Infected Life: Outbreak

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The morning went and came in the blink of an eye. Jax and Delvin used some shovels from a tool shed to dig two deep ditches, Ace switching off whenever they needed a break. Ellie, Logan, and I took care of Zeke, wrapping him in a bedsheet after making sure everything vital was removed. Maggie spent the time crying in the basement, cleaning whatever she could. The only people who could stand being in the house with her weeping was Ace and Delvin; the grizzled veteran didn't seem to care, just doing whatever he wanted, while Delvin spent his time trying to help her, talking to her about Zeke and Vicki. If it helped, it was only a little.

Around 10 in the morning, Jax pulled Zeke into one of the ditches. He tried to be gentle for Maggie's sake, but he was like 190lbs of dead weight. Maggie led the ceremony with some words of Zeke, how they'd been really close and were even thinking about going official. She had a hard time, especially when it came to covering him. She took that first lump, poured it out on top of him, then fell to her knees in a whimpering heap. Ellie helped her back into the house before we continued. Ace took over, filling Zeke's grave.

I sat at the table with Logan and Miss Wagner, playing a game of Poker, when Logan tapped my hand. I glanced up, catching his eyes darting over my shoulder. Looking back, Delvin was standing at the front window, staring unbothered out into the street through the barely drawn drapes. I peeked out the window beside us, trying to see what had him so fixated.

There was a sea of Infected; must've been attracted to the gunfire and screaming from yesterday. About 25 or 30 feet away from the front porch stood an Infected, bobbing to the sides as it stood there staring at the ground. It used to be a man, dressed in comfortable clothes and running shoes. I noticed the empty holster strapped to his thigh. At his feet, I understood why Delvin was so interested in it. At his feet lay an Infected with long brunette hair, her arms and legs torn to shreds. Her limbs twitched, but she didn't try standing or crawling anywhere. Her face was hidden in the sea of tangled waves, but I knew who it was. A double barrel shotgun was left feet away from her.

I gave Logan and Ellie a quick nod, then excused myself from the game. Walking over to the man, he noticed I was there, but didn't dare look away from the scene outside. I stood beside him, catching a glimpse of the view through the horde.

"You dug that second grave for her, right?" I asked, folding my arms as a breeze drifted past.

" . . . she needs to be buried if she's dead. I don't want her to just stay out there in the street. It's not right." he mumbled.

"Who was she to you?"

He pressed his hand against the front window, staring intently out. "My sister . . . I missed so much of her life because of work. 'Sorry, sis, I'll be in North Dakota during your recital'. 'I can't come to your graduation, I'll be in Arizona'. 'Wish I could be in town before you move upstate, but I'll be down in Georgia'." The man chuckled dryly, chewing on his lip. "She wanted nothing to do with me after she left mom and dad for college. Took years for her to finally meet with me . . . three weeks later, and I'm looking out a window at her goddamn corpse!"

I pursed my lips. Nothing that came to mind sounded right for me to say, certainly wouldn't help him.

He rolled his jaw, his chest heaving as he breathed. "Kid, can you do me a favor?"

I nodded, "Yeah, absolutely."

He finally turned his gaze, "I think I left my pack downstairs when I last checked in with Maggie. Think you could go get it for me, I need something in it." The glint in his eyes gave me uneasy feelings, but he was just talking about his dead sister. I can't blame him for looking like a wreck.