Surviving, Not Living/Issue 30

This is Issue 30 of Surviving, Not Living, entitled Knights in Shining Armour. This is the sixth and final issue of Volume 6.

Issue 30 - Knights in Shining Armour
“You bitches ready?” Danny smirked, addressing the others.

“I was born ready.” Ellie replied.

The quadrant stood at a crossroad of bookshelves, each looking down one aisle. Infected came from all directions. Jackie felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, fearing that she may not make it out of the library alive.

“It’s been an honour surviving with you guys.” She stuttered. Bobby grabbed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. Soon afterwards, he let go as he was the first one to come into contact with infected.

Bobby grabbed the screwdriver from his pocket and pierced the skull of the first monster. He remained holding onto it as the infected fell backwards, sliding off the weapon. The second infected tripped on the body of the first and fell to the floor. Bobby lifted up his foot and sent it slamming against its skull. The skull caved in with little forced.

It was Jackie’s time to fight next. She grabbed a book from the shelf and swung it through the air. It crashed against the skull of an infected, sending blood splattering out and the monster to the floor. Another infected leaped forwards and collided with Jackie’s body. She could see its jaws, snapping wildly open and closed, mere centimetres from her face. The blonde grabbed the infected’s t-shirt in her hands and used it to slam the creature against the nearest bookshelf.

The other blonde had already started her attack on her group of infected. Ellie raised her foot and kicked the first infected’s chest. It fell backwards, slamming against the monster behind it. Three of the infected fell to the floor.

“Someone help!” Danny shouted. He had the brilliant idea of pushing the bookshelves over and crushing the infected. However, he was struggling. His diet didn’t consist of much protein so his muscles were weak. Bobby turned around and helped him. Eventually, the bookshelf toppled over and took at least fifteen infected with it. The surrounding three bookshelves fell also, just like dominos.

Unexpectedly, the sound of gunshots filled the air. The group looked at each other, wondering if any of them had found a gun.

“Bobby Wilson, I swear to god, you better be alive so I can shout at you once we’re done here.” The shouting voice was immediately recognised. It was Amelia. Bobby couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Amelia was at the entrance to the library, taking out infected that had climbed through the hole in the wall with her knife. Charlotte was next to her, shooting with the gun. Following an order from her auntie, Ava stayed close to Charlotte’s side. Vicky was behind them and shot through the gap in the bricks. She aimed for the infected that were building up outside.

Amelia pushed forwards, ripping her knife from an infected’s skull and jamming it into another’s temple. One infected seemed faster than the others and charged at her. The woman leant to the side and watched it stumble faster, landing on the cold wooden floor with a thud. Charlotte ran over and stamped on its head. Vicky moved further inside the building. She didn’t want to be separated from the others.

The other four were still fighting infected further in the library, albeit less but still a dangerous number. Danny kicked the knees of an infected to make it fall, leaving Bobby to smash its head in. Jackie grabbed the bookshelf to her right. There were too many infected for her to take out on her own. The others were too busy with their own monsters.

“Someone help!” Jackie shouted to the other group of four in the library. The blonde looked up at the end of the book shelf. “Grab the end of bookshelf twenty-four and tip it towards the east wall.”

“I got you!” Vicky called back. She ran over to the bookshelf and helped Jackie to push it over. The two women smiled at each other as it fell, glad to see one-another. The fallen bookshelf took a large chunk out of the number of infected in the library and created a route for the two groups to come together.

Bobby, Danny, Ellie and Jackie ran towards the other survivors. They stepped in-between empty spaces of the fallen bookshelf like they were in an army drill. The group were together but they were still in danger. Around twenty infected still drew closer to them – some crawling in from outside, some coming from deeper in the library.

