Steven

As I lay on the ground, I take a look around. The zombies trapped inside the store are pushing harder against the door. The glass is beginning to crack, and I know that my inevitable doom is coming. I know that they will soon break through, and tear me apart.

My head is dripping with blood.

That fucking girl shot me. Even if I can get away from the dead, there's no way I'll survive this wound to the head. I try to push myself off the ground, but the task is impossible. My body is so weak. I need medical help. That's the only way I'm going to make it through this.

I feel myself starting to slip into unconsciousness again. Everything around me begins to fade to black, and I accept the fact that I will soon die.

My eyes slowly open again. It's getting closer to dusk now. I easily adjust to the lighting and turn my head towards the door of the store again. The glass is almost shattered now, and the zombies are staring at me. Bloodthirsty eyes meet mine over and over again.

The sound of footsteps come from down the street. From what it sounds like, they're running. Whoever this is, they're not the dead. I strain to move my head and look at them but I can only hear voices.

"Who the fuck is that?", a man says. The footsteps grow closer, and soon shadows cover my face. I'm looking up at a man wearing sunglasses and a jacket. His hair is short, and he has a clean cut beard. I open my mouth to explain myself to him, but words fail to escape it. Just air.

"Get him some water." The man commands somebody out of my line of sight. A few moments later, a water bottle is lowered to my lips and although the liquid is warm, it feels refreshing. I sip for a long time and once the water is pulled away from my lips, I'm ready to talk.

The man squats down closer to me now. "What happened to you?", he asks me.

"The group I was with…" My voice squeaks and I stop to regain myself. "They turned their backs on me, and they shot me. They left me for dead."

Shaking his head, the man says, "What a damn shame. Too many people turning their backs on each other now. Help get him up." A few hands reach behind me, and I'm slowly lifted into the air. I grab onto the man's shoulder for support.

"I'm Chris, and I know just how you feel. Our group was betrayed recently as well. We've been getting supplies from another community, and in return we've let them stay where they want. However…" Chris stops talking and begins to sob.

He wipes his eyes. "However, they killed my fucking guy. His name was Jacob. They probably didn't even know his name, can you fucking believe it? Found him laying around their place with a gunshot wound right to the head. They're gonna pay, trust me."

I wish I could get the same revenge on that damn girl the same way that they're getting on these people. Although, I'd rather have some painkillers at the moment.

"We'll take you back to our community," he tells me. "We have medical staff there, and maybe you can become a part of us if you feel obliged." I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank you," I tell him.

A pickup truck pulls up, and they lower the tailgate. "Let's help him in," Chris says to the group. A woman and another man are with him. They help lift me into the back, and then I lay down on a pile of blankets. "Thank you," I tell them again.

Chris closes the tailgate, then pats it. "No problem," he tells me. "We'll be there soon."

I close my eyes and try to rest my exhausted body.

The truck comes to a stop, and luckily the blankets keep me from sliding around. I can hear them getting out of the truck. The tailgate opens shortly after. I look up to see Chris climbing into the back with his companions.

They lift me using the blankets, and I lay my head back. Straining my neck hurts badly right now. I'm so groggy and disconnected. All that I can really see are trees and the light blue sky, dotted with clouds.

Eventually, the color of white hits my vision. We've entered a tent, judging by the design and the fabric. A very large tent, actually. It has to be at least 20 feet high.

I'm laid down on a table, and it feels too hard. It must be metal. Thank God I have these blankets under me, otherwise I'd be colder than a well-digger's ass.

A man in a surgical mask enters my vision next. "Hello, sir. My name is Tomas. I'm going to help you with your head injury. I was a doctor before this, so you can trust me completely. We're going to give you some general anesthesia. You have nothing to worry about."

The mask is put over my mouth, and I fall under. I hope this guy is telling the truth.

I wake up again in another room. This one is actually inside of a building, where I'm surrounded by insulated walls. Windows on the other side of the room let in some sunlight, and it's gladly not blinding either.

Empty beds sit across the room along the edge of the wall. I can hear noises coming from outside of the window beside me. I struggle to sit up, and I get a little lightheaded but I finally make it into a sitting position.

I slowly push myself up off the bed. I go lightheaded again and have to stop myself before fully standing up. After the struggle, I make my way over to the window and look out. Children are playing on the sidewalk and a man is barbecuing on a giant grill outside. Although the window is closed, the smell makes its way through the cracks and greets my nostrils. The scent is amazing.

I should go get some. I turn around and notice the door at the end of the room. Making my way to it takes some time, but I eventually get there. I push the door open, and Chris is standing outside of it talking to a man wearing a ball cap. He stops when they notice my arrival.

