Episode 7: Fear the Living

        I bolted down the ladder and ran through Target waking everybody up like I was Paul Revere. I went to the front doors. By that time, the cars were all pulling into the parking lot. Everyone woke up quickly, gathering weapons and belongings. Soon, they were crowding around me, peering out the windows toward this potential threat.

        With eighteen of us against too many of them, we didn’t stand a chance.

        Lights flash across our faces as the cars pulled up to the entrance. Twenty or so men got out of the cars carrying assault rifles.

        “All right everybody,” John whispered loudly, appearing out of nowhere. “Get your stuff together and fast. Spencer, Gabriel and I will go to the roof and try to talk to them. Ness, you lead Lily, Cynthia, Reed, Berm, and Carly out the back door. Try to sneak around them and get to a car. Everyone else, get ready to fight if necessary.”

        Everyone nodded in agreement and scampered about. I faltered. After earlier today, I figured John would be done giving orders, but now I was just confused. However, I put it out of my mind. Now was not the time to debate leadership.

        We were armed and ready to go in less than two minutes. John, Spencer, and Gabriel had made it to the roof and started talking just as men started tugging at the locked doors. We were ready to burst out of the doors at any second. I couldn’t hear anything, but I watched all of the men point their weapons towards the roof simultaneously. One of them shouted but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. This went on for a while. John would shout something, and the man would shout something back.

        It looked like thins would go smoothly. Even some of the men started to back away. I thought maybe we could avoid this. Then the man aimed his rifle and took a shot at the roof. All of the men outside took cover from return gunfire as Gabriel’s body fell from the roof to the concrete below.

        “NO!!!” Albert shouted behind me. He ran past me and blasted through the doors, opening fire upon our attackers. We all followed. Most of the men took cover from the incessant gunfire behind their cars, but still a few were hit by whizzing bullets.

        I took cover with Brett and Sam behind an old carcass of a car. Brett looked so scared; his hands shook, and Sam looked angrily determined. Even for a teenager, he had a look that I hope never to see again. It was one of hate—as if he was willing to execute every one of these men—and one of carelessness, like he had nothing to live for anyway.

        I looked around. Ellis, Rebecca, and Joshua were behind another car. Robert and Logan were behind an overturned metal bench. Albert’s lifeless body was in a heap in front of the Target doors. A bullet whizzed right past my head, shattering the glass door behind me and raining shards down upon us.

        Sam leaned over to Brett. “Cover me!”

        He snuck around the corner of the car and advanced towards one of the men. The man noticed him and ran cowardly back behind a car. As he went, Sam stood upright and fired round after round. Brett, too, stood and shot at the others to keep them away from Sam who had just blown the guy’s brains out when—

        “BRETT!!!”

        I looked to my right and saw Lily and Ness leading Cynthia, Principal Berm, Carly, and Reed towards them. What were they doing? I could only guess that they hadn’t found a way around the enemy.

        Brett looked over, smiled, and lowered his gun slightly.

        “Cynthia?”

        BAM!!!

        I had just enough time to see the accidental bullet leave Brett’s gun and ricochet off the top of the car we were behind before I blinked. When I opened my eyes, Sam was falling like a rag doll with a bullet hole in the back of his head.

        “Sam! NO!” Cynthia cried.

        “Oh God!” Brett exclaimed.

        He backed away from the body just as Cynthia knelt beside it.

        A spray of bullets hit the side of the car, and we all ducked. Lily and Ness were behind the car beside me.

        “We couldn’t get to a car,” Ness said.

        “Yeah I figured,” I replied.

        “Well we need to get out of here.”

        “What about the supplies?” Lily asked. “We still haven’t loaded most of what we’ll need into the cars.”

        “There’s not a lot in the cars already, but there’s enough,” I said. “The only problem is getting to them.”

        I peered over at the ready cars all the way across the parking lot.

        “We’re trapped here for now.”

        That’s when we heard a loud crashing sound coming from Home Depot. The front doors had shattered, and walkers began to pour into the parking lot towards the commotion.

        “No,” I said. “No, John said he would put wood over it…”

        “Biters!” I heard one of the looters shout.

        The men scrambled. Some of them started shooting at the walkers. Some of them continued to shoot at us. And a few of them got into their cars and fled.

        “Well…that’s lucky,” Ness commented.

        “Umm…how so?” Lily asked.

        “She’s right,” I said, taking the moment to reload my gun. “We have to make a run for it, and our enemy is preoccupied.” I cocked the gun. “Just follow me.”

