Chapter 5

Lucy slowly exhaled, trying to ignore the fast beating of her heart. Her hands trembled and Dave's gun in her hands couldn't stay in her line of sight. She slightly loosened her hold on it remembering not to hold it too tight. Her legs ached from the stance she tried hard to keep. She exhaled again and the zombie that was some feet away from her moved about slowly. Its low growls taunted her.

Dave stood at her left, watching her closely. His presence made her nervous, and she had to double-check if she was following his instructions repeatedly. Legs shoulder-width apart. Left leg slightly forward and planted firmly. Knees slightly bent. Non-dominant elbow bent, but not too much. Dominant elbow slightly bent. Non-dominant hand supporting the dominant hand. The index finger hovering over the trigger. One eye focused on the target and the gun steady.

Nervous sweat trailed down her face and she breathed in deeply again. 'Aim for the head. Anything else is a waste of ammo,' Dave had said repeatedly as he trained her. She had hoped they wouldn't find any zombies in the thick bush behind the warehouse. She said she wanted to be strong but just holding the gun scared her; using it to kill was even worse. She felt sick as Tyler slit the necks of the few birds they found before they were stashed in a nylon bag. The smell of their blood couldn't leave her mind.

Tyler stood behind, impatiently waiting for her. He held the nylon bag in his left hand and his expression was cold. He felt she was wasting too much time since they all knew she would miss, just like the last four times. Dave had given her a practical example with the first and only other zombie they found but that didn't seem to help much. She was on the last bullet they could spare to waste for that day.

She steadied herself again for the millionth time. She managed to stop her hands from shaking too much and then her index finger went down on the trigger. The bullet swished through the air and nicked the zombie on its shoulder, turning it to face them. She stepped backwards, losing her form and her eyes went wide when the zombie started advancing toward them in fast jogs.

Dave immediately grabbed the gun from her and began to reload. Tyler stepped forward and aimed his gun with one hand. 'Terrific shooting,' he mocked and with a flex of his finger, the zombie fell on its back, a deep hole in its head.

Lucy's face fell and she stared at her feet. She was relieved the zombie didn't get too close but it didn't stop her from feeling disappointed in herself for not being the one to stop it.

'This time was better,' Dave said, tucking his gun in his trousers. 'You were able to hit it. Next time, you'll get it.' She nodded and smiled half-heartedly. 'That's enough for this morning.'

'About time,' Tyler said under his breath. He tightened his grip on the nylon bag and made his way back to the warehouse ahead of them.

'Hey, girl!' Brad greeted once Lucy stepped into the warehouse. His right arm rested on his side as he waved with the left and a full grin was on his face. 'How was it?' She tried smiling at him but it appeared forced.

'Oh sweetie,' Ruby said, walking up to her. She held her face up and gave her a sweet smile. 'Cheer up. My first time was horrible too.' Lucy's eyes met hers and she felt warm inside. It reminded her of the way she felt with her parents.

'Yeah,' Brad said. 'I couldn't even hold a gun for the first two weeks.' Lucy smiled gratefully at the both of them.

'That's not a surprise,' Ruby joked in a whisper and Lucy had to suppress her laughter.

'It'll get better,' he continued, oblivious.

'Ladies!' Helena called, holding up a dead bird. 'I'm going to need your help over here!'

'We're coming!' Ruby said in a sing-song voice then she held Lucy's wrist and they both walked towards Helena.

'My woman doesn't need help,' Dave whispered into Helena's ear as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. 'She's an independent and strong woman.'

'Oh really?' she said as she turned her head to him and then their lips met in a short kiss. 'I know I depend on that kiss.' Ruby held Lucy's wrist a bit tighter as they approached Helena.

'We've got some cooking to do lovebirds,' she said, letting Lucy go.

'Speaking of birds. I'm sure it'll turn out wonderful.' Dave winked at Helena and then left to where Tyler was. Tyler had his small pocket knife in his hands and he checked the blade for any remaining blood stains. 'Meet me outside,' Dave said as he passed by him. Tyler looked at him go for a second, a bit confused. He then folded his pocket knife and kept his hands in his pockets as he walked out of the warehouse.

They both stood in silence for a while. Tyler fiddled with the knife in his pocket, wondering what he was called out for while Dave tried to find the right words to use. They had been together for quite a long time, their relationship was more like a father and son relationship. But, the Tyler beside him was different from the Tyler that came running to the police station Dave worked at, covered in sweat and dirt. He was screaming at the top of his lungs about people going wild. He wouldn't stop warning them even when they threatened to lock him up for playing pranks on them; not until it was too late.

