Low on Time/Issue 16

This is issue sixteen of Low on Time, entitled: Good News.

Issue 16; Good News
''A 20 year-old Valerie walked down the street, wearing a blue sweatshirt and short-shorts. She was holding a bundle of flowers, mostly roses. She got to a house, and nervously walked up the driveway. The house was a nice yellow house, flower pots everywhere. She walked up to the front door, and gave it a knock. After waiting for about two minutes, the door opened, and a pretty little blonde girl stood there.''

''"Hey, can you get Tyler?" Valerie asked.''

''The little girl nodded, and ran up the stairs. A minute later, a pretty red-head came down the stairs, the same age as Valerie, wearing a purple long-sleeved shirt, and jeans. She quickly ran to the door where Valerie stood, and kissed her. Valerie smiled, and handed Tyler the roses. Tyler blushed, and smiled happily.''

''"Thank you so much, Val." she said, hugging her.''

''"Of course. You ready to go out to dinner?" Valerie asked.''

"Are you buying? My fucking boss never delivered my paycheck."

Valerie giggled, "Yes."

''"Alright, let's go then." she said, and the two walked off.''

''The two walked down the dark street, Valerie's arm around Tyler. Suddenly, it started to rain, and Valerie turned towards Tyler.''

''"I hate the rain." complained Tyler, looking at it.''

''"Come on, it's kinda romantic." Valerie said, smiling.''

''Tyler turned towards her, and started to smile. Valerie kissed Tyler, until everything went dark.''

''Valerie woke up in a hospital, heart-racing, head hurting. A young blonde-girl, around 17 years old, stood over her. The girl suddenly had an over-joyous looked and hugged Valerie.''

''"You're awake!" she said, hugging Valerie. "You had me worried sick."''

''"Meg? Sis? What happened?" asked Valerie, holding her head.''

"Some drunk driver hit you and your friend."

''Valerie's face went completely blank. "What happened to her?" she asked.''

''Her sister looked down, and she didn't have to say anything. Valerie exploded into tears, and her sister hugged her again.''

Valerie sat outside with Langston, keeping watch. Valerie saw a zombie slowly making it's way towards the two. She looked over at the other side of the porch, seeing a tomahawk. She walked over to it, and picked it up. Langston got up and walked behind her, looking at it too.

"That thing is fucking cool." Langston said.

Valerie nodded her head, and picked it up. "You up for some target practice?" she asked.

"Hell yeah." he said.

Valerie and Langston walked to the grass, where the zombie was just ahead of them, about 400 feet. Valerie winded the tomahawk, like a quarterback gets ready to throw a football, and threw it towards the zombie. The tomahawk chipped the zombie's shoulder, taking a big piece of skin off.

"Damn it." she said, looking as the zombie still came forward.

"Distract it. I'll get it." Langston said.

Valerie ran towards the zombie, clapping her hands. She ran away from it, and it started to follow her. Langston ran over, and picked up the tomahawk, and looked back at Valerie, seeing she was on her way towards him. Langston lifted the tomahawk and threw it, this hit the zombie in the cheek, tearing off some of the flesh.

"That one was close." Valerie said.

"Definitely closer than yours." Langston said, smiling.

"Shut up, Otto." Valerie said, smiling too.

Langston scoffs, and ran over to the tomohak, picking it up. He ran back over to Valerie, avoiding the confused zombie.

"Those things are so stupid." Valerie said, taking the tomohak from Langston.

"Not as stupd as blondes, though." Langston said.

"Shut up, before I turn this thing on you." Valerie said, lifted the tomohak, and Langston put his hands in the air, innocently. Valerie threw it, hitting the zombie right in the forehead, killing it. She turned towards Langston, smiling victoriously.

The front door opened, and Allen walked outside. "Guys, y'all need to come in here." he said.

Langston and Valerie looked at each other, and the two started walking inside.

''A couple of days later, Valerie sat on her bed, crying. She was almost completely naked, only wearing pink panties. She had a picture of herself and Tyler sitting on her lap. She threw it against the ground, in anger. She walked over to her bedroom mirror, and punched it, shattering the glass. She picked up a piece of glass, a big shard, and clenched it in her hands. She looked at the glass, not knowing what to do with it. She swiftly threw it against the ground, shattering it into more pieces. She picked one up, that looked to be the sharpest, and placed them against her right wrist, slicing it. The pain was unbearable-- but Valerie liked it. The blood came out, and Valerie soon started feeling light-headed. She soon collapsed onto her floor, before hearing footsteps coming towards her.''

''"Sis?!?" her sister cried out.''

''Her sister immediately ran to the bathroom, getting washcloths and towels to stop the bleeding. She pushed Valerie onto her back, and she grabbed hold of Valerie's wrist. Valerie couldn't stand it, she was on the verge of passing out; but seeing her sister cry like that, doing whatever it took to save her-- it made her feel so much worse.''

''"Sis-- don't do this." was the last thing Valerie heard, before passing out.''

Valerie and Langston walked inside, and over to the living room, where Allen was with Trent, who was still lying down. Trent was awake, but he was still very light-headed, not able to tell what was going on.

"What's up with him?" asked Valerie, looking at him.

"He's got a concussion on top of the broken leg; but he'll be fine. He told me where he was staying, and said there's like 13 others where they were. We should probably go there-- not to drop him off, but to stay." Allen said.

"What about New York? I thought you said we're going back to Brooklyn for my parents." Langston said.

