Surviving the Plague 1

It was getting dark out. Normally, Andy had absolutely no problem with the dark. In fact, he found himself at home in with the feeling of night surrounding him and cradling him… However, now that the outbreak had spread, he felt anxious in the dark. He couldn't see if they were there, and if they were, he didn't know how many there were. His brisk steps found their way through the dark, only making small sounds on the grass as he pushed the branches out of his way and ducked beneath them. Suddenly, Andy froze. Adrenaline pumped through him quickly as his eyes searched around him in the shadows, looking for any spot of movement. He could've sworn…

There was a shifting in the small light he saw, just a few feet away from him. He smelled it, the rotting dead flesh and decay. Andy tensed up, his muscles stiff suddenly, but he didn't take any time to think about it. He bolted, running as fast as he could as his heart pounded in his ears, flooding his mind. Don't stop, don't look back, just run, run, run… He ran for a few minutes until suddenly his adrenaline had given out on him. He looked behind him, breathless and panting, pausing just for a couple of seconds to check the land for anymore movement. No, he saw none.

Certain now that he'd be okay for a break, Andy stopped and he pulled off his backpack and unzipped it, taking out his inhaler. It had gotten hard to breathe, and he knew he'd need to take a puff. He tried not to use it very often, and the fact that he had to use it now irritated him. He took in a large breath of the inhaler, holding his breath for ten seconds, and then let it out. Feeling a little better now, he put the MDI back into his bag and glanced ahead of him. He blinked. A light, a small light was reflecting on the trees and the brush… A fire? He slid his backpack onto his back once again and crept forward, feeling a bit comforted by the thought of warmth.

He tried not to make a racket, but he knew that if it was another human, he didn't want to sneak up… He climbed through the brush and into the clearing, brushing the leaves and thorns off of his clothes as he glanced around the fire, looking for a sign of life, not expecting the greeting he was going to get…

Jay yawned so hard that she was light headed afterwards. The brunette looked up at the sky. It was getting dark. She sat her bag and her rifle down, unpacking some food and water. Grabbing her pistol, she walked to a little sapling and cut branches off, gathering them to start a fire. She burnt her hand, but the fire had lit fast and the warmth of it cradled her. The smell of burning wood comforted her. Jay sat back, holding one knee to her chest. She smiled and closed her eyes, pressing her cheek against her knee and beginning to hum. It was such a peaceful atmosphere that she had created. She was relaxed and happy for once.

Then, a sound rustled from the brush.

Jay's heart sped up and her body shot up and drew her pistol, shaking. Her heart couldn't keep up with the adrenaline caused by the noise. She had never faced the undead and she prayed to God she wouldn't have to at night. It had to be one of them. Nothing could've made such loud noises on accident. She saw the bush move to the right of her and she fired four shots near it. Since she was shaking so badly, she knew she probably couldn't hit anything anyways.

Andy jumped out of his skin, nearly screaming as suddenly he heard gun shots. Well, at least he knew a zombie hadn't miraculously created a fire. His arms shot up in the sign of surrender as he glanced down at his feet, hoping none of the bullets had hit him. It appeared they hadn't, there wasn't any blood or any pain. He glanced up at the crazy girl who shot, trying not to make any sudden movements. The light of the fire lit up her face and confirmed the gleam of the gun in her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He stopped, realizing that he was speaking much louder than he should've been. "Y-you're only wasting your ammo." He assured her a bit, wondering how many shots she'd both fired and missed. His green eyes were locked on her face, hoping she wouldn't shoot again. He worked his jaw a bit, trying to get rid of the annoying ringing now engraved into his eardrums.

Still holding the gun, Jay shook. After taking a long breath, Jay lowered the gun. "Dammit!" She snarled at him. "Don't you know what's going on in this stupid world?" She had to yell at him, it was his fault she had almost shot him. Andy should have at least made a noise somehow. "Freaking sneaking up on me… Jesus. You should have cawed like a bird or something." She rambled, steaming.

Andy let out a huge breath and he patted his chest and his legs, just to make sure that he hadn't somehow gotten hit. Now that he was positive that she had terrible aim, he sighed. "Sorry." He mumbled at her and he staggered over to the other side of the fire, watching her closely. He still had his guard up, but that was normal now; with these zombies around, you had to be careful… That was one reason why he didn't really blame her for nearly killing him. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and he tried to focus on the fire in front of him, using it to warm his cold fingers.

The emptiness in his stomach was starting to get to him, and he felt a large growl coming on. He slid his backpack off and rummaged through it for a moment, opening his bag of jerky, concealing it a bit… He wasn't sure if he wanted to have any right now. This wacko might just kill him and take his supplies… Holding his breath, he took out two pieces of jerky and gingerly offered her a piece, looking at her questioningly.

Jay's eyes softened, becoming bright and filled with want. She instantly snapped out of it, though, and she turned her nose up at him. "Are you trying something on me?" She stiffened back up. What was she thinking? She didn't know him one bit. She let her guard down for some pretty boy... Even though she loved jerky and hadn't had it in many years, Jay wasn't about to let this kid slide.

Andy frowned at the girl's rebuttal. He hadn't meant anything by it, but if she didn't trust him, he understood. He shrugged a bit and he respectfully put the jerky away, not wanting to eat it in front of her. "I just thought…" He trailed off in mid-sentence, looking away from her and to the fire instead. "You might've wanted some…" He sighed slightly and zipped his bag back up then. "For use of your fire." He murmured at her and raked a hand through his hair, sitting criss-cross applesauce.

