Chapter 1: Starting Over
Grant stared out between the cracks of the wooden bars shielding the broken window, waiting for his friend Kevin to return. He had been gone a while now, looking for supplies. In this new world they were living in, they were necessary for survival. Whether it be a few bullets, or even just a bit of edible food, anything was worth it. After the world went to absolute hell due to the outbreak, everyone scattered across the nation to escape the infected that used to be humans who now plagued the land. It was just him and Kevin now. He hadn't seen any other familiar faces in months now, but hoped if he did, that they weren't trying to bite his face off or rotting on the ground. Then the door opened. He turned quick, with his double barrel shotgun in his hands, aiming at the door. A boy wearing glasses walked in, holding three small boxes of shells and bullets, as well as two cans of beans. He had short brown curly hair, with brown eyes to match. He jumped when he saw the shotgun pointed at him, and dropped what he was carrying. "Oh..." said Grant, "It's just you Kevin. Damn it dude, don't scare me like that!" Kevin gathered himself back together, and responded, "Sorry man, I forgot. On the bright side, look at all of the stuff that I got!" He tossed the small boxes of shotgun ammo to Grant, who caught them with ease. "Thanks Kev, I needed these." Kevin smiled, and reloaded his pistol. "No problem", he said, "Oh hey, I noticed something out there that neither of us have seen in quite some time." Grant looked up, interested to hear what news he had. "And what is that exactly?" He said, to one of the few people left that he knew were still alive. "Activity", said Kevin,"By the old building that resembles some sort of dining hall. There are infected going towards it. But something is pushing them back."
"Molly, are you sure this is a good idea?" said Natasha. "What are you talking about? Of course it is!" said Molly, holding a sniper rifle, pointed out the window of a small little shack they had managed to build. The gun was pointed at what appeared to be a scavenger, in the area obviously to find some supplies. But in this new day and age, people lived by "survival of the fittest", and rarely stuck around with big groups for a long period of time. "If you kill him, who knows if there are others around? You could be drawing them right towards us!" scolded Natasha. Molly chuckled at Natasha's worry. "Relax, everything will be fine. Even if there are more, I can just take them out, one by one." she said, brushing her dirty brown hair away from her eyes. With her hazel eyes, she looked down the scope of her sniper rifle once more, aiming carefully at the scavenger's head. With her finger on the trigger, she was ready to end this filthy scavenger's life. All of a sudden, she heard a scream. But it wasn't coming from inside. It was coming from outside, and just off a ways away from the scavenger. It was a another girl, one whom Molly didn't recognize, with hazel eyes and dirty blond hair, running towards the scavenger. When the girl was in closer range to the scavenger, she yelled, "Run! They're after us!" The scavenger didn't wait to ask her from what, and just ran after her instead. "We have to help them!" exclaimed Natasha. Before Molly could respond, they heard a loud knocking at their door. They heard the sound of the locked door handle trying to be wriggled open. Without a word, Natasha ran over, unlocked the door, and swung it open. The girl and the scavenger dove in. Landing with a nice thud, the two stood up and froze. It was at that moment that Natasha and Molly realized who they were. "Amy...Derek...we thought you were dead!" said Natasha. It had been a few years since the two had seen anyone they had known before the world had changed, and it was a shock but a delight as well. "Well clearly we're not, which is definitely a relief, considering all those dead bodies outside look positively revolting." said Derek. He was the comical type, always trying to bring a bit of humor to situations that needed it. With his short dark brown hair and a short beard to match, Derek went over to Natasha, and gave her a hug. The other girl, Amy, was still a bit shocked. She wasn't expecting to see two of her old friends, let alone anyone that wasn't trying to kill them. "So...you're alive..." said Amy to Molly. "Yeah...how about that?" said Molly, with a slight laugh. "So have you seen anyone else since the infection started?" asked Amy, curious if there was anyone else out there, anyone at all whose minds hadn't been infected. It was hard enough surviving with just Derek and herself. Now that they had found two old friends of theirs, people that they had been close to before the infection, it was a whole new situation. She had more than just Derek and herself to look out for, since it only made sense for them to stick together.
