inspected the hall closet and found the entrance to the attic. I moved and quickly checked the two bedrooms before I went back and went up to the attic. The attic was bare of anything but a blanket, pillow, crate of books, and some empty food containers. There was one window looking out onto the street in front of the house that was the only source of light in the attic room. I was about to go through the books when I heard a scream from below muffled by the floor.
Serena
I watched as Ann sat and worried over her husband and sons, while her daughter held David and tried to console her mother. I looked up to see if Gabriel was still in the room and found that he wasn’t, so I looked back to the scene of the mother. I was surprised that David was such a quiet child; he just held on to his sister and played with her hair. I had to admit that he was but a bit creepy. After a few minutes I got anxious and got up to walk around. I let my feet lead me around the familiar floor plan of my house, and they led me into the kitchen. I slowly approached the kitchen window and peaked through a slight between the window and wall. The kitchen windows looked on into my fenced in backyard, and from here I could see the two spots where the grass and dirt had been dug up more recently than the rest of the ground.
Looking at those spots I bite my bottom lip hard as a wave of sadness passed over me. Those two spots would always remind me of that night that my life had changed so drastically. They would always remind me of what I did, what I lost, and what happened to the rest of the world. I backed up from the window and turned slowly, while returning to the living room I dared not look up at the pictures of what once was and will never be again. As I entered the living room Ann looked up and screamed. I spun around fast and came face to face with the chest of what once was a man, but was now rotting flesh. My eyes travelled up to look into the eyes of the dead man. They had the same cloudiness that haunted my dreams, eyes that saw nothing. He might not see anything but I knew he sensed and smelled me right there. I jumped back pulled out my crossbow and shot him in the head. He fell to the ground with a thump, just as Gabriel ran down the stairs. I reached down and pulled the wooden stake out of the dead man’s face, getting a bit of putrid blood on my hand. I stared down at the body for a moment before I rushed past Gabriel up the stairs.
Gabriel
I jumped out of the attic and ran down the stairs, and was shocked by the sight that greeted me. I heard a thump just as I reached the landing, and saw Serena staring down at a dead man. She looked disturbed, which I understood completely, and from where I stood I could see her hands shaking a bit. I watched as she pulled her wooden stake out of the dead man. After a moment she ran up the stairs past me. I would have followed her, but I needed to check on my mother and siblings.
I found them in the living room with equal looks of shock on their faces. I left them to find where the zombie had gotten in. I found a side door to the house that I had not noticed before, it had been broken into. From the looks of it the door was pretty weak. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the table there; it was just big enough to cover the door. Running back into the kitchen I found nails and a hammer in the back of one of the drawers and I used those to secure the table and door. It would have to do until my father got back. I went back and rolled the body into the hallway by the side door, until I could figure out what to do with it.
Serena
I ran into my bathroom turned the sink on and washed the wooden stake. I then lathered my hand up with soap and scrubbed it hard under the water. While I did these small tasks I tried to stop from shaking, and calm down my inner emotional turmoil. I was glad that I didn’t recognize the dead man’s face, but all I could think of were those damn cloudy eyes. All of the dead had those cloudy eyes that haunted me. That was why I was too afraid to look into Gabriels, or any of his family’s eyes. I would only look for a brief moment, and I would always hope that they never had those cloudy eyes.
I went into my room and changed my shirt that had gotten a little blood on it, again careful not to look around the room. I did the task quickly and went downstairs to join the rest of them. I found them all sitting quietly and all of them looked up at me when I entered the room.
“Are you alright?” Ailee asked.
“As fine as I could be considering the whole situation we’re in. I’ll be fine, did anyone find where it came in from?” I asked looking down at my hands.
“Through the side door, I’ve already patched it up.” Gabriel answered.
“I’m so sorry to have screamed, it’s just I was so shocked to look up and see it standing behind Serena.” Ann said looking even more worried.
“I think we’ll be fine, there aren’t many that come this way and the walls are thick so I don’t think any more would have heard.” I replied calmly.
“The walls may be thick, but that side door wasn’t.” Gabriel said.
“We can only hope that dad gets back soon.” Ailee said.
Gabriel
It was a few hours later after we had ate something when anyone said anything more. After the incident it had been a quiet day with me doing quick routine checks around the house. I made sure not to miss anything.
“We don’t have a lot of food left, and I don’t think it’s an issue that can wait till your father gets back. I think Ailee and I should go out and find some.” My mother announced.
“I think it can wait until dad gets back, I’m not going to let you two go out there alone. If anything I should be the one to go.” I countered.
“I don’t mind going with mom.” Ailee broke in.
“You better listen to me Gabriel Patterson. This is the best way to go about the issue. I would rather you and Serena stay and protect David.” She used her strict mom voice with me and before I could argue back Ailee added,
“It’ll be fine, I could protect us both and mom could carry the supplies.”
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea, no matter how you say it.” I crossed my arms decisively.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
The next morning I could find no way to stop them, and they left. They headed east toward the ocean in search of food. I was left there alone with the mysterious girl Serena, and my baby brother David, who now clung to Serena.
Forsaken Among the Dead:Part Two Page 2
