Thirteen

          I think the last thing anyone wants is a child.  Five teenagers, all surviving a zombie apocalypse and armed with guns for shooting the monsters now have to take care of a toddler. I don’t think this is going to go well.

            Despite his reluctance to the little boy inside the office, Jagger quickly warmed up. Once he believed that he was truly human, he started treating him like he’s one of us and making sure that he’s safe. Right now, he walks beside me, holding the little boy’s hand with one arm and aiming a gun in the other. If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re not living in a normal world, I would say that Jagger is being incredibly cute.

            “Cole is going to shit,” Jagger mutters, tugging the boy along as we round a corner. His free hand is in his mouth and he keeps looking up at me with his big eyes.

            “Yeah, he’s not going to be happy.” I sigh and try to navigate my way over a fallen shelf. “But we don’t have any other options. We can’t just leave him here. When we get to Fort Saunders, I’m sure someone will know how to take care of him.”

            Jagger nods. “He’ll be in better hands there. Another reason for us to get going.”

            We do two laps of the entire Wal-Mart, occasionally calling out for Cole, Jack and Emily. We hear no replies, gunshots or sounds, other than the occasional raspy groan that can only mean there are still some zombies here.

            “Where are they?” I wonder aloud, flashing my light across some racks of clothes.

            “I have no idea.” Jagger’s voice is clipped and the little boy looks up at him, curious.

            “Maybe they went back to the car,” I suggest, slowing to a halt. “We should abandon the power search and check outside for them.”

            Jagger nods. “Good idea. You lead the way.”

            I shield my eyes from the bright light of the fading day. After being inside for so long trying to see in the dark, the sun is blinding, even if it’s not directly in the sky anymore. I squint, struggling to see across the parking lot. I look to the small car we found earlier and see no one around it.

            “They’re not there,” I sigh.

            Jagger raises his arm in front of me, pointing in a different direction. “That’s because they’re over there.”

            I turn away from the sun and see Cole, Jack and Bullet by a yellow Hummer. Cole’s under the hood, looking over the engine while Jack is staring wearingly across the pavement. I follow his gaze and see a group of zombies far away devouring what appears to be a man. Well, used to be.

            “Where’s Emily?” Jagger asks as we approach them. Cole and Jack immediately spot us but the second their eyes land on the child they look like they’re going to be sick.

            “What the hell is that?” Cole sneers, lifting his head out from above the engine. Even Jack looks grossed out and for once it’s not because of a zombie.

            “A child,” I reply sternly, taking the boys hand and moving him next to me. Jagger lets go and moves to take Cole’s place, looking over the Hummer. “We found him inside.”

            Cole looks like he still can’t process what I just said. “And you took him?”

            I nod. “Yeah.”

            Cole opens his mouth, ready to snap at me when he quickly closes it and shakes his head. He turns to Jagger and throws him a set of keys. “If we can get this bad boy working, we’ll have a better ride. You up for syphoning some gas from the car?”

            Jagger shrugs and slams the hood of the yellow car with his palms. “Sure, but I’m not the one who’s going to be sucking.”

            Jack laughs and Cole shoots him a look, instantly shutting him up. We meet eyes and I give Jack a smirk, which he returns with red cheeks.

            “So where’s Emily?” Jack asks me when I lean against the driver’s door beside him. The toddler plops down on the ground beside me, sticking his fingers in his mouth. Bullet walks up and gives his cheek a lick. The boy giggles.

            “Jagger and I were wondering the same thing.”

            Jack looks confused and turns to the other guys who are searching in the trunk, trying to find something to help them. “Guys,” he says, but neither Jagger nor Cole listens. “Hey, guys,” he repeats. Still nothing. Aggravated, Jack slams his fist on the back door of the hummer and barks at them. “Guys!”

            I’ve never heard Jack sound so uptight before. It’s completely out of character for him and to do that, he must be really upset. Worry starts to creep its way into my bones as I follow him to the rear of the car.

            Cole’s eyes are wide with shock when I reach them. Jagger’s harder to read and stares at Jack with narrowed eyes, but I can still tell he’s as bewildered as I am. They’re both leaning forward on the opened trunk like it’s a counter.

            “What is it?” he asks, his voice calm.

            “Are you guys stupid?” he asks, completely serious. Cole opens his mouth to snap but Jagger holds his arm in front of him, silencing Cole’s words before they leave his lips. Jack continues as if he’s on a confidence spree, ignoring how angry he’s making Cole. “Have none of you noticed that we have no idea where Emily is?”

            Cole’s face falls. “What?”

            Jack sighs, finally getting everyone’s attention. “She wasn’t with Jagger and Sloane like we thought, and she isn’t with us.”

            Jagger straightens up and runs a palm over his forehead. “Shit.”

            Cole looks both angry and sick, his face red. I think he might throw up again when suddenly he turns on his heel and starts storming off across the yellow lines of the parking lot.

            “Where are you going?” Jagger asks, turning around to watch him.

