“What are you doing?” Eddy asked.
“Saving my friend.”
The runner had gotten downstairs and ran towards Hank, but Marcus dropped down on top of the Runner and stabbed it in its head. Eddy ran to Steven and helped him up as they ran out of the door and proceeded downstairs. More zombies began to appear from the corners of the house, but Marcus had already helped Hank up and looked for a way out.
“Are you okay?” Marcus asked.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Let’s go out back!” Eddy yelled.
They ran to the back of the house, but zombies had already walked in and flooded the door. Eddy grabbed Steven and opened the door to help Marcus and Hank run. Hank struggled to stay up, but no one didn’t see the blood dripping from his left torso.
“Marcus.” Hank murmured.
Marcus quickly glanced at Hank and saw blood. He moved Hank’s arm and noticed the wound and froze for a second. Blood had just started to get heavy, but Marcus didn’t care.
“We’ll worry about that once we get you to Drake!”
“I’m not going anywhere!” Hank coughed.
Eddy and Steven managed to kill a few zombies in front of them, but they looked back at Marcus and Hank, “Let’s go!” Eddy yelled.
“You’ll be fine,” Marcus assured Hank.
Hank grunted as he covered his wound and fought through the pain. Marcus followed closely behind Eddy and Steven as they sneaked behind the houses to avoid being seen by the zombies. The last of the horde had walked past them, but one mistake could bring them all back. The dead leaves crunched from their footsteps while Eddy rushed behind the other houses. Hank coughed, and blood spewed out of his mouth, forcing him to fall to the ground in pain. Marcus struggled to get him standing, but Steven rushed over to him and helped Hank up.
“I’m sorry,” Hank mumbled to Steven.
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get you back to the group.”
“Come on, they’re all gone. We can make it.” Eddy whispered.
Eddy held the machete close to him as he glanced every corner of his surroundings. He looked at the horde walking and let a small smile appear on his face. His radio caught his attention with static and he grabbed it, “Hello?”
Eddy walked ahead more and stretched his hands outward for better signal, but the static continued. Suddenly, he heard a voice. He didn’t know who it was, but he knew it was his group.
“Jess?”
Eddy, where are you?
“We’re fine, but Hank is injured and we’re going to need Drake as soon as we arrive!”
─
“Oh shit!” Jess gasped.
Jess slowly stood up and limped her way to Drake, “Eddy’s going to need your help. Hank is injured.”
“What kind of injury is it?”
“I don’t know. Where’s Faith?”
“I saw Faith run to the back.”
Jess went closer to the front of the building and spoke into the radio, “Eddy, we’re ready. Just come in front of the building.”
Got it!
Jess walked over to Drake, “Hey, I don’t know where Maria is, but hold on to this,” she gave him the radio, “Listen for Eddy. They should be here in a few minutes.
“Okay,” Drake deeply exhaled as he clipped the radio to his waist and gathered any supplies for Hank’s return.
Jess walked as fast as she could to the back of the store and began to breathe heavily. The pain in her leg made it sufferable to walk on, but she pushed through it. She nearly made it to the back until she saw Faith and Lisa walk out of the room with Lisa’s hands and shirt covered in blood. Jess stopped and stared at them. Faith looked up and noticed Jess looking at them. All she did was look back. The look of grief.
“What happened?”
Lisa kept crying, but Faith managed to keep calm and continue to walk her away from the room, “Lisa, go to the front. Wait for me there.”
Lisa nodded her head and walked past Jess, but Jess was still confused, “Faith, what the hell happened?”
“Maria, she…she killed herself.”
The news struck Jess; unlike anything she would’ve never suspected. She didn’t want to believe Faith, but Faith’s face told her everything she needed to know.
“Where is she?”
Faith led her to the room and stood outside the door and waited for Jess to enter first. Shaking, Jess was afraid to see the horrible truth that awaited her. As she pushed the door open, she instantly covered her mouth from gagging and backed away. She leaned against the wall with both her hands on the thighs and hyperventilated.
“How could she…do this!” Jess cried.
“I don’t know.”
“Jess!” a voice screamed from the other side of the store.
Faith helped Jess as the quickly rushed to the front. Marcus helped Drake sit Hank down on a sheet that spread on the ground while Eddy looked for Jess. A crowd formed over Hank while some still wondered about Lisa’s condition. Steven saw Lisa and rushed over to her. When she saw him approaching, she instantly smiled and cried into the arms as he hugged her tight. Jess and Faith ran through the crowd and noticed Hank on the ground.
“Eddy?” Jess said.
