Low on Time/Issue 25

This is issue twenty-five of Low on Time, entitled: Hope.

Issue 25; Hope
Violet's blood was all over Paul's face, as he kicked her body into the crowd of zombies. As the zombies started ripping out her guts, and eating her flesh, Paul crawled over to the other side of the car, and got out from under it, standing up very quickly. He looked to the other side of the car, breathing heavily, seeing all of the zombies occupied with Violet's body. He turned the other way, and ran over to where Jake, Julia, and Ryker were lying. He motioned for them to get up, knowing that the group had to make their escape. He looked behind him, seeing Olivia and Kira struggling to get to their feet, and Jake and the two teens ran after him. He turned back around, now stopping, shooting any zombies that came near Olivia and Kira. Jake, Ryker, and Julia got behind Paul, as he covered the two girls. Ryker started breathing heavily, as Julia tried to talk him down, but Paul wasn't paying any attention just focusing on Olivia and Kira getting to them. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Ike and Amanda making a run to them too, and he has the urge, to shoot Ike. He slowly aims his gun at Ike, ready to sacrifice him for Amanda, who Ike looked like he was actually protecting.

"What are you doing?" screamed Jake, barely catching Paul's attention.

With Jake's scream, Paul turns back to Olivia and Kira, shooting more of the zombies. He turns, seeing Langston helping Kelly up, and running over to them. Kira and Olivia both finally get to Paul, and he directs everyone to run to the Humvee, which is parked just up ahead. The group runs, not looking back as the zombies who weren't feasting on Violet, tried to get to them. Paul and Langston fired at them, with the two hitting most of their shots. They got to the Humvee, and the group piled in; Langston getting in the passenger seat, and Jake in the driver's seat, the rest piling in the back. As the zombies got to the car, smacking against the window, their bloody faces causing Olivia and Amanda to feel sick. Jake stepped on the gas, quickly speeding away from the zombies who were trying to force their way into the car. Kelly looked out the rear-view window looking for any sign of anyone else making it, the only sound being the gasping of air from Ryker, who was sitting in between Kelly and Olivia.

"We have to go back." Kelly said, still looking out the mirror.

"Are you joking?" asked Jake. "Right into that deathtrap?"

"What about Trent, Owen, what about Jessica? We can't just leave them!"

"They're lost. We have to get out of here!"

"No, we have to help them. Someone might've made it." she proclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but we can't do that. I wish we could." he said.

"Did you see if anyone else made it though?" asked Langston, looking a them. "Did you see what happened to anyone, or that there was a chance they made it?"

"I didn't see shit." Olivia said.

"It all happened too fast, I just don't know." Ike said.

"Violet..." Paul started, prompting everyone to look at him. "They got her." he lied.

Owen sat in the back of the truck, scared, not just for him, but for everyone else. He heard a truck driving in his direction, and he knew this was possibly his only chance to escape. He swiftly opened the door, knocking down a zombie who was standing by it. He saw the Humvee driving in his direction, and he jumped out, running as quickly as he could, which isn't that fast, to the street that it was driving on. He jumped in the street, holding his hands up, and the Humvee stopped short, Jake's head coming out the window.

"Get the fuck in!" he called, and Owen complied. He ran to the Humvee, and squeezed into the back, quickly, next to Amanda. Paul looked around the Humvee, seeing who made it.

"Where's Violet?" asked Owen, not believing she wasn't there. The sad look of the rest of them, made it very clear, and he just fell back, leaning is head against the window, sadly. Amanda tried to comfort him, but he pushed her away, not wanting to deal with it. Paul, looking at Owen, couldn't help but feel guilty. He gripped his pistol, taking a deep breath.

Trent and Jessica walked forward, looking at the aftermath, seeing all of the zombies crowded around in the area. The two slowly backed up, both of them in awe, knowing their friends were all probably gone. Trent slowly walked forward, not wanting to believe it to be true, but Jessica grabbed his shoulder, making him turn towards her.

"They're gone." she said, softly. "We have to go."

Trent looked back up, and slowly nodded. The two turned around and started to jog out of there, not wanting to be next.

Valerie, Sean, and Emily watched them, from on top a big 16-wheel truck. As much as Valerie wanted to call to them, she knew that doing that would bring all the zombies on top of them, so she just sighed as Trent and Jessica ran away.

"I hope they make it." Veronica said, quietly.

"We can't try and catch up to them?" asked Emily.

"We could, but we wouldn't make it."

"What about Kira?" asked Sean, looking at all the zombies. "Did... did Kira make it?"

"What does it matter? We have to go!" Emily said.

"But--"

"We have to stay here." Valerie said.

"Fuck this." Emily spat out.

Emily climbed down the truck, getting onto the street, then looking back at Jessica and Trent who were still running. She turned back towards Sean and Valerie, and Sean reluctantly started to climb down too. When he got down, they looked at Valerie, who just crossed her arms, and lifted her shotgun, pointing it directly to the sky.

