Stranded

[Black Philip]

Alex was furious. Her companion Scott Pierce had left her in the middle of nowhere. Now, with only a shotgun, and some food that was in her backpack, Alex would be forced to confront the zombie menace alone. She couldn't really blame Scott for leaving her. She'd been attacked while using the ladies room, and had even screamed. Alliances had been broken upon less, and Alex thought how she would have done the same if it'd been her. Still, there were matters to attend to. First she had to figure out where she was. Water was also becoming a real issue, and the food in her back would only last a few days. Most of her ammunition had been in the car that she and Scott had been sharing. Things did not look good. She found some bottles of water within the gas station she'd been left at. She consumed one full bottle and placed several more into her pack. She also found lots of junk food and grabbed as much as she could. Junk food was great, because it took forever to expire, was high in fat and carbs. These were desirable things when you didn't know where your next meal was coming from. She also grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and some bandages. They were worthless if she got bit, but better to die by zombie then by infection from an ordinary wound.

Alex checked the cars in the surrounding areas and found them all locked. Transportation was an issue, and although Scott had shown his true colors by abandoning her, Alex still longed to meet up with him again. He was her only companion, and as much as Alex hated zombies, she hated being alone with them even more. Ammunition was now a concern. Her trusty shotgun held only a few rounds, and Alex feared they would be used sooner rather than later. She decided the next step was to find transportation to either a gun store, or to a wood where there were trees. Alex and her brother Bryant had been excellent climbers as children, and Alex had also figured out Zombies couldn't climb. She would sleep high up in a tree to provide both cover and shade from the sun. The idea of zombie rodents entered her mind, but she still had a long hunting knife, and elbow high leather gloves. The vermin would be toast. With her pack filled, Alex began the only thing she could do. She began walking down the road. She was hoping to find a car she could hot wire, or at least a bike without an owner. Still if any cars drove by she'd stick out her thumb and hope for the best. Maybe she and  Scott were not the only life out here.   

[CowboyBlonde]

Christian stood behind the counter of the Gas station’s mini mart.  He was fiddling with the cash register, pretending to work there.  “That will be 5 dollars please.” He said to the air as he held his hand out over the counter to receive invisible money.  “Thank you.” He said with a smile as he pushed buttons to open the register.  The lights in the small building were flickering on and off.  Most of the shelves had been knocked over and a mess of chips and candy bars occupied the tiled floor.  For now this was the only safe place.  Christian had been here for a couple days now.

Christian was a lanky boy standing at 5 feet tall with tussled red hair that went every which way and round brown eyes.  He wore a horizontal striped T-shirt that was yellow and brown - and also a bit dirty, he hadn’t taken a shower in weeks - , a pair of khaki shorts and grey sketchers. He was 11 years old, about to turn 12.  He was shorter than most of the boys in his class.  His mom said that he just hadn’t had his growth spurt yet.  Most of the other boys were going through changes while he waited and waited.  He is what his health teacher referred to as a ‘late bloomer.’  That also happened to be the name all the other boys would call him as he walked down the halls. 

He placed the invisible money into the drawer and closed it.  He placed his elbows on the counter and sighed.  Him and his family had been here in California on vacation from Boston.  His parents and his older sister were attacked in their hotel.  Christian was the only one fast enough to get away.  A world like this, the way it is now is no place for a young boy to be alone.  Christian stood there thinking about the last day he spent with his family.  He missed his mother the most.  She was always there to comfort him when he got scared, which was often.

Suddenly he heard a woman’s scream followed by a loud gunshot and screeching tires.  Christian quickly huddled behind the counter, breathing heavy.  He had been so wrapped up in his pretend game that he didn’t realize someone was outside.  Now was one of those times that he needed his mom.  He was frozen in one spot for what felt like an eternity.  Then he heard the door open and footsteps graze the tile.  His hands started to shake and he tried to hold his breath as to not get noticed by the intruder.  His eyes squeezed shut as he listened to the footsteps.  He started to realize that these footsteps didn’t sound like the usual pattern of the walking dead.