Eddy hugged her and Faith and looked at hank, “He fell through the second floor and got impaled by something.”
“Will he be okay?”
“I’m honestly not sure. I don’t have my usual equipment.”
“But there has to be something you can do, right?” Marcus asked.
Drake held his head down in disappointment, “I’m afraid not,” he lifted Hank’s shirt and saw the damage, “With a wound like this, there’s nothing we can do to stop the bleeding. And even if we can manage to stop that, he could bleed internally.”
Marcus hid his face in the palm of his hands and walked away. Eddy walked behind him and asked if he was okay, but Marcus fought back. He tried to snatch away from Eddy, but Eddy tried calming him down.
“Marcus! Calm down!”
Marcus kept fighting back, “Let me go! Please…let me go!”
Marcus slowly stopped resisting and he and Eddy kneeled to the floor. Eddy didn’t know what to do, but he remained on the floor with Marcus. Steven looked at Hank slowly going to a better place and suddenly felt bad for what happened. Two more people were lost and there was nothing they could do about it.
─
One hour later, the store filled with silence. The sun had disappeared into the earth and darkness flooded their surroundings. Jess stared at the outside world and wondered what life would be like if there wasn’t a virus. Everything they’ve endured over the years, everything they’ve done, bad and good, had to be worth it in some way. Maria and Hank’s grave laid in front of the store and stood as a reminder to everyone. A constant reminder that no one is safe. She exhaled and thought about everyone—mothers, children, survivors—and saw how depressed everyone was. They were all tired.
Physically. Emotionally. Mentally.
Faith and Steven sat next to Lisa while she sat in silence, Eddy was sitting with Marcus to make sure he was doing okay, and everyone else were amongst friends and family, sleeping peacefully. Drake walked next to her and stared outside.
“You could’ve saved him,” Jess whispered.
“Medicine would have saved him.”
“But you didn’t even take that risk.”
“You don’t think I wanted to? I couldn’t! Even if we did save him, what then? How long until the infection kills him and I’m not talking about the zombies,” Drake sighed and wiped his eyes, “I’m not wasting the little supplies I have wishing for a miracle. When I was teaching you to help me with this kind of stuff, I told you that we couldn’t risk limited supplies for something that could possibly happen. These are the choices I have to make every day, and it doesn’t get any better with time.”
Drake walks away, and Jess continued to stare at their graves. The inside light that reflected onto the glass in fron
t of her died down as people turned them off to sleep. Eddy made sure Marcus laid down and checked on everyone before walking over to Jess. She still stood there—like she usually does at times like this—and had a worrying look on her face. Eddy didn’t have to look into her eyes to know. He’s seen it too many times.
“You should get some rest. We have to tell everyone tomorrow and make a decision.”
“I don’t even know what to do right now. Now that Maria’s gone, how do we move on from here? Who’s going to take care of the group? Lead them?”
“We could. Me, you, Faith, Marcus. We’re all we’ve got. We just have to make choices to prove that instead of killing everyone.”
“But we’re not.”
“It’s not necessarily us, but what we do. We think of the first thing that could protect us and that becomes the very thing that could eventually kill us if we’re not careful. All I’m saying is, we need to be careful.”
“I know. I’m just tired of losing people.”
“Unfortunately, that’s the new normal now.”
“Sadly.”
Eddy gives Jess a long generous hug and walked to their sleeping area, leaving Jess along with her thoughts. Jess glanced into the darkness outside and gave a deep exhale before walking away to get rest for the next dreadful day. Everyone was tired of fighting, but each day it required more strength and courage to overcome the horror that pulled them back in. It’s only a matter of time before the apocalyptic world claims its next victims and none of them will be prepared for it.
II
NEXT?
The news of curing the world had everyone excited; hugging their loved ones while some cried of joy. Jess stood over everyone and saw their reactions. The hopeful feeling that had once escaped their thoughts came flooding in with so much adrenaline. Faith just smiled while Eddy tried getting Marcus excited about the news, but the memories of the previous day was still affecting him.
“Even though there is a possibility of a cure, we still need to discuss who’s staying and who’s going.” Jess interrupted.
The crowd suddenly grew quiet. It had gotten quiet to the point where it was awkward. Faith walked next to Jess and smiled and the group,
“Don’t worry. We won’t decide without everyone agreeing to it, but we’ll need to make one soon. If there’s any hope.”
“Just…those who wants to stay, step forward now.” Jess asked.
Eddy watched as many people stepped in front of Jess and Faith—most of them being women and men with their families—and walked over to Jess and Faith. Jess sighed and looked at the majority that wanted to stay. All that remained were five others that remained in the back. Among those people staying was Drake. Jess figured he would stay due to his skills of being a doctor.
