chapter 6

Lily smiles. "I see I can't be trusted. That's fair. I would do the same. Let me introduce myself. My name is Lily. I am thirty years old." Spencer looks angry but replies. " I am Spencer." " And I am Andrew. What brought you to the alley if you don't mind me asking?" Lily looks down. I don't expect her to answer. It is a personal question but to my surprise, she answers. " I lived down this road. I had a husband and a son. Both died because of my mistake. I decided that living in the house was too much for me so I left." Damm. This zombie apocalypse has ruined a lot for people. I don't want to become depressed and live in alleyways like Lily. Lilly's face looks sad. Spencer has a question of his own. " Why do you have a fire started? Isn't that going to attract the zombies?" Lily shakes her head." No. Fire seems to be one of their weaknesses. I am trying to save ammo. I wish I could find grenades. That would be a hell of amazing. It will come in handy in my supply run. My turn. What are you guys doing here?" I answer. " we came from the university. That was safe in the beginning but zombies have penetrated the place so we had to leave plus supplies are low. " Lily looks interested. " Where are you going now?" I hesitate before answering. I decide to tell her bits of the truth. " we are leaving this place to go to a better one." Lily smiles. " Can I come with you?" Spencer pulls me aside while keeping his eye on Lily like a wolf eying a sheep. " I don't like her Andrew. She could be trying to use us and when we are not looking, she will kill us or steal our supplies. Let's leave her." A part of me agrees while another opposes. " She might be useful. We will take turns keeping an eye on her." Spencer growls before nodding his head. " Fine. We will take turns keeping an eye on her." I turn around and approach Lily. " Fine. You can but we will keep an eye on you." Lily smiles. " Thanks. There is something that I need to tell you." " Tell us later. We are leaving" says Spencer. Spencer starts walking out the alley. " No" Shouts lily. I know why. Zombies are approaching the alleyway. I panic. I run behind Spencer. The zombie mutants come towards us. Lily gets her weapon ready. " Remind me not to invite strangers to my place again." She takes her revolver from her trousers. "Let's get rid of some zombies Shall We?" She then laughs. Even Spencer. I feel useless not joining in but what can I do. I have no weapon.

The normal zombie moans as he approaches. Lily aims at him and shoots. That is one zombie down. I see grey blood splatter on Lily's clothes. Spencer shoots at the last one. We all say yes softly until a mutant comes along. This one looks more infected and stronger. He is taller than the last two and has razor teeth. We expect him to be a slow zombie but he starts running. Spencer shoots a bullet at him but the zombie is still running. He is close to Spencer and is about to bite him when Lily fires 3 shots at the mutant's head. The zombie mutant collapses. Spencer is busy reloading to even acknowledge that he is down. Spencer points his shotgun up only to find nothing there. All enemies down. Spencer sighs in relief. " Thanks, Lily. You saved my life." Lily starches the back of her neck. " Don't mention it. Anyway, that's what I was trying to tell you. Also, that's why I called you down this alley. The zombies have a routine of walking down this road at 8 am. I have been keeping a close eye on the time. I don't know how they are organized but for some reason they are." I ask " Are there more coming?" Lily shrugs her shoulders. " I am not sure." I decide that the best time to go is now. "Let's start moving now." Everyone agrees. Lily gets her supplies ready which isn't much and we leave.

" So where are we heading first," asks Lily. " We are making our way to the exit of the city" I answer. Lily looks surprised. I would too. That is a long walk. The further we walk, the more nervous I get. I notice that the electricity has not gone out yet. A shop still has its lights on. I will give it a day or two before the power goes off. We have been walking for about ten minutes before we hear moans from down the street. "Not again" I moan. Lily and Spencer arm themselves but I tell them no. I notice a shop that is open with rooms on the first floor. " over there quickly." We are running to the shop and the zombie mutants are getting closer. I hope we can make it. It's a miracle that we make it. We are inside just as the zombies come into view. They are an ugly bunch. Look identical to the one Spencer and Lily fought. The zombie mutants freeze and look in all directions. I fear that they can sense humans. After about 10 minutes they leave. We wait an extra ten minutes before we relax and talk. I hear my stomach rumbling. Spencer laughs. I frown. "Let's rest here for a bit and eat breakfast." I agree with that. Then a thought occurs to me. " Upstairs. There might be a zombie mutant up there. Or even people." We close the shop door and barricade it. Spencer, Lily, and I go up the stairs slowly. The door up the stairs is unlocked. Spencer opens it and enters, gun drawn. Lily enters next then me. I see the place. It is surprisingly neat despite the world setting. "Look around. There might be something useful" I say. There are photos of sports players and music bands on the wall.