. She had learned at her Youth Drama Group how to act neutral and empty in order to build a character from scratch, it had come in handy whenever she had wanted to run, scream, cry or even just give up… She would just convert to neutral and build herself again from the ground up, except she would paint herself as a stronger person, one who could protect her little brother from the evils of this new world.

Jamie saw the light push from behind the covered windows… pushing her luck she sneaked a peek behind the drapes and saw the sun rise, the street outside was deserted… the walkers had moved on to look for their next meal.

Stepping back Jamie felt the price of a night without sleep push itself on her, her eyelids felt heavy as she looked around her… She was trapped, trapped in the world she didn't want to live in. But she looked back into the lounge room and saw her mother and little brother sleeping there, she knew that she would never leave them alone in this world.

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Morgan rose earlier than he intended, he felt the weight of his son beside him and realised that they had both fallen asleep grieving the night before. He felt the pang of hunger as he realised they had not eaten in at least 12 hours and realised neither had his son, Duane had been hysterical after he heard his mother died. Morgan had told Hannah to say that he killed her, he wanted Duane to think that he was strong enough to care for him and he didn't want the kid hating her for killing his mother if they were gonna be stuck together.

Morgan left the room next to his wife's tomb; his heart froze and clenched when he looked on the door, knowing what lay on the other side.

He had waited for Duane to fall asleep before he broke down, he felt better after a night of crying silently and letting the weight of the situation bear down upon him, he had always joked to his workmates about how emotional Jenny got sometimes… How she would be hysterical during pregnancy for one day then the next be the happiest person alive, now he realised how much can change in a day.

He walked down the stairs quietly, determined not to wake up Hannah or her family but as he hit the bottom step he saw the young girl Jamie was already awake.

"Hi." He whispered quietly, he saw the small girl jump and turn at the sound of his voice, she smiled and waved and moved into the kitchen after him, she looked timid and didn't look at him straight in the face.

"It's okay." He said, he saw the girl look at him and noticed a change in her demeanour, he saw the emotion leave her momentarily and saw he exterior toughen.

"I'm not afraid. I just wanted to say sorry for what happened to your wife." She said in a voice different from the one he heard yesterday, this one was tougher and more mature. Morgan knew the girl was trying to put on a brave face.

"Thanks… Rather not talk about it you know…" he mumbled as he felt that feeling nestle in his throat. He knew he could control it but he needed to be thinking about other things for a while, Jamie looked in the pantry whilst Morgan got himself some water.

"Sure… What's the plan for today then?" she asked and Morgan felt the thought intrude again… What to do with Jenny's body? He couldn't even bring himself to walk near the door to the room which held his wife let alone how to get her out.

"Um… I don't know, I'm waiting for your Mom to get up then we will talk." He said and he saw the young girl shrug and walk back into the room where she was greeted by a kind voice.

"Hey sweetie." Morgan heard Hannah's voice greet her daughter from the kitchen. He exhaled and walked in after Jamie, he saw Hannah look at him nervously and Morgan knew she was fearful that Morgan would hate her.

"Morning." She said quietly as she got up, next to her Billy had just started waking up rubbing his dreary eyes.

"Whassa' goin' on?" he asked in a long slur, his mother hugged him and motioned to Morgan to go in the kitchen, he did so and she followed leaving her kids in the other room.

There were a few tense moments when neither of them spoke, this being the first eye contact they had had since she killed his wife.

"Are you ok?" she asked tentatively, she looked mighty nervous.

"I don't know…" Morgan said as he sat on a chair nearby, he really didn't know though that was the thing. He felt empty yet full of emotions at the same time.

Another few moments as Hannah sat in a chair opposite him.

"I really don't know Hannah… I mean I had always hoped that she didn't get bitten badly… That the infection didn't spread or that there was a cure somewhere. I really thought she could be brought back, but when you stood next to her holding a gun and she was still reaching for you… That's when I knew… That's when I knew that Jenny was dead and the only thing left behind was her body." He spoke harshly through tears, he could feel himself breaking down badly and all he could think about was his son… His son would have to grow up without a mother. Hannah leant over and put her hand on his.