            Cole loads his gun and turns off the safety, looking more angry and determined than I’ve ever seen him. “I’m going to get Emily back.”

            “Shit,” Jagger repeats.

            “We need to go find her,” I tell him as I feel arms wrap around my leg. I look down at the toddler and clench my teeth. As cute as he is, he’s a huge inconvenience. “Jack, can you stay behind?”

            He looks like he’s seen a ghost. All his confidence is gone and I feel bad that it can just disappear so quickly. “Uh…”

            “You’ll stay in the Hummer,” I explain as Jagger hands him the keys. “You need to watch him,” I gesture down to the boy, “and lock yourself inside. You’ll be perfectly safe, I promise. If zombies come, you can just drive away and then run them over. You’ll be fine.”

            “Fine,” Jagger echoes to reassure him.

            “C’mon.” I’m practically pushing Jack in the driver’s seat as Jagger loads the infant into the space beside him.  “We’ll be back soon.”

            We make sure Jack’s locked inside and before he can protest, we’re jogging across the parking lot with Bullet keeping our pace. Cole’s already gone, inside the Wal-Mart without waiting for us. I have no idea how this is going to work and I fear that this is a bad idea, but we don’t leave anyone behind. Even if I’m still an outsider and dislike Emily, I’m going to help the others. I still need to prove myself.

            “We should split up,” Jagger suggests as we run. “We have a lot of ground to cover and we don’t want to waste time before it’s too late.”

            Too late, meaning she’s dead, gone, or a zombie. I don’t want to think of any of those possibilities.

            “I hate this,” I mutter as we go inside. I can’t see again from being outside and then going back into the dark. I don’t like feeling this vulnerable, but I have no choice. “If we’re splitting up, we need to have a signal to get the hell out of here when we find her.”

            Jagger nods as he checks his gun. “We’ll shoot twice, upwards.”

            “How do we know we’re not killing a zombie?”

            Jagger starts to walk off down the checkout, leaving me. “Aim for a light.”

            I nod and start to move when Jagger calls for me from somewhere out of sight. I don’t know where he is so I pause.

            “Sloane?”

            “Yeah?” I call back, lifting my chin.

            “Be safe.”

            I nod again even though he can’t see me. “You too.”

            As I take off in the dark, keeping my shotgun pointed while also using my flashlight, I try to think of the places we didn’t cover. I tick off the far corners of the store, the office where the little boy was, the shampoo section and clothes. The only places I haven’t been are food and power. I take off for food first.       

            Bullet stays closed to my side. I notice his ears are bent and take extra caution. The sound of bullets echo through the store and then they’re silence.

            “Emily?” I call lightly. I want her to hear me but I also don’t want to trigger a zombie swarm. So far we’ve been pretty good without getting attacked very much, but that can only mean that there’s more somewhere we haven’t been yet.

            It feels weird walking down the cold food section of the store without getting chills. A lot of the glass fridges are empty, molding or spilling onto the floor. I sweep over them with my flashlight easily when Bullet freezes beside me.

            There’s a small thump behind me and I whirl around, pointing my gun at the place where the sound came from. My finger hovers on the trigger as I bring my flashlight over, shining it down on what I’m pointing at.

            A moldy bag of peas sits on the floor, half spilled as little tiny green and fuzzy peas roll across the tile. I sigh, annoyed that food made me jump and turn back around and start walking again.

            “Emily,” I repeat as I turn the corner. I hold my breath upon the smell of rotting food that even makes Bullet whimper. I start to scan the isles as I pass them with my light instead of wasting time going down them. Another gunshot sounds and Bullet’s ears perk up. For a moment he pauses and then he’s growling, taking off in a jog across the floor, avoiding the isles like I had been.

            “Bullet!” I shout quietly, chasing after him. “Come back!”

            I follow him until he slows only seconds later. He raises his haunches, lowering his head to the ground as he growls, growing more menacing by the second. I stop behind him and point my gun, worried for what might be waiting for me in the dark. Cautiously, I flick on my flashlight and raise it, only to find two doors at the back of the store. Both are wide open, each revealing an equally horrific scene.

            The right door is a double set, leading into the storage part of Wal-Mart. My hand shakes as my light hits the group of ten zombies, all feeding on an old woman on the floor. Some are cupping their bloody hands, bringing her flesh to their mouths while others are shoving their faces into her limps and torso, devouring her.

            Bullet instantly starts growling and whimpers quietly. The zombies barely notice me, too focused on their meal and I shine my light into the other door. On the floor of what appears to be another back office, sits Emily, covered in grime and dried blood, shaking in terror.

            I look her over and find the source of the blood. Her shoulder, which she’s clutching, is ripped open and gushing out the red stuff. Her eyes are wide and her hair is matted. She does not look like the girl I saw a few hours ago. She looks completely different, and more than that, she looks scared. She’s infected and she knows it.

            Slowly, she raises a finger to her lips.