In the Snare

"Shit. No." Haze scrambled around as he searched for any sign of a struggle.

There was blood everywhere but there weren't even zombies inside the small bar. We checked every nook and cranny to no avail.

"We have to check all these places." I concluded hawkishly, "I'm not leaving until I find out what happened to them. She set the fireworks off here. They have to be nearby."

Next was the hardware store. The two of us scurried around the place, knocking down every zombie in our path. There was no sign of the others. We couldn't even get inside of the grocery store — it was filled with the undead.

"Pet store?" I questioned curiously.

"Why would they go there?"

"Maybe they had to."

I put my face up to the front window of the pet store. No sign of zombies or people. The door was unlocked and we practically walked in. The stench of death filled my nostrils as we strolled through the once lively store.

"Can't help but to feel bad for these animals," Haze called out as he examined the cages. "They didn't have a chance."

"Drop the guns, assholes."

That voice was familiar. I turned around and met Courtney's soft yet aggressive gaze. Her face turned to shock as she realized who I was.

"Jake? Oh my God, you're alive!"

"What happened?" I ran over to her, grabbing her and squeezing her tight before pulling away to stare into her eyes. "Are you guys alright?"

Her gaze fell before she struggled to bring it back up to meet mine.

"Nista, she uh — she had an accident. Went out to set off the fireworks and didn't come back. When we found her, her stomach had a huge gash in it. Anna doesn't think it's a bite — she thinks it's an injury from another human."

Haze immediately rushed to Nista who lay unconscious on the cafeteria table.

"Where's my sister?" Courtney eyeballed me, speaking with anger toned in her voice. "Jake, where the hell is she?"

"The shelter's leader, Tabitha, she kept Christie so I'd come back with the rest of the group." I spoke softly, "Christie is okay, alright? I couldn't find you guys so she's still there. The leader wants living people — she wouldn't hurt your sister."

At least I hoped.

"You better hope to God that they don't." Courtney hissed, "we have to get Nista better quick so we can go back and get my sister. If I have to go in shooting, I will."

I approached Anna who sat nearby tending to Nista's wounds.

"Is she okay?"

Anna turned to me with a somber expression on her slender face. "I don't know. The wound is pretty bad. She was awake briefly but we couldn't get any information out of her."

I stared down at the wound. It had to have been created by a large, sharp blade. The blood was still exiting the wound in spots and the infection was turning the edges of the gash to an irritated orange color.

"We can't let her die, Anna."

I glanced at Haze. Without her, he'd be crushed.

"The infection is already coming on. I've never seen this before — it hasn't been that long since we found her. I just — I gotta wonder if the blade that sliced her wasn't tainted."

"Tainted?"

"If the person who sliced her open killed any zombies with the same blade before using it on her, the blood could've gotten into her bloodstream and —"

"No." I objected, "no. You have to save her no matter what it takes. Please, Anna."

"If she's gone, she's gone, kiddo." Vick objected in a hushed tone. "We can't save everyone."

"Kara said that she didn't want to live in a world where we pick and choose who we help," I ranted as I held back tears. "Save her, Anna. Please."

Anna's green eyes settled on my gaze. Her expression was firm yet determined.

"I'll do everything I can, Jake."

After discussing our next move, we decided our best bet was to move out of the city and to a place where Nista could rest and be tended to without zombies interrupting. The group batted ideas back and forth about what to do.

"Half of us should go get Christie, the other half should stay here..."

"I'm sick of splitting up! It causes nothing but problems. We have to wait for Nista to get better before we go anywhere."

"That's my sister we're talking about! This could mean her life. If we don't figure something out, I'll go myself..."

Anna finally stepped in. "We might just have to ask Tabitha for medical help. Nista isn't going to survive if this infection spreads into her bloodstream."

Haze stared at Anna intensely. "If that's what we have to do to have a chance on saving her, I'm willing to try."

It's the only way to help Christie and Nista simultaneously. The only question is will Tabitha help Nista?

_

We traveled through the city in the minivan. Vick drove with a determined expression on his face.

Clunk. Clunk.

"Couldn't dodge that one." Vick commented, "these streets are completely overrun here."

Zombies slammed against the vehicle as we coasted the streets.

"You think they attack us because they know we'll put them down?" Courtney stared at the zombies that roamed the abandoned streets. "Like, they don't want to be what they are and they know if they attack us we'll probably kill them."

Haze muttered, "Cute theory."

"Kinda like suicide by cop or robbing a bank on purpose just to go to jail." I commented, "remember the homeless guy that did that? It was on the news. He just wanted a warm place to stay and free food."