Christian peeked his eyes over the granite counter top.  What he saw he did not expect.  A Woman with a gun, dirty and bloody, chugging down a full bottle of water.  She didn’t stay long.  She collected what she needed and left.  Christian returned to his crouched position, his heart still beating fast.  Before he could think about it he let his skinny legs bolt him out the door.  She had already made it to the road

“Wait!’ he yelled to her.  “Please take me with you!” With that, a single tear fell from his big brown eye.

[Black Philip]

Alex didn't get more than a few feet beyond the gas station when she heard a voice calling to her. Her heart pumped in her chest. She whipped around expecting to find a zombie. She hadn't heard the exact words uttered, and so she didn't realize her follower was a young boy. This made the fact that she pointed her gun directly between his eyes something that she would regret. She was this boy, with his green eyes and anxious expression, and felt a wave of both relief and sympathy. She lowered the gun, but still held it in two hands. He could be viral, which meant that putting him out of his misery was a mercy. He seemed afraid, lost, and without hope. Before she moved any further, Alex needed to know one thing.

"You bit?" she asked in a Texas accent.

[CowboyBlonde]

Christian was scared and his hands were still a little shaky but this was the only real person he had seen in a long time.  He knew this was his only chance to possibly get back to some sort of civilization.  His arms automatically shot up in a defenseless position when the woman aimed her gun.  Christian didn’t have any sort of weapon on it.  He yelled back to the woman with a shaky little voice. “Nnn..no I’m not. Ah you?’ You could tell he was from Boston from his accent.  He wanted to walk to her but his instincts kept him back.  He needed to make sure she was safe first.

[Black Philip]

The boy looked terrified. His Yankee accent was heard clearly this time, and Alex rolled her eyes at his question regarding if she'd ben bitten. She fully lowered the gun, and spit a huge load into the road. Manners seemed so unimportant in the current times.

"Well if I was bit don't you think I would've shot myself in the head?" she asked. "You're old enough to know what's going on."

After an uncomfortable pause, Alex decided to find out more about this little boy.

"You gott a name darling?"

[CowboyBlonde]

This woman was very different from Christians mother.  Until now he had never seen a woman spit like that.  He was relieved when she lowered her gun and his arms lowered with it.  His eyes lowered in embarrassment when he realized that it was a dumb question to ask.  He knew that the walkers weren’t capable of speech.  He had read so many zombie comics back home that he pretty much knew everything there was to know about the zombie apocalypse.  His father never wanted him to spend his time reading comic books.  He said that all they did was fill his mind with bullshit.  His father always blamed the comics for Christian’s nightmares.  But now it seemed Christian was stuck in one of his nightmares, never thinking that what he read in his comic books would become a reality.  But the comics had kept him alive for this long and he was grateful for that.  Maybe things would be different if his dad had sat down and read them, maybe he would still be alive today.

The boy’s red hair was tussled in every direction, blowing in the warm wind.  His eyes came back up to meet the woman again.  “Christian.” He said gently.  He had stopped shaking but his heart was still pounding.  Everything was so quiet.  All you could hear was the buzzing of the florescent lights over the gas pumps.  Not even crickets chirped in the night anymore.  He wiped the single tear that left a streak of wetness from his cheek.  He was alone now; he needed to be stronger than this.  “So…um…Where you goin…” His sentence trickled out because he didn’t know her name

[Black Philip]

He was a little lost lamb. Alex's heart had hardened over the last few months. Watching everyone you've ever loved get torn to bits by zombies will do that to a person. She'd learned companions were temporary. She'd learned the only person she could trust was herself. However, this boy, Christian, he reminded her of her little brother Bryant. Bryant had left for the big city so long ago, and when the chaos struck Alex had been unable to contact him. She assumed the worst. Yet, being a sister, she decided to break all the rules and take this boy with her if he wanted to go.

