Sydney walks downstairs from her bedroom and enters the kitchen. She is holding her own backpack, and zips it shut as she approaches her cousin. She seems happy, but a little worried. Matthew notices Sydney enter the room, and finishes packing his bag. Michael does as well. Suddenly, Shelby comes up from the basement. She is unaware of what's going on. Matthew looks at her confused face.
“We thought we should let you sleep in. You should go pack your things… only what you need.” Matthew explains.
“What’s going on?” Shelby asks.
“We’re leaving. It’s not safe here anymore.” Michael explains.
Shelby looks sad at first, but she understands. She hesitates, but inevitably leaves the room to go pack a bag. Shelby walks out of the kitchen and heads up stairs. Michael exits the room as well. Sydney walks up to Matthew. The two of them fear what’s out in the real world, but they know they should go anyway.
“You ready?” Matthew asks.
“Yeah. I’m gonna miss this place, but if we’re all together… anywhere we end up will be our home.” Sydney says.
Matthew smiles, “Exactly.”
Sydney smiles and exits the kitchen as well. Matthew is prepared to leave and venture out into the wilderness. Matthew turns to face his friend, who is still looking out the window. Matthew looks at him for a moment. He doesn't seem to be in the moment with Matthew.
“You ready to go, Kurt?”
Kurt slowly turns around, “Yeah…”
Matthew looks at Kurt for a moment. Deep down he feels a little disturbed by the look on his friend’s face. He doesn't seem like he wants to do anything with Matthew and his family, but he proceeds to walk past Matthew and exits the room. Matthew takes a moment and thinks about his friend. He doesn't want there to be any problems between them, but he also doesn't want to get into a fight.
The front door of the house opens, and the entire group walks outside. Matthew walks in front with a rifle in hand. Michael and Kurt walk behind him, and Sydney and Shelby follow. Michael, Matthew, and Kurt are the only ones armed, so once the step out onto the street, Sydney and Shelby go in the middle of the group as they walk. They plan on searching for a new home to live in. Matthew is optimistic that they will find one they can make safe, but Michael isn't. Kurt stands at the back of the group as they walk. He doesn't fully trust Matthews family. He feels like a completely different person after killing all those bandits back at the gas station. He feels like he is punishing himself. Kurt doesn't know if he plans on staying with this group of people. Matthew is really the only reason he is staying, but he also feels a little bitter towards him as well.
“Where do you think is a good spot to hold up?” Shelby asks.
“I don't know. Maybe somewhere with walls, or a tall fence to keep the infected out.” Matthew says.
“There should also be a lake or river nearby, so we have access to fresh water.” Sydney says.
Michael remains silent. He is nervous at the thought of possibly encountering other people. He doesn't trust strangers to be friendly, especially after his encounter with the woman yesterday. Kurt begins to zone out while walking, and eventually stops. The rage he felt when killing those bandits is starting to come back. He doesn't know why, but he knows he just wants to kill. He knows it’s wrong, and he knows he doesn't want to kill Matthew and his family, but the feeling is still there. Kurt stands and watches the rest continue walking. They don't realize he stopped. Suddenly, Kurt sees something in the corner of his eye.
Kurt turns his head to his left and sees something truly disturbing. Only 15 feet away is Francesco, standing on the sidewalk with a bullet wound in his head. Kurt is in disbelief. He saw Francesco die, and stood over his dead body. Suddenly, Francesco speaks.
“You didn't stop.”
Kurt begins to cry out loud. He is truly disturbed by the sight of Francesco. Matthew hears the crying and turns around. The others turn as well.
“Kurt?” Matthew shouts.
Kurt turns to look at Matthew. He is confused beyond his imaging. Kurt turns back to face Francesco, but he is gone. Kurt slowly realizes it must have been a hallucination. Kurt looks back at Matthew and wipes the tears from his face. Matthew and the others look at each other in confusion. Before any of them can say anything, they all hear the scream of a woman and a boy coming from a few blocks ahead of them. They all quickly turn to face the direction of the scream, but they see nothing. Matthew looks concerned, while Michael looks extremely anxious. Matthew turns to face the others, not knowing what to do.