"I'm so sorry Morgan but you had to… I have seen people with limbs missing because of the things that your wife became. Now you need to stay strong Morgan. You are your son's rock. If you break then he will break and you can't let that happen to him… Not now…" she said tightened her squeeze. Morgan collected himself and looked at Hannah once more, a tear rolled down her cheek and detached from her face. Morgan realised this was hard for her too… Mere days ago she would have been the average Mom, worrying about paying for groceries, what to do at work or what Billy's report card said. Now she had been forced to kill what were people and stab a friends' wife in the eye. This was just as tough for her as it was for him.

Morgan withdrew his hand from under hers and looked towards the stairs; he knew he had to talk about what was going to happen next.

"What are we gonna do about Jenny's body?" he asked Hannah, he saw the woman shrug and look at the stairs with the same fear as Morgan felt.

"I don't know Morgan… I don't know if I can just take a body and throw it in the trash or even bury it… Plus I don't want Jamie or Billy to see…"

"I don't want Duane to see either. I don't want his last memories of his mother to be filled with blood and decaying skin." He felt the bile creep up his throat as he used the harsh language but he swallowed it down. He needed to stay strong like Hannah said.

"We can't leave her there though… Pretty soon the smell is gonna be unbearable." She said and Morgan knew she was right, one way or another if they wanted to stay here Jenny would have to come down. Unless…

"What if we moved to another house?" he asked and he saw Hannah's eyes squint, he knew she didn't like the idea of moving away from a place that was safe enough.

"I don't know Morgan… We just got here and I don't wanna go back out there." She said tentatively and she looked into the room where her children were, Morgan looked to see Jamie and Billy playing red hands or something like that, he didn't want Duane exposed too but he couldn't live in a house with his wife's decaying corpse.

"Hannah we gotta move… For your kids and mine." He said and he saw Hannah's expression soften, he needed to remind her he was just as reluctant as she was but they needed to do it. Suddenly her face lit up.

"Fred and Cindy Drake's house." She said suddenly and Morgan did a double take, she had jumped on that pretty quickly.

"You sure?" he asked and she nodded.

"Yeah. I went there last year for Cindy's birthday party and I remember Cindy saying that they had a load of locks put on the front and back doors after a robber broke into next door. They also had a good basement as well; I saw it when I took Jamie and Billy home because all the kids were having their own party in the basement. It's real close too, it is in the street once over from here, we can get to it by going over the yard fence since the houses back onto each other." She said and Morgan felt his insides brighten up, this place sounded safe and secure, if it was abandoned then it sounded like it was the place for them so settle.

"Ok. Let's do it. Put whatever we need in bags. We need food, water, clothes and whatever counts as a weapon. You can take some of Jenny's clothes they are in the laundry." He said and he saw Hannah nod then walk over to her two children and begin talking, Morgan started up the stairs towards where Duane was and he found the kid still fast asleep in bed.

Morgan knelt next to Duane lightly and gently began shaking him. He saw his son's eyelids flutter as he began to stir.

"Mom…" he said in a groggy voice and Morgan's heart stopped dead as his brain went into panic mode.

Please don't tell me he thought it was all a dream…

"Son…" he began but he saw it in his eyes when he looked at Dad. That little glimmer of hope fading away into nothingness as he saw his dead and realised it wasn't a dream.

"Dad…" he said quietly and he saw his son begin to cry, he hugged him and let the minutes pass until his son stopped, he broke the hug and wiped his eyes before sitting up. Morgan decided to tell him quick.

"Son we are moving to another house. Hannah knows this great house nearby that better than this one. We are going there today so I need you to get your things together okay?" he asked his son and he saw the boy was still shaken but he nodded, Duane moved around the room with his backpack slinging in random items of clothing and books. Morgan gathered his own things and in 5 minutes they were ready.

