Dearly Departed

The building was in shreds. Bits of the scaffolding that had once held it together were scattered all over the floor. The roof, which had once protected the contents from the weather, had caved in, and sunlight emitted through the large crack in the center. The rubble of the broken concrete filled the lobby of what once was a doctor’s office.

Clara had been given the chore of standing watch, one of the few things they allowed her to do. She was weaker than the rest of them, always falling behind, and she wasn’t fighters like they were. They had survival skills far beyond anything she ever hoped to have, and they were excellent with weapons, while Clara was the opposite.

When she met Zayn, Louis and Liam, she was being attacked by a group of biters, and they came out of nowhere to save her. They risked their lives for her, and she knew that was a debt she’d never be able to repay. She was always thankful that they’d accepted her into their group, because it was obvious how useless she was to them.

“Clara.” Liam called to her from across the room, as he tossed a bag in her direction. “You may wanna carry a gun if you’re watching the door.”

Clara grimaced. “Right, a gun. I don’t even know why I’m watching this stupid door. It’s not like the biters couldn’t just come through the hole in the ceiling.”

“They just want you to –”

“It’s busy work,” she interrupted. “Zayn just wants me out of the way.”

Louis chuckled, as he watched the small girl fumble with the bag. Her hands wrapped around one of the smaller guns, holding it exactly the way he’d taught her. She wasn’t a very good shot, but she had her hands steady just like he showed her.

“Perimeter’s clear.”

Zayn came from one of the back rooms, holding his gun down at his side. It was larger than what he needed, a rifle that held way too many bullets, but it was the one he liked best. Louis followed behind him, carrying a handgun that fit him much better than Zayn’s did him.

Louis smiled at Clara, chuckling at the way she fumbled with her gun. He walked over to her with a few, quick steps, before pulling the gun from her fingers.

“Trade me,” he said, filling her empty hand with his smaller handgun. “You’ll like this one better.”

Clara smiled back at him, before checking to make sure the safety was on. Finding that it was, she moved back towards the broken door. Her body pressed against the frame, as she looked out at the crumbled town that had once been so alive. It seemed like the biters had taken over so quickly, and she just wished she had a little more time in her old life.

“We should keep moving,” Zayn said, looking out at the three of them. “Grab what we need and go.”

The group salvaged what they could from the old office, including a fair amount of medical supplies that Clara hoped they would never have to use, and made their way out into town again. They still weren’t sure where they were heading, but they knew they’d know it when they saw it.

“Let’s move quickly,” Zayn said as they moved out the door. “I don’t know if I much like the looks of this place.”

As if on cue, a group of biters came around the corner, blood covering their bodies. They were reaching their arms out as they moaned, though they were several feet away from being able to reach anyone.

Another biter came around the side of the building, grabbing in Zayn’s direction, and he quickly sliced its head off with a machete. He was always insisting they avoid using guns whenever possible. Sometimes they were just more trouble than they were worth.

Louis reached for Clara’s hand, pulling her in the opposite direction of the biters, while Liam and Zayn began running behind them. Clara’s heart was beating a mile a minute, and if Louis hadn’t been pulling her, she wasn’t sure she’d have known what to do at all.

As they ran, Zayn turned around, running backwards, and fired a shot at a biter that was closing in on them, which hit the biter square between the eyes. It fell to the ground, but the other biters just moved around it and kept going forward towards them.

A new hoard of biters came around the corner, nearly catching Louis and Clara as they passed. Louis shot one, then two, then three of them, spinning around in every direction so he could get ahold of the situation.

Clara’s body was shaking, unable to think anymore, and that was when a biter came up behind her, ready to get her square in the neck. Zayn saw it just in time, and smacking his hand against the ground in frustration, leapt up and began running towards Clara will full force. Just as the biter was about to go for her neck, Zayn lunged for her, tackling her to the ground in one easy movement.

His body covered hers, crushing her between him and the concrete. With her still underneath him, he aimed his gun up at the biter, taking one quick shot.

“Are you bit?” he shouted, as he rang off several more shots at the biters around them. He looked down at her and she shook her head.

A groan came from the left, where another biter was closing in on them. Zayn gave a clear shot through the skull before he turned back to Clara again.

“Let’s go then,” Zayn said as he stood up, pulling Clara up with him. He dropped her hand but motioned for her to follow him as they caught up with Liam and Louis.

The four of them ran for at least a mile, putting as much distance as they could between them and the machines, before Clara was completely out of breath. Seeing her heaving chest, Louis turned to Zayn and Liam. “Let’s stop for a minute. Catch our breath and then we can keep going.”

Zayn reluctantly nodded and Liam agreed, so the four of them took out bottles of water and sipped lazily on them while the sun beat down. Clara moved off to the left, and Louis followed, bringing her a fresh apple from a tree they’d found a few towns over.

Passing the apple to her, Louis leaned against the side of the building with his arms crossed. “He saved you, you know? I think he saved all of us.”

Clara bit down on the apple, sucking up the fresh juice, and moved her eyes out towards Zayn, who was reloading one of his guns. He was always saving her, it seemed, and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to repay him for it.