Kurt begins to feel that same rage again. After a moment of contemplation, Kurt sprints toward the group, and passes them. Kurt sprints down the street toward the sound they heard. Matthew watches Kurt, realizing what he is doing is not very wise. Matthew begins to chase after Kurt.
“Kurt! Stop!” Matthew screams.
Chapter 7
Red
The gate to the backyard kicks in. Four people run through with infected following them not far behind. Linda and her two kids follow behind her. Linda is 43 years old. She has long black hair and is wearing a very dirty coat. Her daughter, Moxxie is 19 years old. She also has long black hair. Matteo, Linda's youngest kid, and Moxxies little brother follows them as they run into the backyard. He is 11 years old and looks terrified. The fourth member is 18-year-old guy named Jacob. He follows in the back. He looks pale and tired. They all look dirty and worn out. They must have been through a lot since the start.
The group runs into the backyard of an abandoned house, attempting to escape a small group of infected. Linda stops in the center of the backyard and looks around to see if there is any escape. There is not. Linda turns around and grabs her son Matteo. Suddenly, half a dozen infected enter the backyard from the gate that they came through. Linda realizes she just led her family into a corner to be killed by the infected. The infected approach them, forcing them all to huddle in the corner of the backyard. Matteo begins crying. Linda and Moxxie look terrified. Jacob takes a deep breath and pulls out his knife from his sheath. Moxxie looks confused and worried. She has no idea what Jacob is about to do. Jacob charges the infected with his knife. He tries to stab one in the head, but the infected grabs his arm and tackles him to the ground. Jacob falls on his back and screams in pain. The fall did not look painful at all, so the others are confused by his scream. Their view is obscured by 2 infected who walk past Jacob and head straight toward them. They accept that their lives are about to end. Linda knew she wasn't strong enough to protect her family. She got this far, but she knew they couldn't last forever.
Suddenly, someone from behind the group of infected begins firing a fully automatic rifle. Bullets fly through the heads of the infected. Linda and her kids crouch down to avoid the gunfire. After a moment, all the infected fall to the ground dead. Linda looks up to see Kurt standing near the entrance of the backyard, holding a fully automatic rifle. They all look stunned and scared. Kurt looks crazed and angry. They don't know whether to try and run from this stranger, or to try and thank him. Jacob is still struggling with the infected on top of him. He grabs his knife which he had previously dropped and thrusts it into the eye socket of the infected, killing it. Jacob pushes the infected body off him and gets up from the ground. Jacob looks at Kurt who had just saved them all. Kurt stands there with that same look of rage in his eyes. He is still pointing his gun at them, even though they seem to be no threat.
Before anyone can do anything, Matthew and his cousins run in from the entrance of the backyard. They quickly stop behind Kurt, confused at what is going on. Matthew looks at Kurt pointing the gun, and then looks over his shoulder to see the four strangers backed into a corner. They are clearly defenseless and scared. Matthew realizes Kurt’s strange behavior is affecting how he acts around others. First it was his cousins, and now these strangers. The cause of this change in behavior is irrelevant at this point, so Matthew steps in front of Kurt and blocks him from shooting the strangers. Matthew puts his hand forward,
trying to get Kurt to lower the gun.
“Hey man, what are you doing?” Matthew asks.
Kurt doesn't respond. He is zoning out again, not acknowledging anything that is going on around him. Sweat begins to roll down Kurt's head. He is anxious, but also angry. He has an urge to cause pain, but part of him knows it's not right.
“Put the gun down Kurt.” Matthew says.
Kurt still doesn't respond. He looks Matthew in the eye angrily. Matthew is startled by this. He has never seen Kurt look at him this way before. Matthew becomes intimidated by his friend. Michael slowly raises his hunting rifle and points it at Kurt's back, ready to fire if he tries anything. Michael doesn't want to kill anyone, but he will if he must. Michael begins to think about the woman in the woods, and how much guilt he has for killing her. Michaels hands begin to tremble as the thought of having to kill Kurt crosses his mind. Matthew looks scared now. He takes a step back, but still looks like he’s trying to help. Kurt notices the fear in his friend’s eyes.