'How are you doing?' Dave asked. Tyler was a bit taken aback by the question.

'I'm fine.'

'Are you sure?' Dave faced him and Tyler slowly looked away, curling his lips in. He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it back, unsure of what to say. 'You've been different since William's death.' Tyler gritted his teeth immediately he mentioned his name.

'William was a coward.'

Dave slowly sighed. He remembered how devastated Tyler was when William killed himself. He cried for hours and pushed everyone who tried to comfort him away. They all gave him space. Ruby didn't give him enough space and they ended up fighting a lot. Brad gave him too much space which resulted in them hardly talking. Helena joined them after the incident and Tyler kept his distance. Dave was the only one he kept on talking to but their relationship wasn't the same. The more people joined, the more people died, the more distant he became.

'Yes, he was scared. He chose the easy way out. The way he thought was best for him. He wasn't strong.' Dave paused a little. He looked behind him at the rest of them in the warehouse. A little smile played on his lips before a determined frown replaced it. 'But, we need to be united now more than ever. We need to know we have each other's backs so we can survive together. We can't be strong if we are divided.'

Tyler kept quiet as he took in his words. He knew what Dave was trying to say. But, he didn't know if he could change back. Every other weak person reminded him of William, Lucy included.

'I've got your back, Tyler. Just as I've got everybody's back. I know you've got my back too, and I want it to be the same for the rest of us.'

Tyler slowly nodded after a moment. 'I'll try.' Dave smiled at his response and he patted his back. They both spent some time outside before going back into the warehouse when their food was ready.

***

After their meal, they packed up and hit the road. Their short time at the warehouse was peaceful but in the apocalypse, a place like that couldn't stay peaceful forever. Dave checked the map only few times during the journey when it felt like they were not sure of where they were going. Day turned to night, night turned to day. Some nights, they slept in the vehicle, some nights they would find a small place to stay. When it rained, the vehicle would become too stuffy to stay in because of the wound-up windows. They would look for a shelter while avoiding cities where too many zombies could be or deal with a little rain entering the car when they couldn't find one.

The few times they could find shelter during the rain, they'd use the opportunity to take a shower. Although they had become very much used to the dirt on their body and the odour, taking a shower was refreshing and much needed. At times their clothes would get wet and they would have to stay in their underwear for a while. They hardly had a change of clothes and taking clothes from the bodies of killed zombies was out of the question.

During the night, two out of them took turns to keep watch. After some days, Lucy began to keep watch but she was always with someone because she found it hard to stay awake half the night. The times she kept watch with Tyler were the quietest. She was happy he wasn't giving any harsh remarks but the silence was most uncomfortable. He would also tap her a bit too hard when she'd start dozing off.

Brad's arm got better after a short while and he mostly manned the wheel. At times, he would join in with the cooking but Helena was against him joining in because he would always steal a bite. There were times they stopped at homes, shops and police stations to get food, supplies and arms. Lucy went hunting for food with each of them. Going with Ruby was the craziest and most exhausting. She trained her mostly on how to defend herself when different zombies come at her.

'At your back! Two feet to your left! Swipe at your gut!' Ruby would scream at her with a sickly smile on her face. Lucy's heart would beat hard in her chest as she tried to imagine the zombies being there and react timely. There were times when actual zombies were drawn by her shouting and the two of them would defend themselves or rush back to the vehicle and take off.

Brad taught her more about stealth. He preferred avoiding combat; it was most practical for the times they could be low on arms. He taught her how to hide, camouflage herself, avoid making noise and sneak away.

Dave worked on perfecting her technique. He worked on her shooting stance, her accuracy, unloading and reloading the gun and safety in doing so. From her bullet nicking the shoulder of the zombie, she was able to hit it on the chest, then the neck, then graze its cheek, and then, square in the face. All were slow-moving zombies. The ones that jogged fast were still an issue for her.

Her first time with Tyler started off very quiet. They didn't say anything to each other as they walked about. Lucy heard a rustle in the bushes and she held her gun out in front of her. She recounted Dave's teachings in her head and tried her best to keep calm. Tyler on the other hand quietly continued walking. He didn't make any move to defend himself whatsoever.

She heard the rustling sound again and slowly made her way to where it was coming from. The sound suddenly stopped. She looked around for where the zombie could be hiding. She stepped forward and something under her foot moved. A sort of large rodent jumped out from under her, destabilising her.