"Listen, Langston. You saw the town; we can't risk going into something like that again. He said it was practically empty... it's our best bet. I'm sorry."

Langston slowly nodded his head, and walked outside, to keep watch. Allen followed him, and Valerie stayed with Trent. Valerie walked over to Trent, and pulled a seat next to him. He turned his head, looking to her.

"How are you feeling?" asked Valerie.

"I feel like-- shit." Trent said.

"Trent, is it?" she asked, and he nodded his head. "I talked to Jeremy-- a friend of yours."

"You did? Is he okay?" he asked, almost instantly from hearing Jeremy's name.

"Yeah, he's fine. He seemed very happy to hear you're okay. You two close?"

"You can say that..."

"Come on, no need to hide it. You could tell from his voice on the other end you guys are more than, 'just friends'."

"Yeah, I just wanna get to him."

"No need to worry about that. We'll get you there, soon hopefully."

"Yeah, thanks." Trent said, looking back up at the light above him.

Amanda watched Paul, as he continued to take down zombies with the others. Across the room, Jake sat with Kelly, who was still crying. Amanda watched, as Paul took care of a zombie with a shot to the eye. She smiled, and saw Isiss, Owen, and Violet make their way outside to help.

Outside, Paul, Tyler, and Ike were taking out zombies with the female cop. There was four other cops with them, guarding the other areas. Isiss, Owen, and Violet ran over to the three, and started to help them clear out the zombies. They heard screaming behind them, and the group turned, seeing two of the cops getting surrounded, and one on the ground being eaten.

"Motherfucker." Ike spat out.

The two cops were taken out, and the last one ran away from the group, in fear. The zombies, around 20 of them, started making their way towards them.

"Shit, someone get on that flank." the female cop said.

"Fuck this, let's get back inside." Ike said, fear overwhelming him.

"How many are there?" asked Isiss.

"Not enough for us to take out! That's for damn sure." Ike said.

"Fuck it, let's go." Tyler said.

"You guys go then; I'll take out as many as I can. Meet you inside." the cop said.

"Fine by me." Ike said, being the first to run back to the building, Owen and Violet quickly behind him.

Ike got to the window, and jumped up, pulling himself into it. He reached down, and Owen and Ike helped Violet get up. Isiss ran over to them next, and Owen and Ike helped her up too. Ike took Owens hand, and helped him up too. Tyler and Paul were the last ones, and they came carrying the waters, food, and medicine they got from the store. They put up the cases of water, and Paul jumped up, Isiss, and Ike helping him in.

"They're coming!" Isiss said, looking as zombies started walking towards Tyler.

Ike lied down, and put his hand out to help Tyler. "Come on, grab my hand." Ike said.

"I don't trust your racist ass." Tyler said, hesitant to give him his hand.

"So? I'm not gonna leave you to die!" Ike said.

Paul pushed Ike out of the way, and reached down. Tyler grabbed Paul's hand, and Paul helped him up. Isiss, Violet, and Owen started making their way back to the dorm. Ike looked at Tyler and Paul, shocked at what just happened. Tyler turned around, picked up the bags and water, and ran back. Paul ran to the front door, and looked for the cop; but she was nowhere to be found. Paul sighed and turned back to Ike, who was still sitting on the ground.

"I'm sorry. He wouldn't listen to you; I had to." Paul said.

Ike laughed to himself, and stood up, walking away. "I need a fucking drink... or fucking pills or some shit." Ike muttered.

Kelly sat with Jake, who was still trying to comfort her. She had her head resting on his shoulder, and he rubbed her head, trying to calm her.

"Did-did Trent get back yet?" she asked.

"No. He's still gone; but we know he's safe. Kira told me they talked to the people who found them." Jake said.

"We-- we just need some good news. I hope he gets back." Kelly said, wiping her eyes.

"I know we do. Just sit tight, the gunshots stopped." Jake said. Jake turned to Amanda who was looking out the window. "What happened?"

"Cops got overrun. I'm pretty sure Paul and the rest are safe though." she said, very quietly.

"Ok, that's good. See, they're safe?" he said, looking at Kelly.

Ike walked past everyone who was reuniting, brushing them off. He walked to his dorm, which was completely empty. He went to the fridge, and opened it. There was a bottle of Vodka, and Ike smiled to himself. He picked up the drink, and started chugging. He lowered the bottle, holding his stomach, which felt a little queasy, but he didn't care. He went back to drinking, and didn't care that he was getting some on his shirt.

Valerie walked outside, giving Trent support as they walked. Allen and Langston were loading up the truck with weapons, and anything they salvaged from the house. Valerie helped Trent into the car, and sat next to him. Allen hopped in the driver's seat, and Langston went in the passenger seat, holding his shotgun. Valerie looked to Trent, who had his eyes closed as thy started to drive. Valerie smiled, and looked out the window. She saw a bunch of houses, and one looked very familiar. She looked closely, and remembered it was Tyler's. She started to tear up, wiping her eyes, not wanting anyone to see she was crying.

"Next stop, UPENN!" Allen said, smiling from the front seat.

Credits

 * Kelly Gay
 * Jake Munoz
 * Tyler Blake
 * Paul Alexander
 * Ike Dennis
 * Trent Jones
 * Isiss Rivera
 * Violet Middleton
 * Owen Horne
 * Amanda Dixon
 * Langston Otto
 * Allen
 * Valerie Wilson

Deaths

 * The Cops