"You fucker." muttered Emily, watching Valerie. Emily turned towards, Sean, and grabbed onto his arm. "Go, go, go." she said, and the two rushed off after Jessica and Trent. Valerie shot the gun, and watched as the zombies ran over to the truck, where the source of the noise was, and she lightly smiled to herself.

Day of Outbreak: 

''Valerie packed up her stuff, throwing all of her clothes into a bag. Her younger sister ran in, carrying a small backpack. The two girls were obviously scared, but Valerie knew not to show it. Valerie rushed past her, checking the closet, but not noticing anything worthy to take. She looked back at her younger sister, who was clearly nervous.''

''"Are you ready?" Valerie asked.''

''"Yes..." she said, quietly.''

''"Ok, follow me, and stay close." Valerie said.''

''Valerie and Meg rushed down the stairs, and out the front door. Valerie saw everyone running and panicking, as a couple were attacked by other people. The two girls ran to Valerie's car, and jumped in quickly. Valerie put the keys in, and put the car in reverse, driving out of the driveway.''

''About two hours later, Valerie pulled up to a house, and the two girls rushed out of the car. Valerie and the girl ran into the house, locking the door behind them. As the two took their time, regrouping, Valerie hears an unfamiliar clicking noise. Valerie an Meg both look up, seeing an old man, a shotgun pointed at the two girls. The two girls immediately put their hands in the air, as the man aimed the gun at Meg.''

''"No one needs to get hurt, we'll leave." Valerie said, nervously.''

''"You led them to me, you bitches." cried the old man.''

''"No, no, we didn't! They didn't see us." she pleaded.''

''"They're gonna kill us all, because you two couldn't pick another house." he cried, Valerie could tell this man had no idea what he was doing, and almost felt bad. She looked to her left, seeing a pistol lying on the floor.''

''"We'll be fine, trust me." Valerie said, trying to force a smile.''

"No, you're infected! I can tell!"

''"Infected with what?" asked Meg, you could tell she was scared.''

''"The disease! And you're going to get me sick!" he said, before shooting the shotgun in Meg's direction.''

''Valerie, quickly took a pistol, and shot at the old man, hitting him in the chest. She looks over at her sister, who is standing, gently clenching her stomach. It took Valerie a moment to realize her sister was shot, but when Meg collapsed, Valerie bursted into tears, running up to Meg, and leaning over her.''

''"Meg, Meg, you're going to be ok." she said, panicking, looking into her dying sister's eyes, which gently started to close. "No, don't close your eyes, Meg!" she cried, hugging her sister tightly. Valerie just lied on top of her sister's body, sobbing, before looking back at the old man. She got up, and full of anger, she picked up his shotgun, and shot him again in the face. "You bastard!" she cried.''

As the zombies crowded underneath Valerie's truck, she smiled to herself, dropping the shotgun into the crowd of zombies. She slowly stood at the end of the truck, and closed her eyes, turning around. She smiled, as she let herself fall backwards into the crowd of zombies below her. As she fell on top of them, the zombies started ripping out her guts, and started eating her; but Valerie didn't let out a single peep. She accepted her fate, and just ignored the pain, thinking of her possible reuniting with her sister.

Jake drove down a dirt road, with most of the others crying in the back. Langston sat next to him, staring out the window at nothing in particular.

"Where are we going?" asked Julia, from the back.

"There should be a farmhouse up here. We can shack up there, and possibly stay there if we're lucky." Jake said, not taking his eyes off of the road.

"Ok." she said, slouching back in her seat.

Both Ryker and Kelly slept, Kelly leaning against the window, and Ryker leaning on Kelly, and Olivia, Amanda, and Kira just sat there crying, with Owen looking like he was on the verge of tears. Paul and Ike gave each other suspicious looks from the back, but nothing out of the ordinary for them.

"Is this a good idea?" asked Langston, now looking at Jake.

"Yes, this is as good of an idea it's going to get." Jake spat out.

Langston nodded, and sat back, silently thinking to himself. Within 20 minutes, they pulled up to a beautiful farmhouse. It looks like it hasn't even been touched by the undead, and Jake, despite what had happened earlier that day, let a smile onto his face.

At night, after the group had searched the house and the area; they sat inside of the house. The house ran on generators, so they had electricity and heating; and they had electric fences set up, which also ran on generators. This place was secure, and defendable.

Kira sat in one of the bedrooms, brushing her hair with a brush she found, and Owen sat behind her, getting ready to go to sleep. Both of them looked sad, depressed.

"Are you okay?" asked Owen, causing Kira to look behind her, seeing Owen looking at her. "I know you were close to Sean."

"I'm--I'm fine." she lied, trying to force a smile, but none would come. "I'm sorry about Violet." she said.

Owen nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'm sure you know how Violet and I met; I mean we both basically got setup cause of this stupid bullshit." he said, to which Kira nodded. "But, can you tell me how you and Sean met and became so close?"