All of a sudden, a loud noise was heard from outside. The sound of infected. "You brought them here??" whispered Molly loudly to Amy and Derek, looking towards the door the two had come in from, waiting for it to burst open. "Well that wasn't really our plan, we were actually trying to get away from them, but I guess that didn't work.", said Derek. Amy turned towards Derek, and glared at him. "This isn't the time for jokes Derek! What are we going to do??" Molly was just about to speak, when the sound of several gunshots went off outside. The groaning and feral voices of the infected had gone, and now all they could hear was footsteps, and then the sound of the butt of a gun, pounding itself against the door, clearly wanting to get inside. It was clear that whomever, or whatever, was coming in, and none of them could stop it.
"You sure this is the place?", Grant asked Kevin. "It doesn't look like a place that people could survive in." He gestured towards the broken down building, with part of the roof caved in. There was debris everywhere, and it was clear that it would be a bit hard to enter. Kevin responded, "I'm telling you Grant, I saw infected going in here, and none of them came out. If we find any alive ones in there we will take them out, and maybe we can even find some more supplies in there." He was right. Since there was such a minimal amount of usable supplies left in their hideout, let alone the rest of the world, they took what they could get. The two boys made their way up to what looked like an opening, under two big chucks of rubble that had clearly fallen off the building. They both ducked underneath, and made their way in. Finding a door, Grant and Kevin stood with their backs against the wall, ready to open the door, and fire at any infected that came out if they needed to. The two nodded to each other, and Grant pulled the door open quick, both of them pointing their weapons inside the building. "No sign of infected." said Grant. "Well whoever's in here is doing a good job of making sure there aren't." said Kevin. The two walked slowly into the building, which was poorly lit, and made their way in.
As the boys made their way in, they noticed something. For a place that was messy and whatnot on the outside, the inside looked pretty solid. The exterior of the building was falling apart, but the inside was still sturdy. The boys entered a decent size room, and out of the corner of Kevin's eye, he spotted a small pile of ammo and supplies. "Grant look, whoever was here left their supplies. More for us then!" he said with a smile. He made his way over there with a smile on his face. Grant followed him over, a bit curious however as to why a pile of ammo would just be sitting there so nicely in that spot. "Unless...", he said to himself. He had no time left to continue, as he watched Kevin pinned against the wall by a figure, who's face he couldn't see due the rooms poor lightness. He went over to help, but before he knew it, a smaller figure jumped at him, grabbing him by the shoulders and sweeping his leg out, causing him to fall and drop his gun. Before he knew it, he was pinned to the ground, with this mysterious person on top of him, with a small dagger pressed up against his throat. "Who are you?" the voice asked Grant. "Why are you here and how did you get in here?" said the other voice to Kevin. "Our names are Grant and Kevin, and we aren't too far from here. We were just checking this place out!" stated Grant. While it was true they shouldn't just give themselves away like that, they weren't really in a position to argue. "That's a lie. We knew two people named that, and there's no way you two are them. We haven't heard from them since the infection. Who are you really?" said the person on top of Grant. "No seriously! It's us!" shouted Kevin. "Wait..." said the person on top of Grant, as they leaned a bit closer towards his face. The person pulled out a small object, and pointed it at his face. A light suddenly shone on his face, and Grant now realized it was a flashlight. At the moment, they both froze. Grant recognized who this was. It was Jennifer, his closest friend before they had been separated by the infection happening, causing everyone to scatter. Her hazel eyes and dirty blondish hair were as distinctive to him as they had always been, and he couldn't believe that this girl was her. "Jen!" "Grant!", they both said to each other, standing up and hugging each other tight, so happy to see each other. At that time, the figure pinning Kevin against the wall, moved back too. "Kevin, is that really you? It's me, Rose!" she said. After a big hug, Rose went over and opened the dirty and dusty, yet still working blinds on a window, letting some light in. The four of them now made their way over to two couches by the window, and sat down. Grant next to Jen, and Rose next