When the Sun Goes Down

Mama conversed with the few survivors within the small nursery. They passed along jokes and family stories, but I stayed behind, sitting in one of the children's chairs, cupping my head in my hand. A pulsing head ache had started to come over me, forcing the lights and small sounds to make it pound even more. I normally took pain well, but as of right now, whether it be stress or fear, I was falling apart. I was afraid for myself, knowing I was becoming vulnerable.

A soft scraping noise caught my attention and I looked up. Murphy stood above me, smiling warmly in my direction. He pulled a small chair up as well, setting it in front of me. He tried his best to get comfortable, but he couldn't seem to manage. He grunted as he pulled the chair back some, but he only managed to fall on his rear. I chuckled quietly before stating, "Can't seem to get comfortable, can you, Murphy?"

"These fuckin' chairs."He growled."I don't know how ya fit in them."

"I manage."My face softened as I took notice of the first aid kit in his hands."For me? You shouldn't have."

"Well, ya need to be live and well, aye?"He chuckled."Don't want ya fallin' apart on us."

He sat up on his knees and opened the small package, looking through it for a few moments. He pulled out a small baggie that held asprin, as well as neosporin and bandages. I groaned when he reached in for alcohol pads. He looked up, a devilish smirk making it's way across his lips.

"Wont hurt that bad."He scoffed.

"It'll hurt enough."I took the alcohol pads from his hands, tearing them open with ease.

I brushed back my hair, cringing slightly when it tugged around my small head wound. I felt around for a few seconds, trying to find exactly where it was. The whole area was tender and swollen, so finding the actual cut was like finding a needle in the hay stack.

"Here, I got it."Murphy took the alcohol soaked gaws from my fingers and pressed it gently to my scalp.

I growled lowly at the burn, but I knew it would be best in the long run. He dropped the bloody tissue to the side and reached in for more. He wiped at my temple, trailing it down to my eye, my cheek, my lips. He opened the small bottle of neosporin before applying just a dab to my bleeding cut. Within a few minutes, I was patched and cleared of dry, caked on blood. With a small smile, I said, "Thankyou, Murphy."

"Ain't done yet."He handed me the small package of asprin before reaching into his back pocket.

He handed over a warm water bottle and got to his feet. I chuckled lowly before spilling the pills into my mouth. With a swig of water, I was free of all medical treatment. I pushed the water in his direction, but he waved his hand in protest.

"Ya might get thirsty later."He smiled."Let's go meet our new friends."

Murphy stuck out his hand, pulling me to my feet with ease. I followed after him, watching as their faces brightened when we walked into the room. Mama, Connor, Noah and Romeo sat along the group, conversing happily with eachother. I was thankful to know that these people seemed nice. I was starting to question Sean after so long. I reached for my black duffle bag, which was to Mama's side, and released the zipper on top.

I reached in, pulling out my last magazine. As I released the empty one, I slipped the fully packed one into the butt of the gun. I dropped the empty clip into the bag, zippering it quickly. I looked up as one of the survivors mentioned, "I didn't know you were shoving an empty pistol in my face."

"Gotta be intimidatin' somehow, right?"I smiled.

"Ryan, this is Adrienne, my daughter. This is Murphy, Noah's boy."Mama smiled warmly."This is Sean, Ryan, Matilda and her daughter Abby."

"Nice to meet y'all."I smiled warmly.

Time slipped passed us as we spoke about old times, shared what little food we had and drinks. It seemed like years had gone by since I've last had a good laugh. These people seemed to be confident in surviving, but we couldn't trust them one hundred percent. We didn't know them and I wasn't going to take the chance. I took a few moments to study these people. To take in their features. Ryan was a larger man, who had a slight build to him.

A red cut off t - shirt hung loosely from his upper body as baggy jeans tried their best to stay on his hips. His blonde hair was buzzed down to a mere inch, but he spoted a fun personality. Sean, the gentleman who forced me to crash my car, had a College sweatshirt on, as well as cargo shorts. Sean gave off the straight A student impression. He was almost constantly pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. As for Matilda, she was a woman nearly Mama's age.

