To Die Unknown

The door shut with a clang behind us. The sun was rising higher, basking the area in its glow. I scowled. It was well into the morning and I wasn’t sure we’d make it out of here without encountering anyone else.

Brian certainly wasn’t making the situation any easier by leaning his body heavily onto mine. I struggled to support his weight and move quickly. I knew I would have been much faster without him, but where would I be? Hopelessly searching for my sister without any leads. And as infuriating as he was, he was still my only chance.

I watched his eyes widen in surprise as he took in the still form of the twin on the cold ground. I was the one who avoided his eyes this time.

My fingers were clammy as I gripped tightly onto the gun. I felt naked without the weapons I was used to. The gun also felt feather light in comparison to the axe and bow I was used to wielding. Those weapons were heavy, and it had taken me a long enough time to use them with ease.

My arms were much stronger than what they used to be. Hell, I was overall much stronger than my former self. There was no one left to fight for my sister or I, so the responsibility fell to me. But, with the lack of food and overexertion, I was far too slim to be healthy.

I cursed when I stumbled, nearly letting Brian fall.

“Watch what you’re fucking doing.” Brian snarled in my ear. I narrowed my eyes, dragging him forward.

With everything that had happened as of late, I seemed to have incurred plenty of head injuries. It was miraculous that I hadn’t received a concussion. From being hit with baseball bats, to getting punched in the face, and earlier this morning, smashing my head against the cliff face– I seem to have hit the trifecta.

I almost laughed aloud at my own thoughts.

When I was younger, I was a wimp. I remember crying over the smallest injuries and being completely overwhelmed by the sight of blood.

”Uncle Robbie! You better not let go!” A little girl shouted, clenching her fingers nervously around the tasseled handlebars of her pink bike.

“I won’t, don’t worry. You’ll be fine,” The young man said, pushing the bike. He held on to the back of the seat, running along with his niece. “Are you ready?”

“For what?” She screamed her long pigtails flying behind her as her Uncle increased their speed. With a hard push, the pink tricycle rocketed forward, leaving her laughing Uncle in the dust.

“No!” She cried, struggling to steer the speeding bike.

“You’re doing it! You’re riding a bike!” Uncle Robbie shouted from quite a distance behind.

“I am!” The girl realized, throwing her hands up in excitement. She realized her mistake seconds too late. The bike toppled over, pulling the child with it. Her body rolled away from the bike, skidding against the hard gravel. Too stunned, she pushed herself up, nearly tripping over her own two feet.

“Hayley! Sweetheart, are you alright?” Her mother came rushing through the front door of their house. Hayley looked down, noticing the dirt down the front of her sweater. Her eyes widened as they skimmed lower than her shorts. Blood welled up from the scrape on her knee.

Her lower lip puckered and tears came to her eyes. She ran screaming and crying into the arms of her worried mother. Through teary eyes she turned to look back at her Uncle. He shook his head at her, laughing riotously.

I couldn’t help the laugh that slipped my lips at the memory. Times were much easier then. When my only worries were about riding bikes and avoiding boys with cooties.

“What’s so funny?” Brian asked, cursing when we stumbled again.

“Nothing.” I sighed, hating to return to the present.

My parents had become pregnant with me immediately after their honeymoon. My mother was twenty-nine and my father was thirty-three when I was born. My father’s brother, my Uncle Robert, was five years younger than his brother at twenty-seven. Six years after I was born, Victoria was born. When I was twelve and Victoria was six, my younger brother Nathaniel was brought into the world.

He left it so shortly after.

Nathaniel was a beautiful boy. He was small for his age. His hair was always cut short, never letting the dark curls grow. His eyes were wide with thick lashes. He was terribly sweet and-

And I couldn’t remember. The mental image of him was fading, slowly but surely. What were the color of his eyes? Blue? What did his voice sound like? Did he have a dimpled chin, or dimpled cheeks?

It had been so long since I’d thought about my parents or brother. I could barely picture them anymore. I could remember my mother’s long brown waves of hair. But I couldn’t remember how it was cut, or the exact shade. My father was loud. I could remember that. His voice was strong and carried, always catching the attention of others. I couldn’t imagine the pitch it was. I’d forgotten.

Would my mind keep enough of a grasp to remember that I had a family? Or would they be washed away with time? Would my father’s face be replaced with that of an individual infected? Or various ones through time?

Is it easier to forget? To just move on and deal with life as it is today? Most likely. Maybe it was the best option to live and let go.

Surviving each day was a difficult task in itself.

The minutes stretched on as we slowly and steadily moved further and further from the building we’d both been held captive in. The only sound was that of our breathing and the scuffing of our shoes.

“So, what’s your plan?” Brian asked, wrapping his arm tighter around my shoulder. I was silent for a moment, mulling it over. What was my plan? I couldn’t expect to continue walking aimlessly, towing him around with me. I had no idea where I was going, or even how to get out of this place. And did I think we would be able to continue walking once we left?

Certainly not with Sebastian, and other infected like him, running around.
We needed a vehicle more than ever now. The thought was strange. I had only ever been dependant on my own legs as a mode of transportation. Vehicles were unreliable. To think about how I was relying on a vehicle now, well, the thought was laughable.

