Walk Again

Jasper's POV: The dead surrounded the tiny mobile home as we tried to free ourselves. They were closing in just when I thought of a solution. "Mia, hand me the car keys and pack some bags. Only things we need." My scared teenage sister nodded her head and grabbed the army duffle bag from the hall closet and two backpacks. She filled them up with food, water, clothes, medical supplies, knifes, etc. Once she was done, she opened up the gun safe and loaded all the guns and ammo and crossbow with matching arrows into another bag. "Jasper, it's all ready to go. How're we gettin' out?" "Mama, take that sick pig and toss her out the back door. Mia, soon as that door shuts, you and Mama will run this way, grab a bag, and a weapon and high-tail it to the truck. I'll be right behind you with the guns and the duffle. You get any comin' at you, aim for the head." I followed as my sister and my mom ran at full speed towards our truck. They made it inside safe and sound, so I took a second to grab my smoke stash from the shed. I quickly ran to the truck and we drove away from the only home we've ever known. Mama started to doze off in the back of my extended cab truck and Mia silently cried as she looked out the window. Her body looked tired, all piled up with bags of supplies, so once we were far enough, I climbed out of the truck and put the bags in the bed. All except a few water bottles and some crackers. "Mia, you okay?" "Yeah, Jasper, I'm just sad is all. I didn't wanna leave the trailer or Daddy's ashes, but we had to. I'll get over it." "Well, I'm sure Dad's watchin' over us from heaven. He'll make sure we survive." I heard a small meow come from under Mia's jacket. I rolled my eyes and she gave me an innocent, "I'm sorry" look. "You brought the kitten?" "I couldn't leave Captain Mew." "Whatever, but if he slows us down, Mama's gonna make you leave him behind." She peeked behind her to glance at our drunken, sleeping mother. "No, she'd cook him up as dinner if we ran out of food. Poor guy ain't even a year old yet." I smiled and shook my head before turning back to the road. We drove for hours before I had to stop and take a break. My feet were cramping and I needed to pee. "I'm gonna pull into this gas station. It looks abandoned, so I think I'm gonna get some more supplies too." "How long do ya think this was goin' on before it got to us?" I turned off the car, leaving the keys in the ignition and scanned my surroundings again. "By the looks of it, maybe a few months. We did live in the woods, so that's why it took so long." I looked at my 18 year old sister once more before exiting the truck with a pistol on my side and a machete in my hand. I guess watching all those zombie movies really paid off. Being a back woods hick with killing know how paid off too. I walked up to the gas station doors and saw a sign written with marker. "Take what you need, God Bless." I whispered to myself. I shrugged and snuck inside hoping to be quiet enough that I wouldn't need to kill anything at the moment. When I got in, I spotted a backpack on the shelf that was once for sale. I grabbed it and started piling in tampons, pads, medicine, food, Gatorade, water, a strawberry soda, and some candy. I stopped to browse and saw a gas can tipped over on the floor. Someone must have come in before and not made it out with their gas. I picked it up and went into the bathroom for toilet paper. "We will need this." I whispered to myself. I took all of the rolls they had and shoved them in the bag. Realizing I was almost out of space, I took out a couple candy bars. My sweet tooth wasn't worth it. I grabbed a couple lighters and four cartons of smokes seeing as Mama smokes too. When the bag was full, I zipped it and hauled it over my shoulder. I turned to leave and heard a snarl. A risen was coming for me. I lifted my machete and sliced off the top of it's skull like butter. It made a terrible squelching sound and blood went everywhere. I siphoned gas from the pump and filled the can. After loading everything into the bed of the truck, I turned away from it and took a whiz. Mia's POV: My brother stood outside the truck watching for risers as I listened to Mama snore and petted Captain Mew. I watched the rise and fall of his shoulders as he zipped up. I've been holding onto a secret Mama told me the first day we saw a riser come on the property. She was three sheets to the wind and she only ever tells the truth about things when she's had some liquor. That's how I know it's true. Just before I can relive the conversation, Jasper climbed into the truck and turned the key. I begin a conversation with my favorite person so I can avoid my mental turmoil. "Hey, Jasper?" "Yeah?" He answered without looking away from the road. "You find any strawberry soda? Could use some comfort." "Aw, s**t. I put it in the bed. I can stop and get it." "No, I'll drink it later." My eyes scanned his entire form and I saw blood on the machete he set next to him. "You killed one?" "Yeah, couldn't let it get you and Mew, could I?" "Well, no." Laughter escaped my throat and I tucked some blonde curls behind my ear. He smiled at me and the silence returned. A crude voice broke into the surrounding silence. "Dammit, Mia, I told you to leave that damn cat!" "Mama, I couldn't leave him." "Well, at least we have dinner if food runs out." "We have enough food, Mama. You don't need to eat her kitten." She waved a hand at us in dismissal and began cussing up a storm and complaining. We drove for hours and hours. We came across an RV sales lot and we stopped to see if any of them can hook to the truck. We found one that was worth thousands of dollars. It could be driven and hooked to a car. That was good. We went inside and saw the bedroom and fold out couch. It was huge. It had a fold out table and a booth too. Even a bathroom. We hooked it on and Mama claimed the bedroom. I slept on the pull out couch and Jasper kept driving. I heard loud thumping noises as he plowed through some dead. I heard the snarls as we passed bigger groups. It was smooth sailing for the most part. I fell asleep after a while and came to when the truck stopped. I got up and waited by the RV door with my hatchet just in case we were ambushed by dead or people trying to steal from us. The door opened and I swung the hatchet. Jasper