"Up the road I reckon," she stated. "I'm not from around these parts so I'm lookin' for a car to hot wire."

At that moment she remembered she didn't tell her name. True he didn't ask, but Alex assumed he wanted to know.

"Call me Alex," she told him. She stuck out her hand for a good old fashioned shake.

[CowboyBlonde]

Christian’s eyes lit up when Alex extended her arm.  The boy scurried over to her and took her hand and shook. “Hi Alex.” He said with a smile.  This was the first human contact he’d had in a long time.  In all honesty, most of the people he talked to lately were imaginary.  Christian let go and his eyes trickled down to the gun that was now facing the ground.  He couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated, he had never seen a gun this close up before.

Christian looked up at Alex and locked eyes for the first time. “Does this mean I can go with you?” He said with excitement, resembling a puppy that greets you when you first walk into the house.  “If you wanna find a cah, I can show you where I saw some.  Just behind the buildin.  Most of them looked like junk but maybe you can find somethin good.” His round brown eyes were still lit up, waiting for her answer.  You could tell that he hadn’t seen a person alive in quite some time.

[Black Philip]

He was just like Bryant, well except for that accent. Alex had to take him with her. Besides, maybe he could be of use. He already was mentioning transportation.

"Yeah kiddo, you just stick with me. Lead the way yougin."

She gave him a little push, not hard but enough to let him know now was not the time for a get to know you session. 

[CowboyBlonde]

Yougin? Christian found that word to be a little odd; he had never heard it before.  He smirked and grabbed Alex’s hand to lead the way.  He pulled her across the lot heading toward the side of the square concrete building. “My dad used to own his own cah shop.” Christian said cheerfully.  “A couple times he even let me help out.  I don’t know much about cahs but I learned what the names of the tools were.  Whatever my dad called out for I would go and grab it for him.”  He was rambling on, which he seemed to do often.

As the boy led the way around the side of the building something stopped him dead in his tracks.  Christian stared with wide eyes and swallowed hard.  The back lot was almost pitch black.  There was no light besides a flickering florescent bulb drilled to the back wall of the building.  But it wasn’t powerful enough to reach its light across the lot.  Christian let go of Alex.  The wheels in his little brain were spinning.  “…Wait here.” Christian said quickly as he looked up at Alex then bolted by her.  He ran as fast as his skinny legs could take him, around the side of the building and through the front door of the small market. “Flashlight...flashlight.”  He said to himself as he searched through the piles of knocked over shelves.  Finally a light bulb went off in his head and he remembered where he saw one.  Quickly he raced behind the counter and saw the large yellow flashlight resting on one of the under shelves.  This time instead of going around the counter he jumped over it. 

He returned to Alex’s side breathing heavily.  “I think...” Breath, “…We’ll need this.” Christian said with a smile.  Christian turned it on and flashed it around.  Lighting up about a dozen cars waiting to be searched.  Most of them looked like they had been towed here and some were missing a few windows and looked pretty beat up.  It was still pretty dark for Christians liking, so he grabbed Alex’s free hand once again and held on tight.  She would have to lead the way this time.

[Black Philip]

Alex followed the boy, reluctant to take his hand. She did though, and squeezed it firmly. A wave of emotion came over her as they walked. She didn't know what to make of it. As they walked on, with Christian blabbering on about this and that, it dawned on her. This was the first person she'd touched in months. It may seem odd, but Alex and Scott had never touched flesh to flesh. Then again why should they have? Zombies were rampant, and even though they knew the other was clean, the natural impulse to stay far away from other people. It didn't help that it was the hand of a child. Children had an effect on her. They made her feel like something she hadn't felt since the day she killed her fiance. This child made her feel like a woman.

Then as quickly as Christan had grabbed Alex's hand he let it go. Alex heard "wait here" and then Christian was gone! She whirled around but the boy had been swallowed by the darkness. Alex called out, "Get your skinny little Yankee ass back here or I'll skin you like a cat you little shit!" However it was no use. He was gone. Alex began to panic. Would he come back? Was he feeding her to the zombies? These and other terrible ideas danced in her brain with the worst asserting itself forward. What if he hadn't been real? Had she gone nuts? Could her desire to be with another person have fried her brain so badly that it was really broken? She held up her gun. She was scared, scared and in the dark.