“Please. Just put it down.” Matthew says.
Kurt snaps back to reality, and hears Matthew asking him to lower his gun. Kurt begins to think about what he is doing right now, and slowly lowers the rifle. Kurt's eyes begin to fill with tears again. Kurt steps back and looks around. Kurt turns and looks at Michael, who is still pointing his gun at him. Michael looks scared of Kurt, and Kurt looks sad. Kurt realizes he appears to be insane to the others, and quickly walks past Michael, and leaves the backyard. Matthew takes a deep breath. He feels relieved. Michael looks at Matthew, and Matthew looks back. The two realize things could have gone much worse. Matthew nods at his cousin. Michael slowly stops trembling and lowers his rifle after getting Matthews validation. Matthew takes a moment, but then decides to leave the backyard and follow Kurt. Matthew leaves, and the three siblings look at the strangers.
Michael looks at the strangers and sees they have a child with them. None of them are armed with any firearms. Michael only notices the knife Jacob is holding. Sydney and Shelby step forward to approach the strangers, but before they can, Moxxie stands up and runs toward Jacob. She hugs him and starts crying.
“Are you okay?” Moxxie asks.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Moxxie steps back and looks at Michael for a moment. She doesn't know why, but she can't seem to break eye contact. Michael looks back at Moxxie but looks a little awkward and uncomfortable. Michael nervously breaks eye contact and looks off to the side. She realizes this and looks away. Jacob steps forward and puts his hand out to shake Michaels hand. Michael looks at him, not understanding what he is doing. Jacob looks a little tense but pulls himself together.
“Thank you. Seriously, you guys just saved our asses.” Jacob says.
“Oh, uh. That wasn't me, that was the other guy who just took off.” Michael explains.
“Yeah, but you guys are friends, right? You all saved us in a way.” Jacob chuckles.
Michael nervously smiles and remembers he is still holding out his hand. Michael awkwardly shakes Jacobs hand after a moment of hesitation. He finishes shaking his hand and steps back.
Michael turns his head, “I’m Michael. These are my sisters, Sydney, and Shelby.”
“Hi.” Sydney says.
Shelby steps forward, “Are you guys hurt? We have some medical supplies.”
“Oh, we’re okay, Thanks. My name is Jacob, this is my girlfriend Moxxie.”
Michael looks back at Moxxie. He never considered ‘dating’ in the apocalypse. He just assumes she and him must have been together from before all of this. Moxxie looks back at Michael, realizing he is staring at her. As soon as the two of them make eye contact, Michael looks away awkwardly. Moxxie is beginning to feel uncomfortable. She comes to the conclusion that this guy is either really weird or is interested in her. Linda gets up and holds Matteo's hand. The two of them step forward out of the corner and introduce themselves.
“I’m Linda, this is my son Matteo.”
Sydney looks at the strangers and realizes that Moxxie and Matteo look similar. She assumes they are related, but she feels like she should try and make some small talk to make the group feel more comfortable.
“You two look like you are related. Is he your brother?” Sydney says.
“Oh, yeah. He’s my little brother.” Moxxie explains.
Sydney smiles for a moment. She hasn't seen someone as young as Matteo since before society collapsed. Sydney looks at Matteo and realizes that he looks scared. He hasn't said a word this entire time. Sydney begins to think about Kurt, and how he has been acting strangely lately. Shelby takes her bag off and pulls out a granola bar. She steps forward and hands the snack over to Matteo.
“Here. You are probably hungry right?’ Shelby asks.
Matteo says nothing and doesn't bother taking the snack out of her hand. Shelby feels a little insulted but feels bad for the kid. She understands that it must be hard for a child to live in a world like this. Linda reaches out and takes the snack from Shelby.
“Thank you… Say ‘thank you’, Matteo.” Linda says.
Matteo hesitates, “Thank you.”
Shelby feels sorry for intruding on the kid’s space. He clearly doesn't feel comfortable being around these strangers. Jacob starts talking to Shelby and Michael. Sydney becomes curious about Matthew and Kurt, and what his deal was. She decides to leave the backyard to try and see if everything is okay with them.
