Zombie Island (Zombie Apocalypse #1)

by Samantha Hoffman

We reach the town about forty minutes later, and immediately I know this trip is going to end badly. We’re standing at the outskirts of town, and in front of us is the large “Welcome To” sign that generally marks the city limits. It’s covered in blood, and most of it has burned away, so we can’t even tell the name of the town we’re about to explore.

  “Alright, stay close,” Ryder orders gruffly. “If you stray off, don’t expect me to come to your rescue.”

  Tobe whimpers, and moves closer to Reese. I take my gun back out, and walk between the two of them. I’m not sure how good of a shot I am since I’ve only fired the gun once and at close range, but I feel strangely better with it in my hands. All I have to do is squeeze the trigger, and I’ll be able to hopefully protect myself. I won’t need Reese or Ryder to run to my rescue; I can contribute to the group and be of actual use.

  The main road is in terrible shape. Everywhere I look are bodies and blood. It smears the walls and litters the ground, and I keep looking down to make sure I don’t step on someone’s hand. Ryder and Reese begin checking the abandoned cars that line the sides of the road while Tobe and I hang back.

  “Dammit!” I look over just in time to see Ryder kick an empty cooler across someone’s destroyed yard. “Almost none of them have keys, and the ones that do won’t make it five miles before shitting out on us.”

  “There’s more than one street in a town, Ryder. We can keep looking,” I say, moving forward.

  He turns and glares at me. “I don’t want to have to go farther into town, Sam! It’s dangerous enough being here as it is; I don’t wanna risk running into some fucking ambush.”

  Shaking my head, I walk over and join Reese. He looks much more calm than his brother, and I bet he won’t take my head off. He’s kneeling down by something on the curb and, as I stop behind him, my stomach rolls and my heart squeezes.

  Lying on the ground is the body of a small girl. She can’t be older than six, and she’s still wearing her pink nightgown and clutching at her teddy bear. It’s missing an eye and looks well used. The sight of the little girl brings tears to my eyes, and I turn away to keep from being sick.

  Half of her is missing…

  I banish that thought from my head, refusing to see that girl’s body in my mind again. My mind doesn’t feel like agreeing, and the little girl’s eyes continue to stare at me, even though I’ve turned away. One more picture of her bloody corpse causes me to retch.

  I turn farther away so I won’t disgrace her body. Dropping to my knees, I hold back my hair and puke up what little I’ve had to eat in the last few days. There’s so little in my stomach its mostly dry-heaving, but I still don’t want Reese or Ryder to see me like this.

  When I’m done, I wipe my mouth on my sleeve, and refuse to move for a minute, just in case I have to be sick again. As I’m kneeling, someone with firm, warm hands begins rubbing soothing circles over my back, and I look up into Reese’s eyes. He looks sorry and upset, but not judgmental.

  “Are you alright?” he asks quietly. I nod, too afraid to open my mouth for even a second, in case something other than words comes out. Reese’s hand stops moving, and he pulls away slowly. “Come on, let’s get going.”

  I get to my feet, careful to avoid looking at the little girl, and follow Reese. We have to jog to catch up with Tobe and Ryder, who are already onto the next street, searching for a usable car. Ryder looks up and his eyes narrow slightly when he sees the two of us together. “I told you guys to stay close.”

  I ignore his icy stare. “Should we scavenge for some extra supplies while we’re here? Or are we just looking for a new ride?”

  Ryder sighs. “I’m not sure.”

  “I think we should stay together,” Tobe says, looking around nervously. “If we split up, we might get lost or hurt. We should just look for the car and get out of here as soon as possible.”

  “We’re gonna run out of supplies sooner or later,” Reese says, looking to Ryder like he always seems to. “I think we should stock up as much as we can while we’re here.”

  “If we can find a running car, we’ll stop by a store or something on our way out of town. But for now, the car comes first, or we’ll be stranded here for the night.”

  We continue the search for a car and just when I’m about to suggest trying another section of the town, Ryder stops us. “This one has keys, but it’s almost out of gas. We’ll have to stop at a station and fill it up before we leave.”

  It’s a dirty black jeep wrangler with four doors and a sunroof. There’s a bit of storage space in the back, and it’s the most wonderful vehicle I’ve ever seen, because it still has the keys in the ignition. When Ryder takes a seat up front and turns the keys, the engine roars to life, and we all cheer.

  Tobe and I take seats in back, and Ryder drives around town, searching for the nearest gas station. While he fills up the tank, Reese and I check out the store for anything of use. Gun in hand, I wander up and down the destroyed aisles, trying to think if there’s anything that we need.

  “Incoming,” Reese says.

  I look up just in time to see a package of toilet paper come sailing over the shelf at me. I catch it with one arm, and keep looking down the aisles. There isn’t really anything else of use; most of the food is expired, gone, or destroyed. Ryder honks the horn impatiently, and Reese and I head back outside. He honks again, and Reese sighs. “We’re coming! Honking isn’t going to make us move any faster.”

  He rolls his eyes at me, and I giggle. The two of us are still laughing when the first zombie rounds the corner of the gas station and starts to moan.