        I stood up and shot a looter who was moving towards us. “Let’s go!”

        Lily, Ness, and Reed followed closely behind me. Then Berm and his little girl, Carly came after them. I saw Brett tugging on Cynthia’s shoulder, but she would not leave her son.

        “This is your fault,” I heard her say softly.

        Brett looked over at me solemnly. “You go on ahead.”

        I nodded, and we were off. We went to an overturned car, dodging bullets. There we found Rebecca shooting oncoming walkers and Robert ramming his sword through a looter’s chest.

        “Come on! We’re making a run for the cars!” I shouted to them. Robert nodded and pulled out his bloody sword from the dead man.

        “What about John and Spencer on the roof?” asked Rebecca.

        I remained silent. To be honest, I didn’t want to save John. He was the reason the walkers were out here. I looked down at Carly, who was hiding behind her dad’s leg.

        “We’ll come back for them,” I said, “but we need to get her to safety first.”

        “Okay,” Rebecca agreed.

        I peered round the edge of the car we were behind. I could see our cars waiting for us on the other side of the parking lot. There weren’t any more possible barriers to hide behind, but the looters were falling back. Unfortunately, the walkers were taking their place. They were everywhere. I saw Ellis among them with and assault rifle, mowing down walkers.

        “Ready?” I asked everyone. The seven of them looked at me with scared and determined eyes.

        "Okay, on three.”

        They nodded.

        “One.”

        Ness nocked an arrow, and Robert readied his sword.

        “Two.”

        Lily wiped a tear, and Berm picked up his daughter.

        “THREE!”

        Chaos broke out immediately. We burst forth, and walkers spotted us. As we sprinted, I hacked off a walker’s head.

        BAM! BAM!

        Rebecca shot two in the head. I saw an arrow hit a walker right beside me. Reed ran past and put quickly put down three walkers. Suddenly, Robert was beside me, lopping off a walker’s head and left arm in one swing.

        “AHHHHH!!!” It was Ellis, about 100 feet away, and a walker was biting into his shoulder. He threw the walker off of him and started unloading bullets in all directions.

        “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

        Some of the bullets whizzed past us, and we ducked. I saw Reed fall. I heard a shout behind me.

        “Daddy!”

        I turned and saw Principal Berm on the ground. Rebecca was picking up Carly and shooting walkers. She tried to move toward us, but she was cut off. She began to move back towards Target.

        Ness ran past me.

        “Come on! Let’s go!” she called to me. She nocked two arrows on her bowstring and let them fly, hitting two separate walkers right between the eyes.

        Robert swooped in and picked up Reed with one arm. Lily grabbed my hand. I looked into her eyes. She was terrified, but she gave me a reassuring smile.

        “I love you,” she said softly, and I kissed her.

        We turned and started to sprint towards the cars. Walkers lunged at us, and we dodged around them. She clutched my hand so hard it hurt.

        BAM! BAM! BAM!

        Three more walkers went down. Ness, Robert, and the injured Reed were already at a silver truck.

        “We’re almost there Lily!” I called.

        Suddenly I felt her lurch back. She screamed at the top of her lungs. I turned in horror as a walker bit into her neck.

        “NOOOO!!!!! LILY!!!”

        BAM!

        I shot the walker and caught her before she fell. Blood was already everywhere. Tears flowed down her face.

        “No…no no no no no…please no!” I pleaded to I don’t know who as I cradled her in my arms.

Walkers were approaching, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to live without her. I held her closer. A walker reached for me.

        BAM! BAM!

        The walker’s head burst, and Robert appeared. He wielded a pistol in one hand and his sword in the other. He hacked and slashed and shot all the walkers around us.

        “Move! Now!” he shouted.

        I nodded and picked up Lily in my arms. Her breathing was slowing, and her blood was all over the both of us. I ran to the truck with Robert fighting his way after me. Ness helped me get Lily into the truck bed, and Robert climbed into the driver’s seat.

        Reed was awake, lying in the truck bed beside us, and Ness was wrapping bandages over his left thigh. A bloody bullet was next to them. Lily had her eyes open. She placed a hand against m teary face. A weak smile spread across her lips.

        “It’s okay.” She said it so softly I could barely hear her. “It’s okay, Erik. It’s okay. It’s—”

        Her last breath left her lips, and her eyes glazed over.

        “No no…no,” I breathed.

        I hugged her body close and cried as we drove off into the night.