"We'll continue discussing the logistics later. I'll find you, okay?" Chris tells the man. He nods his head, then makes his way down the staircase. Chris turns to me.

"How are you feeling?" He asks me. "Pretty good," I reply. "Way better than I did before. The pain is there, but it's tolerable. I guess I never really introduced myself, and since you guys took me in, now's the best time to do it. The name's Steven."

I reach out my hand and Chris accepts the invitation. "Nice to formally meet you, Steven. We've got a man barbecuing outside, you hungry?", he asks me.

"Hell yes, I am." I tell him. Chris leads me down the stairs and although the pain hurts with each step, eventually I'm able to tune it out. After all, I'm getting some food. That's gotta be something.

Chris opens the main doors to the building and the smell of cooked meat hits my nostrils again. However, the scent is much stronger this time and fills my entire nasal cavity.

Chris points to a table and directs me to take a seat. I gladly take the seat and watch as he makes a plate of food for me. Beans, meat, and bread are the meal that I will soon be eating. I'm already craving it watching the items being put in my eyesight.

Eventually, he makes his way over to the table and sets the plate in front of me. A metal fork is set in front of me soon after, and I begin to eat without waiting for anything else. The food is amazing. I haven't eaten in forever.

After I finish the food, Chris leans his head down to speak closer to me. "Keep this between us," he starts. "We're taking a group to go raid that town later today. You know, the ones who killed my man. I know you're feeling rough right now, but if you're feeling better later, you can go with us. You know, if you want to take your anger out or anything."

I contemplate his offer. While I'm not in the mood to go anywhere, getting revenge on random people sounds really, really nice. "Sure," I tell him. "If I'm feeling better later, then I'll go with you guys."

Chris nods his head and smiles. "Good. I'll run by the armory and get the weapons, then I'll meet you back upstairs in that room so we can discuss the plan with the group."

I nod my head and begin to pick up my plate. Chris stops me and takes it from me. "Thanks," I reply. He smiles and I head back towards the building. The climb up the stairs is worse than when I went down, but what could I expect? The good news is that it felt less painful than when I had gone down. My headache must be getting better. Wherever I was shot, it must have affected my spine somehow.

I sit in the room for a long while and periodically stare out of the window. Finally, Chris appears with a few other people. They're carrying large guns, which is a little worrisome since I'm not still feeling all that well.

Chris and his posse open the doors. To my surprise, Chris gives me a handgun. Thank God. I can't see myself carrying around those huge things. They assemble around a table with a map, and I listen in.

Chris must be the ringleader of this operation, because he speaks first. He orders multiple people to do certain tasks. He informs them what certain places they need to enter from.

For myself, he tells me that I'm going to enter this entrance on the side of their wall. It'll be the easiest place for me to assist them from. Plus, it'll be the least expected place. From what he said, they've been repairing that part of the wall since they attacked them last time.

Chris approves the plan, and we head back downstairs. This time, I feel even less pain. I'm more ready to attack, and let out my anger than anything else. We head out of their entrance, and the guards move the cars blocking it in order for us to leave towards the community.

After a long walk, we finally make it. It's late afternoon, and it's hot as balls now. The trees around us provide plenty of cover, however. Chris covers the plan one more time, then points at the wall and shows me which direction I need to travel.

I head that direction, and follow the wall until I reach the hole. I had to hide from some guards on the top of the wall during my walk, but I eventually make it and hide behind a tree, waiting for the signal.

Eventually, loud gunshots ring through the woods. That must be the signal. I wait a few extra minutes just to make sure nobody else is protecting this part of the wall, and then I slowly make my way towards it.

Halfway towards the hole, I stop when somebody's foot pokes out and steps onto the grass. An ugly, and probably easy brunette, with trashy purple streaks exits the hole. First person to attack. This will be easy.

As I ready myself with the handgun, another foot sticks out of the hole and they emerge. It's that fucking girl. I lower the handgun. I can't take them both at once. I'm gonna have to buy some time now, in order to get the perfect moment.

They take off through the woods and I follow them. It's hard for me to run, but my anger and hatred towards her fuels me. They stop in the middle of the woods and set their stuff down.

I hide behind a tree from a way back, hoping they don't notice me. The girl and her friend lay down after starting a fire. In my efforts to chase after them, I completely didn't even notice how dark it was getting.

It must have been hours. Who knows how long I've been sitting here. It must be safe now, they have to be deep in sleep. When I peek around the tree, I notice the brunette standing up. She messes with her backpack on the ground. After that, she puts the fire out.

She stares at the girl for a while, and then leaves. I don't believe in the Lord but I think that he's given me a sign. I make my way towards the girl, and leave the firearm at the tree, knowing that I won't need it for what I'm about to do.