Fear The Living/Issue 39

This is Issue 39 of Fear The Living.

Issue 39
I run my fingers along a blood spot on a fence, I look at it and sniff it, then rub it off on my pants. I look over to where David and Rose are and say “It’s fresh, be on your guard”.

I think for a little and take out my pocket calendar, I mark off another day, Day 400. I put it back in my pocket and walk up to David and Rose.

“A bunch of trains are all bundled up over there, there’s bound to be supplies there, let’s go check it out” David says.

“I’ll go, you guys should take a rest” I say.

“Look Ken, you’ve tried to commit suicide more than once since we left the Warehouse, and I am not losing you now, you’re not going out there alone” David says.

“Dammit, If I want to end my life then let me end it, you don’t understand how I feel” I say.

“Ken, I damn well do understand you, I saw my parents turn right before me, and you know what, I pussied out, I couldn’t put them out of their fucking misery. Then after that I leave one of my best chances at survival to find my little brother, who was the world to me, and then I find out from a fucking stranger that he’s dead, now you tell me Ken, do I understand how you fucking feel” David says.

I lower my head, failed “Yes you do” I say, “But, at least let me do this then, and you guys take a rest”.

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“No Ken I-“ David says, but Rose pushes him back and says something to him, she lets him go and he walks to me “Sure Ken, you can go alone” he says.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">I put my bow on my replacement hand and walk to where all the trains are. I enter the first car and see an energy drink, I put it into my bookbag and look up. I see a woman look at me, but before I can get a good read she looks away from me and runs away. I put my bookbag over my shoulders and run outside of the car. I look around and see someone run around the head of the train.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Hey, I won’t hurt you” I say as I run to where the person ran.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">I walk around the train head, it’s all rotted away and covered in mold, I look at it and clean my hands, I look back up and see the person crying in a corner of a car. I walk over to her.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Hey, come on, I won’t hurt you, I’m a kid okay, come on don’t cry, I got a couple other people with me, hey” I say.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">I finally put my hand on her shoulder and she turns around. This must be my mind playing tricks on me, because I see Allison crouching right in front of me, her eyes red with tears. She gets up and embraces me. I hug her as hard as I can. I look back up at her face, her beautiful face, the one that I let get chewed away by biters. I start to cry, she leans toward me, and kisses me. I continue the kiss, it feels great, I missed her kisses. I slowly pull away and now see Allison’s face all rotten and full of bite marks, A biter her. I tumble back out of the car and start crying.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“NO NO, JUST STOP, STOP IT” I yell at her.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Then I see tears come out of her grey eyes, which were usually a beautiful hazel brown. She then disappears and I get up, I walk to where she was, I start crying more. I turn around and see a biter, it tackles me and I tumble out of the opposite edge of the car, I grab my bow and as hard as I can hit the biter over the head. I then hear a radio nearby turn on.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Run” It says, in a familiar voice.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">I slowly walk toward it, I grab it and talk into it “Who is this”.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Ken there is no time to talk, just run, there’s a herd coming your way” The voice says, and then I finally realize what voice it is.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">I put the radio into my pocket and start to run toward where David and Rose are.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Right” The voice says and I turn right, avoiding a biter.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Left” It says and I turn left.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">Then a biter appears in front of me, I grab an arrow and lodge it right into its eye, I pull it out and keep running.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Keep running straight” The voice says.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">I keep running straight, jumping over some cars, stomping some of the biter’s heads, taking more directions from the voice. Then I finally reach back to where David and Rose are.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“We have to go, now” I say.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Why” David asks.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Biters and a lot of them” I say

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“A herd” Rose asks.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Yes a herd, now let’s get” I say.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">The radio turns on and the voice says “Nice job honey”.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Thanks Allison” I say.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Ken, who are you talking to” David says.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">We enter the car and start to speed off. “I’m talking to Allison” I say.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif"">“Ken I think you’re” David says but I cut him off.

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;line-height:115%;">“Don’t even fucking say I’m crazy” I say.