When the Sun Goes Down

I leaned back into the sand, watching as Mama, Abby, Connor, Murphy, Sean and Noah grew comfortable around the river. We had been going on three, peaceful weeks within South Carolina. It put me slightly more at ease, knowing we had been so lucky. The group hadn't paniced at the sound of a cracking leaf in a long time. We were still on alert, but not as high as it used to be. I let out a quiet sigh as Mama nudged me slightly in the ribs.

I looked over at her and followed her gaze toward Sean. Connor walked casually behind him, watching intently as he dipped his bare feet into the river. He seemed to be debating getting in or not. Yet what he didn't know, was that Connor would make up his mind for him. Sean let out a yelp of fear as Connor took him by the shoulders and pushed him into the water. He quickly resurfaced and glared angrily at up Connor. We all let out loud laughter.

Connor rose his hands in defense and said, "Ya looked like ya were havin' trouble decidin'!"

"It's so cold!"I chuckled quietly before leaning back once again.

The sand beside me sunk down and forced me to look over. Murphy sat beside me, his legs sprawled out and leaning back on his elbows. I caught a glimpse of the tattoo and on his back once again and I had to ask where it had come from. He gave me a warm smile as I asked, "Where'd you get that tattoo from, Murphy? You and Connor have a lot of religious tattoos."

"Aye."He grinned."Just a big believer in God is all."

I nodded my head slightly and watched as Abby snuck up behind Connor. I held back a giggle as she tried to push him in, but to no avail. She let out a squeal as Connor turned around and picked her up from under her arms. He threw her into the river and let out a loud cackle. I chuckled lightly and said, "Connor is gonna get his real soon."

"Who's gonna do it?"I looked over at Murphy and watched his smile grow.

"Who do you think?"We slowly got to our feet and I motioned for Mama to watch.

Murphy tapped Noah lightly on the shoulder as we passed him and mouthed for him to sneak a peek. Murphy and I each stepped up behind Connor and without a single word, pushed him into the freezing water. I laughed loudly as he went under and high fived Murphy for the help. When he resurfaced, he quickly brushed the water from his eyes.

"That's cheatin'!"He shouted.

"Ya cheat all the time!"Murphy yelled.

"I do no such thing!"Connor replied.

I brushed my clean hair from my eyes and gave Murphy a conniving smile. He seemed to grow confused, but only smiled back. He knew something was up, because he wouldn't let his eyes fall from me. When he finally turned away, however, I ran full tilt at him. I wrapped my arms around his chest and kicked off the ground, sending him and I into the water. He pulled me into him tightly as we fell in, the cold rush flowing up our noses and through our clothes.

He resurfaced and I quickly pulled away from him. The water came up to my lower chest as I started to walk out. Mama rose her hand and I quickly high fived her. I looked back as Connor and Murphy started their walk from the cold water. I rested my hands on my hips and said, "You know boys. There's two certain individuals here that haven't been in the water yet."

"Adrienne!"Mama shouted."Don't you dare!"

"Aye, but will they go in is the question!"Noah laughed.

"Oh, they're goin' in."Mama let out a loud chuckle as Connor and Murphy pulled her to her feet.

She didn't put up the best of fights, so Mama was pushed into the river in no time. Noah, however, didn't go in as well. Connor and Murphy each pulled on his arms, trying their damnest to get him in. As his feet brushed against the water, I gave him a hard shove in the back. Connor, Murphy and Noah all fell in, laughing when they resurfaced. I placed my hands on my knees and continued to laugh as they crawled from within the water.

"That, was some good,"I giggled."shit!"

"That was cold!"Mama shook out her hair as she stepped back into the sand.

"So worth it!"Murphy smiled.

The group suddenly fell silent, however, when the sound of metal against metal met our ears. Abby let out a shriek of fear as Connor pulled her into his chest. He quickly yanked her from the water as Sean ran out. I looked over at the twins', who's facial features dropped significantly. Mama looked over at me and said, "The camp!"

I dug my fingers into the side of my jeans and pulled out my glock. I was sure to check how many bullets I had before rushing toward camp. The crash sounded too far away to be coming from within our camp site. Connor and Murphy were quick to follow me as we came to camp. Nothing was broken or trashed, so the crash had come from the road. I turned toward the twins' and said, "Get in my car! We're goin'! Noah, you stay here with Mama, Abby and Sean!"

I cocked back my gun and quickly got into my car. Connor and Murphy followed after me, making sure they had enough bullets in their guns as well. If they didn't, however, I had multiple weapons in my trunk. The sound of a blaring horn met my ears as I reached out to shut my door. I revved my car to life before taking off for the road. I dodged dangerously in between broken down vehicles before Connor shouted out, "Right there! There's a car in the woods!"

I brought my car to a skidding halt and jumped from the driver's seat. Connor and Murphy walked down the small grass hill first, careful to keep their eyes open for any signs of the deceased. The elongated wagon's front end was pushed dangerously up into the car. It had crashed into a thick tree, forcing it be totaled,

"Get them off the horn, now!"I stayed along the road, making sure I could warn the boys if anything had gone wrong.