caught the handle and chuckled quietly. "Ain't you a little killing machine?" "I was just prepared. Sorry." "Don't be sorry. Just be careful." He stepped in and as he got closer, I backed up until I ran into the fold out bed. "What's wrong?" He turned to lock the door and I saw the exhaustion in his eyes when he turned back to look at me. "Uh, just kinda shaken." "Oh. You pack any books?" "Uh, a few." "Good. Might wanna read some tomorrow while we drive." "Yeah. I'll take watch. You sleep." He sat on the bed and nodded. "That's fine. Wake me if something happens." He laid down on the bed and I watched him sleep for a little bit. My protector, my best friend. I couldn't keep lying to him. I decided that I'd tell him the truth in the morning. He seemed to have a hard time sleeping and I laid down next to him like when we were little to comfort him. I watched as his breathing evened out. I brushed a stray lock of dark brown hair from his eyes and kissed his cheek. "Well, I told you the truth about one thing and you start actin' out." Mama caught me. I shot up into a sitting position and began to panic. "What do you mean?" "You know what I mean, you Jesebel." "Mama, I was just comfortin' him like he used to do for me. That's all." She shook him awake and started cussing at me. "You little w***e! Tell him what you did!" He tried to calm her down and stop her yelling. "Mama. Calm down." "No! Mia needs ta tell ya somethin'!" I stood up and got between her and Jasper. It was my turn to take what was coming. Just like always, the yelling turned to hitting. She slapped me hard a few times and began punching me. Chest, face, side. She didn't care where she hit me as long as it hurt. Jasper grabbed my waist and tried to pull me away. I wouldn't let him. "Just let her get it out. She'll stop soon." "No, Mia. Move." She finally stopped and I fell back. I landed in Jasper's lap and I would've moved as soon as I landed, but I was hurt. "That's right, sit in his lap, you harlot." She grabbed a drink she must've smuggled and went back to the bedroom. His large hands rested on my sides and we sat like that for a moment. He broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper. "She shouldn't have told you." "You knew? This whole time, you knew?" My shock caused me to jerk away from him. If I had the energy to leap out of his lap, I would've. "Of course, I knew. I was 4 when he brought you home. I knew my mom didn't have a baby. I knew he wasn't really my dad. I had a dad before him, but he died. He was an addict. She met him a year before you came home to us. We moved in right away." "So, I'm not just his mistress' daughter, you're not his son?" He nodded and sat me down next to him. "She never hit me until you came along. I don't blame you, I blame him. He was supposed to be a good man and he was a great father to you, but he treated me like s**t. She only hit me because I wouldn't let her hit you." I was still processing things when he got up and grabbed the bag with bandages in it. He cleaned up my cheek and put a bandage where her ring had cut me. He looked down and saw a rip in my shirt and blood. I took off my shirt and sat there, topless and ready to clean my own wound. He surprised me and wiped the blood off. I watched as he carefully patched me up. Her ring must have hit harder in that spot because it took longer to clean. Jasper's POV: I cleaned the wound on Mia's chest very slowly. Not because it was extra deep, but because I was trying to keep my composure. When she took off her shirt, I saw perfect, bouncy, C cups. Well, not super model perfect, but perfect either way. Her tan skin glimmered under the low candle light and I could feel her heart beating fast. I looked up and saw her watching me with her lip between her teeth. I couldn't take it anymore. I quickly whipped the bandage on and moved away. "What's wrong?" "Just mad. She didn't need to tell you. Especially after s**t hit the fan." She looked almost disappointed for a second, like she was expecting a different answer. She just nodded and put a chair near the door. "I'll be on watch tonight." I shrugged and laid back down on the bed. I woke up to the sound of Mia fighting the dead. I noticed the RV door open and heard other voices. Without thinking, I jumped up and joined in the fight. There was about a dozen and a half dead and a man and his teenage son helping. The four of us cleared the dead in minutes. After it was over, I pulled Mia towards me to check for bites. She pushed my hands away. "I'm okay, I'm okay!" "You sure?" I scanned her body and noticed a few cuts on her thigh. "You're not okay. Where did those cuts come from?" Before she could answer, the man interjected. "She had 'em before she hopped out to help." He gestured to a small car with a woman and a small child inside. "My boy and I were scoping the place out to see if the RV was occupied. The dead came quickly and she jumped in without hesitation. Your wife is one brave woman." "We're not married." I eyed her and continued on. "We're siblings." He nodded and looked back at the woman and the child. "Could we join y'all?" Mia and I exchanged a look and she decided before I could. "Grab the little girl and your wife. Your supplies and our supplies are now everyone's. We share weapons and food, everything. Space will be split evenly and there will be no fighting with each other. You will not get watch duty without my brother or I until we trust you and we will all contribute. We'll, except for your daughter and our mother. She isn't exactly...well." "Was she bit?" "No, she's a drunk. Don't expect anything from her." I stood there stunned while Mia tossed me the truck keys and took the RV keys out of her pocket. She proceeded to detach the RV from the truck and corralled the newcomers inside. I helped her load the supplies onto the RV and put some in the truck. We set the last bag in the truck and she turned to look at me. "She is no longer my mother and if she slows us down, we leave her. The cat stays in the RV. We can feed him scraps and whatnot. I'll drive the RV and follow closely behind you. Deal?" "Mia..." I grip her shoulder. "We can't take in every stray we come across." "We're doing this. That's it." She walked towards the RV and we drove off to find the next convenience store or farm to scavenge from.