She let out a yelp and her arms flailed wildly as she struggled to find her footing. Tyler just looked at her, with no intention of helping. She finally stabilised herself and then turned to face Tyler with a frown on her face, embarrassed that she almost fell but angry that he didn't try to catch her. He raised an eyebrow at her, daring her to say anything but she just glared at him.

He scoffed and turned away from her. 'Pathetic,' he said and that was the last straw.

'Hey!' she exclaimed, reaching out to hit him with her gun still in her hand. His eyes widened at her just a bit and he immediately reached for her wrist and squeezed it, making the gun fall to the ground.

'You lower the gun when you're with other humans,' he coldly instructed as she winced in pain.

'Stop,' she pleaded when he didn't let go. 'You're hurting me.'

He frowned at her. 'If you're too weak to free yourself from me, you don't stand a chance against a zombie that grabs you.' She gritted her teeth and tried to tug her hand away but his grip tightened on her. She tugged and tugged again, and then with a loud groan, she pulled away hard enough for him to let her go.

She reached for her wrist and massaged it, a frown on her face. Tyler turned away from her and began walking away when she said, 'teach me then.' He stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. 'Teach me to defend myself in close combat with a zombie.' He narrowed his eyes at her but there was something about the confidence in her voice that made him smirk.

'Alright.'

Seven weeks passed since their time at the warehouse. Night fell and they looked for a place to stay. Brad drove off the road on the outskirts of a small town to a small bungalow house made of wood. He stopped in front of it and the engine made some loud knocking sounds. They hoped the house was safe since the old car engine needed to rest and cool down.

'Helena, Lucy,' Dave said and motioned to the house. The both of them nodded and then got down from the vehicle with their guns and flashlights held firmly in their hands. Lucy followed Helena's lead. Her time spent training with her let her become more aware of her environment. It was the perfect time to see if she had learned well.

Helena tried the door handle and the door squeaked open. She turned on her flashlight and cautiously stepped into the building. Lucy came in after in the same manner. She relied more on her sense of hearing as she was taught. Her footsteps were light so they wouldn't interfere with any sound of the zombie she could pick up on.

The two of them went to opposite sides of the house to cover the house fast. The building was quiet. But, that wouldn't mean anything till the entire place was checked. There was a small creaking sound on Lucy's left and she immediately spun. The light from her flashlight illuminated the characteristic pale and rotting face of a zombie and in a split second, there was a gunshot.

Thick blood flowed from its face as it fell limp on the floor. Helena jogged over and when she saw the zombie, she smiled proudly at Lucy.

'Well done.'

Lucy smiled back and when Helena went out to call the others in, she looked back at the zombie. She saw its greying hairs and her face fell. An old man waiting to die of natural causes, turned into a zombie. The plague took the old and young, strong and weak, able and disabled. The virus didn't care if its host could attack or not, it just wanted to spread.

The rest of them came into the house, looking exhausted.

'Lucy, you're taking the first watch,' Dave said as he collapsed unto a couch. 'Tyler, you take over after.'

'After?' Lucy asked, feeling nervous. The last few times she watched in the night, she was with someone. She was able to stay awake throughout those few times but she didn't think she would be tasked with doing it alone so soon.

'Yes. You'll take the first watch alone, you can do it, right?'

'She can,' Tyler said, smirking at her. At his words, she stood up a bit taller. Training with Tyler was anything but easy and it wasn't until recently that he started acknowledging her improvement. If he believed she could do it, she didn't want to give him any reason to think otherwise. She nodded at Dave and he smiled proudly at her.

She stepped out of the house while the others made themselves comfortable. Everywhere became quiet when they all fell asleep. It felt even quieter than the times she was with Tyler and they weren't saying anything to each other. A chill wind blew and she hugged herself. It was the perfect atmosphere for a night spent sleeping under the stars.

She walked up and down to clear the thoughts of sleep from her mind. Two hours had passed and she only needed to stay less than two more hours before she would go back in and wake Tyler. From a distance, two zombies appeared. They weren't enough to cause an alarm and from their pace, they were very slow. Her eyes felt heavier and she struggled to keep them open. She reminded herself she could do it and continued walking up and down.

That was the last thing she remembered. She opened her eyes and found herself lying down on the sand in front of the house. She looked up and her breath got caught in her throat when she was met with the dozens of zombies mere feet away from her.

Her body was frozen in shock and then the door beside her opened. Tyler stepped out, rubbing his eyes only for him to stop short as he met the crowd of zombies in front. He turned to Lucy beside him, his eyes ablaze in disbelief and anger.