They peeked through the windows as they walked along the wagon and tore open the driver's door. An elder man tumbled from the driver's seat, his neck torn and gushing from a fresh wound. I covered my mouth with my hand as the boys jumped back. I took notice of a dark shadow moving within the car and shouted, "Watch out!"

Murphy rose his silencer, meeting the forehead of a little girl. He pulled quickly on the trigger and watched as her head recoiled back at the pressure. I could hear the sounds of leaves crackling and moans echoing from within the woods. It terrified me to know that so many of the infected were so close to camp.

"We have to go!"I shouted."They're all dead here! Let's move, now!"

Connor and Murphy sprinted up the small hill, meeting me in seconds by my car. I closed the door as infected started to shift through the trees around us. I pulled my gear shifter into reverse before slamming my foot down on the gas pedal. Connor ducked in the back seat as I looked back, careful not to hit any of the broken cars.

"Watch out!"Murphy clutched onto his seat as I pushed my gear shifter forward and back into drive.

I twisted the steering wheel with enough force to turn the car and head in the direction of camp. Murphy looked over at me, fear glowing from his eyes, and said, "Holy fuckin' shit! We got a regular speed racer over here!"

I could care less for Murphy's witty comments at a time like this. Knowing that these infected were only a good mile away from our sight only put a tinge of pain through my chest. If I wasn't driving, I knew I would be having a panic attack. I tried to keep my breath steady as I focused on the road. Murphy reached over and placed a gentle hand on my knee and said, "Stay calm, Adrienne. It'll be alright."

"We have to leave."I choked."To Georgia. I am not having the same thing happen again!"

I rested my lead foot on the break and fished tailed the car down the dirt path to camp. Connor and Murphy held onto their seats, as if they were afraid I was going to crash the car. I came to a skidding stop next to the van and quickly got out of my seat. I shoved my pistol back in between my jeans and shouted, "Pack up! Anythin' you can get! We're leavin'!"

"Adrienne, what's goin' on?"Mama pleaded with me as I began pulling things together.

I started throwing multiple items into the back of the van, trying desperately to get whatever we needed fast. I wanted to waste no time in leaving; I wouldn't let another bad incident happen again. My eyes welled up in tears as my fear started to over come me. I could feel my breath get stuck in my throat as I tried to take deep breaths. It felt as if someone were clutching onto my wind pipe and slowly closing it on me.

"So stupid."I whimpered."So fuckin' stupid!"

"Adrienne, what's wrong?"Mama gripped my shoulder tightly and I turned.

"I was so stupid to think we would be safe!"I cried."We need to go, Mama! Start packin' things up!"

Mama only nodded her head as I continued to scrounge throughout our small camp sight. Our fishing poles, canoe, canned goods and other materials were thrown lazily into the back of the van. I lifted my head up in fear as Abby started to shout, "They're here! Adrienne, they're here!"

"Abby! Get away from them!"Mama's cries sent me into a full panic.

I laced my fingers around my hand gun as gun shots started to echo out into the woods. Connor, Murphy and Noah began firing at will, sending multiple bodies to crumble down into the dirt. I turned toward the small horde and began letting loose on my gun. My aim was shakey, due to my fear, but I still managed to drop a few of the infected. I scanned through the camp and watched, in total amazement, as one of the infected barreled toward Abby.

"Abby!"I let out a scream as Mama grabbed onto her and swung her into her chest.

My hand hit my hip as I watched what was happening. I had no time as the decaying man's fingers tangled themselves into Mama's shirt. He brought his mouth down onto her shoulder blade, allowing Mama to cry out in pure agony. Connor and Murphy turned, their eyes widening in the sight. Without thinking, my feet sprinted me in their direction.

"Mama!"I kicked off the ground, taking the man down with me.

We rolled around on the dirt until I straddled his waist. I shoved the gun deep into the mouth of the man, hearing his teeth crunch and crack as he bit down on the barel of my gun. I pulled back on the trigger multiple times , watching as his hallowed out eyes rolled into the back of his head. Tears streamed down Mama's face as she released Abby and fell to her knees. Her fingers reached back at her fresh bite wound and she whimpered in pain.

"Mama!"I scrambled to my feet and took her in my arms.

I collapsed onto my knees and dug her face into my shoulder. I began to cry, not giving a care in the world that the infected walked around us. I felt as if the sight had gone silent and their eyes were watching us, including the dead.

"Mama!"I rocked her in my arms, feeling her blood drip down onto my forearm."Mama, Mama, Mama."

Abby stumbled back into my car, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. The gun shots died down, as well as the moaning from the hungry lips of these monsters. I pressed a hand over Mama's bite and tangled my fingers in her greying hair.

"Oh, Mama! I'm so sorry!"Hands gripped at my shoulders as I faught being pulled to my feet.

"Get in the van!"Murphy shouted."Come on! Adrienne, Ma! Let's go!"

"Mama!"I took in a deep breath and felt my chest grow tight with anticipation."Mama!"

I had gotten us into trouble, whether I tried to avoid it or not. I had fallen back on the one promise I swore I would keep. I had allowed the decaying, yellow and red stained teeth of those bastards to pierce my glories flesh. I had failed my main priority. I had gotten Mama bitten.