Blood and Snow

We filed into the vans, Uncle Dan's eyes searching the crowd in search of my familiar face. I could feel his eyes on me as I slumped into the back seat. My eyes were burning but I ignored the sting. The van was packed, more than usual. The over flow of the broken van filling the empty spots in the van, forcing two of my sibling to sit in my lap and other two in Sandra's lap. Dan climbed into the front seat, he was mumbling something something under his breath like he always did when one of us wander off. The van's engine thundered to life and sputtered its reluctance to move. Micca rested on my out stretched legs. I held on tight to the children in my lap as we moved from the curb and the building shrank away in the distance. I felt like I was leaving a piece of me behind.

As cliche as it sounded, tomorrow was never promised. There was a huge chance that I would never see my friend again. Everything that we were seeing could be the last thing we see. That was my favorite thing about traveling through heavily wooded areas, there was always a beautiful last sight. I kissed the top of Simon's curly hair. The rough roads bucked us to and fro in the cab. Even then it was an improvement from the dirt roads. It was never too bad from the front seat. Damien would keep the ride interesting, singing songs, keeping up conversation. I looked out the window at the passing city, we would be back to this part of town in a few days. We would either be collecting our comrades, or putting the bodies to rest. I rested my head on the wall of the van and closed my eyes until the van came to a stop. We were parked at the main entrance of the mall, a multilevel structures and one of the most elegant buildings I had ever laid my eyes on. Vegetation had long since overtaken the structure, vines wrapping around the pillars. The grey brick that made up the walls were rough and eroded from the harsh weathers that made up the climate. From simply scoping out the building, after all these years it was still secure, it was made to stand the test of time.

"Snow, stay here. If things get hairy, get out of here." Dan patted the seat for me to take his place. I wordlessly obliged, immediately relaxing once I was behind the wheel. My mother loved cleaning out houses, I wasn't exactly fond of the paranoia that came with looking for every creepy crawly lurking in the shadows. Slowly but surely people began piling out of the vans, eyes darting around dis-trustingly. Weapons were raised and I sat in the van's front seat, my shoes on the floor and my bare feet resting on the dashboard. The sun was high in the sky, it was noon and the men had been in the building for a few hours. Doing a full sweep in a building this big was bound to take a long time. The heat was intense and I would feel my skin burning. My mouth was dry but I wanted a sip of water, but I left the water for the kids. They sat in the back whispering who knows what to each other. I closed my eyes and my thoughts carried me to a sandy beach off of the coast of some unknown island. I had only been on a beach once, but that was short lived.

There was little to nothing to hold my interest, that is until a lonely corpse reared its ugly, smelly head. There was something not right about it, zombies rarely traveled alone. It was fast moving and in a pouncing position. It had caught the scent of something and was searching for it. I grabbed my nail riddled bat and opened the door as silently as possible. I crept through the parking lot, my breaths were steady and every step was measured. I was not the only person who noticed. Three others from the group had joined me.

"Pst." I whispered softly and the creature whirled around and let out a high pitched screech. That was new. Instinctively I swung my bat and the corpse ducked and tackled me to the scolding concrete. I used my bat to keep the snapping mouth away from me, the nails digging into rotting flesh. As I held him there, the others in the group made quick work of crushing his skull. I threw the limp body off of mine in disgust.

"What the fuck was that?" I looked at the others and they were as astonished as I was. It was like it was able to think. My heart sank, I looked at the van, my siblings pressed to the glass to see what had happened. I looked at the blood and torn skin on my elbows. It was strong, fast and was able to think enough to block my attack. My breath caught in my chest, either this was a fluke, or it meant that the dead were changing, adapting to survive. That was a horrendous thought. I could feel the winds of change and in my world change could be deadly. I looked at the doors and I consumed by a new fear. What if they weren't coming back? I looked around and there was no dead in sight, what could be taking them so long? It took several of us to kill this one, what if they were over run? My fear soon turned to full panic as the thought of Uncle Dan becoming a snack pack, or worse; consumed me.