“I’m not sure.” I answered, embarrassed by the fact. I was completely unprepared, and I hated it.

“You’re not sure?” He questioned, repeating each word slowly. “Well aren’t I lucky, getting stuck with the smart one of the bunch.”

“Oh, fuck you. I’m doing the best that I can. So, stop being such an asshole. I can easily leave you behind.” I whispered harshly, glaring at my feet as we moved forward.

“But, you won’t.” He remarked smugly. I could hear the smirk in his voice.

“You’re right, I won’t. I’m better than that.” He scoffed muttering something under his breath.

Maybe I should just leave him behind. I could live without his attitude. I sighed, irritated with Brian entirely. I still had no idea where we were going, wandering further and further along this strange place.

I was beginning to worry more as we found no exit. The sun was rising higher and higher, and I felt like the buildings were closing in on me. I could feel my panic increasing as we walked on.

“Did you hear that?” Brian whispered, his breath hot on my neck. I paused with him, my fingers tightening on the gun. I listened carefully, not hearing anything.

“Hear wh-“

My eyes widened as I cut myself off. The crazy residents seemed to emerge from the shadows of the small houses, surrounding us.

The priest stepped forward, the remaining twin acting as his shadow.

“Demons!” He cried, throwing his arms in our direction. “Only Satan’s children could have survived the forsaken! We need to put an end to this madness!”

“Seriously?” Brian laughed, shaking his head at the priest. The priest frowned at Brian, raising one hand to grip the cross around his neck.

The crowd of people surrounding us inched forward slowly, assuming that the priest was distracting us. I raised the gun in my hand, stepping away from Brian and towards the psychotic priest.

I shot the ground by his feet, hiding my smile when he jumped back.

“Where’s your truck?” I asked raising my voice. I was exhausted and wanted to get out of here.

“I don’t k-“

“Don’t give me that shit!” I yelled. “I will shoot each and every one of you sick fuck’s! Now, where is your truck? A car couldn’t have knocked over the SUV. It would’ve been a truck. Where is it?”

When no one said anything, I turned to the crowd, firing one shot blindly. I heard a cry and an elderly man fell forward blood gushing from his thigh. A woman gasped, stumbling forward. She nearly tripped over the long skirts of her dress as she collapsed beside the man. She pushed her hands against his thigh, hoping to stop the blood.

“Where is it?” I screamed. I was terrified and shocked at my own actions. But more than anything, I was desperate. I needed to get out of here.

“Go beyond that building, take a right. It will be there. The keys are in the ignition.” The crying woman yelled, shielding the elderly man’s body from my sight. She raised a shaky hand, pointing to a worn shack beyond the crowd. I tried to blink away the sight of crimson dripping from her hand.

“Arlene!” The priest shouted, fury overtaking his features. I turned my back to the priest handing Brian the gun. I felt suddenly weighed down by it. He wrapped his arm back around my shoulder, placing his weight back on me.

We walked forward, our pace a little faster than earlier. The crowd backed away from us as we approached, forming an exit.

“The Lord will have his way with you yet! Good always triumphs Evil! It is how it is written! We will tri-“ Brian jerked away from me, taking aim at the priest. The priest gasped raising his hands to cover his face.

“Bang.” Brian whispered. He laughed and turned away from the cowering man. He lowered the gun to his side and wrapped his arm back around my shoulders. The crowd remained silent and still as we walked beyond the worn shack and out of their sight.

A rusty two door pick up truck came in sight. There was a plow attached to the front of the truck. The pick up was parked in front of a chain link fence. Infected were pawing at the metal, fingers reaching through the gaps in the fence.

We had finally found our way out of this mayhem.

“Alright, let’s get out of here.” Brian said using the truck for support as we walked to the passenger door.

“Brian,” He paused raising his left eyebrow at me. His right eye was still swollen shut. I put my hands on my hips in frustration. “I can’t drive.”

“Really?” He laughed, shaking his head as he limped his way back to the side of the truck I was on. I felt my cheeks flush as I stomped my way to the passenger door. The truck door creaked as I slammed it shut.

“I don’t see where this fence opens up.” I observed, leaning forward in the leather seat. I squinted my eyes in either direction, searching for an exit gate. The engine roared to life as Brian turned the key in the ignition.

“Well, that just won’t do.” Brian said, putting his uninjured right foot on the gas. The pick up plowed through the chain link fence, knocking infected down with it.

“Shit!” I cried, my body slamming into the dashboard. “A little warning next time!”

“Safety first.” He laughed his body jerking against his seatbelt as we ran down infected after infected. The crunch of their bones snapping as the tires crushed them nearly made me gag.

I pulled myself back into the seat and snapped the seatbelt into place. Turning my head, I watched as the infected lumbered through the gap in the fence we’d created. Those people were all likely to die. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I certainly wasn’t beating myself up about it.

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“I wonder where we are.” I said, gazing out my window. We’d been driving for awhile and I was not familiar with the area.

“Hell.” Brian said. I looked questioningly at him. He pointed to a sign we were coming upon. Welcome To Hell was scrawled across the length of the green sign. It happened to block out the name of whichever city we were entering.

“At least humanity has yet to lose its sense of humor.” I acknowledged as we slowly drove on.