Two years later…
James studied the tracks the thief had left: short,
widely-spaced prints pressed deep into the damp earth; he was getting closer.
Reaching down to his side, he unbuttoned his sheath, preparing himself for what
lurked around the corner. With a nod towards Nicole, she broke off and started
around the other side of the building. As he waited for her to get into
position, his eyes fell on a separate set of prints. These were different; deep
toe-to-heel impressions. This person was running. The thief had a partner.
Before James could warn Nicole, a bright beam of light
flooded the dark parking lot. His hand shot up to his face to shield his eyes
and he felt the blow before he ever saw the man coming. He heard his knife
scrape across the pavement as he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
It was hard to believe it had been two years since things
fell apart, it seemed more like a lifetime ago. Two years ago, he’d been
nothing more than a military consultant, working part time in order to spend
the rest of his day doing what he loved most: hunting. One thing he was
grateful for, his time in the service had prepared him for combat. And it was
these skills that aided his continued survival against a new type of enemy.
Wrapping his legs around the man’s trunk, he rolled him to
his back and delivered a string of solid strikes to his face. The man groaned.
The hard bone of his jaw snapped. James continued pummeling the man beneath him
until the sound of a weapon cocking paused his fist mid-air. “Get off ‘em,” a
deep, raspy voice spoke just over his shoulder.
At first, he hesitated. He was fast. Faster than most. He
measured odds on him being able to draw and fire his sidearm before the other
man got a shot off. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Don’t. It’s not your fault. Everything is gonna be ok.”
“HUSH!” the man growled and tugged Nicole harder against his
chest. “Or else you’ll get to see what a hollow point bullet does to flesh up
close and personal. Toss your weapons.” James threw his gun into the grass.
“That it?” James lifted his shirt and did a quick spin to show the man he was
no longer armed. “Good. You alright there, Charlie?”
“I’m fine, Rick.”
“Then get your ass up and grab his gun.” Charlie grunted as
he rolled, his bloodied nose dripped like a faucet onto his shirt as he moved.
James held Nicole’s gaze and gestured with his head.
Following his signal, she dove forward. In one swift motion, James dropped hard
to the ground, freed the backup from his ankle holster and fired. The round hit
Nicole’s captor in his right eye. Nicole didn’t have time to second guess as
she collected Rick’s gun and took aim at Charlie. “Wait, please,” he begged.
Nicole shot, aiming for center mass and Charlie fell dead at James’ feet.
“We need to leave,” James said, recognizing the urgency of
their situation. “My backup didn’t have a silencer and…” Before he could finish
his thought, the sound of a roaming horde could be heard near the rear of the
building.
“What about our stuff?” Nicole asked.
“We’ll come back later. Besides, we don’t know what to
expect inside. There could be a whole group of men in there.” Grabbing Nicole
by the wrist, James tugged her forward. “Let’s move.” Kneeling to collect his
dropped weapon, the two hurried back toward the direction they came to rejoin
the others.
The glowing sun rose on the horizon, sending streams of
gold, orange and pink along the skyline. Katrina sat with her legs hugged
against her chest on the passenger’s seat, waiting for signs of James or
Nicole. “Did you hear that?” Josh asked, sitting straighter in his seat.
Katrina turned down the radio and Sophia leaned in from the back and listened
closely.
Shaking their heads no, both girls waited again to see if
they could hear what had caught Josh’s attention. Sophia’s mind raced over all
the horrifying things she’d seen and done over the last twenty-four hours. Everything
had changed in the blink of an eye and the world was no longer the same place.
Fathers turned on sons. Friends killed over bottled water and all while
fighting and running from a very real and very deadly threat.
For a moment, she allowed herself to admire the sunrise,
taking in the mix of colors hoping it wouldn’t be the last one she ever laid
eyes on. It was breathtaking, even more in the winter setting with fresh
snowfall. She closed her eyes a moment as she felt the first ray of sunlight
touch her face and almost felt at peace. “There it is again,” Josh said,
interrupting Sophia’s period of serenity. The deserted highway stretched in
both directions. The part of the road that wasn’t clogged by abandoned and
wrecked vehicles was littered with the rotting dead.
“I don’t hear anything,” Sophia replied.
“Me either,” Katrina added, again listening with great
concentration. “Maybe you’re hearing things.
“No, something’s out there.”
“Maybe it’s James and Nicole?” Katrina said, noticing how
tense her cousin had become.
“I don’t think it was. It sounded different.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t just the wind? It seems really quiet
out there,” Sophia responded, looking out her window in anticipation.
“I know what I heard,” Josh huffed and sat back in his seat.
“Where are they anyway? They should have been back by now.”
Katrina noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and,
for a moment, her breathing stopped as she hoped it was not more of them.
Slowly, she turned her gaze out the passenger window and sighed with relief to
see Nicole enter the clearing followed closely by James. “There they are,” she
said. But the moment was shattered when she noticed the large group of undead
looming just behind them.
Rolling down her window, she frantically waved her arms at
her approaching friends, trying to get their attention as quietly as possible.
But their sights were set on something else just out of Katrina’s view. Opening
her door, she started to run toward them when Josh called out to her.
What!!! You can't end there. How are you going to start with just throwing everyone into the deep end?!?!?! You were supposed to ease us back into things DJ. LOL
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