Unknown

Pedal to the Medal

My tires screech as I force my foot farther down on the pedal.
"Try to lose him before we reach the high school, we don't want to jeopardize its safety," Dawn calls to me from the back seat. A quick glance in the rear view mirror and I can see the beast running with all his might.

"Eyes on the road!" Dawn yells frantically.
I look ahead to see another one in the road ahead. Sharply turning left, I head into a field covered by dirt patches where there should be grass. The roar of my engine causes me to not hear what Dawn is trying to say.
I put he pedal to the metal and push my baby as hard as it will go.

"Come on," I mumble under my breath. Drifting toward the right, I head toward the road again, both Seikorae's following, but they're falling behind now.
Reaching the pavement. I visibly see everyone relax. I glance behind to see both of them standing at the edge of the field, watching us drive away.

The rest of the ride is silent and I pull up to the school.

"Let's head inside, we'll do a perimeter check, and well lock down for the night," Dawn commands.

"What if we find one? We can't out run them. And we don't even know how to kill them yet," Peter pipes up.

"Who said we didn't? Weren't you listening earlier? To survive you damage the stomach, to kill them you damage their brain. Anymore questions?" Dawn raises an eyebrow.

"How exactly, can we damage the brain? Just good old fashioned blunt force like in zombie movies?" Anna asks.

"We're not in a zombie movie, princess. This is real life. And to answer your question, get creative. The brain needs to be completely destroyed. Now, let's quit wasting daylight, because when the sun goes down, we won't have any other light. I'm not sure if they're attracted to it." Dawn begins hustling us out of the car.

Upon entering the building Dawn and Drako go first, then Anna and the. Peter and I. We stick to that formation as we do a full perimeter check and then we return to the front offices once the coast is clear.

"Begin looking everything down, Drako. As for everyone else, the day is almost over, I say we grab a quick bite from the cafeteria and meet back here. Well stay stationed here this way we'll be in control of the locks, and Drako can hack into network and we'll be able to watch the security cameras," Dawn heads out the office door and begins making her way to the lunch room.

"You guys coming?" Peter calls over his shoulder to me and Anna, who is holding my hand once again.

"Come on," I guide Anna out of the office. "You should eat."

Once in the cafeteria, Dawn advised we grab food for tonight, and breakfast for tomorrow. I wait for Anna to pick out her food and I offer to carry it for her.

"Keep in mind we're scavengers now, we're survivors. Okay? So we can just eat like a black hole," Dawn looks at Peter who has already eaten three dinner rolls.

"Sorry," he replies, mouth full of food before swallowing hard.

Anna finally picks a can of peaches for her breakfast and a hoagie for dinner. I set on a can of beans and a pop tart.
The four of us head back to the office. Once we reach the office, Dawn locks us all inside.

"We should call this something, like office control, or The Center," Peter breaks the silence as we eat.

"Those are terrible names, this isn't even the center of anything," I counter.

"But he might be on to something," Dawn defends the idea.

"How about control center?" Anna speaks up.

"That sounds great!" Peter vouches and I nod my head.

"I suppose it's not that bad," Dawn inquires.
"Anyway, let's try and get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll scavenge the school, but we will not be leaving the premises, not yet at least. We have to find weapons and figure out how exactly to kill them first. We'll need to eventually find a more practical vehicle like a truck or a van, as well. No offense to you, Chris." Anna stares into my eyes.

"None taken," I shrug.
We all finish eating and begin to prepare for sleep. Searching the office I find a couch with dusty pillows. I wait for Anna to get comfortable before laying a jacket I found on her.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Anna whispers above Peter's snoring.

"I was going to sleep in the chair over there, or is that too far? I could sleep here on the floor next to you," I respond.

"Will you lay with me?" She scoots over as much as she can, but the couch is too narrow.

"I don't think we both can fit," I watch as her face begins to frown. "I'll tell you what, I'll make us our own little bed in one of those cubicles over there, sound good?" She nods to my suggestion and I help her stand up.
Grabbing the couch cushions I lay them out like a bed, there's three from the seat of the couch and three from the back of the couch. I then put the decorative pillows on one end of the makeshift bed.

Anna lies down and I lay behind her, wrapping my arms securely around her. My eyelids grow heavy and before sleeps takes over I whisper in her ear.

"I will protect you. Always."