Kira closed her eyes, recounting the time the two first met. "It was, I wanna say a month before college started. I went to a party... you know, with dubstep, and lots of drinking. I-- I had a couple of drinks, and before I knew it-- I guess someone slipped me one of those date-rape drugs, cause my head randomly started to kill me. I pushed my way through the people, and when I got outside into the cold alleyway, I just collapsed. It was the weirdest thing, cause, I knew what was going on you know? Like I could see everything, I could feel everything-- but I just couldn't stand or walk-- it's like my body wouldn't let me. And then, a couple of guys came out of the party afterwards... and soon I found myself being dragged farther away from everyone else."

Owen looked at her, more in shock than anything else. "You don't have to tell me the rest." he said.

Kira sighed, looking at him. "They didn't get to do anything to me, because before I knew it, some geeky kid found us, and he pulled out a Taser on them, and they got the hell out of there. This geeky kid turned out to be Sean, and well, he took me back home and to where I was safe." as she finished, she had a tear in her eye, because she tried her best not to think about Sean-- but now she has to. She got up, and sat next to Owen, on the foot of the bed.

"You're safe now, I'm sure Sean would be happy." Owen said, forcing a weak smile.

"Thank you, Owen." Kira said, hugging him.

Paul lied in one of the beds, Amanda lying next to him, hugging him. He tried his best to keep everything, his emotions, his anger all hidden, but somehow, like Haley, Amanda saw right through him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it Ike?"

Paul sighed, looking back at her. "Yeah, it's Ike." Paul muttered.

"Don't be mad at him, it's not his fault."

"Yes it is!" he snapped back.

"It isn't though, Paul. I saw you aiming at him, I know you wanted to kill him... but he was protecting to me, Paul. He wanted me to sacrifice him so I could get out of here alive. He's a good guy at heart, but he just doesn't know how to show it!"

"I don't care." he muttered, turning away from her. "He killed Haley."

"The zombies killed Haley."

Paul gave up, and just ignored Amanda, who turned away from him, almost in anger.

A shirtless Kelly lied in bed, blankets covering her, cuddled up against a shirtless Langston. Kelly was sleeping, but Langston lied awake, staring at the ceiling. He looked back down on the sleeping Kelly, and rubbed her head, as he closed his eyes.

Ryker and Julia sat downstairs, watching Grown Ups. Both looked nervous, but, Julia knew that there was hope for all of them.

"Where can we get more?" asked Ryker, as Julia looked towards him.

"More what?" she asked.

"More inhalers. I have the one left in my pocket-- but what happens when I run out?"

"Well, we can hope we find more. But, I think it might help if we start learning some of those breathing exercises."

Ryker sighed, and lied down on the couch, putting his head in Julia's lap.

"Thank you." he said, quietly.

"Thank you for what?" she asked, looking at him.

"For everything, I guess. You saved my life more times than I can remember, even back when we were strangers."

Julia smiled, rubbing his head like a sister would do to her brothers, messing up his hair. "You're welcome." she said, to which he laughed. "Honestly, Ryker, I don't think I'd be sane right now if it wasn't for you." she said.

"Cause you love me?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Yup, Ry. Cause I love you." she said.

Jake and Olivia slept on a blow-up mattress. The two both looked a lot cleaner than before, and in her sleep, Olivia smiled gently. Jake slowly opened his eyes, seeing a poster of the Backstreet Boys on the wall. He giggled to himself, before trying to go back to sleep.

Ike sat alone on the front porch, drinking beer. He had tears in his eyes, as he watched a zombie getting electrocuted by the electric fence. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to go back to another time, a better time. He thought about Trent, and how he never got to say he was sorry, he thought of Haley, and how he never got to say he was sorry, and lastly, he thought of Tyler, and how he never got to say he was sorry. He hit himself in the face, trying to get himself to stop thinking about all the past mistakes... but they keep on coming back to him; and Ike feels like he's slowly being ripped apart by the past.

Emily, Jessica, Sean, and Trent sat around a campfire, trying to warm themselves up.

"Now what?" asked Emily.

"I don't know, maybe we try to go North, towards where we used to hunt." Jessica said, looking at Emily.

"Yeah, I guess that could work." Emily said, sighing.

"How could we get there?" asked Trent, nervously.

"We'd have to walk." Jessica said.

"That's why we leave at the crack of dawn." Emily said, looking at Sean and Trent. "You two get your sleep, Jessica and I can keep watch."

Trent looked at Sean, and the two nodded. The two both closed their eyes, but Sean couldn't stop thinking about Kira. He knows he'll never see he again, and it's killing him, although he tries to remain silent about it, he just closes his eyes, and wants to dream, maybe a dream about Kira and Harold, or something... he just wants to go to a safe place.

Credits

 * Kelly Gay
 * Olivia Bell
 * Jake Munoz
 * Kira Fulton
 * Sean Solo
 * Paul Alexander
 * Ike Dennis
 * Trent Jones
 * Owen Horne
 * Amanda Dixon
 * Langston Otto
 * Valerie Wilson
 * Emily
 * Jessica
 * Julia Riley
 * Ryker Daniels

Deaths

 * Valerie Wilson