Charlotte was in trouble. One infected had tightened its grip onto her hair, pulling her head back, and another was dangerously close to her out-in-the-open neck. She reached for her gun but was surprised to find that it wasn’t there. Abruptly, a gunshot was heard and a bullet flew through the approaching infected’s neck. Another gunshot followed and Charlotte felt the infected’s grip on her hair loosen. She turned around to see Ava holding her gun, raised in the air.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I guess it wasn’t a bad thing that I taught her how to use a gun, after all.” Ellie opined. She was surrounded by infected but still made time for a sassy comment. Charlotte’s jaw clenched. She was angry but there was no time for a scolding. The woman snatched the gun from her niece’s hand.

<p class="MsoNormal">The eight survivors gathered in the middle of the foyer area. They stood back-to-back, assembling a large circular shape. Every direction was covered.

<p class="MsoNormal">Vicky leaped forwards and slammed the spine of a book into an infected’s head, landing it parallel to its nose. Immediately, the monster collapsed to the floor. Once again, Amelia used her knife to take down multiple infected. With one swift movement, she slashed the foreheads of two infected, making easy access for her knife to pierce the brain.

<p class="MsoNormal">Once fifteen minutes of fighting against the infected were over, the last monster slid off Amelia’s knife. Every member of the group panted heavily. It was a horrible sight. Tens of bodies laid on the floor, all mutilated in some way. The library looked very different to when the group had arrived. The decaying moss was now tainted with red blood and falling bookshelves had sent books flying everywhere.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Where’s Zach?” Ellie questioned as she approached Amelia. “Did you leave him in the vehicle you came in?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Amelia gulped. “No… We left him back at the school.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“How can you all be so stupid?!” Ellie burst out in anger. “This whole trip was for him! If we get back to find that he’s drowned to death on his own vomit, then this has all been a waste! We’d have wasted energy which means we’ve wasted food.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Hey, Ellie, calm down.” Bobby told her, walking over.

<p class="MsoNormal">The girl ran one hand through her blonde locks. “I know you guys don’t like us but you could’ve at least had a little bit of common sense and brought him along.” She looked towards Charlotte, expecting a response from her. For once, Charlotte kept quiet. Instead, she sat still and cuddled Ava tight. “Look, as soon as Zach is fit and healthy again, we’ll leave and you won’t hear from us again.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“No, Ellie. We don’t want you to leave the group.” Jackie spoke up from across the room. She sat on the floor with her back leant against the wall. Everyone nodded in agreement.

<p class="MsoNormal">“All that noise must’ve drawn more infected to this area. Let’s get going before we bump into them.” Vicky instructed. Slowly but surely, everyone got up from their resting positions and made their way outside.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Don’t think you’re off the hook.” Amelia snapped at Bobby as the two walked out of the main exit.

<p class="MsoNormal">A comfort blanket surrounded the group as they made their way back through the deserted city. They all let their guard down, knowing that the rest of the group was also there. Charlotte held Ava who was crying into the older woman’s chest.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I don’t understand you.” Ellie told Charlotte as they walked through the long grass. “You scold me for teaching Ava how to use a gun but then you bring her on this dangerous mission.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Don’t you da-” Charlotte began with the tone that she had always used with Ellie. However, she stopped mid-sentence like someone had cut her off. She sighed. “Come on, Ava. You can get down now. We’re nearly at the road.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Auntie Char,” Ava whined, tightening her arms around Charlotte’s neck. “I’m scared.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“You can hold my hand. Just get down, now.” She order. Grumpily, Ava climbed down. “I owe an apology.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, you do.” Ellie agreed, trampling the long grass as she walked.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m sorry.” The blonde waited. She expected a long, heartfelt response about how Charlotte’s being struggling to raise Ava alone or some bullshit excuse. “I don’t know what else to say. I’m just really, really sorry.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Ellie smiled at the other woman, yet her eyes were filled with sadness. “It’s okay, Charlotte. It’s okay.”

<p class="MsoNormal">______________________________________________________________________________

<p class="MsoNormal">The car ride back was a struggle. Eight people squeezing into a five seater car wasn’t exactly ideal. Amelia was the one driving – fists clenched tightly against the wheel, an unimpressed look on her face. In the passenger seat, Charlotte sat with Ava on her lap. Vicky, Bobby, Danny, Ellie and Jackie were all jammed into the back of the car. Ellie sat closest to the window, already making a start on her herbalism book. Danny and Jackie were reading the plumbing book. Vicky and Bobby sat squished together in an uncomfortable silence, Vicky having already shouted at Bobby for leaving them alone in the school.

