At Our End

Six

     "Maddix I need you up!" Roman yelled not wasting a second as her swerved to the left to avoid a semi overturned on the road.
     "What the heck do you think your doing!" Azalea yelled from the truck bed screaming as she was flung into the side.
    The boy named Maddix jolted upright, smiled at Ashwyn, and whirled up front. "Roman I'll grab Zale," he called, opening the sunroof he hauled his small body up on the console and reached out to grab Zale's hands and pull her into the car. Landing with a resounding "thump" she slid into the backseat.  
     "I'm Zale," said wearily as Roman swerved once again throwing them all on top of Maddix. Her grim expression and haunting eyes were enough to let Fanira know this girl was no happy camper.
     "I'm Maddix , sorry I slept through your arrival," Maddix answered. Ashwyn smiled back and introduced herself as she got a better look at him. He was short with black hair and eyes to match. However she could tell an underlying shyness and was the only thing keeping him from saying anything else.
"No time for introductions!" Natalia hollered turning back to Roman. "You told us you were going to steer us around the town and take us to some abandoned country home! Where the heck do you think you're going? Are you insane!" She hollered in Roman's ear mercilessly.
"Maybe if you weren't trying to backseat drive all the time I might be able to go somewhere! Plus we forgot the map, okay? I'm trying my best," He answered in a normal tone.
"I'm in the passenger seat thank you very much!"
"Take this exit, I used to live around here," Maddix interjected pointing to a rundown side road a couple of feet ahead.
      Looking out the side window Ashwyn's stomach dropped out of her as she saw the destroyed town before her. The limping diseased roamed the streets along with debris, and wreckage from long lost battles. If anything the only humans there were probably dead or holed up inside an apartment building. Shaking at the sight she saw Roman guide her a reassuring look through the rear view mirror as the three in the back were jostled once more.
"Are there any following us?" Zale called leaning in front of Maddix to look at Natalia sulking in the front seat.
"No," Roman answered looking out the rearview mirror. With a grumbled response from Natalia, Maddix leaned up and continued to feed directions to Roman.
Meanwhile Ashwyn preoccupied herself with staring down the ruins of homes and sites. Her stomach aching at the sight of so many dead, and so many "diseased." Within about half an hour Roman pulled up to a small country home a few miles out of the town they had passed. The roads here weren't filled with as many cars or diseased because of their secluded location.
They were lucky they Nevada was a pretty spread out state, meaning the only occupant at this particular house was the heaps of snow piled outside. "Everybody out," Natalia grumbled angrily. Roman and the other disembarked from the truck and Ashwyn waited until everyone else had grabbed their things before asking about her own.
"Oh don't worry, I have it," Roman offered passing her her backpack. "Your sister found your student ID, on it it said your name was Ashwyn. Can we call you that or do you have a nickname?" As she thought about it she realized she'd never gone by a nickname, however she did kind of like the sound of going by her middle.
"My middle name is Fanira, I think I'll try going by that one since this is a trend."
With a smile Roman patted her shoulder, flashing a pair of dimples, and followed the others into the house. Once inside Roman explained Ashwyn's choice of a nickname then followed Natalia and Zaleinto the separated kitchen of the small home and shut the door.
     Ashwyn didn't have to be a genius to realize that Natalia was the governing agent of this group. She also didn't have to think hard to also realize she was living in a world full of flesh eating zombies.
The house itself looked as though it was still inhabited. The furniture wasn't covered by sheets, and lamps were still lit around the small couch and living room. Behind the main area was a staircase that lead up to the bedrooms upstairs and a door to a bathroom. With that in mind Maddix offered to take her upstairs.
"So...how are you faring?" He asked quietly looking at her sideways.
"I really don't know. I still feel like I'm in a dream. The world has adapted so fast, it seems to have left me behind," Fanira answered hesitantly. She could tell the boy was quiet, however she felt she could trust him.
"I know," he answered, his next few words making Fanira almost cry. "Sometimes the world is like that, almost too fast paced. But this event doesn't render us hopeless, it gives us a new meaning to see what really matters-it gives us something to hope for. It will turn out alright," he finished with a half smile, this only making Fanira stomach recoil wishing she could believe him. At the landing the two parted to check out what laid behind the doors.
//:://

The kitchen was quiet as the three survivors gathered around the circualar breakfast table. Plates still laid in the sink, the whole kitchen showing signs of a hurried exit. For a moment the three only looked at each other before Natalia broke the silence.
"What do we need to do? What's our plan?"
Zane was quick to answer, heat rising into her words, "Natalia do you not understand what is going on here? There are zombies outside, zombies! We are just a bunch of 16 year olds staying in some person's home attempting not to starve to death with a suicide mission to get to the other side of the country."
"I'm sorry okay! If we are too busy attempting to understand what's going on around us we will never survive!" Natalia spat back.
"Do you hear that?" Roman suddenly asked, his eye drifting to a small door in the corner of the kitchen. The silence of the girl's suddenly gave way to a strange low scratching sound, like a cat scratching a door to get out emitting from the door.
"What the heck-" Natalia started but was cut off by the sound of the door being throw off its hinges.

A/N: Hey readers! Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! If you have any ideas, feedback, or thoughts feel free to comment them here or press that little star button if you liked the chapter!