Suddenly Alex heard heavy breathing. It was a zombie, she was sure of it! She whipped around and saw the zombie, the red harried eleven year old Yankee zombie holding a flashlight. It was Christian! He had come back. Alex grabbed the flashlight from his fingers and yelled.

"How dare you just run off like that! You might have been killed, or eaten, or I might have been killed or eaten! Run off like that again and I swear I'll beat your little butt red as a cherry. You got it?"

She held the flashlight and softened a little now that her rage had been let out. "Thanks for the flashlight," she managed.       

 

[CowboyBlonde]

Christian was taken aback by Alex's agression.  His eyebrows pushed inward making a wrinkle between them.  He didn't understand why he was being yelled at, all he was trying to do was help.  for a moment he was reminded of how his father used to yell.  He looked up a few inches to her, "Okay, okay...jeeze."  Gently he slipped his hand away from hers and his focus turned back to the dark lot of cars.  Christian audibly breathed outward, "...You're welcome." 

"Like I said, some of the cahs might be broken down because I think this is where they would be towed or somethin.  I looked around during the day time and I saw a blue one towards the back, its missin a backseat window but other than that it looked fine."  Christian couldn't know for sure but hoped that that was their best bet.  The flickering light that was nailed to the back wall of the building was starting to fade until it died completely.  Now their only means of light was the yellow flashlight Alex was now holding.  "I'm not goin first."  Christian's heartbeat started to speed up a bit.  Alex would have to lead the way with the flashlight.  If Christian were by himself he would have never ventured behind the building, not even with a flashlight.  But they needed a car if they wanted to leave this place.

[Black Philip]

Alex softened. None of this was the little boy's fault. Alex had grown hard and she knew it. Could she be blamed after what she'd been through? No matter any of that. She should learn to hold her tongue more often; at least that's what she was starting to think. Humans were few and far between, and Alex couldn't afford to burn any bridges. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch.” She said.
 
Without another word she ventured forward into the graveyard of broken cars. Alex tested a few of the vehicles and found obvious errors with most of them. She found a faulty alternator on one, a couple of dead batteries on others, and more still that had been totaled in wrecks. The blue car that Christian had pointed out had a dead starter and wouldn’t turn over no matter how many times Alex crossed the correct wires. She’d learned to hot wire cars from Dustin. He’d taught her many things like that. He would never allow a woman of his to be taken advantage of on the side of the road.
Then she saw it. It was a 1996 Jeep Cherokee. It wasn’t a pretty car, but she turned over fine.

“Well she ain’t a beauty but she puts out!” Alex said.

She checked the gas gauge and found they were running low. They could siphon gas from other cars, but that would take time. Gas. They needed a lot of it. Then she had an idea.

“Get in kid,” she said with a smile. “We’re draining the gas from under the station.”

[CowboyBlonde]

Christian answered her with a small chuckle at the word bitch.  There used to be a rule back home that if you said a swear in the house you’d have to put a quarter in the swear jar.  The swear jar was just an empty jar of Ovaltine with an orange lid and a piece of masking tape with ‘Swear Jar’ written on it with black sharpie.  Christian’s father was the Swear Jars biggest contributor, with his sister coming in at close second.  Christian, in his short life had only been to the swear jar a couple of times, slipping with a curse in front of his mother that he usually saved for his friends in the school yard.  In his entire life he had never heard his mother swear once and that was rare in south Boston.  His mother would make this certain face whenever you’d hear a swear, which was then always accompanied with a clink of a quarter shortly after.  That face always made Christian chuckle.