<p class="MsoNormal">Dark clouds assembled above the treetops just as the car zoomed down the highway. The wind picked up and caused fallen leaves to fly up, landing on the windshield of the car. Amelia flicked the windscreen wipers on. She looked up at the sky and gulped. Bad weather was on its way.

<p class="MsoNormal">______________________________________________________________________________

<p class="MsoNormal">The next day, Zach was sleeping outside on a rickety foldable camp chair. Across the courtyard, Danny and Ava played hopscotch together. Ellie sat beside Zach on the floor. In front of her, she had placed the book on the tarmac, which was surrounded with every type of fruit, vegetable and herb that they grew in the garden. In her lap, she had a ceramic pestle and mortar.

<p class="MsoNormal">For a quarter of an hour, the blonde had been grinding various pieces of the harvest together. Her head had been constantly down for a while as she read the pages and crushed the spices. Suddenly, Ellie felt a twitch on the top of her head. Curious, she reached up and felt the spot in which the twitch had originated. She looked up at the sky. Dark clouds prevented the usual blue from being seen. Suddenly, a droplet of rain fell on her cheek. Startled, Ellie blinked. Although, she soon smiled.

<p class="MsoNormal">Another droplet fell, then another, then another. Soon, the rain was hammering down. Zach was woken up from his sleep by the hundreds of tiny painless bullets landing on his body.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What’s going on?” Zach drowsily asked.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Rain…” Ellie’s face had lit up. “Y’know what, Zach? I think we’re gonna be okay.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Amelia shot out from the kitchen doors. She ran a few feet before standing, head pointed upwards with her mouth open. Ellie stood up and cupped her hands, collecting rainwater. After a puddle had formed in her palms, she drank it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jackie and Bobby shot out from the main building, both carrying a dozen of buckets, bowls, anything that could catch water.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Help us set these out!” Jackie called. “We don’t know how long it’ll rain for!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Danny and Ava ran over and grabbed a bucket.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m gonna set my bucket next to yours,” Ava smiled up to the young man.

<p class="MsoNormal">______________________________________________________________________________

<p class="MsoNormal">Hours later, the rain was still rocketing down from the heavens. It was the worst rain that the group had seen in a while. It was heavy and each rain droplet ricocheted back up as it hit the floor. Two lots of buckets had been filled up and set back outside.

<p class="MsoNormal">The group, except Ellie and Zach, sat around the dining table. There were two camp lights in the centre of the table, each powered by a tiny, flickering candle. The mood matched the skies – grey. It was hard to stay positive in the apocalypse, especially when dinner had been virtually non-existent – just a few strawberries and a piece of celery. Even Charlotte

<p class="MsoNormal">“Did you know that you burn more calories digesting celery than you get from eating?” Danny announced, trying to bring the mood up.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Thanks for the random fact of the day.” Jackie replied, not impressed.

<p class="MsoNormal">Bobby turned to Charlotte, “Are you okay? You haven’t said much since we got back from the library.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah, what’s up, Auntie Char?” Ava asked.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I used to be a reality star before all this.” The woman announced.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What?!” Amelia exclaimed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I was famous,” Charlotte continued. The expression on her face was blank and she stared into the flickering flame. She poke monotonously. “Or at least, I was going to be. I was twenty one when the apocalypse hit. Before that, I was what they call a C-list celebrity. I auditioned for Teen Big Brother when I was eighteen and got accepted. In the end, I made it to the day before the final, achieving fifth place. I got picked up by an agency and started filming The Girlfriends of New York when shit hit the fan…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Why are you telling us this now?” Vicky frowned. “Most of us have known you for over a year.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I just- don’t mean to be a bitch. It was my persona on the last show I did and it just stuck, I guess.” She revealed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“New York? That’s halfway across the states – it’d take a whole day to drive there. How’d you end up in Georgia?” Amelia.