"Watch the kids!" I threw the keys to the closest person and ran into the mall entrance. The halls were dim but lit by the sunlight through the glass ceiling. I looked my surroundings, nothing seemed out of place. There was black blood on the side of the fountain, but it was black. Two bodies were left on the floor but the water in the fountain was clear, usable as drinking and bathing, in that order. The building was bigger than I had thought. Shops lined the hall and comfy looking chairs were placed strategically through out the corridor. The only sounds that could be heard were the many footsteps on the above levels.
From where I was standing I could see one man from my group walking out of a store.

"Dan!" My voice carried up to him and he turned, puzzled to see my disheveled appearance. My clothes were torn, worse than usual and I was covered in blood.

"Dan! Its Snow!" I began running up the staircase to the right of where I stood. They met me half way and I immediately hugged the men. Dan was covered head to toe in both human and corpse blood. Concern was in his eyes as he took in my injuries from the scuffle.

"Are you okay, are you bitten?"

"No! I saw something, fought something. It wasn't normal, it could think, it screeched and ducked when I swung. I don't know Dan, I don't know what happened. Are you bit, what happened to you, where are the others?" My mind was racing, confounded by the look of my uncle and the change to everything I have ever known about the undead.

"What are you talking about, the dead cant think, Snow? Sweetheart, you are stressed beyond belief. You need to to rest."

" No, you have to believe me! Ask the others! This is serious!"

"Go back to the van and relax, we will discuss this later as a group." He patted my back, soothing me like I was a child. I limped outside, not realizing just how bad I had hurt my knee. When I got to the van I sat in the front seat with the door open. My eyes were searching for any signs of the unwanted undead. A corpse shrugged out of the shadows from the other side of the building. This time I didn't hesitate. I fast walked over and swung, the head bobbing out of the way, but almost immediately I changed direction. I made a connection and he skull gave way to the force of the blow. When she sank to the floor, there was a clear crack in the side of her face. I kept hitting her, bones crushing under the force of the bat. Blood splattered on the sidewalk, wall, near by shrubbery and myself. I only stopped when a group member came and pulled me away. I left the body there, bloody and barely recognizable as ever being human. From the van she looked like a lump of torn, rotting flesh and exposed bones. It felt good to blow off some steam. I sat back in the van, joining Micca in the front seat. My siblings were silent, knowing better than to provoke me when I was in a sour mood.

When the time came, there were fewer people coming out of the building than had went in, 3 people were missing. We began emptying the vans bringing our belongings into the specified parts of the mall. I sat on my bed, its was crafted out of two large bean bag chairs tapped together. I looked at the clean linens of my fresh blanket and pillows. It had been so long since I had fresh sheets and blankets. The heat usually rendered them unnecessary, but I was not going to pass up the opportunity to curl up with fresh cloth. I began looking around the mall, shopping not only for myself but the kids. I looked at my full cart, they would have options. I couldn't help but pick up dressed for the girls. None of us had worn dresses since we were children and I missed the feeling the warm breeze of the constant summer heat. The boys got shorts and plenty of tank tops. Micca who was laying in the cart, even earned herself a jeweled collar. I pulled clothes for Damien as well guessing his size, judging from my uncle. Damien was a size or two sized smaller than Dan. They both had broad shoulders and narrow hips. I returned with the clothes and watched as the kids fought over who would wear what. Next, Dan brought us to fountain, the water was rationed, only a few inches allowed the middle tier for the kids. I washed them quickly and waited for my allowed time. I washed my hair and body quickly before toweling off and changing into a dark purple floral sun dress. My scrapped and bloodied knees stood out from the colored fabric but I didn't care, it was no beauty contest.

I laid in bed, feeling refreshed, wishing that this moment would never end. Micca stayed by my legs, licking my wounds . As night fell the metal sheaths were dropped over the doorway and we were secure on the inside of this huge building. We were safe, clean, and for one comfortable. There were fewer of us but we had some much needed supplies. Canned food, fresh clothes, medical supplies and most of all momentary peace of mind. I slept dreamlessly, my sister nestled safely with me, my brothers with Dan not 2 feet away. I was almost sorry that we would have to leave in a few days. As the sun rose the next day, the bright light waking me from my restful sleep.