to Kevin. "So how have you guys been?", said Rose, clearly interested in hearing how her two old friends were holding up. She had blue eyes and dirty blond hair like Jen's, but a bit darker shade. "Pretty good, we have our little outpost a short ways away from here. We have some supplies there that we all probably could share once we go back.", said Kevin. "And after that, we are abandoning it.", said Grant. "Wait, what?", said Kevin, with a surprised look on his face, turning towards Grant. "Think about it. We found you two, and who knows how many of the others from our old friend group are still alive out there? We need to go looking for them. We can survive longer if we work together.", stated Grant. He was very glad to have found these two, but it was clear now to him that he and Kevin couldn't spend the rest of their lives, however long they may be, in that tiny little place they lived in. "You make a good point. Besides, a bit more ammo and supplies may make things easier, Rose.", said Jen, cuddling up next to Grant for a bit of warmth. Rose pondered on this for a moment, and finally answered. "It would be nice to see more familiar faces, and I have heard bits of info of sightings of other people around here. Maybe it's them." Kevin added, "Although, it could be scavengers who would kill anyone that's not familiar to them, or just for the hell of killing. Either way, this is gonna be dangerous. We do need to leave, now that I think about it." Grant smiled at this. Things were coming together. "It's settled then. We leave in the morning, go to our little outpost, gather our stuff, and start exploring. Sound good to you guys?" The others nodded, and with that, the four discussed and reminisced late into the night.
Finally, exhausted, most of them went to bed. Grant however, sat on the couch looking out the window. Outside the window was the empty and barren wasteland he had come to know. Destroyed buildings and decaying bodies were just a few words to describe the mess of what he could see outside the window. "And tomorrow we leave to explore it..." he said to himself. He closed the blinds, and then grabbed a small blanket that the girls had found for him, and covered himself with it as he laid down on the couch. He was happy to have found a few of his old friends, yet was also worried about what would happen. He had lost several friends to the infection and scavengers, and he wasn't sure what he would do if he lost these guys. He knew now that he would just have to wait until tomorrow morning, and see what sorts of threats and obstacles they would come across tomorrow, exploring land that they knew nothing about. He closed his eyes, and finally slowly drifted off to sleep.
All of a sudden, a loud noise was heard from outside. The sound of infected. "You brought them here??" whispered Molly loudly to Amy and Derek, looking towards the door the two had come in from, waiting for it to burst open. "Well that wasn't really our plan, we were actually trying to get away from them, but I guess that didn't work.", said Derek. Amy turned towards Derek, and glared at him. "This isn't the time for jokes Derek! What are we going to do??" Molly was just about to speak, when the sound of several gunshots went off outside. The groaning and feral voices of the infected had gone, and now all they could hear was footsteps, and then the sound of the butt of a gun, pounding itself against the door, clearly wanting to get inside. It was clear that whomever, or whatever, was coming in, and none of them could stop it.
"You sure this is the place?", Grant asked Kevin. "It doesn't look like a place that people could survive in." He gestured towards the broken down building, with part of the roof caved in. There was debris everywhere, and it was clear that it would be a bit hard to enter. Kevin responded, "I'm telling you Grant, I saw infected going in here, and none of them came out. If we find any alive ones in there we will take them out, and maybe we can even find some more supplies in there." He was right. Since there was such a minimal amount of usable supplies left in their hideout, let alone the rest of the world, they took what they could get. The two boys made their way up to what looked like an opening, under two big chucks of rubble that had clearly fallen off the building. They both ducked underneath, and made their way in. Finding a door, Grant and Kevin stood with their backs against the wall, ready to open the door, and fire at any infected that came out if they needed to. The two nodded to each other, and Grant pulled the door open quick, both of them pointing their weapons inside the building. "No sign of infected." said Grant. "Well whoever's in here is doing a good job of making sure there aren't." said Kevin. The two walked slowly into the building, which was poorly lit, and made their way in.