Kurt storms out the from the backyard gate and onto the street. His head is throbbing, and his heart is beating fast. He begins to panic, and spins around looking to see if there is anyone around. He is feeling all sorts of things at this moment. All things from fear, paranoia, anger, rage, and sadness. He doesn't know why, but the sight of Francesco standing off the side of the street looking at him haunts his mind. Kurt rationalizes and understands his friend is truly gone, and he was just seeing something that was not there.
Matthew comes out from the backyard and approaches Kurt. Matthew seems a little angry now. He doesn't understand why Kurt is acting this way. Matthew just wants his friend to be the same way he was before all this. Before Kurt was a relaxed, cool dude. Now he just seems to be a dangerous psycho. He realizes living in a world like this can change you, but he doesn't know what Kurt could be going through to make him almost shoot an innocent family.
“Kurt. What the hell was that?” Matthew asks.
“I saw him.”
“What?” Matthew asks.
Matthew looks confused. Kurt stops panicking and turns to face his friend. Matthew sees his sweaty and paranoid face. He is disturbed.
“I saw Fran!”
Matthew doesn’t understand. Kurt realizes Matthew is still confused.
“I saw him standing, with a bullet in his head. It felt so real. I can't-”
“Kurt! You’re just seeing things okay? Francesco is gone. What was that back there? You looked like you were about to kill those people!” Matthew says.
“We can't trust them. It’s just gonna go the same way it did back in town. We can’t trust strangers anymore!”
“No, Kurt! Did you not look at them? They’re harmless. What the hell is the matter with you? They had a kid with them!” Matthew shouts.
“You don't understand! From the start, every time strangers showed up, bad things happened. First it was those assholes who killed Laura's brother, and then you!”
“Me?! What did I do? They were the ones who killed Francesco, not me!”
Kurt turns around, frustrated and conflicted. He begins walking away from Matthew down the street. Matthew wants to follow him, but he is conflicted. Before he can make up his mind, Matthew hears someone behind him. Matthew turns around to see his cousin. Sydney looks at Matthew, confused.
“What’s going on?” Sydney asks.
“I don't know. He’s going through something.”
Sydney looks over Matthews shoulder to see Kurt. He looks distressed. After a moment of walking, Kurt stops and sits down on the curb.
Sydney begins to feel sorry for him. She doesn't understand his struggle, but she is still sympathetic.
Suddenly, Michael, Shelby, and the four strangers walk out from the backyard. Matthew looks at Sydney, concerned.
“Are they cool?” Matthew asks.
“Yeah, they don't even have any guns.”
Matthew looks back at the four strangers and begins to walk toward them. Matthew gets close, and they all stop walking. They feel more comfortable around Michael and his sisters, but not Matthew or Kurt.
“Don't worry about my friend over there. He’s not going to hurt anyone.” Matthew explains.
“Oh, that's good. He had us kinda worried for a second.” Jacob chuckles.
“So, where you guys headed?” Matthew asks.
“Nowhere in particular. We were just talking, and we were kinda hoping we could stick with you guys, if you’re okay with that?” Jacob kindly asks.
Matthew doesn’t know if he can trust these people, but they have a child and do seem to be harmless. Matthew looks at Michael for a moment. Michael nods his head. Matthew trusts Michael, so if Michael thinks these people are trustworthy, then Matthew is willing to give them a chance.
“Okay. We were hoping to find somewhere safe to hold up. I guess you wouldn't know of anywhere we could do that, right?” Matthew asks.
“Uh, no. But I know a place where we can get some guns, hopefully. We don't have any, so if we want to defend a place, we’ll need to be armed, right?”
“Yeah. Where is this place exactly?” Matthew asks.
“Not far. I used to live near here, so I know the area pretty well. There's a sporting-goods store off a main road. They never got much business, so maybe they still have some stuff there.” Jacob explains.
“Alright, let's go now then. Lead the way.” Matthew says.
The group walks onto the street and heads away from the house. Matthew watches them walk away for a moment, and then looks back at Kurt down the street. He is still sitting on the curb, but he looks calmer now.
Mankind Page 10