When we pulled up to the gates, they let us in without an issue. Tabitha seemed satisfied, commenting that groups bigger than four are rare to find now. She also informed us she would be interviewing us on our strengths and weaknesses in order to determine what we should be doing.

They brought Christie out unharmed.

"They're going to help Nista out. She's going to the infirmary where they'll treat her wound. All we can do now is hope she heals from it." Haze informed me with relief in his voice, "I hope to God she does. Don't know what I'd do without her."

"She will. She's strong — we all know that," I assured him. "She made it through what happened back at the school. I don't think many of us would've been able to do that."

"Can't help but to feel bad that she got hurt trying to give us a signal." Haze sighed, "if I find who did this, they'll be dead. She's been through too much already."

I couldn't blame Haze. Though he denied it, I've come to the conclusion that he does in fact care for her in more ways than one. I want to tell him to go for it, that tomorrow isn't promised — it's not my business.

"Tabitha gave us the whole third floor. Probably figures we won't be here long anyway," Vick seemed pretty satisfied with this. "Not enough beds but we'll just have to take turns."

"The whole floor?" I questioned, surprised. "Maybe we found good people. You sure we should head off to California?"

"Not everything is what it seems, kiddo. Get some rest. You're going to need it."

Dawn was upon us now and we headed out on our first run for Tabitha. Vick said we'd be headed to a shelter that got overrun.

"Tabitha drew the layout of the building. The pantry and first aid is in the back but we have to enter through the front. We'll go in, usual formation and see how it goes from there."

An eery feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.

"How does she know what the inside is like, Vick?" I inquired skeptically, my brows furrowing.

"Maybe she was a part of the shelter before it got overrun and she doesn't want to talk about it." He excused her nonchalantly. "We've all been through some traumatic shit, kid. Everyone handles it in their own way."

It was hard to believe when I pictured her stone cold gaze. It was unsettling — the expression on her face was always unreadable. Her voice was never toned with any type of emotion.

"They put me in a room, brought me food and told me I could walk around the facility if I wanted to." Christie chimed in, "I went and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I wouldn't trust them just yet though."

Grrrgghh.. rggghh..

Zombies already welcomed us at the front doors. They banged the palms of their hands against the glass windows.

"A whole shelter? Overrun like this with the doors still locked?" Anna questioned skeptically. "This better not be a set up."

Vick wriggled the doors until they came loose. Finally, the dead ones flooded out to us. Each one reached, arms stretched wide as if they were saying join us.

"That all of them?" Haze skimmed our surroundings before heading to the building and peaking inside.

We entered. Low groans and growls could be heard from the many rooms off of the long, narrow hallway that led from the lobby.

"Place was an old dog daycare." I commented as I stared at the pictures on the walls, "people must've took it over after everything fell."

Some drawings and pictures were knocked off of the now empty walls. Blood was smeared throughout the lobby.

"How did this place go down if there's no sign of forced entry?" Courtney inquired in a low voice. "Something just doesn't feel right."

We now stood on one end of the hallway. On the other end, the food and first aid were stored away in the closet — with a whole lot of zombies in between.

"If we're quiet, the zombies shouldn't hear us." Haze whispered, "just tip toe. We'll get this shit loaded up quick and be out of here."

The zombies were already worked up. I guessed they could hear their friends break through the glass in the front.

Usual formation. With Haze on one side of me and Christie on the other, I slowly made my way to the pantry. Christie grabbed a box and then Haze. I pulled the box off of the top shelf.

Crrrk! Crash!

The storage shelf fell on top of me as I turned to walk away. In result, it pinned me to the ground on my stomach. I attempted to wiggle out of it but it was no use. When I looked down, I realized that someone had set a snare on the bottom of the shelf. There was my foot inside of the rope which kept me from freeing myself.

Grrrghhh... rggghh...

They know we're here.

"Jake! What the hell?" Haze scurried to my rescue, immediately pulling the shelf off of me.

I freed my foot, "someone set a trap. We have to get out of here."

Shit. I can barely walk. The pain in my foot radiated through my leg. The doors rattled throughout the hallway as every zombie in the building now had their attention on us.

"Go! Go! Go!" Vick directed to the others as he assisted me with walking. "Get to the car!"

"Vick, don't die for me." I struggled to walk as he helped me along.

"I would die for you. I'd die for any of you because I know you're going to help rebuild someday. The future is what's important."

No time for a lecture, Vick.

Crssssh!

Doors began to cave and zombies flooded out of their  rooms.

"Vick, go!" I struggled along as I yelled commands.

He held onto my side as he popped shots off. Zombies fell to the ground in response.

We made it. The boxes rattled in the cargo space of the minivan as we drove along the bumpy road. Although my foot hurt, I only had one question in mind.

Who set the trap?