“Okay, but be careful,” she answered.
Alex returned to the basement with a flashlight to light the way. It was just as he remembered it, and the sight sent a shudder down his spine. The days and nights they’d spent trapped in its confines were the worst of his life, and he never wanted to experience something like that again. A vivid flashback of the moment they were trapped inside forced its way into his mind.
***
Alex risked a glance over his shoulder and spotted Amy’s silhouette framed in the open doorway of the basement. The lamp shone next to her feet like a beacon, and he ran toward it as fast as he could.
“Watch out!” Amy raised her shotgun and fired off a blast.
The buckshot whistled past his ear, so close he could feel the wind on his skin. A dull thud sounded, and a zombie collapsed right behind him. He twisted sideways and snapped off a couple of quick shots.
“Move it, Alex,” Amy said. “There’s too many of them.”
The infected pressed in from every side, the house a leaky sieve with no end in sight. Amy fired again, and two zombies crashed to the ground at the same time. For some reason, that struck her as funny, and she began to laugh hysterically. “Hey, look! A twofer!”
Alex ignored her and kept shooting, picking off the infected one after another. They piled up in a circle around them, tripping those that came next. That gave him a slight lead, and he closed the gap between him and the basement.
He finally reached Amy’s side, and she yanked him to safety. Two zombies filled the open doorway, and she fired her third and final round into their snarling faces. The blast obliterated their features, and she cried, “Shut it now!”
Alex lunged forward and slammed the door shut. With a deft twist, he engaged the lock. Immediately, the hammering of dozens of fists formed a steady beat in their ears. The infected screeched and howled like banshees, loud enough to burst an eardrum.
***
That was the moment he knew. They were caught like rats in a trap. To this day, Alex still didn’t know what caused the zombies to move on. He only knew that if they hadn’t, he wouldn’t be alive, and neither would Amy.
Alex shook his head. It didn’t help to dwell on such things. It only drove a person mad. Like Tony and little Laura. He’d failed them both, but it didn’t help to wallow in self-pity. He’d made mistakes. It was human, after all. The main thing was that he learned from those mistakes and didn’t repeat them.
Grabbing two duffel bags, he set about filling them with the weapons Saul had collected. It was all still there. Nobody had found the stash, which was a huge bonus. When he’d crammed in the whole lot, he dragged it outside and loaded it into the truck. “There, that’s everything.”
Grateful to be out of the dank, dark basement, he jumped behind the wheel. “Okay, Sis. Let’s hit the road.”
Alex started the engine and reversed out of the driveway. As they sped down the road, Amy reached into her bag and removed a CD. She popped it into the player, and the soothing strains of Johnny Cash filled the cab.
“Where did you get that?” he asked.
“I took it from home. It was Dad’s favorite, and I wanted something to remember him by,” Amy said.
“Wow, that was cool of you,” Alex said.
“I’ve also got Mom’s wedding ring and a photo album,” Amy continued.
“So, that’s why you were so happy to get the backpack,” Alex mused.
“That’s right. It contains everything I most cherish in this world except for two things.”
Yeah, what are those?” Alex asked.
“You and Dylan. You’re my family and more important than anything else in this world,” Amy replied.
Alex looked over at her, a lump forming in his throat. “You know what, Sis?”
“What?”
“I love you a little bit more every day, which I didn’t think was possible since I already love you so much,” he said.
“I love you too, Bro,” Amy said, scooting over until she could lean against him. “And for now, it’s just you and me and the open road.”
“Just us,” he agreed, glancing down at Amy’s blonde head nestled against his shoulder. The music swirled around him, reminding him of home. Inside his chest, his heart swelled until it felt like it would burst. He had his sister, and his mom and dad were with him in spirit. I have everything I need right here. What more could I ask for?
Chapter 14 - Dylan
The first thing Dylan saw was the blood. It was everywhere. Sprayed onto the walls, pooled on the floor and splashed across the furniture. The second thing she saw was the body. A pair of feet stuck out from behind a counter, and on closer inspection, was revealed to be a woman. Or so Dylan thought judging by the long hair. The rest of the woman’s face was unrecognizable.
A smashed computer monitor looked like the murder weapon, its screen cracked and bloody. Gore stuck to the edges, and it looked like it could slot right into the groove in the deceased scientist’s head.
Lieutenant King wasted little time on the woman or her fate. She’d likely turned into a zombie and attacked a human. A human who fought back and bashed her head in with the closest thing they could find.
As the soldiers moved past, Dylan tried not to look. She’d seen enough death to last her a lifetime. While she was ready and willing to kill zombies, she didn’t revel in it. It was often the small shit that haunted your dreams, like the dead eyes of the zombie kid that tried to munch her back at the roadblock in Charleston.
They left the entrance behind and moved deeper into the facility. At one stage, Lieutenant King raised his hand, and everybody froze. A rasping groan echoed through the hallway, growing
