Surviving, Not Living/Issue 10

This is Issue 10 of Surviving, Not Living, titled 20 Years Ago.

Issue 10:
One night, Bobby and Amelia sat on the sofas in the living room drinking beer. The only light coming from the small wood fire they had built outside of the window.

“I’ve got one!” Amelia blurted. “What do you call a cross between a rooster and a poodle?” Bobby shrugged. “Cockerdoodlepoo.”

Bobby screamed in laughter, falling off the sofa and only just keeping hold of his beer.

“What do you call two idiots who can’t keep their voices down?” Sarah whispered to herself from inside her bedroom. “Dead meat.”

“Did you hear something?” Bobby asked Amelia. “A voice?”

“Nah.” Amelia took another swig of her beer. The two’s eyes met and they burst out into laughter again.

“Okay, okay.” Bobby stopped. “I’ve got a good one. What dog can jump higher than a building?” She shrugged. “Any dog, buildings can’t jump!”

Amelia smirked and looked over to Sarah’s bedroom door. “Come ‘ere,” Amelia whispered. “Quickly...”

Bobby scooted across the floor on his bottom and leant down next to Amelia. She leant forwards and whispered into his here, “You wanna know, why Sarah thinks she killed our parents?” She took another swig of her beer.

“Um, yeah.” Bobby sarcastically snapped. Amelia was so drunk and she probably wouldn’t even remember it in the morning. But he would and he really wanted to know.

“I remember every detail of the day.” Amelia explained. “It all started twenty years ago...”

***

Michelle sat in the back of the maroon red Range Rover, crying.

“They said we could’t do it, David.” She told her husband. “But we did it, against all odds we survived and gave birth to this beautiful boy.”

“We sure did.” David said as went to kiss Sarah. She returned the kiss.

“The sun is setting!” Sarah hopped back through the sunroof and into the driver’s seat. “Let’s go!”

“Can I drive?” Millie popped up in the passenger seat.

“One day we’ll teach you!” Sarah told her.

“Back to that house, yeah?” David called.

“Yeah! Put your seatbelts on! There’s a car seat that we got from that gas station back there.” She replied.

Sarah reversed from their spot at the side of the woods and began to drive down the long, deserted main road. Millie began to touch the buttons on the radio. She scanned throughout several channels before a voice came on the radio.

''“Lillian! Poppy! I made it to the coastline, don’t come, there are infected here. Stay at home, board yourself in, its not safe here. Just let me know that you’re saAAAAAARGH. They’ve got me... I’m sorry... I lov-”''

Sarah turned the radio off, shaking her head at Millie. The rest of the car ride was silent, Michelle and David sat in the boot, admiring their newly-born baby and Millie looked out of the window.

“We’re here...” Sarah said as she parked the car in front of the garage. “Stay in the car, I’ll make sure it’s safe. Pass my gun please, Millie.”

“Don’t you dare touch that gun.” David told his daughter. Sarah groaned and leant over the seat, reaching her handgun. She opened the car door and climbed out.

The path and driveway to the house looked peaceful, like a scene from a movie - the complete opposite of what the rest of the world looked like. Sarah walked up onto the porched and tried the door handle... Sarah knew it, the door was locked.

“Hello?!” Sarah called, banging on the door. No answer, not that she expected an answer anyway. Sarah smashed one of the small panes of glass in the window and reached in, unlocking it. Sliding the windows upwards, she took one last look at the car before climbing inside.

The room’s flower wallpaper was torn and damaged and one of the chairs was turned over. She raised the shotgun and pushed the chair aside... No signs of danger. Sarah turned around and walked to the other end of the room. A staircase had been blocked off by the bookshelf. Sarah walked over and peered through the small gap, the light upstairs was flickering but it looked safe. She took one last look at the house before unlocking the door and rejoining the others outside.

“It’s clear!” Sarah called. The boot opened and David emerged from it, helping Michelle, who was holding Bobby, to climb out. Millie hopped out of the passenger seat and walked to see her little half-brother.

“Let me take him.” Sarah told Michelle.

“No, no, no.” Michelle shook her head.

“It’s been a long day...” Sarah replied.

“We can take care of our baby, thank you very much.” David told her.

“Come on guys, you’re exhausted. Look at yourself.” Sarah raised an eyebrow. David and Michelle looked at each other. Michelle kissed her baby boy on the head and passed him to Sarah. Then, she joined hands with David and they strolled to the house. Millie walked over to Sarah, with a scrunched up face.

“What’s up, munchkin?” Sarah asked as she took the bags from the boot and passed them to Millie.

“They never pay any attention to me anymore.” Millie sulked.

Sarah laughed, “Come on, princess. They have just had a baby.”

All of a sudden, a scream can be heard coming from the house. More specifically, the scream of Michelle.

Sarah quickly placed Bobby on the boot and shoved her handgun into Millie’s hand, “Stay here and protect him.” She forcefully and quickly said.

As Sarah ran up the driveway, she stopped in her tracks as David appeared at the doorway.

“You fucking said it was safe you tormented bitch. There was an infected upstairs and... Oh my god... It got Michelle... I just can’t.” David cried as a limping infected appeared behind him.

“DAVID!!”  Sarah screeched, raising her shotgun. But, it was too late. The infected had already sunk it’s teeth into David’s neck. Sarah began to run back to the house but David slammed the door in her face.

“Look after my children.” A tear rolled down David’s cheek as he spoke through the door. “Promise me that they’ll be safe.”

“I promise.” Sarah said as a tear too rolled down her cheek.

David slowly removed himself from the door and walked over to Michelle’s body, which leaned lifeless against the wall. He slumped down next to her, hoolding his bite. David grabbed Michelle’s head and kissed her forehead. In a blur of grunts and moans, Michelle re-animated and devoured her husband.

“Daddy!” Millie bursted into tears as she ran along the path. Sarah turned around and grabbed Millie, pulling her back to the car. Millie screamed, kicking and punching at Sarah’s back but Sarah didn’t resist.

She placed Millie into the backseat and strapped her in, trying to balance Bobby in her other arm.

Eventually, Millie stopped screaming and retreated to silent sobs. The one day old baby, Bobby, sat in his baby chair, staring at Millie. He had no idea what was going on. Silently, Sarah got into the driver’s seat and started up the car.

***

“You don’t know how hard it was...” Sarah said from her bedroom door, back in the present day, interrupting the story. “Looking after two children in an infected-ridden world.”

Amelia and Bobby looked at each other, absolutely terrified.

Trivia

 * This episode continues the events of Issue 1.

Previous/Next Issues
Previous: Issue 9 - Suicide                                                                            Next: Issue 11 - 20 Years Ago Pt II