<p class="MsoNormal">Charlotte clicked back into the room and her eyes moved away from the flame. She shrugged, looking at Amelia. “It’s been nearly two centuries since the beginning… I just ended up here.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“That’s so cool. So, you were born in New York, right?” Ava spoke up.

<p class="MsoNormal">“That’s right, honey.” Charlotte nodded and half-smiled.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Where was I born?” Ava questioned.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You were born in this place called Wendys.” Her aunt admitted.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jackie burst out laughing but quickly covered her mouth and stopped. The blonde coughed before speaking, “Sorry…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“What’s funny? What’s Wendys?” Ava asked, looking up at Danny who sat next to her.

<p class="MsoNormal">“People used to go eat there.” He revealed. “You used to sit down with your friendly or family and order some food from a menu – like, a piece of paper. After a while, they would come and you’d give them money because they brought you food.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I was born when other people were eating?!” Ava exclaimed.

<p class="MsoNormal">“No, no, honey.” Charlotte smiled. “It was like that before the monsters came. You were born after the monsters came, when it was deserted.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh…” Ava nodded and leant back against her chair. She grabbed a piece of celery from the table and munched it.

<p class="MsoNormal">The strange, grey mood fell back over the group. Everything was silent, except Ava’s loud eating. It was an unsettling sight. The group all sat around, their faces lightened up to look scary by the candles. Who knew what had caused the atmosphere? Maybe it was the exhausting day catching up on them, or maybe it was the fast-approaching herd of infected…

<p class="MsoNormal">______________________________________________________________________________

<p class="MsoNormal">The moon had reached its peak, shining down upon the school. Stars were scattered across the sky – their visibility was one of the few perks of living in the apocalypse. It was Vickys turn to take the night watch and she was the only one who was still awake. Well, she was supposed to be awake. Unsurprisingly, she had dozed off in the foldable camp chair that had been placed in the courtyard.

<p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly, there was a loud clatter as one of the fences on the east side of the school tipped over. Vicky snapped away and jumped up, raising her pistol without hesitation. The sight made her stomach drop. There tens of dozens of infected, all clawing at the wire mesh fences surrounding the school. Their fingers twisted through the gaps as they pushed against one-another. Now that she was awake, Vicky would hear the mass amount of groans.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Shit, I’m a heavy sleeper.” She gulped.

<p class="MsoNormal">There was no time to scold herself. Vicky needed to get everyone awake and out of there fast. After all, the infected were already piling into the courtyard, over the fallen fence.

<p class="MsoNormal">The brunette turned around and threw the doors open, sprinting across the dining room to the dormitories.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Everyone up!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, repeatedly banging the end of her gun against the first door.

<p class="MsoNormal">Bobby was the first person to appear. He opened his door and groaned, wearing nothing but a robe. “What’s going on? Everyone’s asleep…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well, wake up, Bobby, because shit is about to go down!” Vicky exclaimed. “A herd must have followed us back from the library. There are more infected out there than I’ve ever seen in one place!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Sure, let me just grab some clothes…” Bobby sighed, rather nonchalantly.

<p class="MsoNormal">“No,” Vicky grabbed his arm as the man began to turn away. “I don’t think you understand, Bobby. You don’t even have time to ‘grab some clothes.’ We need to get everyone out of here.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Their eyes met. He could sense the severity of the situation in her dilated pupils. “I’ll get everyone up. You go outside and take as many of them out as you can.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Vicky didn’t usually take orders from anyone but she couldn’t afford to resist at that time. She immediately turned on the spot and ran back outside, following the same route in which she had entered from.

<p class="MsoNormal">The infected were on the premises and they’d never looked scarier. Their faces were lit up by the silver moonlight. Vicky watched in fear as saliva dripped from the mouth of a snarling infected. She raised her gun and BLAM! It fell to the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal">She fired again and again, infected hitting the floor each time. After at least ten shots had been fired, Vicky ran into trouble. She pulled down on the trigger but nothing happened. The girl released the magazine and caught it in her hand.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Shit,” Vicky cursed. It was out of bullets.