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Downstairs Hannah, Jamie and Billy were ready. All looking a bit scared and all had their back packs holstered.

"We good?" Morgan asked and Hannah nodded.

"Yeah, between us we have the weapons, whatever food we had and all the bottled water." She said and Morgan nodded, he looked through the kitchen at the back door. It was a relatively short journey but so much could go wrong…

"Okay then let's go." Morgan said reluctantly, he took his revolver out of his pocket and readied it and he saw Hannah do the same next to him, pistol in hand. He nodded to Duane who held the shovel he often carried aloft and next to him he saw Jamie awkwardly holding the axe Hannah bought with her as Billy stood behind her.

"Okay this is how we do it," Morgan said putting on his best commander voice, "I will go in front and make sure nothing is ahead whilst we climb and Hannah will cover the back to make sure nothing creeps up on us. Duane, Jamie and Billy will stay near the fence until I give you the all clear to come over. When we do that me and Hannah will check inside whilst you kids keep an eye outside, you see anything and you just holler and we will be there in a flash okay? From there we decided what to do next." he said firmly, everyone nodded and Morgan turned to face the back door tightening the grip on his gun.

"Hannah which house number is Fred and Cindy's?" he asked.

"12a, if I am right this is number 14 yes?" she asked and Morgan nodded, impressed she remembered the small details.

"Okay then, that means that we have to go through the house on the other side of the back fence and go across the street into Cindy's house… They had a path up the side in case we need to hide." She said and Morgan was definitely impressed, this woman knew what she was doing.

"Ok then. Let's go, best to get it over with in my opinion." He said and opened the back door quietly, the yard was clear… He jogged across with the kids close behind. He waited by the fence as Hannah caught up holding the gun aloft facing behind them.

"Okay, wait here." Morgan said as he jumped over, as he did he glanced over the yard to find nothing there, an empty yard.

"Come on over." He whispered and he heard shuffling before he saw his son land on the ground next to him, Jamie followed close behind and Morgan helped Billy down from the relatively high fence, as he did so Hannah clambered over and looked at the house.

"Okay stay close, we are gonna go into that house and wait until we have a clear way across to the Drake's house." She said and everyone nodded again, Morgan felt the back door and found it worryingly easy to pry open. Inside he saw a mess, furniture flung in all directions, broken items, clothes scattered and a plasma screen TV smashed over the kitchen floor. Clearly something had torn through here.

Morgan looked at Hannah and nodded, he walked slowly inside looking around, it seemed like no-one was home, maybe they had struck lucky and this was empty enough to wait in until the walkers cleared and they could get to the Drake's.

Just as he thought this he heard a thud from the room next to him, the door was partially open and he looked at Hannah who nodded. He then looked at Jamie and motioned for the axe who handed it over as Morgan tucked the gun in his waistband. He pushed the door open with the axe and nearly gagged at the sight before him, there was a body of a rather fat man on the ground with an elderly female walker elbow deep in his entrails; drawing on instinct Morgan shut the door behind him to block the kids view. The noise of the door shutting got the woman attention that made a beeline for him; she stumbled clumsily as Morgan raised the axe and brought it down over her head with great force.

The skull split and the walker died instantly, Morgan withdrew the axe and exited the room cautiously, careful not to leave the door wide enough for the kids to see the awful sight. As he closed the door he saw Hannah standing by the front window looking out onto the street.

"Bad news Morgan." She delivered the grave news in a sombre tone.

"What?" Morgan asked fearfully moving besides her looking onto the street.

"There are three on this street and they are just sauntering, they don't seem to be moving anywhere." She groaned as Morgan looked and saw what she meant, there was a man and two women sauntering out front, they looked rather serene and not content on moving anywhere, they were just standing in the middle of the road, directly between the house they were in and the house they needed to be in.

