Killing Corpses (zombie novel)

Chapter Five

Cold. It was so cold. I should have worn more layers, or brought more water. Taking extra food would have been helpful too. All I had was the clothes on my back, and the small bottle of water I held. Everything else was gone.

I don't know what it was that had made me leave. It was a spur of the moment. I had had a bag, which was full of clean clothes and water. And food. Food.

I had been pacing my room, pondering wether to go ahead with my plan or not. I wanted to find Liam, and get out of that hellhole. Seriously.

So I don't know what I did. I know I waited until Cassie and the other orphans were in bed, and then I seem to remember packing a bag, getting up, and leaving. Somehow? I think I may have jumped out the window. Well, all my memory was blurred now. My bag was at the bottom of a pond somewhere. I fell in one, and when I got out, my bag was gone. Or so I seem to remember.

Three days ago I had left. The police were most likely looking for me. A search party out. Guns. Emergency services. Helicopters. Well, maybe that last one was a bit extreme. But I was just so hungry. I felt weak, like I could collapse at any given moment. I had only eaten a cold, stale sandwich that I had happened to find at the back of the fridge before I left. And it had only made me hungrier.

What was I doing? Chasing after Liam? I didn't even know if he was alive or not! I knew where he was (hopefully) situated. In the city. That's where I was going. But at this rate, with no food, no water, and no clean clothes... It didn't look very hopeful.

I was on some country road surrounded by tall trees, and I was extremely disorientated. It didn't help that California grew colder and colder by night, either. I stumbled like a drunken man, using the fence at the side of the road for support. It didn't give much of it.

I looked over to the other side of the road, and noticed large wind turbines, spinning endlessly on rolling green hills. I stopped for a minute, taking it all in.

If I hadn't been starving, dehydrated, or really, really tired, I would probably have loved it.

I opened my bottle of water to take a desperate sip, and noticed, (for about the seventh time in that hour) that it was empty.

I groaned out loud although there was no one to hear me, dragging my hands down my face.

I thought about waiting on a car, and hitchhiking. But then I remembered I'd probably end up kidnapped, or dead.

Anyway, the road was empty. There hadn't been a car for a long while.

Stupid Copsyn... I thought. What the hell have you got yourself into?

I sniffed, and kept walking, all the way down the road. My feet were in agony, in my old pair of weather beaten trainers, donated oh-so-generously by that damn orphanage. My head was pounding for not sleeping for two nights, or not getting any rest.

I just wanted to get away from there as soon as I could, as fast as I could.

And it worked. Because I had no idea where I was.

My vision was becoming dangerously blurry when I noticed a billow of smoke rising up from Inbetween the trees. It looked like... A fire.

Heat.

Warmth.

A fire.

I had a sudden burst of adrenaline, as I began jogging to the site.

It didn't take long until I found it.

It was a log cabin, a lodge if you will. It looked like a hunting one, as it had skins of several different animals strung up around it. A large German Shepard type dog was tied up outside of a kennel, looking at me with dull, gray eyes. There were large furred boots left outside the door, and steamed up windows around the structure. A warm glow called me to it, the smoke coming from the stone chimney peeking out of the roof. A beautiful smell of cooked venison leaked through the creaks in the door and the windows, entrancing me. Before I knew it, I was calling out to the owner of the place.

"Help!" I screeched with all the strength I had. I really struggled to keep my eyes open at this point, and I swayed on the spot. I tried again.

"Help!"

The dog began to bark, and a figure inside froze, and came to look out of the window. I waved my arms frantically and instantly regretted it, squeezing my head and falling to my knees. The dog kept barking loudly.

"Help..." I tried feebly, as darkness began to shroud me. The door of the cabin opened, revealing the silhouette of a great burly man, with a rifle raised. The dog barking started to fade, as my eyes drooped. "He-Helpp..." I pleaded, before falling victim to a long awaited sleep.