Un-Dead World Book One: Dead Men's Game

The Orphan

"I'm sorry! I didn't think there was anybody in here! I jumped the fence to get away from the monsters and the door wouldn't open! I'm sorry I broke the window!"  Immediately I lowered my weapon, jabbing Branson with my elbow. The kid was tearing up, with his hands in the air. I thought he was about to cry. 

    "It's alright hun. We aren't gonna hurt you." I tried to soothe him as I walked forward with my hands up and empty. "What's your name?" I stopped a couple feet in front of him, trying not to overwhelm him. 

    "Josh Granger." He said quietly, before promptly throwing himself in my arms. He wrapped his arm around me as tightly as he could and buried his face in my nape. Ignoring the twinge in my shoulder, I wrapped him in a comforting hug. Heaving cries wracked his slender frame as he sobbed into me. My heart breaking, I held him as he let it all out. I couldn't help the tears that prickled at my eyes as I watched this young boy fall apart. Before I even realized what was happening, Branson was there. He put a hand on the boys shoulder and gave me a sad look.

    "Let's get in the back of the house guys. That glass would have drawn attention this way." He said it in a soft tone, but I could see the seriousness hiding just beneath the surface of his careful expression.    I gently extricated myself from Josh's desperate hold on me.    

    "Come on, Josh." I said before guiding him out of the garage. As we entered the house again, we could hear bangs against my wooden fence in the backyard. This indicated that Branson was right and they were looking for a way in. We all filed down the hallway to the back rooms. I brought Josh into my room to calm down while Scott and Branson began to try and barricade the entrance to the hallway.     

    "Are you okay? Have you been hurt?" I asked Josh. His clothing was noticeably bloodstained and I thought back to the blood trail that had initially led us to him. My eyes scanned him but I could not identify the source of all the blood. He had on what appeared to be pajama bottoms with a large, stained jean jacket on. It was much too large for him, probably his fathers. His sandy blonde hair was matted in places and one of his hazel eyes was blackened. The kid had obviously been through the ringer and my heart went out to him. 

    "My mom bit me. My dad tried but I got away and hid." His eyes got wide as they took on a glazed look. "I heard them. My little sister was screaming for them and when they found her she called out for me. I could hear them eating her." He looked at me then, "Why did they do that?" 

    "We don't know yet. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but it's good that you got away. We'll keep you safe." I gently brushed his hair back from where it had spilled over his eyebrow. "Where is your house?" I wondered where he had come from, hoping to learn more about the situation in other parts of town. 

    "I live on Maple drive." His eyes became haunted. "I had to hurt my mom to get away.. pushed her down the stairs." A single tear rolled down his cheek at his confession. "They're gonna be so mad." 

    I just pulled him into another hug and ran a hand up and down his back in an attempt to comfort him. Maple drive was almost on the outskirts of town, at least six miles away to the east. How had he traveled so far alone? A small noise made me glance at the doorway where Sheila was standing. She had a strange expression on her face as she watched our interaction. How long had she been there? 

    "I'm gonna go get you some water and check on the guys. Will you be okay if Sheila comes and sits with you? She's the pretty lady standing by the door." I pulled back and looked at his face while I said this. I saw anxiety flash across his features before he actually looked at Sheila. I thought his eyes were going to bug out of his head when he finally noticed her. He'd be just fine with the woman that all young boys salivate over. 

    I walked to the door and as I passed Sheila I  grabbed her arm for a moment. 

    "Find out some more stuff about him. I wanna know how he got here and the full version of what happened to him." I told her.     

    "Why should I listen to anything you have to say?" She snidely asked. 

    "Because you won't survive on your own and you know it. This? You can actually help with." We both knew that she couldn't contribute much more than providing a distraction and that's what I needed her to do. "This kid will open up to you in ways he's not going to with anybody else." I gritted my teeth as I said this last part, " We need you to do this." 

    She just nodded at me and went to sit beside Josh on the bed. I made my way down the hall to find the men attempting to wedge my couch into my hallway, standing up. 

    "Uhhhhh, what exactly are you two trying to do?" I inquired as I raced forward to help them hold the couch up.

    "Well, we were thinkin that if we could open the bathroom door on the right side of the hall and the spare rooms door on the left side, we could tie them together and use furniture to build a wall between them. ." Branson had some pretty innovative ideas. Luckily my doors opened outward, due to them being installed on the wrong side.

    "I think the couch will be good by itself." Scott remarked.

    "Okay, I see what you mean. Maybe if we turned the couch at an angle we could use that and the metal bed frame in that room?" I suggested this as my mind was encompassed with exactly how to do this so it would hold. "If we just use the couch, it won't hold." 

    "How the hell do you know it won't hold?" Scott shot off.

