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

Surprise, Surprise

    With the revelation of my new identity, we had all sat in silence for a while. We just pondered what this all could mean. Were we even right? If I was an angel, what was Levi? There were still so many questions we needed answered. Sometimes, one of us would actually voice a question that ran across our minds, spurring on brief conversations. The one question that none of us voiced was the scariest. Why did Levi look exactly like me? 

    "We should probably do some rounds and check to be sure that there haven't been any breaches." Branson said, breaking the silence once again. 

    "That's probably a good idea. We've been in here for a while." I said, gathering my gun and stretching. 

    "We'll each take a hallway again. Obviously we don't need to worry about Laura being able to take care of herself now but Scott, you stay vigilant and don't let anything take you by surprise. We know the bites will turn us and now we have other threats to keep an eye out for." Scott nodded.

    "Gotcha, sarge." Scott said this with a wary glance in my direction.

     We all went our separate ways, finding no breaches and nothing to be concerned about. We spent the next couple of weeks doing this. I had made my temporary home in what I think was a science classroom once. Scott had stayed in the stage room, not feeling like moving his stuff he said. Branson just seemed to sleep wherever he could find a spot and only when he could literally not stay awake anymore. We hadn't talked much, just about possible places to move and trying to coordinate building sweeps. It was safe here, but damn was it boring. We had found a couple tv's that had been used for movie days and a bunch of PG rated VHS tapes. Scott had moved one into the stage room and I had one in my room. A couple times we had all gathered and watched movies together but for the most part we were all doing our own thing. 

    It was kind of lonely. I kept wishing I could go back to the day we lost Sheila and Josh. The day that everything changed between Branson and I. I wanted to save them but more than anything, so selfishly, I wanted to take back our discovery of my abilities. Scott was very open about the fact that he hated me and had zero trust in me. He never stopped with the smart remarks and veiled insults. He'd developed this habit when we were all together, he would talk about me to Branson like i wasn't in the same room. Branson had given up on trying to get him to lay off and he just ignored him now. I had been forced to leave several times at the risk of beating the hell out of Scott. 

    Today was going to be different though. We had finally begun to run low on supplies and we needed to go try to scavenge some more. Branson had spent the last two days scouting the area from the roof of the school. He had found an area that seemed to be a bit lighter on zombies and we were going to attempt it today. Scott was going to stay back to open the door for us on our return. He had refused to travel with me, stating that I was gonna eat him or make him my angel slave. Then he refused to leave me behind because he didn't trust that I would let them back in. So we were kind of forced into the plan of Branson and I having to go alone. It would be the first time we were alone like this in a while and I couldn't deny that I was feeling anxious about it. In an hour we had gone from passionately kissing to him barely giving me a second glance. 

    As we geared up to go, Branson went over the plan again. 

    "Okay, so one hour out. We get to the nearest buildings and see what we can find, if we don't find anything within an hour we come back and try again tomorrow.  We have enough supplies to last a few more days so we aren't going to take any more risks than necessary, at least until we hit an emergency situation." He handed me another loaded magazine for my gun as he slapped his extra in its spot next to the hip holster he had. "Scott, if we aren't back in an hour I want you to board the door back up completely. Take no chances. Only let us in if we-I mean if I'm not bitten or turned. It'll take approximately ten minutes for us to reach the buildings and vice versa. That time is included in the hour.  Everybody copacetic?"  Scott and I both nodded and we disbursed. 

    Opening the door carefully, we scanned the area before exiting the building. We heard the lock click into place as the door closed behind us. Quietly I began to follow Branson to our destination. We worked well together, automatically clearing different directions without having to verbalize it. We reached the first building faster than expected, not encountering any zombies along the way. The building was all white and we entered through an alleyway entrance. Once inside, I realized it was a small pharmacy, which was fortunate if there were still supplies inside. 

    "Ill take the right side, you go left." Branson whispered, pointing to he indicate that he was going off of what would be the right side of the store from the front. I nodded and carefully broke off to make my way through the rows of medications. I recognized some of them but I searched for any papers or books that may have medication names and uses. In a box underneath the register, I found a book labeled that was filled with information on basic medications. Jackpot! I thought to myself. 

    I perused my side of the store for a while, staying alert but not worrying too much. We hadn't seen a single zombie on our way here and hadn't even heard anything. This store seemed to be locked up tight with no broken windows or anything. It's strange how fast everything was wiped out. Like most people hadn't even had a chance to survive like we had. We hadn't seen any others wandering through the area and hadn't really encountered much on the drive here, we had questioned if we were the only ones alive, but quickly realized how unlikely that was. If we survived, others had to be somewhere.     

    I had gotten caught up in my thoughts as I made my way to the front of the store and began to gather other supplies. Having enough antibiotics, tranquilizers, and pain medications to handle almost anything, I started gathering granola bars and water. I didn't find any gallon jugs but right now, we couldn't afford to be picky. I shoved bottles into my pants and into the extra backpack I had brought, trying to get as many as I could. Then I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye.     

    I turned to see a handful of zombies, walking in front of the pharmacy. I immediately dropped into a crouch and started creeping back towards the counter. As I cleared the front aisles, I noticed Branson almost mirroring me across the store. Our eyes met for a moment and he held up four fingers before pointing to where the zombies had just been. I nodded in understanding. Four zombies out front.  I neared the counter and had to try and scoot under the folding countertop. Branson had simply climbed over, quiet as a mouse. I was almost completely under when I felt a bottle of water slide from my waistband. I watched in horror as it clunked to the ground and rolled to the front of the store, smashing into a display. Unluckily, it sent everything crashing to the ground. 

    As soon as the noises began, the undead outside turned and began to pound against the glass windows at the front of the store. It seemed almost like a half-asses attempt until one of them saw me. It was a straight shot down the aisle in front of me to the door. When he saw me a sound emerged from his throat unlike anything I had heard before. A mix between a howl and a shriek, he pounded on the glass with renewed energy. I saw cracks begin to form on the surface and I yelled to Branson. 

    "RUN!!!" He was already at the back door waiting for me. I ran as fast as I could while carrying all of the supplies I'd found. The sound of glass shattering behind us made us both shoot forward, not even thinking about what we may be running into. We just wanted to get away. I looked back  to see the four zombies scrambling through the door. They were moving pretty quickly and the other three had taken up the strange call. 

    Branson and I bounded around a corner and immediately skidded to a stop and ran another direction. Coming around that corner was at least thirty zombies, all making that same terrifying sound I'd heard from the four at the pharmacy.         

    "Branson. They're different than before!" I shouted as we ran, trying to find another route to the school. How long had we even been gone? 

    "I think they're communicating. They really don't seem to like you either." He replied. 

    We entered another alleyway and as we passed another door, I saw it fling open as Branson and I were dragged inside. Immediately raising our weapons, the unmistakable sound of multiple guns c*****g next to us gave us both pause.     

    "Just shut up and come with us." A male voice said before we were pulled further into the darkened building. I guess we really weren't the only ones alive but I wasn't sure if that was something to celebrate yet. I heard Branson's voice echo through the darkness. 

    "It'll be fine, Laura. We're human so they have no reason to hurt us." I knew what he was doing immediately. Don't let them know I was an angel. Hopefully that would be easier done than said.