The Strong Will Survive

Chapter Seventeen - Lilith [EDITED]

 A lot was unknown in this crazy apocalypse, but one thing was certain.

I was pretty damn sick of bursting into tears whenever anything went wrong or turned frightening.

I could tell that everyone else thought I was useless. The weak link in their otherwise incredibly powerful chain. The little sister who always tags along, even though no one wants her.

I was sick of being weak. I was sick of crying. I was never going to cry again.

I left Reggie once I had decided this. Walking toward Benji, who was waiting for me just inside the Costco, I scrubbed at my tears and held my head high.

Benji greeted me with an uncertain smile. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I snapped.

Benji bit his lip, then released it and sighed heavily. "Listen. Um, I'm not an expert or anything, but one of my moms was a therapist and..."

"And what?" My anger was receding, left by a dull, numb feeling. I was tired. So tired.

Benji hesitated. "You know what, nothing. Go get some rest."

"What was it?" I asked again, dully. I wanted to know, but at the same time, I wanted to lie down and sleep until the world fixed itself.

"I...I think..."

Just then, Jared and KC came charging towards us. KC grabbed my wrists and spun me around, whooping at the top of her lungs.

I clapped a hand over her mouth. "Are you trying to get us killed?" I hissed furiously, steering her away from the entryway and glancing nervously over my shoulder.

"I've made contact!" she replied giddily. "I am a genius. A fabulous genius who is not to be trifled with."

I had never seen KC this ecstatic, but she was getting me excited as well. "What the heck is going on?"

"She rigged up a computer!" Jared told me, catching up as he and Benji entered the Costco and I secured the door behind them. He was the most animated I had ever seen him. "And Google didn't go down - someone kept it up! She's gotten into her email!"

I pressed a hand to my head. "For real?" The thought of contacting anyone other than these three for the first time in months was incredibly strange.

"I wanted to hook up the computer to see if Google was still there - I could use it to help me study the zombies, potentially," KC explained. "Well, it wasn't easy to get the computer working, but Google's up, like our friend Jared here said. And that means Gmail's up. I sent out an email to everyone I've ever emailed. And I got a response! By God, this is amazing!"

"How long have you had this up?"

KC thought, then grinned impishly. "Five minutes."

I blinked, then laughed. "You're right, you are a fabulous genius!"

KC slid into a puffy spinny chair behind some boxes that was in front of a small plastic table, on which a large computer monitor and keyboard perched, and twirled around before slamming her hands down on either side of a keyboard. I noted the large computer on the floor. "You built that?"

"I helped," Jared piped up.

"Ah, yes. You handed me that screwdriver," KC said graciously. She wiggled a mouse sitting next to the monitor and the screen sprang to life. It was set up on a gmail account with a collage of emo and rock bands for the background. Benji snorted and KC glared at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he said hastily. As KC clicked on an unread email, my hand instinctively sought out Benji's for reassurance. He gripped it firmly and smiled gently at me.

"Dear dork," she began.

"Who is this from?" I interrupted.

"My cousin. We were pretty close, before all this...stuff...started. Anyway." KC cleared her throat and continued, "Dear dork. OMG, so glad you're alive. Have to type fast - it is the zombie apocalypse, after all. Mom is down, and Dad is a zombie. Luka is okay."

"Who are those people?" I was having trouble understanding this email whatsoever.

"My cousin's name is Nathan. He's a younger brother. His older brother is Luka. My aunt is Bedridden and my uncle is a zombie," KC elaborated. She took a deep breath and continued reading.

"We're still in upper New York. We've been moving around a lot, trying to find other survivors. Where are you? We can team up and tackle this thing together. Is anyone else with you? Did your family make it?"

KC fell silent. We all digested the email. Finally, she began to type. I read the email over her shoulder.

Well, dork,

Really glad to hear you and Luka are okay. Sorry about Aunt and Uncle. I'm in NYC, but it's really dangerous here. I'm with three other kids. I trust them. They've got my back. My family didn't make it. I'm the only survivor. Please don't come. I just want you guys to be safe. Don't be stupid and make a dumb decision. Got it?

-KC

"Maybe - " Jared started, but KC just stood up and walked away. "Call me if another email comes in," she ordered.

I only stood still for a second before sitting down, logging into my email, and eagerly typing out an email to everyone I could think of. Benji did the same.

Jared shrugged. "I don't have an email," he stated. "Oh, well." He didn't sound particularly sorry.

I just bit my fingernails, staring at the computer screen and hoping for what seemed like the impossible.