She looked him up and down. He looked nice... She smirked, what in the world was he doing out here. He was going to keep her company. Hopefully it would be quiet company. She sat down and stretched her legs out towards the fire. She looked up at the smoke and she inhaled deeply. She smelled the jerky, and her stomach wanted it so badly. She sighed. "Well," she paused and looked at him. "I. Kind of... Really love jerky." Her eyes lit up.

Andy felt a bit better now, both know that he could eat and knowing that maybe he could tag along with this girl. He reached into his bag again and tossed her a piece of the jerky, taking one for himself. He took a bite of it, letting it sit on his tongue for a long moment before he chewed it. He watched her closely for a long time before he cleared his throat. "... I'm Andy." He told her simply, relaxing a bit. His green eyes were lit up by the fire, and though he was close enough to burn slightly, it felt better than the cold of the night. He looked up at the smoke as it spun up into the sky and disappeared above the trees with the dots of flickering ash.

Jay stuffed the piece into her mouth and she savored every ingredient. This was by far her best moment all along her journey, sitting by the fire, sucking on some jerky... She opened her eyes and looked into the coals of burnt wood beneath the pile. "I'm Jay." She told him. Her name felt foreign on her tongue, she hasn't said it in months. Her eyes wandered to Andy's face. "What's your story?" Curiosity should've shot her right about now.

The brunette-haired boy didn't look back at her. He took in a big breath and he shrugged a little, taking another bite of his beef jerky. He had never been one talk to about himself, and he didn't really know what to say anyway. He was exactly the same as her in this aspect, just simply surviving and trying not to die… That was his story. There wasn't a story before it, not in his mind. The world now was much different from the world then… His teeth chewed the jerky slowly, relishing the flavor. He wished he had the luxury of being able to eat another piece without worrying about how much he had left.

"Let me guess, you grew up and your parents were rich." She looked at him hard. "They never liked you." She searched for a reaction. Jay could read people too easily; it was like a gift. She grabbed her backpack and took some water out of it to soothe her throat. She tossed a water bottle over to Andy as well. Jay stared at his face and she sighed. "You know?" She chuckled. "I absolutely love this. I have always loved camping out; it reminds me of my childhood." She laid on her side, facing Andy as she played with the cold sand around the fire. She looked back up at Andy. His green eyes were fixed on the fire… He seemed scared or nervous, something of the sorts.

Fumbling with the water bottle for a moment, Andy blinked but he gladly sipped a bit before he twisted the cap back on it and set it to the side. "Camping is fun..." He told her, nodding a little as he watched the fire intensely, adoring the way the flames looked and how they burnt. His eyes began watering then and he had to turn his face away to the cool shadows to blink them away. He cleared his throat, his eyes turning to her a bit. "So... Jay." He said and he shifted a bit where he was sitting. "I'm guessing you haven't seen many other people...?" Judging from how you reacted to me, anyway...

"Well, so far, since I left home, no. No one…" She thought about it for a moment. Actually, she hadn't seen anybody at all. "But, I'm glad 'cuz I don't like lots of people." She looked around, thinking she had heard something like a low growl and a thud. She rolled to her belly and searched for another person nearby. She sat up. "Did you hear that?" The noise sounded like someone had tripped and fallen into a puddle. Jay grabbed her pistol and slowly stood up.

Andy's muscles tensed once again, and he stared into the shadows behind the brushes where the foliage guarded the darkness from the firelight. His fingers reached out to touch a large branch-like stick that was jutting out of the fire. He figured it would've been a good weapon, especially ablaze. He said nothing, but he slowly rose himself into a crouch, trying to look for a sign of movement. Andy wasn't one to attack, but he was one to defend, especially with a fire like this being such a rare and useful resource.

Jay aimed down her pistol and started to shake again. A dark shadow rose from the ground about ten feet into the bushes. "Hello?" She called out, just to make sure it wasn't another human. The shadow came closer and stumbled through the darkness and came into sight. Jay shuddered and gaped. The zombie was already decaying, the left eye was missing and the cheek bone exposed. The dead thing had mud caked clothes and it dripped everywhere. She pulled the trigger and the bullet skimmed the side of the thing's head. She backed up and closed her eyes and shot again, shooting the creature in the throat and making it stagger back and trip into the bushes. "Oh, God."

Andy grimaced. He knew neither of those shots had killed the thing. He heard it gurgling, making creepy noises as it recomposed itself and tried to get up. He climbed to his feet, scooting closer to Jay and putting a calm hand on her arm. "Stop shooting, you're wasting more ammo..." He murmured to her, feeling awkward having human contact. He pulled away quickly though, the uncomfortable feeling repelling him, and he kept his eyes on the darkness in the brush. He raised the large stick in his hand, the end of it flaming and smoldering, using it to light up some of the darkness.

She lowered her gun and searched for a blunt object, like a rock. She walked over to a large rock and tried to pick it up, but it was stuck in the ground solidly. She grabbed a branch with leaves on it and walked over to the zombie and started thrashing the branch at its head. She constantly backed away from it. "Why won't you die!"

Every time Jay backed off gave the zombie more time to recover. Eventually, it was on his feet again and lunging towards Jay and Andy. Its disgusting looking limbs were flailing, and the half of its face that was still attached was contorted into a rotten snarl. Acting on instinct, Andy shoved Jay backwards and he raised his stick up into the air. The flaming branch came down on the monstrosity’s head and knocked it straight into the grass, face-first. The fire had gotten onto it as well and was burning through some of the 'skin'. It was still for a long time. Andy took a chance and he nudged the thing's side with the toe of his shoe. It didn't react. He sighed.