Surviving, Not Living/Issue 21

This is Issue 21 of Surviving, Not Living, entitled Return. This is the third issue in Volume 4.

Issue 21 - Return
"You wanna say that again, old man?" Dallas screamed. Jack was knelt on the floor in front of him. Anger flooded Dallas' face as he pressed the end of his gun to the back of Jack's throat. Jackie sobbed loudly. Tears rolled down her cheeks. It had all began after one of Dalllas' men had touched Jackie inappropriately and Jack tried to stop him.

They all stood - or knelt - next to the gates of Dallas' old, north Georgian mansion. Moss grew up the side of the building and several men patrolled the grounds.

"Go on. Do it, boss." One of the bandits shouted.

"He's too old to join us." Another continued. Doug clenched his fists as Private Jones tightened his grip on Doug's arms. Suddenly, he reacted, elbowing Jones in the nose and kicking him to the ground. Vicky shrieked, knowing that Doug had made a wrong move. Doug ran towards Dallas and rugby-tackled him to the floor. Jack quickly shot up and ran towards Charlotte.

Two bandits managed to get Doug off their leader. They each held one of his arms. Dallas raised his fist and punched his attacker on the left cheek. Doug tried to escape the bandit's grasp but... it was no use. Dallas planted one... two... three.... four more punches, alternating cheeks. Doug spat a mixture of saliva and blood onto the grass. Vicky grimaced when a tooth fell out of Doug's mouth.

"Knock him out." Dallas intructed. The last thing Doug felt, before the blackness, was a sharp pain on the back of his head, made by side of a sub-machine gun.

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The first thing Danny noticed when he awoke was Ava, sitting on the chair that blocked the door, looking down on him.

"Good morning, Ava." He sleepily rubbed his eye.

"Good morning!" She enthusiastically smiled. "Are we going to find the others today?"

Sadly, Danny looked down as he played with his hands. But, his expression suddenly changed. "Yes, we're gonna find your aunt, my dad, Jackie, Doug, Vicky and Jackie. They're all going to be safe."

"And Sarah, Amelia and Bobby!" Ava cheerfully added.

"You know..." Danny began as he climbed out of his sleeping bad. "I can't wait to meet the three new people. They sound nice."

"Oh, they are nice!" She told him. "Sarah is super, duper nice. She's just like my mommy. Sarah and Amelia were the ones that made you better! They had lots of medecine! Can we go now?"

"I've just woken up!" He exclaimed. "I guess you liked the little story of my momma last night, huh?"

"It was sweet." Ava smiled. "Can we go now?"

Danny sighed, laying his head back, against the cold, hard ground.

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Doug awoke inside the mansion a few minutes later. His vision was blurred but he managed to make out the others faces - Jack, Amelia, Doug, Charlotte, Vicky and Jackie. They were each strapped to a wooden chair which was bolted to the floor. Wooden panels lined the walls.

"We need to get out of here." Doug murmured as he came to his senses.

"No shit, Doug." Amelia snapped.

"What are th-they gonna d-do to us?" Jackie stuttered.

"They're gonna turn you girls into sex slaves and I'll be forced to become one of Dallas' bandits. I'll have to repeat this process all over again with other groups. The only difference is that I'll be on the other side." Doug said. He dropped his head and sighed.

"Oh, it's so bad for you, isn't it?" Charlotte screamed. "My niece is out there. She's probably an infected. She could've bled out from a wound in her arm or... she could've starved to death."

"Hey, you don't know that..." Vicky consoled.

"My older brother is out there!" Amelia argued. "And you think your problems are bad!"

"At least you got to say goodbye!" Charlotte screeched. "You didn't shove him in a cupboard and leave him to die."

"Everyone needs to calm down!" Jack shouted. Silence fell across the room. "We're all in the same situation now."

All of a sudden, the door flew wide open and Dallas walked in. Private Jones followed close behind. Dallas was laughing and clapping. "Great show, guys." He chuckled.

Dallas paced around the room, creating eye contact with all the survivors in turn. Everyone returned the eye contact with a look of either disgust or anger. The man walked over and grabbed Charlotte by the jaw. He looked her over - examining her. Then, he went to Jackie.

"It seems your services are required, Miss Robinson." He told her.

"How do you know my name?" Jackie questioned. Dallas held her down as Jones began to untie her.

