The Dead Among Us

         A piercing scream rings through the air that jolts me awake. I look up from my cot to see a zombie crashing through a window towards a person. Quickly I scramble out of my bed but its too late. The zombie is already biting into the screaming survivor's arm. Blood squirts everywhere and the screams intensify. James, our group leader, then comes out of nowhere sending a machete into the feeding monster. It immediately drops dead and the bitten survivor passes out probably from shock. Mattea runs up to the scene and gasps, "What do we do?" She says in a panic. "WE do what we have to." James replies with a grim look.
         Slowly we pick up the survivor and carry it out into the freezing snow. We continue dragging the body out until we reach the edge of the football field. As we come to a stop, she quietly stirs and James pulls out his pistol and cocks it. She wakes up and looks up at the three of us with despair in her eyes. "Please don't do this." She pleads as she starts to realize her fate. Tears stream down her face as James slowly points the gun to her head and looks away.
         A gun shot rings through the silent morning and as the sun rises above the white mountains. James looks to us and says soberly, "Let's get inside." And turns back toward the school. We start to make our way back when I spot something shining in the snow. I decide to investigate when I stop in my tracks. There is a metal shack hiding in the forest beside the school. "How didn't we notice this." I think to myself. I go up to the rusty door to find it locked. I then go around to find around to find a small window. I peek in to find names across the walls. They were names from everyone in the colony, but some of them have red x's through them. Then it hit me. The names with the x's are all dead; this is a hit list. Someone in our colony is a traitor.
         With this haunting piece of information, I make my way back to the colony. I walk inside and find the walker body gone leaving a bloody spot on the floor. "That wasn't an accident." I think to myself. It was planned. As several thoughts run through my head I return to my cot. As I get dress for the long cold day ahead of me, James approaches me. "Hey we are going on a run, you up for it?" He says. I nod in response and star to pack up.
         I met everyone outside and we head off. James and Mattea walk in front while me and two other survivors named Brynn and Emma walk behind. We all walk in silence taking in the remains of what used to be. Boarded up houses and stores line up beside the deserted road. The sun peeks through the grey sky reminding me of the warm summers before all of this. "Walkers." James whispers back to us bringing me back to this dark reality.
         We all move over to the side of the road and hide behind abandoned cars. The hoard of walkers meander their way pass us and we continue down the road until we reach the police station. We enter the police station and soon I feel that something is amiss. I can't any of the walkers that were here when we passed by yesterday. We hear gun shots from another room. "What was that?" Emma whispers. Then like if to answer her question a group of raider turn the corner. I can tell right away that they outnumber and outgun us, so I whisper, "Hide."
         The group disperses into different hiding spots. I sneak into an office and quietly shut the door behind me right as the group of raiders pass through. I sigh in relief, but then they stop. I tense up and then they shout, "Come out from there we can see you!" I panic. What should I do? Should I run or face the raiders? Panic starts to build up and then I hear, "Aww there you are. I knew you would come out." A flood of relief comes over quickly replaced with the question of. Who did the raider see? I slowly peek out of the door window to find Brynn standing in front of the band of raiders.
         "So, are you here alone or do you have a group?" Someone says harshly. Brynn shaking in her boots looks around and spots me in the window and quickly looks back at them. "You do have a group!" the same voice says excitedly. I quickly get down below the window, so they can't see me. "No, I'm alone." Brynn says in a shaky voice. "Well then that's a shame." The voice says in response. A shot rings through the air. Then Brynn slumps to the ground and the raiders continue down the hall laughing.
         After many hours of tense waiting, I quietly peek out of the door only to be met with Brynn's eyes staring up at me. The image sends a chill down my back. I look around to see the rest of the group staring at the same horrible image. I leave my hiding spot and join the others. James says to me, "What happened?" still eyeing the dead body. "It doesn't matter. Let's go." I say as I make my way out the door back into the dead of winter.