    "I dunno. I just do. We need something more solid in between it all. If we try to use the mattress, it's flexible."  I was really getting tired of Scott's attitude with me. I wasn't sure what it was even about. He looked to Branson, waiting for him to take his side.

    "That's probably a good idea. Let's get that frame disassembled real quick and then we'll bring the couch in behind us. It never hurts to be extra careful." Branson said. Scott had such a flabbergasted expression on his face at Branson agreeing with me. As I passed him to start tearing apart the bed, he shot me a dirty look. I just rolled my eyes and continued to the closet to grab my extra tool bag I stored in the spare room. Branson and I made quick work of the bed frame and we shuffled the metal bars into the hallway together. As we started to grab the couch, we realized that someone had to be on the other side to successfully wedge it on the hall. Looking at the angle, I noticed a small hole between the couch and the wall. I could fit through that if I squeezed. 

    "I'll get on the other side and squeeze back through once it's in place." I volunteered. Branson hesitated a moment, looking back and forth from the opening to himself and Scott. Realizing they couldn't fit he nodded his head. 

    "Just be fast. That kitchen is wide open to anything that makes it's way into the backyard and you won't have backup if something happens." He handed me my gun, which he apparently had reloaded for me. I gave him a  nervous smile before sticking my head through the opening and checking for any sounds before I went through. We moved the couch into place and using a rope that someone had found, who knows where, we looped the doors and couch to each other. The weight of the couch pulling against the doors on either side kept the couch upright. If the couch leaned one direction, the doors would compensate.  Once the bars were wedged throughout it should keep it stable for the night. 

    I began to climb through the hole again when I heard the sound of glass crunching underneath the soles of shoes. My heart stopped and I grabbed Branson's leg and yanked myself through the space. 

    "We need the bars through now." I whispered. I pointed to the kitchen and then my ear to indicate I had heard something. Both men instantly grabbed the bars and began to shove them through. Weaving them in and out of the rope and against doorjambs, we slid the last metal bar through just as the sound of footsteps hit the hallway. We prepared ourselves for the barricade to fail as the first creature hit the couch. An arm shot through a small opening but it didn't seem to have any actually way through. The couch moved slightly, a metal bar stopping it from actually tipping. After a few pushes from the other side, with it staying in place. We all breathed a sigh of relief.     

    "Just because there's a half-assed barricade, doesn't mean we're in the clear. Someone always needs to be on watch. I'll keep an eye out tonight so you can sleep but tomorrow someone else needs to take over." Branson ran a hand over his weary face. He needed rest more than anybody else here.     

    "I'll take the watch tonight. I slept part of today and you look like you're about to drop, Branson. Don't push yourself. We need you." For once, Scott appeared to agree with me.

    "You haven't slept for two days, sarge. She's right. You need to sleep." He put his hand on Branson's shoulder and squeezed slightly. With a sigh Branson nodded in acceptance.

    "Alright. Let's get sleeping arrangements figured out and check in on the kid first." Branson turned and began to walk down the hall. I followed behind him, not caring if Scott was going to follow or watch the janky barricade. 

    We reach my bedroom and found Sheila and Josh huddled in the far corner of the room watching the door. When we entered Josh shot up and ran over to us, peering behind us for a moment as if to check we were alone. 

    "We heard them and thought they got you for sure!" Josh said. "Are we safe?" He asked.

    "We should be fine for tonight but Laura is gonna watch out just in case." Upon hearing Branson say my name I realized I had never introduced myself to the boy. 

    "I'm sorry, I should've done this before. I'm Laura Pierce. This is Branson..." I stopped, realizing I didn't know Branson's last name. I looked at him for an answer.    

    "Branson Jacobs. The other guy is Scott Miller." He pointed to the hallway where Scott had remained.

    "Sheila Fitzgerald." Sheila said from the corner. I glanced around and thought of how much had happened in such a short amount of time. How much we had already survived together. I thought maybe we would be okay. 

    With the light all but gone we lit scented candles in the back rooms, as the power still hadn't come back on. After a few minutes everyone reconvened in my bedroom. I sat on my bed with Branson joining me. Sheila sat in my desk chair, fiddling with her hair. Scott had positioned himself next to my door so he could watch the hallway and Sheila, and apparently Josh had decided he felt safest, next to Sheila, on the floor. 

    "So, it's probably smartest if we all stayed in the same room. Since Laura is keeping watch, Sheila can have the bed to herself and us guys will camp out on the floor. I'll sleep by the door in case anything goes down. We have enough food and water to tide us over till morning so I suggest you take advantage of that. We may not always have the option. We found some extra blankets in a closet in the hall, so everyone get's one. Sheila gets a pillow and so does Josh. Everyone else just has to tough it out." Branson finished speaking but before anybody could say anything Sheila responded in a sultry voice.