<p class="MsoNormal">______________________________________________________________________________

<p class="MsoNormal">Across from the front of the school, at the edge of the forest, two figures stood. One was a dark-skinned man of a rather muscular build, face accented with a trimmed beard. The other was a petite young woman with short, brown hair. She had large brown eyes that glowed in the moonlight. The pair watched as Vicky struggled with her gun.

<p class="MsoNormal">“More survivors…” The young woman spoke as if she didn’t believe her eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal">“They won’t be survivors by the time we get to them.” The man told her.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Just, radio it in, Kane.” She spoke through clenched teeth, somewhat annoyed.

<p class="MsoNormal">He grabbed a radio from his belt and brought it up to his mouth, “Hey, Jessie.” He spoke. “We’ve found more survivors at the school – the one where you found us. There’s a problem, though. They’re slap-bang in the middle of an infected herd.”

<p class="MsoNormal">______________________________________________________________________________

<p class="MsoNormal">Vicky shoved the gun into her jeans and ran inside, to the kitchen. Next to the disused stove was a large drawer labelled ‘knives.’ Vicky hastily pulled it open and five knives slid down towards the handle. She reached in, grabbing them all in one hand. Leaving the drawer open, she ran back to the dining room. The woman was greeted by the rest of the group – all dressed in screwed up t-shirts or robes.

<p class="MsoNormal">“It’s about goddamn time!” She shouted. “Everyone take one.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Bobby, Amelia, Charlotte and Jackie all grabbed a knife; Vicky keeping one for herself. Ellie stood behind Zach, who looked like he was nearly back to normal.

<p class="MsoNormal">All of a sudden, infected burst through the doors and grabbed hold of Charlotte. The undead caught her shoulders and pulled her towards them. She fell and landed with her back slamming against the floor. They could hear it – the sound of her stomach being ripped open. Ava screamed at the top of her lungs. Amelia ran towards the young girl and shielded her face. Quickly, Zach began to fire at the overwhelming number of infected. Jackie leapt forwards and pierced the skull of an infected with her knife.

<p class="MsoNormal">Bobby leant over and grabbed Charlotte’s arms, pulling her out from the mass of undead. Her sliding body left a trail of blood as the red liquid gushed out from her stomach. Amazingly, she was still alive. The woman grabbed the back of Bobby’s head and pulled him closer to her.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You look after my niece…” She spluttered, blood dribbling from her mouth.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I will, I will,” Bobby repeated. “I promise!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Around them, all hell was breaking loose. Ellie had picked up the knife that Charlotte had dropped and was taking down infected with it. Danny held one of the dining room chairs upright and pinned two infected against the wall. Zach put a bullet in both of their brains.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Let me see her.” Charlotte gasped, still bleeding out. Bobby moved around the woman and put pressure on her somewhat eaten side. He nodded at his sister, a sign that Amelia should let Ava come closer to her aunt.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Please don’t die…” Ava sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She knelt beside the woman’s head.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m so sorry…” Charlotte was crying too. “You’re strong, okay? Bobby and Amelia, they are too. They’re going to protect you and you’re going to survive this world. I love you, Ava.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Ava leant over and kissed her forehead. “I love you, too. Forever and always, Auntie Char.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Forever and always.” She smiled.

<p class="MsoNormal">There were too many infected for the small group to handle. One of the monsters fell on top of Bobby. He held it back with his forearm against the creature’s neck. Zach quickly took the infected out.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Thanks, man.” Bobby said, as Zach held him up.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Don’t worry about it.” Zach replied.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Come on, Ava.” Amelia, also crying, pulled the young girl away. “I’m so sorry but we’ve gotta go.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The front doors of the building burst open. Zach pivoted on the spot and raised his gun, expecting another group of infected to come towards them. Instead, it was the two figures – the petite woman and the muscular man.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Who the hell are you?” Danny questioned.

<p class="MsoNormal">Kane – the male - spoke up, “We’re your knights in shining armour.”

<p class="MsoNormal">