"Anthony didn't stay with your group for nothing." Jones answered her question. Dallas ripped Jackie up from her chair. She dug the heels of her feet into the ground, in an attempt to stop them from moving her, but ended up being dragged away.

"We knew there was something wrong with Anthony!" Amelia shouted at Jack. "Bobby would've got us out of this, if you wouldn't have threw him out. Now, Jackie is going to raped and I think the blame is on you!"

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"I never told you about my mommy, did I?" Ava asked Danny. The pair were back on the high road. The snow had cleared up and, although it was still foggy, they could see a few more feet in front of them.

"No, you didn't." Danny replied.

"Do you remember her?" She asked.

"Yeah, I remember your mom. I remember the day when you, your mom and Charlotte reached the farm. Everyone was so surprised to see a child." He explained.

"Was you ever told about how we got to the camp?" Ava wondered.

"I don't think so. I fell ill within days of you being here. I was still awake when your mum... um..." Danny wondered what to say next.

"Do you wanna know how we got to the farm? I don't remember but Charlotte told me." She asked. He didn't reply. "Well, it was quite a few years ago-"

"Wait, Ava." Danny interrupted. "If its too hard for you, you don't have to remember your mom."

"No." Ava shook her head. "I don't remember my momma much. I don't feel sad when I speak about her."

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''A five-year old Ava stood between two women. The woman on the left was unmistakably Charlotte. The other woman, to the right, was Lorna Harris. An independent feminist who chose to keep her maiden name after marriage. She had long, shining brown hair and bold, brown eyes. Lorna wore all black - tights, t-shirt and a leather jacket. All three girls stand outside a long-abandoned Wal-Mart.''

''A man walked around the car park with siphoning gear in his hands. He walked from car-to-car, attempted to siphon gas, cursed and then moved to another car. He was Mickey Tomlinson - Lorna's husband, Ava's father and Charlotte's brother-in-law.''

''After half an hour, Mickey dragged himself back to Wal-Mart entrance. ''

''"Not much. I got a few drops from the SUV back there, but it'd take us no further than the end of this road." He admitted.''

''"Crap." Lorna sighed. "Looks like we're gonna have to stay here for the night."''

''"I knew we should've stayed with the others at the camp." Mickey murmured.''

''"Hey!" Charlotte shouted. "You wanted to leave the group, too. Don't forget that."''

''"Mommy." Ava tugged on Lorna's arm. "Look over there."''

''Lorna looked past the arguing Charlotte and Mickey to see a lot of infected limping towards them. Lorna drew her pistol.''

''"The pack!" She alerted her husband and sister. "Charlotte, get Ava inside."''

Charlotte took a pistol from one of her belt loops and forced Ava to take it, "Just in case. Okay?"

''"No!" Lorna shouted as she fired the first few bullets. "Charlotte, never ever give Ava a gun. Do you hear me?"''

''"What? Why?" Charlotte questioned.''

''"She's not old enough to use is safetly." Lorna told her. "Promise me that you'll never give her one again."''

"Bu-"

"Promise me."

"I promise."

''"We don't have time for this." Mickey told them. "Get Ava inside."''

''Charlotte grabbed the gun from Ava and shoved her towards the entrance to the Wal-Mart. Using all her strength, Charlotte pried the previosuly-automatic doors open a few inches. Ava hopped through the small gap. The doors snapped shut behind Charlotte.''

''"Get to the back of the store, Ava." She told the small girl. "Run as fast as you can and don't stop for anything."''

''Ava ran off as Charlotte turned round to watch Lorna and Mickey attempt to fight off the infected. The married couple shot, stabbed and beat the infected, taking a step back each time. At first, Charlotte slid her gun inbetween the doors and shot a few infected down. However, she wasn't a good enough shot, she could've shot Lorna or Mickey. And, Charlotte was worried about Ava.''

''"Ava!" Charlotte's shout echoed around the empty store. She took one last look at her sister and Mickey, before running to find the younger girl.''

''Within a few minutes, the amount of infected was already overwhelming them. And, they were only a few steps away from the doors.''

''"3, 2, 1." After Mickey's countdown, the pair fired one last bullet before sprinting back to the doors. Mickey reached the door's first and pulled them open. The doors offered more resistance than usual and were very hard to keep open. Mickey's muscles cried with ache as Lorna slid through the gap. His muscles gave up and his hands dropped the door closed.''

''Lorna watched from inside of the shop, in a mixed state of fear and sadness, as the infected ate Mickey alive. They dug their hands into his belly and ripped out his intestines. They feasted on his bloody insides.''

