Surviving, Not Living/Issue 16

This is issue 16 of Surviving, Not Living, entitled The Postman.

Issue 16:
Amelia gagged, threatening to throw up again. Which isn’t the best idea when you’re around flesh-eating people.

“Come on!” Jackie shouted, grabbing Amelia’s wrist and pulling her down the aisle. The girls managed to dodge the infected’s arms and made it to Sarah, who was holding the back door.

Outside, Doug took in the surroundings. There was a fence made of steel metal cutting the group off from the road to the left, trapping them in a pen. Doug hooked his gun on his belt and began to try and climb over the fence. After a few steps, he fell back down.

“There’s no way we’re getting over that.” Doug admitted. Suddenly a huge bang was heard coming from the door and the girls jumped. “Did you three just jump? 2-2.” He smirked.

“This isn’t the fucking time, Douglas.” Jackie snapped. Doug’s heart sank, the last time some called him Douglas was... his wife. His dead wife.

Sarah looked to her left, taking a double take. A dumpster was inside the pen with them.

“Follow me.” Sarah called as she hoisted herself up onto the dumpster. Once on top, Sarah jumped up and grabbed onto the ledge of a window on the second floor. She scooted along the small window ledge and once she was able to, hopped onto the roof.

Down below, Amelia looked at Jackie and Doug and then back to the door that looked like it could break any minute before following Sarah’s way of climbing onto the roof. Doug followed closely behind, leaving Jackie last.

As Sarah, Amelia and Doug rested on the roof, Jackie scooted along the window sil. Her over-sized nike trainers balanced on their heels. All of a sudden, Jackie jerked and began to fall backwards. She twisted as she fell, facing the group. Jackie closed her eyes, preparing for her death. She re-opened them when she realised that she hadn’t been eaten alive. Doug’s manly hand clutched her hand tight.

Once Jackie had been pulled to the roof, she grabbed Doug and pulled him into a tight hug, “Thank you so much.” She whispered. “I saw my life flash before my eyes.”

“What do we do know?” Amelia asked Sarah, feeling quite disappointed that she didn’t try to save Jackie herself.

“We can’t do anything except wait them out.” Sarah sighed, rubbing her hand. Her dark skin had turned white from the scratch she gained from gripping onto the sharp rooftop.

An hour passed but the infected hadn’t given up.

“Ugh.” Jackie groaned, laying down with her head in Doug‘s lap. “They never give up.”

“They’re emotionless. They don’t feel bored.” Doug pointed out.

“Tell me a story, then.” She told him.

“A story about what?” He asked.

“I don’t know...” Jackie wondered. “The first infected you took down.”

Doug loudly gulped, which was heard by the three girls. “Okay then... You ready?”

***

Doug stood, alone, in what looked like the hallway of a grand mansion. He looked younger and his face had less wrinkles... He looked happier. Outside on the lawn, which stretched at least half a miles long, a boy and a girl, both around four years old, sat down and played with their barbie dolls. At the end of the garden, a postman walked through the gates and began to walk to the Tallie family’s post box. Doug watched the girls play, smiling.

“Hey, babe.” A short, brunette walked up to Doug and kissed him on the cheek. She noticed he was watching their children. “Why don’t you go out and play with them.”

“Hon, come on.” Doug chuckled. “Jamie and Kristen don’t want me to play barbies and action men with them.”

The woman laughed as Kristen made her barbie slap Jamie’s action men. “Are you sure it’s not you not wanting to play with the barbies?”

“I’m sure.” He groaned and the two looked back to the girls. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw the postman fall to the floor, clutching his stomach. Jamie pointed to the man and Kristen turned, her bunches blew back in the wind. Doug and his wife ran outside as they saw the twins run towards the man.

Doug and his partner reached the man just after the twins had. He made a chokin noise and splat blood on the floor. His grey, bare hands curled up and his nails scraped along the floor. Suddenly, the man jumped up and grabbed Kristen. Without hesitation, Doug jumped the man and Kristen ran free to her mum.

“Christina, get the kids back in the house” is the only thing Doug can say before he started pounding this man’s face to pieces. How dare he try and take his little girl? How dare he. Doug punched until his knuckles were blue. The man seemed to be dead, his skull was cracked open. Doug stood up, spat on the man and began to walk back up the lawn to the house. But, what he didn’t see, was that the man’s fingers twitched. He stood up and began to slowly slump towards Doug.

“Dougie! Douglas!” Christina called from the front window of their house. Doug froze as he felt a boney hand place itself on his shoulder. He grabbed backwards, at the sleeve of the man, and threw over his shoulder. As the man hit the floor, his head split and brains spilt all over the floor.

Doug could hear Jamie and Kristen shriek from the house. But, their small shriek soon became as Christina and the pair screamed and pointed in all different directions. Doug turned around to see men, along with women and children, that had the same grey skin colour and falling-out hair as the postman. Without hesitation, Doug sprinted back into the house.

Once inside, he helped Christina move the small table against the door.

“What are they?” She asked, hugging Doug.

“I don’t know... It’s like they’re infected.” He replied.

***

“Oh, Doug.” Jackie reached up and hugged the man. “At least no-one got hurt.” Doug looked away. “Someone did get hurt, didn’t they?”

“Kristen was scratched by the first infected.” Doug wiped a cheer from his cheek, attempting to stop his crying like all men like him would do. “We watched her die. We watched her change...”

“That’s terrible.” Sarah thought aloud.

***

“They should be back by now.” Bobby said as he, Charlotte, Ava and Jack stood on the front porch, looking out into the forest for signs of the group. Anthony and Vicky were nowhere to be seen.

“We should go out and find them.” Charlotte told him.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” Charlotte said as she bent down, letting Ava kiss her cheek.

“Be safe.” Ava called, squeezing Charlotte tight.

Bobby nodded to Charlotte and they grabbed their guns from the table, then sprinted down the lawn to the cars.

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