Ankle Biters

I woke up, my eyes blurred and my head pounding. I was thrown over Dan's burly shoulder. The concrete of my previous reality gave way to trees and frigid wind. I looked up from my face down position and saw one of the guards carrying Snow, bundled up in a blood stained cloth. My heart raced, was it her blood or not? I tried to speak but my throat was so dry, no noise escaped. I attempted to lick my lips only to find them dry and cracked. My movement hadn't gone unnoticed, soon the remaining people swarmed around. They were blood soaked and there were a lot fewer than I remembered.

There were maybe 15 people left, all of them tired and sweating despite the freezing weather. As expected Fido was in my face, his whines echoing through the woods. The sun was bright and those I cared about had survived, well almost everyone. When I was placed on the ground I was handed a bottle of water and I consumed it feeling famished. I wasn't sure how long I was out but I was happy to be back. What I had found in my sleep was dark and cold. I couldn't feel anything, only crippling loneliness. There were people there with me, my parents, my sisters, Jake, but no Tosh. They kept telling me to go back. I had, bigger better things to do. That I needed to save one more life.

It was a strange dream indeed. One that I hope I never have again. Even now I was shaken by my morbid dream. I looked at Dan, a huge smile stretched across his face. He patted my back as another handed me the small bloody bundle. I looked down to see her blood stained face smiling back up to me. She was fine, my heart fluttered as I wrapped the blankets tightly around her to fend off the cold. Everyone was happy and healthy. I looked at Dan and wondered where were would go from here.

"Dan, did you look for Tosh? I think he might have been in the showers. He was supposed to run a bath for us then come get us. He might have gotten trapped in the bath house or somewhere in between." Dan pressed his fingers to my lips to silence me like a child.

"We left our supplies out there and we may need to return, eventually. As of right now, we need to seek shelter and regroup. We are short on ammo and gun power. It is too risky to send a search party for someone who maybe dead." I looked at Snow and wondered if I'd ever see Tosh again. Would he be a miracle or just another casualty in this war of living versus the dead? I shook the thought from my head, Tosh was a fighter. When I could I get back onto my feet, we carried on. Soon we found the road and followed it to a large building, a hotel. It stood was a two story brick structure, looked solid, sturdiest thing I'd seen in a long time. The bricks were chipping, weathered by a years worth of snow and rain. Structurally the building was no worse for wear if the outside said anything for the interior.

Vines and foliage grew from massive cracks in the asphalt parking lot. That would give us good coverage and from the second floor. It would be an easy way to spot the undead and watch over our own. The snow was little more than a dusting on the concrete building. My brain began ticking with all of the positives of the building and apparently I wasn't the only person counting the benefits. We slowly walked past the structure until one of the guards stopped us and a meeting ensued. Should we stay or go, that was the question.

Everyone weighed in their opinions, there were obvious objections. We didn't know what would be inside such a large building. It was a gamble, either empty or teeming with danger. With the sun sinking the choices narrowed. We were to stay, it was about 7 miles from our old camp and with the sturdy structure and no broken windows that I could see, it was our safest bet that I could see. We were lead to the second floor, the metal stairwell creaking under our weight, but stayed strong and held us up. We stood in the blistering cold as we sent another guard to get all the keys that he could find. He returned with the entire rack, only two keys were missing.

All the other rooms were definitely unoccupied. Dan motioned for us to be quiet, and we fell silent as he pressed his ear to the door. After knocking several times he seemed satisfied and opened the door. A quick sweep of the room proved it to be empty, and he ushered us all in to wait while they emptied all the rooms of the undesirable. I did my own check, my paranoia kicking in. I checked all of the obvious places, bathrooms, closets and as cliche as it was, under the bed. All eyes were on me as I walked around the room but but better save than dead. An hour later and with two bodies littering the parking lot, we were safe and showed to our respective rooms.

We stayed in only joined rooms, connected to a guard. I was connected to a guard named Sean. He made it a point to introduce himself and repeatedly remind me that Snow and I were in safe hands. It was a very sweet gesture, however I really didn't need him. I was pretty satisfied with the room, I put candles in the bathroom, to light the room without being too visible as the sun was setting. The bed wasn't too rotten and was bearable to sleep in. Fido laid at the foot of the bed, watching the candle light flicker off the walls and snow slept soundly in a bundle of towels and blankets in the basket Dan found in the front office.