As the boys made their way in, they noticed something. For a place that was messy and whatnot on the outside, the inside looked pretty solid. The exterior of the building was falling apart, but the inside was still sturdy. The boys entered a decent size room, and out of the corner of Kevin's eye, he spotted a small pile of ammo and supplies. "Grant look, whoever was here left their supplies. More for us then!" he said with a smile. He made his way over there with a smile on his face. Grant followed him over, a bit curious however as to why a pile of ammo would just be sitting there so nicely in that spot. "Unless...", he said to himself. He had no time left to continue, as he watched Kevin pinned against the wall by a figure, who's face he couldn't see due the rooms poor lightness. He went over to help, but before he knew it, a smaller figure jumped at him, grabbing him by the shoulders and sweeping his leg out, causing him to fall and drop his gun. Before he knew it, he was pinned to the ground, with this mysterious person on top of him, with a small dagger pressed up against his throat. "Who are you?" the voice asked Grant. "Why are you here and how did you get in here?" said the other voice to Kevin. "Our names are Grant and Kevin, and we aren't too far from here. We were just checking this place out!" stated Grant. While it was true they shouldn't just give themselves away like that, they weren't really in a position to argue. "That's a lie. We knew two people named that, and there's no way you two are them. We haven't heard from them since the infection. Who are you really?" said the person on top of Grant. "No seriously! It's us!" shouted Kevin. "Wait..." said the person on top of Grant, as they leaned a bit closer towards his face. The person pulled out a small object, and pointed it at his face. A light suddenly shone on his face, and Grant now realized it was a flashlight. At the moment, they both froze. Grant recognized who this was. It was Jennifer, his closest friend before they had been separated by the infection happening, causing everyone to scatter. Her hazel eyes and dirty blondish hair were as distinctive to him as they had always been, and he couldn't believe that this girl was her. "Jen!" "Grant!", they both said to each other, standing up and hugging each other tight, so happy to see each other. At that time, the figure pinning Kevin against the wall, moved back too. "Kevin, is that really you? It's me, Rose!" she said. After a big hug, Rose went over and opened the dirty and dusty, yet still working blinds on a window, letting some light in. The four of them now made their way over to two couches by the window, and sat down. Grant next to Jen, and Rose next to Kevin. "So how have you guys been?", said Rose, clearly interested in hearing how her two old friends were holding up. She had blue eyes and dirty blond hair like Jen's, but a bit darker shade. "Pretty good, we have our little outpost a short ways away from here. We have some supplies there that we all probably could share once we go back.", said Kevin. "And after that, we are abandoning it.", said Grant. "Wait, what?", said Kevin, with a surprised look on his face, turning towards Grant. "Think about it. We found you two, and who knows how many of the others from our old friend group are still alive out there? We need to go looking for them. We can survive longer if we work together.", stated Grant. He was very glad to have found these two, but it was clear now to him that he and Kevin couldn't spend the rest of their lives, however long they may be, in that tiny little place they lived in. "You make a good point. Besides, a bit more ammo and supplies may make things easier, Rose.", said Jen, cuddling up next to Grant for a bit of warmth. Rose pondered on this for a moment, and finally answered. "It would be nice to see more familiar faces, and I have heard bits of info of sightings of other people around here. Maybe it's them." Kevin added, "Although, it could be scavengers who would kill anyone that's not familiar to them, or just for the hell of killing. Either way, this is gonna be dangerous. We do need to leave, now that I think about it." Grant smiled at this. Things were coming together. "It's settled then. We leave in the morning, go to our little outpost, gather our stuff, and start exploring. Sound good to you guys?" The others nodded, and with that, the four discussed and reminisced late into the night.
Finally, exhausted, most of them went to bed. Grant however, sat on the couch looking out the window. Outside the window was the empty and barren wasteland he had come to know. Destroyed buildings and decaying bodies were just a few words to describe the mess of what he could see outside the window. "And tomorrow we leave to explore it..." he said to himself. He closed the blinds, and then grabbed a small blanket that the girls had found for him, and covered himself with it as he laid down on the couch. He was happy to have found a few of his old friends, yet was also worried about what would happen. He had lost several friends to the infection and scavengers, and he wasn't sure what he would do if he lost these guys. He knew now that he would just have to wait until tomorrow morning, and see what sorts of threats and obstacles they would come across tomorrow, exploring land that they knew nothing about. He closed his eyes, and finally slowly drifted off to sleep.