He was still smiling; staring at the graveyard of mashed cars when he noticed something that snapped him back to reality.  A light started to come across the lot in a shade of blue.  Christian looked up and noticed that the clouds were moving away from the moon and it was bright..  He closed his eyes and thanked his mom in his head.  He knew that she was watching over him and this was her way of helping him with his fear of the dark.

When he opened his eyes he noticed Alex was already starting to weave through the broken cars.  He quickly caught up with her.  With each car Alex would try to fiddle with the wires under the steering wheel to try to get it to start.  Christian decided he would help by searching back seats.  They came across a yellow Mazda, Alex went to work on the wires and Christian climbed in the back; all he found were a few maps and a lollipop that was still wrapped.  He debated eating it but he took one of the maps instead, shoving it into the waistband of his shorts.  With each car they were met with a different problem.  Finally they reached the blue one.  On the outside it looked to be in working condition but that’s all that Christian had seen during the daytime.  He crawled in the back seat and came upon an empty baby seat with a few bloodstains across the top of it.  Christian sat there staring at it, trying to stop his imagination from coming up with the horrors that might have taken this baby from the seats restraints.  Just as quickly as his thoughts could muster up something truly horrifying, Alex was on to the next vehicle.

Under the bright moonlight Christian saw Alex jump into the driver’s side of a tan Jeep Cherokee.  It seemed perfect.  It had a lot of cargo space in the back and none of the windows were busted.  A smile spread across Christians face when he heard the engine sputter on. The Jeep was close to the back of the lot where there was just enough space to get out and around to the front of the building.  Christian set his sights on the Passenger side door just as Alex yelled for him.  He needed to focus on the door and not the forest of trees and darkness that was also close to the Jeep just behind the lot.

Christian hastily made his way to the passenger door and grabbed the handle.  It was one of those handles that had a square button for your thumb to push into to open the door.  There she was, Alex, looking proud of her recent victory over the automobile graveyard, Christian could see her clear as day and for the first time a spark of hope ripped though him until something grabbed his ankle from underneath the car, forcing him to fall on his back.  Soon he was looking directly at the beaming round moon in the sky.  Just as quickly as he fell Christian propped his head up to meet eyes with a flesh eater trying to pull his ankle closer to it’s mouth to take a huge bite.  “Alex!” Christian screamed for his only friend to help him.  The zombie wasn’t strong enough to bring itself to his skin against Christian’s constant thrashing.  The creature was only half of what used to be a human, entrails dragged behind it where its bottom half used to be..  It looked to be a man with his skin torn away on the bottom half of his face, which exposed all of his teeth.  Its boney finger were still latched to Christian’s ankle, trying to pull itself through the dirt to finally taste human flesh.  Christian continued to scream while staring down the sunken eyes of the monster.  Where was his mother to save him now?

[Black Philip]

Christen didn't have a mother anymore, but he did have Alex and she knew how to shoot. Panic shot through her veins as the boy was dragged to the ground. Alex was in the drivers seat, and her double barrel shot gun was conveniently out of reach. It was resting on the hood of the car. Alex jumped out of the drivers seat and reached for her gun. She scrapped it with her fingers and it fell onto the dark ground with a thud. The blackness was so total, that Alex couldn't find the smooth metal. She had to improvise. She scanned the area, knowing that every moment was one moment closer to Christen's death, or worse. The though of a bit Christen motivated Alex to find a weapon, anything that could kill the zombie.

Then she found it in the back of the jeep. There was a slender and eerily black crowbar. Without waiting a second she grabbed the weapon and ran to wear Christen was struggling.  The zombie only had hold of his ankle. Even in the darkness Alex knew Christen hadn't been bit.

WACK!!!!!

Alex sunk the crowbar into the skull of the struggling zombie. He first hit broke skull, but she added several more for good measure, sending zombie blood, brain and skull in all directions. She screamed as she killed it. She stopped only when nothing resembling a skull was left to smack. She fell to her knees and breathed deep, almost hyperventilating. In all her days killing zombies this is when she'd been most afraid. This boy meant a lot to her for some reason.