Evac

Bite fourteen

Approaching the house was... unsettling, to say the least. Our feet crunched up the gravel drive way until we all came to a stop at the threshold of the houses porch. We look between the house and each other unsure. I know we're all thinking the same thing. This is somebody's property we're invading. It may look like nobody's home but what if?

My heart jumps when I think I catch a flicker of movement from the corner of my eye. I stare up at the right, upstairs window where I thought I saw the movement. I squint my eyes but there's nothing. It's probably just paranoia. Must've imagined it.

After another few seconds of shifting feet on gravel, I decide to speak up. "Look guys, I know this is a weird situation. We don't know whose house this is, we don't know if we'd be welcome here or even if there are people inside or not, but what I know is, it's the zombie-fucking-apocalypse and the old world laws of 'Not entering a property unless invited' are over. The new law is 'you do what you have to in order to survive' and that's what we're doing." I finish with a huff. Hopefully that gets through to them because we can't be worrying about things like this anymore. A hesitation like this, in a different situation, could be lethal.

With that thought in mind, I walk up the porch steps and boldly open the door. The inside is beautiful. All classic furniture and hardwood floors. A glossed, dark brown staircase is the centrepiece of the entryway. It's quiet and there's no sign of any life. I take this as a good sign and take a few cautious steps inside. I hear the others rushing up behind me and I ignore Eli's scolding voice about 'I should've let him go first.' I roll my eyes. Males and their egos.

To my right, seems to be, the living room and to my left, the dining room. I chose the dining room because, well, food duh. There's a fruit bowl in the centre of the dining table and I don't hesitate in helping myself to the juiciest looking apple on the dish. I crunch into the delicious fruit, my mouth filling with sweet, only slightly over-ripe juices. I moan and the others stare at me like I'm crazy. Ohhh right, they're still stuck on the 'We're in a strangers house thing.' I just shrug my shoulders and carry on eating. What can I say, I'm starving and I need food. Speaking of which, I wonder what's in the pantry?

I'm about to go and find out when a loud click comes from the direction of the living room. We all freeze when we see the girl. She walks forward a couple of steps until she's standing by the stairs. The huge shotgun she's holding remains fully trained on Aiden.

"Don't, any of you, move." She speaks, her voice unwavering.

Eli attempts to raise his hands but he stops suddenly when she raises the barrel to point at Aiden's head. "You move again and I'll shoot him. Don't you think I won't." She almost shouts.

"Okay, okay. Don't shoot." Eli says quickly after hearing her threat. "I won't move again."

"Good. Now who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my house?" She says, sweat beading on her forehead with her concentration. What catches me be surprise is just how young she is. She can't be more than 16 years old.

I surprise myself by speaking. "Hey sweetie, where are your parents?"

Her eyes flare at my comment and her finger tenses on the trigger. A strand of honey-brown hair falls in her face and she blows it away before talking. "That doesn't matter. Don't make me ask again."

"We're from Charlotte. We're evacuating because of the outbreak. You know about that right?" Eli asks cautiously.

"I've seen the news. But all the news stations went down about a day and a half ago." She seemed hesitant to say any more but I guess curiosity got the better of her. "How bad is it?" She asks tentatively.

Eli's expression turns Stoney as it does whenever he thinks of the city he's lived in all his life. "It's bad. Real bad." Is all he says.

Her expression turns sympathetic for a split second before hardening once again. "And what's your purpose here?" Her expression forming into a threatening scowl once again.

She stares at me when asking this question, so I do my best to explain."Our car ran out of gas a little down the road and it's getting dark. We didn't want to be stranded out there with the biters, I mean, infected people. I swear we were just looking for somewhere to hole up for the night, we didn't mean any harm, I swear."

Her eyes shift between each of us suspiciously before stopping on me once again. "How can I be sure you're not gonna rob the place?" She asks, after the tense pause.

"Do we really look like that type?" I ask her, begging with my eyes. The silence stretches on with no answer. "I swear, we're just trying to stay alive. That's it." I try and convince her of our good intentions.

Her eyebrows furrow and she seems to be having an inner war with herself. Finally she lowers the gun and you can definitely hear everyone exhale the breath they've been holding. Sher actually backs up against the wall and does the breathing exercises she does after workouts. They help her calm her heart rate.

"Jack, you can come out now." The girl says, turning towards the living room. From around the corner, a little boy shyly pokes his head out.

My breath catches in my throat at the new revelation. Two kids, in a house, all alone. The question of parents again rises to the forefront of my mind.

"Are they fwiends?" Jacks little kids voice asks uncertainly.

His sisters eyes look uncertain but she nods. "Yeah, they're friends Jacky. Come and say hello."

The little boy comes out from around the corner but still hides behind his sister, only one side of his face poking out from around her hip.

I slap the stupefied expression off my face and speak. "Hi Jack, my name's Brooke. It's nice to meet you." I smile at him and this seems to break the ice.

He smiles back at me before squeaking out a tiny, "Hi Bwooke."

My heart melts and I think, at that moment, I would do anything for him. He's so adorable! "How old are you Jack?"

He must know the answer because he smiles brightly and comes out to stand next to his sister rather than behind. " I'm six years old!" He states confidently. "And Gina's fifteen!" He says, pointing at his sister.

So Gina's her name huh... "How old are you?" Jack asks curiously. "Are you fifteen like Gina?"

I giggle slightly at this before replying. "Good guess Jack but nope. I'm twenty." His eyes go wide at my answer like I'm super old and I can't help but laugh. The others all catch on and also introduce themselves. Then, catching us all by surprise (even Gina by the looks of it), he runs toward me and takes my hand. "Do you want to see my woom?" He asks, excitedly.

"Uh yeah, definitely!" I reply as enthusiastically as I can. This kid's so cute, there's no way I'm gonna disappoint him. (Even if I do need a seven course meal and two weeks sleep.)

Gina sets the gun down and shuffles from foot to foot. "I'll make some food while you keep Jack entertained." Her expression almost looks thankful for the baby sitting break. "I'm guessing yall are hungry?"

None of us hesitate to answer.

Aiden: "YES PLEASE!"

Eli: "Yeah."

Sher: "Omg yes."

Me: "Starving!"

Jack: "Mac 'n' cheese!"

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Hey y'all, what you think of the new characters? I'm really interested to hear if you think it was a good idea, to introduce new characters, at this point in the story.

Also sorry for the long wait. I know, I suck sometimes.

Don't forget to vote and comment! It gives me so much motivation when I get notifications for this story. Thanks guys! <3