Breath

Chapter 10

That night, Joseph sat at the window. He couldn't believe how lucky he and the others had been that day. They managed to get everyone back alive. Samuel gave an order that Stan wasn't allowed scavenging for a few weeks because of his injury. Joseph remembered the time when Ian died. Ian had been one of his best friends in the group, he was also the best fighter. He had died on a scavenging mission near the start of the apocalypse. They hadn't fortified the apartment building at that time, so most of the group would be staying in the one room. Ian had died trying to help Samuel who had been knocked to the ground. Samuel got away fine but Ian got devoured. Joseph remembered watching his friend getting ripped to pieces. The worst part was that Joseph knew he couldn't help. That day had been one of the worst of his life.
But no one died this time. Everyone was okay. Then something caught his eye. He saw a dog out on the road. It was moving strangely. Then it started barking loudly. It ran around. Then it suddenly ran in one direction. Joseph saw the dog attack a cat that had been sneaking along the road. The dog tore the cat apart with its teeth as it shook its head around. It then walked away, the dead cat hanging from its mouth.
Joseph hadn't seen many animals since the apocalypse. Now he had seen two in one day. And he was sure he heard Stan say something about a dog making noise causing the psychopaths, that had trapped him in the building, to attack.
Joseph eventually lay down and eventually fell asleep.
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Rita couldn't sleep. She still felt guilty. More guilty than earlier if that was possible. She had to talk to someone about it. She got up off her bed and walked out. She walked down the hall and walked to Alan's door. Rita and Alan always seemed to get along more than anyone in the group. She knocked on the door.
"Come in." She heard a voice say. She opened the door and walked into the apartment.
Alan was sitting on his couch reading.
"Hey Rita, what's wrong?" He asked putting down his book.
"Alan, I need to talk to you about something." Rita said.
"Yeah, what's wrong?"
"It's about Samuel."
"What about him?" Alan asked sitting up straight.
"I - I want him dead."
"Why do you want him dead?" Alan asked.
Rita walked over to the couch and sat down.
"Ok well, basically, Samuel said he'd give me extra rations if I - if I had sex with him." Rita said quietly.
Alan looked concerned.
"And he didn't give me those rations." Rita added.
"So you want him dead because of that?" Alan asked.
"Alan, I feel guilty, I wish I hadn't done it in the first place, my boyfriend died around the start of the apocalypse and I still can't get over it." Rita began to cry.
"No, no, stop. Look, you just wanted extra rations, we could all do with that. Although, it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the group. It's fine, you did it to be happy." Alan said calmly.
"Alan, you don't understand, Samuel said he'd kill me if I told anyone," said Rita looking at Alan wide eyed. Alan was frowning.
"Okay, listen, I won't let Samuel touch you ever again." Alan said to her.
"Can I stay here with you please?" Rita asked.
"Of course." Alan replied.
Rita smiled and hugged him. Alan hugged her back. He had fancied Rita since the first time he met her.
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Later that night, Samuel was sitting up in his bed reading a war book. He used to love going to the museum before the apocalypse. He had worked at an office across the road from a museum since he was 20. He was now 22. Samuel used to love heavy metal music. He always had long hair. But ever since the apocalypse started he had short hair. He thought that long hair was bad in times like these as the psychos could easily grab it and you would be done for. He had seen a young woman die like that. She had been running away from a group of psychos when a particularly fast one just managed to grab her hair and pull her back to be devoured.

He never had any girlfriend before the apocalypse. His family would constantly argue with him and each other so much that he left when he was 18. He moved in with his friend until he was 19 and managed to get a job. He worked at a McDonalds for a year. Then he worked in his office until the apocalypse started.