All seemed right in the world in the first time in a long time. I hadn't felt at peace like this since the safe heaven that Jake and I had created. We were safe and never went without in that house, not counting plumbing. Despite it all, here even without him, I felt safe. Fido and Snow settled in immediately, both sleeping soundly on the bed. That night I fell asleep the the sound of leisure footsteps of a guards, protecting our floor. There were no gun shots that night.

An unmeasured amount of weeks had passed since our escape and we had established a sense of normalcy in the camp. The girls did the laundry, the guys protected us and hunted. Some of the other women cooked the meals, I however was not blessed with any sort of culinary prowess. Snow was growing and was now crawling all over the place. She was a little terror on all fours. She was growing up strong and smart, she could call me mama and was working on Fido's name. When people would go out on a supply run and could fit it, they would find me a toy or sucker for her to have. We truly were family here in camp. The guards true to their promise watch over us and we lived without incident. My hope was in an upward spiral and I was ecstatic to finally live in a sturdy home with the comforts of a bed and a hot meal nearly every night.

Much like the old camp we took in travelers and usually it was no big deal to wake up and greet a stranger over breakfast. When the calls of the guards sent out a signal about travelers, I usually ignored them, but when there was a knock on my door, I was a little confused. I answered the door to be greeted by Dan's bear hug.

"We found him! He is going to be okay!" My heart pounded in my chest, he was alive. I was right. I tried to break free of Dan's steely grip, but like always I had to wait til he released me. I immediately grabbed Snow and bundled her up in a jacket and blanket.

"Take me to him." I demanded but I knew I wouldn't have had to ask. He took me to the lobby where he was standing in all of his glory, blood soaked and smiling. The pack of men he was chatting with broke open and allowed me to enter. By this point I was breathing heavily and fighting back tears. I shook and handed Snow over to Dan.

"I found you." He smiled and wiped a traitorous tear from my cheek. I couldn't talk yet had so much to say. There was no time for words. I tackled him in the tightest hug I could have managed. He was thinner, I could feel it through his thick coat. I pulled away and cringed at the way our clothes stuck together, soaked with blood. "I promised to protect you."

"You need a bath." I observed trying to dodge the lovey stuff. After about an hour we heated some water and filled the tub half way. I helped Tosh out of his clothes, his bones protruding. In the shadows of the bathroom, he looked sickly, even undead. I tried not to compare him to the dead, but it was hard to deny when it was standing in front of you. When he dropped his underwear I tried to hide my blush. Once he was in the tub, he sighed his relief. I sponged the hot water over his back, chest and arms. The water turned bright red by the time he was clean. I drained the tub and was about to help him dry himself when Snow began crying in the next room. I handed Tosh the towel and went to check on the baby. She was crawling on the floor, chasing Fido's tail. Every time she would get close, Fido would move, apparently this was pissing her off. I picked her up and began soothing her. Eventually she stopped crying and went back to playing with the toys. I watched her play, Fido's watchful eye always on her, making sure she was okay. As I smiled at my little family I could feel Tosh press against me from behind.

"Its been so long, you've missed so much." I whispered over my shoulder to him. He had his mouth pressed into my shoulder and I could feel him nod against my skin. I handed him my tray for dinner and he didn't argue, he ate obediently. It wasn't long before he was sleeping, snoring so loudly I was afraid he would attract the dead. I looked in the corner and saw Snow curled up with Fido on his bed, her little chest rising and falling with each breath.

As I looked at the my little family I couldn't help but feel both happiness and hope. We were strong and no matter what we were going to survive this together. I sat down at the desk and opened the drawers finding stationary and a pen. No matter what happened I had to write down my story, perhaps it was for Snow to read, or maybe some weary traveler low on energy and hope. I had to let them know that there is a chance at a better life and there is always hope. I opened the little booklet to the first page and started doodling on the paper. Using intricate lines and detailed patterns I scribbled on the title page. I stopped to think of the title, I went over several before choosing the one that seemed to speak to me. It was perfect. I picked up the paper and smiled to myself and in the semi darkness of my room, with my little family sleeping all around me I whispered to myself.

"Ankle Biters,"