''"Come on, Lorna." Lorna hadn't noticed that Charlotte was by her side until she spoke.''

''"Where's daddy?" Little Ava asked, not understanding the whole situation.''

''"We can't let him die for nothing." Charlotte pleaded with her seemingly-frozen-to-the-spot sister. ''

''"Daddy's dead?" Ava began to cry.''

''"There's an exit at the back of the store." Charlotte told her.''

''Lorna began to nod. Tears streamed down her face as she turned and ran with Charlotte and Ava. Lorna picked up Ava, knowing that Ava's crying would stop her from running. When they got to the back of the store, Charlotte kicked the door open.''

''It felt like they had ran for hours. Lorna was scared that, if she stopped, her feeling of fear would be replaced by sorrow. It wasn't until three hours after Mickey's death that they stumbled upon tall, black gates connected to a red, brick wall.''

Charlotte noticed something, "Voices?"

''A chain connected to padlock stopped the gate from opened. Ava wriggled through the small gap between the two fenceposts. The gate fell on top of a path which led up to a large farmhouse. A blonde woman sat upon the steps leading up to the house. The three women didn't know her yet, but it was Jackie.''

''Jackie covered her hands with her mouth before calling out. Doug appeared at the doorway and threw the keys to Jackie. She sprinted down the pathway. Charlotte smiled from ear-to-ear.''

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"Your momma seems real nice." Danny told Ava. "And your daddy too."

"Yeah, they were nice." Ava smiled as they trudged through the snow. "You know about what happened to mommy, don't you?"

"When you told me the list of people that we needed to save, Lorna wasn't one of them. So, I can guess." He sighed. "I really am sorry, Ava."

"I c-can't t-tell you ab-bout the day mom-my died." Her bottom lip quivered as she spoke.

"It's fine, Ava." Danny bent down and kissed the top of her forehead.

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The hostage room had been silent for a while. Amelia's sobbing had stopped and the arguments had ceased. Vicky was struggling to keep herself awake.

Suddenly, Jackie burst into the room. The other survivors' eyes widened in alert. A bandit wearing a hockey mask ran in after Jackie but, instead of grabbing her, he slammed the door behind the door. Jackie ran over to Amelia and began to untie her.

The bandit pulled the mask off, letting his brown hair flow out. It was... Bobby. Amelia's  eye began to water as she saw her brother for the first time in days. She wriggled out her chains and started to run over to him, tripping on the way. Bobby caught Amelia as she fell into his arms. They hugged for a while before Bobby began to pull away.

"We've got to go. They know I'm from your group and they'll notice I've dissapeared - I'll explain everything later." He blurted out.

As each survivor was freed from their chains, they held untie the next. Vicky quickly pushed her lips against Bobby's. After, he ran towards the wardrobe at the side of the room and pushed it. It slid across the wooden floorboards and exposed a small trap door.

"The new kids gone!" A bandit called from within the house.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked as Bobby opened the door.

"There are secret passages all over this place. When Hitler attempted to invade Georgia during the World War II these passages were built to hide jews." Bobby explained. "Now, stop staring and get on with it."

Jackie was the first one to crawl into the gap, followed closely by Doug. Bobby made sure he was the last one. The second that Bobby shut the trap door, bandits burst into the room.

Private Jones looked around, confused, before shouting. "Find them!"

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After crawling through the uncomfortably small shaft for a while, Jack located another trap door beneath them.

"Are we going through here?" Jack called back to Bobby.

His voice snapped Bobby out of the trance he had brought upon himself, after admiring Vicky's bum for too long. "Er... yeah!"

Jack pushed the trap door and it swung down. He lowered himself through the gap. As Doug jumped down, he observed the surroundings. They were inside a walk-in closet. Different fur coats, beanies and camouflage-wear were folded neatly.

Once all the survivors were safely in the room, Bobby closed the door. He then walked to the door and opened it a crack. It made a small squeaking noise. Looking out, he saw Dallas and another girl standing in the room. Jackie crouched down and also looked through the gap.

Dallas puckered his lips and moved closer to the girl. He grabbed her by the waist. She landed a slap on his right cheek. "Get off me." She squirmed.

"Come on, baby." Dallas smiled. "Don't be like that."

Worried for the girl, Jackie looked up at Bobby. He had a look of pure anger in his eyes.