Infectious

I tried shaking the feeling that I was being watched as we finally made our way up Flower St. and to the library. The front entrance is always surrounded by crawlers. Its always best to go in through the back, that we know we are safe from being eaten. The back door is always closed and has something in front of it. Its a way to know if there has been someone, or something, has been in there. Unlike all the other times before, this time, it was wide opened.

Jason and I looked at each other at the same time and then back at the door, and back at each other. The look on both of our faces clearly stated that we weren't sure what to do. We knew that if it had been anyone from our group, they would have kept the door closed. Part of me didn't want to go in there. For all we knew, it could be filled with infected. But knowing that we had to get out of the open, I picked up a metal pipe laying on the ground and made my way in, with a protesting Jason behind me.

"What are you thinking, you don't know what is in there!" He said as he grabbed my arm trying to pull me back out.

"And what do you suggest we do?" I asked pulling y arm free from his hold. "You want us to become bait just sitting out in the open waiting for the others to show up?" I began walking in further. "If you want, you can wait outside. I'm sure you'll be fine." I rolled my eyes as I let my sarcasm sink into him. I was pretty sure that his ass was going to come in quickly right behind me. But I didn't hear them.

Moving slowly through the back office, I kept an eye out for anything that moved. The light was very dim in here, but you could see if anything moved in the shadows. The whole time, It seemed like I was holding in my breath as I scanned the room. This room isn't that big. The door leading out of the back office was closed. It showed that no one got passed here, unless you were human or one smart crawler to open the door as well as close it behind you. I finally relaxed, placing the pipe on the desk.

"All clear Jason." I called out loud enough for him to hear. Seconds later, he was right at my side.

"You sure?" He asked. I laughed. How less of a man could he be? I mean, come on! Jason has been around it about the same amount of time I have and he's still afraid of the these things? Okay, maybe it was just me that wasn't afraid. Growing up with them was like nothing. Especially when I was so curious about it. Hell, I wasn't really scared when the horde came in when I lost my mom. What I was scared of, was my mom getting bitten.

"Yes, I'm sure Jason." I said opening the office door to the main floor of the library. Looking around, you could tell no crawler had been in here. Everything basically looked the same since we were last in here. There were still books on the floor, plenty of shelves knocked over.

I imagined all the damage had been done when the outbreak first spread. I could see people running out, just dropping the books they had took the time to find. I could see crawlers walking in through the door at the scent of fresh flesh. I could picture children running to their parents as all the chaos began. People being eaten alive.

The crawlers must have left after there was no more fresh flesh in the building. And after all the years, the dust collected. In some places on the tiled floor and on the carpet, you can still see the blood stains. And every once and a while, you would see the remains of a person that was very unlucky that day.

Closing the office door behind us, Jason and I went our separate ways to our usual spot in the library. I always went to the supernatural section, and Jason always went to different places depending on his mood. But today, he was headed in the direction of the self help books.

As I made my way towards the fiction, I checked each aisle cautiously,just in case if there was a crawler hidden in here somewhere. There have been very few times that there was one in here. But it was always a subconscious thing to do. Looking for them has been drilled into my mind for twelve years now. It was now a constant habit and way of life.

With in the first few aisles of fiction, you could see where I left my mark in each one. A chair left in the middle of the aisle and dust no where to be found on the shelves. I felt that while I am reading here, might as well make it a nice place to read in this world of the dead.

It seemed that just as I sat down and started looking at the Anne Rice books, Jason had made his way towards me.

"Look what I just found." Basically tossing the book into my lap, I grab it and look at the title. I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Zombie Apocalypse for Dummies?" I shook my head tossing it back to him. "Think that would have been useful twelve years ago?"

"Hell if I know." He said tossing the book behind him onto a shelf. I practically glared at him for doing that. But he just shrugged it off. "What are you going to read this time?" I shrugged. I wasn't sure what I was going to read. I just know Anne Rice was next on the shelf. I looked back at the shelf and grabbed the first book The Wolf Gift, and showed it to Jason. "You were always one for wolves." He turned and headed off to where he had come from.

"Yeah. I know." I said more to myself than to him. Jason did have a point though. I was always one for wolves or anything that looked like them. I remember having a pure bred Husky and naming her after Princess Aurora. I wanted her because she looked like the wolf in a painting I had hanging up in my room. She was a sweet and protective dog. I never knew what happened to her. I had her for four years before the outbreak.

Shaking my head of the thought of her, I opened the book up and began reading. Slowly but surely, I was being pulled into the book and started to lose myself in it. It was like the world around me began to fade. Word by word, I was forgetting about what was outside those doors.

"What are you reading?"It was a whisper in my ear and I dropped the book and stood quickly. I found myself backing away without even actually looking to see who it was. It must have been an instinct reaction to do that, but when someone scares the shit out of you, you cant help it to show a reaction.

When I took the person in, I sighed in relief and shook my head. "Do you really have to go sneaking up on people, Ethan?" I asked as he is laughing up a storm. I crossed my arms as he continued to laugh. "I'm glad you think it is funny." I walked back over to where I had been sitting and picked up the book.

"You should have seen your-"

"Who the hell are you?" Jason cut Ethan off as he practically rushed down the aisle and tried standing inbetween the two of us.

Ethan just looked over at me and raised his eyebrow. "Another interrogation?" I just shrugged and pulled Jason to the side. I really hated when the guys went all protective mode on me. It gets annoying at times.

"Jason, this is Ethan. Ethan, this is Jason." Jason just gives me this look that pretty much stated: 'How in the hell do you know him?' Again I just shrugged. Did I really have to explain myself?

"Ah, the boyfriend right?" Ethan said looking back and forth between the two of us.

"He's not my boyfriend, Ethan." I said shaking my head and rolling my eyes. But when I looked over at Jason, I could see in his eyes that he was kind of hurt that I said that. I felt a very awkward conversation was planned for later.

"What are you doing here?" I asked turning my attention back to Ethan.

"I should be asking you that question." He said taking a seat in the chair. He looked past us. At what I have no clue. "I moved in upstairs. I heard some noises and thought the dead finally broke in. But when I came down here, I seen you sitting down reading"

My mouth almost dropped at the way he said reading. "What is wrong with reading?" I said kind of louder than necessary.

"Oh nothing, Just didnt think you were the type to read, especially since you were about to get eaten earlier."

"What do you mean about to get eaten?" Jason asked looking at Ethan, but I know he was asking me.

"Chelsea was a little to close to the zombies out there." Ethan said as he propped his feet up agains the shelves in front of him. "If I wasnt there, she would have been dead."

I rolled my eyes. "I knew what I was doing. It's not like I'm new to all of this. I know what my limits are when it comes to the crawlers."

"Chels, you know better." Jason added with a fatherly tone. Again I just rolled my eyes. "Wait until you dad hears about this. You know what he wi-"

"I get it Jason. One dad is enough, I dont need five of them." And suddenly feeling very irritated, I walked away.

I have to admit that I like that everyone cares about my saftey, but when it's like a daily reminder, it gets very annoying. Its even worse when one of your only friends start to act fatherly towards me.

As I walked down the hall, I found myself heading towards another office door. I had never been in that one, so I figured toget away from Jason for a bit, I would lock myself in a room for a little. But when I walked in and shut the door behind me, I realized it was a huge mistake.