Left for Dead

"We just need to be realistic here. Even if CEDA evacuates us, where are they going to take us? Last I heard the military was bombing the cities." Francis said as he lit a cigarette.

"It beats rotting away at a hotel" Nick said bluntly.

"So you guys are going to actually go to all the CEDA evacs?" Zoey asked concerned.

"We ain't dying here" Ellis replied rudely. That was a first for him.

"You think we plan to, smart ass? We got kids to protect." Francis got hostile.

"How many others are there?" I asked finally joining the conversation.

"In total?" Louis asked. I nodded.

"With you five now, we have 25." Zoey answered.

I sighed, "How many children?".

Bill scratched the back of his neck, "Five" he responded reluctantly.

We were all sitting outside on buckets, lawn chairs and tail gates of abandoned trucks. The eight of us discussed what we've encountered and how we failed to be evacuated and what places were confirmed to be overrun. It was obvious the others had encountered enough to make them decide to give up on CEDA and just stay here, protecting others and making this their new home.

"What happens when the food supply becomes low?" I asked.

Everyone gave me a strange look.

"We think about that every waking day" Zoey responded under her breathe.

"Taking it day by day?" Coach asked cracking his knuckles.

"Well.. that's about all we can do" Bill replied with a shrug and a nod.

Within a few minutes a few other men of all different ages joined our small huddle. The men prepared to leave the hotel grounds to go gather supplies from abandoned vehicles along the highway, gather fire wood and most importantly search for weapons and ammunition. Considering there was 25 of us, it was apparent that the men went to do this while the women and children stayed behind. At least that's how it appears.

"They're heading out now" Rochelle said tapping on my shoulder.

I stood up and walked over to the group of 10 men. They were all carrying guns in their hands and around their backs, as well as a melee weapon of some sort and a backpack each for supplies. I remembered what Zoey had said about there being now 20 people since we got here. That means, 10 men, 5 children and 10 women. Fortunately I already knew two of the women, Rochelle and Zoey so I wasn't awkward about soon to be meeting the other survivors. It's not that I was shy, I just have a hard time accepting that there is children, poor innocent children, in between this mess.

"Alright men! Let's move out!" Bill talked over the group.

Ellis stopped talking to Nick and Coach, finally noticing that I was there. Nick gave him a nod towards my direction.

"I'll catch up in a minute!" Ellis said as he jogged over to me.

"We're heading out now" He said in between breaths.

"Be safe" I said shortly as he smirked and leaned in giving me a quick kiss on the lips.

"I will be" He responded. "Besides, I gotta make it back to tell you some more Keith stories".

I rolled my eyes and hugged Ellis briskly, placing my head on his chest. He rested his chin on top of my head, wrapping his arms around me. My grip around him tightened as I heard gun shots off into the distance where the other men were.

"Awe come on now girl, I thought you were stronger than that" Ellis mocked. I jolted my head up staring up at him with a glare. He smirked as we released one another from each others grip.

"I'll be back sooner than you know" Ellis said as he turned to run to catch up with the other men.

It was already getting hot out and it wasn't even close to being noon yet. I squinted my eyes as I looked up at the sky. It was quiet, almost too quiet. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about silence during a zombie apocalypse. But judging by the dead bodies around the outside of the hotel, or piled up into the empty outdoor swimming pool, I think it's safe to say that there wasn't much walkers around this area anymore.

"Amber!" Rochelle called out for me with a frantic tone.

"She needs help!" Zoey yelled at the group of now 10 women since I joined back.

There before my eyes was a middle aged woman biting down on a small towel while holding her arm out. There was a small open wound on her lower arm. Tears streamed down her face. She had been bit.

"We have to cut it off or she'll become infected" Zoey said frantically.

"Then cut it off! She doesn't want to become one of those fuckers!" Another woman piped up.

"Sasha calm down, I know she doesn't. How did this even happen?" Zoey asked the girl who strangely resembled me kind of.

"She thought she saw a puppy down the road so she left hotel grounds, a walker got her." Sasha replied throwing her arms up.

Rochelle suddenly appeared back to the group with an axe. I took a step back, looking around to see a couple older women now leading five children back into the hotel.

"1..." Rochelle counted out loud as she lifted the axe up above her head and back down, practicing her next move.

"2..." She counted again.

"3!" Rochelle shouted before chopping down on the woman's arm.

The towel fell out of the woman's mouth as she screamed in agony. Half of her arm dropped to the ground as blood splattered on me and Sasha. We all took a step back. Unfortunately, I turned around and instantly vomited, right in front of everyone. Even though I had killed zombies, chopped of zombies limbs... seeing someone get their arm chopped off, grossed me out enough to throw up. Sasha gagged a little while I continued to be hunched over throwing my guts up.