“I guess this is it.” Jess said.
“Yeah, I guess this is your answer.” Drake announced.
Jess nodded her head and placed her head on her hips, “Okay. For the rest who wants to go, we’re leaving in a few weeks, so…be ready.”
Jess walked away and left Faith and Eddy in front of the group. They all watched Jess walk away and looked at Faith and Eddy for words. Eddy stared into the crowd and slowly left Faith standing alone. Faith looked to talk to Eddy, but once she saw him gone, she let out a nervous chuckle and continued to stare at everyone.
─
Jess walked in between two aisles and sat in the center of the floor. The covered her face and cried to herself with no one around, not knowing Eddy followed her to the aisle. He peeked around the corner and slowly approached Jess.
“What’s wrong?” Eddy asked as he sat in front of her.
Jess quickly wiped away her tears, “Everything is happening too fast.”
While Eddy and Jess sat across from each other, Marcus, Lisa, Steven, and Faith came to visit her also. She looked up at them and couldn’t help but to smile. That moment let her know everything she needed to know. They were there for her. No matter what.
“Hey you guys.” Jess smiled.
“We know what you’re going through right now. We’re here for you.” Lisa said.
“I know.”
Eddy stood up and extended his hand out to Jess. She sighed and grabbed it gently while standing up and immediately hugging him. It caught Eddy by surprise, but he hugged her back without question.
“So, you’re good?” Eddy asked.
“I’m good.”
“Good, because we have zombies to kill and a cure waiting for us.”
─
Weeks went by, and Jess was almost prepared to leave. She put her hair into a ponytail and filled her backpack with small snacks and bottles of water. Eddy and Marcus were preparing their backpacks for the road while Lisa and Faith talked to everyone else. The area was secured, and they were all safe. Jess knew she couldn’t leave them there to fight off any more threats. Jess paused for a moment and glanced outside. Her deep stare made her think about something she wanted to do. As she zipped her backpack, she walked near the door and walked outside. Everyone was too busy getting ready and making conversation to notice her disappearance.
─
Minutes later, she walked up to Sam, Tina, David, and Austin’s grave. Rubble was smeared on top of them, but she moved everything out of the way and squatted in between them.
“Sam, there’s great news. There’s a doctor from Houston that thinks he made a cure. He’s in North Carolina right now. Eddy told me yesterday. I wish you were here to get this kind of news. This is our chance to start over. Me, Faith, Eddy, everyone. We’re heading out in a few to go there. It’s going to be a while, but you guys will be on my mind the whole journey there. I miss you so much. All of you!” Jess cries.
“Jess. It’s time to go.” Faith said.
Jess looked back at the graves and placed her hands on Sam and Austin’s grave. She cried lightly and stood up. Faith put her arms around Jess as they walked away from the graves. Jess felt relieved to at least speak to Sam again in the afterlife. For a split second, she knew he and all the people she’s thinking of were standing there watching over her.
─
“We’ll go to North Carolina and find this cure. We’re going to do this for all we’ve lost.” Eddy told Jess.
Jess and the others approached the new survivors: Penny, James, Adam, Denny, and Meredith. The five of them were a weird bunch to look at.
Denny stood the tallest, but his soft-seeming exterior took everyone by surprise. His deep brown hair was messy, and his body was as straight as any human could be, but his glasses, the rectangular lenses, painted a friendly picture of him. Next to him was Penny. She was the smallest in the group, but one look in her eyes could tell a different story. Her dirty blonde hair was tied into a ponytail like Jess, but her posture was intimidating. Adam and Denny were twins that stood together as if they were literally inseparable. However, Adam looked almost as if there was no apocalypse. His clothes were almost perfectly clean, and his hair was neat. James stood out as one of the serious ones. The scar across his right cheek raised questions, but his expression spoke aggression and anger.
As she looked at them, she knew she was going to have to trust them to come along. Otherwise they wouldn’t be here.
“So, this is it?” Jess asked.
“With all of us, we should manage, right?” Eddy asked.
“Of course.”
Everyone looks at one another in agreement and began walking away, but Jess stood still. No one noticed her standstill, but they heard her voice again.
“Guys,” she said as she slowly approached them, “I just want all of you to know something. When we get there, to North Carolina, I just want all of you to be prepared for the possibility that there may not be a cure.”
“As much as I hate to hear that, I agree.” Adam said.
“I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
“Yes, we are.” James said.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
─
Z Island Series | Book 3 | Survivors of Z Island [Retribution Part 1] Page 3