She was slightly chubby, but she had a warm heart. She hugged and kissed her daughter, trying her best to reassure her that everything would be okay. She wore a black dress, that hugged her curvy body nicely. Her long brown hair was begining to grey, but that could also be from the stress. Abby, her daughter, was a young girl, most likely around the age of thirteen. She was fairly shy, but after a few minutes of talking, she broke out of her shy shell.

She was wearing a purple tank top, which traveled over her jeans to her mid thigh. She must have a nervous tick, because every few seconds she would brush her hair behind her ear or shift to a different position. I was snapped from my thoughts when Murphy shoved an elbow into my side. I gave him an angry glare, but he pointed in Ryan's direction. With a low chuckle, he asked, "What did you do before this place went to shit?"

"I was a Detective."I sighed."I was actually workin' on a case that -"

I stopped, unsure on whether or not I should give out this information. I didn't want these people to think that I had something to do with the outbreak.

"What were you saying?"He asked.

"There was a case based off of this outbreak."I said softly."I guess we didn't find the people responsible in time."

"Not like you could have found them."Sean scoffed."It's definitely a government project. I bet they picked people off the streets and did experiments on them. One of them probably got out."

Sean crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

"I think,"Ryan began."that someone was bitten by an animal carrying a new disease. Kind of like rabies, you know? It escalated to the point where they were unstoppable."

"That's crazy."Sean argued."That can't happen."

"Actually,"Connor began."Adrienne's station had a good lead on what it was. Right Adrienne?"

I seemed to have shrunk in my seat slightly. I didn't want to go into a full explanation about the disease crawling throughout our streets. It was too late to stop it now anyway, so what was the point?

"They thought it was voodoo."I sighed quietly.

"Voodoo?"Sean snorted.

"Yes, voodoo."I spat."It started in Louisiana."

"There you go. Crazy hill billies starting shit they can't finish."Sean's statement sent me into a fury.

"We ain't hill billies you ignorant son of a bitch!"I shouted.

Sean scrunched back into his seat, raising his hands in fear.

"I didn't mean you."He frowned."I just meant the real crazy people down there."

"You have your crazies in every state, asshole."I spat.

"Adrienne, it's okay."Mama placed a hand on my thigh, but it only kept my blood boiling.

"What happened here?"Romeo was polite enough to change the subject."The news said this was a safe place for the uninfected."

Matilda scoffed, sending all eyes in her direction. She had yet to say a word, but she obviously had an opinion on this subject.

"Oakland went down the next day. It wasn't long before the wrong type of people got in."She stroked Abby's arm softly."Oakland was never safe in the first place."

"I know one thing fer sure."Noah chimed in."We need a new plan. A place where we wont be followed by infected."

"Cities are a no go."Romeo frowned.

"How 'bout a wooded area?"Murphy suggested."That's got to be worth somethin', right?"

"Aye."Connor agreed."No people around there."

"Where would it be, though?"Abby spoke up."There's woods everywhere. Wont they find us?"

"Don't worry sweetheart."I smiled warmly."We can head down south -"

"But you just said that's where the disease started."Ryan retorted."Why would we go back down south?"

"Because the south is now empty of fresh food. The diseased will travel north in search of more food."I said sternly."So, if you want a secluded area, we should start in Virginia. If it's bad there, we'll move on."

"I like yer thinkin'."Connor complimented.

"It's worth a shot."I shrugged my shoulders, hoping that my idea would go into affect.

"We should leave,"Connor went to stand, but Matilda stopped him.

"No!"She cried."They come out at night."

"Like vampires?"Romeo smiled.

"No, Romeo."I glared."She means they're more active at night."

"What do we call these things?"Romeo asked."I mean, I've heard infected, diseased. What the hell are these bastards called?"

"Zombies?"Sean shrugged."That's what they seem like to me."

"That's exactly what they are."Ryan said.

I shivered at the expression. I wanted to think that these people still had a spark of humanity in them. They turned out just like the movies had portrayed them - decaying, rotting and stiffening bodies. Empty shells with a hungry stomach. I rubbed down my arms, letting a sigh escape my lips. As much as I wanted to fight the urge to call them human, I knew for a fact that they were indeed, zombies.