    "I don't mind sharing the bed with you Branson. There's more than enough room." She stroked a finger tantalizingly down her breast to her cleavage, staring at him beneath her lashes. I couldn't help but hold my breath as I waited for his answer. 

    "Thanks, but no thanks Sheila." With that he turned back to me. "I'll be right next to you, so don't be worried. If anything happens, I'm right there." He winked at me. "I'm a light sleeper." Sheila stared at him incredulously as did Scott and Josh. I'm pretty sure I was shocked too, but I couldn't feel my face from the blush creeping over it. I don't think Sheila had ever been rejected like that before. 

    "I'm sure everything will be fine." I said, trying to pretend like he hadn't just publicly snubbed Sheila in favor of me.

   Branson started passing out the blankets to everyone and I rolled my desk chair to the hallway. Sheila had stormed over to the bed as soon as I stood from it. Staring daggers in my direction. Branson walked over to grab the pillow for Josh and I heard Sheila's voice again, quiet this time. I glanced over and saw she was right next to Branson, speaking into his ear. I strained to listen but could only hear the tone of her voice, not the words. He stiffened and walked immediately over to Josh, handing him the pillow almost robotically. He came over next to the door, laying his blanket down and folding it in half. Peeling his shirt off, he bunched it up and laid down, shoving the shirt under his head. 

    I stared. I admit it. I mean, it was hard not to. There was a perfect 'V' leading down and disappearing beneath his pants. The pants themselves were snug on him not leaving much to the imagination. There was a dusting of dark hair across his skin that begged to be followed down. I gulped and glanced away. Only to catch Sheila staring as well. You could almost see her actively salivating. I couldn't help but be drawn back to his perfect body, noting the other tattoos that had remained hidden by his shirt. I'd always been a sucker for tattoos. He had a large chest that tapered into a toned stomach, the crevices of his abs just waiting for a tongue to explore. I felt a rush of moisture between my legs and unconsciously clenched them together. His stomach sucked in sharply and I looked to his face.     

    Branson had been watching me as I stared at him. His eyes looked hungry as they were zeroed in on my lap, apparently seeing how the sight of him made my thighs slam together. For a moment his eyes met mine and the fire inside of them burned me to my core. There was something between us, I wasn't sure what yet. I just knew it was the most intense feeling I'd ever experienced. Never before had the mere sight of a man, made me want to rip off my clothes and ride him until neither one of us could walk. I could feel my desire for him growing with every moment together. This day had felt like weeks with him. 

    Branson cleared his throat, "Are you sure you'll be fine keeping watch alone? I could stay up with you." He offered.    

    "I'll be fine. We can't have you dropping from exhaustion." I smiled at him. He picked himself up on one arm, watching my face carefully. "What did Sheila say to you?" I asked.

    "Oh... uh..She told me about some of her....talents. Something I was not interested to know." He said, blushing. 

    "So, you really aren't interested in her?" I needed to know.  He grinned wryly.    

    "She is a beautiful woman, nobody can deny that. I've always been more interested in someone who can challenge me mentally. I don't think Sheila has much more knowledge other than the difference between makeup products." He got quiet. "She would be dead right now if we hadn't showed up in that store."    

    "I would be dead if you hadn't shown up, too." I reminded him but he shook his head.

    "No, I don't think so. I think you would have been royally f****d up but I don't think you'd have gone down that easily. Even through the shock, you reacted and you fought. When faced with a fight or flight situation, you stand your ground. You could have argued about Sheila coming with us, but you didn't. That shows that you have morals. You're smart, you're prepared, and you don't let everyone make your decisions for you. I think that makes you a pretty impressive woman." I wasn't sure how to react to any of what he had just said but he wasn't done. "I think that makes you beautiful in more than just physical ways, so Sheila isn't interesting compared to all of that." 

    "Branson, I-" I was cut off as Sheila began yelling at someone.     

    "O-M-G! Noooo.. just go away. You're so gross. Ugh, why are men so gross?!" We looked to see Scott, quickly walking away from my bed where Sheila was trying to sleep. We looked at each other confused for a moment.

    "What did you do, Scott?" Branson asked him as he passed us, heading back to his blanket mattress by the desk on the other side of the room. 

    "I just asked if she wanted company man." Scott mumbled this and grumpily laid back down in his spot. Branson and I just looked at each other and laughed.    

    "Goodnight, Laura." He said and laid back down.

    "Goodnight, Branson." I said quietly. I checked my gun one last time and grabbed a can of green beans. I might as well stuff my face to stay awake. Settling in, I could still hear the creatures on the other side. I sighed to myself. It would indeed be a long night.