"Fuck…" Morgan grunted and looked back at the kids, they had noticed what Morgan had noticed before and were looking sick of it. The smell coming from the corpses of the man and the woman in the other room were pushing into the room they were in. But until those walkers moved they were stuck, two wouldn't have been a problem, one for him and one for Hannah. But three meant that one could easily catch on of them out whilst they were busy with one of the other two. Morgan didn't want Duane, Jamie or Billy in danger and guns were too risky at this point.

"Let the waiting game begin then I suppose." He said reluctantly and sat down on the sofa near what remained of the TV.

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Ed was driving… Again.

This always made Paula nervous. True he has only been at the wheel once or twice but his driving was lousy and he sometimes swerved to try and hit walkers, though he was driving near enough to sensibly whilst under Shane's watchful eye.

Paula was bursting with excitement and fear at the same time. She had felt nothing but guilt ever since she had left her family in King County, she had seen Tom and Freya near the hospital and had told them to find Shane and Lori who they were with whilst she was with Carl who had gotten separated. Paula had found Shane and Lori as the attacks had begun; she hadn't seen Tom or Freya since because Shane had forced her into the car when the walkers were too many.

They were passing Mortimer Square; Paula did her shopping there sometimes. It was a hot spot for teenagers though so Paula didn't walk through there during the nights just in case several were 'short of change'. Paula turned to Lori who was looking out of the window with that same worried look she wore when she was thinking deep.

"Something wrong hun'?" Paula asked and Lori broke from her trance looking at Paula.

"Nothin' much… Just looking around and seeing this place destroyed you know?" she said and Paula silently agreed, they had seen walkers on the way in and were taking backstreets from now on to avoid possibly attracting walkers.

"Don't worry Lori. Things have gotta pick up some time." She said hopefully, she recognised a street and realised they were minutes from her house.

"You ready?" Shane asked from the front, Paula didn't quite know what he meant.

"Ready for what?" she asked and she saw the darkened expression on Shane's face.

"Come on, you know… Will you be able to take it if we find Tom or Freya and they've been bit?" he asked and Paula inside exploded with rage. How dare he…

"I don't want to think like that. That kind of thinking has no place here Shane." She said firmly biting her tongue to stop herself from shouting at him, she looked to her side to see Carl and Sophia sitting next to each other awkwardly, Carl had gotten a real telling off from Shane and as far as Paula knew Sophia had gotten one off Carol, they hadn't spoken in the 2 hours since they had left the motel and Paula was scared that Shane had been too hard on him. True he did a stupid thing but they were all kids once and Paula had heard about Shane's high school history, stupid things seemed to be his forte.

Paula was brought out of the daydream by two loud thuds and the RV rocking. Next to her Sophia screamed and clutched onto Carol who was shocked herself. Shane decided to shout again.

"Ed! Come on man what the hell?!" he yelled, Paula turned to see the fat man chuckle.

"You need to calm down man. It was only fucking two walkers… didn't even put a dent in us." He remarked and Paula saw Shane bite his tongue and grip on the shotgun in his lap a little bit tighter as the RV turned across another two streets.

"Fucking idiot…" he mumbled and she saw Ed start to retaliate before she realised where they were.

"Stop!" she said and Ed piled on the brakes, the whole RV shuddered as gravity threw them forward as it came to a stop. Everyone looked at Paula before Lori looked behind Paula out the window.

"It's your house." She said simply and Paula smiled and started moving towards the door but Shane stopped her.

"Maybe I should go first…" he said firmly but Paula was having none of it, she grabbed the pistol from Lori's lap beside her and held on tight.

"No… It's my house and I am going first." She said firmly before pushing her way past and out the RV door. She moved towards her house but froze when she saw that the front door was wide open, she held the gun tighter as she saw Lori and Shane step into her peripheral.

"We're with you honey." Lori said and Paula focused on the feeling of seeing her husband and daughter again before walking up to her wide open house.

Kind of a long chapter I know but I wanted to make sure it didn't just grow stale. A big thank you to SilverSun09 for their support and for my many readers. Thank you so much :-)